Profiling of the genetic features of patients with breast, ovarian, colorectal and extracolonic cancers: Association to CHEK2 and PALB2 germline mutations.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Cancer predisposition goes beyond BRCA and DNA Mismatch Repair (MMR) genes since multi-gene panel testing has become the routine diagnostic tool for hereditary cancer suspicion (HCS) cases. CHEK2 and PALB2 are some of the foremost-mutated non-BRCA/MMR actionable genes in families with a significant familial aggregation. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to unravel which tumours other than breast, ovary or colorectal display the patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We have analysed 528 probands that meet the inclusion criteria for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer and Lynch Syndrome established by our Hereditary Cancer Regional Program with a customized 35 genes-panel by using Ion Torrent™ Technology. RESULTS: We have identified pathogenic variants (PVs) in 61 families (1.55%), of which more than half (31 probands) harboured PVs in CHEK2 and PALB2 genes. Ours results reveal that not only were PVs CHEK2 and PALB2 carriers more likely to have family history of cancer not limited to breast, ovarian or colorectal cancers, but also they are prone to other extracolonic cancers, noteworthy endometrial and gastric cancers. CONCLUSIONS: Multigene panel testing improves the chance of finding PVs in actionable genes in families with HCS. In addition, the coexistence of variants should be recorded to implement a polygenic risk algorithm that might explain the missing heritability in the aforementioned families.

Pembrolizumab as first-line treatment for advanced NSCLC in older adults: A phase II clinical trial evaluating geriatric and quality-of-life outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: Since specific data on immunotherapy in older adults with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) are scarce, we designed this study to determine the overall survival (OS) at one year of first-line pembrolizumab in patients older than 70 years with aNSCLC expressing PD-L1. Secondary objectives included progression-free survival, disease-specific survival, response rate, tolerability, quality of life (QoL) changes, and geriatric assessments. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A single-arm, open-label, phase II clinical trial was carried out by the Spanish Lung Cancer Group between February 2018 and November 2019 at ten active sites in Spain. We included patients 70 years old and older with histological or cytological documented stage IIIB or IV aNSCLC and PD-L1 expression ≥ 1%. Each subject received 200 mg of intravenous pembrolizumab every three weeks for a maximum of two years. RESULTS: 83 patients were recruited for the study and 74 were finally analysed. Most were male (N = 64, 86.5%) and former smokers (N = 51, 68.9%). 24 patients (32.4%) completed at least one year of treatment, 62 (83.7%) discontinued treatment, and 30 (40.5%) experienced disease progression. The median follow-up of our cohort was 18.0 months [range: 0.1-47.7] and 46 patients (62.2%) died during the period of study. The estimated OS at one year was 61.7% (95% CI: 49.6-71.8%) and the median OS of our cohort was 19.2 months (95% CI: 11.3-25.5). QoL tended to improve throughout the study, although the differences were not statistically significant. The main geriatric scores remained stable, except for a worsening in nutritional status (P = 0.004) and an improvement in frailty (P = 0.028). CONCLUSION: Our results support treating older adults with aNSCLC expressing PD-L1 with pembrolizumab in monotherapy. The stability of most geriatric scores and the positive trend on the patients' QoL should be highlighted, although our results did not reach statistical significance.

Biweekly docetaxel and vinorelbine with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor support for patients with anthracycline-resistant metastatic breast cancer.

This phase II trial evaluated the efficacy and toxicity of vinorelbine 25 mg/m2 plus docetaxel 60 mg2/m administered on day 1, every 2 weeks with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor support (G-CSF, 5 microg/kg/day, days 3-7) as primary prophylaxis in patients with histologically confirmed metastatic breast cancer (MBC) and previously treated with anthracyclines in the adjuvant or in the first-line setting. A total of 48 patients received 352 cycles (median 8, range 2-10). All patients were included in the efficacy and safety evaluation on an intent-to-treat analysis. Eight patients (17%) showed a complete response and 14 patients (29%) showed a partial response. Overall response rate was 46% [95% confidence interval (CI) 33-60]. The median duration of response was 10.0 months. With a median follow-up of 18.0 months, the median time to progression was 11.9 months and the median overall survival was 27.1 months. The most frequently reported grade 3/4 hematological toxicity was neutropenia (19% of patients, 4% of cycles). Febrile neutropenia was reported in six patients (13%) and 7 cycles (2%), but no toxic deaths were reported. The most common grade 3/4 non-hematological toxicity was asthenia (17% of patients, 6% of cycles) and nail toxicity (15% of patients, 3% of cycles). In conclusion, biweekly docetaxel plus vinorelbine with G-CSF support is active and well tolerated as chemotherapy for patients with MBC resistant to anthracyclines. G-CSF support is recommended for lowering the incidence and severity of neutropenia and febrile neutropenia.