Oligometastatic Breast Cancer: Seeking the Cure by Redefining Stage IV Disease?

Breast cancer represents one of the most common malignancies worldwide. In early stages a combination of treatment strategies are offered with curative intent, whereas the therapeutic aim in metastatic disease is to provide the longest possible survival with an acceptable quality of life. The term "oligometastasis", first described by Hellmann and Weichselbaum in 1995, represents an intermediate state between local and systemic disease, where radical focal treatments to all metastatic lesions might have a curative potential.

KRAS genotypic changes of circulating tumor cells during treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Introduction: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) could represent a non-invasive source of cancer cells used for longitudinal monitoring of the tumoral mutation status throughout the course of the disease. The aims of the present study were to investigate the detection of KRAS mutations in CTCs from patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) and to compare their mutation status during treatment or disease progression with that of the corresponding primary tumors.

Materials And Methods: Identification of the seven most common KRAS mutations on codons 12 and 13 was performed by Peptide Nucleic Acid (PNA)-based qPCR method.

A phase II trial evaluating the clinical and immunologic response of HLA-A2(+) non-small cell lung cancer patients vaccinated with an hTERT cryptic peptide.

Objectives: The immunological and clinical responses of patients with NSCLC treated, in the context of an expanded action program, with the cryptic hTERT-targeting Vx-001 vaccine are presented.

Materials And Methods: Forty-six HLA-A*0201-positive patients with advanced NSCLC and residual (n=27) or progressive (n=19) disease following front-line treatment received two subcutaneous injections of the optimized TERT572Y peptide followed by four injections of the native TERT572 peptide, every 3 weeks. Peptide-specific immune responses were monitored by enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot assay at baseline, and after the 2nd and the 6th vaccinations.

Salvage chemotherapy with docetaxel and pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in pretreated patients with platinum- and taxane-sensitive ovarian cancer: a multicenter phase II trial of the Hellenic Oncology Research Group (HORG).

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and antitumor activity of docetaxel (DOC) and pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) combination in patients with platinum- and taxane-sensitive ovarian cancer.

Patients And Methods: Twenty-three patients were enrolled. DOC was administered at the dose of 40 mg/m(2) intravenously (i.

Xerophthalmia and acquired night blindness in a patient with a history of gastrointestinal neoplasia and normal serum vitamin A levels.

A 69-year-old male patient presented to our department with a 3-month history of nyctalopia. Reviewing of his general health revealed a history of gastrointestinal tumor treated with a modified WHIPPLE operation. Ocular findings at presentation included mild xerophthalmic features and nonspecific pigmentary retinal changes.

Colovesical fistula demonstrated on renal cortical scintigraphy.

A 70-year-old man with a history of weight loss, changes in bowel habits, and hematochezia had rectal adenocarcinoma. He was palliated with diverting colostomy, followed by radiochemotherapy. Bilateral hydronephrosis was found incidentally on lower abdominal CT scan.

Sequential administration of the native TERT572 cryptic peptide enhances the immune response initiated by its optimized variant TERT(572Y) in cancer patients.

The aim of this study was to investigate the best administration of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT572), an human leukocyte antigen-A*0201-restricted cryptic epitope of telomerase, and its optimized variant TERT(572Y) to elicit specific T cell immune responses in cancer patients. Forty-eight cancer patients with chemo-resistant tumors received 2 subcutaneous injections of TERT(572Y) at 2 mg followed at random by 4 subcutaneous injections of either TERT572 or TERT(572Y) peptides at 2 mg every 3 weeks. Specific immune response was evaluated by interferon-γ enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot.

Immunological responses in cancer patients after vaccination with the therapeutic telomerase-specific vaccine Vx-001.

Vx-001, an HLA-A*0201 restricted telomerase (TERT)-specific anti-tumor vaccine, is composed of the 9-mer cryptic TERT(572) peptide and its optimized variant TERT(572Y). We have previously shown that Vx-001 is non-toxic, highly immunogenic and in vaccinated NSCLC patients early specific immune response is associated with prolonged survival. The aim of the present study was to investigate the specific T-cell immune response against Vx-001.

Crescentic glomerulonephritis associated with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor and bisphosphonate administration.

Bevacizumab, a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor, has been widely used in a variety of malignancies offering substantial clinical benefit. Hypertension and proteinuria are the most commonly reported manifestations of bevacizumab-related nephrotoxicity with the risk increasing along with the dose and with the concomitant use of bisphosphonates. We describe the first case of a patient with small-cell lung cancer who developed diffuse extracapillary necrotizing crescentic glomerulonephritis, temporarily necessitating haemodialysis, following administration of bevacizumab and zolendronate.