Easy to use tools for retrieving non-published data from clinically relevant subgroups.

Published trials sometimes report data for the overall population and selected subgroups, but not for the remaining population. Shenoy reports two methods able to extract data from the remaining subgroup using data for the overall population and a given subgroup.

Outpatient Palliative Care Program: Impact on Home Death Rate in Brazil.

While the positive impact of early palliative care on the quality of life of cancer patients is well established, there is a noticeable research gap in developing countries. This study sought to determine the impact of an outpatient palliative care (OPC) program on the location of death among patients in Brazil. This was a retrospective study including patients with cancer who died between January 2022 and December 2022 in 32 private cancer centers in Brazil.

Association of G12C Status with Age at Onset of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer.

The association of age at the onset of CRC and the prevalence of a G12C mutation is unclear. A retrospective, multicenter study evaluating metastatic CRC patients from January 2019 to July 2023, treated at the Oncoclinicas units and tested for tissue based / and mutations in a centralized genomics lab. A mismatch repair (MMR) status was retrieved from different labs and electronic medical records, as were patient demographics (age, gender) and tumor sidedness.

Claudin 18.2 as a New Biomarker in Gastric Cancer-What Should We Know?

Gastric cancer (GC) remains a formidable global health challenge, ranking among the top-five causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The majority of patients face advanced stages at diagnosis, with a mere 6% five-year survival rate. First-line treatment for metastatic GC typically involves a fluoropyrimidine and platinum agent combination; yet, predictive molecular markers have proven elusive.

Targeting KRAS in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: The Long Road to Cure.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains an important cause of cancer-related mortality, and it is expected to play an even bigger part in cancer burden in the years to come. Despite concerted efforts from scientists and physicians, patients have experienced little improvement in survival over the past decades, possibly because of the non-specific nature of the tested treatment modalities. Recently, the discovery of potentially targetable molecular alterations has paved the way for the personalized treatment of PDAC.

PD-L1 testing in advanced gastric cancer-what physicians who treat this disease must know-a literature review.

Background And Objective: Immune checkpoint inhibition has shed light on a new era in cancer therapy, and randomized clinical trials have demonstrated that a meaningful portion of the overall population of metastatic gastric cancer (GC) patients may derive clinical benefit from immunotherapy, which raises the relevance in identifying predictive biomarkers. Programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression has demonstrated a significant association between level of expression and the magnitude of benefit derived from immune checkpoint inhibition in GC. Nevertheless, this biomarker shows several pitfalls that must be considered in the therapeutic decision to incorporate immune checkpoint inhibition as the standard of care of GC, such as spatial and temporal heterogeneity, interobserver variability, immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay, and influence by chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

Minimal Residual Disease in Colorectal Cancer: Are We Finding the Needle in a Haystack?

Despite significant advances in the surgical and systemic therapy of colorectal cancer (CRC) in recent decades, recurrence rates remain high. Apart from microsatellite instability status, the decision to offer adjuvant chemotherapy to patients with CRC is solely based on clinicopathologic factors, which offer an inaccurate risk stratification of patients who derive benefit from adjuvant therapy. Owing to the recent improvements of molecular techniques, it has been possible to detect small allelic fractions of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), and therefore, to identify patients with minimal residual disease (MRD) after curative-intent therapies.

Biomarkers in Anal Cancer: Current Status in Diagnosis, Disease Progression and Therapeutic Strategies.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCCA) is a rare neoplasm, but with rising incidence rates in the past few decades; it is etiologically linked with the human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and is especially prevalent in immunocompromised patients, mainly those infected with HIV. Fluoropyrimidine-based chemoradiotherapy remains the cornerstone of the treatment of non-metastatic disease, but the locally advanced disease still presents high rates of disease recurrence and systemic therapy of SCCA is an unmet clinical need. Despite sharing common molecular aspects with other HPV-related malignancies, such as cervical and head and neck cancers, SCCA presents specific epigenomic, genomic, and transcriptomic abnormalities, which suggest that genome-guided personalized therapies should be specifically designed for this disease.

Vitamin D and colorectal cancer - A practical review of the literature.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States and the second cause worldwide. Its incidence rates have been decreasing in the overall population in the US in the past few decades, but with increasing rates in the population younger than 50 years old. Environmental factors are supposed to be involved in the development of the disease, with strong evidence favoring an influence of the diet and lifestyle.

Biologics in rectal cancer.

Introduction: Despite the use of multimodality therapy, locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) still presents high rates of disease recurrence. Fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy concurrently with radiation therapy (RT) remains the cornerstone of neoadjuvant therapy of LARC, and novel therapies are urgently needed in order to improve the clinical outcomes.

Areas Covered: We aim to summarize data from completed and ongoing clinical trials addressing the role of biological therapies, including monoclonal antibodies, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), antibody-drug conjugates, bispecific antibodies, and gene therapies in the systemic therapy of rectal cancer.

The Role of Immunotherapy in the Treatment of Anal Cancer and Future Strategies.

Despite being markedly sensitive to chemoradiotherapy, patients with locally advanced (T3-4 and/or node-positive) squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCCA) still present high rates of disease recurrence, which is characterized by meaningful morbidity and mortality. Abdominoperineal resection as salvage surgery may be considered for patients with local recurrence, but with an important negative impact in the quality of life. Systemic therapy of advanced SCCA is an unmet clinical need.

Anal Cancer: Emerging Standards in a Rare Disease.

The social stigma surrounding an anal cancer diagnosis has traditionally prevented open discussions about this disease. However, as recent treatment options and an increasing rate of diagnoses are made worldwide, awareness is growing. In the United States alone, 9,090 individuals were expected to be diagnosed with anal cancer in 2021.

Risk of Cancer in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Pitfalls in Oncologic Therapy.

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), represented by ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, is an idiopathic condition caused by a dysregulated immune response to host intestinal microflora, leading to chronic relapsing intestinal inflammation. Individuals with IBD are more prone to die from several diseases, including cancer.

Methods: An extensive search was conducted of PubMed using the following medical subject heading-"inflammatory bowel disease" OR "Crohn's disease" OR "ulcerative colitis" AND "cancer.

A comprehensive framework for early-onset colorectal cancer research.

Sporadic colorectal cancer has traditionally been viewed as a malignancy of older individuals. However, as the global prevalence of the disease diagnosed in younger individuals (<50 years) is expected to increase within the next decade, greater recognition is now being given to early-onset colorectal cancer. The cause of the predicted rise in prevalence is largely unknown and probably multifactorial.

Efficacy and Safety Associated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Meta-analysis.

Importance: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have yielded conflicting results in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The overall effect of ICIs compared with standard therapies in unresectable HCC requires more research.

Objective: To estimate the efficacy and safety associated with ICIs compared with standard therapies in patients with unresectable HCC.

Effect of Adding Bevacizumab to Chemotherapy on Pathologic Response to Preoperative Systemic Therapy for Resectable Colorectal Liver Metastases: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Liver-limited metastatic colorectal cancer is a potentially curable disease. Pathologic response (pR) to preoperative chemotherapy (CT) for colorectal liver metastases (CLM) is a surrogate endpoint for overall survival (OS). We conducted the first meta-analysis of observational studies to estimate the overall effect of bevacizumab on pR in preoperative systemic therapy for CLM.

Brazilian Group of Gastrointestinal Tumours' consensus guidelines for the management of oesophageal cancer.

Oesophageal cancer is among the ten most common types of cancer worldwide. More than 80% of the cases and deaths related to the disease occur in developing countries. Local socio-economic, epidemiologic and healthcare particularities led us to create a Brazilian guideline for the management of oesophageal and oesophagogastric junction (OGJ) carcinomas.

Development and Validation of a Novel Nomogram for Individualized Prediction of Survival in Cancer of Unknown Primary.

Purpose: Prognostic uncertainty is a major challenge for cancer of unknown primary (CUP). Current models limit a meaningful patient-provider dialogue. We aimed to establish a nomogram for predicting overall survival (OS) in CUP based on robust clinicopathologic prognostic factors.

Determinants of COVID-19 Mortality in Patients With Cancer From a Community Oncology Practice in Brazil.

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic remains a public health emergency of global concern. Determinants of mortality in the general population are now clear, but specific data on patients with cancer remain limited, particularly in Latin America.

Materials And Methods: A longitudinal multicenter cohort study of patients with cancer and confirmed COVID-19 from Oncoclínicas community oncology practice in Brazil was conducted.

Brazilian Group of Gastrointestinal Tumours' consensus guidelines for the management of gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer is among the ten most common types of cancer worldwide. Most cases and deaths related to the disease occur in developing countries. Local socio-economic, epidemiologic and healthcare particularities led us to create a Brazilian guideline for the management of gastric carcinomas.

The prognostic impact of RAS on overall survival following liver resection in early versus late-onset colorectal cancer patients.

Background: The impact of molecular aberrations on survival after resection of colorectal liver metastases (CLM) in patients with early-age-onset (EOCRC) versus late-age-onset colorectal cancer (LOCRC) is unknown.

Methods: Patients who underwent liver resection for CLM with known RAS, BRAF and MSI status were retrospectively studied. The prognostic impact of RAS mutations by age was analysed with age as a categorical variable and a continuous variable.

Atypical, Non-V600 BRAF Mutations as a Potential Mechanism of Resistance to EGFR Inhibition in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer.

Purpose: Atypical, non-V600 BRAF () mutations represent a rare molecular subtype of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Preclinical data are used to categorize mutations into class II (intermediate to high levels of kinase activity, independent) and III (low kinase activity level, dependent). The clinical impact of these mutations on anti-EGFR treatment efficacy is unknown.

Outcomes with anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies in metastatic and recurrent anal squamous cell carcinoma.

Objectives: Metastatic squamous cell carcinoma anal cancer (SCCA) is rare. Prospective data recommends front-line platinum doublet combinations and second-line anti-programmed death-1 therapy. Standard therapy beyond these treatments are currently unknown.

Integrated clinico-molecular profiling of appendiceal adenocarcinoma reveals a unique grade-driven entity distinct from colorectal cancer.

Background: Appendiceal adenocarcinoma (AA) is an orphan disease with unique clinical attributes but often treated as colorectal cancer (CRC). Understanding key molecular differences between AA and CRC is critical.

Methods: We performed retrospective analyses of AA patients (N = 266) with tumour and/or blood next-generation sequencing (NGS) (2013-2018) with in-depth clinicopathological annotation.