SummaryBackgroundExtraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma is a rare sarcoma with low sensitivity to cytotoxic chemotherapy. Retrospective evidence suggests that antiangiogenic drugs could be a treatment ...option. We aimed to investigate the activity of pazopanib, an antiangiogenic drug, in patients with advanced extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma. MethodsIn this single-arm, open-label phase 2 trial, three parallel independent cohorts of different histotypes of advanced sarcomas were recruited (extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma, typical solitary fibrous tumour, and malignant-dedifferentiated solitary fibrous tumour). In each cohort, patients received pazopanib. In this Article, we report the results of the cohort of patients with advanced extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma. Separate reporting of the three cohorts was prespecified in the study protocol. In this cohort, adult patients (aged ≥18 years) with a diagnosis of NR4A3-translocated, metastatic, or unresectable extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma, who had Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) progression in the previous 6 months, and had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0–2, were enrolled at 11 study sites of the Spanish, Italian, and French sarcoma groups. Patients received oral pazopanib (800 mg/day) continuously, until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, death, non-compliance, patient refusal, or investigator's decision. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients achieving an objective response according to RECIST 1·1 in the modified intention-to-treat population (patients who provided consent and had a central molecularly confirmed diagnosis of extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma). The safety analysis included all patients who received at least one dose of pazopanib. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02066285. FindingsBetween June 24, 2014, and Jan 17, 2017, 26 patients entered the study and started pazopanib. Of these, 23 met the eligibility criteria for the modified intention-to-treat analysis. Median follow-up was 27 months (IQR 18–30). 22 patients (one patient died before the primary analysis) were evaluable for the primary endpoint: four (18% 95% CI 1–36) had a RECIST objective response. No deaths or grade 4 adverse events occurred. The most frequent grade 3 adverse events were hypertension (nine 35% of 26 patients), increased concentration of alanine aminotransferase (six 23%), and increased aspartate aminotransferase (five 19%). InterpretationPazopanib had clinically meaningful antitumour activity in patients with progressive and advanced extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma, and could be considered a suitable option after failure to respond to first-line anthracycline-based chemotherapy in these patients. FundingSpanish Group for Research on Sarcomas, Italian Sarcoma Group, French Sarcoma Group, GlaxoSmithKline, and Novartis.
The aim of this study was to identify an easily reliable prognostic score that selects the subset of advanced soft tissue sarcoma (ASTS) patients with a higher benefit with trabectedin in terms of ...time to progression and overall survival. A retrospective series of 357 patients with ASTS treated with trabectedin as second- or further-line in 19 centers across Spain was analyzed. First, it was confirmed that patients with high growth modulation index (GMI > 1.33) were associated with the better clinical outcome. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify factors associated with a GMI > 1.33. Thus, GEISTRA score was based on metastasis free-interval (MFI ≤ 9.7 months), Karnofsky < 80%, Non L-sarcomas and better response in the previous systemic line. The median GMI was 0.82 (0-69), with 198 patients (55%) with a GMI < 1, 41 (11.5%) with a GMI 1-1.33 and 118 (33.1%) with a GMI > 1.33. The lowest GEISTRA score showed a median of time-to-progression (TTP) and overall survival (OS) of 5.7 and 19.5 months, respectively, whereas it was 1.8 and 3.1 months for TTP and OS, respectively, for the GEISTRA 4 score. This prognostic tool can contribute to better selecting candidates for trabectedin treatment in ASTS.
Glioblastoma (GB) is an aggressive tumor type and the detection of circulating endothelial cells (CECs) in peripheral blood has been related to angiogenesis.
: A prospective single-center pilot study ...of CEC detection at diagnosis in 22 patients with GB was performed, using the US FDA-approved CellSearch system.
A CEC cutoff value was estimated using a receiver operating curve (ROC) and patients were classified into two groups: <40 CEC/4 ml and >40 CEC/4 ml blood. Median overall survival was 25.33 months for group 1 and 8.23 months for group 2 cases (p = 0.02). There was no correlation between CEC and PWI (perfusion-weighted imaging) RM.
CEC detection has a prognostic value in GB cases at diagnosis.
Glioblastoma is an aggressive tumor type with a general poor prognosis. Endothelial cell detection in blood samples has been previously described as a marker of outcome in many tumor types. A US FDA-approved device, CellSearch, was used for CEC detection. The patients were split into two groups according to a cutoff value with the highest sensitivity and specificity, group 1 <40 and group 2 >40 CEC/4 ml blood. Patients with >40 CEC at diagnosis had a poorer overall survival; 25.33 months for group 1 and 8.23 months group 2 cases, which was statistically significant.
Glioblastoma is a disease with a poor prognosis. Multiple efforts have been made to improve the long-term outcome, but the 5-year survival rate is still 5–10%. Recurrence of the disease is the usual ...way of progression. In this situation, there is no standard treatment. Different treatment options can be considered. Among them would be reoperation or reirradiation. There are different studies that have assessed the impact on survival and the selection of patients who may benefit most from these strategies. Chemotherapy treatments have also been considered in several studies, mainly with alkylating agents, with data mostly from phase II studies. On the other hand, multiple studies have been carried out with target-directed treatments. Bevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody with anti-angiogenic activity, has demonstrated activity in several studies, and the FDA has approved it for this indication. Several other TKI drugs have been evaluated in this setting, but no clear benefit has been demonstrated. Immunotherapy treatments have been shown to be effective in other types of tumors, and several studies have evaluated their efficacy in this disease, both immune checkpoint inhibitors, oncolytic viruses, and vaccines. This paper reviews data from different studies that have evaluated the efficacy of different forms of relapsed glioblastoma.
HMGA1 is a structural epigenetic chromatin factor that has been associated with tumor progression and drug resistance. Here, we reported the prognostic/predictive value of HMGA1 for trabectedin in ...advanced soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) and the effect of inhibiting HMGA1 or the mTOR downstream pathway in trabectedin activity. The prognostic/predictive value of HMGA1 expression was assessed in a cohort of 301 STS patients at mRNA (n = 133) and protein level (n = 272), by HTG EdgeSeq transcriptomics and immunohistochemistry, respectively. The effect of HMGA1 silencing on trabectedin activity and gene expression profiling was measured in leiomyosarcoma cells. The effect of combining mTOR inhibitors with trabectedin was assessed on cell viability in vitro studies, whereas in vivo studies tested the activity of this combination.
HMGA1
mRNA and protein expression were significantly associated with worse progression-free survival of trabectedin and worse overall survival in STS. HMGA1 silencing sensitized leiomyosarcoma cells for trabectedin treatment, reducing the spheroid area and increasing cell death. The downregulation of HGMA1 significantly decreased the enrichment of some specific gene sets, including the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. The inhibition of mTOR, sensitized leiomyosarcoma cultures for trabectedin treatment, increasing cell death. In in vivo studies, the combination of rapamycin with trabectedin downregulated HMGA1 expression and stabilized tumor growth of 3-methylcholantrene-induced sarcoma-like models. HMGA1 is an adverse prognostic factor for trabectedin treatment in advanced STS. HMGA1 silencing increases trabectedin efficacy, in part by modulating the mTOR signaling pathway. Trabectedin plus mTOR inhibitors are active in preclinical models of sarcoma, downregulating HMGA1 expression levels and stabilizing tumor growth.
The 2021 World Health Organization (WHO) classification has updated the definition of grade 2 gliomas and the presence of isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutation has been deemed the cornerstone of ...diagnosis. Though slow-growing and having a low proliferative index, grade 2 gliomas are incurable by surgery and complementary treatments are vital to improving prognosis. This guideline provides recommendations on the multidisciplinary treatment of grade 2 astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas based on the best evidence available.
Predictive biomarkers of trabectedin represent an unmet need in advanced soft‐tissue sarcomas (STS). DNA damage repair (DDR) genes, involved in homologous recombination or nucleotide excision repair, ...had been previously described as biomarkers of trabectedin resistance or sensitivity, respectively. The majority of these studies only focused on specific factors (ERCC1, ERCC5, and BRCA1) and did not evaluate several other DDR‐related genes that could have a relevant role for trabectedin efficacy. In this retrospective translational study, 118 genes involved in DDR were evaluated to determine, by transcriptomics, a predictive gene signature of trabectedin efficacy. A six‐gene predictive signature of trabectedin efficacy was built in a series of 139 tumor samples from patients with advanced STS. Patients in the high‐risk gene signature group showed a significantly worse progression‐free survival compared with patients in the low‐risk group (2.1 vs 6.0 months, respectively). Differential gene expression analysis defined new potential predictive biomarkers of trabectedin sensitivity (PARP3 and CCNH) or resistance (DNAJB11 and PARP1). Our study identified a new gene signature that significantly predicts patients with higher probability to respond to treatment with trabectedin. Targeting some genes of this signature emerges as a potential strategy to enhance trabectedin efficacy.
By using direct transcriptomics, we identified a new DNA damage repair gene‐associated signature with predictive value for trabectedin efficacy in soft‐tissue sarcoma (STS). Patients in the high‐risk gene signature group showed a significantly worse progression‐free survival compared to patients in the low‐risk group. These findings may help in identifying new therapeutic targets that could enhance the efficacy of trabectedin in STS.
The improvement of molecular alterations in cancer as well as the development of technology has allowed us to bring closer to clinical practice the determination of molecular alterations in the ...diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The use of multidetermination platforms is spreading in most Spanish hospitals. The objective of these clinical practice guides is to review their usefulness, and establish usage guidelines that guide their incorporation into clinical practice.
BACKGROUND: The management of glioblastoma (GB) in elderly patients is not well established, since until recently they have been excluded from randomized trials and there are concerns about the ...toxicity. METHODS: The authors retrospectively reviewed 53 patients at a single institution from 2005 to 2013. Patients were 70 years of age and older with histologically confirmed GB. RESULTS: Median age was 75 years (70-88y). Fifty-six percent men, 43% women. Majority had some kind of minor morbidity (89%), mainly arterial hypertension (55%). Complete resection was performed in 52%. Biopsy in 8%. 90% had presurgical KPS >70. Seven (14%) had worse KPS after surgery. 71% received radiotherapy, in 45% 60 Gy and in 26% 30 Gy. Nearly 40% were treated with concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide. The median number of cycles was 4,43 (1-14). 6% had grade 3 or 4 neutropenia or trombocitopenia. 24% had grade 1 asthenia or nausea and vomits. Median overall survival (OS) for the whole cohort was 7,36 m (95% CI 4,8-9,8). Median progression free survival was 5.9 m (3-8.7m). Treatment with temozolomide concomitant and adjuvant (Stupp regimen) was associated with longer OS (11,16 vs 4,1m p = 0.008 ). The median OS was 8,3 m. for those who received radiotherapy and 1,5m for those who did not (p = 0,046). No statistical differences were found between those treated with 60 or 30 Gy (p = 0.143). Nearly 10% was older than 80. Median OS in these patients was 4,2m even though 71% had a complete resection. CONCLUSION: In our experience, in selected patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma over the age of 70, more intensive treatment was associated with prolonged OS, and results are close to those obtained in younger patients. Nevertheless these are retrospective data, selection bias should be considerer. Further randomized trial should be conducted to investigate this topic.
BACKGROUND: The management of glioblastoma (GB) in elderly patients is not well established, since until recently they have been excluded from randomized trials and there are concerns about the ...toxicity. METHODS: The authors retrospectively reviewed 53 patients at a single institution from 2005 to 2013. Patients were 70 years of age and older with histologically confirmed GB. RESULTS: Median age was 75 years (70-88y). Fifty-six percent men, 43% women. Majority had some kind of minor morbidity (89%), mainly arterial hypertension (55%). Complete resection was performed in 52%. Biopsy in 8%. 90% had presurgical KPS >70. Seven (14%) had worse KPS after surgery. 71% received radiotherapy, in 45% 60 Gy and in 26% 30 Gy. Nearly 40% were treated with concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide. The median number of cycles was 4,43 (1-14). 6% had grade 3 or 4 neutropenia or trombocitopenia. 24% had grade 1 asthenia or nausea and vomits. Median overall survival (OS) for the whole cohort was 7,36 m (95% CI 4,8-9,8). Median progression free survival was 5.9 m (3-8.7m). Treatment with temozolomide concomitant and adjuvant (Stupp regimen) was associated with longer OS (11,16 vs 4,1m p = 0.008 ). The median OS was 8,3 m. for those who received radiotherapy and 1,5m for those who did not (p = 0,046). No statistical differences were found between those treated with 60 or 30 Gy (p = 0.143). Nearly 10% was older than 80. Median OS in these patients was 4,2m even though 71% had a complete resection. CONCLUSION: In our experience, in selected patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma over the age of 70, more intensive treatment was associated with prolonged OS, and results are close to those obtained in younger patients. Nevertheless these are retrospective data, selection bias should be considerer. Further randomized trial should be conducted to investigate this topic.
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