Weekly cisplatin with or without imatinib in advanced chordoma: A retrospective case-series analysis from the Italian Rare Cancers Network.

Background: To report on a retrospective case-series analysis of weekly cisplatin (wCDDP) as a single agent or combined with imatinib (wCDDP/I) in patients with advanced chordoma treated within the Italian Rare Cancer Network.

Methods: Adult patients with a diagnosis of advanced, brachyury-positive chordoma, treated from April 2007 to October 2020 with wCDDP or wCDDP/I were retrospectively identified. Imatinib was withheld at the same time as wCDDP.

Tazemetostat for advanced epithelioid sarcoma: current status and future perspectives.

Epithelioid sarcoma (ES) is an aggressive ultra-rare soft-tissue sarcoma marked by SMARCB1/INI1 deficiency. SMARCB1/INI1 deficiency leads to elevated expression of EZH2, a component of polycomb repressive complex 2, which mediates gene silencing by catalyzing H3K27me3. Tazemetostat is an oral, SAM-competitive inhibitor of EZH2, whose blockade prevents the methylation of histone H3K27, thus decreasing the growth of EZH2 mutated or over-expressing cancer cells.

Activity of sirolimus in patients with progressive epithelioid hemangioendothelioma: A case-series analysis within the Italian Rare Cancer Network.

Background: The objective of this study was to report on a retrospective series of patients with epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) who received treatment with sirolimus within the Italian Rare Cancer Network.

Methods: From January 2005, 38 adult patients with advanced EHE received continuous-dosing sirolimus, 5 mg daily, until they developed either toxicity or disease progression. Disease progression in the 6 months before the start of treatment was required.

HLA Genotyping in Synovial Sarcoma: Identifying HLA-A*02 and Its Association with Clinical Outcome.

Purpose: To determine if a targeted exome panel utilizing matched normal DNA can accurately detect germline and somatic HLA genes in patients with synovial sarcoma (SS) and whether select HLA-A*02 genotypes are prognostic or predictive of outcome in metastatic SS.

Experimental Design: Patients with metastatic SS consented to HLA typing by a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-certified test to determine eligibility for a clinical trial of NY-ESO-1-specific engineered T cells restricted to carriers of HLA-A*02:01, -A*02:05, or -A*02:06 (HLA-A*02 eligible). HLA genotype was determined from Memorial Sloan Kettering Integrated Molecular Profiling of Actionable Cancer Targets (MSK-IMPACT), where feasible, and somatic loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in HLA alleles was identified.

Rechallenge of denosumab in jaw osteonecrosis of patients with unresectable giant cell tumour of bone: a case series analysis and literature review.

Objectives: Giant cell tumour of bone (GCTB) is a rare tumour, generally managed with surgery. Treatment of the very rare unresectable advanced/metastatic GCTB is challenging and denosumab is the only current available medical option, an anti-RANKL monoclonal antibody inhibiting osteolysis. An uncommon but severe and treatment-limiting adverse event of denosumab is the osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ).

The natural history of epithelioid sarcoma. A retrospective multicentre case-series within the Italian Sarcoma Group.

Introduction: This case-series is aimed to describe the natural history of epithelioid sarcoma (ES) and to provide insights into the differential clinical behaviour of its two variants ("classic-type" and "proximal-type"). The value of a subtype-adapted grading system based on pathological features is explored.

Methods: Data from consecutive, primary, localised, INI1-deleted ES operated at three Italian sarcoma reference centres (1995-2015) were included.