RESUMEN
Background: Cholangiocarcinoma is an epithelial malignancy of the intrahepatic or extrahepatic biliary tree, primarily driven by chronic inflammation and fibrosis. Fibrosis has been shown to correlate with malignancy, and the aminotransferase-platelet ratio index (APRI) score, a marker for hepatic fibrosis, has proved useful in prognosticating hepatocellular carcinoma. This study aimed to assess the utility of APRI score in predicting post-surgical outcomes in cholangiocarcinoma patients. Methods: Clinical data from a total of 152 cholangiocarcinoma patients who underwent surgical resection at the Mayo Clinic were collected. The data were subsequently analyzed to determine if there was a relationship between APRI score and the demographic, laboratory, pathologic and outcome data, including overall survival. To determine the relationship between quantitative and qualitative data and the APRI score, a P-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: No relationship between APRI score and demographic factors was identified. There were correlations between APRI score and alanine transaminase, albumin and bilirubin, but the remaining laboratory parameters showed no correlation. APRI score did not prove to be useful as a prognostic tool, as it did not correlate with tumor pathology features (tumor grade t-test P=0.86, N stage ANOVA P=0.94, vascular invasion t-test P=0.59, and perineural invasion t-test P=0.14), or with post-surgical recurrence (t-test P=0.22) and mortality (t-test P=0.39). Conclusion: APRI score is not a prognostic tool for post-surgical outcomes in patients with cholangiocarcinoma.
RESUMEN
Recent efforts to personalize treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy and PARP inhibitors have produced promising results in homologous recombinant deficient (HRD) metastatic pancreatic cancer (MPC). However, new strategies are necessary to overcome resistance. The below case series documents patients treated at the HonorHealth Research Institute with a diagnosis of HRD MPC who received Mitomycin C (MMC) treatment from January 2013 until July 2018. Five HRD MPC patients treated with MMC were evaluated. All patients received at least one course of treatment. Mean age at MMC treatment initiation was 58 years. There were 3 females and 2 males. All patients had tumors that progressed on platinum-based chemotherapy, four patients had previous exposure to Olaparib. The median PFS was 10.1 months, and the median OS was 12.3 months. Responses were observed only in patients harboring BRCA2 mutations, no response was observed in the PALB2 mutation carrier. MMC in this heavily previously treated PC was safe, with overall manageable grade 2 gastrointestinal toxicities including nausea and vomiting, and G3 hematological toxicities including anemia and thrombocytopenia. Pancreatic cancer patients with HRD may benefit from MMC treatment. Further clinical investigation of MMC in pancreatic cancer is warranted.