Analysis of BRCA2 Copy Number Loss and Genomic Instability in Circulating Tumor Cells from Patients with Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer.

Background: BRCA2 alterations predict for a response to poly-ADP-ribose polymerase inhibition in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). However, detection is hindered by insufficient tumor tissue and low sensitivity of cell-free DNA for detecting copy number loss.

Objective: To evaluate the BRCA2 loss detection using single-cell, shallow whole-genome sequencing (sWGS) of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in patients with mCRPC.

Clinical annotations for prostate cancer research: Defining data elements, creating a reproducible analytical pipeline, and assessing data quality.

Background: Routine clinical data from clinical charts are indispensable for retrospective and prospective observational studies and clinical trials. Their reproducibility is often not assessed. We developed a prostate cancer-specific database for clinical annotations and evaluated data reproducibility.

Spine Pain and Metastatic Prostate Cancer: Defining the Contribution of Nonmalignant Etiologies.

Purpose: In patients with metastatic prostate cancer (MPC), the contribution of nonmalignant etiologies to morbidity is often overlooked.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the documented specialist assessments of back pain in men with MPC in a joint medical oncology and physiatry clinic at our tertiary cancer care center. Data on cancer disease extent, hormonal status, sites of spread, pain characteristics, physiatric examination findings, imaging, and recommended management were reviewed, extracted, and codified.

Metastatic gastroesophageal cancer in older patients - is this patient cohort represented in clinical trials?

Background: Older patients are underrepresented in the clinical trials that determine the standards of care for oncological treatment. We conducted a review to identify whether there have been age-restrictive inclusion criteria in clinical trials over the last twenty five years, focusing on patients with metastatic gastroesophageal cancer.

Methods: A search strategy was developed encompassing Embase, PubMed and The Cochrane Library databases.

LAG-3 expression on peripheral blood cells identifies patients with poorer outcomes after immune checkpoint blockade.

Immune checkpoint blocking antibodies are a cornerstone in cancer treatment; however, they benefit only a subset of patients and biomarkers to guide immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) treatment choices are lacking. We designed this study to identify blood-based correlates of clinical outcome in ICB-treated patients. We performed immune profiling of 188 ICB-treated patients with melanoma using multiparametric flow cytometry to characterize immune cells in pretreatment peripheral blood.

Phase Ib Trial of Copanlisib, A Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase (PI3K) Inhibitor, with Trastuzumab in Advanced Pre-Treated HER2-Positive Breast Cancer "PantHER".

Background: Activation of the phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K) pathway is a resistance mechanism to anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) therapy. This phase Ib trial was conducted to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of copanlisib, an intravenous (IV) pan-class I PI3K inhibitor, combined with trastuzumab.

Methods: Patients with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer and disease progression following at least one prior line of HER2 therapy in the metastatic setting were treated with copanlisib (45 or 60 mg) IV on days 1, 8 and 15 of a 28-day cycle with a fixed dose of trastuzumab 2 mg/kg weekly.

Seek and Find: Current Prospective Evidence for Prostate-specific Membrane Antigen Imaging to Detect Recurrent Prostate Cancer.

Context: Men with biochemically relapsed prostate cancer face a clinical conundrum. Depending on the detected distribution of disease, treatment goals may range from cure with focal therapy to palliative with systemic therapy to expectant observation. Retrospective studies of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-based imaging demonstrate higher disease detection rates than conventional imaging.

Prevalence of Insomnia in an Oncology Patient Population: An Irish Tertiary Referral Center Experience.

Background: The NCCN Guidelines for Survivorship recommend dedicated sleep assessment. Reported insomnia prevalence in the general Irish population is 6% to 15%. Reported insomnia prevalence internationally among new/recently diagnosed patients with cancer varies from 30.

Immune-related adverse events of checkpoint inhibitors.

Cancer immunotherapies have changed the landscape of cancer treatment during the past few decades. Among them, immune checkpoint inhibitors, which target PD-1, PD-L1 and CTLA-4, are increasingly used for certain cancers; however, this increased use has resulted in increased reports of immune-related adverse events (irAEs). These irAEs are unique and are different to those of traditional cancer therapies, and typically have a delayed onset and prolonged duration.

Similar overall survival with reduced vs. standard dose bevacizumab monotherapy in progressive glioblastoma.

Introduction: Bevacizumab has demonstrated activity in glioblastoma (GBM), but the true benefits and optimal dose-schedule are debated. A lower dose-schedule than standard-dose bevacizumab (10 mg/kg 2-weekly) might offer similar benefits with lower costs. At our Institution, patients are randomly assigned at time of primary diagnosis to Neuro-Oncologists, who have varying practices in terms of bevacizumab dose-schedule upon progression.

An uncommon complication of vertebroplasty: the role of anticoagulation.

Vertebroplasty is a well-established treatment for both pathological and painful osteoporotic fractures. It is a frequently performed and generally low risk, but severe complications can occur. We report on a patient with metastatic breast cancer requiring vertebroplasty for pain relief who suffered an unusual complication: a pulmonary cement embolism.

Dynamic platelet function is markedly different in patients with cancer compared to healthy donors.

Despite a fivefold increased risk of thromboembolism in patients with cancer, the mechanism of arterial thromboembolism is poorly understood. To address this, we investigated platelet function in cancer patients and healthy controls using an assay that mimics the arterial vasculature. Blood samples from cancer patients ( = 36) and healthy controls ( = 22) were perfused through custom-made parallel-plate flow chambers coated with von Willebrand factor (VWF) under arterial shear (1,500 s).

PI3K inhibition to overcome endocrine resistance in breast cancer.

Introduction: Activation of the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K) pathway is a critical step in oncogenesis and plays a role in the development of treatment resistance for both estrogen receptor (ER) positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positive breast cancers. Hence, there have been efforts to therapeutically inhibit this pathway.

Areas Covered: Several inhibitors of PI3K are now progressing through clinical trials with varying degrees of efficacy and toxicity to date.

Adding Pertuzumab to Trastuzumab and Taxanes in HER2 positive breast cancer.

Introduction: The monoclonal antibody trastuzumab has improved the median disease free and overall survival of patients with early stage breast cancer that overexpresses the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). Despite this advance, some patients experience cancer relapse and novel approaches are always needed. One such advance is the monoclonal antibody pertuzumab, which prevents dimerisation between members of the HER family of transmembrane glycoprotein receptors.

Comparing attitudes of younger and older patients towards cancer clinical trials.

Objectives: To determine the attitudes of patients towards cancer clinical trials (CCTs) and assess the differences between older and younger patients.

Materials And Methods: Patients with cancer, receiving treatment or in follow-up in University Hospital Waterford, Ireland were eligible. Patients completed a self-administered questionnaire.

Monitoring Ionizing Radiation Exposure for Cardiotoxic Effects of Breast Cancer Treatment.

Serial assessments of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) are customary in patients with breast cancer receiving trastuzumab. Radionuclide angiography (RNA) is often used; however, a typical monitoring schedule could include 5 scans in a year. We evaluated the proportion of imaging-related ionizing radiation attributable to RNA in 115 patients with breast cancer, from 3 medical centers in the United States, Ireland, and Japan, who completed 12 months of trastuzumab treatment.

Tunable cw UV laser with <35 kHz absolute frequency instability for precision spectroscopy of Sr Rydberg states.

We present a solid-state laser system that generates over 200 mW of continuous-wave, narrowband light, tunable from 316.3 nm - 317.7 nm and 318.