Use of Gain-of-Function Screening to Identify miRNAs Involved in Paclitaxel Resistance in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

Paclitaxel is a widely used chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of breast cancer (BC), including as a front-line treatment for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients. However, resistance to paclitaxel remains one of the major causes of death associated with treatment failure. Multiple studies have demonstrated that miRNAs play a role in paclitaxel resistance and are associated with both disease progression and metastasis.

A prospective study on tumour response assessment methods after neoadjuvant endocrine therapy in early oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer.

Background: Neoadjuvant endocrine therapy (NET) in oestrogen receptor-positive (ER+) /HER2-negative (HER2-) breast cancer allows real-time evaluation of drug efficacy as well as investigation of the biological and molecular changes that occur after estrogenic deprivation. Clinical and pathological evaluation after NET may be used to obtain prognostic and predictive information of tumour response to decide adjuvant treatment. In this setting, clinical scales developed to evaluate response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy are not useful and there are not validated biomarkers to assess response to NET beyond Ki67 levels and preoperative endocrine prognostic index score (mPEPI).

European value-based healthcare benchmarking: moving from theory to practice.

Background: Value-based healthcare (VBHC) is a conceptual framework to improve the value of healthcare by health, care-process and economic outcomes. Benchmarking should provide useful information to identify best practices and therefore a good instrument to improve quality across healthcare organizations. This paper aims to provide a proof-of-concept of the feasibility of an international VBHC benchmarking in breast cancer, with the ultimate aim of being used to share best practices with a data-driven approach among healthcare organizations from different health systems.

Identification of fatty acid amide hydrolase as a metastasis suppressor in breast cancer.

Clinical management of breast cancer (BC) metastasis remains an unmet need as it accounts for 90% of BC-associated mortality. Although the luminal subtype, which represents >70% of BC cases, is generally associated with a favorable outcome, it is susceptible to metastatic relapse as late as 15 years after treatment discontinuation. Seeking therapeutic approaches as well as screening tools to properly identify those patients with a higher risk of recurrence is therefore essential.

Safety and efficacy of ribociclib plus letrozole in patients with HR+, HER2- advanced breast cancer: Results from the Spanish sub-population of the phase 3b CompLEEment-1 trial.

Background: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality in Spanish women. Ribociclib in combination with endocrine therapy (ET) has shown superiority in prolonging survival in patients with hormone receptor-positive (HR+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-) advanced breast cancer (ABC) vs. ET alone.

Stromal oncostatin M cytokine promotes breast cancer progression by reprogramming the tumor microenvironment.

The tumor microenvironment (TME) is reprogrammed by cancer cells and participates in all stages of tumor progression. The contribution of stromal cells to the reprogramming of the TME is not well understood. Here, we provide evidence of the role of the cytokine oncostatin M (OSM) as central node for multicellular interactions between immune and nonimmune stromal cells and the epithelial cancer cell compartment.

The Pseudokinase TRIB3 Negatively Regulates the HER2 Receptor Pathway and Is a Biomarker of Good Prognosis in Luminal Breast Cancer.

Background: Tribbles pseudokinase 3 (TRIB3) has been proposed to both promote and restrict cancer generation and progression. However, the precise mechanisms that determine this dual role of TRIB3 in cancer remain to be understood. In this study we aimed to investigate the role of TRIB3 in luminal breast cancer, the most frequent subtype of this malignancy.

Health-related quality of life with palbociclib plus endocrine therapy versus capecitabine in postmenopausal patients with hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer: Patient-reported outcomes in the PEARL study.

Background: The PEARL study showed that palbociclib plus endocrine therapy (palbociclib/ET) was not superior to capecitabine in improving progression-free survival in postmenopausal patients with metastatic breast cancer resistant to aromatase inhibitors, but was better tolerated. This analysis compared patient-reported outcomes.

Patients And Methods: The PEARL quality of life (QoL) population comprised 537 patients, 268 randomised to palbociclib/ET (exemestane or fulvestrant) and 269 to capecitabine.

Health care costs of breast, prostate, colorectal and lung cancer care by clinical stage and cost component.

Objective: To measure 3-year care costs of breast, prostate, colorectal and lung cancers disaggregated by site and clinical stage.

Method: A retrospective observational design was employed to investigate care costs of cases recorded in the Registry of the Basque Country between 2010 and 2015. Data gathered included TNM stage and demographic, clinical and resource use variables.

Probabilistic cost-utility analysis and expected value of perfect information for the Oncotype multigenic test: a discrete event simulation model.

Objective: To carry out a cost-utility analysis of the application of the Oncotype genomic test to inform the decision to use or not to use chemotherapy in the Basque Country (Spain).

Method: The cost-utility study was carried out using a discrete event simulation model representing the natural history of breast cancer. The decision of treatment with chemotherapy based on Oncotype was compared with the standard of treatment based on clinical-pathological criteria.

Spatial intratumoural heterogeneity in the expression of GIT1 is associated with poor prognostic outcome in oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer patients with synchronous lymph node metastases.

: The outcome for oestrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer patients has improved greatly in recent years largely due to targeted therapy. However, the presence of involved multiple synchronous lymph nodes remains associated with a poor outcome. Consequently, these patients would benefit from the identification of new prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

Clinical and economic impact of the 21-gene recurrence score assay in adjuvant therapy decision making in patients with early-stage breast cancer: pooled analysis in 4 Basque Country university hospitals.

Purpose: The 21-gene recurrence score (RS) is a genomic test developed as a prognostic and predictive tool to improve the treatment decision making in cases of estrogen receptor-positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative early-stage breast cancer. This study examined the clinical and economic impact of its use in 4 Basque Country university hospitals.

Methods: Taking into consideration the RS result, we recorded the recommended initial systemic adjuvant therapy (endocrine therapy with or without chemotherapy) according to standard clinicopathologic factors and the final decision about chemotherapy.

The Long-HER study: clinical and molecular analysis of patients with HER2+ advanced breast cancer who become long-term survivors with trastuzumab-based therapy.

Background: Trastuzumab improves survival outcomes in patients with HER2+ metastatic breast cancer. The Long-Her study was designed to identify clinical and molecular markers that could differentiate long-term survivors from patients having early progression after trastuzumab treatment.

Methods: Data were collected from women with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer treated with trastuzumab that experienced a response or stable disease during at least 3 years.

Dietary restriction-resistant human tumors harboring the PIK3CA-activating mutation H1047R are sensitive to metformin.

Cancer cells expressing constitutively active phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K) are proliferative regardless of the absence of insulin, and they form dietary restriction (DR)-resistant tumors in vivo. Because the binding of insulin to its receptors activates the PI3K/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling cascade, activating mutations in the PIK3CA oncogene may determine tumor response to DR-like pharmacological strategies targeting the insulin and mTOR pathways. The anti-diabetic drug metformin is a stereotypical DR mimetic that exerts its anti-cancer activity through a dual mechanism involving insulin-related (systemic) and mTOR-related (cell-autonomous) effects.

SEOM clinical guidelines for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.

Patients with metastatic breast cancer have a wide number of treatment options, including medical, surgical, and supportive care measures. Treatment decisions are based in predictive and prognostic factors and the informed choice of the patients. SEOM has elaborated these guidelines with evidence-based recommendations for the diagnostic work-up, treatment (chemotherapy, endocrine therapy and targeted therapies) and supportive care for the management of these patients.