Publications by authors named "Nikolaos A Trikalinos"

A patient with a long history of bone predominant, metastatic paraganglioma who had multiple episodes of progressive disease despite prior treatments demonstrated a remarkable disease response to zoledronic acid. After 1 year of treatment, there was a complete resolution of lymphadenopathy and disappearance of all somatostatin receptor avid lesions by positron emission tomography-CT and radiopharmaceutical Gallium Ga 68 Dotatate. Stability of disease was further demonstrated by CT over several years.

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Prostate cancer is a heterogeneous disease with a spectrum of pathology and outcomes ranging from indolent to lethal. Although there have been recent advancements in prognostic tissue biomarkers, limitations still exist. We leveraged matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging of formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded prostate cancer specimens to determine if N-linked glycans expressed in the extracellular matrix of lethal neuroendocrine prostate cancer were also expressed in conventional prostate adenocarcinomas that were associated with poor outcomes.

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Background: Treatment options for patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors are limited. The efficacy of cabozantinib in the treatment of previously treated, progressive extrapancreatic or pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors is unclear.

Methods: We enrolled two independent cohorts of patients - those with extrapancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and those with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors - who had received peptide receptor radionuclide therapy or targeted therapy or both.

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Unlabelled: We sought to evaluate the efficacy of WEE1 inhibitor adavosertib in patients with solid tumor malignancies (cohort A) and clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC; cohort B). NCT03284385 was a parallel cohort, Simon two-stage, phase II study of adavosertib (300 mg QDAY by mouth on days 1-5 and 8-12 of each 21-day cycle) in patients with solid tumor malignancies harboring a pathogenic SETD2 mutation. The primary endpoint was the objective response rate.

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Article Synopsis
  • High-intensity end-of-life care is burdensome without meaningful clinical benefits, and this study aims to uncover predictors among older adults with common cancers like breast, prostate, lung, and colorectal cancer.
  • The analysis used SEER-Medicare data from 2011 to 2015, focusing on Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older who passed away from these cancers, assessing various clinical and demographic factors.
  • Key findings revealed that increased comorbidity, female sex, Black race, living in populous or poorer areas, and having state-subsidized Medicare premiums were associated with higher chances of receiving high-intensity EoL care, while older age and living in the Midwest were linked to lower likelihoods.
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  • Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) is effective for treating neuroendocrine neoplasms and metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, but risks to kidney function make it risky for patients with advanced kidney disease, including those on hemodialysis (HD).
  • A literature review of 7 publications included 15 HD patients who received adjusted doses of PRRT (Lutetium-177 and Y-90) without serious immediate or long-term side effects, although data was limited.
  • Based on existing evidence and expert input, an institutional workflow has been established to safely administer dose-adjusted PRRT to patients on HD with appropriate supervision.
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Rectal squamous cell carcinoma is an exceedingly rare form of rectal cancer, with limited data available regarding its presentation and effective treatment. Rectal cancer occurring during pregnancy is uncommon as well. This is a case of metastatic rectal squamous cell carcinoma presenting in a 22-week pregnant, female patient in her early 30s.

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Background: Despite existing society guidelines, management of pancreatic (PanNEN) and small bowel (SBNEN) neuroendocrine neoplasms remains inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to identify patient- and/or disease-specific characteristics associated with increased odds of being offered surgery for PanNEN and SBNEN.

Patients And Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program database and the National Cancer Database (NCDB) were queried for patients with PanNEN/SBNEN.

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Purpose: Vitamin D analogues remodel the desmoplastic stroma, and improve vascularity and efficacy of chemotherapy in preclinical pancreas cancer models.

Patients And Methods: We conducted a pilot study to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of the vitamin D analogue paricalcitol in combination with nanoliposomal irinotecan (Nal-iri) plus 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin (5-FU/LV) in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who had progressed on gemcitabine-based therapy. Two dose levels (DL) of paricalcitol were tested: fixed dose weekly (75 mcg, DL1) and weight-based weekly (7 mcg/kg, /DL2).

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Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNETs) in familial tuberous sclerosis (TSC1 and TSC2 mutations) have been known and studied. However, little is known about PanNET patients harboring the very rare (less than 2%) sporadic TSC mutations. Some renal tumors have been shown to harbor sporadic TSC mutations, with a distinctive morphological correlate.

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Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) comprise a beautifully complicated, exciting landscape of histologies and clinical behaviors. However, the nuanced complexity of low- and high-grade variants can easily overwhelm both patients and providers. In this chapter, we review the ever-expanding literature on both functioning and nonfunctioning small bowel and pancreatic NENs, touching on somatostatin analogs, hepatic-directed therapies, small molecules, radiopharmaceuticals, immunotherapy, cytotoxic chemotherapy, and new promising agents.

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The clinical and imaging presentation of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNETs) is variable and depends on tumor grade, stage, and functional status. This degree of variability combined with a multitude of treatment options and imaging modalities results in complexity when choosing the most appropriate imaging studies across various clinical scenarios. While various guidelines exist in the management and evaluation of PanNETs, there is an overall lack of consensus and detail regarding optimal imaging guidelines and protocols.

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Pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma is a rare type of pancreatic malignancy, which can be confused with pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasm. Here, we describe a woman in her 80s who presented with abdominal pain and bilateral lower extremity panniculitis. She underwent surgery for a presumed diagnosis of neuroendocrine tumour with PTEN and PRKAR1A alterations; 19 months, later, a recurrence of her pancreatic malignancy was discovered.

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Article Synopsis
  • Ulixertinib is a new oral drug that inhibits ERK and has shown promise for patients with RAS-mutant cancers in earlier trials.
  • A phase Ib trial was conducted to assess the safety and effectiveness of combining ulixertinib with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel for patients with untreated metastatic pancreatic cancer, focusing on determining the recommended dose and evaluating various health outcomes.
  • The trial faced challenges, leading to a dose reduction of ulixertinib due to side effects, and although some patients showed partial responses, the high occurrence of adverse events resulted in the study being prematurely terminated.
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Purpose: To determine the decision patterns of a neuroendocrine neoplasm (NEN) tumor board (TB) and the factors behind those.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all NEN-TB recommendations from 07/2018 to 12/2021 and recorded patient characteristics, TB outcomes and associations between them.

Results: A total of 652 patient entries were identified.

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  • Therapeutic advancements have improved outcomes for pediatric cancer, leading to a greater focus on managing the psychological and treatment-related challenges faced by patients.
  • An umbrella review analyzed 34 publications, revealing that hypnosis effectively reduces pain and distress during procedures, while exercise enhances patient mobility.
  • Although some pharmacological interventions, like ondansetron for nausea and granulocyte colony-stimulating factors for infections, showed benefits, many studies were small and of moderate quality, indicating the need for more robust research to better support the quality of life for these patients and their families.
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  • Targeting focal adhesion kinase (FAK) with the drug defactinib, combined with gemcitabine and pembrolizumab, shows promise in treating pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in a multi-center phase I study.* -
  • The study involved two phases: one to determine the optimal dosage and another to treat patients with either refractory or stable PDAC, where an 80% disease control rate was observed among those with refractory disease.* -
  • Preliminary results indicate the treatment combination is well-tolerated and shows potential efficacy, suggesting future studies may benefit from using stronger chemotherapy agents alongside it.*
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  • There is a lack of evidence-based guidelines on how long and how to effectively sequence temozolomide treatments for advanced neuroendocrine neoplasms.
  • A systematic review identified 16 studies with 27 patient cases linking temozolomide use to secondary blood disorders, revealing that most cases occurred after 12 months of treatment.
  • The review suggested optimizing treatment duration by assessing patient response at 6 months and exercising caution for continued treatment after 12 months.
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Summary: Downregulation of tumor suppression genes by DNA hypermethylation has been proposed as a potential cause of neuroendocrine neoplasm (NEN) formation. In this report, we present a patient simultaneously diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and a metastatic nonfunctioning pancreatic NEN. Because of the two competing diagnoses, he was treated with lanreotide, venetoclax and a long course of the hypomethylating agent decitabine.

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ONC201 is an oral selective antagonist of the dopamine D2 receptor and direct activator of caseinolytic protease P. In a phase II study, ONC021 was shown to be well tolerated with notable efficacy in patients with the rare neuroendocrine neoplasms pheochromocytomas-paragangliomas, although biomarkers for activity remain to be elucidated. See related article by Anderson et al.

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Objectives: To identify PanNEN imaging features associated with tumor grade and aggressive histopathological features.

Methods: Associations between histopathological and imaging features of resected PanNEN were retrospectively tested. Histopathologic features included WHO grade, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), growth pattern (infiltrative, circumscribed), and intratumoral fibrosis (mature, immature).

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Background: Short-course radiation followed by chemotherapy as total neoadjuvant therapy has been investigated primarily in Europe and Australia with increasing global acceptance. There are limited data on this regimen's use in the United States, however, potentially delaying implementation.

Objective: This study aimed to compare clinical performance and oncologic outcomes of 2 rectal cancer neoadjuvant treatment modalities: short-course total neoadjuvant therapy versus standard chemoradiation.

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Article Synopsis
  • Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT scans often show myocardial uptake, but its link to heart disease is not well known.
  • A study analyzed 145 PET/CT scans to see if myocardial uptake scores (MUS) correlated with cardiac disease or risk factors.
  • Results indicated that higher MUS scores were associated with heart disease and risk factors, suggesting that elevated MUS might signal underlying cardiac issues.
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Ewing sarcoma (ES), "Ewing-like sarcoma" (ELS) and desmoplastic small round cell tumors (DSRCT) can masquerade as other tumor types, particularly neuroendocrine neoplasms and receive inappropriate treatment. We retrieved 115 cases of ES, ELS and DSRCT seen over 17 years in a tertiary center. An initial misdiagnosis or incomplete diagnosis occurred in 6/93 (6.

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