Adjuvant dabrafenib and trametinib for patients with resected BRAF -mutated melanoma: DESCRIBE-AD real-world retrospective observational study.

BRAF and MEK inhibitor, dabrafenib plus trametinib, adjuvant therapy is effective for high-risk resected melanoma patients with BRAF - V600 mutations. However, real-world evidence is limited. We aimed to determine the feasibility of this therapy in routine clinical practice.

Intermittent BRAF inhibition in advanced BRAF mutated melanoma results of a phase II randomized trial.

Combination treatment with BRAF (BRAFi) plus MEK inhibitors (MEKi) has demonstrated survival benefit in patients with advanced melanoma harboring activating BRAF mutations. Previous preclinical studies suggested that an intermittent dosing of these drugs could delay the emergence of resistance. Contrary to expectations, the first published phase 2 randomized study comparing continuous versus intermittent schedule of dabrafenib (BRAFi) plus trametinib (MEKi) demonstrated a detrimental effect of the "on-off" schedule.

Autoimmune Responses in Oncology: Causes and Significance.

Specific anti-tumor immune responses have proven to be pivotal in shaping tumorigenesis and tumor progression in solid cancers. These responses can also be of an autoimmune nature, and autoantibodies can sometimes be present even before the onset of clinically overt disease. Autoantibodies can be generated due to mutated gene products, aberrant expression and post-transcriptional modification of proteins, a pro-immunogenic milieu, anti-cancer treatments, cross-reactivity of tumor-specific lymphocytes, epitope spreading, and microbiota-related and genetic factors.

Tracking the Antibody Immunome in Sporadic Colorectal Cancer by Using Antigen Self-Assembled Protein Arrays.

Sporadic Colorectal Cancer (sCRC) is the third leading cause of cancer death in the Western world, and the sCRC patients presenting with synchronic metastasis have the poorest prognosis. Genetic alterations accumulated in sCRC tumor cells translate into mutated proteins and/or abnormal protein expression levels, which contribute to the development of sCRC. Then, the tumor-associated proteins (TAAs) might induce the production of auto-antibodies (aAb) via humoral immune response.

Value of PD-L1, PD-1, and CTLA-4 Expression in the Clinical Practice as Predictors of Response to Nivolumab and Ipilimumab in Monotherapy in Patients With Advanced Stage Melanoma.

Background: The introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) has improved the survival outcomes of patients with advanced melanoma. To date, only a few studies have evaluated the immunohistochemical (IHC) expression of PD-1 and CTLA-4 in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) as predictive markers of response to ICI, most of them in the context of clinical trials. Moreover, the predictive value of PD-L1 in melanoma cells in the response to immunotherapy is unclear.

Relevance of Reference Centers in Sarcoma Care and Quality Item Evaluation: Results from the Prospective Registry of the Spanish Group for Research in Sarcoma (GEIS).

Background: Reference centers (RCs) are a key point for improving the survival of patients with soft-tissue sarcomas (STS). The aim of this study was to evaluate selected items in the management of patients with STS, comparing results between RC and local hospitals (LHs).

Materials And Methods: Diagnostic and therapeutic data from patients diagnosed between January 2004 and December 2011 were collected.

Human recombinant erythropoietic agents do not induce changes in circulating levels of endoglin and vascular endothelial growth factor in anemic cancer patients.

The correlation of erythropoietin (EPO) receptor levels with angiogenesis and progression in some cancers has suggested that EPO could acts directly as an angiogenic factor. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of treatment with human recombinant erythropoietic (rHuEPO) agents in cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced anaemia on endoglin and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) circulating levels as a possible marker of angiogenesis. Endoglin and VEGF were measured in serum samples from 25 cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced anemia before and after 3-4 weeks of treatment with rHuEPO.