Sintilimab plus bevacizumab, oxaliplatin and capecitabine as first-line therapy in RAS-mutant, microsatellite stable, unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer: an open-label, single-arm, phase II trial.

Background: Microsatellite stable (MSS) and RAS-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients are characterized by an immunosuppressive microenvironment and a low response rate to immunotherapy. Chemotherapy and anti-angiogenesis therapy have been reported to potentially promote immunotherapy response. This study aims to assess the preliminary anti-tumor activity and safety of sintilimab plus bevacizumab, oxaliplatin and capecitabine as a treatment option for patients with RAS-mutant MSS mCRC.

Novel insights into the progression and prognosis of the calpain family members in hepatocellular carcinoma: a comprehensive integrated analysis.

The goal of our bioinformatics study was to comprehensively analyze the association between the whole calpain family members and the progression and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The data were collected from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The landscape of the gene expression, copy number variation (CNV), mutation, and DNA methylation of calpain members were analyzed.

Sintilimab plus bevacizumab and CapeOx (BBCAPX) on first-line treatment in patients with RAS mutant, microsatellite stable, metastatic colorectal cancer: study protocol of a randomized, open-label, multicentric study.

Background: Rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (RAS) gene mutation is a common molecular event in colorectal cancer (CRC). The prognosis of mCRC (metastatic colorectal cancer) patients with RAS mutation is poor and capecitabine and oxaliplatin (CapeOx) plus bevacizumab has shown to be one of the standard therapeutic regimens as first line for these patients with objective response rate (ORR) of ~ 50% and median progression-free survival (mPFS) of 8-9 months. Immunotherapy, especially anti-programmed death 1 (PD-1) monoclonal antibody has demonstrated ground-breaking results in deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) / microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) mCRC patients.

A Randomized Phase III Study of Anlotinib Versus Bevacizumab in Combination With CAPEOX as First-Line Therapy for Wild-Type Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: A Clinical Trial Protocol.

Chemotherapy combined with antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or anti-epidermal growth factor receptor monoclonal antibodies is the most promising approach to prolong survival and improve the quality of life of patients with unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Anlotinib is an oral antiangiogenic tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets VEGF receptors 1/2/3, fibroblast growth factor receptors 1-4, and platelet-derived growth factor receptors a/β. Since anlotinib combined with oxaliplatin and capecitabine (CAPEOX) as a first-line treatment was previously shown to be effective and safe for patients with wild-type (WT) mCRC, we designed this randomized, open-label, parallel-group, non-inferiority, phase III study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of anlotinib plus CAPEOX versus bevacizumab plus CAPEOX in patients with WT mCRC.

Dual targeted therapy with pyrotinib and trastuzumab for HER2-positive advanced colorectal cancer: A phase 2 trial.

This trial was initiated to evaluate the efficacy and safety of pyrotinib in combination with trastuzumab in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive recurrent/metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). In this single-arm, open-label, multicenter, phase 2 trial patients with HER2-positive recurrent/metastatic CRC were enrolled and received oral pyrotinib 400 mg once a day plus intravenous trastuzumab 8 mg/kg loading dose followed by 6 mg/kg once every 3 weeks. The primary endpoint was the objective response rate (ORR).

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health and academic performance of medical postgraduates.

Background: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has presented a major challenge to the health, economic, and social sectors of the entire world. This study aimed to investigate the mental health and academic performance of medical postgraduates during the COVID-19 pandemic in China.

Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted from March 20 to April 20, 2022 at the Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China.

Phase II study of anlotinib in combination with oxaliplatin and capecitabine for patients with RAS/BRAF wild-type metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma as the first-line therapy.

Background: Anlotinib, an oral small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting VEGFR 1/2/3, FGFR 1-4, PDGFR a/β, and c-kit, had demonstrated prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) in refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). This multicenter, single-arm, phase II, exploratory study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of anlotinib combined with capecitabine and oxaliplatin as first-line treatment for unresectable RAS/BRAF wild-type mCRC.

Methods: Patients aged 18-75 with RAS/BRAF wild-type unresectable mCRC, without prior systemic treatment, and ECOG performance status ≤1 were enrolled.

Immunotherapies for well-differentiated grade 3 gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors: A new category in the World Health Organization classification.

According to the 2019 World Health Organization (WHO) classification, well-differentiated grade 3 (G3) gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are a new category of cancer of the digestive system. G3 GEP-NET research and treatment are not as robust as those of lower grade (G1/2) NETs and poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs). Previously, the management of high-grade NETs was mainly based on NEC therapies, as high-grade NETs were classified as NECs under the previous WHO classification.

Primary tumor location (right left side of the colon) and resection affect the survival of patients with liver metastases from colonic neuroendocrine carcinoma: a population-based study.

Background: Colonic neuroendocrine carcinomas (co-NECs) are heterogeneous and aggressive, especially with regard to metastasis. Whether co-NECs on the right and left sides of the colon have different characteristics from colon adenocarcinoma is unknown.

Methods: The co-NEC patients were selected from the 2010-2017 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) database.

SPARCL1 exhibits different expressions in left- and right-sided colon cancer and is downregulated via DNA methylation.

The authors previously found that SPARCL1 functions to suppress colorectal cancer metastasis. Here, the epigenetic mechanism of SPARCL1 regulation and its relationship with clinicopathological features in colon cancer were investigated. SPARCL1 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry staining in a tissue array containing 271 left-sided colon cancer samples and 257 right-sided colon cancer samples.

Factors Affecting the Outcomes of Patients with Malignant Rhabdoid Tumors: A Population-Based Study.

Malignant rhabdoid tumor (MRT) is a rare but aggressive malignancy. It has been a long time since data on this tumor have been updated. We retrospectively reviewed patients from the SEER database who were pathologically diagnosed with MRT and analyzed incidence rates, clinical features and survival using Stata 12.

Ultra-mutated colorectal cancer patients with POLE driver mutations exhibit distinct clinical patterns.

POLE mutations, which lead to an ultramutated phenotype in colorectal cancer (CRC), have been reported as a promising marker in immunotherapy. We performed sequencing of CRC cases in Zhejiang University (ZJU) and extracted obtainable data from recently published results, including The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Japanese studies and clinical trials, to present clinical patterns of POLE driver-mutated CRC and reveal its heterogeneity. The rate of somatic POLE driver mutations has been reported as 2.

A Retrospective Exploration of Targeted Maintenance Therapy in Advanced Colorectal Cancer: Based on the Background of Chinese Patient Assistance Program.

Maintenance therapy with bevacizumab (Bev) in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) provides progression-free survival (PFS) benefits. However, the role of maintenance therapy with an anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody has not been established. Eligible CRC patients were assigned to maintenance therapy with cetuximab (Cet; Cet group) or Bev (Bev group).

Combined immune checkpoint inhibitor and chemotherapy is effective in a patient with ALK rearranged non-small cell lung cancer: a case report.

Targeted therapies are validated to be efficient in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with driver gene mutations, but the emergence and development of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in the last decades offers new insight into the therapeutic decisions of patients harboring driver gene mutations. The appropriate application of ICIs-based strategies in these patients remains to be assessed. Here, we present a patient with chest tightness and nonproductive cough.

Rectal NETs and rectosigmoid junction NETs may need to be treated differently.

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are heterogeneous, and the incidence of NETs is rapidly increasing. We observed different survival in patients with rectal NETs and rectosigmoid junction NETs, which are treated similarly. We included patients with rectal and rectosigmoid junction NETs from the SEER database.

Accuracy of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Staging Rectal Cancer with Multidisciplinary Team: A Single-Center Experience.

: To investigate the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in preoperative staging diagnosis for rectal cancer with multidisciplinary team (MDT) discussion. : The retrospective study included 377 patients of rectal cancer with preoperative MRI staging from February 2015 to April 2018, in which 137 patients (36 received MDT discussion) received neoadjuvant therapy, 240 did not (97 received MDT discussion) and direct surgery was given. With postoperative pathological stage as the standard, the accuracy of MRI in preoperative staging for rectal cancer with MDT discussion was compared with non-MDT.

High-risk Stage III colon cancer patients identified by a novel five-gene mutational signature are characterized by upregulation of IL-23A and gut bacterial translocation of the tumor microenvironment.

The heterogeneities of colorectal cancer (CRC) lead to staging inadequately of patients' prognosis. Here, we performed a prognostic analysis based on the tumor mutational profile and explored the characteristics of the high-risk tumors. We sequenced 338 colorectal carcinomas as the training dataset, constructed a novel five-gene (SMAD4, MUC16, COL6A3, FLG and LRP1B) prognostic signature, and validated it in an independent dataset from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA).