Cardiac safety of ribociclib evaluated with 24-hour rhythm Holter electrocardiogram.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate cardiac safety profile of ribociclib with 24-h rhythm Holter ECG. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Forty-two female metastatic breast cancer patients were included in the study. Rhythm Holter ECG was performed before starting treatment with ribociclib and after 3 months of the treatment initiation. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 56.36 ± 12.73. 52.4% (n = 22) of the patients were using ribociclib in combination with fulvestrant and 47.6% (n = 20) with aromatase inhibitors. None of the patients developed cardiotoxicity. When the rhythm Holter results before and in third month of the treatment were compared, there was no statistically significant difference. CONCLUSION: This is the first study evaluating effects of ribociclib treatment on cardiac rhythm with Holter ECG. The findings suggested ribociclib has a low risk of causing early cardiotoxicity.

The correlation between skeletal muscle index and anxiety in patients with lung cancer on the first day of chemotherapy.

Aim: To evaluate the relationship between anxiety and skeletal muscle index (SMI) levels in lung cancer patients on the first day of chemotherapy. Materials & methods: This cross-sectional study included 108 patients. We analyzed patient characteristics, SMI levels, pain status and predicted anxiety factors. Results: Anxiety was detected in 61% of patients. SMI levels were significantly lower in the high anxiety group than the low anxiety group (p < 0.001). A significant correlation was observed between anxiety and SMI levels (r = -0.292; p = 0.002). Anxiety levels were significantly correlated with trait anxiety (r = 0.618; p < 0.001) and visual analog scale-pain (r = 0.364; p < 0.001). SMI (odds ratio: 0.94), trait anxiety (odds ratio: 1.12) and visual analog scale pain (odds ratio: 1.28) were independent risk factors for anxiety after adjusting for sex, stage and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status. Conclusion: Our study highlighted that higher anxiety scores were significantly correlated with lower SMI levels. We found that SMI, pain and trait anxiety were independent risk factors for anxiety.

Differentiation of lung and breast cancer brain metastases: Comparison of texture analysis and deep convolutional neural networks.

PURPOSE: Metastases are the most common neoplasm in the adult brain. In order to initiate the treatment, an extensive diagnostic workup is usually required. Radiomics is a discipline aimed at transforming visual data in radiological images into reliable diagnostic information. We aimed to examine the capability of deep learning methods to classify the origin of metastatic lesions in brain MRIs and compare the deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) methods with image texture based features. METHODS: One hundred forty three patients with 157 metastatic brain tumors were included in the study. The statistical and texture based image features were extracted from metastatic tumors after manual segmentation process. Three powerful pre-trained CNN architectures and the texture-based features on both 2D and 3D tumor images were used to differentiate lung and breast metastases. Ten-fold cross-validation was used for evaluation. Accuracy, precision, recall, and area under curve (AUC) metrics were calculated to analyze the diagnostic performance. RESULTS: The texture-based image features on 3D volumes achieved better discrimination results than 2D image features. The overall performance of CNN architectures with 3D inputs was higher than the texture-based features. Xception architecture, with 3D volumes as input, yielded the highest accuracy (0.85) while the AUC value was 0.84. The AUC values of VGG19 and the InceptionV3 architectures were 0.82 and 0.81, respectively. CONCLUSION: CNNs achieved superior diagnostic performance in differentiating brain metastases from lung and breast malignancies than texture-based image features. Differentiation using 3D volumes as input exhibited a higher success rate than 2D sagittal images.

The efficacy of BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) and CoronaVac vaccines in patients with cancer.

Although vaccination is efficacious and prevents infection in the general population, there is limited data about Coronavirus disease-19 (Covid-19) occurrence after vaccination in cancer patients. It was aimed to evaluate the efficacy of BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) and CoronaVac vaccines against Covid-19 in patients with cancer. In this single-center, retrospective, cross-sectional, and descriptive study, the data of cancer patients referred to the medical oncology clinic of a university hospital were analyzed. The sample of the study consisted of cancer patients who had Covid-19 or were vaccinated against Covid-19. A total number of 2578 patients were included in the study. Of the patients, 2000 have never been infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and 578 patients have had a positive reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for Covid-19. It was found that 2094 patients (81.2%) were fully vaccinated, and 484 patients (18.8%) did not receive full-dose vaccination. A statistically significant difference in Covid-19 occurrence was found between the patients who had full-dose vaccination or not (p = 0.000). In in-group comparisons of full-dose vaccinated patients, while no difference was observed between two doses of BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) and three doses of CoronaVac (p = 0.432), a statistically significant difference was observed between all other groups (p < 0.005). When the data of 578 patients who experienced Covid-19 was analyzed, a statistically significant difference was observed between the groups who were full-dose vaccinated and those who were not (p = 0.000). It is recommended that this vulnerable patient group should be prioritized in vaccination programs, and full-dose vaccination (at least two doses of vaccines) should be completed as soon as possible.

Efficacy and safety profile of COVID-19 vaccine in cancer patients: a prospective, multicenter cohort study.

Aim: To compare the seropositivity rate of cancer patients with noncancer controls after inactive SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and evaluate the factors affecting seropositivity. Method: Spike IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 were measured in blood samples of 776 cancer patients and 715 noncancer volunteers. An IgG level ≥50 AU/ml is accepted as seropositive. Results: The seropositivity rate was 85.2% in the patient group and 97.5% in the control group. The seropositivity rate and antibody levels were significantly lower in the patient group (p < 0.001). Age and chemotherapy were associated with lower seropositivity in cancer patients (p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study highlighted the efficacy and safety of the inactivated vaccine in cancer patients. Clinical Trials Registration: NCT04771559 (ClinicalTrials.gov).

Cancer patients are at high risk for infection with SARS-CoV-2 and of developing the associated disease, COVID-19, which therefore puts them in the priority group for vaccination. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of inactive SARSCoV-2 vaccination, an inactivated virus vaccine, in cancer patients. The immune response rate, defined as seropositivity, was 85.2% in the cancer patient group and 97.5% in the control group. The levels of antibodies, which are blood markers of immune response to the vaccine, were also significantly lower in the patient group, especially in those older than 60 years and receiving chemotherapy. These results highlight the importance of determining the effective vaccine type and dose in cancer patients to protect them from COVID-19 without disrupting their cancer treatment.

Breast Cancer Patients with Brain Metastases: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The prognosis of breast cancer patients with brain metastasis is poor. It was aimed to define the clinicopathological features of breast cancer patients with brain metastases and to determine the risk factors and survival outcomes associated with brain metastasis. This is a single-center, retrospective, cross-sectional study. A total number of 127 patients diagnosed with breast cancer and who developed brain metastasis between January 2011 and March 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The survival and clinicopathological data of these patients according to 4 biological subtypes were evaluated (luminal A, luminal B, HER-2 overexpressing, and triple-negative). The median overall survival for all patients was 45.6 months. The median time from the diagnosis of breast cancer to the occurrence of brain metastasis was 29.7 months, and the median survival time after brain metastasis was 7.2 months. The time from the diagnosis of breast cancer to brain metastasis development was significantly shorter in HER-2 overexpressing and triple-negative subtypes than in luminal A and B subtypes. The median time from breast cancer diagnosis to brain metastasis was 33.5 months in luminal A, 40.6 months in luminal B, 16.8 months in HER-2 overexpressing, and 22.8 months in the triple-negative groups (p=0.003). We found the worst median survival after brain metastasis in the triple-negative group with 3.5 months. Early and close surveillance of high-risk patients may help early diagnosis of brain metastasis and may provide to perform effective treatments leading to longer overall survival times for this patient population.

A case report of fulminant hepatitis due to ribociclib with confirmed by liver biopsy in breast cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women worldwide. Ribociclib is now frequently used in the treatment of metastatic hormone-positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER 2)-negative breast cancer. CASE REPORT: A 54-year-old woman with breast cancer presented at a clinic in November 2017 with multiple lung and bone metastases. After receiving multiple lines of treatment due to disease progression, ribociclib and fulvestrant were initiated. Grade 4 toxicity was observed due to ribociclib during follow-up, and ribociclib was discontinued permanently.Management & Outcome: Given that liver transaminases and bilirubin elevation persisted despite discontinuation of the treatment, other reasons for liver toxicity were investigated. Abdominal MRI showed no liver metastases, although there was acute hepatitis. A liver biopsy was performed to determine the etiology. The pathology result was compatible with drug-induced acute fulminant toxic hepatitis. After liver biopsy, prednisolone treatment was initiated, after which the laboratory findings normalized. DISCUSSION: Although there are reported cases showing improvement in liver enzymes after ribociclib discontinuation, in our case, no recovery from hepatotoxicity was noticed. The treatment was changed to another hormonal pathway therapy option, exemestane. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case in the literature reporting this rare side effect of ribociclib, which is a liver biopsy-proven fulminant hepatitis.

Evaluation of prognostic factors in localized high-grade undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma: report of a multi-institutional experience of Anatolian Society of Medical Oncology.

Most data on prognostic factors for patients with high-grade undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (HGUPS) is obtained from analyses of soft tissue sarcomas. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinicopathologic features and their impact on outcomes specifically in patients diagnosed with HGUPS. In this multicenter trial, we retrospectively analyzed 112 patients who were diagnosed and treated at 12 different institutions in Turkey. We collected data concerning the patients, tumor characteristics, and treatment modalities. There were 69 males (61.6 %) and 43 females (38.4 %). Median age was 56 years (19-90). The most common anatomic site of tumor origin was the upper extremity. Pleomorphic variant was the predominant histological subtype. Median tumor size was 8.2 cm (0.6-30 cm). Tumors were mainly deeply seated (57.1 %). Fifty-seven patients (50.9 %) were stage II and the remainder were stage III at the time of diagnosis. Median follow-up was 30 months (2-160). The primary site of distant metastasis was the lung (73.5 %) and the second most common site was the liver (11.7 %). The 5-year overall survival, distant metastasis-free survival, and local recurrence-free survival rates were 56.3, 53.4, and 67.2 %, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance score of II (p = 0.033), deep tumor location (p = 0.000), and development of distant metastasis (p = 0.004) were negatively correlated with overall survival, and perioperative radiotherapy and negative microscopic margins were significant factors for local control rates (p = 0.000 for each). Deep tumor location (p = 0.003) was the only adverse factor related to distant metastasis-free survival. Deep tumor location, ECOG performance score of II, and development of distant metastasis carry a poor prognostic implication on overall survival. These will aid clinicians in predicting survival and treatment decision.

Comparison of efficacy and safety of three different chemotherapy regimens delivered with concomitant radiotherapy in inoperable stage III non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Concomitant administration of chemotherapy and radiotherapy is currently recognized as the standard of treatment in locally advanced inoperable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Our study aimed to compare the efficacy and toxicities of three different chemotherapy regimens delivered concurrently with radiotherapy. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of patients who received the PE (cisplatin, 50 mg/m(2), on days 1, 8, 29, and 36 plus etoposide, 50 mg/m(2), on days 1 to 5 and 29 to 33), PD (docetaxel, 20 mg/m(2), on day 1 plus cisplatin, 20 mg/m(2), on day 1, every week), and PC (carboplatin, AUC 2 plus paclitaxel, 45 mg/m(2), on day 1, every week) regimens concurrently with radiotherapy. A total of 227 patients were evaluated in the study. Median follow-up time was 13 months (2-101). There were 27 females (11.9 %) and 200 males (88.1 %) with a median age of 61 (38-82) years. The PD group had higher rates of esophagitis, mucositis, and anemia (p < 0.05). The PC group had higher rates of neuropathy (p = 0.000). The progression-free survival (PFS) time was 10 months for patients in the PC group, 15 months for patients in the PD group, and 21 months for the PE group (p = 0.010). Patients in the PC group had a median overall survival time of 23 months, those in the PD group 27 months, and those in the PE group 36 months (p = 0.098). Combination of cisplatin-etoposide with radiotherapy led to a more favorable outcome compared with the other two regimens. It shows generally manageable toxicity profile and compliance to treatment is noticeable.

The changing of serum vitamin B12 and homocysteine levels after gastrectomy in patients with gastric cancer: do they associate with clinicopathological factors?

After total (TG) or distal subtotal gastrectomy (DG), patients are at high risk of vitamin B12 (vit-B12) deficiency, which results in elevation of homocysteine levels. The changing of serum vit-B12 and homocysteine levels in patients with gastric cancer is not well known. Seventy-two patients with gastric cancer who had undergone currative gastrectomy and 50 healthy controls were included. Serum vit-B12 and homocysteine levels were analyzed in gastric cancer patients. In addition, these parameters were compared with those of healthy control subjects. While serum vit-B12 levels in gastrectomized patients were significantly lower than that of healthy controls (221.8 ± 125.6 pg/mL vs. 309.9 ± 174.3 pg/mL, p = 0.002), homocysteine levels were significantly higher in patients with gastric cancer (14.2 ± 6.7 µmol/L vs. 12.5 ± 6.1 µmol/L, p = 0.016). Mean serum folate level was found to be high in healthy controls (7.3 ng/mL) compared to patients (9.2 ng/mL, p = 0.027). Out of 72 patients, 40 patients (55.6 %) with gastric cancer developed vit-B12 deficiency after gastrectomy. Vit-B12 deficiency was found to be related with gastrectomy type (p = 0.02) and homocysteine levels (p = 0.014). In patients who underwent TG, the incidence of vit-B12 deficiency was significantly higher compared with those with DG (67.5 vs. 32.5 %). In addition, serum vit-B12 level in patients with DG was significantly higher than that of patients with TG (248.3 ± 122.0 pg/mL vs. 200.8 ± 126.7 pg/mL, p = 0.041), whereas homocysteine levels were significantly lower in DG group compared with TG group (12.1 ± 6.1 µmol/L vs. 15.8 ± 6.9 µmol/L, p = 0.014). A logistic regression analysis showed that the extent of gastrectomy was found to be an independent factor for predicting the occurrence of vit-B12 deficiency (p < 0.001, odds ratio 1.38). Our results showed that cumulative vit-B12 deficiency rate was significantly higher after TG compared with that after DG, while homocysteine levels were significantly higher in TG group compared with DG group. The extent of gastrectomy was found to be an independent factor for predicting the occurrence of vit-B12 deficiency. Vit-B12 deficiency and hyperhomocysteinemia are imperious clinical situation for patients with gastric cancer after surgery. Hence, both preoperative and regular postoperative monitoring of vit-B12 and homocysteine levels for all gastrectomized patients with gastric cancer are important and necessary for early detection and prevention of vit-B12 deficiency and hyperhomocysteinemia as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.

Treatment modalities in primary gastric lymphoma: the effect of rituximab and surgical treatment. A study by the Anatolian Society of Medical Oncology.

AIM OF THE STUDY: Gastrointestinal lymphoma is the most common type of extranodal lymphoma and commonly involved site is the stomach. We have compared the superiority between treatment modalities for primary gastric lymphoma and we want to investigate efficacy of rituximab in gastric lymphoma. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Between April 2002 and December 2011, 146 patients with a histologically confirmed primary gastric lymphoma, initially diagnosed at eight different Cancer Centers within Turkey were evaluated retrospectively. According to the treatment modality, the patients were divided into chemotherapy (CT) alone, chemotherapy and radiotherapy (CRT), surgery and chemotherapy (SCT), surgery along with chemotherapy and radiotherapy (SCRT), and surgery (S) alone groups. RESULTS: Median follow-up period was 25.5 months. The 5-year EFS (event free survival) and OS (overall survival) rates for the patients were 55% and 62.3% respectively. In Log rank analysis of OS and EFS, we have identified levels of albumin and hemoglobine, IPI score, stage at diagnosis as factors influencing survival. In multivariate analysis of OS and EFS, only albumin and stage at diagnosis were factors independently contributing to survival. There was no statistically significant difference in terms of survival between different treatment modalities (p = 0.707 in EFS and p = 0.124 in OS). In analysis of patients treated with chemotherapy alone, there was no a statistically significant difference in terms of EFS and OS between chemotherapy regimens with or without rituximab in localized and advanced stage groups (p = 0.264 and p = 0.639). There was no statistical difference in survival rate (EFS and OS) between surgical or non-surgical treatment modalities for localized/advanced stage gastric lymphoma groups (p = 0.519 / p = 0.165). CONCLUSIONS: There are several treatment options due to similar results in different treatment modalities. Also benefit of rituximab treatment in gastric lymphoma is still a controversial subject. Additional prospective trials are definitely required in order to clarify use of rituximab in treatment of extranodal gastric lymphoma.

Deep insights into MCI diagnosis: A comparative deep learning analysis of EEG time series.

BACKGROUND: Individuals in the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) are typically diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). MCI represents a transitional phase between normal cognitive function and AD. Electroencephalography (EEG) records carry valuable insights into cerebral cortex brain activities to analyze neuronal degeneration. To enhance the precision of dementia diagnosis, automatic and intelligent methods are required for the analysis and processing of EEG signals. NEW METHODS: This paper aims to address the challenges associated with MCI diagnosis by leveraging EEG signals and deep learning techniques. The analysis in this study focuses on processing the information embedded within the sequence of raw EEG time series data. EEG recordings are collected from 10 Healthy Controls (HC) and 10 MCI participants using 19 electrodes during a 30 min eyes-closed session. EEG time series are transformed into 2 separate formats of input tensors and applied to deep neural network architectures. Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and ResNet from scratch are performed with 2D time series with different segment lengths. Furthermore, EEGNet and DeepConvNet architectures are utilized for 1D time series. RESULTS: ResNet demonstrates superior effectiveness in detecting MCI when compared to CNN architecture. Complete discrimination is achieved using EEGNet and DeepConvNet for noisy segments. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS: ResNet has yielded a 3 % higher accuracy rate compared to CNN. None of the architectures in the literature have achieved 100 % accuracy except proposed EEGNet and DeepConvnet. CONCLUSION: Deep learning architectures hold great promise in enhancing the accuracy of early MCI detection.

Dementia rhythms: Unveiling the EEG dynamics for MCI detection through spectral and synchrony neuromarkers.

BACKGROUND: Neurological disorders arise primarily from the dysfunction of brain cells, leading to various impairments. Electroencephalography (EEG) stands out as the most popular method in the discovery of neuromarkers indicating neurological disorders. The proposed study investigates the effectiveness of spectral and synchrony neuromarkers derived from resting state EEG in the detection of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) with controls. NEW METHODS: The dataset is composed of 10 MCI and 10 HC groups. Spectral features and synchrony measures are utilized to detect slowing patterns in MCI. Efficient neuro-markers are classified by 25 classification algorithm. Independent samples t-test and Pearson's Correlation Coefficients are applied to reveal group differences for spectral markers, and repeated measures ANOVA is tested for wPLI-based markers. RESULTS: Lower peak amplitudes are prominent in MCI participants for high frequencies indicating slower physiological behavior of the demented EEG. The MCI and HC groups are correctly classified with 95 % acc. using peak amplitudes of beta band with LGBM classifier. Higher wPLI values are calculated for HC participants in high frequencies. The alpha wPLI values achieve a classification accuracy of 99 % using the LGBM algorithm for MCI detection. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS: The neuro-markers including peak amplitudes, frequencies, and wPLIs with advanced machine learning techniques showcases the innovative nature of this research. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that peak amplitudes and wPLI in high frequency bands derived from resting state EEG are effective neuromarkers for detection of MCI. Spectral and synchrony neuro-markers hold great promise for accurate MCI detection.

Prevalence and co-incidence of geriatric syndromes according to the ECOG performance status in older cancer patients.

Background: Geriatric syndromes may be more common in older cancer patients than in those without cancer. Geriatric syndromes can cause poor clinical outcomes. The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG-PS) is often used as a clinically reported functional status score in oncology practice. Methods: Our study was designed as a cross-sectional study and included 218 older cancer patients. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and relationship of geriatric syndromes according to the ECOG-PS in older cancer patients. Results: The mean age of 218 participants was 73.0 ± 5.6 years, with 47.7% being women and 52.3% men in our study. ECOG-PS 0, 1, and 2 groups contained 51, 39, and 10% of the patients, respectively. The mean number of geriatric syndromes in the ECOG 0, 1, and 2 groups was 2.3 ± 2.2, 4.3 ± 2.4, and 5.7 ± 2.1, respectively (p < 0.001). After adjusting for age and sex, it was determined that dynapenia was 2.9 times, probable sarcopenia was 3.5 times, frailty was 4.2 times, depression was 2.6 times, malnutrition was 3.3 times, insomnia 2 was.2 times, falls was 2.5 times, and the risk of falling (TUG) was 2.4 times more likely in those with ECOG-PS 1 compared to those with ECOG-PS 0. In addition, it was found that dynapenia was 6 times, probable sarcopenia was 6.8 times, frailty was 10.8 times, depression was 3.3 times, malnutrition was 6.3 times, the risk of falling (Tinnetti Balance) was 28 times, and the risk of falling (TUG) was 13.6 times more likely in those with ECOG-PS 2 compared to those with ECOG-PS 0. Conclusion: Our study found that the prevalence of geriatric syndromes increased as the ECOG-PS increased. Geriatric syndromes and their co-incidence were common in older cancer patients, even in normal performance status. Oncologists should incorporate geriatric syndromes into the decision-making process of cancer treatment to maximize the impact on clinical outcomes in older patients with cancer.

Characteristic features and prognostic factors in gastric cancer patients with bone metastases: multicenter experience.

We evaluated the incidence, clinicopathological features, prognostic factors, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of patients with gastric cancer and bone metastases. The medical records of 110 patients with bone metastases were retrospectively analyzed. In our study, the incidence of bone metastases was 3.2%. The median patient age was 60 years. A total of 68 (61.8%) patients exhibited synchronous metastases, and 42 (38.2%) patients developed metachronous metastases. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels were high in 54 (49%) patients. At the median follow-up time of 9.8 months, median PFS and OS times were 4.7 and 6.3 months, respectively. The median interval from the diagnosis to bone metastases was 9.3 months. Univariate analysis showed that Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG PS) ≥2, stage at diagnosis, time of metastases, number of metastases, presence of extraskeletal metastases, use of zoledronic acid treatment, palliative chemotherapy post-bone metastases and radiotherapy to bone metastases were significant prognostic indicators for PFS. Additionally, ECOG PS ≥2, stage at diagnosis, time of metastases, number of metastases, presence of extraskeletal metastases, zoledronic acid treatment, palliative chemotherapy post-bone metastases, and radiotherapy to bone metastases significantly influenced OS. Moreover, in multivariate analysis, ECOG PS, time of metastases, presence of extra-bone metastases, and the use of palliative chemotherapy after bone metastases were found to be independent prognostic factors for PFS. Moreover, ECOG PS, time of metastases, and use of palliative chemotherapy after bone metastases were significantly independent prognostic indicators for OS. Our findings show that the presence of synchronous metastases, use of palliative chemotherapy, use of zoledronic acid after bone metastases, and ALP level within the normal range were significantly associated with prolonged OS in gastric cancer patients with bone metastases.

Prognostic significance of HER2 loss after HER2-targeted neoadjuvant treatment in patients with HER2-positive locally advanced breast cancer.

Loss of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) expression can be seen in almost 25-30 % patients after HER2 receptor directed neoadjuvant treatment. These patients have unclear clinical outcomes in previous studies. We aimed to investigate the importance of HER2 loss, additionally with predictive factors for the loss of HER2. This was a retrospective and multicenter study that included 272 HER2-positive BC patients with no pathological complete response who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus HER2-targeted treatments. The factors that may affect the loss of HER2 detected by immunohistochemistry(IHC) and the association with survival were analyzed.The rate of HER2 loss after neoadjuvant treatments(NAT) was 27.9 % (n = 76). Disease recurrence was observed in 18(23.7 %) patients with HER2 loss, while it was detected in 62 (31.7 %) patients without HER2 loss(p = 0.23). Pre and post-NAT ER status, and post-NAT ki-67 status had a significant impact on disease-free survival(DFS) (p = 0.0012, p = 0.004, and p = 0.04, respectively).There were no significant association between DFS and loss of HER2 (p = 0.64) and dual anti-HER2 blockade (p = 0.21). Pre-NAT clinical stage (HR:1.65 p = 0.013), post-NAT LN status (HR:3.18, p = 0.02) and pre-NAT ER status (HR:0.24, p = 0.041) were significant independent prognostic factors for DFS while post-NAT residual disease in axillar tissue was an independent prognostic factor for OS (HR:1.54 p = 0.019). Moreover, age (<40 years vs ≥40 years) (p = 0.031) and tumor grade (p = 0.004) were predictive factors for HER2 loss. Our results showed that HER2 loss did not affect survivals. However, young age and being high grade tumor may predict HER2 loss.

The prognostic value of detecting symptomatic or asymptomatic recurrence in patients with gastric cancer after a curative gastrectomy.

BACKGROUND: Although studies have investigated whether a routine follow-up should be performed after a gastrectomy, no consensus has been reached on the significance of the follow-up or the optimal surveillance protocol. In the present study, we evaluated the significance of the presence or absence of symptoms in the detection of recurrences after curative gastrectomy for gastric cancer. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 173 patients with recurrent gastric cancer who underwent radical gastrectomy. We evaluated the prognostic significance of the presence of cancer-related symptoms at the diagnosis of recurrence, and the relationship between the presence of symptoms and other clinicopathological factors. RESULTS: We detected a symptomatic recurrence in 42.2% of patients. The presence of symptoms were significantly correlated with tumor size, pT stage, pN stage, pathologic stage, and short disease-free interval (<12 mo). The median disease-free survival (DFS), post-recurrence survival (PRS), and overall survival (OS) times for patients with asymptomatic recurrence were significantly longer than those of patients with symptomatic recurrence (disease-free survival was corrected as DFS, 11.1 versus 9.3 mo, P < 0.001; PRS, 4.9 versus 3.1 mo, P = 0.02; OS, 18.3 versus 12.3 mo, P = 0.001, respectively). Multivariate analysis showed that the presence of cancer-related symptoms (P = 0.033; hazard ratio [HR], 0.81) was an independent prognostic factor for PRS, as were short disease-free intervals (P < 0.001; HR, 2.42), age (P = 0.02; HR, 1.53), and the presence of chemotherapy in recurrence (P = 0.001; HR, 0.49). In addition, multivariate analysis indicated that the presence of symptoms, short disease-free interval, and age were also independent prognostic indicators for OS. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that symptomatic recurrence is an important prognostic factor for PRS of patients with gastric cancer after a curative gastrectomy. The presence of symptomatic recurrence may be a new and beneficial prognostic marker to evaluate biologic aggressiveness, which is an important determinant of survival at the time of recurrence diagnosis during a follow-up for gastric cancer.

Childhood, adolescents, and young adults (≤25 y) colorectal cancer: study of Anatolian Society of Medical Oncology.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinicopathologic characteristics and treatment outcomes of young patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). METHODS: Between May 2003 and June 2010, 76 patients were found eligible for this retrospective study. Age, sex, presenting symptoms, patients with acute presentation, family history, presence of polyps, histologic features, localization and stage of the tumor, treatment outcomes, time and site of recurrence, sites of metastasis, and survival outcomes were recorded from the patient files. RESULTS: Seventy-six patients (55.3% male) with a median age of 23 years were evaluated. Patients were evaluated in 2 groups as follows: child-adolescent (0 to 19 y, n=20) and young adult (20 to 25 y, n=56). Sex and symptoms (abdominal pain and rectal bleeding) were significantly differed between the groups and acute presentation was close to statistical significance. Overall survival significantly increased in patients undergoing curative surgery (P<0.001). Other parameters affecting the survival was stage of disease (P=0.004). Response to palliative chemotherapy in metastatic patients (P=0.042) and postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy had a statistically significant survival advantage (P=0.028). CONCLUSIONS: Diagnosis of CRC should not be excluded solely on the basis of age. CRC features in young-adult patients are more similar to adults compared with that of child-adolescent patients according to the symptoms and presentation. In patients with CRC in this age group, curative surgery, adjuvant chemotherapy, and palliative chemotherapy provide survival advantage.

Efficacy of sunitinib in Turkish patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors; retrospective multicenter experience.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Sunitinib is a multi-targeted thyrosine kinase receptor inhibitor used in patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs). We evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of sunitinib therapy in Turkish patients with GISTs. METHODOLOGY: Between January 2001 and April 2012, 57 patients who had progressive disease or experienced unacceptable toxicity during imatinib treatment from multiple centers were investigated retrospectively. RESULTS: Thirty-three patients were male and 24 were female. The median age was 55 years (range; 16-84 years). Thirty-eight of the patients received imatinib for longer than 12 months, 13 patients received for 6-12 months, and 6 patients received for less than six months. The clinical benefit of sunitinib was 73.7%. Treatment-related adverse events were reported in 78% of the patients. Adverse events were generally mild to moderate in intensity. The median progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of the patients that received sunitinib were 10.8 months and 23.9 months, respectively. The time of imatinib usage and response to sunitinib were independent prognostic factors for PFS and OS. Also, tumor size was an independent prognostic factor for PFS. CONCLUSIONS: Sunitinib is an effective treatment in Turkish patients with GISTs, with a clinical benefit of 73.7% and shows an acceptable tolerability.