Block 34 Week 7 Flashcards
Neutropenic sepis?
- occurs 7-14 days after chemotherapy
- antibiotics must be started immediately, do not wait for the WBC
- start piperacillin with tazobactam (Tazocin)immediately
Ix for NS?
Bedside
- blood sugar
- pregnancy test
Bloods
- VBG / ABG
- FBC
- CRP
- U&Es
- LFTs
- Bone profile
- Clotting
- Fungal assays(e.g. beta-d-glucan galactomannan)
- Blood borne virus screen
Cultures for NS?
- blood cultures
- sputum
- urine
- C diff toxin
imaging for nS?
- Chest X-ray
- Lumbar puncture(meningitis, encephalitis)
- ECHO(infective endocarditis)
What is purpura?
- describes bleeding into the skin from small blood vessels that produces a non-blanching rash
- caused by bone marrow failure, certain drugs like antiepileptics, antithrombins, nutritional def like B12, C and folate
Ix for purpura?
- FBC - platelet count and evaluate for thrombocytopenia
- peripheral blood smear
- PT, aPTT, fibrinogen levels
- platelet function assays
- urinalaysis - haematuria, proteinuria
Myelosuppresion Ix?
- FBC
- peripheral blood smear
- bone marrow biopsy/ aspiration
- iron studies
Outline the long-term effects of cytotoxic chemotherapy?
- cardiotoxicity (leading to heart failure or arrhythmias),
- pulmonary toxicity (resulting in lung fibrosis or pneumonitis),
- nephrotoxicity
- hepatotoxicity
- peripheral neuropathy.
secondary ? can occur after chemo
- Secondary malignancies - leukemia, solid tumouts
- can occur years after completion of chemo treatment
infertility & chemo?
Long-term effects may include infertility, premature ovarian failure (menopause), and decreased sperm count or quality.
bone side effects of chemo?
- osteopenia/ osteoporosis
hormonal side effects of chemo?
- hypothyroidism
- adrenal insufficnecy
CV side effects of chemo?
- Certain chemotherapy drugs, particularly anthracyclines and targeted therapies, can increase the risk of cardiovascular complications such as cardiomyopathy, heart failure, and myocardial infarction
acute myeloblastic leukemia is a ?
- 80% adult leukemias
- incidence increases w age
predisposing factors for AML?
- radiation
- benzene
- previous chemo
- inherited bone marrow failure conditions
- downs
CF of AML?
- bone marrow failure
- extramedullary - e.g. gingivitis
- hyperleukostasis
Peripheral blood film in AML?
- myeloblasts - malignant myeloid cells
- large nucleus
- granules in the cytoplasm - can be in rods
- fibrinogenolysis in acute promyelotic leukemia
Prognosis of AML?
- cytogenetics
- worse when:
- complex karyotypes
- abn chromsome 3, 5, 7
Acute promyelocytic leukemia?
- associated w 15:17 PML: RAR
- good prognosis - 70% 5 yr survival
- coagulopathy can be fatal
what is acute promyelocytic leukemia sensitive to?
- sensitive to ATRA and arsenic trioxide
- doesn’t need chemo
Tx of non-APL AML
- remission induction using anthracycline
- allogenic stem cell transplant for high risk patients - adverse cytogenetics, relapsed patients
prognosis for AML?
- good risk genetics 65-70% 5 yr survival
- poor risk genetics 20-30% survival
- elderly >65 yrs 10%
- best survival under 40
Acute LL age group?
- 12% of all adult leukemias
- 60% under 20
- peaks in the 2-5 yr age group and >50 yrs
ALL can be associated w?
Downs
majority of childhood leukemias are?
ALL
clinical features of ALL?
- organomegaly
- lymphadenopathy
- CNS involvement
- mediastinal mass -> obstruction of SVC
- hyperleukostasis
- hyperuricaemia + tumour lysis syndrome
results for ALL?
- pancytopenia
- circ lymphoblasts
- bone marrow - hypercellular largely replaced w immunoblasts
- lumbar puncture - lymphoblasts if CNS involvement
ALL - good prognosis when?
- hyperdiploidy >50
- B cell 8:14 translocation
- 9:12 translocation
Poor cytogenetics in ALL?
- hypodiploidy
- 9:22 BCR: ABL philadelphia chromosome - very poor in adults
- t 4:11 MLL rearrangement
Tx of ALL?
- comb chemotherapy w intrathecal methotrexate as induction
- high dose metho as CNS prophylaxis
- allogeneic stem cell transplant for high risk
- maintenance chemo required for up to 2 yrs - not required for B cell ALL
prognosis of ALL?
- V good survival in children
- poor survival > 40 yrs olds
Most common adult leukemia?
CLL
who does CLL affect?
- males> females
- inc w age - median age 65
features of CLL?
- lymphocytosis, clonal mature B cells
- lymphadenopathy
- hepatosplenomegaly
Blood film of CLL?
- peripheral blood B cell lymphocytosis
- bone marrow infiltration
- smear cells - smudged and smashed cells
Tx of CLL?
no benefit to treating if no symptoms
image
CML?
- rare
- diagnosed incidentally or following development of systemic symptoms, splenomegaly or gout
CML is characterised by?
- charac by philadelphia chromosome producing constitutive activation of abl kinase
- risk of transformation to acute leukemia
features of CML?
- basophilia
- eosinophilia
- occasional blast
Tx of CML?
- TK inhibitors - e.g. imatinib, nilotinib, bosutinib
- allogeneic transplantation for resistant or transformed cases
Prognostic index for lymphomas?
- diffuse large B cell lymphoma is the most common type
- RIPI is the prognostic index
outcome in DLBCL ?
- low risk disease have high chanc of cure
- germinal centre type has a better prognosis than activated B cell type
Tx of DLBCL?
- localised disease - 3 cycles of chemo
- followed by radiotherapy to involved sites
- stage 3/4 disease x6 cycles of chemo
Follicular lymphoma?
- incurable
- ppl present w lympadenopathy or w constitutional symptoms
- can occur in the peripheral blood
Tx of follicular lymphoma?
- asymptomatic in many
- treatment only for symptomatic disease
- risk of high grade transformation
assessing prognosis of follicular lymphoma?
- FLIPI to assess prognosis
outcome for follicular lymphoma?
- low risk: 5 year survival around 90%
hodgkin lymphoma shows presence of?
- reed-sternberg cells
- presence of binucleate cells in LNs/ affected cells
staging of HL?
- Ann Arbor staging
- Hassebclever index for stage 3/4 hodgkin lymphoma
prognosis of HL?
- > 90% cure rate in over 50
- diff to treat in elderly
Basic principles of radiotherapy?
- uses ionising radiation to target and destroy cancer cells
- tumour is localised using CT, MRI, PET
- target delination to accurately define tumor volume and surrounding organs at risk to spare healthy tissue
EBRT =
External radiation beams are delivered from a linear accelerator (LINAC) or other external radiation source directed at the tumor from outside the body.
Bracytherapy =
Radioactive sources are placed directly into or near the tumor, delivering a high dose of radiation to the target while sparing surrounding tissues.
Stereotactic radiosurgery
- Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) and Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT): Highly precise, high-dose radiation is delivered to small targets in the body, typically in one to five treatment sessions.
Fractination =
- fractination: allows for delivery of an effective dose of radiation to the tumor whilst minimising toxicity to surrounding normal tissues by taking advantage of differences in repair capacity between tumor cells and normal tissues.
Immediate radiotherapy side effects?
- skin reactions - erythema, itching and skin dryness within the radiation field
- fatigue
- mucositis - pain, dysphagia, oral mucositis
- nausea and vomiting
- alopecia in the radiation field
- if radiation is to the pelvis or bladder they may experience acute urinary symptoms like freq, urgency, dysuria, haematuria
Long term radiotherapy side effects - fibrosis?
- radiation fiborosis -> scarring -> tissue stiffness
- e.g. skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscles, internal organs
LT side effect of radiotherapy - dermatitos?
- radiation dermatitis e.g. telangiectasia (dilated blood vessels), hyperpigmentation, or hypopigmentation.
radiation enteritis?
- radiation enteritis -> intestinal strictures, bowel obstruction
radiation cystitis?
- radiation cystitis which can lead to incontience
other LT side effects of radiotherapy?
- lymphdema -> inc infection risk
- pulmonary fibrosis or chronic resp insufficiency
- secondary malignancies e.g. sarcomas, leukemias, solid tumours
- CV comps - inc CAD, MI, pericardial disease
what can cause bone pain and abn gait?
- mets bone disease
- primary bone cancer
- pathological fractures from cancer related bone weakening
- SCC
Ix of bone pain and abn gait?
- X rays to identify fractures
- MRI or CT
- FBC, ALP, tumour markers
- bone scans
- biopsy
benefits of radiotherapy?
- highly effective for local tumour control
- palliation of symptoms such as pain
- organ preservation and avoid need for radical surgery by shrinking tumours
- improved survival
- curative intent
common types of bracytherapy?
- Common types of brachytherapy include intracavitary (within body cavities such as the uterus or vagina), interstitial (directly into tissues), and surface (applicators placed on the skin) brachytherapy.
- Brachytherapy may be used alone or in combination with EBRT
proton therapy?
- Proton therapy uses protons instead of photons (X-rays) to deliver radiation to the tumor.
- Proton therapy can deliver highly conformal radiation to the tumor while minimizing dose to surrounding healthy tissues, potentially reducing side effects.
when is proton therapy useful?
- Proton therapy is particularly useful for treating tumors located near critical structures or in pediatric patients, where minimizing radiation exposure to healthy tissues is crucial.
radioisotope therapy?
- Radioisotope therapy involves administering radioactive substances, either orally or intravenously, that selectively accumulate in tumor cells, delivering radiation directly to the tumor.
when is radioisotope therapy used?
- Examples include radioactive iodine therapy for thyroid cancer and radiopharmaceuticals for treating bone metastases or neuroendocrine tumors.
causes of hypercalcaemia?
- most common causes are malignant hypercalcaemia and primary hyperparathyroidism
malignant hypercalcaemia?
- associated w poor prognosis
- Hypercalcaemia commonly occurs due to release of parathyroid related peptide (PTHrP), which mimics the action of PTH.
- Other mechanisms include osteolytic damage to bone or activation of vitamin D.
primary hyperparathyroidism?
- Primary hyperparathyroidism is the most common cause of hypercalcaemia in the general population.
- It occurs due to excess release of PTH, which leads to bone resorption and excess calcium release.
what is a common cause of primary hyperparathyriodism?
parathyroid adenoma
secondary hyperparathyroidism?
- Secondary hyperparathyroidism is characterised by excess PTH production secondary to low serum calcium, typically due to chronic kidney disease or vitamin D deficiency.
tertiary hyperparathyroidism?
- Tertiary hyperparathyroidism is characterised by autonomous PTH excess due to parathyroid hyperplasia in response to longstanding secondary hyperparathyroidism - seen in patients with chronic kidney disease.
how are primary and tertiary hyperparathyroidism similar?
both cause hypercalcaemia
which type of hyperparathyroidism causes HYPOcalcaemia?
secondary
thyroyoxicosis and hypercalcaemia?
Elevated thyroid hormones can lead to thyroid hormone-mediated bone resorption.
hypercalcaemia - Some conditions lead to excess endogenous production of activated vitamin D, which include:
- Granulomatous disorders(e.g. sarcoidosis)
- Cancers(e.g. lymphoma)
other causes of hypercalcaemia?
- Chronic lithium use: enhances PTH release
- Thiazide diuretics: lowers urinary calcium excretion
- Adrenal insufficiency
Hypercalcaemia - features?
- Bones- fragility fractures, bone pain
- Stones- renal calculi
- Thrones- polyuria, constipation
- Abdominal groans- abdominal pain, N&V, pancreatitis
- Psychic moans- mood disturbance, depression, fatigue, psychosis
signs of hypercalc?
- Dehydration(skin turgor, dry mucous membranes)
- Hypertension
- Cardiac arrhythmia(severe disease)
- Confusion(severe disease)
diagnosis of hypercalcaemia is based on?
serum corrected calcium > 2.6 mmol/L.
hypercal + elevated PTH?
- Elevated PTH(i.e. PTH-mediated): suggestive of primary hyperparathyroidism or tertiary hyperparathyroidism
Hypercal and mid to upper normal PTH?
- Mid-to-upper normal PTH(suspected PTH-mediated): in the context of hypercalcaemia this is considered ‘inappropriately high’ and suggestive of hyperparathyroidism
Hyper cal + low to low normal PTH?
- Low or low-normal PTH(i.e. non-PTH mediated): suggestive of malignancy, which needs to be excluded. Hypervitaminosis D also possible.
Mx of hypercal?
- management of symptomatic hypercalcaemia is primarily fluid resus
- Severe hypercalcaemia requiring inpatient management is typically indicative of a malignant cause.
Mild hypercal Mx?
- Mild (< 3 mmol/L) and asymptomatic/mild symptoms: increase oral fluids and avoid precipitants (e.g. thiazide diuretics, lithium, dehydration).
moderate hypercal Mx?
- Moderate (3-3.5 mmol/L): acute rise requires inpatient admission for intravenous fluids.
- Chronically raised elevations may not require acute management
Severe hypercal Mx?
- Severe (>3.5 mmol/L): all patients require urgent admission to hospital and treatment.
- Treatment involves aggressive intravenous fluids and consideration of bisphosphonates, particularly if malignancy is suspected.
when are bisphosphonates used in hypercal
- considered in severe hypercalcaemia particularly if malignancy is suspected
- Pamidronate or zoledronic acid are typically used.
Alt to bisphosphonates in hypercal?
- An alternative to bisphosphonates is denosumab, which is a monoclonal antibody that binds to RANK ligand and inhibits the action of osteoclasts.
Mx of hypercal - steroids?
- Corticosteroids: may be used in hypervitaminosis D.
Mx of hypercal - surgery?
- Surgery: able to provide a cure in primary hyperparathyroidism. Potential option in tertiary hyperparathyroidism
Mx of hypercal - cinacalcet?
- Cinacalcet: calcimimetic that mimics the action of calcium on calcium-sensing receptors. May be utilised in primary hyperparathyroidism if surgery has failed or not an option. Also used in secondary/tertiary hyperparathyroidism.
Dialysis in Mx of hypercal?
- Dialysis: may be reserved for severe, refractory hypercalcaemia.
Indications for primary radiotherapy?
- Indications for primary radiotherapy include early-stage cancers, inoperable tumors, or cases where surgery is not feasible due to tumor location or patient factors.
Adjuvant radiotherapy?
- adjuvant - after surgery to reduce risk of reccurence
- indications: high risk features such as positive surgical margins, lymph/ vascular invasion
Neoadjuvant radiotherapy?
- neoadjuvant therapy - before surgery to downstage the tumor, improve resectability and facilitate surgical resection
- indications: locally advanced tumors, large tumours requiring downsizing for organ preservation
Palliative radiotherapy?
- palliative therapy - relief of symptoms, pain alleviation, improved QOL
- Indications for palliative radiotherapy include symptomatic relief of pain, bleeding, obstruction, neurological symptoms, or other cancer-related symptoms.
curative intent radiotherapy?
- curative intent therapy - comb w other treatments such as surgery, chemo, or targeted therapies
- indications: localized cancers w potential for cure such as early stage non small cell lung cancer, CC, prostate cancer
indications of radiotherapy other than cancer?
- non cancerous conditions - e.g. benign tumours, vascular malformations, autoimmune
- aim to control symptoms, improve functional outcomes, or prevent disease progression.
bone mets are most commonly from?
- breast
- bronchus
- thyroid
- prostate
- kidney
Osteoblastic bone mets?
consequence of prostate cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and small cell lung cancer