ABSTRACT
Introduction: Clear cell sarcoma (CCS) is a rare and aggressive soft tissue sarcoma. CCS is characterized by the translocation t(12;22) (q13;q12), involving the fusion of EWSR1 and ATF1 genes, and less frequently the fusion gene EWSR1-CREB1. Usually, CCSs are considered poorly responsive to conventional chemotherapy. However, trabectedin has shown activity against translocation-related sarcomas. Furthermore, preclinical results suggest that trabectedin is a promising antitumor agent for CCS, potentially inducing melanocytic differentiation. Case Presentation: We report the case of a challenging anatomopathological diagnosis in a patient with an aggressive metastatic CCS. Following the diagnosis of CCS, the patient experienced a clinical and radiological tumor response to trabectedin after four lines of treatment. Conclusion: This is a novel report of CCS treated with trabectedin that resulted in a partial response and suggests the need for further research on trabectedin as a therapeutic option for CCS.
Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung , Lung Neoplasms , Humans , Lung Neoplasms/diagnosis , Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy , Lung Neoplasms/genetics , Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/diagnosis , Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/drug therapy , Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/genetics , Liquid Biopsy , Mutation , High-Throughput Nucleotide SequencingABSTRACT
Background: We have defined a project to develop a mobile app that continually records smartphone parameters which may help define the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG-PS) and the health-related quality of life (HRQoL), without interaction with patients or professionals. This project is divided into 3 phases. Here we describe phase 1. The objective of this phase was to develop the app and assess its usability concerning patient characteristics, acceptability, and satisfaction. Methods: The app eB2-ECOG was developed and installed in the smartphone of cancer patients who will be followed for six months. Criteria inclusion were: age over 18-year-old; diagnosed with unresectable or metastatic lung cancer, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, sarcoma, or head and neck cancer; under systemic anticancer therapies; and possession of a Smartphone. The app will collect passive and active data from the patients while healthcare professionals will evaluate the ECOG-PS and HRQoL through conventional tools. Acceptability was assessed during the follow-up. Patients answered a satisfaction survey in the app between 3-6 months from their inclusion. Results: The app developed provides a system for continuously collecting, merging, and processing data related to patient's health and physical activity. It provides a transparent capture service based on all the available data of a patient. Currently, 106 patients have been recruited. A total of 36 patients were excluded, most of them (21/36) due to technological reasons. We assessed 69 patients (53 lung cancer, 8 gastrointestinal stromal tumors, 5 sarcomas, and 3 head and neck cancer). Concerning app satisfaction, 70.4% (20/27) of patients found the app intuitive and easy to use, and 51.9% (17/27) of them said that the app helped them to improve and handle their problems better. Overall, 17 out of 27 patients [62.9%] were satisfied with the app, and 14 of them [51.8%] would recommend the app to other patients. Conclusions: We observed that the app's acceptability and satisfaction were good, which is essential for the continuity of the project. In the subsequent phases, we will develop predictive models based on the collected information during this phase. We will validate the method and analyze the sensitivity of the automated results.
ABSTRACT
Background: Cancer patients represent a vulnerable population for COVID-19 illness. We aimed to analyze outcomes of lung cancer patients affected by COVID-19 in a tertiary hospital of a high-incidence region during the pandemic. Methods: We annotated 23 lung cancer patients consecutively diagnosed with COVID-19 at our institution (HGUGM; Madrid, Spain) between March 4th, 2020 and May 12th, 2020. Only patients with a confirmatory SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR were included in the study. Results: All patients had at least 1 COVID-19 related symptom; cough (48%), shortness of breath (48%), fever (39%), and low-grade fever (30%) were the most common. Time from symptoms onset to first positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR was 5.5 days (range 1-17), with 13% of cases needed from a 2nd PCR to confirm diagnosis. There was a high variability on thoracic imaging findings, with multilobar pneumonia as the most commonly found pattern (74%). Main lab test abnormalities were low lymphocytes count (87%), high neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio -NLR- (78%), and elevated inflammatory markers: fibrinogen (91%), c-reactive protein -CRP- (87%), and D-dimer (70%). In our series, hospitalization rate was 74%, 39% of patients developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and the case-fatality rate was 35% (8/23). 87% of patients received anti-viral treatment (87% hydroxychloroquine, 74% lopinavir/ritonavir, 13% azithromycin), 43% corticosteroids, 26% interferon-ß, 4% tocilizumab, and 82% of hospitalized patients received anticoagulation. High-oxygen requirements were needed in 39% of patients, but only 1 pt was admitted for invasive MV and was discharged 42 days after admission. Multiple variables related to tumor status, clinical baseline conditions, and inflammation markers were associated with mortality but did not remain statistically significant in a multivariate model. In patients with lung cancer receiving systemic therapy (n = 242) incidence and mortality from COVID-19 were 4.5, and 2.1%, respectively, with no differences found by type of treatment. Conclusions: Lung cancer patients represent a vulnerable population for COVID-19, according to the high rate of hospitalization, onset of ARDS, and high mortality rate. Although larger series are needed, no differences in mortality were found by type of cancer treatment. Measures to minimize the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection remain key to protect lung cancer patients.