Feasibility, criterion and construct convergent validity of the 2-minute walk test and the 10-meter walk test in an oncological context.

Objective: To examine the feasibility, the criterion, and the construct convergent validity of the 2-Minute Walk Test (2MWT) and the 10-Meter Walk Test (10MeWT) against the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) to assess walking capacity in people with cancer. The criterion concurrent validity of a self-test version of the 10MeWT (10MeWT) was also evaluated against the 10MeWT.

Methods: Fifty-six people with cancer performed the 2MWT, the 10MeWT at comfortable and fast speeds, the 6MWT, and the 10MeWT.

Hematologic toxicities of chemotherapy in breast and ovarian cancer patients carrying BRCA1/BRCA2 germline pathogenic variants. A single center experience and review of the literature.

BRCA1 and BRCA2 play a central role in DNA repair and their germline pathogenic variants (gBRCA) confer a high risk for developing breast and ovarian cancer. Standard chemotherapy regimens for these cancers include DNA-damaging agents. We hypothesized that gBRCA carriers might be at higher risk of developing chemotherapy-related hematologic toxicity and therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (t-MN).

A multicenter phase II trial of anti-EGFR-immunoliposomes loaded with doxorubicin in patients with advanced triple negative breast cancer.

Advanced triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive, but initially chemo-sensitive disease. The prognosis is poor and more than three quarters of patients experience progression 12 months after the initiation of conventional first-line chemotherapy. Approximately two thirds of TNBC express epidermal growth factor receptor 1 (EGFR).

Immunotherapy in Urological, Gynecological and Gastrointestinal Cancers - Current Landscape.

Immunotherapy is becoming increasingly important in the management of urological, gynecological, and gastrointestinal cancers. Immune checkpoint inhibitor-based combinations have become a standard of care for patients with metastatic renal and liver cancers, as well as for many patients with bladder, cervical, gastric, and esophageal cancers, based on various biomarkers. Some tumor types are less responsive to immunotherapy, such as prostate and colon cancer.

Influence of chemotherapy on postural control and quality of life in women with gynaecological cancer: a protocol of a prospective observational study.

Introduction: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy is a frequent side effect of some chemotherapies that can cause postural control disorders and has a serious impact on quality of life (QoL). An enhanced understanding of postural control dysfunction could help build a systematic and accurate assessment as well as specific exercises to limit the impact on QoL. This study aims to assess the influence of chemotherapy on postural control and the QoL for women with gynaecological cancer.

Diagnostic precision of breast MRI in prediction of pathological complete response: Is it influenced by the presence of metallic markers?

Objective: To investigate if the presence of metallic markers (markers) influences the diagnostic accuracy of preoperative breast MRI for the prediction of pathological complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in breast cancer patients.

Materials And Methods: In this single-center, retrospective, observational study approved by the IRB of our institution, we included all consecutive patients that underwent preoperative breast MRI after completion of NAC (Mean 4,4 days ± 15,9). The presence or absence of markers, the type of markers, the size and type of artefact on each MRI sequence were recorded.

Differential impact of tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors on thrombin generation: the prospective HEMOBREAST cohort.

Tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are potent antitumoral agents against breast cancer. Tamoxifen increases the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), but the influence of AIs on the risk of VTE remains unclear. To inform clinical decisions, we evaluated associations of tamoxifen or AIs with changes of surrogate hemostatic biomarkers.

Ovarian cancer with high-level focal amplification responds to trastuzumab and pertuzumab.

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage and significantly contributes to cancer mortality in women. Despite multimodal treatment associating chemotherapy and surgery, most patients ultimately progress and require palliative systemic therapy. In EOC, the efficacy of anti-HER2 agents is minimal even after selecting patients for HER2 expression.

Gestational trophoblastic disease in Switzerland: retrospective study of the impact of a regional reference centre.

Aims Of The Study: The European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) recommends that countries should have reference centres to provide adequate diagnosis and treatment of gestational trophoblastic disease. A trophoblastic disease centre in the French-speaking part of Switzerland was inaugurated in 2009. The objectives of this study were to report the activity of the centre during the last 10 years and analyse gestational trophoblastic disease outcomes.

Publisher Correction: Clinical outcome of breast cancer in carriers of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations according to molecular subtypes.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Clinical outcome of breast cancer in carriers of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations according to molecular subtypes.

BRCA1/BRCA2 genes play a central role in DNA repair and their mutations increase sensitivity to DNA-damaging agents. There are conflicting data regarding the prognostic value of BRCA germline mutations in breast cancer (BC) patients. We collected clinical, pathological and genetic data of a cohort 925 BC patients preselected for genetic screening and treated with neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy, of whom 266 were BRCA carriers.

Durable response to palbociclib and letrozole in ovarian cancer with loss.

Alterations of the Retinoblastoma (Rb) pathway are frequent in ovarian cancer, typically resulting from down-regulation, amplification, amplification, and loss. However, bi-allelic mutation or homozygous deletion is a very rare event, concerning less than 5% of patients.Initial trials with palbociclib in serous ovarian cancer have shown very modest benefit in unselected patient populations, thus underlining the need for a biomarker predicting response.

A population-based cohort of young women diagnosed with breast cancer in Geneva, Switzerland.

Purpose: Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women worldwide. Despite the fact that breast cancer is more frequent after fifty years of age, breast cancer among young women has recently drawn particular attention due to an increase in incidence in several western countries. With the exception of individuals with a high genetic risk, breast cancer occurring in younger women remains poorly understood.

[Hypnotherapy in psycho-oncology : clinical benefits and future prospects].

After a cancer diagnosis, emotional distress is common. We currently have many conventional treatments such as radiotherapy, surgery, chemotherapy, targeted therapies and immunotherapy to fight cancer. However, these treatments are associated with significant adverse effects, which may themselves be the cause of psychic suffering.

[Doctor, is it reasonable for me to pursue a physical activity in my condition?].

The prevalence of cancer is increasing, with an estimated number of new cases of 21.6 million worldwide by 2030. Progress in cancer therapies has turned it into a chronic disease.

Molecular apocrine tumours in EORTC 10994/BIG 1-00 phase III study: pathological response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and clinical outcomes.

Background: We explored, within the EORTC10994 study, the outcomes for patients with molecular apocrine (MA) breast cancer, and defined immunohistochemistry (IHC) as androgen-receptor (AR) positive, oestrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) negative. We also assessed the concordance between IHC and gene expression arrays (GEA) in the identification of MA cancers.

Methods: Centrally assessed biopsies for AR, ER, PR, HER2 and Ki67 by IHC were classified into six subtypes: MA, triple-negative (TN) basal-like, luminal A, luminal B HER2 negative, luminal B HER2 positive and "other".

Towards the first targeted therapy for triple-negative breast cancer: Repositioning of clofazimine as a chemotherapy-compatible selective Wnt pathway inhibitor.

Wnt signaling is overactivated in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and several other cancers, and its suppression emerges as an effective anticancer treatment. However, no drugs targeting the Wnt pathway exist on the market nor in advanced clinical trials. Here we provide a comprehensive body of preclinical evidence that an anti-leprotic drug clofazimine is effective against TNBC.

BRCA1/BRCA2 germline mutations and chemotherapy-related hematological toxicity in breast cancer patients.

Purpose: BRCA1 and BRCA2 proteins are central to DNA repair process through homologous recombination. We hypothesize that BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation carriers may exhibit increased hematological toxicity when receiving genotoxic chemotherapy.

Methods: We included women with primary breast cancers screened for BRCA1/BRCA2 germline mutations and treated with (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy in Geneva (Swiss cohort).

[« Doctor, I am fasting during chemotherapy » : illusion or new clinical facts ?].

Fasting concomitantly with oncology treatments (chemotherapy mainly) induces a growing interest among patients following overmediatisation of recent discoveries. The goal of this article is to provide updated information about this approach. According to preclinical studies, fasting may be a way to increase the therapeutic index of major oncology treatments.

Do patients whose tumor achieved a pathological response relapse at specific sites? A substudy of the EORTC 10994/BIG-1-00 trial.

Purpose: To determine the sites of first distant relapse in patients with or without pCR following neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients enrolled in the EORTC 10994/BIG-1-00 trial.

Methods: We included patients enrolled in the EORTC 10994/BIG-1-00 trial who received at least one chemotherapy cycle before surgery and who had been diagnosed with a distant relapse. pCR was defined as no evidence of residual invasive cancer in the primary tumor and axillary lymph nodes with or without residual ductal carcinoma in situ.

Location of Mutation in Gene and Survival in Patients with Ovarian Cancer.

BRCA2 plays a central role in homologous recombination by loading RAD51 on DNA breaks. The objective of this study is to determine whether the location of mutations in the RAD51-binding domain (RAD51-BD; exon 11) of gene affects the clinical outcome of ovarian cancer patients. A study cohort of 353 women with ovarian cancer who underwent genetic germline testing for and genes was identified.

A genetic polymorphism repurposes the G-protein coupled and membrane-associated estrogen receptor GPER to a transcription factor-like molecule promoting paracrine signaling between stroma and breast carcinoma cells.

GPER is a membrane-associated estrogen receptor of the family of G-protein coupled receptors. For breast cancer, the contribution of GPER to promoting the proliferation and migration of both carcinoma cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in response to estrogen and other agonists has extensively been investigated. Intriguingly, GPER was previously found to be localized to the nucleus in one isolate of breast CAFs.

Clinical utility of 18F-FDG-PET/MR for preoperative breast cancer staging.

Objective: To evaluate the performance of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MR) for preoperative breast cancer staging.

Methods: Preoperative PET/MR exams of 58 consecutive women with breast cancer were retrospectively reviewed. Histology and mean follow-up of 26 months served as gold standard.

Breast cancer in younger women in Switzerland 1996-2009: a longitudinal population-based study.

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and a leading cause of death in younger women.

Methods: We analysed incidence, mortality and relative survival (RS) in women with BC aged 20-49 years at diagnosis, between 1996 and 2009 in Switzerland. Trends are reported as estimated annual percentage changes (EAPC).