Cancer treatment and research communications最新文献

{"title":"An investigation into the manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD Val-9Ala) gene polymorphisms employing high-resolution melting in patients with gastric cancer: A preliminary study","authors":"Alireza Moradabadi ,&nbsp;Maryam Fekri-Soofiabadi ,&nbsp;Atefeh Soltani ,&nbsp;Shahriar Dabiri","doi":"10.1016/j.ctarc.2025.100942","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ctarc.2025.100942","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Background: Gastric cancer with complex carcinogenesis and a multi-factorial immunopathophysiology is well-known as the third life-threatening type of cancer in Asia. In this regard, it has been demonstrated that the role of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in these processes should not be underestimated. Besides, mitochondrial Manganese Superoxide Dismutase (MnSOD) with antioxidant properties show protective effects against ROS. On the other hand, MnSOD catalyzes the dismutation of superoxide radicals to H2O2 and oxygen reactions. A replacement of T with C at nucleotide 47 (Val-9Ala) leads to a change in MnSOD nascent protein signal sequences and builds a relationship with gastric cancer. Therefore, the authors aimed at investigating the Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in patients with gastric cancer by employing High-Resolution Melting.</div><div>Methodology: In order to investigate the (T/C) polymorphisms of MnSOD, the genomic DNA of 30 paraffin-embedded tissue samples were collected from patients with gastric cancer and 30 healthy people, respectively. An investigation was conducted into the T/C polymorphisms of MnSOD by employing High Resolution Melting (HRM) in different melting temperatures (Tm). Afterward, the sequencing was carried out.</div><div>Results: Our findings obtained from HRM methods confirmed the SNP genotypes in each group. It is worth mentioning that frequencies of Ala/Ala, Ala/Val, and Val/Val genotypes in MnSOD in the healthy group were 13 (43.3 %), 13 (43.3 %), and 4 (13.3 %), respectively. On the other hand, in the understudy case group, frequencies for the aforementioned genotypes were 5 (16.6 %), 16 (53.3 %), and 9 (30 %), respectively. Besides, the frequencies of the Ala allele in gastric cancer were reported to be 43 % and 54 % for healthy people. Frequencies for the Val allele in the studied case and the control groups were 44 % and 56 %, respectively. The sensitivity and the specificity of the HRM method in detecting MnSOD SNPs were reported to be 100 %.</div><div>Conclusion: by taking into account the contributing roles of MnSOD SNPs in the induction of gastric cancer, it is highly recommended to create collaboration among basic medical scientists, geneticists, gastroenterologists, medical laboratory scientists, pathologists, and hematologists for more promising results and improved outcome of the diagnosis. Accordingly, we conducted an investigation with diagnostic purposes into the frequencies in SNPs for patients with gastric cancer.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9507,"journal":{"name":"Cancer treatment and research communications","volume":"44 ","pages":"Article 100942"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144107590","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Real-world treatment patterns of patients with EGFR exon 20 insertion–mutated advanced NSCLC treated with amivantamab or mobocertinib after platinum-based chemotherapy: A multi-database cohort study","authors":"Alexander Spira ,&nbsp;Dexter Waters ,&nbsp;Tao Ran ,&nbsp;Pratyusha Vadagam ,&nbsp;Jinghua He ,&nbsp;Julie Vanderpoel ,&nbsp;Anjali Donnelly ,&nbsp;Iris Lin","doi":"10.1016/j.ctarc.2025.100944","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ctarc.2025.100944","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>To describe characteristics, treatment patterns, and outcomes of patients with <em>EGFR</em> exon 20 insertion (exon20ins)-positive advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received amivantamab or mobocertinib monotherapy after platinum-based chemotherapy (PBC).</div></div><div><h3>Patients and Methods</h3><div>This retrospective longitudinal cohort study pooled electronic health records from the Flatiron Health (January 2011-August 2022), Ontada (January 2013-January 2023), and COTA (January 2010-December 2022) databases. Patients (≥20 years) with advanced or metastatic <em>EGFR</em> exon20ins NSCLC who received amivantamab or mobocertinib following PBC were included. Patient characteristics and treatment patterns were analyzed descriptively. Time to next treatment or death (TTNTD) and time to discontinuation (TTD) were assessed using Kaplan-Meier estimates.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>44 patients treated with amivantamab and 24 patients with mobocertinib after PBC met the selection criteria. Patient characteristics were consistent with previous studies. Most patients received amivantamab or mobocertinib as second-line (57 % and 50 %) or third-line (32 % and 33 %) therapy. The median TTNTD was 9.2 months for amivantamab and 4.2 months for mobocertinib. Fewer patients in the amivantamab cohort (43 %) experienced a TTNTD event than the mobocertinib cohort (63 %). The median TTD was 8.6 months for amivantamab and 2.3 months for mobocertinib, with a lower discontinuation rate in the amivantamab cohort (46 % vs 67 %).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Real-world patients with <em>EGFR</em> exon20ins NSCLC treated with amivantamab after PBC experienced median TTNTD and TTD consistent with the median progression-free survival observed in its registrational trial while patients treated with mobocertinib exhibited faster disease progression and a higher frequency of treatment discontinuation.</div></div><div><h3>MicroAbstract</h3><div>This retrospective study described patient characteristics, treatment patterns, and outcomes in patients with <em>EGFR</em> exon20ins-mutated advanced or metastatic NSCLC who received amivantamab or mobocertinib monotherapy after platinum-based chemotherapy. Real-world patients treated with amivantamab experienced TTNTD and TTD consistent with the median progression-free survival observed in its registrational trial, while patients treated with mobocertinib exhibited faster disease progression and a higher frequency of treatment discontinuation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9507,"journal":{"name":"Cancer treatment and research communications","volume":"44 ","pages":"Article 100944"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144117111","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Trop-2 expression as a biomarker of response to sacituzumab govitecan in patients with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer: A pilot study","authors":"Alexis LeVee,&nbsp;Megan Wong,&nbsp;Nora Ruel,&nbsp;Daniel Schmolze,&nbsp;Min Han,&nbsp;Joanne Mortimer,&nbsp;Christina Wei","doi":"10.1016/j.ctarc.2025.100954","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ctarc.2025.100954","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Sacituzumab govitecan (SG) is an anti-Trop-2 antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) approved for use in HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer (MBC). This study explores whether Trop-2 expression serves as a biomarker of excellent response versus non-response to sacituzumab govitecan (SG) in HER2-negative MBC.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Trop-2 expression was determined from patients with HER2-negative MBC categorized as non-responders and excellent responders to SG. Excellent response was defined by a complete or partial response and a progression-free survival (PFS) greater than the median of the cohort. Non-response was defined by progressive disease within 3 months. Trop-2 expression was determined based on percentage of cells staining and a histochemical score (H-score).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Of the 15 patients with HER2-negative MBC (8 non-responders/7 excellent responders), the median Trop-2 expression rate was 100 % in both groups (<em>p</em>=0.3). H-score was also similar between the groups, with a median H-score of 270 (range 25–300) in non-responders and 280 (range 120–290) in responders (<em>p</em>=1.0). Lower Trop-2 percent expression was associated with shorter PFS (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.014; 95 % CI, 0–0.52; <em>p</em>=0.018), although Trop-2 expression by H-score was not predictive of PFS (HR: 0.994; 95 % CI, 0.987–1.002; <em>p</em>=0.12). One non-responder had an H-score of 25, which may represent a complete lack of Trop-2 expression.</div></div><div><h3>Discussion</h3><div>In this study, Trop-2 expression did not predict excellent response versus non-response to SG in patients with HER2-negative MBC. Low Trop-2 expression, as determined by percentage staining, was predictive of shorter PFS, although the same association was not observed using the H-score. A complete lack of Trop-2 expression may predict SG ineffective, which requires further investigation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9507,"journal":{"name":"Cancer treatment and research communications","volume":"44 ","pages":"Article 100954"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144270339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Second-line therapy adjustment for advanced pancreatic cancer using circulating tumor cells: Preliminary results","authors":"Joachim Drevs ,&nbsp;Mandeep Singh Malhotra ,&nbsp;Huseyin Sahinbas ,&nbsp;Aggelos Iliopoulos ,&nbsp;George Beis ,&nbsp;Panagiotis Apostolou ,&nbsp;Ioannis Papasotiriou","doi":"10.1016/j.ctarc.2025.100956","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ctarc.2025.100956","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>The determination of the optimal second-line (2L) chemotherapy for advanced pancreatic cancer (APC) is still unanswered. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in proposing 2L treatments for APC.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We analyzed CTCs from 17 patients (experimental group) with APC, for whom first-line treatment was ineffective. Based on chemosensitivity/viability assays on several chemotherapeutic drugs, which were performed on CTCs isolated from patients, a 2L treatment was proposed for each patient. Median survival (MS) was used as the primary endpoint to compare the survival curve of the experimental group with the reconstructed survival curves of two 2L best supportive care (2L-BSC) groups with 23 and 18 patients, respectively. Moreover, using a meta-analysis of 2L-BSC summary statistics (medians) published in various papers, a pooled weighted MS was estimated and compared with one estimated for the experimental group. Finally, the statistical significance of the difference between the experimental and the two 2L-BSC groups was examined by applying statistical tests, like LR and RMST.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The MS for the treatment group (7 months) was found to be greater than the MS of the two 2L-BSC groups (2.29 and 2.4 months, respectively). This result was supported since the weighted MS was found at 2.70 months. The results were found statistically significant.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>The preliminary results indicate that 2L treatment based on CTCs’ response <em>in vitro</em> prolongs MS of APC patients compared with 2L-BSC-treated ones, potentially leading to the development of more effective 2L APC therapy plans.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9507,"journal":{"name":"Cancer treatment and research communications","volume":"44 ","pages":"Article 100956"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144338366","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The effect of postoperative chemotherapy on blood glucose and prognosis in patients with advanced ovarian cancer","authors":"Ting Du,&nbsp;Xueli Zha,&nbsp;Yawen Zhang,&nbsp;Qin Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.ctarc.2025.100980","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ctarc.2025.100980","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>Recent studies have shown that chemotherapy can cause abnormal glucose metabolism in cancer patients; however, little is known about the association of blood glucose (BG) with chemotherapy in ovarian cancer. In this study, we investigated the effect of chemotherapy on glucose metabolism in patients with advanced ovarian cancer and its effect on patient prognosis.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We retrospectively analyzed blood glucose and other clinical data from 100 patients with advanced ovarian cancer (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, FIGO III/IV) before and after chemotherapy. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to calculate OS Overall Survival) survival curves for patients in the BG-High and BG-Low groups, and logarithmic rank statistics (Mantel-Cox) to assess associations between clinical outcomes and related indicators of patients<strong>.</strong></div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Of the 100 patients with advanced ovarian cancer (OC) included in this study, 49 patients (49 %) had stage III disease, and 51 had stage IV disease according to FIGO classification. In total, 65 patients (65 %) achieved R0 surgical resection, while 35 patients (35 %) achieved R1, after complete surgical resection or satisfactory cytoreductive surgery followed by paclitaxel-carboplatin chemotherapy every three weeks for a total of six cycles. According to blood glucose (BG) levels after chemotherapy, patients were divided into two groups: blood glucose ≥ 6.1mmol/L (BG High) and blood glucose &lt; 6.1mmol/L (BG Low). Thirty-two patients (BG High) had elevated fasting blood glucose levels after chemotherapy. Of these, six patients were definitively diagnosed with diabetes, fasting BG ≥7.0 mmol/L, and 26 patients had impaired fasting blood glucose, fasting BG 6.1–6.9 mmol/L; this difference was statistically significant (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the mean 5-year OS (probability of survival from diagnosis to 5 years post-treatment) of 100 patients with OC in this study were 33 months. The mean OS of patients in the BG-LOW group was 37 months compared to 28 months in the BG-High group; this difference was statistically significant (<em>P</em> &lt;0.01). The Cox regression model indicated that post-chemotherapy blood glucose levels exerted an independent effect on OS in OC patients (hazard ratio [HR]: 3.4; 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 2.0–5.7; <em>P</em> &lt; 0.01). In addition, FIGO staging and surgical R0 resection also exerted independent effects on patient survival.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Patients with advanced ovarian cancer experience hyperglycemia during adjuvant chemotherapy. Furthermore, an increase in blood glucose after chemotherapy is associated with a poor prognosis. Our findings identified potential chemotherapy risks and highlighted the importance of preventing hyperglycemia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9507,"journal":{"name":"Cancer treatment and research communications","volume":"44 ","pages":"Article 100980"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144828967","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring the prognostic significance of vitamin D deficiency in pancreatic cancer: Disease progression and survival outcomes","authors":"Aladeen Alloubani,&nbsp;Baraa Abadalhaq,&nbsp;Amal Alshami,&nbsp;Diana Fakhory,&nbsp;Feras Abdalghani,&nbsp;Mallak Almasri,&nbsp;Maysa Alkouz","doi":"10.1016/j.ctarc.2025.100917","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ctarc.2025.100917","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most aggressive malignancies with limited treatment options and poor survival rates. Vitamin D deficiency has been suggested to influence cancer progression and survival outcomes in various malignancies.</div></div><div><h3>Aim</h3><div>This study aimed to investigate the association between Vitamin D deficiency and disease progression as well as survival in patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A retrospective cohort study was conducted, including 151 patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer between 2012 and 2022. Serum Vitamin D levels at the time of diagnosis were measured. Disease progression was evaluated through radiological assessments and clinical reports. Survival outcomes, including overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazards regression models.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Of the 151 patients, 84 (56 %) were identified as Vitamin D deficient at the time of diagnosis. The deficient group exhibited a significantly higher frequency of advanced-stage disease (stages III and IV) compared to the non-deficient group (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05). During the follow-up period, 66 (78.6 %) of Vitamin <span>d</span>-deficient patients and 56 (84.8 %) of non-deficient patients experienced disease progression (<em>p</em> = 0.51). Moreover, Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a non-significant trend toward shorter median PFS (8.95 months vs. 9.27 months, <em>p</em> = 0.51) and OS (17.64 months vs. 19.05 months, <em>p</em> = 0.616) in the Vitamin <span>d</span>-deficient group.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent among patients with pancreatic cancer and appears to be associated with more advanced disease at diagnosis. Although a trend toward poorer survival outcomes was observed, the association between Vitamin D deficiency and OS/PFS did not reach statistical significance. Additional prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings and explore potential benefits of Vitamin D supplementation in pancreatic cancer management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9507,"journal":{"name":"Cancer treatment and research communications","volume":"43 ","pages":"Article 100917"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143821500","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Efficacy and safety of upfront radiotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors for brain metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer","authors":"Yu Tanaka ,&nbsp;Hiroki Izumi ,&nbsp;Eri Sugiyama ,&nbsp;Tetsuya Sakai ,&nbsp;Yuji Shibata ,&nbsp;Kaname Nosaki ,&nbsp;Hibiki Udagawa ,&nbsp;Shigeki Umemura ,&nbsp;Yoshitaka Zenke ,&nbsp;Shingo Matsumoto ,&nbsp;Kiyotaka Yoh ,&nbsp;Tetsuo Akimoto ,&nbsp;Koichi Goto","doi":"10.1016/j.ctarc.2025.100937","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ctarc.2025.100937","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>The optimal timing of radiotherapy (RT) for asymptomatic brain metastasis (aBM) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) without targetable oncogenic drivers treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) remains unclear. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of upfront (U)-RT combined with ICIs for aBM.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We retrospectively reviewed consecutive patients with aBM from NSCLC who received ICI-containing chemotherapy at National Cancer Center Hospital East between 2016 and 2021. The U-RT group was defined patients who received RT for aBM before or during the first ICI cycle, and the non-U-RT group otherwise.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Of the 324 patients with NSCLC and aBM screened, 54 were enrolled, with 34 and 20 patients in the U-RT and non-U-RT groups, respectively. The median overall survival was 27.5 and 13.8 months (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.40, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 0.19–0.87), respectively, and median cranial progression-free survival was 9.2 and 6.0 months (HR = 0.50, 95 % CI 0.25–0.98), respectively, in the U-RT and non-U-RT groups. The U-RT group showed a significantly lower aBM progression rate than the non-U-RT group (<em>P</em> = 0.04). U-RT was an independent prognostic factor in the multivariate analysis using propensity score adjustment (HR = 0.42, 95 % CI 0.18–0.96). Although severe adverse events were observed in 47 % and 35 % of patients in the U-RT and non-U-RT groups, respectively, no treatment-related deaths occurred.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>ICIs with U-RT demonstrated higher efficacy with acceptable tolerability for aBM than ICIs without U-RT. Our findings should be confirmed in future prospective trials.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9507,"journal":{"name":"Cancer treatment and research communications","volume":"43 ","pages":"Article 100937"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143935133","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Plasma biomarkers for afatinib monotherapy in EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer: Novel insights from companion genomics analysis of the EXTRA study","authors":"Tomonori Makiguchi ,&nbsp;Hisashi Tanaka ,&nbsp;Kei Morikawa ,&nbsp;Aya Hirata ,&nbsp;Hidetoshi Itani ,&nbsp;Shigeru Tanzawa ,&nbsp;Kageaki Watanabe ,&nbsp;Hiroyuki Yasuda ,&nbsp;Kazuya Horiuchi ,&nbsp;Hideyuki Nakagawa ,&nbsp;Yoshitaka Seki ,&nbsp;Yoshiro Nakahara ,&nbsp;Kentaro Hayashi ,&nbsp;Nobumasa Takahashi ,&nbsp;Takeo Endo ,&nbsp;Akihiro Bessho ,&nbsp;Tetsuya Okano ,&nbsp;Kiyoshi Takeyama ,&nbsp;Akikazu Kawase ,&nbsp;Makoto Endo ,&nbsp;Nobuhiko Seki","doi":"10.1016/j.ctarc.2025.100952","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ctarc.2025.100952","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>Plasma-based testing with circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is an active area of biomarker exploratory studies in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring <em>EGFR</em> mutations. The Exosome-focused Translational Research for Afatinib study prospectively explored novel plasma biomarkers for afatinib monotherapy in patients with NSCLC harboring <em>EGFR</em> mutations using genomics, proteomics, epigenomics, and metabolomics. Herein, we present the results of the genomics part.</div></div><div><h3>Materials and Methods</h3><div>Clinical data of afatinib were matched with next generation sequencing (NGS)-based genomics data of cfDNA (<em>n</em> = 101) and extracellular vesicle DNA (evDNA) (<em>n</em> = 99) from pretreatment plasma samples.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The detection sensitivity of cfDNA and evDNA mutations was 86 % (87/101) and 37 % (37/99), respectively. When cfDNA mutations were classified into tissue-matched (any <em>EGFR</em> mutations consistent with those identified in tissue) (<em>n</em> = 28), tissue-unmatched (<em>n</em> = 59), and mutation-undetected (<em>n</em> = 14) groups, cfDNA mutation status was a predictor of progression-free survival (PFS) (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.01) and overall survival (OS) (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.01). EvDNA mutation status was a predictor of OS (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.01) rather than PFS (<em>p</em> = 0.48). When the tissue-unmatched cfDNA group was subclassified into <em>EGFR</em>-related (<em>n</em> = 49) and <em>EGFR</em>-unrelated (<em>n</em> = 10) groups, the <em>EGFR</em>-unrelated group had a median PFS and 3-year OS rate of 31.2 months and 80.0 %, respectively. <em>EGFR</em>-unrelated and mutation-undetected cfDNA groups (<em>n</em> = 24) exhibited a median PFS and 3-year OS rate of &gt;30 months and &gt;80 %, respectively, with afatinib monotherapy.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>This is the first large-scale prospective study of NGS-based concurrent testing for plasma cfDNA and evDNA mutations. The findings suggest that cfDNA mutation status is a promising plasma biomarker for afatinib monotherapy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9507,"journal":{"name":"Cancer treatment and research communications","volume":"44 ","pages":"Article 100952"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144203122","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mapping the landscape of breast cancer care in Bulgaria: a scoping review","authors":"Mihaela T Dimitrova ,&nbsp;Celine Tabche","doi":"10.1016/j.ctarc.2025.100948","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ctarc.2025.100948","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Breast cancer ranks as one of the most common cancer types in the world, and in Bulgaria, it represents a quarter of all malignant diagnoses in women. Breast cancer screening in Bulgaria is the lowest among all European Union (EU) countries. Existing literature on breast cancer care in Bulgaria is scarce. This study aims to explore the current trends, patterns, and gaps in breast cancer care in Bulgaria.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>This study is a scoping review from peer-reviewed databases and grey literature. The results were screened against the SPIDER methodology's inclusion and exclusion criteria. Covidence was used in screening and full-text review. The study included 39 sources.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in Bulgaria and the incidence remains lower than the European average due to underreporting. Bulgaria lacks a structured breast cancer screening programme, leading to low service use, although essential prophylactic exams are covered by the National Health Insurance Fund. Barriers like the underuse of treatment and significant delays in reimbursement of new cancer therapies exist. with lower survival rates compared to the rest of the EU. While policies focus on increasing screening and improving prevention, practical steps towards achieving this have not yet been taken.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>There is low screening and underreporting of breast cancer rates in Bulgaria. The lack of full reimbursement of diagnostic methods, limited adoption of the multidisciplinary approach, and complex market access processes are barriers to developing efficient treatment plans. Efficient screening and prevention are crucial for positive outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9507,"journal":{"name":"Cancer treatment and research communications","volume":"44 ","pages":"Article 100948"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144263807","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fibroblast activation protein-expression in colorectal carcinomas and implications for clinical application","authors":"Meaghan Polack ,&nbsp;Gabi W. van Pelt ,&nbsp;Augustinus S.L.P. Crobach ,&nbsp;Lioe-Fee de Geus-Oei ,&nbsp;Rob A.E.M. Tollenaar ,&nbsp;J.Han J.M. van Krieken ,&nbsp;Wilma E. Mesker","doi":"10.1016/j.ctarc.2025.100964","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ctarc.2025.100964","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Background: Colorectal cancer is highly prevalent. The stromal tumour microenvironment significantly influences tumour behaviour, and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), as major component of tumour stroma, are increasingly studied. Specifically, CAF-marker fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is gaining interest as tracer for imaging using radiolabelled FAP-inhibitor (FAPI). We describe patterns of FAP-expression, and associations to intratumoural stroma amount, establishing a biological background and potential future reference to pathology assessment.</div><div>Materials and methods: Archival histological material from 125 stage-II/III CRC patients was collected. Haematoxylin-and-eosin staining was performed to determine the tumour-stroma ratio (TSR), indicating stromal percentages in primary tumours, lymph nodes (LNs) and biopsies. On immunohistochemistry stains, FAP-expression was semiquantitatively scored as little-no, heterogeneous, or moderate-high expression. Correlation of TSR and FAP-expression with Chi-square testing was assessed. Other patterns were also described, e.g. tumour epithelial FAP-expression.</div><div>Results: In total, 93 patients (40 stage-III colon [CC], 53 stage-II/III RC) were included. Correlation between 41 (44 %) stroma-high CRC (18/40 CC, 45 %; 23/53 RC, 43 %) with high FAP-expression was not significant (<em>P</em> = 0.428 CRC; <em>P</em> = 0.470 CC; <em>P</em> = 0.615 RC). The majority of CRC had any FAP-expression (78 CRC, 84 %), mostly the invasive front, and in most associated LN metastases (87 % CRC tumour-positive LN). However, FAP-expression was often heterogeneous, even staining healthy colon and lymphoid tissue.</div><div>Conclusions: CRCs and LN metastases generally express FAP, but levels vary significantly between and within tumours and have no direct correlation with TSR. Care has to be taken translating FAPI-PET/CT results with e.g. disease extent and activity, emphasizing the importance of multidisciplinary approach.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9507,"journal":{"name":"Cancer treatment and research communications","volume":"44 ","pages":"Article 100964"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144661963","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}