Unfavorable carcinoma of unknown primary with a gastrointestinal profile: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP) with a gastrointestinal profile is categorized by the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) guidelines into favorable and unfavorable subsets. Favorable CUPs benefit from site-specific chemotherapy (CT), while the optimal treatment for unfavorable CUPs is still undefined. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a single-center retrospective study to describe outcomes of patients with CUP with a gastrointestinal profile referred to our center from January 2000 to August 2023. Favorable CUPs were defined as CK7-/CK20+/CDX2+ by immunohistochemistry, according to the ESMO definition; all other cases were considered unfavorable. The main endpoint was the progression-free survival (PFS) of first-line CT for advanced disease in all patients and in the unfavorable group. RESULTS: A total of 56 patients were included, of whom 46 (82%) had unfavorable CUPs. After a median follow-up of 43.9 months, the median overall survival (mOS) was 11.8 months [95% confidence interval (CI) 8.3-15.3 months]. At univariate analysis, the presence of peritoneal metastases and residual tumor after primary surgery were associated with a shorter OS. The median PFS (mPFS) was 6.1 months (95% CI 3.6-8.7 months). In the unfavorable CUP subgroup, the mOS was 12.6 months (95% CI 8.7-16.5 months), the mPFS was 6.1 months (95% CI 3.5-8.9 months) and none of the CT regimens used showed to portend better PFS. The most relevant altered genes included: KRAS (9/29; 31%), BRAF (1/26; 4%), NRAS (1/25; 4%), TP53 (9/23; 39%). CONCLUSIONS: CUPs with a gastrointestinal profile are characterized by poor prognosis and the absence of biomarker for treatment personalization. No CT regimen was superior in terms of PFS in patients with unfavorable CUPs.

Promising targetable biomarkers in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours.

INTRODUCTION: In the treatment scenario of PanNETs-targeted therapies are desired but limited, as rarity and heterogeneity on PanNETs pose limitations to their development. AREAS COVERED: We performed a literature review searching for promising druggable biomarkers and potential treatments to be implemented in the next future. We focused on treatments which have already reached clinical experimentation, although in early phases. Six targets were identified, namely Hsp90, HIFa, HDACs, CDKs, uPAR, and DDR. Even though biological rational is strong, so far reported efficacy outcomes are quite disappointing. The reason of that should be searched in the patients' heterogeneity, lack of biomarker selection, poor knowledge of interfering mechanisms as well as difficulties in patients accrual. Moreover, different ways to assess treatment efficacy should be considered, other than response rate, in light of the more indolent nature of NETs. EXPERT OPINION: Development of targeted treatments in PanNETs is still an uncovered area, far behind other more frequent cancers. Rarity of NETs led to accrual of unselected populations, possibly jeopardizing the drug efficacy. Better patients' selection, both in terms of topography, grading and biomarkers is crucial and will help understanding which role targeted therapies can really play in these tumors.

Lung carcinoids with high proliferative activity: Further support for the identification of a new tumor category in the classification of lung neuroendocrine neoplasms.

Highly proliferative lung carcinoids (HPLC) have been recently reported but information about this subset remains scarce. OBJECTIVES: Clinical and pathological data of 630 patients with lung carcinoids (LC) referred to Gustave Roussy Institute (GR) and European Institute of Oncology (IEO) were retrospectively reviewed to select HPLC and analyze their frequency, behavior and compare their outcome to conventional LC with Ki-67 ≤ 20 % and mitotic count (MC)≤10/2 mm2. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Selection criteria were: diagnosis of LC confirmed by local pathologist, and available clinical and follow-up data. Patients with Ki-67 > 20 % and/or MC > 10/ 2 mm2 in primary or metastatic specimens were identified as HPLC. RESULTS: 30/514 patients (6%) met the selection criteria of HPLC. Based on primary tumor evaluation, 22/25 (88 %) were classified as atypical carcinoids (AC). Median MC was 4.5/2 mm2 (1-11) 6/2 mm2 (3-15) in primary tumors and metastasis, respectively. Median Ki-67 was respectively 23 % (15-65) and 25 % (8-60). Recurrence rate was 66 % (12/18) in HPLC and 9 % (33/352) in conventional LC. Median RFS was 24 (10-NR) months in HPLC, 288 (141-NR) months in LC with Ki-67 index≤5 % and NR (148-NR) months in LC with Ki-67 6-20% (p < 001). Median OS was 203 (83-NR) months in LC with Ki-67 index≤5%, 101 (79-NR) months in LC with Ki-67 index 6-20 % and 53 (39-NR) months in HPLC (p = 002). Among 20 metastatic patients with HPLC, median PFS under platinum-based chemotherapy, everolimus, alkylating-based chemotherapy, FOLFOX and PRRT was 5.1 (95 % CI 0.7-9.4), 12.1(95 %CI 0.3-24), 6.8 (95 % CI 0-14.9), 10.2 (95 % CI 0.4-19.9) and 14.2 months (95 % CI 0-30) respectively. Best response was stable disease (SD) under platinum-based chemotherapy and partial response (PR) under alkylating-based chemotherapy and FOLFOX. CONCLUSION: This study confirms the existence and rarity of HPLC. Their characteristics and clinical behavior are more similar to LC rather than neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs), suggesting that this entity could be managed accordingly.

Treatments for colorectal liver metastases: A new focus on a familiar concept.

A major challenge for the management of advanced-colorectal-cancer is the multidisciplinary approach required for the treatment of liver metastases. Reducing the burden of liver metastases with liver-directed therapy has an important impact on both survival and health-related quality of life. This paper debates the rationale and current liver-directed approaches for colorectal liver metastases based on the evidence of literature and new clinical trials. Surgery is the gold standard, when feasible, and it's the main treatment goal for patients with potentially-resectable disease as a means of prolonging progression-free survival. Better tumor response rates with modern systemic therapy mean that more unresectable patients are now down-staged for radical resection following conversion therapy but for other patients, additional procedures are needed. In multiple unilobar disease, when the projected remnant liver is <30% of the total liver, portal embolization or selective-internal-radiation-therapy (SIRT) can induce hypertrophy of the healthy liver, leading to resectability. In multiple bilobar disease, in situ destruction of non-resectable lesions by minimally invasive techniques may be associated with liver resection to achieve potential curative intent. Other palliative liver-directed approaches, such as SIRT or intra-hepatic chemotherapy (HAI), which are associated with higher response rates, may also have role in down-staging patients for resection. Until recently, such technologies have not been validated in prospective controlled trials. However in the light of new Phase 3 data for SIRT as well as for HAI combined with modern therapies or radiofrequency ablation in the first- and second-line setting, the clinical value of these treatments needs to be re-appraised.