In this prospective phase III trial, afatinib combined with paclitaxel improved progression-free survival and objective response, compared with single-agent chemotherapy, in patients with NSCLC who were clinically enriched for ErbB dependency having failed platinum-based chemotherapy, gefitinib/erlotinib and afatinib monotherapy after initial benefit on each tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

Older age is one of the strongest risk factors for severe COVID-19. In this study, we determined whether age-associated cellular senescence contributes to the severity of experimental COVID-19. Aged golden hamsters accumulate senescent cells in the lungs, and the senolytic drug ABT-263, a BCL-2 inhibitor, depletes these cells at baseline and during SARS-CoV-2 infection. Relative to young hamsters, aged hamsters had a greater viral load during the acute phase of infection and displayed higher levels of sequelae during the post-acute phase. Early treatment with ABT-263 lowered pulmonary viral load in aged (but not young) animals, an effect associated with lower expression of ACE2, the receptor for SARS-CoV-2. ABT-263 treatment also led to lower pulmonary and systemic levels of senescence-associated secretory phenotype factors and to amelioration of early and late lung disease. These data demonstrate the causative role of age-associated pre-existing senescent cells on COVID-19 severity and have clear clinical relevance.

We report the case of a 72-year-old woman suffering from bone metastatic breast cancer and treated with continuous intravenous 5 fluorouracil (5FU) chemotherapy, who presented with a bilateral asymmetric anterior optic neuropathy (ON). A deficiency of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) was documented. Patients with DPD deficiency are at increased risk for developing unusual and/or severe toxicity to 5FU. We discuss the differential diagnosis of anterior ON and we suggest that 5FU can be responsible for optic nerve toxicity in patients with DPD deficiency.