Publications by authors named "Theodora Goulioti"
Article Synopsis
- - The HER2-enriched intrinsic subtype accounts for around 75% of HER2-positive, hormone receptor-negative breast cancer, and optimizing therapy in this group may reduce the need for toxic anthracycline chemotherapy
- - The DECRESCENDO trial (NCT04675827) is a major phase II study focusing on early HER2-positive, HR-negative breast cancer, testing a combination of pertuzumab and trastuzumab with chemotherapy before proceeding to adjuvant treatment
- - The main goal of the trial is to assess the 3-year recurrence-free survival rate and offers a unique care model allowing some patients to receive their post-surgery treatment outside the hospital setting
Despite recent advances in breast cancer research, we still know little about the mechanisms that lead to metastatic breast cancer (MBC). However, treatment options for patients have increased based on results of recent randomized clinical trials in this setting. Today we have much hope, yet many questions remain unanswered.
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- - The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of niraparib in patients with advanced breast cancer who had germline mutations and had previously undergone chemotherapy treatment.
- - In a phase III trial called BRAVO, participants were randomly assigned to receive either niraparib or standard chemotherapy, and the primary goal was to measure progression-free survival (how long patients lived without their cancer worsening).
- - Results showed that while niraparib had some effectiveness with a median progression-free survival of 4.1 months compared to 3.1 months in the standard chemotherapy group, challenges in assessing the data led to questioning the trial's outcomes.
Overcoming Barriers to Clinical Trials Cooperation: The Breast International Group Example.
Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book
March 2021
Clinical trials cooperation is not a luxury; it is a necessity, now more than ever, first in light of the segmentation of tumors according to their molecular targets-which are being matched to an increasing number of competitive drugs-and second because it is the only chance to maintain academic research centered on addressing patients' needs. In its 21 years of existence, the Breast International Group, an umbrella organization supporting the activities of 54 member groups across six continents, has been confronted with challenges that include (1) keeping trust and motivation within the network; (2) improving the interface between academia and industry; (3) improving patient involvement and trust in clinical trials; and (4) fundraising for noncommercial research. We describe how these challenges have been addressed so far, with the hope of empowering the next generation of clinical investigators.
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- This study examined the effectiveness and safety of lucitanib, a drug targeting certain receptors, in patients with HR/HER2 metastatic breast cancer, focusing on three groups based on genetic amplification.
- A total of 76 patients were enrolled; the primary endpoint of overall response rate (ORR) was met in the amplified cohort (19%), but not in the other two cohorts, which reported ORRs of 0% and 15%.
- While lucitanib showed some activity, it also had notable side effects like hypertension (87%) and hypothyroidism (45%), with exploratory analyses hinting that patients with high genetic amplification or FGFR1 expression may benefit more from the treatment.*
Article Synopsis
- Molecular targeted therapy has shown promise in improving outcomes for early-stage breast cancer patients, particularly through endocrine treatment and HER2 blockade with trastuzumab.
- Ongoing research is focused on enhancing adjuvant therapies to target key cancer drivers, thereby potentially improving clinical results.
- The review discusses various targeted strategies, including HER2 blockade, angiogenesis inhibition, and others, while highlighting the importance of assessing minimal residual cancer to enhance the effectiveness of these therapies.
Article Synopsis
- - The study evaluated the effectiveness of a 70-gene signature test (MammaPrint) in predicting outcomes for women with early-stage breast cancer, comparing genomic and clinical risk factors to decide on chemotherapy treatment.
- - Out of 6693 enrolled women, 1550 were identified with high clinical risk but low genomic risk, and those not receiving chemotherapy showed a 5-year survival rate without distant metastasis of 94.7%.
- - The findings suggest that some women at high clinical risk may safely forego chemotherapy based on low genomic risk, as their survival rates were comparable to those who received treatment.
There is increasing evidence that breast cancer evolves over time under the selection pressure of systemic treatment. Today, treatment decisions in early breast cancer are based on primary tumour characteristics without considering the disease evolution. Chemoresistant micrometastatic disease is poorly characterised and thus it is not used in current clinical practice as a tool to personalise treatment approaches.
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- Current practices lean towards testing teens for chickenpox immunity instead of automatically vaccinating those without a history of the illness.
- Research in Greece shows that a significant number of adolescents (21.5%) are still at risk for chickenpox.
- The study found that negative histories of chickenpox are reliable for kids with social or unknown exposure for vaccination purposes, but not for those with household exposure, indicating that testing should be done before vaccination in that group.*