Immune-inflammatory biomarkers (IIBs) showed a prognostic relevance in patients with metastatic CRC (mCRC). We aimed at evaluating the prognostic power of a new comprehensive biomarker, the ...Pan-Immune-Inflammation Value (PIV), in patients with mCRC receiving first-line therapy.
In the present pooled-analysis, we included patients enrolled in the Valentino and TRIBE trials. PIV was calculated as: (neutrophil count × platelet count × monocyte count)/lymphocyte count. A cut-off was determined using the maximally selected rank statistics method. Generalised boosted regression (GBR), the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox hazards regression models were used for survival analyses.
A total of 438 patients were included. Overall, 208 patients (47%) had a low-baseline PIV and 230 (53%) had a high-baseline PIV. Patients with high PIV experienced a worse PFS (HR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.36-2.03, P < 0.001) and worse OS (HR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.57-2.57; P < 0.001) compared to patients with low PIV. PIV outperformed the other IIBs in the GBR model and in the multivariable models.
PIV is a strong predictor of survival outcomes with better performance than other well-known IIBs in patients with mCRC treated with first-line therapy. PIV should be prospectively validated to better stratify mCRC patients undergoing first-line therapy.
The clinical relevance of circadian rhythm modifications in patients on chemotherapy is unknown. Even so, circadian parameter I<O before chemotherapy independently predicted overall survival. This ...study investigates the relevance of I<O measured during chemotherapy for survival and symptoms. The circadian rest‐activity pattern was monitored for 3 days using a wristwatch actigraph while 77 patients were receiving a chemotherapy course within an international randomized Phase III trial. Treatment consisted of first‐line chronomodulated or conventional delivery of 5‐fluorouracil, leucovorin and oxaliplatin for metastatic colorectal cancer. I<O was computed as the percentage of minutes of activity counts in bed which were below the median of activity out of bed. Circadian disruption was defined by I<O equal to or less than 97.5%. Circadian disruption occurred in 39 patients (51%) on chemotherapy. It was associated with a significantly shorter overall survival, independently of other prognostic factors (multivariate Hazard Ratio: 2.12; p = 0.004). The median survival of patients with a robust circadian rhythm was 22.3 months as compared to 14.7 months in those with circadian disruption during chemotherapy. No toxicity was significantly associated with circadian disruption, but the incidence of grade ≥2 fatigue and of body weight loss ≥5% was two and threefold higher, respectively, in patients with disrupted circadian rhythm on chemotherapy. Chemotherapy disrupted circadian activity rhythm in nearly 50% of the patients. Circadian disruption on chemotherapy predicted for shorter overall survival. The prevention of chemotherapy‐induced circadian disruption might reduce toxicity and improve efficacy in cancer patients.
Introduction
The combination of anti-EGFRs and doublet chemotherapy is considered the optimal upfront option for patients with
RAS
/
BRAF
wild-type left-sided metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). The ...prophylactic or reactive treatment with tetracyclines for EGFR inhibitor-induced skin toxicity is currently clinical practice, though non-conclusive results are available.
Methods
We performed a post hoc analysis of the Valentino study that randomized
RAS
wild-type mCRC patients to two panitumumab-based maintenance regimens after the first-line induction, aimed at assessing the safety and efficacy of the administration of a pre-emptive doxycycline prophylaxis for anti-EGFR-related skin toxicity. We assessed the rate of treatment-related and panitumumab-related adverse events (AEs), treatment intensity, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS).
Results
A total of 226 patients, out of the 229 enrolled in the Valentino study, were eligible for the analysis. Overall, 143 (63%) and 83 (37%) patients received or not the antibiotic prophylaxis for skin toxicity. Any grade and G3/4 panitumumab-related AEs were reported in 89% versus 92% (
p
= 0.650) and 27% versus 27% (
p
= 1.000) patients who received or not the pre-emptive prophylaxis, respectively. Any grade and G3/4 skin rash occurred in 81% versus 90% (
p
= 0.085) and 27% versus 25% (
p
= 0.876) patients receiving or not the prophylaxis, respectively. No significant differences in terms of treatment duration, treatment delays or dose reductions, PFS, and OS were observed in the two sub-populations.
Conclusion
The adequate management of anti-EGFR-related skin toxicity is fundamental to optimize the outcome of mCRC patients, balancing the survival benefit with patients’ quality of life, especially in the first-line setting.
Purpose
The aim of this study is to investigate clinicopathologic characteristics and to identify prognostic factors in patients undergoing pulmonary metastasectomy for colorectal carcinoma.
Methods
...This study is a single-institution retrospective study of 137 consecutive patients who underwent 158 pulmonary resections for metastatic colorectal carcinoma between January 1989 and June 2008.
Results
Median disease-free interval between colorectal resection and pulmonary metastasectomy was 35.6 months (range, 0.6 to 154.3 months). No perioperative deaths occurred. Follow-up was 100% complete and mean follow-up was 41.6 ± 27.6 months. Median survival was 36.2 months (range, 4.6 to 126 months). Overall 5- and 10-year survival rates were 55.4% and 30.8%, respectively, after pulmonary metastasectomy. At univariate analysis of patient survival, number of lung metastases (
p
= 0.002), disease-free interval of more than 24 month (
p
= 0.013), and absence of residual tumor (
p
= 0.024) were significant prognostic factors. At multivariate analysis, presence of solitary lung metastasis and disease-free interval of more than 24 months remained significant prognostic factors. There was no significant difference in the 5-year survival for 121 patients undergoing single thoracotomy compared with 16 patients undergoing repeated resection(s) for recurrent colorectal lung metastasis (55.1% vs 59.5%;
p
= 0.79). Nor was the presence of hepatic metastasis associated with lower outcome (
p
= 0.77).
Conclusions
Disease-free interval and number of metastases are the most significant prognostic factors for survival after pulmonary metastasectomy for colorectal carcinoma. Recurrent pulmonary disease can benefit from repeated resection. Prior hepatectomy for liver involvement does not influence survival.
In two previous randomized trials, the adjustment of chemotherapy delivery to circadian rhythms improved tolerability and anticancer activity compared with constant-rate infusion during 5 days in ...patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.
For this multicenter randomized trial, it was hypothesized that a chronomodulated infusion of fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin for 4 days (chronoFLO4) would improve survival by 10% compared with conventional 2-day delivery of the same drugs (FOLFOX2). Patients were treated every 2 weeks with intrapatient dose escalation.
Baseline characteristics were similar in both arms for the 564 patients (36 institutions, 10 countries). Median survival was 19.6 months (95% confidence limit CL = 18.2, 21.2) with chronoFLO4 and 18.7 months with FOLFOX2 (95% CL = 17.7, 21.0; P = .55). The main dose-limiting toxicities were diarrhea for chronoFLO4 and neutropenia for FOLFOX2. The analysis of survival predictors showed that sex was the single most important factor (P = .001). In women, the risk of an earlier death with chronoFLO4 was increased by 38% compared with FOLFOX2, with median survival times of 16.3 and 19.1 months (P = .03), respectively. In men, the risk of death was decreased by 25% with chronoFLO4 compared with FOLFOX2, with median survival times of 21.4 and 18.3 months (P = .02), respectively.
Both regimens achieved similar median survival times more than 18 months with an acceptable toxicity. The chronomodulated schedule produced a survival advantage over FOLFOX in men. The strong sex dependency of optimal scheduling of fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin calls for translational investigations of determinants related to the patient's molecular clock.
Adenocarcinomas of the oral cavity are rare neoplasms, and only four cases of primary colonic adenocarcinoma of the tongue have ever been described in literature. Very few information about ...chemotherapy sensitiveness of this type of neoplasia is available, with only one regimen that showed some activity in a metastatic patient.
We describe the case of a patient bearing a metastatic colonic adenocarcinoma of the tongue submitted to a first-line chemotherapy with oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil and folinic acid (FOLFOX regimen). After chemotherapy the patient obtained the complete disappearance of the primitive neoplasia located in the body of the tongue, and a tumor size reduction > 50% of liver and lung metastases.
This case demonstrated the activity of the combination of oxaliplatin and 5-fluorouracil in this very rare neoplasia. The FOLFOX regimen might be considered either in advanced and especially in the neoadjuvant setting, when the reduction of the primary tumor is highly needed.
Opioid therapy must be adjusted to the rhythm of a cancer patient's pain to ensure adequate symptom control at the end of life (EOL). However, to-date no study has explored the rhythm of breakthrough ...pain (BTP) episodes in terminally-ill cancer patients. This prospective longitudinal study was aimed at verifying the existence of a circadian rhythm of BTP episodes in terminally-ill cancer patients. Consecutive adult cancer patients at their EOL treated with long-acting major opioids to control background pain (Numeric Rating Scale ≤ 3/10) were recruited from two Italian palliative care services. Using a personal diary, patients recorded the frequency and onset of BTP episodes and the analgesic rescue therapy taken for each episode over a 7-day period. Rhythms identified in BTP episodes were validated by Cosinor analysis. Overall, 101 patients were enrolled; nine died during the study period. A total of 665 BTP episodes were recorded (average of 7.2 episodes, mean square error 0.8) per patient, with 80.6% of episodes recorded between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m. At Cosinor analysis, a circadian rhythm of BTP episodes was observed, with a Midline Estimating Statistics of the Rhythm (MESOR) of 1.5, a double amplitude of 1.8, and an acrophase at 12:30 p.m. (
< 0.001). Oral morphine was the most frequent analgesic rescue therapy employed. In terminally-ill cancer patients, BTP episodes follow a circadian rhythm; thus, tailoring the timing of opioid administration to this rhythm may prevent such episodes. This circadian rhythm of BTP episodes in terminally-ill cancer patients should be confirmed in larger samples.
A recent study identified a prognostic model for survival in metastatic colorectal cancer patients which included WBC count, alkaline phosphatase (AP), number of metastatic sites, and patients' ...self-reported social functioning. The aim of this research is to validate this model on data from an independent sample.
This validation study is based on a prospective randomized controlled trial in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer conducted by the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Chronotherapy Group. Overall, 564 patients in 10 countries were enrolled. For the purpose of this independent validation, patients with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) baseline data were analyzed. HRQOL was assessed using the EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire C30 (QLQ-C30). The Cox proportional hazards regression model was used for both univariate and multivariate analyses of survival.
The previous model with an additional adjustment, by stratification for sex, was replicated and its parameters were confirmed to independently predict survival: WBC count with an hazard ratio (HR) of 1.31 (95% CI, 1.021 to 1.698; P = .034); AP with an HR of 1.53 (95% CI, 1.188 to 1.979; P = .001); number of sites involved with an HR of 1.90 (95% CI, 1.531 to 2.364; P < .0001); and patients' self-reported social functioning with an HR of 0.94 (95% CI, 0.905 to 0.976; P = .001). The latter translates into a 6% increase in the likelihood of an earlier death for every 10-point decrease in the social functioning scale of the EORTC QLQ-C30.
This study provides confirmatory evidence of the independent prognostic value of patients' self-reported social functioning in patients with advanced colorectal cancer.
Background
The treatment of refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (rmCRC) and the lack of predictive variables are matters of debate.
Patients and methods
We conducted a multicentre phase II trial ...assessing the disease control rate (DCR) of the combination of tegafur/uracil and mitomycin C in rmCRC. The number of previous lines of chemotherapy, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels, progression-free survival of the last chemotherapy regimen (PPFS), and the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet/lymphocyte ratio at the time of study entry were evaluated as indicators of early progression.
Results
We enrolled 42 patients. The combination was well tolerated with a DCR of 26.2% and median overall survival of 6.9 months. Low CEA levels, PPFS >6 months and low NLR were significantly associated with better prognosis.
Conclusion
The study failed its primary endpoint. However, some putative indicators of early progressive patients have been described.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate progression-free survival (PFS) and objective response rate (ORR) as surrogate endpoints of overall survival (OS) in modern clinical trials investigating the ...efficacy of targeted agents in the second-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).
A systematic search of literature pertaining to randomized phase II and III trials evaluating targeted agents as second-line treatments for mCRC was performed. The strength of the correlation between both PFS and ORR and OS was assessed based on the Pearson's correlation coefficient (R) and the coefficient of determination (R
).
Twenty trials, including a total of 7,571 patients, met the search criteria. The median duration of post-progression survival (PPS) was 7.6 months. The median differences between experimental and control arms were 0.65 months (range, -2.4 to 3.4) for the median PFS and 0.7 months (range, -5.8 to 3.9) for the median OS. PFS and ORR showed moderate (R=0.734, R
=0.539, p < 0.001) and poor correlation (R=0.169, R
=0.029, p=0.476) with OS, respectively. No differences between anti-angiogenic agents and other drugs were evident.
Targeted agents investigated in the second-line treatment of mCRC provided minimal PFS gains translating into modest OS improvements. Considering both the moderate correlation between PFS and OS and the short duration of PPS, the OS should remain the preferred primary endpoint for randomized clinical trials in the second-line treatment of mCRC.
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