Publications by authors named "Nicotra C"

Background Tumor fraction (TF) at liquid biopsy is a potential noninvasive marker for tumor burden, but validation is needed. Purpose To evaluate TF as a potential surrogate for tumor burden, assessed at contrast-enhanced CT across diverse metastatic cancers. Methods This retrospective monocentric study included patients with cancer and metastatic disease, with TF results and contemporaneous contrast-enhanced CT performed between January 2021 and January 2023.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) is a dangerous cancer with few treatment options, and its genetic makeup is not fully understood unlike non-metastatic urothelial carcinoma (UC).
  • A study analyzing genetic data from 111 mUC biopsies found that common genetic changes are similar to those seen in primary UC and highlighted mutational signatures related to APOBEC, platinum sensitivity, and homologous recombination deficiency.
  • The research revealed that a significant portion of mUC patients have potential therapeutic targets, with the most common being FGFR3, ERBB2, TSC1, and PIK3CA, and noted that certain genes like NECTIN4 and TACSTD2 are consistently highly expressed across different
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - The MATCH-R trial aimed to analyze the resistance mechanisms to cancer treatments by studying fresh tumor biopsies from metastatic patients, covering data collected from 2015 to 2022.
  • - Out of 1,120 biopsies from patients primarily with lung, digestive, and prostate cancers, 30.9% revealed targetable genomic alterations, with EGFR being the most common altered gene.
  • - Among patients with resistance mechanisms, 45% had treatments tailored based on identified mechanisms, resulting in an average of 11 months of additional clinical benefit.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background & Aims: Patient-derived organoids (PDOs) are promising tumor avatars that could enable ex vivo drug tests to personalize patients' treatments in the frame of functional precision oncology. However, clinical evidence remains scarce. This study aims to evaluate whether PDOs can be implemented in clinical practice to benefit patients with advanced refractory pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Molecular characterization has significantly improved the management of advanced endometrial cancer (EC). It distinguishes four molecular subclasses associated with prognosis and personalized therapeutic strategies. This study assesses the clinical utility of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) profiling in EC to identify targetable alterations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Genomic studies have identified new subsets of aggressive prostate cancer (PCa) with poor prognosis (eg, neuroendocrine prostate cancer [NEPC], PCa with DNA damage response [DDR] alterations, or PCa resistant to androgen receptor pathway inhibitors [ARPIs]). Development of novel therapies relies on the availability of relevant preclinical models.

Objective: To develop new preclinical models (patient-derived xenograft [PDX], PDX-derived organoid [PDXO], and patient-derived organoid [PDO]) representative of the most aggressive variants of PCa and to develop a new drug evaluation strategy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) are heterogeneous malignancies with dismal prognosis due to tumor aggressiveness and poor response to limited current therapeutic options. Tumor exome profiling has allowed to successfully establish targeted therapeutic strategies in the clinical management of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Still, whether liquid biopsy profiling could inform on BTC biology and patient management is unknown.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Even though there are good treatments for solid tumors, some patients stop responding to them, which is a big problem.
  • Researchers studied tiny pieces of tumor DNA found in the blood of patients to understand why some patients become resistant to these treatments.
  • They found that a lot of patients had new genetic changes linked to this resistance, which might help doctors choose better treatments in the future.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Genomic profiling through plasma circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) sequencing could enhance the management of metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC) by identifying targetable genetic alterations, despite challenges in tissue sample collection.
  • In the STING trial, 140 patients were analyzed, revealing that ctDNA analysis closely matched previous tissue-based genomic landscapes, with 45% of patients showing actionable targets.
  • Treatment based on ctDNA findings led to an overall response rate of 50% among eight patients, demonstrating that this method is a reliable approach for initiating tailored therapies in a timely manner.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Doulas are community perinatal professionals trained in pregnancy health, childbirth preparation, labor support, lactation counseling, and postnatal care. Doulas serve as patient advocates and provide laboring patients with continuous one-to-one support including informational, physical, and emotional support. Research shows that access to continuous labor support contributes to positive health outcomes such as increasing rates of spontaneous vaginal delivery, shorter labor, less need for analgesics, and increased satisfaction with the birthing process.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In recent years, the growth of tetraploid Sicilian wheat landraces has been arousing increasing interest. In this study, eighteen local genotypes of subsp. , belonging to the groups 'Bufala', 'Ciciredda', 'Bivona' and 'Paola', and two cultivars of subsp.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the reasons why not all men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) respond to androgen receptor axis inhibitors (ARPI) like enzalutamide and abiraterone acetate.
  • Researchers conducted whole-exome and RNA sequencing to identify genetic factors related to both primary and acquired resistance in 59 mCRPC patients, along with biopsies from 18 patients who exhibited resistance.
  • Findings revealed no strong single-gene variations linked to initial resistance, but a combination of low androgen receptor activity and certain pathway alterations were associated with primary resistance, while acquired resistance was tied to subclonal evolution and changes in AR-related genes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The evidence base for psychopharmacologic interventions in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders has significantly increased, and our understanding of the relative efficacy and tolerability of interventions has expanded contemporaneously. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the first-line pharmacologic treatment for pediatric anxiety due to their robust efficacy although other agents may have efficacy. This review summarizes the data concerning the use of SSRIs, serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), tricyclic antidepressants, atypical anxiolytics (eg, 5HT agonists, alpha agonists), and benzodiazepines in pediatric anxiety disorder cases (ie, generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and panic disorder).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: High-risk clonal hematopoiesis (CH) is frequently incidentally found in patients with solid tumors undergoing plasma cell-free DNA sequencing. Here, we aimed to determine if the incidental detection of high-risk CH by liquid biopsy may reveal occult hematologic malignancies in patients with solid tumors.

Materials And Methods: Adult patients with advanced solid cancers enrolled in the Gustave Roussy Cancer Profiling study (ClinicalTrials.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) sequencing is a promising approach for tailoring therapy in patients with cancer. We report hereby the results from a prospective study where we investigated the impact of comprehensive molecular profiling of ctDNA in patients with advanced solid tumors.

Patients And Methods: Genomic analysis was performed using the FoundationOne Liquid CDx Assay [324 genes, tumor mutational burden (TMB), microsatellite instability status].

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To facilitate implementation of precision medicine in clinical management of cancer, the European Society of Medical Oncology proposed in 2018 a new scale to harmonize and standardize the reporting and interpretation of clinically relevant genomics data (ESMO Scale of Actionability of molecular Targets [ESCAT]). This study aims to characterize the clinical impact of matching targetable genomic alterations (GAs) in patients with advanced cancer according to ESCAT.

Material And Methods: Analysis of next-generation sequencing results from 552 patients is included in two prospective precision medicine studies at Gustave Roussy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Although the role of epigenetic alterations in oncogenesis has been well studied, their prevalence in metastatic solid tumours is still poorly described. We therefore aimed at: (i) describing the presence of epigenetic gene alterations (EGA) - defined by an alteration in a gene encoding an epigenetic regulator; and (ii) evaluating their relationship with clinical characteristics and outcome in patients (pts) included in prospective molecular profiling trials.

Materials And Methods: On-purpose tumour biopsies from pts with metastatic solid tumours enrolled in the Gustave Roussy-sponsored MOSCATO (NCT01566019) and MATCHR (NCT02517892) trials were molecularly profiled using whole exome sequencing (WES).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

FDA-approved next-generation sequencing assays based on cell-free DNA offers new opportunities in a molecular-tumor-board context thanks to the noninvasiveness of liquid biopsy, the diversity of analyzed parameters and the short turnaround time. It gives the opportunity to study the heterogeneity of the tumor, to elucidate complex resistance mechanisms and to adapt treatment strategies. However, lowering the limit of detection and increasing the panels' size raise new questions in terms of detection of incidental germline alterations, occult malignancies and clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential mutations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: EGFRm represent 15% of advanced NSCLC in European patients. LB for molecular profiling offers a non-invasive alternative to tissue. cdPCR is a high-sensitive and low-cost LB to detect molecular alterations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cereal landraces are a very valuable resource in contemporary agriculture. A renewed focus for breeding purposes could ameliorate some negative consequences of modern agriculture and conventional breeding, such as the loss of genetic diversity. One strategy combining molecular genotyping and characterization of morpho-agronomic traits related to productivity is proposed to assess a group of tetraploid wheat landraces named Bufala, historically cultivated in the mountain areas of Sicily and characterized by adaptability in terms of cold tolerance, ability to grow in marginal soils, weed competitiveness and resistance to diseases.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) currently requires Internal Medicine (IM) GME programs to incorporate educational opportunities for training and structured experiences in Palliative and Hospice Medicine. Miscomprehension of the differences between palliative medicine and hospice care is a barrier for IM residents ordering palliative consults as many residents may underutilize palliative medicine if a patient is not appropriate for hospice.

Objective: This educational performance improvement (PI) project assessed 3 domains, including Medical Knowledge (MK) of palliative versus hospice medicine at baseline and following a single didactic session.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Unravelling the biological processes driving tumour resistance is necessary to support the development of innovative treatment strategies. We report the design and feasibility of the MATCH-R prospective trial led by Gustave Roussy with the primary objective of characterizing the molecular mechanisms of resistance to cancer treatments. The primary clinical endpoints consist of analyzing the type and frequency of molecular alterations in resistant tumours and compare these to samples prior to treatment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Liquid biopsy specimen genomic profiling is integrated in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) guidelines; however, data on the clinical relevance for alterations are scarce. We evaluated the clinical utility of a targeted amplicon-based assay in a large prospective cohort of patients with -positive NSCLC and its impact on outcomes.

Patients And Methods: Patients with advanced -positive NSCLC were prospectively enrolled in the study by researchers at eight French institutions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF