Anticipating changes in the HER2 status of breast tumours with disease progression-towards better treatment decisions in the new era of HER2-low breast cancers.

BACKGROUND: HER2 expression is often negative or low in primary breast cancers (BCs) but its changes with disease progression remain poorly known. We aimed to estimate them between primary and recurrent tumours, and identify predictive factors. METHODS: We compared the HER2 status, and clinical and pathological characteristics by its evolution category (stable or changed), between all primary BCs and matched recurrences registered in our database in 2000-2020 (n = 512). RESULTS: HER2-low tumours were the most prevalent at diagnosis (44.9%), followed by HER2-negative tumours (39.3%). HER2 status significantly changed in 37.3% of recurrences, mainly of HER2-negative and HER2-low tumours. HER2-negative tumours which relapsed as HER2-low significantly more frequently expressed oestrogen receptors (ER) and recurred later than stably HER2-negative tumours. Changed HER2 status in distant metastases correlated with lower proliferation rates and higher ER expression in primary tumours, and among metastases of hormone receptor-positive (HR+) tumours-with weak progesterone receptor (PR) expression in primary tumours. CONCLUSIONS: HER2 status changes with BC progression, with enrichment of HER2-low tumours in advanced stages. The ER+/PR- status, low proliferation index and time to late recurrence correlated with these changes. These findings highlight the need of retesting recurrences, especially of HR + primary tumours, to identify candidates for new anti-HER2 therapies.

Association between progression-free survival and overall survival in women receiving first-line treatment for metastatic breast cancer: evidence from the ESME real-world database.

BACKGROUND: Overall survival (OS) is the gold standard endpoint to assess treatment efficacy in cancer clinical trials. In metastatic breast cancer (mBC), progression-free survival (PFS) is commonly used as an intermediate endpoint. Evidence remains scarce regarding the degree of association between PFS and OS. Our study aimed to describe the individual-level association between real-world PFS (rwPFS) and OS according to first-line treatment in female patients with mBC managed in real-world setting for each BC subtype (defined by status for both hormone-receptor [HR] expression and HER2 protein expression/gene amplification). METHODS: We extracted data from the ESME mBC database (NCT03275311) which gathers deidentified data from consecutive patients managed in 18 French Comprehensive Cancer Centers. Adult women diagnosed with mBC between 2008 and 2017 were included. Endpoints (PFS, OS) were described using the Kaplan-Meier method. Individual-level associations between rwPFS and OS were estimated using the Spearman's correlation coefficient. Analyses were conducted by tumor subtype. RESULTS: 20,033 women were eligible. Median age was 60.0 years. Median follow-up duration was 62.3 months. Median rwPFS ranged from 6.0 months (95% CI 5.8-6.2) for HR-/HER2 - subtype to 13.3 months (36% CI 12.7-14.3) for HR + /HER2 + subtype. Correlation coefficients were highly variable across subtypes and first-line (L1) treatments. Among patients with HR - /HER2 - mBC, correlation coefficients ranged from 0.73 to 0.81, suggesting a strong rwPFS/OS association. For HR + /HER2 + mBC patients, the individual-level associations were weak to strong with coefficients ranging from 0.33 to 0.43 for monotherapy and from 0.67 to 0.78 for combined therapies. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides comprehensive information on individual-level association between rwPFS and OS for L1 treatments in mBC women managed in real-life practice. Our results could be used as a basis for future research dedicated to surrogate endpoint candidates.

A phase I study of the combination of atezolizumab, tiragolumab, and stereotactic body radiation therapy in patients with metastatic multiorgan cancer.

BACKGROUND: Immunotherapy targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway is a standard of care in a number of metastatic malignancies, but less than a fifth of patients are expected to respond to ICIs (Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors). In a clinical trial, combining the anti-TIGIT (T cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains) Mab (monoclonal antibody) tiragolumab with atezolizumab improved outcomes in non-small cell lung cancer. In preclinical models, SBRT (Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy) could increase expression levels of the inhibitory co-receptors TIGIT and PD-L1. We aim to assess the combination of tiragolumab with atezolizumab and SBRT in metastatic, previously treated by ICIs, non-small cell lung cancer, head and neck cancer, bladder cancer, and renal cell cancer. METHODS: This phase I study (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05259319) will assess the efficacy and safety of the combination of atezolizumab with tiragolumab and stereotactic body radiation therapy in patients with histologically proven metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, renal cell cancer, bladder cancer, and head and neck cancer previously treated. First part: 2 different schedules of SBRT in association with a fixed dose of atezolizumab and tiragolumab will be investigated only with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer patients (cohort 1). The expansion cohorts phase will be a multicentric, open-label study at the recommended scheme of administration and enroll additional patients with metastatic bladder cancer, renal cell cancer, and head and neck cancer (cohort 2, 3 and 4). Patients will be treated until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, intercurrent conditions that preclude continuation of treatment, or patient refusal in the absence of progression or intolerance. The primary endpoint of the first phase is the safety of the combination in a sequential or concomitant scheme and to determine the expansion cohorts phase recommended scheme of administration. The primary endpoint of phase II is to evaluate the efficacy of tiragolumab + atezolizumab + SBRT in terms of 6-month PFS (Progression-Free Survival). Ancillary analyses will be performed with peripheral and intratumoral immune biomarker assessments. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05259319, since February 28th, 2022.

Online adaptive radiotherapy and dose delivery accuracy: A retrospective analysis.

PURPOSE: With online adaptive radiotherapy (ART), patient-specific quality assurance (PSQA) testing cannot be performed prior to delivery of the adapted treatment plan. Consequently, the dose delivery accuracy of adapted plans (i.e., the ability of the system to interpret and deliver the treatment as planned) are not initially verified. We investigated the variation in dose delivery accuracy of ART on the MRIdian 0.35 T MR-linac (Viewray Inc., Oakwood, USA) between initial plans and their respective adapted plans, by analyzing PSQA results. METHODS: We considered the two main digestive localizations treated with ART (liver and pancreas). A total of 124 PSQA results acquired with the ArcCHECK (Sun Nuclear Corporation, Melbourne, USA) multidetector system were analyzed. PSQA result variations between the initial plans and their respective adapted plans were statistically investigated and compared with the variation in MU number. RESULTS: For the liver, limited deterioration in PSQA results was observed, and was within the limits of clinical tolerance (Initial = 98.2%, Adapted = 98.2%, p = 0.4503). For pancreas plans, only a few significant deteriorations extending beyond the limits of clinical tolerance were observed and were due to specific, complex anatomical configurations (Initial = 97.3%, Adapted = 96.5%, p = 0.0721). In parallel, we observed an influence of the increase in MU number on the PSQA results. CONCLUSION: We show that the dose delivery accuracy of adapted plans, in terms of PSQA results, is preserved in ART processes on the 0.35 T MR-linac. Respecting good practices, and minimizing the increase in MU number can help to preserve the accuracy of delivery of adapted plans as compared to their respective initial plans.

OncoSNIPE® Study Protocol, a study of molecular profiles associated with development of resistance in solid cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, evaluation of the efficacy and the duration of treatment, in context of monitoring patients with solid tumors, is based on the RECIST methodology. With these criteria, resistance and/or insensitivity are defined as tumor non-response which does not allow a good understanding of the diversity of the underlying mechanisms. The main objective of the OncoSNIPE® collaborative clinical research program is to identify early and late markers of resistance to treatment. METHODS: Multicentric, interventional study with the primary objective to identify early and / or late markers of resistance to treatment, in 600 adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic triple negative or Luminal B breast cancer, non-small-cell lung cancer or pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Patients targeted in this study have all rapid progression of their pathology, making it possible to obtain models for evaluating markers of early and / or late responses over the 2-year period of follow-up, and thus provide the information necessary to understand resistance mechanisms. To explore the phenomena of resistance, during therapeutic response and / or progression of the pathology, we will use a multidisciplinary approach including high-throughput sequencing (Exome-seq and RNAseq), clinical data, medical images and immunological profile by ELISA. Patients will have long-term follow-up with different biological samples, at baseline (blood and biopsy) and at each tumoral evaluation or tumoral progression evaluated by medical imaging. Clinical data will be collected through a dedicated Case Report Form (CRF) and enriched by semantic extraction based on the French ConSoRe (Continuum Soins Recherche) initiative, a dedicated Semantic Clinical Data Warehouse (SCDW) to cancer. The study is sponsored by Oncodesign (Dijon, France) and is currently ongoing. DISCUSSION: The great diversity of intrinsic or acquired molecular mechanisms involved in resistance to treatment constitutes a real therapeutic issue. Improving understanding of mechanisms of resistance of cancer cells to anti-tumor treatments is therefore a major challenge. The OncoSNIPE cohort will lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms of resistance and will allow to explore new mechanisms of actions and to discover new therapeutic targets or strategies making it possible to circumvent the escape in different types of cancer. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrial.gov. Registered 16 September 2020, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04548960?term=oncosnipe&draw=2&rank=1 and ANSM ID RCB 2017-A02018-45.

ER-/PR+ breast cancer: A distinct entity, which is morphologically and molecularly close to triple-negative breast cancer.

Determining the status of steroid hormone receptors [oestrogen (ER) and progesterone receptors (PR)] is a crucial part of the breast cancer workup. Thereby, breast cancers can be classified into four subtypes. However, the existence of ER-/PR+ tumours, often reported to be ill-classified due to technical errors, remains controversial. In order to address this controversy, we reviewed the hormone receptor status of 49 breast tumours previously classified as ER-/PR+ by immunohistochemistry, and compared clinical, pathological and molecular characteristics of confirmed ER-/PR+ tumours with those of ER+ and triple-negative tumours. We unequivocally confirmed the ER-/PR+ status in 27 of 49 tumours (0.3% of all breast cancers diagnosed in our institution between 2000 and 2014). We found that ER-/PR+ were morphologically and histologically similar to triple-negative tumours, but very distinct from ER+ tumours, with more aggressive phenotypes and more frequent basal marker expression than the latter. On the molecular level, RNA sequencing revealed different gene expression profiles between the three groups. Of particular interest, several genes controlled by the suppressor of zest 12 (SUZ12) were upregulated in ER-/PR+ tumours. Overall, our results confirm that ER-/PR+ breast cancers are an extremely rare but 'real' tumour subtype that requires careful diagnosis and has distinct features warranting different responsiveness to therapies and different clinical outcomes. Studies on larger cohorts are needed to further characterise these tumours. The likely involvement of SUZ12 in their biology is an interesting finding which may - in a long run - give rise to the development of new therapeutic alternatives.

Determinants of use of oral complementary-alternative medicine among women with early breast cancer: a focus on cancer-related fatigue.

BACKGROUND: Despite the questionable effectiveness of oral complementary and alternative medicine (OCAM) in relieving cancer-related symptoms, including fatigue (CRF), many patients use it aiming to improve their quality of life. We assessed factors associated with OCAM use, focusing on CRF. METHODS: Women with stage I-III breast cancer (BC) were included from CANTO (NCT01993498). OCAM use was defined as taking homeopathy, vitamins/minerals, or herbal/dietary supplements. Multivariable multinomial logistic regressions evaluated associations of CRF (EORTC QLQ-C30), patient, and treatment characteristics with OCAM use. RESULTS: Among 5237 women, 23.0% reported OCAM use overall (49.3% at diagnosis, 50.7% starting post-diagnosis), mostly homeopathy (65.4%). Mean (SD) CRF score was 27.6 (24.0) at diagnosis and 35.1 (25.3) at post-diagnosis. More intense CRF was consistently associated with OCAM use at diagnosis and post-diagnosis [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for 10-point increase 1.05 (95% Confidence interval 1.01-1.09) and 1.04 (1.01-1.09) vs. never use, respectively]. Odds of using OCAM at diagnosis were higher among older [for 5-year increase, 1.09 (1.04-1.14)] and more educated patients [college vs. primary 1.80 (1.27-2.55)]. Women with income > 3000 [vs. < 1500 euros/month, 1.44 (1.02-2.03)], anxiety [vs. not, 1.25 (1.01-1.54)], and those receiving chemotherapy [vs. not, 1.32 (1.04-1.68)] had higher odds of using OCAM post-diagnosis. CONCLUSION: One-in-four patients reported use of OCAM. More severe CRF was consistently associated with its use. Moreover, older, better educated, wealthier, more anxious women, and those receiving chemotherapy seemed more prone to use OCAM. Characterizing profiles of BC patients more frequently resorting to OCAM may help deliver targeted information about its benefits and potential risks.

Triple-negative breast lobular carcinoma: a luminal androgen receptor carcinoma with specific ESRRA mutations.

Primary triple-negative invasive lobular breast carcinomas (TN-ILCs), which do not express hormone receptors and HER2 at diagnosis, are rare and poorly known. In this study, we analyzed the largest TN-ILC series ever reported in the literature, in comparison to phenotypically similar breast tumor subtypes: triple-negative invasive ductal carcinoma (TN-IDC) and hormone receptor-positive invasive lobular carcinoma (HR + ILC). All primary TN-ILCs registered in our database between 2000 and 2018 (n = 38) were compared to tumors from control groups, matched by stage and Elston/Ellis grade, with regard to clinical, pathologic, and immunohistochemical characteristics. A comparative molecular analysis (whole-exome and RNA sequencing using next-generation technology) was also performed. We found that TN-ILC patients were older than those with HR + ILC (P = 0.002) or TN-IDC (P < 0.001). Morphologically, TN-ILCs had aggressive phenotypes, with more pleomorphism (P = 0.003) and higher nuclear grades than HR + ILCs (P = 0.009). Immunohistochemistry showed that TN-ILCs less frequently expressed basal markers (CK5/6, EGFR and SOX10) than TN-IDCs (P < 0.001), while androgen receptor (AR) positivity was more prevalent (P < 0.001). Survival curves analysis did not show differences between TN-ILC and TN-IDC patients, while overall and distant metastasis-free survival were significantly worse compared to those with HR + ILCs (P = 0.047 and P = 0.039, respectively). At a molecular level, we found that TN-ILCs had particular transcriptomic profiles, characterized by increased AR signaling, and associated with frequent alterations in the PI3K network and ERBB2. Interestingly, whole-exome analysis also identified three specific recurrent ESRRA hotspot mutations in these tumors, which have never been described in breast cancer to date and which were absent in the other two tumor subtypes. Our findings highlight that TN-ILC is a unique aggressive breast cancer associated with elderly age, which belong to the luminal androgen receptor subtype as determined by immunohistochemistry and transcriptomic profiling. Moreover, it harbors specific molecular alterations (PI3K, ERBB2 and ESRRA) which may pave the way for new targeted therapeutic strategies.

Precision medicine phase II study evaluating the efficacy of a double immunotherapy by durvalumab and tremelimumab combined with olaparib in patients with solid cancers and carriers of homologous recombination repair genes mutation in response or stable after olaparib treatment.

BACKGROUND: Tumors with deficient homologous repair are sensitive to PARP inhibitors such as olaparib which is known to have immunogenic properties. Durvalumab (D) is a human monoclonal antibody (mAb) which inhibits binding of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) to its receptor. Tremelimumab (T) is a mAb directed against the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4). This study is designed to evaluate the efficacy of combination of olaparib, durvalumab and tremelimumab in patients with a solid tumors with a mutation in homologous gene repair. METHODS: This phase II study will assess the efficacy and safety of olaparib/D/T association in patients (n = 213) with several types of solid cancers (breast cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, endometrial cancer, prostate cancer and others) with at least one mutation in homologous repair genes (BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2, ATM, FANCA, FANCB, FANCC, FANCE, FANCF, CHEK2, RAD51, BARD1, MRE11, RAD50, NBS1, HDAC2), LKB1/STK11, INPP4B, STAG2, ERG, CHEK1, BLM, LIG4, ATR, ATRX, CDK12). Good performance status patients and corresponding to specific inclusion criteria of each cohort will be eligible. STEP1: Patients will receive olaparib 300 mg BID. In absence of progression after 6 weeks of olaparib, they will follow STEP 2 with olaparib and immunotherapy by durvalumab (1500 mg Q4W) + tremelimumab (75 mg IV Q4W) during 4 months and will further pursue durvalumab alone until disease progression, death, intolerable toxicity, or patient/investigator decision to stop (for a maximum duration of 24 months, and 36 months for ovarian cohort). Primary endpoint is safety and efficacy according to progression-free survival (PFS) of olaparib + immunotherapy (durvalumab + tremelimumab) during 4 months followed by durvalumab alone as maintenance in patients with solid cancers and in response or stable, after prior molecular target therapy by olaparib; secondary endpoints include overall survival (OS), disease control rate (DCR), response rate after 6 weeks of olaparib, safety of olaparib/durvalumab/tremelimumab association. Blood, plasma and tumor tissue will be collected for potential prognostic and predictive biomarkers. DISCUSSION: This study is the first trial to test the combination of olaparib and double immunotherapy based on molecular screening. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT04169841 , date of registration November 20, 2019.

Salvage extended field or involved field nodal irradiation in 18F-fluorocholine PET/CT oligorecurrent nodal failures from prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: The concept of metastasis-directed therapy for nodal oligorecurrences with stereotactic body radiotherapy is increasingly accepted. Hence, the comparison between salvage extended field radiotherapy (s-EFRT) and salvage involved field radiotherapy (s-IFRT) in patients with 18F-fluorocholine (FCH) PET/CT+ nodal oligorecurrences from prostate cancer is worthy of investigation. METHODS: Patients with oligorecurrent nodes on FCH PET/CT treated with salvage radiotherapy between 2009 and 2017 in a single tertiary cancer centre were selected for this study. Patients treated with s-IFRT were compared with those treated with s-EFRT. Toxicities and times to failure (TTF) were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The study included 62 patients with positive lymph nodes only who underwent FCH PET/CT for a rising PSA level after radical prostatectomy or radiotherapy. Of these patients, 35 had s-IFRT and 27 had s-EFRT. After a median follow-up of 41.8 months (range 5.9-108.1 months), no differences were observed in acute or late gastrointestinal and genitourinary toxicities of grade 2 or more between the two groups. The 3-year failure rates were 55.3% (95% CI 37.0-70.3%) in the s-IFRT group and 88.3% (95% CI 66.9-96.1%) in the s-EFRT group (p = 0.0094). In multivariate analysis of TTF, an interval of >5 years was significantly correlated with better outcomes (HR = 0.33, 95% CI 0.13-0.86, p = 0.023). There was a strong trend toward better outcomes with s-EFRT even after adjusting for concomitant androgen-deprivation therapy (HR = 0.38, 95% CI 0.12-1.27, p = 0.116). CONCLUSION: FCH PET-positive node-targeted s-EFRT is feasible with low rates of toxicity and longer TTF, suggesting that oligorecurrent nodal disease diagnosed on FCH PET is unlikely.

Trends in molecular subtypes of breast cancer: description of incidence rates between 2007 and 2012 from three French registries.

BACKGROUND: The incidence and incidence trends of breast cancer according to molecular subtype are unknown at a population level in France. The registry data enables this study and may give this information, that is crucial to describe and understand breast cancer epidemiology. METHODS: We estimated the incidence rates of breast cancer for each molecular subtype using data from three cancer registries in France for the period from 2007 to 2012. Molecular subtypes were defined with immunohistochemical data. Poisson models were estimated to modelize the course of breast cancer incidence and to test the trends. RESULTS: The study included 12,040 patients diagnosed between 2007 and 2012 in the three administrative areas covered by the registries. There was no significant trends in the proportion of each molecular subtype year by year. The age distribution of incident cases was different depending on the molecular subtypes (p < 0.001). The course of incidence between 2007 and 2012 was also different depending on molecular subtype according to the multivariate Poisson model (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The description of incident cases of breast cancer according to molecular subtype at a population level showed differences in trends. The trends in incidence differed according to molecular subtype, and this should improve our understanding of overall changes in incidence. This analysis is important to plan screening and treatment resources at a population level.

Clinical and dosimetric study of radiotherapy for glioblastoma: three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy versus intensity-modulated radiotherapy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We aimed to compare three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for the treatment of glioblastoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective study of 220 patients with glioblastoma, treated with 3D-CRT or IMRT, with or without surgery. Dosimetric parameters as well as clinical and survival data for the two techniques were analyzed and compared. RESULTS: The median conformity index was 1.53 (range 0-2.69) for 3D-CRT and 1.25 (range 0.97-2.01) for IMRT, p < 10-4. The median homogeneity index was 0.10 (range 0.03-0.32) for 3D-CRT and 0.07 (range 0.03-0.18) for IMRT, p < 10-4. There were significantly fewer acute grade 1 and 2 neurological toxicities in the IMRT group especially for edema (1.3 versus 12.4%, p = 0.017), concentration disorders (6.6 versus 19.9%, p = 0.003) and consciousness disorders (2.6 versus 13.2%, p = 0.002) although IMRT patients had a significantly worse pre-treatment neurological status than 3D-CRT patients. Median survival was 16.0 months (range 11.9-17.8) for IMRT and 13.4 months (range 11.7-15.7) for 3D-CRT patients (p = 0.542). CONCLUSION: IMRT improved target conformity and reduced neurological toxicities for patients with glioblastomas.

Radical cystectomy or bladder preservation with radiochemotherapy in elderly patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer: Retrospective International Study of Cancers of the Urothelial Tract (RISC) Investigators.

BACKGROUND: Radical cystectomy (RC) and radiochemotherapy (RCT) are curative options for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). Optimal treatment strategy remains unclear in elderly patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients aged 80 years old and above with T2-T4aN0-2M0-Mx MIBC were identified in the Retrospective International Study of Cancers of the Urothelial Tract (RISC) database. Patients treated with RC were compared with those treated with RCT. The impact of surgery on overall survival (OS) was assessed using a Cox proportional hazard model. Progression included locoregional and metastatic relapse and was considered a time-dependent variable. RESULTS: Between 1988 and 2015, 92 patients underwent RC and 72 patients had RCT. Median age was 82.5 years (range 80-100) and median follow-up was 2.90 years (range 0.04-11.10). Median OS was 1.99 years (95%CI 1.17-2.76) after RC and 1.97 years (95%CI 1.35-2.64) after RCT (p = .73). Median progression-free survival (PFS) after RC and RCT were 1.25 years (95%CI 0.80-1.75) and 1.52 years (95%CI 1.01-2.04), respectively (p = .54). In multivariate analyses, only disease progression was significantly associated with worse OS (HR = 10.27 (95%CI 6.63-15.91), p < .0001). Treatment modality was not a prognostic factor. CONCLUSIONS: RCT offers survival rates comparable to those observed with RC for patients aged ≥80 years.

Prognostic Factors of Survival among Women with Metastatic Breast Cancer and Impact of Primary or Secondary Nature of Disease on Survival: A French Population-Based Study.

We aim to determine whether differences in survival exist between two populations of women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) and to identify prognostic factors of survival after metastasis diagnosis. Data on women with MBC diagnosed between 2000 and 2011 were provided by the Côte d'Or Breast cancer registry. Survival rates and median overall survival (OS) after metastasis diagnosis were determined using the Kaplan-Meier method and prognostic factors were determined in a Cox proportional hazard model. Overall, 282 women with primary MBC and 340 with secondary MBC were included. A 2-year survival rate was significantly better in women with primary MBC (50.8% [95% CI: 47.8-53.8%] versus 44.5% [95% CI: 41.8-47.2%]). However, median OS did not differ between the two groups (p = 0.1). The prognostic factors associated with worst survival were a triple-negative tumor type (p < 10-4 ), multiple metastases sites (p < 10-4 ), an older age at metastasis (p < 10-4 ), and a SBR grade G3 (p = 0.007). OS between women with primary MBC and women with secondary MBC does not seem to differ significantly. This population-based study provides original epidemiological data on French women without any selection bias inherent to hospital cohorts.

Age-related socio-economic and geographic disparities in breast cancer stage at diagnosis: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine the impact of socio-economic and geographic disparities on disease stage at diagnosis according to age in breast cancer (BC) patients. Secondary purpose was to describe survival METHODS: All women with primary invasive BC, diagnosed from 1998 to 2009 in the department of Côte d'Or were retrospectively selected using data from the Côte d'Or BC registry. European transnational ecological deprivation index (French European Deprivation Index) was used to measure the socio-economic environment. Relationships between socio-geographic deprivation and disease stage at diagnosis according to age were assessed by a multilevel ordered logistic regression model. Relative survival rates (RSRs) were given at 5 years according to tumour and patients characteristics. RESULTS: In total, 4364 women were included. In multivariable analysis, socio-economic deprivation was associated with disease stage at diagnosis. Women aged between 50 and 74 years and living in deprived areas were more often diagnosed with advanced tumour stages (stages II/III vs. I or stages IV vs. II/III) with odds ratio = 1.27 (1.01-1.60). RSRs were lowest in women living in the most deprived area compared with those living in most affluent area with RSR = 88.4% (85.9-90.4) and 92.6% (90.5-94.2), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Socio-economic factors affected tumour stage at diagnosis and survival. Living in a deprived area was linked to advanced-stage BC at diagnosis only in women aged 50-74 years. This is probably due to the socio-economic disparities in participation in organized BC screening programmes. Furthermore, living in deprived area was associated with a poor survival rate.

Characteristics of energy intake under-reporting in French adults.

Energy intake under-reporting (UR) is a concern in nutritional epidemiological studies, as it may distort the relationships between dietary habits and health. Although UR is known to be associated with certain characteristics, few studies have investigated them in France. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to assess the prevalence and characteristics of UR in French adults. UR was defined according to Goldberg's classification. A sample of 1567 adults was drawn from the nationally representative French dietary survey (Individuelle Nationale des Consommations Alimentaires 2 2006-7). Food intake (7 d record), dietary habits, socio-economic status, region of residence, sedentary behaviour and weight perception variables were assessed. Multivariate logistic regression was used to investigate the associations between UR and a number of covariates. The overall prevalence of UR was 22.5%, similar in men and women. In both sexes, UR was positively associated with overweight and protein intake and inversely associated with age. In women, UR was associated with eating lunch in the office, poor perception of diet quality and sedentary behaviour and was inversely associated with educational level, residence in the Paris region, cereal product intake and eating lunch in a friend's or family member's home. In men, UR was positively associated with a history of slimming and inversely associated with dairy product intake and eating lunch at a staff canteen. In conclusion, UR is prevalent in French adults and is associated with several different characteristics. It is important to take account of UR when investigating diet-disease associations in adults.

Interleukin-1α as a Potential Prognostic Biomarker in Pancreatic Cancer.

PURPOSE: We assessed the prognostic role of pro-inflammatory cytokines of the IL-1 superfamily in patients with pancreatic cancer. METHODS: This retrospective study was performed using two independent cohorts of patients with pancreatic cancer: the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC, N = 267) cohort and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA, N = 178) cohort. Univariate Cox regressions were used to identify prognosis-related pro-inflammatory cytokines of the IL-1 superfamily. Cytokines associated with outcome were included in a multivariate Cox model with relevant clinicopathological variables to identify prognostic biomarkers. RESULTS: IL-1α was the only pro-inflammatory cytokine of the IL-1 superfamily that was significantly associated with prognosis in both cohorts. In the training cohort (ICGC), the decile of patients with the lowest IL1A expression had better overall survival (HR = 1.99 [1.01-3.93], p = 0.05) and better relapse-free survival (HR = 1.85 [1.02-3.34], p = 0.04) than the group with the highest IL1A expression. The validation cohort (TCGA) confirmed these results: the decile with the lowest IL1A expression had better overall survival (HR = 3.00 [1.14-7.90], p = 0.03) and a lower risk of progression (HR = 3.11 [1.24-7.80], p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: IL1A is an independent prognostic marker and could be considered a potential therapeutic target in pancreatic cancer patients.

Diagnostic Performances of 18F-Fluorocholine PET/CT as First-Line Functional Imaging Method for Localization of Hyperfunctioning Parathyroid Tissue in Primary Hyperparathyroidism.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the diagnostic performance of 18F-fluorocholine (FCH) PET/CT as the first-line functional imaging method for preoperative localization of hyperfunctioning parathyroid glands (HPGs) in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective single-center study included 80 consecutive patients with PHPT, referred for FCH PET/CT between January 2018 and July 2022, and who subsequently underwent surgery. The diagnostic performance of FCH PET/CT was compared to histological results for per-lesion analysis, and to postoperative resolution of biochemical PHPT for per-patient analysis. RESULTS: 18F-FCH-PET/CT revealed 95 positive foci in 77/80 patients and was negative in 3/80 patients. Postoperative resolution of HPT was obtained in 67/80 patients (84%). Per-lesion analysis showed 80 true positives, five true negatives, 11 false negatives, and eight false positives. Seven PET-positive foci could not be compared to histology. In a first per-lesion analysis, excluding these seven anomalies, sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) of FCH PET/CT were 88% (95% CI: 79-94) and 91% (95% CI: 87-94), respectively. In a second per-lesion analysis considering the seven anomalies as false positives (maximum bias analysis), PPV was 84% (95% CI: 80%-87%). By per-patient analysis, FCH PET/CT correctly identified and located all pathological glands in 56/80 (70%, 95% CI: 59-80) patients. CONCLUSION: 18F-Fluorocholine PET/CT appears to be an effective pre-surgical imaging method for localization of hyperfunctioning parathyroid tissue in patients with PHPT.

HER2-Low Luminal Breast Carcinoma Is Not a Homogenous Clinicopathological and Molecular Entity.

BACKGROUND: With the development of some new antibody-drug conjugates, the HER2 classification of breast carcinomas now includes the HER2-low (H2L) category: IHC 1+, 2+ non-amplified by ISH, and double-equivocal carcinomas, mostly luminal, expressing hormone receptors (HR+). METHODS: We analyzed mutational status and transcriptomic activities of three HER2 effector pathways: PI3K-AKT, MAPK, and JAK-STAT, in association with clinicopathologic features, in 62 H2L carcinomas compared to 43 HER2-positive and 20 HER2-negative carcinomas, all HR+. RESULTS: H2L carcinomas had significantly lower histoprognostic grades and mitotic and Ki67 proliferation indexes than HER2-positive carcinomas. Their PIK3CA mutation rates were close to those of HER2-negative and significantly higher than in HER2-positive carcinomas, contrary to TP53 mutations. At the transcriptomic level, we identified three distinct groups which did not reflect the new HER2 classification. H2L and HER2-negative carcinomas shared most of clinicopathological and molecular characteristics, except HER2 membrane expression (mRNA levels). The presence of a mutation in a signaling pathway had a strong pathway activation effect. PIK3CA mutations were more prevalent in H2L carcinomas, leading to a strong activation of the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway even in the absence of HER2 overexpression/amplification. CONCLUSION: PIK3CA mutations may explain the failure of conventional anti-HER2 treatments, suggesting that new antibody-drug conjugates may be more effective.

Definitive radio(chemo)therapy versus upfront surgery in the treatment of HPV-related localized or locally advanced oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The treatment of stage I-III HPV+ oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPV-OPSCC) is based on either surgery ± adjuvant therapy or exclusive radio±chemotherapy. We sought to compare these two therapeutic strategies in terms of efficacy, tolerance and quality of life (QoL). METHODS: Patients treated for stage I-III HPV-OPSCC from 2010 to 2021 in 3 academic centers were included and sorted according to the treatment strategy: surgery or exclusive radio±chemotherapy. Efficacy and tolerance were retrospectively assessed, and a transversal exploratory QoL assessment was performed using QoL instruments. RESULTS: A total of 83 patients were included, with 21 undergoing non-minimally invasive surgery and 62 receiving definitive radio-±chemotherapy. 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were respectively 80% and 86% in the surgical group and 92% and 95% in the non-surgical group, with no significant difference. At the end of treatment, 64.5% of patients presented with a grade III toxicity, without significant difference between the two groups. No patient had late grade III toxicity at 24 months. Forty-five patients (11 in the surgical group, 34 in the non-surgical group) participated in an exploratory quality-of-life analysis. Patients reported significantly more fatigue and loss of appetite after surgery, whereas patients in the radio±chemotherapy group described significantly more salivary and oral problems and difficulty swallowing, but the median time between treatment completion and the response to the questionnaires. CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference in efficacy, physician-reported toxicity and overall patient-reported quality of life was found between non-minimally invasive surgery and radio±chemotherapy in the treatment of stage I-III HPV-OPSCC.