Publications by authors named "Rastislav Bahleda"

Background: Early-phases clinical trials (Phases 1 and 2) have evolved from a traditional assessment of toxicity to an adaptive approach based on patients' medical needs and access to effective new therapies. The global risks, benefits, and relevance of early-phases clinical trials participation for patients with hematological malignancies remain poorly evaluated.

Patients And Methods: All early-phases clinical trials participations for patients with hematological malignancies, from 2008 to 2023, in a tertiary academic center in Europe, were reviewed.

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Purpose: Understanding resistance to selective FGFR inhibitors is crucial to improve the clinical outcomes of patients with FGFR2-driven malignancies.

Experimental Design: We analyzed sequential ctDNA, ± whole-exome sequencing, or targeted next-generation sequencing on tissue biopsies from patients with tumors harboring activating FGFR2 alterations progressing on pan-FGFR-selective inhibitors, collected in the prospective UNLOCK program. FGFR2::BICC1 Ba/F3 and patient-derived xenograft models were used for functional studies.

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  • Patients with advanced tumors in phase I trials often have strong treatment hopes but limited options; local ablative stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT) can help manage disease progression when oligoprogressive resistance occurs.* -
  • A study analyzed 42 patients receiving SRT for oligoprogressive lesions, finding that SRT significantly extended progression-free survival (7.1 months) and time to the next treatment (12.8 months), with no severe toxicities reported.* -
  • The findings suggest that tumor characteristics, like aggressiveness and clonal diversity, can help distinguish between patients needing different management strategies after SRT, potentially enhancing treatment outcomes.*
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  • Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a promising cancer treatment that combines targeted monoclonal antibodies with potent drugs, relying on the expression levels of target proteins in cancer cells for effectiveness.
  • This review analyzes clinical trial results from January 2019 to May 2023, highlighting approved ADCs that show efficacy even in tumors with low levels of target protein expression.
  • It emphasizes the challenges in accurately assessing target protein levels due to inconsistent evaluation methods and the complexity of ADC behavior in the body, advocating for standardized approaches to improve future ADC therapies.
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Desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) is a rare, aggressive sarcoma driven by the EWSR1::WT1 chimeric transcription factor. Despite this unique oncogenic driver, DSRCT displays a polyphenotypic differentiation of unknown causality. Using single-cell multi-omics on 12 samples from five patients, we find that DSRCT tumor cells cluster into consistent subpopulations with partially overlapping lineage- and metabolism-related transcriptional programs.

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  • - This study evaluated the safety and effectiveness of Debio 1347, a new oral drug targeting FGFR fusions in patients with advanced solid tumors, focusing on its ability to produce objective responses and other outcomes in different cancer types.
  • - A total of 63 patients participated, with only a 5% objective response rate, leading to the trial's early termination due to lower-than-expected effectiveness, despite manageable side effects like hyperphosphatemia and stomatitis.
  • - The findings suggest that while the drug has some tolerance, its lack of significant efficacy means it should not undergo further testing for FGFR fusion tumors; the study also provided insight into the characteristics of FGFR fusions in solid tumors.
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T-cell engagers (TCE) are cancer immunotherapies that have recently demonstrated meaningful benefit for patients with hematological malignancies and solid tumors. The anticipated widespread use of T cell engagers poses implementation challenges and highlights the need for guidance to anticipate, mitigate, and manage adverse events. By mobilizing T-cells directly at the contact of tumor cells, TCE mount an obligatory and immediate anti-tumor immune response that could result in diverse reactions and adverse events.

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Purpose: The study evaluated safety and efficacy of olaratumab + pembrolizumab in patients with unresectable locally advanced/metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) with disease progression on standard treatment.

Patients And Methods: This was open-label, multicenter, nonrandomized, phase Ia/Ib dose-escalation study followed by cohort expansion (olaratumab + pembrolizumab intravenous infusion). Primary objectives were safety and tolerability.

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  • A study identified 21 patients with FGFR-driven urothelial cancer who were treated with FGFR inhibitors, revealing that 33% had specific mutations in the FGFR tyrosine kinase domain after treatment progression.
  • The research showed that over half (52%) of patients had alterations in the PI3K-mTOR pathway, which may contribute to resistance against FGFR inhibitors.
  • The findings support combining different treatments, such as erdafitinib with pictilisib or gefitinib, to potentially combat resistance in these cancer cases.
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  • This study explores the genetic subgroups of relapse or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (RR-DLBCL) to find prognostic biomarkers crucial for patient management.!* -
  • Researchers analyzed tumor samples from 120 RR-DLBCL patients, with a focus on somatic mutations, identifying three distinct genetic subgroups based on mutation patterns.!* -
  • Despite finding different genetic subgroups, overall survival rates were similar among them, but GNA13 mutations were linked to a higher risk of death and shorter survival times.!*
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Gemcitabine has shown clinical activity against angiosarcoma in small series, alone, or combined with taxanes. We aimed to evaluate its activity as a single-agent in a larger series of patients with advanced angiosarcoma. We retrospectively reviewed the electronic medical records of consecutive adult patients with advanced angiosarcoma treated with single-agent gemcitabine at our institutions from January 2010 to January 2021.

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Background: We aimed to determine the safety and efficacy of nintedanib, an oral anti-angiogenic tyrosine kinase inhibitor, in combination with pembrolizumab, an anti-PD1 immunotherapy, in patients with advanced solid tumors (PEMBIB trial; NCT02856425).

Methods: In this monocentric phase Ib dose escalation cohort, we evaluated escalating doses of nintedanib (Dose level 1 (DL1) = 150 mg bid [bis in die, as twice a day]; DL2 = 200 mg bid, oral delivery) in combination with pembrolizumab (200 mg Q3W, IV). Patients received a 1-week lead-in dose of nintedanib monotherapy prior starting pembrolizumab.

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  • * The evaluation included 88 patients, with 51.1% using a molecularly-oriented approach, showing a higher rate of stable disease and positive response among them (25.7%) compared to non-molecularly-oriented patients (5.1%).
  • * Results indicate that molecular profiling could improve outcomes for certain glioma patients, highlighting the need for larger studies to validate these findings and pinpoint ideal candidates for this strategy.
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Anti-PD-(L)1 therapies yield a disappointing response rate of 15% across soft-tissue sarcomas, even if some subtypes benefit more than others. The proportions of TAMs and TILs in their tumor microenvironment are variable, and this heterogeneity correlates to histotype. Tumors with a richer CD8+ T cell, M1 macrophage, and CD20+ cells infiltrate have a better prognosis than those infiltrated by M0/M2 macrophages and a high immune checkpoint protein expression.

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Futibatinib, a highly selective, irreversible FGFR1-4 inhibitor, was evaluated in a large multihistology phase I dose-expansion trial that enrolled 197 patients with advanced solid tumors. Futibatinib demonstrated an objective response rate (ORR) of 13.7%, with responses in a broad spectrum of tumors (cholangiocarcinoma and gastric, urothelial, central nervous system, head and neck, and breast cancer) bearing both known and previously uncharacterized aberrations.

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Purpose: Debio 1143 is an oral antagonist of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins, which enhances tumor response with concomitant chemoradiotherapy. Addition of Debio 1143 to cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (LA-SCCHN) was evaluated in a phase I/II study to determine the MTD and recommended phase II dose (RP2D). Here, phase I results are reported.

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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.

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Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) alone or in combination with chemotherapy (CT) are the current standard of therapy in several cancer types. Patients (pts) with lung cancer display higher response rates to CT when given after ICIs. Although ICIs have failed to demonstrate antitumour activity in microsatellite stable (MSS) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), little is known about CT effect after ICIs.

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Precision oncology relies on the identification of molecular alterations, responsible for tumor initiation and growth, which are suitable targets of specific inhibitors. The development of FGFR inhibitors represents an edifying example of the rapid evolution in the field of targeted oncology, with 10 different FGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors actually under clinical investigation. In parallel, the discovery of FGFR activating molecular alterations (mainly mutations and fusions) across many tumor types, especially urothelial carcinomas and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas, widens the selection of patients that might benefit from selective FGFR inhibitors.

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Purpose: Here, we report results of the first phase I study of erdafitinib, a potent, oral pan-FGFR inhibitor.

Patients And Methods: Patients age ≥18 years with advanced solid tumors for which standard antineoplastic therapy was no longer effective were enrolled (NCT01703481). Parts 2 to 4 employed molecular screening for activating genomic alterations.

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This phase 1b, open-label trial assessed the combination of afatinib, an ErbB family blocker, with cetuximab, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibody, in heavily pretreated patients with unselected/EGFR wild-type, advanced solid tumours. In Part A, the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of afatinib + cetuximab was evaluated using a 3 + 3 dose-escalation design; the starting dose was afatinib 30 mg/day plus cetuximab 250 mg/m/week (after cetuximab 400 mg/m loading dose), escalating to afatinib 40 mg/day. Part B further evaluated safety and tolerability at the MTD and preliminary anti-tumour activity in three patient cohorts with squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and other solid tumours.

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Purpose: Enrolment process influences the likelihood of patients' inclusion in early clinical trials (ECT) through social, medical and organisational factors.

Patients And Methods: All patients referred from 2008 to 2016 to the Drug Development Department (DITEP) of Gustave Roussy (GR) were reviewed. Referring physician, organisational factors, medical and socioeconomic characteristics for patients were analysed.

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