Publications by authors named "Ciuleanu T"

Background And Aims: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment is challenged by late detection and limited therapeutic options. Aberrant DNA methylation, a common epigenetic alteration in NSCLC, offers new therapeutic avenues. This study aims to evaluate the combined effects of 5-Azacytidine (5-Aza), an epigenetic modifier, and ionizing radiation (IR) on NSCLC, exploring the underlying molecular mechanisms and therapeutic potential.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A pooled analysis of clinical trials showed that patients receiving this combination treatment had better overall survival (17.4 months) compared to those receiving chemotherapy alone (11.3 months) at a median follow-up of 73.7 months.
  • * The combination treatment also resulted in higher progression-free survival and objective response rates without new safety concerns, making it a promising first-line option for hard-to-treat NSCLC cases.
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Background: We report 5-year efficacy and safety outcomes from CheckMate 9LA in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (mNSCLC) and exploratory analyses in key patient subgroups.

Methods: Adults with stage IV/recurrent NSCLC and no sensitizing EGFR/ALK alterations were randomized to receive nivolumab plus ipilimumab with chemotherapy (n = 361) or chemotherapy (n = 358). Outcomes were assessed in all randomized patients and subgroups.

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Background And Aim: Lung cancer remains one of the most threatening malignancies, ranking as the second most diagnosed cancer, and it continues to be the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Challenges persist with late diagnosis and the high mutational burden characteristic of lung cancer.

Methods: Our study focuses on identifying the mutational spectrum of a cohort of advanced-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients using a minimally invasive method through blood collection.

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  • Checkpoint inhibitor therapy, particularly nivolumab combined with ipilimumab, shows promise for patients with high tumor mutational burden (TMB-H) across various tumor types, indicating a potential survival benefit.
  • The study involved 201 patients with advanced solid tumors who were resistant to standard treatments; they were randomly assigned to receive either the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab or nivolumab alone, with the effectiveness measured based on objective response rates.
  • Results demonstrated higher response rates in patients with TMB-H tumors who received the combination therapy, and the safety profile was acceptable, suggesting this treatment could be beneficial for patients with limited options.
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Background: Sotorasib 960 mg once daily is approved to treat KRAS G12C-mutated locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Sotorasib exhibits non-dose proportional pharmacokinetics and clinical responses at lower doses; therefore, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of sotorasib 960 mg and 240 mg.

Methods: In this phase 2, randomized, open-label study, adults with KRAS G12C-mutated advanced NSCLC received sotorasib 960 mg or 240 mg once daily.

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Purpose: Different combination modalities between an anti-PD-1/PD-L1 agent and a platinum-based chemotherapy or another checkpoint inhibitor (with or without a short course or full course of a platinum doublet) proved superior to chemotherapy alone in multiple clinical trials, but these strategies were not directly compared. The aim of this study is to report the real-world data results with different immunotherapy combinations in a series of patients treated in consecutive cohorts at the Ion Chiricuță Oncology Institute.

Methods: A total of 122 patients were successively enrolled in three cohorts: (1A) nivolumab + ipilimumab (18 patients), (1B) nivolumab + ipilimumab + short-course chemotherapy (33 patients), and (2) pembrolizumab plus full-course chemotherapy (71 patients).

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Purpose: Telisotuzumab vedotin (Teliso-V) is a c-Met-directed antibody-drug conjugate with a monomethyl auristatin E cytotoxic payload. The phase II LUMINOSITY trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03539536) aimed to identify the optimal c-Met protein-overexpressing non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) population for treatment with Teliso-V (stage I) and expand the selected group for efficacy evaluation (stage II).

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  • A phase 3 trial found that neoadjuvant treatment with nivolumab plus chemotherapy improved event-free survival in patients with resectable non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared to chemotherapy alone, with 70.2% of the nivolumab group remaining event-free at 18 months, versus 50.0% in the chemotherapy group.!* -
  • Patients receiving nivolumab also had a significantly higher rate of pathological complete response (25.3%) compared to those on chemotherapy (4.7%), indicating better treatment efficacy.!* -
  • The safety profile was similar between both groups, with 32.5% of nivolumab patients experiencing grade 3 or 4 treatment-related adverse events
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Background: In CheckMate 9LA, nivolumab plus ipilimumab with chemotherapy prolonged overall survival (OS) versus chemotherapy regardless of tumor PD-L1 expression or histology. We report updated efficacy and safety in all randomized patients with a minimum 4-year follow-up and an exploratory treatment-switching adjustment analysis in all treated patients who received chemotherapy and subsequent immunotherapy.

Methods: Adults with stage IV/recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), no sensitizing alterations, and ECOG performance status ≤1 were randomized 1:1 to nivolumab 360 mg every 3 weeks plus ipilimumab 1 mg/kg every 6 weeks with chemotherapy (two cycles) or chemotherapy (four cycles, with optional maintenance pemetrexed for the nonsquamous population).

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Lung cancer, primarily non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) and small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC), is distinguished by its high prevalence and marked mortality rates. Traditional therapeutic approaches, encompassing chemotherapy, radiation, and targeted therapies, frequently show limited efficacy due to acquired resistance and notable side effects. The objective of this review is to introduce a fresh perspective on the therapeutic strategies for lung cancer, emphasizing interventions targeting the epigenetic alterations often seen in this malignancy.

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Background: In CheckMate 227 Part 1, first-line nivolumab plus ipilimumab prolonged overall survival (OS) in patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and tumor programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression ≥1% versus chemotherapy. We report results from CheckMate 227 Part 2, which evaluated nivolumab plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy in patients with metastatic NSCLC regardless of tumor PD-L1 expression.

Patients And Methods: Seven hundred and fifty-five patients with systemic therapy-naive, stage IV/recurrent NSCLC without EGFR mutations or ALK alterations were randomized 1 : 1 to nivolumab 360 mg every 3 weeks plus chemotherapy or chemotherapy.

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Purpose: Despite marked advances in the treatment of unresectable or metastatic melanoma, the need for novel therapies remains. Bempegaldesleukin (BEMPEG), a pegylated interleukin-2 (IL-2) cytokine prodrug, demonstrated efficacy in the phase II PIVOT-02 trial. PIVOT IO 001 (ClinicalTrials.

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Clinical application of chemotherapy in lung cancer is constrained by side effects, notably cardiotoxicity, the mechanisms of which remain elusive. This study assessed the potential of specific miRNAs as biomarkers for chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity in lung cancer. We employed two lung adenocarcinoma cell lines (Calu6 and H1792) and ventricular normal human cardiac fibroblasts (NHCF-V) in single and co-culture experiments.

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Introduction: In CheckMate 227 Part 1, nivolumab plus ipilimumab prolonged overall survival (OS) versus chemotherapy in patients with metastatic NSCLC, regardless of tumor programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression. Here, we report post hoc exploratory systemic and intracranial efficacy outcomes and safety by baseline brain metastasis status at 5 years' minimum follow-up.

Methods: Treatment-naive adults with stage IV or recurrent NSCLC without EGFR or ALK alterations, including asymptomatic patients with treated brain metastases, were enrolled.

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Background: In CheckMate 9LA (NCT03215706), first-line nivolumab plus ipilimumab with chemotherapy (2 cycles) significantly improved overall survival versus chemotherapy (4 cycles) in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer and no known sensitising epidermal growth factor receptor/anaplastic lymphoma kinase alterations. We present exploratory patient-reported outcomes (PROs; minimum follow-up, 2 years).

Methods: In patients (N = 719) randomised 1:1 to nivolumab plus ipilimumab with chemotherapy or chemotherapy alone, disease-related symptom burden and health-related quality of life were assessed using the Lung Cancer Symptom Scale (LCSS) and 3-level EQ-5D (EQ-5D-3L).

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What Is This Summary About?: In this article, we summarize results from the ongoing phase 3 CheckMate 816 clinical study that were published in in 2022. The goal of CheckMate 816 was to find out if , an immunotherapy that activates a person's immune system (the body's natural defense system) to fight cancer, works better than when given before surgery in people with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that can be removed surgically (resectable NSCLC).

What Happened In The Study?: Adults who had not previously taken medications to treat NSCLC and whose cancer could be removed with surgery were included in CheckMate 816.

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Background: CheckMate 817, a phase 3B study, evaluated flat-dose nivolumab plus weight-based ipilimumab in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Here, in this research, we report on first-line treatment in patients with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) 0-1 (cohort A) and special populations (cohort A1: ECOG PS 2; or ECOG PS 0-1 with untreated brain metastases, renal impairment, hepatic impairment, or controlled HIV infection).

Methods: Cohorts A and A1 received nivolumab 240 mg every 2 weeks plus ipilimumab 1 mg/kg every 6 weeks.

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Background: First-line nivolumab plus ipilimumab prolongs survival versus chemotherapy in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We further characterized clinical benefit with this regimen in a large pooled patient population and assessed the effect of response on survival.

Patients And Methods: Data were pooled from four studies of first-line nivolumab plus ipilimumab in advanced NSCLC (CheckMate 227 Part 1, 817 cohort A, 568 Part 1, and 012).

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Background: Lurbinectedin is a synthetic marine-derived anticancer agent that acts as a selective inhibitor of oncogenic transcription. Lurbinectedin monotherapy (3·2 mg/m every 3 weeks) received accelerated approval from the US Food and Drug Administration on the basis of efficacy in patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) who relapsed after first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. The ATLANTIS trial assessed the efficacy and safety of combination lurbinectedin and the anthracycline doxorubicin as second-line treatment for SCLC.

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Purpose: We present 5-year results from CheckMate 227 Part 1, in which nivolumab plus ipilimumab improved overall survival (OS) versus chemotherapy in patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer, regardless of tumor programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) status.

Methods: Adults with stage IV/recurrent non-small-cell lung cancer without mutations or alterations and with tumor PD-L1 ≥ 1% or < 1% (n = 1739) were randomly assigned. Patients with tumor PD-L1 ≥ 1% were randomly assigned to first-line nivolumab plus ipilimumab, nivolumab alone, or chemotherapy.

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Introduction: We characterized the safety of first-line nivolumab plus ipilimumab (NIVO+IPI) in a large patient population with metastatic NSCLC and efficacy outcomes after NIVO+IPI discontinuation owing to treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs).

Methods: We pooled data from three first-line NIVO+IPI studies (NIVO, 3 mg/kg or 240 mg every 2 wk; IPI, 1 mg/kg every 6 wk) in metastatic NSCLC (CheckMate 227 part 1, CheckMate 817 cohort A, CheckMate 568 part 1). Safety end points included TRAEs and immune-mediated adverse events (IMAEs) in the pooled population and patients aged 75 years or older.

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The targeted therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) against the epidermal growth factor receptor mutation (EGFRm) in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) changed the treatment paradigm. REFLECT study (NCT04031898) explored / testing and treatment patterns in EGFRm NSCLC patients receiving first- or second-generation (1G/2G) EGFR TKIs as front-line (1L) in eight countries. Pooled data from Central Eastern Europe (CEE) countries from this study (Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Slovenia) are presented here.

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Background: Preserving health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important goal during renal cell carcinoma treatment. We report HRQOL outcomes from a phase II trial (NCT03173560).

Patients And Methods: HRQOL data were collected during a multicenter, randomized, open-label phase II study comparing the safety and efficacy of 2 different starting doses of lenvatinib (18 mg vs.

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Article Synopsis
  • Approximately 10,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer and 2,000 with ovarian cancer each year in Romania, but there are few genetic studies focused on identifying high-risk patients in the population.
  • Researchers evaluated 490 women (250 with breast cancer and 240 with ovarian cancer) using Next-Generation Sequencing to examine for harmful mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.
  • The study found a significant number of patients with BRCA mutations: 47% of breast cancer patients and 25% of ovarian cancer patients, identifying specific mutation variants that could help in genetic testing and risk assessment in the Romanian population.*
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