Publications by authors named "Eric Assenat"

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Treating HCC is challenging because of the poor drug effectiveness and the lack of tools to predict patient responses. To resolve these issues, we established a patient-centric spheroid model using HepG2, TWNT-1, and THP-1 co-culture, that mimics HCC phenotype.

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Background: Sunitinib, a multitarget tyrosine kinase inhibitor, showed encouraging antitumor activity and manageable toxicity in patients with advanced midgut neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) in earlier results from phase I and II trials.

Patients And Methods: In this phase II trial, patients with a nonresectable grade 1 or 2 midgut progressive NET and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0-1 were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive 37.5 mg sunitinib or a placebo, combined with 120 mg lanreotide autogel every 28 days.

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  • - This study investigates the severity and characteristics of checkpoint inhibitor-induced hepatitis, a significant side effect of cancer immunotherapy, focusing on patients with severe liver injury (grade 3 and 4) based on the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE).
  • - A retrospective analysis of 100 patients revealed varying severity classifications and outcomes, indicating that the CTCAE may not effectively assess liver injury severity compared to hepatology-focused classification systems.
  • - The findings suggest that using traditional hepatology scores could provide better insights and avoid issues like unnecessary steroid treatments and hindered re-administration of immune checkpoint inhibitors.
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Background & Aims: In the global, phase III HIMALAYA study in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC), STRIDE (Single Tremelimumab Regular Interval Durvalumab) improved overall survival (OS) vs. sorafenib; durvalumab was non-inferior to sorafenib. HBV is the predominant HCC aetiology in most of Asia vs.

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  • A cohort study named Amber was conducted in France to gather real-life data on biliary tract cancer (BTC) treatment between 2019 and 2021, focusing on clinical practices and patient outcomes.
  • The study included 138 patients, mostly with locally advanced or metastatic BTC, highlighting their demographics, treatment responses, and overall survival statistics.
  • Results indicated that a majority of patients received first-line palliative chemotherapy, with 23% showing an objective response and a median overall survival of 13.4 months, aligning well with international treatment guidelines and existing research.
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  • RECIST criteria for assessing cancer therapy response, especially for bevacizumab, are often insufficient compared to new radiological biomarkers like tumor-to-liver density (TTLD) ratio and modified size-based criteria.
  • A study analyzing 79 out of 137 colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRLM) patients found that a TTLD ratio greater than 0.6 at baseline was a significant predictor for longer progression-free and overall survival, while tumor size reduction did not correlate with TTLD variations.
  • The findings support the use of TTLD ratio as an early indicator of long-term clinical outcomes and its association with improved perfusion parameters in patients undergoing treatment.
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[Lu]Lu-DOTATATE has been approved for progressive and inoperable gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) that overexpress somatostatin receptors. The absorbed doses by limiting organs and tumors can be quantified by serial postinfusion scintigraphy measurements of the γ-emissions from Lu. The objective of this work was to explore how postinfusion [Lu]Lu-DOTATATE dosimetry could influence clinical management by predicting treatment efficacy (tumor shrinkage and survival) and toxicity.

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Background & Aims: This phase Ib/II trial evaluated the safety and efficacy of capmatinib in combination with spartalizumab or spartalizumab alone in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: Eligible patients who had progressed or were intolerant to sorafenib received escalating doses of capmatinib 200 mg, 300 mg, and 400 mg twice a day (bid) plus spartalizumab 300 mg every 3 weeks (q3w) in the phase Ib study. Once the recommended phase II dose (RP2D) was determined, the phase II study commenced with randomised 1:1 treatment with either capmatinib + spartalizumab (n = 32) or spartalizumab alone (n = 30).

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Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare endoscopic ultrasound-guided choledochoduodenostomy (EUS-CDS) vs. EUS-gallbladder drainage (EUS-GBD) in cases of failed endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for jaundice resulting from malignant distal biliary obstruction (MDBO).

Methods: This multicenter retrospective study included patients with obstructive jaundice secondary to MDBO who underwent EUS-GBD or EUS-CDS with lumen-apposing metal stents after failed ERCP.

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  • - Pemigatinib is used for treating advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) in patients with FGFR2 rearrangements, and a study evaluated its effectiveness and safety in real-world settings across multiple centers in France and Italy.
  • - A total of 72 patients were assessed, revealing an overall response rate (ORR) of 45.8% and disease control rate (DCR) of 84.7%, with a median overall survival (OS) of 17.1 months over a follow-up period of about 19.5 months.
  • - Common side effects included fatigue, ocular issues, and skin toxicity, primarily mild, with 22.2% experiencing severe adverse events (Grade
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Despite the improvements in surgical and medical therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), recurrence still represents a major issue. Up to 70% of patients can experience HCC recurrence after liver resection (LR), as well as 20% of them even after liver transplantation (LT). The patterns of recurrence are different according to both the time and the location.

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Background: Triplet chemotherapy plus cetuximab showed promising results in phase II trials in unsystematically selected RAS population. We evaluated FOLFIRINOX+cetuximab efficacy as first-line treatment in extended RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients treated with FOLFIRINOX+cetuximab, using data from clinical trials and real-life practice.

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FGF19 hormone has pleiotropic metabolic functions, including the modulation of insulin sensitivity, glucose/lipid metabolism and energy homeostasis. On top of its physiological metabolic role, FGF19 has been identified as a potentially targetable oncogenic driver, notably in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Nevertheless, FGF19 remained an attractive candidate for treatment of metabolic disease, prompting the development of analogs uncoupling its metabolic and tumor-promoting activities.

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Interim analysis of the DOSISPHERE-01 study demonstrated a strong improvement in response and overall survival (OS) on using Y-loaded glass microspheres with personalized dosimetry compared with standard dosimetry in patients with nonoperable locally advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. This report sought to provide a long-term analysis of OS. In this phase II study (ClinicalTrials.

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Backgrounds: The efficacy of atezolizumab/bevacizumab has never been reported in patients with metastatic/unresectable combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC-CCA).

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively included patients with a histological diagnosis of unresectable/metastatic cHCC-CCA and treated with atezolizumab/bevacizumab (2020-2022) in 7 centers. Clinical and radiological features were collected at the beginning of atezolizumab/bevacizumab.

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Background: Globally, liver cancers are the second most lethal malignancy after lung cancer (0.83 million deaths in 2020). Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the predominant type of primary liver cancer and is typically associated with liver fibrosis or cirrhosis.

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Article Synopsis
  • Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major cause of cancer deaths, and there is a need for new first-line treatment options; tislelizumab, a PD-1 inhibitor, shows promise as a second-line treatment.
  • The RATIONALE-301 clinical trial compares the efficacy and safety of tislelizumab and sorafenib in treating unresectable HCC in newly diagnosed patients.
  • Results indicate that tislelizumab meets the criteria for noninferiority in overall survival compared to sorafenib, with a median overall survival of 15.9 months vs. 14.1 months; however, it did not demonstrate superiority, while showing a higher objective response rate (14.3%
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Background And Purpose: Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) has demonstrated safe and effective results for primary liver tumors. Magnetic Resonance guided Radiotherapy (MRgRT) is an innovative radiotherapy modality for abdominal tumors. The aim of this study is to report on acute and late toxicities and initial oncological results for primary liver tumors treated with MRgRT.

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Background: Several cancer immunotherapies that target the PD-L1/PD-1 pathway show promising clinical activity in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the standard of care in first-line treatment with atezolizumab (anti-PD-L1 therapy) in combination with bevacizumab is associated with a limited objective response rate. Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) activation meets the criteria of oncogenic addiction in HCC and could be actionable therapeutic target and a relevant tumor antigen.

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Background: Transarterial radioembolization (TARE) has recently been recognized as a bridging/downstaging therapy to surgery for early hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) with high rates of complete pathological necrosis (CPN) on liver explants. In patients with portal vein tumoral thrombus (PVTT), multifocal or large tumors, TARE has mainly a palliative role and surgery remains controversial in this poor-prognosis population. Personalized dosimetry recently proved to outperform standard dosimetry used in prior negative Y90 randomized-controlled trials.

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Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have transformed cancer treatment over the last decade. Alongside this therapeutic improvement, a new variety of side effects has emerged, called immune-related adverse events (irAEs), potentially affecting any organ. Among these irAEs, myocarditis is rare but life-threatening.

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  • Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can cause liver toxicity in up to 25% of patients, and this study aimed to explore patterns of ICI-induced hepatitis and their outcomes.
  • The study included 117 patients, finding that 38.5% had hepatocellular, 36.8% had cholestatic, and 24.8% had mixed liver injury, with severe cases linked to hepatocellular patterns.
  • Treatment varied based on the clinical pattern, with steroids used for hepatocellular cases and ursodeoxycholic acid for cholestatic ones, and about 43.6% of patients challenged again with ICIs experienced recurrence of liver injury.
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Background And Aims: Data on the effectiveness of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (atezo-bev) after failure of multikinase inhibitor (MKI) therapy in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma are scarce.

Methods: This retrospective multicentre study included all consecutive patients treated with atezo-bev after failing one or more MKI treatments in the setting of an early access program. The primary endpoint was the objective response rate (ORR) by investigator assessment (using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors v1.

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Article Synopsis
  • Tislelizumab, an antibody targeting the PD-1 protein, showed some effectiveness and safety for treating advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients who had received prior therapies.
  • In a phase 2 study involving 249 patients, the objective response rate (ORR) was 13%, with a disease control rate of 53% and a median overall survival of 13.2 months.
  • Side effects were mostly manageable, with only 15% of patients experiencing severe treatment-related adverse events, and no treatment-related deaths reported.
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  • * The TRIPLET-HCC trial is a phase II-III study that aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of adding ipilimumab to the current double therapy of atezolizumab and bevacizumab for patients with specific types of HCC.
  • * The trial's primary goals are to compare the objective response rates and overall survival between the triple and double therapy groups, while also examining progression-free survival, patient tolerance, quality
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