Experiences of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer participating in a supervised exercise intervention during chemotherapy.

Purpose: Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) undergoing systemic treatment often experience toxicities. Although exercise may improve physical fitness and quality of life and counteract treatment toxicity, knowledge in patients with mCRC is limited. The ongoing randomized controlled AMICO trial evaluates the effects of supervised exercise on clinical outcomes.

Physical activity at diagnosis is associated with tumor downstaging after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in patients with rectal cancer.

Background: Patients with rectal cancer are often treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, followed by a waiting period and surgical resection. Good or complete response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy might enable organ preservation, which highlights the need to increase response rates. Pre-clinical studies suggest that physical activity during neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy may improve tumor downstaging.

Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy in Patients With Gastroesophageal Cancer.

Background: Chemotherapy for various stages of gastroesophageal cancer (GEC) is often neurotoxic. Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) impairs health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This study investigates the incidence and severity of CIPN and its association with HRQoL in patients with GEC.

Exploring immune status in peripheral blood and tumor tissue in association with survival in patients with multi-organ metastatic colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) raises considerable clinical challenges, including a high mortality rate once the tumor spreads to distant sites. At this advanced stage, more accurate prediction of prognosis and treatment outcome is urgently needed. The role of cancer immunity in metastatic CRC (mCRC) is poorly understood.

A phase II study of guadecitabine combined with irinotecan vs regorafenib or TAS-102 in irinotecan-refractory metastatic colorectal cancer patients.

DNA methyltransferase inhibitors (DNMTi) have demonstrated benefit in reversing resistance to systemic therapies for several cancer types. In a phase II trial of guadecitabine and irinotecan compared to regorafenib or TAS-102 in pts with advanced mCRC refractory to irinotecan. Patients with mCRC refractory to irinotecan were randomized 2:1 to guadecitabine and irinotecan (Arm A) vs standard of care regorafenib or TAS-102 (Arm B) on a 28-day cycle.

Potential mechanisms underlying the effect of walking exercise on cancer-related fatigue in cancer survivors.

Purpose: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a common and debilitating long-term side effect of cancer and its treatment. While exercise has been shown to effectively reduce CRF, the underlying mechanisms are not fully clear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the effects of a 4-month walking exercise program on fatigue severity and to explore potential underlying physiological, behavioral, and psychological mechanisms of action.

Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Undergoing Systemic Therapy With or Without Maximal Tumor Debulking.

Background: Maintaining a sufficient health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is important in the palliative treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). The ORCHESTRA trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01792934) is designed to prospectively evaluate overall survival benefit and impact on HRQoL of tumor debulking when added to first-line palliative systemic therapy in patients with multiorgan mCRC.

Validation of simplified uptake measures against dynamic Patlak K for quantification of lesional Zr-Immuno-PET antibody uptake.

Purpose: Positron emission tomography imaging of zirconium-89-labelled monoclonal antibodies (Zr-Immuno-PET) allows for visualisation and quantification of antibody uptake in tumours in vivo. Patlak linearization provides distribution volume (V) and nett influx rate (K) values, representing reversible and irreversible uptake, respectively. Standardised uptake value (SUV) and tumour-to-plasma/tumour-to-blood ratio (TPR/TBR) are often used, but their validity depends on the comparability of plasma kinetics and clearances.

Mutant RAS and the tumor microenvironment as dual therapeutic targets for advanced colorectal cancer.

RAS genes are the most frequently mutated oncogenes in cancer. These mutations occur in roughly half of the patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). RAS mutant tumors are resistant to therapy with anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies.

Continuity of care experienced by patients in a multi-institutional pancreatic care network: a pilot study.

Background: Over the past decades, health care services for pancreatic surgery were reorganized. Volume norms were applied with the result that only a limited number of expert centers perform pancreatic surgery. As a result of this centralization of pancreatic surgery, the patient journey of patients with pancreatic tumors has become multi-institutional.

A phase 2 trial of gemcitabine and docetaxel in patients with metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma with methylated checkpoint with forkhead and ring finger domain promoter and/or microsatellite instability phenotype.

We previously reported CHFR methylation in a subset of colorectal cancer (CRC; ∼30%) with high concordance with microsatellite instability (MSI). We also showed that CHFR methylation predicted for sensitivity to docetaxel, whereas the MSI-high phenotypes were sensitive to gemcitabine. We hypothesized that this subset of patients with CRC would be selectively sensitive to gemcitabine and docetaxel.

A specific microRNA profile as predictive biomarker for systemic treatment in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Background: Palliative systemic therapy is currently standard of care for patients with extensive metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). A biomarker predicting chemotherapy benefit which prevents toxicity from ineffective treatment is urgently needed. Therefore, a previously developed tissue-derived microRNA profile to predict clinical benefit from chemotherapy was evaluated in tissue biopsies and serum from patients with mCRC.

Safety and Feasibility of Additional Tumor Debulking to First-Line Palliative Combination Chemotherapy for Patients with Multiorgan Metastatic Colorectal Cancer.

Introduction: Local treatment of metastases is frequently performed in patients with multiorgan metastatic colorectal carcinoma (mCRC) analogous to selected patients with oligometastatic disease for whom this is standard of care. The ORCHESTRA trial (NCT01792934) was designed to prospectively evaluate overall survival benefit from tumor debulking in addition to chemotherapy in patients with multiorgan mCRC. Here, we report the preplanned safety and feasibility evaluation after inclusion of the first 100 patients.

CD276-Positive Circulating Endothelial Cells Do Not Predict Response to Systemic Therapy in Advanced Colorectal Cancer.

CD276 can discriminate between tumor derived and normal CECs (circulating endothelial cells). We evaluated whether CD276CEC is a clinically relevant biomarker to predict response to palliative systemic therapy in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Samples were prospectively collected from patients with mCRC enrolled in the ORCHESTRA trial (NCT01792934).

A Phase I Trial of a Guadecitabine (SGI-110) and Irinotecan in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients Previously Exposed to Irinotecan.

Purpose: Chemotherapeutic resistance eventually develops in all patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Gene silencing through promoter demethylation is one potential reversible mechanism of resistance with administration of hypomethylating agents. We evaluated the safety and tolerability of guadecitabine and irinotecan in patients with mCRC previously treated with irinotecan.

89Zr-cetuximab PET imaging in patients with advanced colorectal cancer.

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) are used in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer (mCRC). Approximately 50% of patients benefit despite patient selection for RAS wild type (wt) tumors. Based on the hypothesis that tumor targeting is required for clinical benefit of anti-EGFR treatment, biodistribution and tumor uptake of (89)Zr-cetuximab by Positron Emission Tomography (PET), combining the sensitivity of PET with the specificity of cetuximab for EGFR was evaluated.

Postoperative stupor and coma.

Objectives: To identify predictive factors for postoperative coma or stupor and to examine the value of neuroimaging techniques in elucidating structural brain damage.

Patients And Methods: We performed a case-control study of surgical patients admitted to a Mayo Clinic-affiliated hospital. We studied preoperative comorbidity, intraoperative hypotension, and postoperative data in patients with postoperative stupor or coma and compared the characteristics with control patients (surgical intensive care unit patients with neurologic consultations for other reasons).