Safety and effectiveness of sacituzumab govitecan in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer in real-world settings: first observations from an interdisciplinary breast cancer centre in Germany.

Background: Sacituzumab govitecan has been recently approved by the USFDA and EMA for the treatment of patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC). We report real-world safety and effectiveness in patients with mTNBC receiving sacituzumab govitecan treatment at a breast cancer centre in Germany.

Methods: Data from patients who had received sacituzumab govitecan as treatment for mTNBC, in both and relapsed disease, at the Kliniken Essen-Mitte, Essen, Germany, were collected through institutional records.

Prognostic and predictive impact of gene expression in node-positive early breast cancer patients receiving dose-dense versus standard-dose adjuvant chemotherapy.

The utility of multigene expression assays in advanced (≥ 4 positive lymph nodes) early breast cancer (EBC) is limited. We conducted exploratory transcriptomic analysis of 758 genes (Breast Cancer 360 panel, nCounter platform; NanoString) in primary tumor samples collected during a phase 3 trial comparing adjuvant taxane-containing dose-dense chemotherapy (ddCTX) versus standard-dosed chemotherapy (stCTX) in resected EBC with ≥ 4 positive lymph nodes. Prognostic and predictive associations with disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were evaluated by Cox regression with false discovery rate (FDR) adjustment.

Gene signatures in patients with early breast cancer and relapse despite pathologic complete response.

A substantial minority of early breast cancer (EBC) patients relapse despite their tumors achieving pathologic complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant therapy. We compared gene expression (BC360; nCounter platform; NanoString) between primary tumors of patients with post-pCR relapse (N = 14) with: (i) matched recurrent tumors from same patient (intraindividual analysis); and (ii) primary tumors from matched controls with pCR and no relapse (N = 41; interindividual analysis). Intraindividual analysis showed lower estrogen receptor signaling signature expression in recurrent tumors versus primaries (logFC = -0.

Synthesis and biological activity of N(4)-phenylsubstituted-6-(2,4-dichloro phenylmethyl)-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine-2,4-diamines as vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 inhibitors and antiangiogenic and antitumor agents.

A series of eight N(4)-phenylsubstituted-6-(2,4-dichlorophenylmethyl)-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine-2,4-diamines 8-15 were synthesized as vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) inhibitors with varied substitutions in the phenyl ring of the 4-anilino moiety. In addition, five N(4)-phenylsubstituted-6-phenylmethylsubstituted-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-amines 16-20 were synthesized to evaluate the importance of the 2-NH(2) moiety for multiple receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) inhibition. Cyclocondensation of alpha-halomethylbenzylketones with 2,6-diamino-4-hydroxypyrimidine afforded 2-amino-6-(2,4-dichlorophenylmethyl)-3,7-dihydro-4H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-one, 23 and reaction of alpha-bromomethylbenzylketones with ethylamidinoacetate followed by cyclocondensation with formamide afforded the 6-phenylmethylsubstituted-3,7-dihydro-4H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-ones, 40-42, respectively.

Novel STAT3 phosphorylation inhibitors exhibit potent growth-suppressive activity in pancreatic and breast cancer cells.

The constitutive activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is frequently detected in most types of human cancer where it plays important roles in survival, drug resistance, angiogenesis, and other functions. Targeting constitutive STAT3 signaling is thus an attractive therapeutic approach for these cancers. We have recently developed novel small-molecule STAT3 inhibitors, known as FLLL31 and FLLL32, which are derived from curcumin (the primary bioactive compound of turmeric).

Single agents with designed combination chemotherapy potential: synthesis and evaluation of substituted pyrimido[4,5-b]indoles as receptor tyrosine kinase and thymidylate synthase inhibitors and as antitumor agents.

Combinations of antiangiogenic agents (AAs) with cytotoxic agents have shown significant promise in cancer treatment, and several such clinical trials are currently underway. We have designed, synthesized, and evaluated two compounds that each inhibit vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) and platelet-derived growth factor receptor-beta (PDGFR-beta) for antiangiogenic effects and also inhibit human thymidylate synthase (hTS) for cytotoxic effects in single agents. The synthesis of these compounds involved the nucleophilic displacement of the common intermediate 5-chloro-9H-pyrimido[4,5-b]indole-2,4-diamine with appropriate benzenethiols.

P276-00, a novel cyclin-dependent inhibitor induces G1-G2 arrest, shows antitumor activity on cisplatin-resistant cells and significant in vivo efficacy in tumor models.

P276-00, a flavone that inhibits cyclin-dependent kinases, has been identified by us recently as a novel antineoplastic agent. In this study, we have selected a panel of human tumor cell lines and xenografts to allow determination of selectivity and efficacy of P276-00. When tested against a panel of 16 cisplatin-sensitive and cisplatin-resistant cell lines, the antiproliferative potential of P276-00 was found to be approximately 30-fold higher than cisplatin.

A long-term "memory" of HIF induction in response to chronic mild decreased oxygen after oxygen normalization.

Background: Endothelial dysfunction (ED) is functionally characterized by decreased vasorelaxation, increased thrombosis, increased inflammation, and altered angiogenic potential, has been intimately associated with the progression and severity of cardiovascular disease. Patients with compromised cardiac function oftentimes have a state of chronic mild decreased oxygen at the level of the vasculature and organs, which has been shown to exacerbate ED. Hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) is a transcription factor complex shown to be the master regulator of the cellular response to decreased oxygen levels and many HIF target genes have been shown to be associated with ED.

Puralpha activates PDGF-A gene transcription via interactions with a G-rich, single-stranded region of the promoter.

Transcription of the PDGF-A chain gene is regulated by multiple promoter and silencer elements that are GC-rich and exhibit considerable single-stranded character. In this study, the 42 kDa single-stranded DNA and RNA binding protein, Puralpha, was investigated with respect to its ability to bind and interact functionally with single-stranded DNA elements in the PDGF-A gene. Recombinant GST-Puralpha bound with high affinity and sequence-specificity to the G-rich strands of two such transcriptional control elements, the 5'-S1 nuclease-hypersensitive silencer (5'SHS; -1418 to -1388) and the nuclease-hypersensitive element (NHE; -92 to -48).