The current situation for gastric cancer in Chile.

Gastric cancer is a neoplasm with a high incidence and mortality rate in Chile where more than 3000 people die every year from this type of cancer. This study shows the clinical and epidemiological considerations of this disease, information about translational research on this pathology in Chile, the contribution of Chilean doctors to the development of gastric cancer management awareness and the general situation of gastric cancer in Chile.

[Recommendations for the management of pancreatic cancer type adenocarcinoma: A consensus statement reached during the 2015 Latin American Symposium on Gastroenterological Oncology].

Pancreatic cancer is a malignancy of great impact in developed countries and is having an increasing impact in Latin America. Incidence and mortality rates are similar for this cancer. This is an important reason to offer to the patients the best treatments available.

Better to be alone than in bad company: The antagonistic effect of cisplatin and crizotinib combination therapy in non-small cell lung cancer.

Aim: To investigate the potential benefit of combining the cMET inhibitor crizotinib and cisplatin we performed combination studies.

Methods: We tested three different treatment schemes in four non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines with a different cMET/epidermal growth factor receptor genetic background by means of the sulforhodamine B assay and performed analysis with Calcusyn.

Results: All treatment schemes showed an antagonistic effect in all cell lines, independent of the cMET status.

BIM deletion polymorphisms in Hispanic patients with non-small cell lung cancer carriers of EGFR mutations.

Background: Germline alterations in the proapoptotic protein Bcl-2-like 11 (BIM) can have a crucial role in diverse tumors. To determine the clinical utility of detecting BIM deletion polymorphisms (par4226 bp/ par363 bp) in EGFR positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) we examined the outcomes of patients with and without BIM alterations.

Results: BIM deletion was present in 14 patients (15.

A Comparison of Cell-Free DNA Isolation Kits: Isolation and Quantification of Cell-Free DNA in Plasma.

The analysis of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) as a sensitive biomarker for cancer diagnosis and monitoring has resulted in a need for efficient and standardized cfDNA isolation. In this study, we compared the isolation efficiency of the QIAamp circulating nucleic acid kit (QIA) with four other cfDNA isolation kits: the PME free-circulating DNA Extraction Kit (PME), the Maxwell RSC ccfDNA Plasma Kit (RSC), the EpiQuick Circulating Cell-Free DNA Isolation Kit (EQ), and two consecutive versions of the NEXTprep-Mag cfDNA Isolation Kit (NpM). cfDNA was isolated from 10 plasma samples, of which five contained KRAS mutated cell-free tumor DNA (ctDNA).

Cancer clinical research in Latin America: current situation and opportunities. Expert opinion from the first ESMO workshop on clinical trials, Lima, 2015.

Latin America and the Caribbean have not yet developed strong clinical cancer research programmes. In order to improve this situation two international cancer organisations, the Latin American Society of Clinical Oncology (SLACOM) and the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) worked closely with the Peruvian Cooperative Oncology Group (GECOPERU) and organised a clinical cancer research workshop held in Lima, Peru, in October 2015. Many oncologists from different Latin American countries participated in this gathering.

Exosomes genetic cargo in lung cancer: a truly Pandora's box.

Lung cancer is a highly lethal disease. Targeted therapies have been developed in last years, however survival rates are not improving due to the delay in the diagnosis, making biomarkers one of the most interesting fields of study in cancer. Liquid biopsy has raised as an alternative to tissue biopsy due to improvements in analytical techniques for circulating tumor cells (CTCs), cell free DNA and exosomes.

The resistance related to targeted therapy in malignant pleural mesothelioma: Why has not the target been hit yet?

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive tumor of the pleura with a poor prognosis. The most active first-line regimens are platinum compounds and pemetrexed. There is no standard second-line treatment in MPM.

New developments in the management of non-small-cell lung cancer, focus on rociletinib: what went wrong?

Recently, the development of the third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor-small molecule inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) rociletinib had failed. In this review, the wide-ranging aspects of the evolution of EGFR-TKIs were collected, with a special focus on rociletinib. The influence of different oncogenic mutations on EGFR activity was also discussed.

Effect of Itraconazole and Rifampin on the Pharmacokinetics of Olaparib in Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors: Results of Two Phase I Open-label Studies.

Purpose: The metabolism of olaparib, a potent inhibitor of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) with demonstrated efficacy in patients with BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer, is mediated by cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes (predominantly CYP3A4/5). We assessed the potential of a CYP3A4 inhibitor (itraconazole) and inducer (rifampin) to alter the pharmacokinetic (PK) profile of olaparib following single oral tablet doses.

Methods: Two Phase I, open-label, non-randomized trials were conducted in patients with advanced solid tumors.

Multisciplinary management of patients with liver metastasis from colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death. Surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy have been till now the main therapeutic strategies for disease control and improvement of the overall survival. Twenty-five per cent (25%) of CRC patients have clinically detectable liver metastases at the initial diagnosis and approximately 50% develop liver metastases during their disease course.

Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Receptor (FSHR): A Promising Tool in Oncology?

The cellular pathway of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and its receptor (FSHR) is typically involved in reproduction in mammals. In humans, the FSHR is normally found in cells of the testis and the ovary, while it is scarcely expressed in other normal tissues. The expression of FSH/FSHR is studied in prostate, thyroid, and ovarian cancer tissues.

Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of a 13-mer LNA-inhibitor-miR-221 in Mice and Non-human Primates.

Locked nucleic acid (LNA) oligonucleotides have been successfully used to efficiently inhibit endogenous small noncoding RNAs in vitro and in vivo. We previously demonstrated that the direct miR-221 inhibition by the novel 13-mer LNA-i-miR-221 induces significant antimyeloma activity and upregulates canonical miR-221 targets in vitro and in vivo. To evaluate the LNA-i-miR-221 pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, novel assays for oligonucleotides quantification in NOD.

Exosomal miRNA Analysis in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Patients' Plasma Through qPCR: A Feasible Liquid Biopsy Tool.

The discovery of alterations in the EGFR and ALK genes, amongst others, in NSCLC has driven the development of targeted-drug therapy using selective tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). To optimize the use of these TKIs, the discovery of new biomarkers for early detection and disease progression is mandatory. These plasma-isolated exosomes can be used as a non-invasive and repeatable way for the detection and follow-up of these biomarkers.

cMET Exon 14 Skipping: From the Structure to the Clinic.

The abnormal stimulation of the multiple signal transduction pathways downstream of the receptor tyrosine kinase mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (cMET) promotes cellular transformation, tumor motility, and invasion. Therefore, cMET has been the focus of prognostic and therapeutic studies in different tumor types, including non-small cell lung cancer. In particular, several cMET inhibitors have been developed as innovative therapeutic candidates and are currently under investigation in clinical trials.

Therapeutic Targeting of miR-29b/HDAC4 Epigenetic Loop in Multiple Myeloma.

Epigenetic abnormalities are common in hematologic malignancies, including multiple myeloma, and their effects can be efficiently counteracted by a class of tumor suppressor miRNAs, named epi-miRNAs. Given the oncogenic role of histone deacetylases (HDAC) in multiple myeloma, we investigated whether their activity could be antagonized by miR-29b, a well-established epi-miRNA. We demonstrated here that miR-29b specifically targets HDAC4 and highlighted that both molecules are involved in a functional loop.

Recent developments in the use of immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer.

Introduction: Targeted therapies have significantly improved the prognosis of subsets of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring somatically activated oncogenes, such as mutant EGFR and rearranged ALK. However, the efficacy of these agents is limited by the development of acquired resistance which occurs after variable periods of time. Therefore, there is an urgent need for novel therapeutic strategies to achieve long lasting disease control, as well as new therapies for those patients without targetable driver mutations.

Central nervous system involvement in ALK-rearranged NSCLC: promising strategies to overcome crizotinib resistance.

Introduction: ALK rearranged Non Small Cell Lung Cancers (NSCLCs) represent a distinct subgroup of patients with peculiar clinic-pathological features. These patients exhibit dramatic responses when treated with the ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitor Crizotinib, albeit Central Nervous System (CNS) activity is much less impressive than that observed against extracranial lesions. CNS involvement has become increasingly observed in these patients, given their prolonged survival.