It is well known that patient characteristics and survival outcomes in randomized trials may not necessarily be similar to those in real-life clinical practice. The aim of the present study was to ...analyse second line treatment strategies in the real-world practice and to estimate the outcomes of patients treated with second-line targeted therapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC).
This is a retrospective, registry-based study using data from the national registry of targeted therapies for mRCC. The RENIS registry contains data on 3049 patients who started the therapy with at least one targeted agent before 31 December, 2014. Of these patients, 1029 had a record of at least two different targeted therapies and sufficient data for analysis. Survival analysis was carried out using the Kaplan-Meier method. Statistical significance of differences in survival between subgroups was assessed using the log-rank test.
The median overall survival from the start of second-line treatment was 17.0 months (95% confidence interval CI 14.5-19.5 months), 17.1 months (95% CI 14.5-19.8), and 15.4 months (95% CI 11.0-19.7) for second-line everolimus, sorafenib, and sunitinib, respectively. Patients receiving second-line everolimus were older at the start of second-line treatment, more likely to have metachronous disease, and less likely to be previously treated with cytokines or to continue to third-line treatment than patients treated with second-line sunitinib or sorafenib. Progression-free survival (PFS) correlated with PFS on first-line treatment only for everolimus.
In this retrospective study, no significant differences in survival were observed between the cohorts treated with different second-line agents including everolimus, sorafenib, and sunitinib.
The ARON-2 study (NCT05290038) aimed to assess the real-world efficacy of pembrolizumab in patients recurred or progressed after platinum-based chemotherapy. This retrospective analysis reports the ...outcomes of urothelial carcinoma (UC) patients with bone metastases (BM). Medical records of patients with documented metastatic UC treated by pembrolizumab as second-line therapy were reviewed from60 institutions in 20 countries. Patients were assessed for Overall Response Rate (ORR), Progression-Free Survival (PFS), and Overall Survival (OS). Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to explore the association of variables of interest with OS and PFS. 881 patients were included; of them, 263 (30%) presented BM. Median follow-up time was 22.7 months. Patients with BM showed both shorter median OS (5.9 months vs 13.1 months,
p
< 0.001) and PFS (3.5 months, vs 7.3 months,
p
< 0.001) compared to patients without BM. Patients who received bone targeted agents (BTAs) showed a significantly longer median OS (8.5 months vs 4.6 months,
p
= 0.003) and PFS (6.1 months vs 3.2 months,
p
= 0.003), while no survival benefits were observed among patients who received radiation therapy for BM during pembrolizumab treatment compared to those who did not. In multivariate analysis, performance status, concomitant liver metastases, and the lack of use of BTAs were significantly associated with worse OS and PFS. Bone involvement in UC patients treated with pembrolizumab predicts inferior survival. Poor performance status and liver metastases may further worsen outcomes, while the use of BTAs is associated with improved outcomes.
Pandemic COVID-19 is an unexpected challenge for the oncological community, indicating potential detrimental effects on cancer patients. Our aim was to summarize the converging key points providing a ...general guidance in order to support decision making, pertaining to the oncologic care in the middle of a global outbreak.
We did an international online search in twenty five countries that have managed a surge in cancer patient numbers. We collected the recommendations from thirty one medical oncology societies.
By synthesizing guidelines for a) oncology service delivery adjustments, b) general and specific treatment adaptations, and c) discrepancies from guidelines comparison, we present a clinical synopsis with the forty more crucial statements. A Covid-19 risk stratification base was also created in order to obtain a quick, objective patient assessment and a risk-benefit evaluation on a case-by-case basis.
In an attempt to face these complex needs and due to limited understanding of COVID-19, a variability of recommendations based on general epidemiological and infectious disease principles rather than definite cancer-related evidence has evolved. Additionally, the absence of an effective treatment or vaccine requires the development of cancer management guidance, capitalizing on comprehensive COVID-19 oncology experience globally.
Malignant melanoma in the gastrointestinal tract may be primary or metastatic. Mucosal melanoma is a quite rare and aggressive disease, growing hidden and diagnosed with a certain delay which makes ...treatment difficult.
The authors present the first patient with c-kit exon 11 mutated primary esophageal melanoma treated with oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor masitinib. A 55-year-old-man presented with esophageal melanoma metastising into visceral organs and to the brain. The patient showed objective and clinical significant therapeutic response to masitinib. After initiation of masitinib, dysphagia and odynophagia disappeared within 1 week. Following 1 month of treatment, computed tomography showed a regression in the number and size of brain metastatic lesions and regression in visceral lesions. This therapeutic response, despite the aggressive disease on treatment initiation, effectively enabled the patient to have 6 months of quality life.
This report corroborates the plausibility of treating advanced melanoma carrying a mutation of KIT with masitinib. It also raises the question of masitinib treatment beyond progression. Additionally, the observed masitinib treatment effect on the brain suggests accumulation of therapeutically relevant concentration of masitinib in the central nervous system. This observation has possible ramifications for treatment of intracranial neoplasms.
The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) prognostic model has been widely used for the prediction of the outcome of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) patients treated with systemic ...therapies, however, data from large studies are limited. This study aimed at the evaluation of the impact of the MSKCC score on the outcomes in mRCC patients treated with first-line sunitinib, with a focus on the intermediate-risk group.
Clinical data from 2390 mRCC patients were analysed retrospectively. Progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and objective response rate (ORR) were analysed according to the MSKCC risk score.
ORR, median PFS, and OS for patients with one risk factor were 26.7%, 10.1, and 28.2 months versus 18.7%, 6.2, and 16.2 months, respectively, for those with two risk factors (ORR:
= 0.001, PFS:
< 0.001, OS:
< 0.001). ORR, median PFS, and OS were 33.0%, 17.0, and 44.7 months versus 24.1%, 9.0, and 24.1 months versus 13.4%, 4.5, and 9.5 months in the favourable-, intermediate-, and poor-risk groups, respectively (ORR:
< 0.001, PFS:
< 0.001, OS:
< 0.001).
The results of the present retrospective study demonstrate the suitability of the MSKCC model in mRCC patients treated with first-line sunitinib and suggest different outcomes between patients with one or two risk factors.
Despite the undeniable ongoing development of cross-sectional imaging methods, not all focal liver lesions (FLLs) have a typical pattern. An image-guided biopsy using a percutaneous approach might ...safely provide a final histological diagnosis of the FLLs. We aimed to evaluate the accuracy, efficiency, complication rate, technical features, and relationships between the followed parameters of computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous biopsies of FLLs using a retrospective approach.
303 percutaneous biopsy procedures in 295 patients were carried out in patients with suspected or indeterminate FLLs over a 10-year period. The median size of the tumors was 44 mm (15 - 144 mm). Median age of patients was 67 years (25 to 87 years). Skin-to-lesion distance was variable, from 30 mm to 138 mm (median length 59 mm). In 200 procedures (66%) malignant disease was known from the patients´ clinical history.
In 288 biopsies (95%) the results were true positive or true negative; 15 procedures (4.95%) resulted in a histologically false negative and had to be confirmed using other approaches. Metastatic disease to hepatic parenchyma of various origins was the most frequent histological diagnosis (55.4%). Cholangiocarcinoma was the most common individual result (13.5%). In total 14 complications (4.6%) were confirmed, 4 of which were severe haemorrhages that needed angiographic treatment and in one case surgical revision. The mortality rate in our group was 0.3%. A statistically significant relationship between lesion size and diagnostic accuracy (p < 0.01) was revealed. The use of a 16 G needle calibre and at least two samples were suitable for hypo- and hypervascular lesions without a significant increase in the complication rate.
Core needle biopsy using a percutaneous approach and a CT-guidance performed on patients with indetermined FLLs had a high overall accuracy in determining the final histological diagnosis including subtyping. Concurrently, the complication incidence was low.
Secondary tumors of the ovary account for 10–25% of all ovarian malignancies. The most common tumors that give rise to ovarian metastases include breast, colorectal, endometrial, stomach, and ...appendix cancer. The correct diagnosis of secondary ovarian tumors may be challenging as they are not infrequently misdiagnosed as primary ovarian cancer, particularly in the case of mucinous adenocarcinomas. The distinction from the latter is essential, as it requires different treatment. Immunohistochemistry plays an important role in distinguishing primary ovarian tumors from extra-ovarian metastases and, furthermore, may suggest the primary tumor site. Despite extensive study, some cases remain equivocal even after assessing a broad spectrum of antigens. Therefore, gene expression profiling represents an approach able to further discriminate equivocal findings, and one that has been proven effective in determining the origin of cancer of unknown primary site. The available data concerning secondary ovarian tumors is rather limited owing to the relative heterogeneity of this group and the practical absence of any prospective trials. However, several intriguing questions are encountered in daily practice, including rational diagnostic workup, the role of cytoreductive surgery, and consequent adjuvant chemotherapy. This review seeks to address these issues comprehensively and summarize current knowledge on the epidemiology, pathogenesis, and management of secondary ovarian tumors, including further discussion on the different pathways of metastatisation, metastatic organotropism, and their possible molecular mechanisms.
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