Introduction: The world is living through an outbreak of an acute respiratory syndrome caused by a new betacoronavirus known as coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2), which has been declared an international public health emergency by the World Health Organisation. Cancer patients are a very special population in this setting since they are more susceptible to viral infections than the general population. Several recommendations have been made on this issue, most of them based on expert opinion and institutional experience. It is essential to gather the evidence available for decision making. Objective: To review the evidence available in order to create a multi-institutional position from the perspective of scientific societies in Argentina involved in the management of cancer patients. Methodology: The review included two phases: 1) search and systematic revision of the medical literature; 2) consensus and revision of the document drafted by national scientific societies involved in the management and care of cancer patients using the modified Delphi method. The final results were presented at a videoconference with all the participants. Also, additional comment and recommendations were discussed. The final document was revised and approved for publication by the members of the panel.

Prostate cancer is a significant burden and cause of mortality in Latin America. This article reviews the treatment options for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and provides consensus recommendations to assist Latin American prostate cancer specialists with clinical decision making. A multidisciplinary expert panel from Latin America reviewed the available data and their individual experience to develop clinical consensus opinions for the use of life-prolonging agents in mCRPC, with consideration given to factors influencing patient selection and treatment monitoring. There is a lack of level 1 evidence for the best treatment sequence or combinations in mCRPC. In this context, consensus recommendations were provided for the use of taxane-based chemotherapies, androgen receptor axis-targeted agents and targeted alpha therapy, for patients in Latin America. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) changes alone, during treatment, should be treated with caution; PSA may not be a suitable biomarker for radium-223. Bone scans and computed tomography are the standard imaging modalities in Latin America. Imaging should be prompted during treatment where symptomatic decline and/or significant worsening of laboratory evaluations are reported, or where a course of therapy has been completed and another antineoplastic agent is under consideration. Recommendations and guidance for treatment options in Latin America are provided in the context of country-level variable access to approved agents and technologies for treatment monitoring. Patients should be treated with the purpose of prolonging overall survival and preserving quality of life through increasing the opportunity to administer all available life-prolonging therapies when appropriate.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s12032-018-1105-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The administration of a triple combination produced promising objective responses with acceptable toxicity but does not seem to produce an evident benefit in time-related parameters.

Background The aim of this phase I study was to define the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of thiotepa (TT), administered with busulfan (BU) 480 mg/m2 and etoposide 2,400 mg/m2, followed by autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT) or peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (APBSCT) support in children with solid tumors either disseminated at diagnosis or after relapse. Procedure Nineteen patients, between 2 and 16 years of age, received a high‐dose chemotherapy regimen including escalating doses of TT starting from 150 mg/m2. Subsequent dose escalation was determined by a modified Fibonacci scheme. Whenever one patient at one dosage level showed a grade III or grade IV reversible toxicity, additional patients were admitted (one by one) up to a maximum number of 6. Upon observing grade III or IV reversible toxicity in two or more systems, in 3 of the 6 patients, no further escalation was performed, and the corresponding dosage was taken as the MTD. WHO criteria were adopted to assess grade of toxicity. Results All patients had hematological recovery; and neutrophils and platelet engraftment were observed after median times of 12 and 29 days from stem cell infusion, respectively. The MTD of TT was determined to be 750 mg/ m2. At this level, 3 of 6 patients experienced grade III mucositis and/or grade III gastrointestinal toxicity. No patient died of treatment‐related toxicity. Conclusions A dose of 750 mg/m2 TT is the MTD when it is associated with BU 480 mg/m2 and etoposide 2,400 mg/m2. This ablative regimen represents a feasible and tolerable combination for high‐dose chemotherapy followed by hematopoietic stem cell rescue (HSCR). Phase II studies in children with poor‐prognosis solid tumors are required to evaluate the effectiveness of this treatment. Med. Pediatr. Oncol. 33:450–454, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

No abstract