The prognostic impact of KRAS, TP53, STK11 and KEAP1 mutations and their influence on the NLR in NSCLC patients treated with immunotherapy.

Background: PD-L1 expression is used to predict NSCLC response to ICIs, but its performance is suboptimal. The impact of KRAS mutations in these patients is unclear. Studies evaluating co-mutations in TP53, STK11 and KEAP1 as well as the NLR showed that they may predict the benefit of ICIs.

COVID-19 Impact on Diagnosis and Staging of Colorectal Cancer: A Single Tertiary Canadian Oncology Center Experience.

Background: Public health measures have imposed drastic reductions in cancer screening programs at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with an unknown impact on the diagnosis and staging of colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods: Newly diagnosed CRC cases at the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) were divided into two groups according to the timeline: pre-pandemic (1 January 2018-12 March 2020), and pandemic (13 March 2020-30 June 2021) periods. Colonoscopy, surgery, and staging at diagnosis during the pandemic period were compared to the pre-pandemic period.

A Canadian single-centre experience with cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy for abdominal malignancies.

Background: Cytoreductive surgery in combination with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS-HIPEC) has recently shown promise for the treatment of patients with various types of peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC). However, it is an extensive procedure that is associated with a variety of morbidities. We evaluated the safety and clinical outcomes of CRS-HIPEC performed at our centre.

A Pan-Canadian Validation Study for the Detection of T790M Mutation Using Circulating Tumor DNA From Peripheral Blood.

Introduction: Genotyping circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is a promising noninvasive clinical tool to identify the T790M resistance mutation in patients with advanced NSCLC with resistance to EGFR inhibitors. To facilitate standardization and clinical adoption of ctDNA testing across Canada, we developed a 2-phase multicenter study to standardize T790M mutation detection using plasma ctDNA testing.

Methods: In phase 1, commercial reference standards were distributed to participating clinical laboratories, to use their existing platforms for mutation detection.

Eastern Canadian Gastrointestinal Cancer Consensus Conference 2019.

The annual Eastern Canadian Gastrointestinal Cancer Consensus Conference 2019 was held in Morell, Prince Edward Island, 19-21 September 2019. Experts in medical oncology, radiation oncology, and surgical oncology who are involved in the management of patients with gastrointestinal malignancies participated in presentations and discussion sessions for the purpose of developing the recommendations presented here. This consensus statement addresses multiple topics in the management of anal, colorectal, biliary tract, and gastric cancers, including: radiotherapy and systemic therapy for localized and advanced anal cancer; watch and wait strategy for the management of rectal cancer; role of testing for dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) deficiency prior to commencement of fluoropyrimidine therapy; radiotherapy and systemic therapy in the adjuvant and unresectable settings for biliary tract cancer; and radiotherapy and systemic therapy in the perioperative setting for early-stage gastric cancer.

Outcomes of Older Patients with Resectable Colorectal Liver Metastases Cancer (CRLM): Single Center Experience.

Surgery is the only potential curative option of CRLM if resectable. The curative approach in patients over 70 years old is challenging mainly because of comorbidities and other geriatric syndromes. Herein, we report outcomes of older patients with resectable CRLM in our center.

Implementing DPYD*2A Genotyping in Clinical Practice: The Quebec, Canada, Experience.

Background: Fluoropyrimidines are used in chemotherapy combinations for multiple cancers. Deficient dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase activity can lead to severe life-threatening toxicities. DPYD*2A polymorphism is one of the most studied variants.

Impact of abiraterone on patient-related outcomes in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer: current perspectives.

Abiraterone acetate has established a major role in the treatment paradigm of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer ever since pivotal trials, COU-AA-301 and COU-AA-302, have shown benefit in both the second-line and first-line (post- and pre-chemotherapy) setting, respectively, with improvement in overall survival as well as secondary end points such as prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and radiographic response rates, time to PSA progression, and progression-free survival. There has been a lot of interest and emphasis in the evaluation of patient-related outcomes (PROs) as it relates to quality of life, pain, adverse events, fatigue, and among others, in the use of different agents that have been shown to improve survival. This review examines the companion PROs in conjunction with abiraterone acetate use.