• COVID-19
• Lymphoma
• Obinutuzumab
• Prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infection
• Rituximab

• Humans
• Rituximab/therapeutic use
• Rituximab/adverse effects
• Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/therapeutic use
• Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/adverse effects
• Retrospective Studies
• Male
• Female
• COVID-19
• Middle Aged
• Aged
• SARS-CoV-2/drug effects
• COVID-19 Drug Treatment
• Treatment Outcome
• Adult
• Lymphoma, B-Cell/drug therapy
• Hospitalization/statistics & numerical data
• Aged, 80 and over

• 2018A64 Ningbo Medical Science and Technology Project

• Monoclonal antibody
• infection
• rituximab
• subcutaneous
• trastuzuamb

• Humans
• Rituximab/administration & dosage
• Rituximab/adverse effects
• Trastuzumab/administration & dosage
• Trastuzumab/adverse effects
• Injections, Subcutaneous
• Administration, Intravenous
• Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological/administration & dosage
• Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological/adverse effects
• Infections/epidemiology
• Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
• Neoplasms/drug therapy
• Incidence

• rituximab
• rituxan
• anti-cd20
• hypogammaglobulinemia
• late-onset neutropenia
• infection
• secondary immune deficiency
• humoral immune deficiency

• Humans
• Rituximab/adverse effects
• Agammaglobulinemia/complications
• Antineoplastic Agents/adverse effects
• Antibodies, Monoclonal/therapeutic use
• Neutropenia/drug therapy
• Neutropenia/chemically induced
• Neutropenia/complications

• K23 AI163350 NIAID NIH HHS
• T32 GM144273 NIGMS NIH HHS

• Nocardia
• aerobic actinomycetes
• mycetoma
• nocardiosis

• Nocardia/genetics
• Bacterial Typing Techniques
• Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization

• Angiogenesis Inhibitors/adverse effects
• Antibodies, Monoclonal/therapeutic use
• Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/therapeutic use
• Bevacizumab/adverse effects
• Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/drug therapy
• Humans
• Incidence
• Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy

• adoptive
• immunosuppression
• immunotherapy

Provide real-world data regarding the risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection and mortality in breast cancer (BC) patients on active cancer treatment.

Clinical data were abstracted from the 3778 BC patients seen at a multisite cancer center in New York between February 1, 2020 and May 1, 2020, including patient demographics, tumor histology, cancer treatment, and SARS-CoV-2 testing results. Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection by treatment type (chemotherapy [CT] vs endocrine and/or HER2 directed therapy [E/H]) was compared by Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting. In those diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection, Mann–Whitney test was used to a assess risk factors for severe disease and mortality.

Three thousand sixty-two patients met study inclusion criteria with 641 patients tested for SARS-COV-2 by RT-PCR or serology. Overall, 64 patients (2.1%) were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection by either serology, RT-PCR, or documented clinical diagnosis. Comparing matched patients who received chemotherapy (n = 379) with those who received non-cytotoxic therapies (n = 2343) the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 did not differ between treatment groups (weighted risk; 3.5% CT vs 2.7% E/H, P = .523). Twenty-seven patients (0.9%) expired over follow-up, with 10 deaths attributed to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Chemotherapy was not associated with increased risk for death following SARS-CoV-2 infection (weighted risk; 0.7% CT vs 0.1% E/H, P = .246). Advanced disease (stage IV), age, BMI, and Charlson’s Comorbidity Index score were associated with increased mortality following SARS-CoV-2 infection (P ≤ .05).

BC treatment, including chemotherapy, can be safely administered in the context of enhanced infectious precautions, and should not be withheld particularly when given for curative intent.

• Biological Therapy
• Breast Neoplasms/drug therapy
• COVID-19/epidemiology
• COVID-19 Testing
• Female
• Humans
• Pandemics
• SARS-CoV-2
• Watchful Waiting

• Manhasset Women’s Coalition Against Breast Cancer

• blinatumomab
• fungal infection
• hematological malignancy
• ibrutinib
• idelalisib
• monoclonal antibodies
• rituximab
• ruxolitinib
• targeted therapies
• venetoclax

Higher risks of infection are associated with some targeted drugs used to treat solid organ and hematological malignancies, and an individual patient’s risk of infection is strongly influenced by underlying diseases and concomitant or prior treatments. This review focuses on risk levels and specific suggestions for management, analyzing groups of agents associated with a significant effect on the risk of infection. Due to limited clinical experience and ongoing advances in these therapies, recommendations may be revised in the near future. Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors are associated with a higher rate of infections, including invasive fungal infection, especially in the first months of treatment and in patients with advanced, pretreated disease. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors are associated with an increased risk of Pneumocystis pneumonia and cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation. Venetoclax is associated with cytopenias, respiratory infections, and fever and neutropenia. Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors may predispose patients to opportunistic and fungal infections; need for prophylaxis should be assessed on an individual basis. Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors have been linked to a higher risk of general and opportunistic infections. Breakpoint cluster region-Abelson (BCR-ABL) inhibitors are associated with neutropenia, especially over the first months of treatment. Anti-CD20 agents may cause defects in the adaptative immune response, hypogammaglobulinemia, neutropenia, and hepatitis B reactivation. Alemtuzumab is associated with profound and long-lasting immunosuppression; screening is recommended for latent infections and prevention strategies against CMV, herpesvirus, and Pneumocystis infections. Checkpoint inhibitors (CIs) may cause immune-related adverse events for which prolonged treatment with corticosteroids is needed: prophylaxis against Pneumocystis is recommended.

• checkpoint inhibitors
• everolimus
• ibrutinib
• imatinib
• rituximab
• venetoclax

• ANCA-associated vasculitis
• Infection
• Pneumocystis
• Rituximab
• Safety

• MDR
• PDR
• XDR
• antibiotics
• antimicrobial resistance
• bacteria

Cyberlindnera fabianii is a yeast present in soil rarely associated with invasive infection. Due to advanced diagnostic and therapeutic techniques, pathogenicity is increasingly recognized.

A 37-year-old male with B cell lymphoma on rituximab developed multiple organ dysfunction syndrome secondary to C. fabianii bacteremia. Specialized species identification techniques were required after failure of standard methods. Despite extracroporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) the patient died on day 26 after admission.

• Cyberlindnera fabianii
• Fungemia
• Immunosuppression
• Lymphoma
• Septic shock

Currently, the overall incidence and risk of infections with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients remained undetermined. We searched Pubmed for related articles published from 1 January 1990 to 31 November 2015. Eligible studies included prospective randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating therapy with or without EGFR-TKIs in patients with NSCLC. Data on infections were extracted. Pooled incidence, Peto odds ratio (Peto OR), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. A total of 17,420 patients from 25 RCTs were included. The use of EGFR-TKIs significantly increased the risk of developing all-grade infections (Peto OR 1.48, 95%CI: 1.12-1.96, p = 0.006) in NSCLC patients, but not for severe (Peto OR 1.26, 95%CI: 0.96-1.67, p = 0.098) and fatal infections (Peto OR 0.81, 95%CI: 0.43-1.53, p = 0.52). Meta-regression indicated the risk of infections tended to increase with the treatment duration of EGFR-TKIs. No publication of bias was detected. In conclusion, the use of EGFR-TKIs significantly increased the risk of developing all-grade infectious events in NSCLC patients, but not for severe and fatal infections. Clinicians should be aware of the risks of infections with the administration of these drugs in these patients.

• EGFR-TKIs
• erlotinib
• gefitinib
• infections
• non-small-cell lung cancer

• 23-valent pneumococcal vaccine
• Rituximab
• hypogammaglobulinemia
• infectious diseases
• non-Hodgkin lymphoma

• Gender
• Monoclonal antibodies
• Rituximab
• Schedule
• Synergism

• anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)
• lung infections
• opportunistic infections
• pneumonia
• rheumatic diseases

The mPEBev is an anticancer regimen which combines a chemotherapy doublet, based on cisplatin and oral etoposide (mPE), with bevacizumab (mPEBev), a mAb targeting the vasculo-endothelial growth factor (VEGF). In previous studies, this regimen showed powerful anti-angiogenetic effects and significant antitumor activity in metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (mNSCLC) patients. We also recorded the best benefit in patients exhibiting low-systemic inflammatory profile at baseline. On these bases, we hypothesized that mPEBev antitumor activity could be partially related to bevacizumab-associated immunological effects. For this reason, we performed an immunological monitoring in 59 out of 120 stage IIIb-IV NSCLC patients enrolled in the BEVA2007 phase II trial, who received fractioned cisplatin (30 mg/sqm days 1-3q21) and oral etoposide (50 mg, days 1-15q21) (mPE doublet) ±bevacizumab. In this group of patients, 12 received the mPE doublet alone and 47 the doublet in combination with bevacizumab (5 mg/kg on the day 3q21; mPEBev regimen). Blood cell counts, serum analysis, multiplex cytokine assay and immunocytofluorimetric analysis, performed on baseline and post-treatment on blood samples from these patients, revealed that bevacizumab addition to the doublet decreased levels of pro-angiogenic (VEGF, Angiostatin-1 and Follistatin) and inflammatory cytokines (interferon (IFN)γ, IL4 and IL17), improved in vivo and in vitro cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) response and promoted dendritic cell activation. These results suggest that the mPEBev regimen improve the micro-environmental conditions for an efficient antigen-specific CTL response, making it a feasible candidate regimen to be assessed in combination with immune-checkpoint inhibitors in NSCLC patients.

• Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody
• Microscopic polyangiitis
• Tocilizumab
• Vasculitis

AIM: To assess the efficacy and safety of bevacizumab in the treatment of colorectal cancer.

METHODS: All randomized controlled trials of bevacizumab for the treatment of colorectal cancer from January 2003 to June 2013 were collected by searching the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang databases. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), and the secondary endpoints were progression-free survival, overall response rate and adverse events. Two reviewers extracted data independently. Statistical analyses were performed with Stata 12.0. The degree of bias was assessed using funnel plots for the effect size of OS at the primary endpoint.

RESULTS: Following the inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria, ten studies comprising 6977 cases were finally included, of which nine were considered to be of high quality (4-7 points) and one of low quality (1-3 points). Our meta-analysis revealed the efficacy of bevacizumab in patients with colorectal cancer in terms of OS (HR = 0.848, 95%CI: 0.747-0.963), progression-free survival (HR = 0.617, 95%CI: 0.530-0.719), and overall response rate (OR = 1.627, 95%CI: 1.199-2.207). Regarding safety, higher rates of grade ≥ 3 hypertension, proteinuria, bleeding, thrombosis, and gastrointestinal perforation were observed in the bevacizumab treatment group (P < 0.05); however, the incidence of serious toxicity was very low. There was no publication bias in the 10 reports included in this meta-analysis.

CONCLUSION: The clinical application of bevacizumab in colorectal cancer is effective with good safety.

• Bevacizumab
• Colorectal cancer
• Clinical application
• Randomized controlled trials
• Meta-analysis

• Angiogenesis Inhibitors/adverse effects
• Angiogenesis Inhibitors/therapeutic use
• Bevacizumab/adverse effects
• Bevacizumab/therapeutic use
• Colorectal Neoplasms/drug therapy
• Colorectal Neoplasms/mortality
• Colorectal Neoplasms/pathology
• Disease Progression
• Disease-Free Survival
• Humans
• Odds Ratio
• Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
• Risk Factors
• Survival Analysis
• Time Factors
• Treatment Outcome

• cetuximab
• panitumumab
• anti-egfr monoclonal antibody
• infections
• cancer
• meta-analysis

• Antibodies, Monoclonal/therapeutic use
• Humans
• Neoplasms/drug therapy

• epidemiology
• infection
• cancer
• risk factors
• emerging pathogens

• Humans
• Infections/epidemiology
• Infections/therapy
• Neoplasms/complications
• Neoplasms/therapy

• CD19 antigen
• adoptive cellular immunotherapy
• genetic engineering
• genetic transduction
• precursor cell lymphoblastic leukemia-lymphoma

• Anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs)
• Autoimmune diseases
• B-cells
• Lymphoma
• Rituximab
• T-cells

Rituximab has been widely used off-label as a second line treatment for children with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). However, its role in the management of pediatric ITP requires clarification. To understand and interpret the available evidence, we conducted a systematic review to assess the efficacy and safety of rituximab for children with ITP.

We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CBM, CNKI, abstract databases of American Society of Hematology, American Society of Clinical Oncology and Pediatric Academic Society. Clinical studies published in full text or abstract only in any language that met predefined inclusion criteria were eligible. Efficacy analysis was restricted to studies enrolling 5 or more patients. Safety was evaluated from all studies that reported data of toxicity. 14 studies (323 patients) were included for efficacy assessment in children with primary ITP. The pooled complete response (platelet count ≥100×10⁹/L) and response (platelet count ≥30×10⁹/L) rate after rituximab treatment were 39% (95% CI, 30% to 49%) and 68% (95%CI, 58% to 77%), respectively, with median response duration of 12.8 month. 4 studies (29 patients) were included for efficacy assessment in children with secondary ITP. 11 (64.7%) of 17 patients associated with Evans syndrome achieved response. All 6 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus associated ITP and all 6 patients with autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome associated ITP achieved response. 91 patients experienced 108 adverse events associated with rituximab, among that, 91 (84.3%) were mild to moderate, and no death was reported.

Randomized controlled studies on effect of rituximab for children with ITP are urgently needed, although a series of uncontrolled studies found that rituximab resulted in a good platelet count response both in children with primary and children secondary ITP. Most adverse events associated with rituximab were mild to moderate, and no death was reported.

• Adult
• Aged
• Antibodies, Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic/blood
• Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived/administration & dosage
• Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived/therapeutic use
• Autoantibodies/blood
• B-Lymphocytes/immunology
• Eye Diseases/diagnosis
• Eye Diseases/drug therapy
• Eye Diseases/immunology
• Female
• Flow Cytometry
• Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis/diagnosis
• Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis/drug therapy
• Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis/immunology
• Humans
• Immunologic Factors/administration & dosage
• Immunologic Factors/therapeutic use
• Immunosuppressive Agents/therapeutic use
• Infusions, Intravenous
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Myeloblastin/immunology
• Recurrence
• Retreatment
• Retrospective Studies
• Risk Factors
• Rituximab
• Treatment Outcome
• Young Adult