Clinical characteristics and management of orbital apex syndrome: a 10-year multicentre experience.

BACKGROUND: Orbital apex syndrome (OAS) is a condition characterised by lesions within the orbital apex, leading to various ophthalmologic symptoms. This study aimed to analyse the clinical characteristics and treatment strategies of OAS with respect to aetiology. METHODS: This retrospective analysis utilised data from 5 medical institutions between 2013 and 2022. Patients who were diagnosed with OAS were initially enrolled, but patients who failed to follow up at least 1 month were excluded. The prevalence of initial ophthalmologic symptoms and visual improvement after treatment was compared according to aetiology. Factors related to visual improvement were analysed. RESULTS: Among 73 enrolled patients, the leading aetiology was tumours, followed by fungal infections and inflammation. Visual impairment and proptosis were prevalent in tumour-related OAS cases. Inflammation-related OAS exhibited a higher likelihood of painful eye movements and ophthalmoplegia. Ptosis was most frequently observed in fungal infection-related OAS. Notably, fungal infections emerged as the sole significant factor negatively impacting vision progression. In inflammation-related OAS, the time interval between symptom onset and the administration of steroids was longer in patients without visual improvement, even though there was no statistically significant difference. CONCLUSIONS: Tumours were the predominant cause of OAS. Visual impairment was a common manifestation in tumour-related OAS, while fungal infections were strongly associated with a poor visual prognosis. The timely administration of steroids might be helpful for improving vision in patients with inflammation-related OAS. However, further studies are needed to enhance understanding and management of OAS.

Adjuvant abemaciclib combined with endocrine therapy for high-risk early breast cancer: safety and patient-reported outcomes from the monarchE study.

BACKGROUND: In monarchE, abemaciclib plus endocrine therapy (ET) as adjuvant treatment of hormone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor 2-negative, high-risk, early breast cancer (EBC) demonstrated a clinically meaningful improvement in invasive disease-free survival versus ET alone. Detailed safety analyses conducted at a median follow-up of 27 months and key patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are presented. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The safety population included all patients who received at least one dose of study treatment (n = 5591). Safety analyses included incidence, management, and outcomes of common and clinically relevant adverse events (AEs). Patient-reported health-related quality of life, ET symptoms, fatigue, and side-effect burden were assessed. RESULTS: The addition of abemaciclib to ET resulted in higher incidence of grade ≥3 AEs (49.7% versus 16.3% with ET alone), predominantly laboratory cytopenias [e.g. neutropenia (19.6%)] without clinical complications. Abemaciclib-treated patients experienced more serious AEs (15.2% versus 8.8%). Discontinuation of abemaciclib and/or ET due to AEs occurred in 18.5% of patients, mainly due to grade 1/2 AEs (66.8%). AEs were managed with comedications (e.g. antidiarrheals), abemaciclib dose holds (61.7%), and/or dose reductions (43.4%). Diarrhea was generally low grade (grade 1/2: 76%); grade 2/3 events were highest in the first month (20.5%), most were short-lived (≤7 days) and did not recur. Venous thromboembolic events (VTEs) were higher with abemaciclib + ET (2.5%) versus ET (0.6%); in the abemaciclib arm, increased VTE risk was observed with tamoxifen versus aromatase inhibitors (4.3% versus 1.8%). PROs were similar between arms, including being 'bothered by side-effects of treatment', except for diarrhea. At ≥3 months, most patients reporting diarrhea reported 'a little bit' or 'somewhat'. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with high-risk EBC, adjuvant abemaciclib + ET has an acceptable safety profile and tolerability is supported by PRO findings. Most AEs were reversible and manageable with comedications and/or dose modifications, consistent with the known abemaciclib toxicity profile.

Phase III randomized study of taselisib or placebo with fulvestrant in estrogen receptor-positive, PIK3CA-mutant, HER2-negative, advanced breast cancer: the SANDPIPER trial.

BACKGROUND: The phase III SANDPIPER study assessed taselisib (GDC-0032), a potent, selective PI3K inhibitor, plus fulvestrant in estrogen receptor-positive, HER2-negative, PIK3CA-mutant locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Postmenopausal women with disease recurrence/progression during/after an aromatase inhibitor were randomized 2 : 1 to receive taselisib (4 mg; taselisib arm) or placebo (placebo arm) plus fulvestrant (500 mg). Stratification factors were visceral disease, endocrine sensitivity, and geographic region. Patients with PIK3CA-mutant tumors (central cobas® PIK3CA Mutation Test) were randomized separately from those without detectable mutations. The primary endpoint was investigator-assessed progression-free survival (INV-PFS) in patients with PIK3CA-mutant tumors. Secondary endpoints included objective response rate, overall survival, clinical benefit rate, duration of objective response, PFS by blinded independent central review (BICR-PFS), safety, and time to deterioration in health-related quality of life. RESULTS: The PIK3CA-mutant intention-to-treat population comprised 516 patients (placebo arm: n = 176; taselisib arm: n = 340). INV-PFS was significantly improved in the taselisib {7.4 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 7.26-9.07]} versus placebo arm (5.4 months [95% CI, 3.68-7.29]) (stratified hazard ratio [HR] 0.70; 95% CI, 0.56-0.89; P = 0.0037) and confirmed by BICR-PFS (HR 0.66). Secondary endpoints, including objective response rate, clinical benefit rate, and duration of objective response, showed consistent improvements in the taselisib arm. Safety was assessed in all randomized patients who received at least one dose of taselisib/placebo or fulvestrant regardless of PIK3CA-mutation status (n = 629). Serious adverse events were lower in the placebo versus taselisib arm (8.9% versus 32.0%). There were more discontinuations (placebo arm: 2.3%; taselisib arm: 16.8%) and dose reductions (placebo arm: 2.3%; taselisib arm: 36.5%) in the taselisib arm. CONCLUSION: SANDPIPER met its primary endpoint; however, the combination of taselisib plus fulvestrant has no clinical utility given its safety profile and modest clinical benefit.

Talazoparib versus chemotherapy in patients with germline BRCA1/2-mutated HER2-negative advanced breast cancer: final overall survival results from the EMBRACA trial.

BACKGROUND: In EMBRACA, talazoparib prolonged progression-free survival versus chemotherapy (hazard ratio [HR] 0.542 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.413-0.711]; P < 0.0001) and improved patient-reported outcomes (PRO) in germline BRCA1/2 (gBRCA1/2)-mutated advanced breast cancer (ABC). We report final overall survival (OS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: This randomized phase III trial enrolled patients with gBRCA1/2-mutated HER2-negative ABC. Patients received talazoparib or physician's choice of chemotherapy. OS was analyzed using stratified HR and log-rank test and prespecified rank-preserving structural failure time model to account for subsequent treatments. RESULTS: A total of 431 patients were entered in a randomized study (287 talazoparib/144 chemotherapy) with 412 patients treated (286 talazoparib/126 chemotherapy). By 30 September 2019, 216 deaths (75.3%) occurred for talazoparib and 108 (75.0%) chemotherapy; median follow-up was 44.9 and 36.8 months, respectively. HR for OS with talazoparib versus chemotherapy was 0.848 (95% CI 0.670-1.073; P = 0.17); median (95% CI) 19.3 months (16.6-22.5 months) versus 19.5 months (17.4-22.4 months). Kaplan-Meier survival percentages (95% CI) for talazoparib versus chemotherapy: month 12, 71% (66% to 76%)/74% (66% to 81%); month 24, 42% (36% to 47%)/38% (30% to 47%); month 36, 27% (22% to 33%)/21% (14% to 29%). Most patients received subsequent treatments: for talazoparib and chemotherapy, 46.3%/41.7% received platinum and 4.5%/32.6% received a poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, respectively. Adjusting for subsequent PARP and/or platinum use, HR for OS was 0.756 (95% bootstrap CI 0.503-1.029). Grade 3-4 adverse events occurred in 69.6% (talazoparib) and 64.3% (chemotherapy) patients, consistent with previous reports. Extended follow-up showed significant overall improvement and delay in time to definitive clinically meaningful deterioration in global health status/quality of life and breast symptoms favoring talazoparib versus chemotherapy (P < 0.01 for all), consistent with initial analyses. CONCLUSIONS: In gBRCA1/2-mutated HER2-negative ABC, talazoparib did not significantly improve OS over chemotherapy; subsequent treatments may have impacted analysis. Safety was consistent with previous observations. PRO continued to favor talazoparib.

Quality of life with talazoparib versus physician's choice of chemotherapy in patients with advanced breast cancer and germline BRCA1/2 mutation: patient-reported outcomes from the EMBRACA phase III trial.

Background: In the EMBRACA phase III trial, talazoparib (1 mg daily, orally) demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in PFS versus physician's choice of chemotherapy (PCT; capecitabine, eribulin, gemcitabine, or vinorelbine) in patients with HER2-negative advanced breast cancer carrying a germline BRCA1/2 mutation; we evaluated patient-reported outcomes (PROs). Patients and methods: Patients were randomized 2 : 1 to receive talazoparib or PCT. PROs were assessed at day 1 (baseline), the start of each treatment cycle (every 3 weeks), and at the end of treatment, using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-30) and its breast cancer module, QLQ-BR23. Prespecified exploratory analyses included a longitudinal mixed-effect model comparing treatment arms and a time to definitive clinically meaningful deterioration (TTD) analysis carried out in the global health status/quality of life (GHS/QoL), and all functional and symptom scales from the EORTC QLQ-C30 and -BR23 questionnaires. Between-arm TTD comparisons were made using a stratified log-rank test and a Cox proportional hazards model. Results: Baseline scores were similar between arms. Statistically significant estimated overall improvement from baseline in GHS/QoL was seen for talazoparib compared with statistically significant deterioration for PCT {3.0 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2, 4.8] versus -5.4 [95% CI -8.8, -2.0]; between arms, P < 0.0001}. A statistically significant greater delay was observed in TTD in GHS/QoL, favoring talazoparib over PCT [hazard ratio, 0.38 (95% CI 0.26, 0.55; median, 24.3 versus 6.3 months, respectively; P < 0.0001)]. A statistically significant overall change and a statistically significant delay in TTD, all favoring talazoparib, were also observed in multiple functions and symptoms. Conclusion: Patients who received talazoparib had significant overall improvements and significant delay in TTD in multiple cancer-related and breast cancer-specific symptoms, functions, and GHS/QoL. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01945775.

Effect of docetaxel duration on clinical outcomes: exploratory analysis of CLEOPATRA, a phase III randomized controlled trial.

Background: Combination pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and docetaxel (D) is considered standard first-line treatment of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive metastatic breast cancer. This post hoc, exploratory analysis of CLEOPATRA study data evaluated the clinical effects of D treatment duration within this regimen. The clinical benefits of pertuzumab and trastuzumab by different durations of D treatment were also evaluated. Patients and methods: Patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer received trastuzumab and D plus pertuzumab or placebo. Clinical outcomes were analyzed by the number of D cycles that patients received (<6D, 6D, or >6D). Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) for each treatment arm within each D cycle group were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier approach. Time-dependent, multivariate Cox regression was applied to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for HER2-targeted therapy and D cycle groups. Results: Overall, 804 patients received <6D (n = 119), 6D (n = 210), or >6D (n = 475) cycles. After adjusting for pertuzumab benefits versus placebo (PFS HR = 0.61, 95% CI 0.51-0.74, P < 0.0001; OS HR = 0.60, 95% CI, 0.49-0.74, P < 0.0001), >6D versus 6D cycles was not associated with statistically significant improvements in PFS (HR = 0.80, 95% CI 0.63-1.01, P = 0.0640) or OS (HR = 0.88, 95% CI 0.69-1.12, P = 0.3073). Consistent improvements in PFS and OS were observed with pertuzumab versus placebo, irrespective of D duration. The HRs for PFS were 0.395, 0.615, and 0.633 for <6D, 6D, and >6D cycles, respectively (P < 0.05 for all D cycle groups). Corresponding HRs for OS were 0.577, 0.700, and 0.612, respectively (P < 0.05 for <6D and >6D). Conclusions: After accounting for pertuzumab benefits, more than six cycles of D treatment was not associated with significant improvements in either PFS or OS compared with six cycles. The addition of pertuzumab to trastuzumab improved clinical outcomes versus trastuzumab plus placebo, regardless of D treatment duration. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00567190.

A randomized, multi-center, open-label, phase III study of once-per-cycle DA-3031, a pegylated G-CSF, in comparison with daily filgrastim in patients receiving TAC chemotherapy for breast cancer.

PURPOSE: This multi-center, randomized, phase III study was conducted to demonstrate the non-inferiority of DA-3031 compared with daily filgrastim in patients during the first cycle of chemotherapy for breast cancer in terms of the duration of severe neutropenia (DSN). METHODS: Seventy-four patients with breast cancer who were receiving combination chemotherapy with docetaxel, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide (TAC) were enrolled. All participants were randomized to receive either daily subcutaneous injections of filgrastim 100 µg/m2/day for up to 10 days or a single subcutaneous injection of DA-3031 at fixed doses of 6 mg on day 2 of each chemotherapy cycle. RESULTS: The mean duration of grade 4 (G4) neutropenia in cycle 1 was 2.08 ± 0.85 days for the filgrastim group and 2.28 ± 1.14 days for the DA-3031 group. The difference between groups was 0.2 ± 1.10 days (95 % confidence interval (CI) = -0.26, 0.66), which supported non-inferiority. No statistically significant differences were observed in nadir absolute neutrophil count (ANC) (154.34/mm3 and 161.75/mm3 for the filgrastim and DA-3031 groups, respectively; P = 0.8414) or in time to ANC recovery (10.03 ± 0.75 and 9.83 ± 1.56 days in the filgrastim and DA-3031 groups, respectively; P = 0.0611) during cycle 1. Serious AEs occurred in six (15.8 %) patients receiving filgrastim and in ten (27.8 %) patients receiving DA-3031; however, none was determined to be related to the study drug. CONCLUSIONS: DA-3031 and daily filgrastim are similar in regard to DSN and safety in breast cancer patients receiving TAC chemotherapy.

Immune modulation of pathologic complete response after neoadjuvant HER2-directed therapies in the NeoSphere trial.

BACKGROUND: To investigate in the NeoSphere trial the contribution of the immune system to pathologic complete response in the breast (pCRB) after neoadjuvant docetaxel with trastuzumab (TH), pertuzumab (TP), or both (THP), or monoclonal antibodies alone (HP). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Immune gene mRNA expression (n = 350, 83.8%), lymphocyte infiltration (TIL, n = 243, 58.3%), and PDL1 by immunohistochemistry (n = 305, 73.1%) were correlated with pCRB. We studied five selected genes (IFNG, PD1, PDL1, PDL2, CTLA4) and six immune metagenes corresponding to plasma cells (IGG), T cells (CD8A), antigen-presenting cells (MHC2), and to MHC1 genes (MHC1), STAT1 co-expressed genes (STAT1), and interferon-inducible genes (IF-I). Gene expression data from the NOAH trial were used for validation. RESULTS: TIL as continuous variable and PDL1 protein expression were not significantly associated with pCRB. Expression of immune genes/metagenes had different association with pCRB after THP than after other therapies. With THP, higher expression of PD1 and STAT1, or any among PDL1, CTLA4, MHC1, and IF-I were linked with lower pCRB. In the combined TH/TP/HP treatment group, in multivariate analysis, higher expression of PD1, MHC2, and STAT1 were linked with pCRB, and higher PDL1, MHC1, or IF-I to lower pCRB. In the NOAH, a similar association of higher STAT1 with higher pCRB, and higher MHC1 and IF-I with lower pCRB was found for trastuzumab/chemotherapy but not for chemotherapy treatment only. CONCLUSIONS: The immune system modulates response to therapies containing trastuzumab and pertuzumab. Greatest benefit from THP is observed for low expression of some immune markers (i.e. MHC1, CTLA4). The involvement of PDL1 in resistance supports testing combinations of HER2-directed antibodies and immune-checkpoint inhibitors.

Incidence of central nervous system metastases in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer treated with pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and docetaxel: results from the randomized phase III study CLEOPATRA.

BACKGROUND: Results from the phase III trial CLEOPATRA in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive first-line metastatic breast cancer demonstrated significant improvements in progression-free and overall survival with pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and docetaxel over placebo, trastuzumab, and docetaxel. We carried out exploratory analyses of the incidence and time to development of central nervous system (CNS) metastases in patients from CLEOPATRA. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients received pertuzumab/placebo: 840 mg in cycle 1, then 420 mg; trastuzumab: 8 mg/kg in cycle 1, then 6 mg/kg; docetaxel: initiated at 75 mg/m(2). Study drugs were administered i.v. every 3 weeks. The log-rank test was used for between-arm comparisons of time to CNS metastases as first site of disease progression and overall survival in patients with CNS metastases as first site of disease progression. The Kaplan-Meier approach was used to estimate median time to CNS metastases as first site of disease progression and median overall survival. RESULTS: The incidence of CNS metastases as first site of disease progression was similar between arms; placebo arm: 51 of 406 (12.6%), pertuzumab arm: 55 of 402 (13.7%). Median time to development of CNS metastases as first site of disease progression was 11.9 months in the placebo arm and 15.0 months in the pertuzumab arm; hazard ratio (HR) = 0.58, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.39-0.85, P = 0.0049. Overall survival in patients who developed CNS metastases as first site of disease progression showed a trend in favor of pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and docetaxel; HR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.39-1.11. Median overall survival was 26.3 versus 34.4 months in the placebo and pertuzumab arms, respectively. Treatment comparison of the survival curves was not statistically significant for the log-rank test (P = 0.1139), but significant for the Wilcoxon test (P = 0.0449). CONCLUSIONS: While the incidence of CNS metastases was similar between arms, our results suggest that pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and docetaxel delays the onset of CNS disease compared with placebo, trastuzumab, and docetaxel. CLINICALTRIALSGOV: NCT00567190.

Development and validation of Chemotherapy-induced Alopecia Distress Scale (CADS) for breast cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: A psychometric scale for assessing the distress that breast cancer patients experience due to the chemotherapy-induced alopecia was developed and validated. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-five items for chemotherapy-induced alopecia distress were developed based on a qualitative study, and a cross-sectional survey was conducted with 305 Korean women with breast cancer. To extract factor structure and evaluate construct validity, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out. Concurrent and discriminant validity were tested by correlations with the psychosocial factors. In addition, external validity analysis was conducted using data from another prospective study of 428 breast cancer patients. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis and CFA yielded 17 items in four domains and the model fit was good (CFI=0.925). Coefficient alphas ranged from 0.77 to 0.95 for subdomains and 0.95 for total, and it was similar with the validation dataset confirming its external validity. The total Chemotherapy-Induced Alopecia Distress Scale (CADS) was moderately correlated with the body image (r=-0.47, P<0.001), more weakly correlated with the patients' overall quality of life (QOL, r=-0.28, P<0.001), but did not correlate with self-esteem (r=-0.07, P=0.23). CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirmed that the CADS is a reliable and valid tool for measuring distress of chemotherapy-induced alopecia.

Role of HER3 expression and PTEN loss in patients with HER2-overexpressing metastatic breast cancer (MBC) who received taxane plus trastuzumab treatment.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER3) and PTEN expression in patients with HER2-overexpressing metastatic breast cancer (MBC). METHODS: One hundred twenty-five MBC patients who were treated with taxane plus trastuzumab chemotherapy as first-line therapy were included in this analysis. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining with HER3 and PTEN antibodies were conducted retrospectively. RESULTS: Patients who had negative HER3 staining (62.4%) had a better progression-free survival (PFS) than did those who had positive HER3 staining (P=0.001; median PFS, 21 vs 11 months). Patients who had a PTEN score >20 (78.1%) showed longer PFS than did those with a PTEN score ≤20 (P=0.006; median PFS, 13 vs 9 months). Patients who had a PTEN score >20 exhibited a longer overall survival (OS) than did those with a PTEN score ≤20 (P=0.005; median OS, 48 vs 25 months). HER3 negativity and PTEN loss were identified as independent risk factors for PFS. PTEN loss was identified as an independent risk factor for OS. CONCLUSION: HER3 and PTEN expressions may be predictive markers, and PTEN expression may be a predictive and prognostic biomarker for trastuzumab treatment in HER2-positive MBCs.

Health-related quality-of-life assessment in CLEOPATRA, a phase III study combining pertuzumab with trastuzumab and docetaxel in metastatic breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: The phase III CLEOPATRA study demonstrated that combining pertuzumab with trastuzumab plus docetaxel significantly improves progression-free and overall survival in previously untreated HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. Here, we report health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) results from CLEOPATRA. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Participants were randomly assigned to pertuzumab or placebo, each given with trastuzumab plus docetaxel every 3 weeks. Pertuzumab and trastuzumab were administered until progression and six or more docetaxel cycles were recommended. Time from randomization to a ≥ 5-point decrease in Trial Outcome Index-Physical/Functional/Breast (TOI-PFB) of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B) questionnaire was analyzed as a prespecified secondary end point. A post hoc exploratory analysis investigated time to ≥ 2-point deterioration in Breast Cancer Subscale (BCS) score. RESULTS: Time to ≥ 5-point decline in TOI-PFB did not differ significantly between the pertuzumab and placebo arms [hazard ratio (HR), 0.97; P = 0.7161]. The median times to TOI-PFB deterioration were 18.4 and 18.3 weeks, respectively (approximately six cycles). The mean TOI-PFB declined slightly until week 18 and recovered thereafter. Pertuzumab increased time until BCS deterioration versus placebo (median 26.7 versus 18.3 weeks; HR, 0.77; P = 0.0061). CONCLUSIONS: Combining pertuzumab with trastuzumab and docetaxel had no adverse impact on HRQoL and may prolong time to worsening of breast cancer-specific symptoms.

A randomized, multi-center, open-label, phase II study of once-per-cycle DA-3031, a biosimilar pegylated G-CSF, compared with daily filgrastim in patients receiving TAC chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer.

BACKGROUNDS: A pegylated form of recombinant granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) was developed for prophylactic use in breast cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of once-per-cycle DA-3031 in patients receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer. METHODS: A total of 61 patients receiving docetaxel, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide (TAC) chemotherapy were randomized in cycle 1 to receive daily injections of filgrastim (100 µg/m(2)) or a single subcutaneous injection of pegylated filgrastim DA-3031 at a dose of either 3.6 mg or 6 mg. RESULTS: The mean duration of grade 4 neutropenia in cycle 1 was comparable among the treatment groups (2.48, 2.20, and 2.05 days for filgrastim, DA-3031 3.6 mg and 6 mg, respectively; P=0.275). No statistically significant differences were observed in the incidence of febrile neutropenia between the treatment groups (9.5 %, 15.0 %, and 5.0 % for filgrastim, DA-3031 3.6 mg and 6 mg, respectively; P=0.681) in cycle 1. The incidences of adverse events attributable to G-CSF were similar among the treatment groups. CONCLUSIONS: Fixed doses of 3.6 mg or 6 mg DA-3031 have an efficacy comparable to that of daily injections of filgrastim in ameliorating grade 4 neutropenia in patients receiving TAC chemotherapy.

Multicentre phase II trial of bevacizumab combined with docetaxel-carboplatin for the neoadjuvant treatment of triple-negative breast cancer (KCSG BR-0905).

BACKGROUND: This phase II neoadjuvant trial evaluated bevacizumab-docetaxel and carboplatin in triple-negative breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Women with hormone receptor- and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative, stage II/III breast cancer received six cycles of 75 mg/m(2) docetaxel, carboplatin (AUC = 5) and 15 mg/kg bevacizumab every 21 days. The primary end point was pathological complete response (pCR) in breasts and axillary lymph nodes (ALN). RESULTS: Forty-five patients were recruited from the Korean Cancer Study Group. The median age was 45 (range 30-72) years. ALNs were positive in 80% of patients (n = 36) at diagnosis. Overall, 98% of patients (n = 44) completed therapy and underwent surgery. The pCR rate was 42% (n = 19); clinical response rate 96% (n = 43); complete 13% (n = 6); partial 82% (n = 37); stable disease 2% (n = 1). Breast-conserving surgery was undertaken in 78% of patients (n = 35). Most frequent grade 3/4 adverse events were neutropenia (84%, n = 38) and febrile neutropenia (9%, n = 4). One patient experienced delayed wound healing after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Neoadjuvant bevacizumab, docetaxel and carboplatin resulted in an encouraging pCR rate and negligible wound healing problems after surgery.

Clinical significance of CD151 overexpression in subtypes of invasive breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: CD151 is a member of the tetraspanin family, which interacts with laminin-binding integrins and other tetraspanins. This protein is implicated in motility, invasion, and metastasis of cancer cells, but the prevalence of CD151 expression in subtypes of breast cancers and its influence on clinical outcome remains to be evaluated. METHODS AND RESULTS: The immunohistochemistry-based tissue microarray analysis showed that 127 (14.3%) cases overexpressed CD151 among 886 breast cancer patients. CD151 overexpression was found to be significantly associated with larger tumour size, higher nodal stage, advanced stage, absence of oestrogen receptor and progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 overexpression. CD151 overexpression resulted in poorer overall survival (OS) (P<0.001) and disease-free survival (P=0.02), and stage II and III patients with CD151 overexpression demonstrated substantially poorer OS (P=0.0474 and 0.0169). In the five subtypes analyses, CD151 overexpression retained its adverse impact on OS in the Luminal A (P=0.0105) and quintuple-negative breast cancer (QNBC) subtypes, one subgroup of triple-negative breast cancer (P=0.0170). Multivariate analysis that included stage, subtype, and adjuvant chemotherapy showed that CD151 overexpression was independently associated with poor OS in invasive breast cancer. CONCLUSION: CD151 overexpression may be a potential molecular therapeutic target for breast cancer, especially in QNBC subtype and more advanced stages of breast cancer.

Prophylactic use of lamivudine for hepatitis B exacerbation in post-operative breast cancer patients receiving anthracycline-based adjuvant chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: With the increasing incidence of breast cancer worldwide, in particular in southeast Asia (including Korea), and the common use of anthracyclines in the adjuvant and metastatic settings, the occurrence of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation may develop in this patient population. The use of prophylactic antiviral agents in cancer patients may result in a reduced HBV exacerbation. The purpose of the current study was to assess the efficacy of prophylactic lamivudine in reducing the incidence and severity of HBV reactivation in post-operative breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant doxorubicin-containing chemotherapy. METHODS: The medical records of patients undergoing anthracycline-based adjuvant chemotherapy at Samsung Medical Center between January 2001 and September 2008 were reviewed. RESULTS: From the database, 1912 breast cancer patients who had received anthracycline-based adjuvant chemotherapy were identified. Of 131 patients who were HBV surface antigen positive, 55 and 76 did and did not receive prophylactic lamivudine, respectively. In all, 30 patients (23%) developed hepatitis during doxorubicin-containing adjuvant chemotherapy. Of the 30 patients, 5 (9%) were in the prophylactic lamivudine group and 25 (33%) in the control group (P=0.001). In the prophylactic lamivudine group, there was significantly less HBV reactivation (1 patient (2%) vs 20 patients (16%); P=0.002), less disruption of chemotherapy (7 vs 14%; P=0.04), and less severe hepatitis (0 vs 17%; P=0.002). CONCLUSION: Prophylactic lamivudine significantly reduced the incidence and severity of HBV reactivation in breast cancer patients undergoing anthracycline-based adjuvant chemotherapy.

Clinical relevance of TNM staging system according to breast cancer subtypes.

BACKGROUND: There has been reported that the association between nodal spread and tumor size was disrupted in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and it showed characteristically early relapse. The TNM (tumor-node-metastasis) staging system might not be equally effective as a prognostic indicator for all subtypes. The aim of our study was to evaluate the usefulness of the staging according to subtypes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of invasive breast cancer patients who received curative surgery at Samsung Medical Center from 2000 to 2004. Relapse-free survivals (RFS) by stage were analyzed. RESULTS: Thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine patients who were available clinicopathologic data were included. These patients were divided into three subtypes: hormone receptor (HR)+, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2+, and triple negative groups. As the stage became more advanced, the slope of each stage of the RFS curves of patients with HR+ and HER2+ steadily increased. In contrast, RFS curves intermingled and showed overlap from stage 1 to 3A in TNBC patients. There was only wide separation of RFS curves between stage 1-3A and 3B-3C in TNBC. CONCLUSIONS: The current TNM staging system might not be enough for encompassing the tumor biology and for predicting outcomes to make therapeutic decisions for all BCs, especially for TNBC patients.

Thymidine synthase, thymidine phosphorylase, and excision repair cross-complementation group 1 expression as predictive markers of capecitabine plus cisplatin chemotherapy as first-line treatment for patients with advanced oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Our purpose was to evaluate thymidine synthase (TS), thymidine phosphorylase (TP), and excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1) expression as biomarkers for capecitabine and cisplatin (XP) combination chemotherapy in patients with metastatic oesophageal squamous cell cancer. METHOD: A total of 113 patients with metastatic oesophageal squamous cell cancer were treated with XP chemotherapy at the Samsung Medical Center between 2003 and 2007, of whom 72 had available clinical data and paraffin blocks for immunohistochemistry of TS, TP, and ERCC1. RESULTS: The median age of the 72 patients was 62 years. The overall response rate (RR) was 51.4%. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 4.2 and 12.0 months, respectively. High expression of TS and TP was associated with a higher RR than was low expression of TS and TP (54.1 vs 40.5%, P=0.022). Strong ERCC1 expression and a low TS score were identified as unfavourable independent risk factors for PFS (HR 10.71, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.1-54.7, P=0.004 for strong ERCC1 expression; and HR 2.9, 95% CI 1.0-7.9, P=0.044 for low TS score). Strong ERCC1 expression was identified as an unfavourable independent risk factor for OS (HR 3.73, 95% CI 1.39-10.0, P=0.009). CONCLUSION: These data indicate that expression of TS, TP, and ERCC1 may be predictive markers for response and survival in patients with metastatic oesophageal squamous cell cancer receiving XP chemotherapy.

The effect of grain boundaries inside the individual ZnO nanowires in gas sensing.

We present the gas sensing characteristics of the individual ZnO nanowires with single-crystalline and multiple grain boundaries (GBs) fabricated using bottom-up and top-down approaches, respectively. The sensor response of the individual ZnO nanowires with the multiple GBs was enhanced approximately three times as compared to that of single-crystalline ZnO nanowires due to well-known GB modulations. However, the response and recovery times of the individual ZnO nanowires with multiple GBs were much slower than those of the single-crystalline ZnO nanowire, indicating the presence of oxygen diffusion resistance to GBs due to the relatively fast surface kinetic reaction. Simplified kinetic diffusion modeling and experimental results could quantify the significant diffusion resistance of gas molecules into the GBs of the individual ZnO nanowires.