Global representativeness and impact of funding sources in cost-effectiveness research on systemic therapies for advanced breast cancer: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer (BC) is the most incident tumor and, consequently, any new intervention can potentially promote a considerable budget impact if incorporated. Cost-effectiveness (CE) studies assist in the decision-making process but may be influenced by the country's perspective of analysis and pharmaceutical industry funding. METHODS: A systematic review of Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science from January 1st, 2012 to July 8th, 2022 was conducted to identify CE studies of tumor-targeted systemic-therapies for advanced BC. Articles without incremental cost-effectiveness ratio calculations were excluded. We extracted information on the country and class of drug studied, comparator type, authors' conflicts of interest (COI), pharmaceutical industry funding, and authors' conclusions. RESULTS: 71 studies comprising 204 CE assessments were included. The majority of studies were from the United States and Canada (44%), Asia (32%) and Europe (20%). Only 8% were from Latin America and none from Africa. 31% had pharmaceutical industry funding. The most studied drug classes were cyclin-dependent-kinase inhibitors (29%), anti-HER2 therapy (23%), anti-PD(L)1 (11%) and hormone therapy (11%). Overall, 34% of CE assessments had favorable conclusions. Pharmaceutical industry-funded articles had a higher proportion of at least one favorable conclusion (82% vs. 24%, p-value<0.001), European countries analyzed (45% vs. 9%, p-value = 0.003), and CE assessments with same class drug comparators (56% vs. 33%, p-value = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Breast cancer CE literature scarcely represents low-and-middle-income countries' perspectives and is influenced by pharmaceutical industry funding which targets European countries', frequently utilizes comparisons within same-drug class, and is more likely to have favorable conclusions.

Claudin 18.2 as a New Biomarker in Gastric Cancer-What Should We Know?

Gastric cancer (GC) remains a formidable global health challenge, ranking among the top-five causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The majority of patients face advanced stages at diagnosis, with a mere 6% five-year survival rate. First-line treatment for metastatic GC typically involves a fluoropyrimidine and platinum agent combination; yet, predictive molecular markers have proven elusive. This review navigates the evolving landscape of GC biomarkers, with a specific focus on Claudin 18.2 (CLDN18.2) as an emerging and promising target. Recent phase III trials have unveiled the efficacy of Zolbetuximab, a CLDN18.2-targeting antibody, in combination with oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy for CLDN18.2-positive metastatic GC. As this novel therapeutic avenue unfolds, understanding the nuanced decision making regarding the selection of anti-CLDN18.2 therapies over other targeted agents in metastatic GC becomes crucial. This manuscript reviews the evolving role of CLDN18.2 as a biomarker in GC and explores the current status of CLDN18.2-targeting agents in clinical development. The aim is to provide concise insights into the potential of CLDN18.2 as a therapeutic target and guide future clinical decisions in the management of metastatic GC.

Targeting KRAS in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: The Long Road to Cure.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains an important cause of cancer-related mortality, and it is expected to play an even bigger part in cancer burden in the years to come. Despite concerted efforts from scientists and physicians, patients have experienced little improvement in survival over the past decades, possibly because of the non-specific nature of the tested treatment modalities. Recently, the discovery of potentially targetable molecular alterations has paved the way for the personalized treatment of PDAC. Indeed, the central piece in the molecular framework of PDAC is starting to be unveiled. KRAS mutations are seen in 90% of PDACs, and multiple studies have demonstrated their pivotal role in pancreatic carcinogenesis. Recent investigations have shed light on the differences in prognosis as well as therapeutic implications of the different KRAS mutations and disentangled the relationship between KRAS and effectors of downstream and parallel signaling pathways. Additionally, the recognition of other mechanisms involving KRAS-mediated pathogenesis, such as KRAS dosing and allelic imbalance, has contributed to broadening the current knowledge regarding this molecular alteration. Finally, KRAS G12C inhibitors have been recently tested in patients with pancreatic cancer with relative success, and inhibitors of KRAS harboring other mutations are under clinical development. These drugs currently represent a true hope for a meaningful leap forward in this dreadful disease.

PD-L1 testing in advanced gastric cancer-what physicians who treat this disease must know-a literature review.

Background and Objective: Immune checkpoint inhibition has shed light on a new era in cancer therapy, and randomized clinical trials have demonstrated that a meaningful portion of the overall population of metastatic gastric cancer (GC) patients may derive clinical benefit from immunotherapy, which raises the relevance in identifying predictive biomarkers. Programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression has demonstrated a significant association between level of expression and the magnitude of benefit derived from immune checkpoint inhibition in GC. Nevertheless, this biomarker shows several pitfalls that must be considered in the therapeutic decision to incorporate immune checkpoint inhibition as the standard of care of GC, such as spatial and temporal heterogeneity, interobserver variability, immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay, and influence by chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Methods: In the present comprehensive review, we revised the main studies regarding PD-L1 evaluation in GC. Key Content and Findings: Here we describe the molecular characteristics of the tumor microenvironment in GC, the obstacles in the interpretation of PD-L1 expression and present the data of the clinical trials that have evaluated the efficacy and safety of immune checkpoint inhibition and the association with the biomarker expression, both in first-line and later lines of therapy. Conclusions: From the emerging predictive biomarkers for immune checkpoint inhibition, PD-L1 has demonstrated a meaningful association between level of expression in tumor microenvironment and the magnitude of benefit derived from immune checkpoint inhibition in GC.

Complete Response to Immunotherapy in a Patient with MUTYH-Associated Polyposis and Gastric Cancer: A Case Report.

MUTYH-associated polyposis syndrome is an uncommon, autosomal recessive colorectal polyposis syndrome caused by biallelic inactivation of MUTYH. Most patients present with multiple colorectal polyps. However, other primary tumor sites have been described as less frequent. In this report, we describe the case of a young patient with a germline biallelic pathogenic MUTYH mutation with three different primary tumors. We focused on a metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma that presented with complete bowel obstruction secondary to extensive peritoneal carcinomatosis and achieved complete response upon treatment with immunotherapy. The patient's tumor presented with a high tumor mutational burden and a 100% combined positive score, which certainly contributed to the complete response to immunotherapy. To date, no studies have described the association of MUTYH-related tumors with high PD-L1 expression, but we hypothesized that it may be linked to the increased antigenicity of these cancers.

Current Molecular Profile of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors and Systemic Therapeutic Implications.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are malignant mesenchymal tumors arising from the intestinal pacemaker cells of Cajal. They compose a heterogenous group of tumors due to a variety of molecular alterations. The most common gain-of-function mutations in GISTs are either in the KIT (60-70%) or platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFRA) genes (10-15%), which are mutually exclusive. However, a smaller subset, lacking KIT and PDGFRA mutations, is considered wild-type GISTs and presents distinct molecular findings with the activation of different proliferative pathways, structural chromosomal and epigenetic changes, such as inactivation of the NF1 gene, mutations in the succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), BRAF, and RAS genes, and also NTRK fusions. Currently, a molecular evaluation of GISTs is imperative in many scenarios, aiding in treatment decisions from the (neo)adjuvant to the metastatic setting. Here, we review the most recent data on the molecular profile of GISTs and highlight therapeutic implications according to distinct GIST molecular subtypes.

Biomarkers in Anal Cancer: Current Status in Diagnosis, Disease Progression and Therapeutic Strategies.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCCA) is a rare neoplasm, but with rising incidence rates in the past few decades; it is etiologically linked with the human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and is especially prevalent in immunocompromised patients, mainly those infected with HIV. Fluoropyrimidine-based chemoradiotherapy remains the cornerstone of the treatment of non-metastatic disease, but the locally advanced disease still presents high rates of disease recurrence and systemic therapy of SCCA is an unmet clinical need. Despite sharing common molecular aspects with other HPV-related malignancies, such as cervical and head and neck cancers, SCCA presents specific epigenomic, genomic, and transcriptomic abnormalities, which suggest that genome-guided personalized therapies should be specifically designed for this disease. Actionable mutations are rare in SCCA and immune checkpoint inhibition has not yet been proven useful in an unselected population of patients. Therefore, advances in systemic therapy of SCCA will only be possible with the identification of predictive biomarkers and the subsequent development of targeted therapies or immunotherapeutic approaches that consider the unique tumor microenvironment and the intra- and inter-tumoral heterogeneity. In the present review, we address the molecular characterization of SCCA and discuss potential diagnostic, predictive and prognostic biomarkers of this complex and challenging disease.

Outcomes and Prognostic Factors in a Large Cohort of Hospitalized Cancer Patients With COVID-19.

PURPOSE: Patients with cancer are at increased risk for unfavorable outcomes from COVID-19. Knowledge about the outcome determinants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in this population is essential for risk stratification and definition of appropriate management. Our objective was to evaluate prognostic factors for all-cause mortality in patients diagnosed with both cancer and COVID-19. METHODS: All consecutive patients with cancer hospitalized at our institution with COVID-19 were included. Electronic medical records were reviewed for clinical and laboratory characteristics potentially associated with outcomes. RESULTS: Five hundred seventy-six consecutive patients with cancer and COVID-19 were included in the present study. An overall in-hospital mortality rate of 49.3% was demonstrated. Clinical factors associated with increased risk of death because of COVID-19 were age over 65 years, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status > 0 zero, best supportive care, primary lung cancer, and the presence of lung metastases. Laboratory findings associated with a higher risk of unfavorable outcomes were neutrophilia, lymphopenia, and elevated levels of D-dimer, creatinine, C-reactive protein, or AST. CONCLUSION: A high mortality rate in patients with cancer who were diagnosed with COVID-19 was demonstrated in the present study, emphasizing the need for close surveillance in this group of patients, especially in those with unfavorable prognostic characteristics.

Elevated VEGFA mRNA levels in oral squamous cell carcinomas and tumor margins: a preliminary study.

BACKGROUND: New blood vessel formation events are essential for tumor clonal expansion and progression. Despite the importance of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) for tumor angiogenesis, few studies have evaluated the expression profile of this gene in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and tumor margins (TM). This study aimed to evaluate the expression of the VEGFA gene and its protein in OSCC and TM. METHODS: Gene expression was evaluated in cryopreserved samples of OSCCs (n = 44), TM (n = 7), and normal mucosa from healthy patients (n = 3; NM). Quantitative PCRs were performed using the TaqMan system for the VEGFA gene, and gene expression was determined using the 2(-∆∆CQ) method. For immunohistochemical evaluation, 27 OSCC samples were embedded in a tissue microarray (TMA) block and reactions were performed using the Advance system. RESULTS: VEGFA transcript levels were 1.7-fold higher in OSCC than in NM samples. VEGFA mRNA was overexpressed in TM samples compared to NM (3.4-fold) and OSCC (2.0-fold) samples. VEGFA transcript level was overexpressed in T3-T4 tumors, metastatic lymph nodes, and stage III-IV OSCCs. Immunoreactivity of the VEGFA protein was detected in the cytoplasm of parenchymal and stromal cells, mainly in endothelial cells and fibroblasts. CONCLUSION: Our results show that VEGFA was overexpressed in aggressive OSCCs and that VEGFA expression may be an important prognostic factor in this type of cancer. Finally, tumor margins may be involved in the production of angiogenic molecules.

Monitoring survivin expression in cancer: implications for prognosis and therapy.

Survivin, a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein family, is one of the most cancer-specific proteins identified to date. Survivin expression is low or undetectable in most adult tissues, but, alternatively, is overexpressed in a large number of tumors. This multifunctional protein is recognized as a key regulator in apoptosis, proliferation and angiogenesis in the tumor environment. Several studies have shown a correlation between survivin upregulation and poor cancer prognosis, and, as expected, its downregulation or inactivation leads to inhibition of tumor growth. Therefore, survivin has attracted increasing attention both as a potential cancer biomarker and as a new target for anticancer therapies. This review summarizes and discusses survivin expression and its potential as a prognostic and diagnostic biomarker in different types of tumors, as well as provides an overview of the current therapeutic challenges of targeting survivin as a treatment strategy.