Exon 19 Insertions: Do Patients Respond to Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Treatment?

Background/aim: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 19 insertions are very rare mutations and their response to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) is uncertain. We report our experience concerning two patients, along with a literature review.

Patients And Methods: A total of 1,046 non-small-cell lung cancer tumor tissue samples were screened for EGFR mutations, using direct sequencing or next-generation sequencing.

Construction and validation of a prognostic model based on oxidative stress-related genes in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): predicting patient outcomes and therapy responses.

Background: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a significant health concern. The prognostic value of oxidative stress (OS)-related genes in NSCLC remains unclear. The study aimed to explore the prognostic significance of OS-genes in NSCLC using extensive datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO).

APOLLO 11 Project, Consortium in Advanced Lung Cancer Patients Treated With Innovative Therapies: Integration of Real-World Data and Translational Research.

Introduction: Despite several therapeutic efforts, lung cancer remains a highly lethal disease. Novel therapeutic approaches encompass immune-checkpoint inhibitors, targeted therapeutics and antibody-drug conjugates, with different results. Several studies have been aimed at identifying biomarkers able to predict benefit from these therapies and create a prediction model of response, despite this there is a lack of information to help clinicians in the choice of therapy for lung cancer patients with advanced disease.

Association between cigarette smoking history, metabolic phenotypes, and mutation status in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Cigarette smoking exerts a significant impact on metabolic phenotypes and epidermal growth factor receptor () mutation status; however, their correlation remains insufficiently established. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between cigarette smoking history, metabolic phenotypes, and mutation status in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 198 consecutive patients with NSCLC who underwent F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) before treatment and were tested for mutation status between September 2019 and March 2022.

Progenitor-like exhausted SPRY1CD8 T cells potentiate responsiveness to neoadjuvant PD-1 blockade in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Neoadjuvant immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) demonstrates promise in operable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), but lacks available efficacy biomarkers. Here, we perform single-cell RNA-sequencing of tumors from patients with ESCC undergoing neoadjuvant ICB, revealing a subset of exhausted CD8 T cells expressing SPRY1 (CD8 Tex-SPRY1) that displays a progenitor exhausted T cell (Tpex) phenotype and correlates with complete response to ICB. We validate CD8 Tex-SPRY1 cells as an ICB-specific predictor of improved response and survival using independent ICB-/non-ICB cohorts and demonstrate that expression of SPRY1 in CD8 T cells enforces Tpex phenotype and enhances ICB efficacy.

Current Treatment Approaches for Thymic Epithelial Tumors.

Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs), including thymoma, thymic carcinoma and neuroendocrine tumors, are uncommon tumors that originate from the epithelial cells of the thymus. Nevertheless, despite their rarity, they represent the most common tumor type located in the anterior mediastinum. Therapeutic choices based on staging and histology may include surgery with or without neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy represented by chemotherapy, radiotherapy or chemo-radiotherapy.

Psychological Well-Being of Cancer Patients before and during the Pandemic: The Impact of COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer patients.

Methods: Ninety cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy with antiblastics were recruited from a tertiary medical center and completed a battery of standardized questionnaires to assess anxiety, depression, peritraumatic stress, and quality of life before and during the pandemic.

Results: Quality of life worsened significantly during the pandemic compared with the pre-pandemic period.

Potential Role of Tumor-Derived Exosomes in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer in the Era of Immunotherapy.

Lung cancer, of which non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) represents about 80% of all cases, is the second most common cancer diagnosed in the general population and one of the major causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Overall, the outcomes of patients with advanced NSCLC are still disappointing despite advances in diagnosis and treatment. In recent years immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), administered alone or in combination with chemotherapy, have revolutionized the treatment landscape of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Decisions and dilemmas in non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer management.

Non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC) indicates a condition characterized by the progression of the prostate-specific antigen without radiographic evidence of distant metastasis on conventional imaging during androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Recently, 3 phase III trials have shown that the addition of next-generation androgen-receptor inhibitors (ARIs) apalutamide, darolutamide, and enzalutamide to ADT allows patients with high-risk nmCRPC to delay the appearance of metastasis and to obtain long-term clinical benefits. However, the lack of head-to head comparison makes it difficult to choose one among these agents.

Management of oligoprogression in non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Oligoprogression is an emerging concept in oncology representing a state where after an initially successfully local or systemic treatment a disease progression occurs characterized by the appearance of a single or few new lesions. We reviewed the literature and explained the rationale of the therapeutic choices by referring to the current guidelines and literature data. In any case, the treatment of oligometastatic disease should be tailored to suit the individual patient with the aim of maximizing the benefit of each line of therapy.

Octogenarians may benefit from stage-specific small cell lung cancer treatment.

Background: Our study investigates treatment profiles in octogenarian patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and assesses each treatment's role in a stage-specific manner.

Methods: Patient data from individuals with SCLC aged 80 years and older between 1988 and 2015 in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) database were extracted. Cancer-specific survival (CSS) between patients with no treatment and different treatment groups were compared by the Kaplan-Meier method, with stratifications by stage.

Metaplastic breast cancer. A case series.

Special type breast cancers display a wide range of different histological types in which clear recommendations on clinical and therapeutic management still lack and most of the information available derive from case report and case studies. In particular metaplastic breast cancer (MBC) is a rare and aggressive type of breast cancer accounting for around 1% of breast malignancies. We reported our experience in the management of five patients with MBC diagnosed and treated in our institution during the last few years (2016-2020).

Circulating tumor cells can predict the prognosis of patients with non-small cell lung cancer after resection: a retrospective study.

Background: The development of metastasis is the primary cause of death in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, identifying those NSCLC patients who will have loco-regional or distant disease recurrence after surgery is still challenging. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) can accurately reflect the impact of micro-metastasis of tumor cells in circulating blood on patients' treatment and prognosis.

A fully automated assay to detect the expression of pan-cytokeratins and of EML4-ALK fusion protein in circulating tumour cells (CTCs) predicts outcome of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

Background: In advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) a recent meta-analysis confirms circulating tumour cells (CTCs) as an independent prognostic indicator of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). However, further investigations are necessary to predict and dynamically monitor the therapy in NSCLC patients using CTCs. To this aim, we combined the classical standard assay (SA) with an expanded cytokeratins profile (EA) and quantified the expression of EML4-ALK fusion protein in CTCs.

Cardiovascular risk of smoking and benefits of smoking cessation.

Smoking increases mortality from all causes and has a crucial role in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Active smoking and secondhand smoke exposure determine more than 30% of coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality. The exact mechanisms of cardiovascular damages are not well known, but the detrimental effect of smoking on endothelial function has long been recognized.

Focus on lung cancer screening.

Poor survival of lung cancer (LC) patients depends on several factors first of all the delay in the diagnosis, considering that the majority of patients have an advanced-stage disease at the time of diagnosis. In this context, use of screening to increase the percentage of early LC detection can play a crucial role. After the preliminary unsatisfactory experiences with chest X-rays and sputum cytology, low dose computed tomography (LDCT) has become the best method for LC screening.

COVID-19 and cancer care: what do international guidelines say?

Cancer patients are at particular risk from COVID-19 since they usually present multiple risk factors for this infection such as older age, immunosuppressed state, comorbidities (e.g., chronic lung disease, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases), need of frequent hospital admissions and visits.

Oral anticancer therapy project: Clinical utility of a specific home care nursing programme on behalf of Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM).

Aims And Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of a specific home care nursing programme in addition to standard care in patients (pts) receiving oral anticancer treatments.

Background: Oral anticancer therapy present challenges for pts since treatment is a home-based therapy. This study evaluates the potentiality of a home care nursing programme in decreasing hospital accesses for not severe toxicity.

Anti-PD-1 versus anti-PD-L1 therapy in patients with pretreated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: a meta-analysis.

At present three immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), two anti-PD-1 (nivolumab and pembrolizumab) and one anti-PD-L1 (atezolizumab) can be used in pretreated non-small-cell lung cancer patients. The aim of this meta-analysis is an indirect comparison between anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 inhibitors. Seven studies (>4000 patients) were considered.

Is there a role for immunotherapy in malignant pleural mesothelioma?

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a very aggressive malignancy, mainly caused by asbestos exposure. Patients with MPM have a poor prognosis that remained substantially unchanged in the last few years and limited effective therapeutic options with no recognized second or further-line therapy. In this context, also in view of the positive results observed in other tumor types, immunotherapy could play a relevant role.

Liquid biopsy for monitoring anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer: two cases compared.

Three to seven percent of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients show anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-translocation and could be treated with ALK-inhibitors. However, under crizotinib, a first-generation ALK-inhibitor, patients develop drug resistance after a median of 12 months. To overcome crizotinib resistance, several next-generation ALK inhibitors have been developed.