Publications by authors named "L Spain"

In solid tumor oncology, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is poised to transform care through accurate assessment of minimal residual disease (MRD) and therapeutic response monitoring. To overcome the sparsity of ctDNA fragments in low tumor fraction (TF) settings and increase MRD sensitivity, we previously leveraged genome-wide mutational integration through plasma whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Here we now introduce MRD-EDGE, a machine-learning-guided WGS ctDNA single-nucleotide variant (SNV) and copy-number variant (CNV) detection platform designed to increase signal enrichment.

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Article Synopsis
  • In a study comparing neoadjuvant (before surgery) and adjuvant (after surgery) immunotherapy for stage III melanoma, neoadjuvant treatment showed greater effectiveness.
  • The trial involved random assignment of 423 patients to receive either two cycles of neoadjuvant ipilimumab plus nivolumab followed by surgery, or surgery followed by 12 cycles of adjuvant nivolumab.
  • Results indicated a significantly higher 12-month event-free survival rate in the neoadjuvant group (83.7%) compared to the adjuvant group (57.2%), with neoadjuvant therapy leading to better patient outcomes and more major pathological responses despite a higher incidence of severe adverse events.
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Purpose: Androgen receptor pathway inhibitors (ARPIs) are widely prescribed in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Real-world frequencies and potential impacts of comorbidities and concomitant medication (conmed) interactions with ARPIs are not well described.

Methods: Patients receiving ARPIs for mCRPC were identified from the electronic Prostate Cancer Australian Database (ePAD).

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Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have become a cornerstone of treatment for many solid organ malignancies. Alongside increasing use, the occurrence of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) has also increased and remains a significant challenge when treating patients with ICI. The underlying pathophysiology of irAE development for many organ systems is yet to be elucidated, but may involve unmasking of latent autoimmunity, increased T-cell recognition of shared antigens on cancer and normal tissue and ICI-triggered immune dysregulation with overactivation of proinflammatory pathways and suppression of immune control pathways.

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Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionised the treatment landscape across many solid organ malignancies and form part of routine clinical practice in many tumours. As indications for monotherapy, doublet therapy and combination approaches with chemotherapy and targeted agents expand, clinicians must be aware of the wide range of possible immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Common toxicities, including rash, colitis, hepatitis and pneumonitis are well described in the literature, and have established diagnostic and management algorithms.

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