Hormone therapy enhances anti-PD1 efficacy in premenopausal estrogen receptor-positive and HER2-negative advanced breast cancer.

The efficacy of immunotherapy for estrogen receptor-positive/HER2-negative (ER+/HER2-) metastatic breast cancer (MBC) has not been proven. We conduct a phase 1b/2 trial to assess the efficacy of combining pembrolizumab (anti-PD1 antibody), exemestane (nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor), and leuprolide (gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist) for 15 patients with premenopausal ER+/HER2- MBC who had failed one to two lines of hormone therapy (HT) without chemotherapy. The primary endpoint of progression-free survival rate at 8 months (i.

Concurrent epirubicin and trastuzumab use increases complete pathological response rate without additional cardiotoxicity in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive early breast cancer: A meta-regression analysis.

Background: Due to cardiotoxicity concerns, the concurrent use of epirubicin and trastuzumab has not been fully studied. This study aimed to examine the cardiotoxicity and pathological complete response (pCR) rate associated with the concurrent regimens in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive early breast cancer (EBC).

Methods: We conducted a systematic search for relevant literature in the NCBI/PubMed, the Cochrane database, and international conference abstracts for phase II or III randomized controlled trials between January 1, 2000, and February 28, 2021, focusing on the concurrent regimens in patients with HER2-positive EBC.

Disparity in survival benefits of pembrolizumab between Asian and non-Asian patients with advanced cancers: A systematic review and meta-regression analysis.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionized the treatment of malignancies. However, disproportionate enrollment among races and ethnicities places the generalizability of global trial results in doubt.

Methods: In this systematic review, phase 3 randomized controlled trials investigating pembrolizumab in advanced cancers and providing subgroup analyses of Asian and non-Asian participants were included.

Plasma cell-free tumor DNA, PIK3CA and TP53 mutations predicted inferior endocrine-based treatment outcome in endocrine receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer.

Purpose: How to factor both tumor burden and oncogenic genomic mutations as variables to predict the outcome of endocrine-based therapy (ET) in ER-positive/HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer patients (MBC) remains to be explored.

Method: Blood samples prospectively collected from 163 ER-positive/HER2-negative female MBC patients, before ET, were used for cell-free tumor DNA (cfDNA) analysis. cfDNA was subjected to next-generation sequencing (NGS) to interrogate oncogenic PIK3CA hotspot and TP53 DNA-binding domain (DBD) mutations, including single nucleotide variants (SNVs) or small insertions and deletions (InDels).

Clinical Outcomes of Metastatic Breast Cancer in Patients Having Imaging Liver Pseudocirrhosis with or without Evident Varices.

Background: Pseudocirrhosis is an imaging finding of malignancies with liver metastasis with or without clinical liver cirrhosis-related portal hypertension (pHTN). This study defined evident pHTN by the presence of esophageal or gastric varices and compared patients' outcomes of metastatic breast cancer with imaging-diagnosed pseudocirrhosis with or without varices.

Methods: The medical records from patients with metastatic breast cancer and pseudocirrhosis between 2005 and 2017 were retrospectively analyzed.

Anti-HER2 antibody prolongs overall survival disproportionally more than progression-free survival in HER2-Positive metastatic breast cancer patients.

Background: This meta-analysis aimed to test the hypothesis that the HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (mBC) patients treated with anti-HER2 antibodies in trial intervention arms have a greater prolongation of overall survival (OS) than of progression-free survival (PFS) and this extra-prolongation of median survival time in OS relates specifically to the anti-HER2 antibody.

Methods: The NCBI/Pubmed and Cochrane databases were searched systematically for HER2-positive or mBC trials published in English during January 1999-November 2017. Treatment arms with shorter PFS were considered as the "control" arm, whereas those with longer PFS as the "test" arm.

Role of Alpelisib in the Treatment of PIK3CA-Mutated Breast Cancer: Patient Selection and Clinical Perspectives.

The PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway has long been known to play a major role in the growth and survival of cancer cells. Breast tumors often harbor gene alterations, which therefore constitute a rational drug target. However, it has taken many years to demonstrate clinically-relevant efficacy of PI3K inhibition and eventually attain regulatory approvals.

A case-control study of perfluoroalkyl substances and the risk of breast cancer in Taiwanese women.

Breast cancer (BC) is a common cancer in women worldwide; however, the incidence of BC is increasing in younger women, possibly associated with the environment. Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are one of endocrine disruptors that accumulate in environment and impact human health. This study aimed to investigate whether the PFAS and BC are associated.

A Phase I/II study of the combination of lapatinib and oral vinorelbine in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

Background: The combination of lapatinib and oral vinorelbine for HER2 positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is convenient but with uncertain toxicity profiles. A Phase I/II study was designed to understand the tolerability and efficacy of this combination treatment.

Method: Female MBC patients with HER2 positive were eligible.

TP53 Mutational Analysis Enhances the Prognostic Accuracy of IHC4 and PAM50 Assays.

IHC4 and PAM50 assays have been shown to provide additional prognostic information for patients with early breast cancer. We evaluated whether incorporating TP53 mutation analysis can further enhance their prognostic accuracy. We examined TP53 mutation and the IHC4 score in tumors of 605 patients diagnosed with stage I-III breast cancer at National Taiwan University Hospital (the NTUH cohort).

High Prevalence of the BIM Deletion Polymorphism in Young Female Breast Cancer in an East Asian Country.

Background: A rapid surge of female breast cancer has been observed in young women in several East Asian countries. The BIM deletion polymorphism, which confers cell resistance to apoptosis, was recently found exclusively in East Asian people with prevalence rate of 12%. We aimed to evaluate the possible role of this genetic alteration in carcinogenesis of breast cancer in East Asians.

The first two lines of chemotherapy for anthracycline-naive metastatic breast cancer: a comparative study of the efficacy of anthracyclines and non-anthracyclines.

For anthracycline-naive metastatic breast cancer (AN-MBC), early anthracycline treatment is a common practice. However, with the availability of newer chemotherapies, comparative studies on the efficacy of anthracyclines and non-anthracyclines as early treatments for AN-MBC are lacking. We collected retrospective clinicopathological data from 253 AN-MBC patients treated at National Taiwan University Hospital between 2001 and 2006.

Clinical significance of ESR1 gene copy number changes in breast cancer as measured by fluorescence in situ hybridisation.

Aims: The ESR1 gene encodes for oestrogen receptor (ER) α, which plays a crucial role in mammary carcinogenesis and clinical outcome in patients with breast cancer. However, the clinical significance of the ESR1 gene copy number change for breast cancer has not been clarified.

Methods: ESR1 gene copy number was determined by fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) on tissue sections.

Factors impacting prognosis prediction in BCLC stage C and Child-Pugh class A hepatocellular carcinoma patients in prospective clinical trials of systemic therapy.

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the prognostic significance of clinical factors and staging systems for survival of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients who are candidates for therapeutic clinical trials.

Methods: From December 1990 to July 2005, 236 patients with unresectable HCC were enrolled into six published phase II trials assessing various therapeutic regimens. Of these, 156 chemotherapy-naive patients with Child-Pugh class A and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage C disease were included in this analysis.

Prognostic molecular markers in women aged 35 years or younger with breast cancer: is there a difference from the older patients?

Background: Women aged ≤ 35 years with breast cancer have a poor prognosis, but their prognostic factors have not been clearly defined.

Aims: To evaluate whether the molecular markers used in age-unspecified breast cancer could also be applied to women ≤ 35 years.

Methods: Archival tumours from patients aged ≤ 35 years with stage I-III breast cancer were collected.

Vinorelbine plus 24-hour infusion of high-dose 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin as effective palliative chemotherapy for breast cancer patients with acute disseminated intravascular coagulation.

Background: Cancer-related acute disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is uncommon, but it is a severe complication resulting in a very dismal prognosis. Choosing the appropriate chemotherapy agents to treat the underlying cancer and stop the acute DIC process effectively, while avoiding chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression which may contribute to bleeding-related mortality, is difficult. Acute DIC in breast cancer is a rare condition and is not well studied.