TOURISM study (Treatment Outcomes in UteRIne SarcoMa): a 10-year retrospective evaluation of practice in the UK.

Background: Although rare, uterine sarcomas account for a high proportion of uterine cancer mortality. Treatment options and robust trial data are limited.

Objectives: The TOURISM study (Treatment Outcomes in UteRIne SarcoMa) is a UK-wide study by the National Oncology Trainees Collaborative for Healthcare Research which aimed to characterise this patient cohort.

Imaging extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) in cancer.

Extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) are circular regions of DNA that are found in many cancers. They are an important means of oncogene amplification, and correlate with treatment resistance and poor prognosis. Consequently, there is great interest in exploring and targeting ecDNA vulnerabilities as potential new therapeutic targets for cancer treatment.

The Scottish COVID Cancer Immunity Prevalence Study: A Longitudinal Study of SARS-CoV-2 Immune Response in Patients Receiving Anti-Cancer Treatment.

Background: Cancer and anti-cancer treatment (ACT) may be risk factors for severe SARS-CoV-2 infection and limited vaccine efficacy. Long-term longitudinal studies are needed to evaluate these risks. The Scottish COVID cancer immunity prevalence (SCCAMP) study characterizes the incidence and outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination in patients with solid tumors undergoing ACT.

Oncogene expression from extrachromosomal DNA is driven by copy number amplification and does not require spatial clustering in glioblastoma stem cells.

Extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) are frequently observed in human cancers and are responsible for high levels of oncogene expression. In glioblastoma (GBM), ecDNA copy number correlates with poor prognosis. It is hypothesized that their copy number, size, and chromatin accessibility facilitate clustering of ecDNA and colocalization with transcriptional hubs, and that this underpins their elevated transcriptional activity.

Mortality Among Adults With Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy or Immunotherapy and Infected With COVID-19.

Importance: Large cohorts of patients with active cancers and COVID-19 infection are needed to provide evidence of the association of recent cancer treatment and cancer type with COVID-19 mortality.

Objective: To evaluate whether systemic anticancer treatments (SACTs), tumor subtypes, patient demographic characteristics (age and sex), and comorbidities are associated with COVID-19 mortality.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The UK Coronavirus Cancer Monitoring Project (UKCCMP) is a prospective cohort study conducted at 69 UK cancer hospitals among adult patients (≥18 years) with an active cancer and a clinical diagnosis of COVID-19.

Key findings from the UKCCMP cohort of 877 patients with haematological malignancy and COVID-19: disease control as an important factor relative to recent chemotherapy or anti-CD20 therapy.

Patients with haematological malignancies have a high risk of severe infection and death from SARS-CoV-2. In this prospective observational study, we investigated the impact of cancer type, disease activity, and treatment in 877 unvaccinated UK patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection and active haematological cancer. The primary end-point was all-cause mortality.

Characterisation and outcomes of patients referred to a regional cancer of unknown primary team: a 10-year analysis.

Background: In the United Kingdom, national guidance published in 2010 recommended the establishment of specialist teams to improve clinical pathways for patients presenting with malignancies of undefined primary origin (MUO) and cancer of unknown primary (CUP). This study sought to define outcomes of patients referred to a regional MUO/CUP service.

Methods: Data were collected prospectively on all patients (n = 1225) referred to a regional CUP team over a 10-year period.

COVID-19 and cancer registries: learning from the first peak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

The SARS-Cov-2 pandemic in 2020 has caused oncology teams around the world to adapt their practice in the aim of protecting patients. Early evidence from China indicated that patients with cancer, and particularly those who had recently received chemotherapy or surgery, were at increased risk of adverse outcomes following SARS-Cov-2 infection. Many registries of cancer patients infected with SARS-Cov-2 emerged during the first wave.

COVID-19 prevalence and mortality in patients with cancer and the effect of primary tumour subtype and patient demographics: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Patients with cancer are purported to have poor COVID-19 outcomes. However, cancer is a heterogeneous group of diseases, encompassing a spectrum of tumour subtypes. The aim of this study was to investigate COVID-19 risk according to tumour subtype and patient demographics in patients with cancer in the UK.

Case report of oxalate nephropathy in a patient with pancreatic metastases from renal carcinoma.

Background: Patients with metastatic renal carcinoma frequently have pre-existing renal impairment and not infrequently develop worsening renal function as a complication of their treatment. The presence of pancreatic metastases in patients with metastatic renal carcinoma, often confers a more favourable prognosis and as a consequence this patient group may be exposed to such treatments for more prolonged periods of time. However, the development of renal failure may also be a consequence of the cancer itself rather than its treatment.

Abiraterone acetate in combination with prednisone in the treatment of metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer: clinical evidence and experience.

More than a million men worldwide are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year. After androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), chemotherapy has been the only subsequent intervention to improve survival in the metastatic setting but has limitations for patients who may not tolerate its toxicity profile or are not candidates on the basis of comorbidities. Novel anti-androgens such as abiraterone acetate have shown promise for such patients.

Challenges to DNA replication in hypoxic conditions.

The term hypoxia refers to any condition where insufficient oxygen is available and therefore encompasses a range of actual oxygen concentrations. The regions of tumours adjacent to necrotic areas are at almost anoxic levels and are known to be extremely therapy resistant (radiobiological hypoxia). The biological response to radiobiological hypoxia includes the rapid accumulation of replication stress and subsequent DNA damage response, including both ATR- and ATM-mediated signalling, despite the absence of detectable DNA damage.

Whole-genome sequencing identifies homozygous deletion guiding treatment in dedifferentiated prostate cancer.

Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) has transformed the understanding of the genetic drivers of cancer and is increasingly being used in cancer medicine to identify personalized therapies. Here we describe a case in which the application of WGS identified a tumoral deletion in a patient with aggressive dedifferentiated prostate cancer that was repeat-biopsied after disease progression. This would not have been detected by standard BRCA testing, and it led to additional treatment with a maintenance poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor following platinum-based chemotherapy.

Value of Supraregional Multidisciplinary Review for the Contemporary Management of Testicular Tumors.

Purpose: Testicular cancers are an uncommon and highly curable group of tumors that are typically managed by specialist multidisciplinary teams (MDTs). Although recent guidelines have emphasized the importance of tumor prognostic factors in predicting recurrence and personalizing therapy in early-stage disease, the role of central pathology review in determining these factors is unclear.

Patients And Methods: We compared the referral histopathology reports with those obtained after expert central review for all cases reviewed by the UK Thames Valley Cancer Network testicular tumor MDT from August 2004 to September 2012.

The BET inhibitor JQ1 selectively impairs tumour response to hypoxia and downregulates CA9 and angiogenesis in triple negative breast cancer.

The availability of bromodomain and extra-terminal inhibitors (BETi) has enabled translational epigenetic studies in cancer. BET proteins regulate transcription by selectively recognizing acetylated lysine residues on chromatin. BETi compete with this process leading to both downregulation and upregulation of gene expression.

Endo180 modulation by bisphosphonates and diagnostic accuracy in metastatic breast cancer.

Background: Endo180 (CD280; MRC2; uPARAP)-dependent collagen remodelling is dysregulated in primary tumours and bone metastasis. Here, we confirm the release and diagnostic accuracy of soluble Endo180 for diagnosing metastasis in breast cancer (BCa).

Methods: Endo180 was quantified in BCa cell conditioned medium and plasma from BCa patients stratified according to disease status and bisphosphonate treatment (n=88).