Almonertinib Combined with Anlotinib and Temozolomide in a Patient with Recurrent Glioblastoma with EGFR L858R Mutation.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary brain tumor, and patients with GBM have a universally poor prognosis. Genomic profiling has detected epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene alterations in more than half of GBMs. Major genetic events include amplification and mutation of EGFR. Interestingly, we identified an EGFR p.L858R mutation in a patient with recurrent GBM for the first time. Based on the genetic testing results, almonertinib combined with anlotinib and temozolomide was administered and obtained 12 months of progression-free survival after the diagnosis of recurrence as the fourth-line treatment. This is the first report that an EGFR p.L858R mutation was identified in a patient with recurrent GBM. Furthermore, this case report represents the first study applying the third-generation TKI inhibitor almonertinib in the treatment of recurrent GBM. The results of this study indicate that EGFR might be a new marker for the treatment of GBM with almonertinib.

Targeted Therapy with Anlotinib for a Patient with an Oncogenic FGFR3-TACC3 Fusion and Recurrent Glioblastoma.

We describe a case of recurrent glioblastoma treated with anlotinib in this report. The patient was administered anlotinib 12 mg p.o. once every day (days 1-14, with a 21-day cycle) (anlotinib clinical study NCT04004975) and oral temozolomide chemotherapy 100 mg/m2 (days 1-7, days 15-21, 28-day cycle; 12 cycles). After 2 months of therapy, the patient achieved a partial response that has been maintained for >17 months of follow-up. Molecular characterization confirmed the presence of a TERT promoter mutation, wild-type IDH1/2, an FGFR3-TACC3 fusion, and FGFR3 amplification in the patient. Anlotinib is a multitarget tyrosine kinase inhibitor that was originally designed to inhibit VEGFR2/3, FGFR1-4, PDGFRα/ß, and c-Kit. Patients with TERT promoter mutations and high-grade IDH-wild-type glioma have shorter overall survival than patients with IDH-wild-type glioma without TERT promoter mutations. However, this patient had a favorable clinic outcome, and FGFR3-TACC3 fusion may be a new marker for treatment of glioma with anlotinib. KEY POINTS: This case study is believed to be the first report that FGFR3-TACC3 fusion could be a novel indication to treat recurrent glioblastoma with the drug anlotinib. This case exhibited an exceptional response (maintained partial response >17 months) after 2-month combined therapy of anlotinib and oral temozolomide chemotherapy. This case also underscores the importance of molecular diagnosis for clinically complex cases. Tumor tissue-based assessment of molecular biomarkers in brain tumors has been successfully translated into clinical application.

Successful treatment of an adult patient with diffuse midline glioma employing olaparib combined with bevacizumab.

Diffuse midline gliomas (DMGs), which are malignant, fast-growing and entail a poor prognosis, are a rare subtype of glial tumor. DMGs harboring H3 K27-mutation are a novel entity with a poorer prognosis than the H3 wildtype and are categorized as a grade IV glioma. Histone-mutated DMGs characterized by a midline location occur more commonly in children and less frequently in adults. Considering the DMG treatment is limited, there is an urgent need for effective therapeutic strategies. Olaparib is a poly-adenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerase inhibitor, which has been reported to inhibit glioma in preclinical and clinical trials. Olaparib plus bevacizumab has been successfully used in ovarian cancer. However, the application of olaparib in DMGs has not been reported yet. Herein, we firstly reported that an adult DMG patient benefited from olaparib combined with bevacizumab and achieved complete remission. The duration of response and overall survival was 8 months and 16 months respectively. This report provides a promising treatment option for patients with DMG.

Stripping surgery in facial nerve schwannomas with favorable facial nerve function.

OBJECTIVE: We report 18 cases of facial nerve schwannomas in which stripping surgery was attempted to preserve facial nerve integrity and favorable facial nerve function. METHODS: We attempted stripping surgery on 18 cases of facial nerve schwannomas. Postoperative facial nerve function was evaluated. RESULTS: Stripping surgery was successfully achieved in 11 cases, and facial nerve decompression was performed on the remaining 7 cases in which stripping surgery was impossible. Favorable facial nerve function was successfully maintained in all cases who underwent stripping surgery and 5 of 7 cases who underwent facial nerve decompression. CONCLUSIONS: It was possible to accomplish stripping surgery in most cases with favorable facial nerve function, which maintained good facial nerve function after total tumor removal.

Phase II trial of temozolomide plus concurrent whole-brain radiation followed by TNV regimen as adjuvant therapy for patients with newly diagnosed primary CNS lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is an aggressive extranodal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma limited to the CNS. Treatment of PCNSL with high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX)-based chemotherapy and whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) is associated with high rates of relapse and severe treatment-related neurotoxicity. AIM: To report our experience of treating newly diagnosed PCNSL with temozolomide, nedaplatin, and vincristine (TNV), as the replacement of HD-MTX, in combination with concurrent chemoradiotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Newly diagnosed PCNSL patients were given concurrent temozolomide (75 mg/m 2 , orally) daily during WBRT. Then, the TNV regimen was given after four weeks. The TNV regimen consisted of temozolomide (200 mg/m 2 orally: Days 1-5), nedaplatin (80 mg/m 2 intravenous: Day 1), and vincristine (1.4 mg/m 2 intravenous: Day 1). Each cycle was of a duration of four weeks and a maximum of six cycles were applied. The primary end point was response to treatment obtained by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Secondary end points were progression-free survival (PFS) and fewer toxic effects. RESULTS: The study subjects included 14 patients (median age: 53.5, median Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS): 75). The median number of TNV cycles given was five. RESPONSE TO TREATMENT: Complete response in 12 (85.7%) patients, partial response in 2 (14.3%) patients, and none with progressive disease. The objective response rate was 100%, and median PFS was 21.4 months. Toxicity was relatively mild, which mainly included nausea in six and fatigue in five, grade 3-4 hematotoxicity in one, and abnormal liver functions in five patients. No neurotoxicity has been observed till date. CONCLUSION: The efficacy outcomes in this study are comparable to other reported HD-MTX-based regimens plus WBRT, with an added favorable toxicity profile. Prospective, randomized controlled trials are warranted to confirm such results.

The Efficacy and Safety of Anlotinib Alone and in Combination with Other Drugs in Previously Treated Advanced Thymic Epithelia Tumors: A Retrospective Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) are rare thoracic malignancies with no standard second-line treatment. Tumor angiogenesis is closely associated with the pathogenesis and invasiveness of TETs. Anlotinib is a small-molecule multitarget tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) which inhibits tumor angiogenesis and tumor cell proliferation. Published studies have demonstrated the promising clinical effect of multitarget TKIs sunitinib and lenvatinib in previously treated TETs. However, TKIs have a high incidence of adverse events (AEs). OBJECTIVE: In this study, we investigated the clinical efficacy and safety of anlotinib in previously treated TET patients. METHODS: We collected clinical data of 22 patients from Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute between October 2018 and March 2022. These patients were diagnosed with advanced TETs and received at least the first-line (1st-line) treatment. We analyzed the clinical effects between anlotinib monotherapy and anlotinib combination therapy in the second-line (2nd-line) or anlotinib treatment in different lines. RESULTS: These 22 patients included 18 cases of thymic carcinoma (TC) and 4 cases of thymoma (T). 68.2% of patients were males, and the median age was 53 years. Fourteen patients (63.6%) received anlotinib monotherapy and 8 patients (36.4%) received anlotinib combination therapy. The objective response rate (ORR) was 9.1% in the overall patients. The median progression-free survival (PFS) in the overall population was 12 months (14 months for T and 9 months for TC), and the median overall survival (OS) was 24 months (survival was not reached for T and was 24 months for TC). The incidence of AEs was 50%, most of them were grades I and II, and the incidence of grades III and IV AEs was 9%. CONCLUSION: This is the first study reporting the clinical effect of anlotinib in previously treated TETs patients. The survival data indicate that the efficacy of anlotinib is superior to sunitinib and lenvatinib. Our results suggest that anlotinib is a promising treatment option for previously treated TET patients and its toxicity is tolerable. More research and patents are needed in the future to explore better options for the diagnosis and treatment of TETs.

The joint detection of CEA and ctDNA in cerebrospinal fluid: an auxiliary tool for the diagnosis of leptomeningeal metastases in cancer.

BACKGROUND: Leptomeningeal metastases (LMs) are highly invasive which leads to poor prognosis, but the accurate diagnosis of LM is challenging. It is necessary to investigate more advanced diagnostic methods to realize precision medicine. The main purpose of this study was to select a more effective method for the auxiliary diagnosis of LM by comparing various detection methods. The secondary purpose was to explore the value of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tumor markers (TMs) and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing in guiding clinical treatment. METHODS: TMs in serum and CSF of patients were detected by chemiluminescence. The ctDNA of CSF and plasma were detected by the next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology. RESULTS: In total, 54 tumor patients participated in this study, in which 39 with LM and 15 without LM (8 with parenchymal tumor and 7 without brain metastasis). The results showed that the sensitivity and accuracy of CSF cytology isolated during the first lumbar puncture were 0.31 (95% CI 0.17-0.48) and 0.50 (95% CI 0.36-0.64), respectively. The sensitivity and accuracy of CSF_CEA were 0.71 (95% CI 0.54-0.85) and 0.78 (95% CI 0.64-0.89), which were better than those of CSF_NSE and CSF_CFRA-211. The sensitivity and accuracy of CSF_ctDNA were 0.92 (95% CI 0.79-0.98) and 0.91 (95% CI 0.80-0.97), significantly higher than that of CSF cytology (P < 0.01). The sensitivity and accuracy of CSF_CEA combined with CSF_ctDNA were 0.97 (95% CI, 0.87-1.00) and 0.94 (95% CI 0.85-0.99), which were significantly higher than the traditional methods CSF cytology (P < 0.01). For LM patients with hydrocephalus, the sensitivity of CSF ctDNA even achieved 100% (14/14). CONCLUSION: CSF_CEA combined with CSF_ctDNA could be used to accurately distinguish patients with LM from those with no brain metastasis and from those with parenchymal tumors. CSF_ctDNA testing reveals a unique mutation profile for patients with LM. Dynamic detection of CSF TM and ctDNA can better predict the efficacy and reveal the cause of drug resistance to guide subsequent treatment. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical trial registration number: NCT03029065.

Genetic Testing and Immunotherapy for Intracranial Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor: A Case Report.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a rare mesenchymal tumor that can develop in numerous organs, most commonly in the lungs and rarely in the brain. Here, we reported a 55-year-old patient with nasopharyngeal IMT and the recurrence in the skull base, slope and pterygoid sinus who underwent cranial base and slope tumor resection. Postoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and multiplex immunohistochemistry (mIHC) showed tumor recurrence and metastasis to the intracalvarium. While genetic testing revealed no significant related gene mutations, tertiary mutations in NSD1 and SOX9 genes were identified in the tumor tissues. The patient achieved partial remission after receiving 7 cycles of immunotherapy (toripalimab 240 mg for 1 cycle followed by 6 cycles of sintilimab 200 mg), and MRI examination indicated an almost complete remission of intracranial IMT after 16 cycles of immunotherapy. In summary, the novel class of immune-targeted agents may be effective in clinical management of rare intracranial IMT.

Olaparib Combined With Dacomitinib in Osimertinib-Resistant Brain and Leptomeningeal Metastases From Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Case Report and Systematic Review.

Lung cancer patients with brain and leptomeningeal metastases usually have poor prognosis. For those patients with EGFR mutations, osimertinib, a third-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), is the first choice of treatment. However, drug resistance to osimertinib frequently occurs; and to date, the available follow-up treatment strategies have limited efficacy. In this case study, we report that treatments with olaparib, a Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, combined with dacomitinib, a second-generation EGFR TKI, benefited a lung cancer patient with osimertinib-resistant brain and leptomeningeal metastases. This 55-year-old male patient was found to have a pL858R mutation on EGFR exon 21 combined with TP53 and ERBB2 mutations after developing drug resistance to osimertinib treatment. Based on the genetic testing results, he was treated with olaparib and dacomitinib, and obtained 6 months of progression-free survival (PFS) and 13 months of overall survival (OS) after the diagnosis of leptomeningeal metastasis. This case report represents the first study applying PARP inhibitor in combination with dacomitinib in the treatment of leptomeningeal metastases after osimertinib resistance.

Durable Effect of Pyrotinib and Metronomic Vinorelbine in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer With Leptomeningeal Disease: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Leptomeningeal metastases (LM) are rare and catastrophic for metastatic breast cancer (MBC). The prognosis of HER2-positive breast cancer (BC) with LM is extremely poor. There is no high-quality evidence of treatment regimens in HER2-positive BC with LM yet. Here, we present a case of LM in a 50-year-old woman with HER2-positive BC. Immunohistochemistry revealed invasive ductal carcinoma, estrogen receptor negative, progesterone receptor negative, HER2 3+, P53 positive 80%, and Ki-67 positive 35%. Reported for the first time, the patient was given pyrotinib-targeted therapy (400 mg, oral, every day), metronomic vinorelbine (40 mg, oral, three times a week), and intrathecal methotrexate (10 mg, infrequent and irregular use due to poor compliance) synchronously. The patient received and benefited from the treatment regimen for 16 months. And the quality of life, as self-reported, improved significantly. We also comprehensively summarized all the case reports, observational studies, and clinical trials related to HER2-positive BC with LM in the PubMed database and ClinicalTrials.gov. Intrathecal chemotherapy (methotrexate, cytarabine, thiotepa), intrathecal trastuzumab, whole-brain radiotherapy, and systemic therapy are commonly used treatment options according to a review of the literature and research. Pembrolizumab and trastuzumab deruxtecan (DS-8201) as novel drugs are promising in LM. Furthermore, trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) such as tucatinib and neratinib have exhibited good efficacy in HER2-positive BC with central nervous system (CNS) metastases and deserve further exploration. In our report, combining pyrotinib-targeted therapy with metronomic chemotherapy is a potential regimen, which has presented satisfactory therapeutic efficacy and also warrants additional investigation in HER2-positive BC with LM.

Potential 18F-RGD PET/CT and DCE-MRI Imaging-Based Biomarkers for Postoperative Survival Prediction Among Patients With Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma Treated With Bevacizumab and Chemoradiotherapy.

Purpose: To investigate the ability of potential imaging biomarkers based on 18F-AlF-NOTA-PRGD2 positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-RGD PET/CT) and dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) imaging to predict the response to bevacizumab combined with conventional therapy in postoperative newly diagnosed glioblastoma. Methods: Twenty patients with newly diagnosed with glioblastoma after surgery were prospectively enrolled to receive bevacizumab plus conventional concurrent radiotherapy and temozolomide (CCRT). 18F-RGD PET/CT and DCE-MRI were performed at baseline, week 3, and week 10 for each patient. Statistical methods included the analysis of variance (ANOVA), Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazard analysis. Results: All patients completed CCRT plus bevacizumab therapy without interruption. The median follow-up time was 33.9 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 28.3-39.5 months). The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) was 9.66 months (95% CI, 6.20-13.12 months) and 15.89 months (95% CI, 13.89-17.78), respectively. Treatment was generally well tolerated, and there were no Treatment emergent adverse events (TEAEs) with a toxicity grade equal to or exceeding 3 or that led to termination of treatment or patient death.Over the treatment interval of bevacizumab therapy from week 3 to week 10, patients with a large decrease of SUVmean was associated with a better PFS with a hazard ratio (HR) of 6.562, 95% CI (1.318-32.667), p=0.022. According to Kaplan-Meier analysis, patients with a decrease in the SUVmean of more than 0.115 on 18F-RGD PET/CT had a longer PFS than those with a decrease in the SUVmean of 0.115 or less (12.25 months vs.7.46 months, p=0.009). For OS, only a small decrease of Ktrans was also found to have certain prognostic value (HR=0.986, 95% CI (0.975-0.998), p=0.023). Patients with a decrease in Ktrans larger than 37.03 (min-1) on DCE-MRI had worse OS than those with a decrease in Ktrans of 37.03 (min-1) or less (15.93 months vs. 26.42 months, p=0.044). Conclusion: 18F-RGD PET/CT and DCE-MRI may be valuable in evaluating the response of glioblastoma to treatment with the combination of bevacizumab and CCRT, with a greater decrease in SUVmean predicting better PFS as well as a small decrease in Ktrans predicting improved OS.

Comprehensive identification of FGFR1-4 alterations in 5 557 Chinese patients with solid tumors by next-generation sequencing.

Deregulation of fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) network is common in cancer due to activating mutations, gene amplifications and chromosomal translocations. Currently, various FGFR inhibitors are being developed. In order to optimize their clinical applications, understanding the frequencies and types of FGFR alterations in multiple cancer types appears to be extremely important. This study characterized FGFR1-4 alterations in solid tumors by next-generation sequencing (NGS). Between Jun. 2019 and Aug. 2020, the sequencing data of 5 557 solid tumors of diverse types in the database of Simcere Diagnostics, Inc. (Nanjing, China) were retrospectively analyzed. A panel-based NGS assay was used to detect FGFR1-4 alterations in tumor samples. 9.2% of cancer cases had FGFR1-4 alterations, in which gene amplifications (51.5%) and mutations (40.7%) were frequent, whereas gene rearrangements were less common (10.0%). FGFR1 was involved in 4.6% of 5 557 cases, FGFR2 in 2.1%, FGFR3 in 1.6%, and FGFR4 in 1.4%. Of patients with FGFR1-4 alterations, TP53, MUC16, NSD3, MYC and LRP1B genes were the top 5 mutant genes. FGFR1-4 aberrations occurred in almost every type of solid tumors, with the most common tumor being endometrial carcinoma (22.2%), followed by sarcoma (17.3%), breast cancer (13.2%), gastric cancer (12.2%), and more. 0.6% of cancer cases harbored FGFR1-4 fusions, with the most common fusion partner being TACC3. Two cases of GBM harboring FGFR3-TACC3 fusions were responsive to anlotinib treatment. In conclusion, FGFR1-4 alterations are prevalent in solid tumors of diverse types, with the majority being gene amplifications and mutations. FGFR1-4 fusions only occur in a minority of cancer cases, and those with glioblastoma harboring FGFR3-TACC3 fusions may benefit from anlotinib.

Rare NF1 Gene Mutation in Chinese Patient with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 and Anaplastic Astrocytoma.

BACKGROUND: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), a dysregulated neurocutaneous disorder, is an autosomal dominant genetic disease caused by mutations in the NF1 gene. Anaplastic astrocytoma is rare in NF1 patients, and research has proposed that high-grade astrocytomas could be due to larger germ-line mutations in NF1.We present a clinical and molecular study of a Chinese family with NF1. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 28-year-old male patient with NF1 presents with headache, vertigo, and dizziness. Histopathologic examination and molecular features identified a cerebellar anaplastic astrocytoma, IDH-wildtype. The patient underwent gross total resection of the lesion and received radiotherapy and chemotherapy. A rare splice error mutation (c.4110+945A>G) in intron 23-2 of NF1 was identified by next-generation sequencing in the proband. Sanger sequencing identified and confirmed it in some affected family members. CONCLUSIONS: We present a unique case of NF1 with anaplastic astrocytoma that revealed a rare splice error mutation in the NF1 gene in the family.

Apatinib in recurrent anaplastic meningioma: a retrospective case series and systematic literature review.

Up to now, no proven effective medical therapy for surgery and radiation-refractory anaplastic meningioma (AM) exists. Patients with vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) positive meningiomas showed significantly shorter progression-free survival. Apatinib is a small-molecule antiangiogenic agent that selectively inhibits VEGFR-2. We report three cases of recurrent AM (VEGFR-2 positive) treated with apatinib. After apatinib treatment, the best outcome for all three patients was the partial response. The Progression-free survival was 17.3 months, 10.3 months, and 14+ months, respectively. The third patient lost follow-up after the last review. The overall survival was 28.5 months and 18 months, respectively. The main adverse events were hypertension, hand-foot syndrome, and myelosuppression. Apatinib is active in recurrent AM patients and this is the first report in the world. It is promising to launch a Phase II clinical trial of apatinib to further evaluate its efficacy on AM. BACKGROUND: Anaplastic meningioma (AM) are rare and aggressive tumors with high recurrence rates despite optimal surgical or medical management. Up to now, no proven effective medical therapy, surgery, or radiation-refractory for AM exist. The progression-free survival (PFS) of patients with vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2)-positive meningiomas was significantly low. Apatinib (YN968D1) is a small-molecule antiangiogenic agent that selectively inhibits VEGFR-2. CASE #1: A 47-year-old Asian female patient with malignant meningioma underwent four operations and three radiotherapies. She was given a 500 mg apatinib daily oral treatment, and the dosage was halved to 250 mg 3 months into the treatment. According to the Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (RANO) evaluation criteria, the best outcome during treatment was the partial response (PR) 6 months after the treatment. The PFS was 17.3 months, whereas the overall survival (OS) was 28.5 months. The best change in the Karnofsky performance scale (KPS) was a 10-point increase. The main adverse events included anemia (grade II), thrombocytopenia (grade II), and proteinuria (grade I). CASE #2: A 71-year-old Asian woman with AM underwent two operations and two gamma knife stereotactic radiotherapies. She was given a 500 mg apatinib daily oral treatment with a follow-up period of 18 months. apatinib was taken orally for 10 months. According to the RANO evaluation criteria, the best outcome during treatment was PR. The PFS was 10.3 months, whereas the OS was 18 months. The best change in KPS was a 20-point increase. The main adverse events included hypertension (grade II), hand-foot syndrome (grade II), and fecal ocular blood (grade II). Case #3: A 16-year-old Asian girl with AM underwent two operations and two radiotherapies. She was given a 250 mg apatinib daily oral treatment with a follow-up period of 16 months. Apatinib was taken orally for 8 months. The patient did not follow-up after the last review of the brain-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. According to the RANO evaluation criteria, the best outcome during treatment was PR. The PFS was 14+ months, and the best change in KPS was a 10-point increase. The main adverse events included hypertension (grade I) and hand-foot syndrome (grade I). CONCLUSION: Apatinib is actively used in treating patients with recurrent AM. A randomized trial and phase II clinical trial of this inhibitor should be performed to further evaluate its efficacy in treating malignant meningioma.

Apatinib Plus Temozolomide for Recurrent Glioblastoma: An Uncontrolled, Open-Label Study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the efficacy and tolerability of apatinib plus dose-dense temozolomide (TMZ) as first-line treatment for recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM). METHODS: Patients with rGBM were enrolled in this study. Patients were subjected to concurrent treatment of apatinib (500 mg qd) and dose-dense TMZ (100 mg/m2, 7 days on with 7 days off) until disease progression or intolerable toxicity. Efficacy was evaluated using Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology criteria for high-grade glioma. Safety was assessed using NCI-CTCAE 4.0. Survival was estimated with Kaplan-Meier curve and log rank test. RESULTS: From March 2016 to January 2018, 20 eligible patients who had relapsed from the standard chemoradiotherapy regimen (TMZ and radiotherapy) were enrolled in this study. The median follow-up time was 12 months. All patients were eligible for efficacy analysis. The objective response rate (ORR) was 45%. The disease control rate (DCR) was 90%. The median progress-free survival time was 6 months (95% CI, 5.3 to 7.8 months). The 6-month progression-free survival rate was 50%. The median overall survival was 9 months (95% CI, 8.2 to 12.2 months). The most common treatment-related adverse events were hypertension (21%), hand-foot syndrome (16%), leukopenia (14%), and thrombocytopenia (12%). CONCLUSION: Apatinib combined with dose-dense TMZ was effective in terms of PFS, ORR, and DCR and was well tolerated after appropriate dose reduction in the Chinese population tested. Further randomized controlled clinical studies are needed to confirm the efficacy of apatinib combined with TMZ for treatment of rGBM.

Apatinib (YN968D1) and Temozolomide in Recurrent Invasive Pituitary Adenoma: Case Report and Literature Review.

BACKGROUND: Invasive pituitary adenomas often recurred after postoperative radiotherapy and are difficult to treat. Temozolomide is an alkylating cytostaticum and has been reported to reduce pituitary tumor size and hormone hypersecretion. However, this is far from enough. Pituitary adenomas have relatively high expression of vascular endothelial growth factor. Therefore an antiangiogenic agent has been used in a small number of aggressive or malignant pituitary tumors after recurrence. Apatinib (YN968D1) is a small-molecule antiangiogenic agent that selectively inhibits VEGFR-2 and also mildly inhibits c-Kit and c-Src tyrosine kinases, abundant in invasive pituitary adenomas. CASE DESCRIPTION: We present a 41-year-old female with a growth hormone (GH)-secreting invasive pituitary adenoma causing menstrual disorder and headache symptoms. Over 3 years, she underwent 4 surgeries and a stereotactic radiosurgery, but the results were poor. Two months after the fourth operation, she started treatment with temozolomide (200 mg/m2, days 1-5, 28 days, orally) and apatinib (0.425 g, daily, orally). Her GH level dropped to normal with a >90% decrease in tumor size, after 1-year treatment. There was no evidence of recurrence by imaging or by serum GH levels over 31.5 months of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: We successfully treated this patient with recurrent invasive pituitary adenoma with temozolomide and apatinib for 31.5 months without recurrence. Angiogenesis is an active process in the cases of invasive pituitary adenomas that cannot be controlled by conventional therapy.

MicroRNA-370 suppresses the progression and proliferation of human astrocytoma and glioblastoma by negatively regulating ß-catenin and causing activation of FOXO3a.

Certain microRNAs (miRs) regulate the progression and metastasis of various cancer types. In the present study, the role of miR-370 in the progression and proliferation of human astrocytoma and glioblastoma cells was assessed and the underlying molecular mechanism was investigated. miR-370 levels in clinical specimens of human glioma and peritumoral tissues were determined by reverse-transcription quantitative PCR. Oligonucleotide mimics and inhibitors were transfected into the U-251MG human astrocytoma cell line and the and U-87MG glioblastoma cell line and the cell viability of was determined by an MTT assay. The expression of ß-catenin and forkhead box protein (FOX)O3a was determined by western blot analysis. The results revealed that the expression of miR-370 in human glioma tissues was significantly decreased compared with that in peritumoral tissues. The miR-370 levels in patients with grade III/IV gliomas were significantly decreased compared with those in grade I/II. Transfection with miR-370 mimics inhibited the proliferation of U-251MG and U-87MG cells. Furthermore, the miR-370 levels were negatively correlated with ß-catenin and positively correlated with nuclear FOXO3a. In conclusion, miR-370 inhibited the proliferation of human glioma cells by regulating the levels of ß-catenin and the activation of FOXO3a, suggesting that miR-370 was a tumor suppressor in the progression of human astrocytoma and glioblastoma cells.

Phase II Study of the Efficacy and Safety of High-dose Pemetrexed in Combination with Cisplatin Versus Temozolomide for the Treatment of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer with Brain Metastases.

The aim of this study was to explore the efficacy and safety of high-dose pemetrexed with cisplatin versus combination with temozolomide in patients with brain metastases (BM) of lung adenocarcinoma. After standard whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT, 30 Gy/10 fractions), patients with BM of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were given high-dose pemetrexed (900 mg/m2) on day 1 of each cycle (3 weeks), and cisplatin was administered on days 1-3 in the cisplatin-treated group. The temozolomide-treated group was treated as follows: 75 mg/m2 temozolomide orally with concurrent WBRT followed by 150 mg/m2 temozolomide on days 1-5 with high-dose pemetrexed (900 mg/m2) on day 1 of each cycle (3 weeks). Six cycles later, high-dose pemetrexed (900 mg/m2) monotherapy or the best available supportive therapy was administered to both groups. An evaluation was carried out every 2-3 cycles. The primary end-points were objective response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Secondary end-points included safety and tolerability. Thirty-two patients in the pemetrexed plus cisplatin (PC) group and 28 patients in the pemetrexed plus temozolomide (PT) group were enrolled from November 2013 to October 2015. The ORR was 68.8% and 75%, in the PC and PT groups, respectively, and there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (p=0.711). The median PFS rates of the PC and PT groups were 13.6 months and 16.9 months, respectively, and the median OS rates of the PC and PT groups were 18.9 months and 19.3 months, respectively. There were no differences in PFS and OS between the two groups. There were no grade 4 or higher side-effects in either group, but grade 3 side-effects such as leucopenia (2/32, 6.3%), nausea/vomiting (2/32, 6.3%), alopecia (1/32, 3.1%), rash (3/32, 9.4%) and renal insufficiency (1/32, 3.1%) were observed in the PC group, whereas the PT-group-only showed the following grade 3 side-effects: leucopenia (1/28, 3.6%) and nausea/vomiting (2/28, 7.1%). The data showed that the PT group achieved the same efficacy in PFS and OS as the PC group but with fewer toxicities. Therefore, high-dose pemetrexed plus temozolomide may be a better regimen for treating NSCLC with BM due to its better safety.

Efficacy and safety of pemetrexed on recurrent primary central nervous system lymphomas in China: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Pemetrexed, a new and novel agent for primary central nervous system lymphomas (PCNSLs), has shown to be efficient as a savage therapy for recurrent PCNSLs. However, more studies are needed. A prospective study was performed on 17 recurrent PCNSL patients with pemetrexed at Shandong Tumor Hospital in China to assess the efficacy and safety of pemetrexed for recurrent PCNSL patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The medical records and imaging data on all the cases of recurrent PCNSL patients with pemetrexed in our study were collected during August 2012 and April 2015. Folic acid, B12, and dexamethasone were used to induce toxicities related to pemetrexed. Patients were treated with pemetrexed at a dose of 900 mg/m2 intravenously every 3 weeks, and one cycle consists of 6 weeks. RESULTS: A total of 17 cases of recurrent PCNSL patients were enrolled in our study, including 10 males and 7 females with a median age of 66.2 years (ranging from 35 to 81). After the treatment, five cases had complete remission, with partial remission in five cases, stable disease in four cases, and progressive disease in three cases. Consequently, the overall response rate was 58.8%, and the disease control rate was 82.4%. The median overall survival was 7.8 months (95% confidence interval: 5.9-9.6 months) in the study of recurrent PCNSL patients. CONCLUSION: This study has been the first clinical trial that applied pemetrexed to treat recurrent PCNSL patients in China, and results indicated that chemotherapy using large pemetrexed may become an effective treatment for PCNSL recurrence with modest toxicity.