Publications by authors named "Zahra Castel-Ajgal"

Article Synopsis
  • Metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) is a dangerous cancer with few treatment options, and its genetic makeup is not fully understood unlike non-metastatic urothelial carcinoma (UC).
  • A study analyzing genetic data from 111 mUC biopsies found that common genetic changes are similar to those seen in primary UC and highlighted mutational signatures related to APOBEC, platinum sensitivity, and homologous recombination deficiency.
  • The research revealed that a significant portion of mUC patients have potential therapeutic targets, with the most common being FGFR3, ERBB2, TSC1, and PIK3CA, and noted that certain genes like NECTIN4 and TACSTD2 are consistently highly expressed across different
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Article Synopsis
  • Scientists found that tumors with a lot of mutations (high TMB) respond better to a special cancer treatment called pembrolizumab.
  • They created a new way to measure TMB using their own tests and compared it to another test called FoundationOne®.
  • Their new method showed different results, and they think their TMB measurement can be adjusted for different types of tests and tumor samples.
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Purpose: To evaluate tipapkinogene sovacivec (TG4001), a viral immunotherapeutic vaccine expressing human papillomavirus (HPV)16 E6/E7 non-oncogenic proteins and IL-2, in combination with avelumab in HPV16+ cancer patients.

Patients And Methods: In this open-label, phase Ib/II, multicenter study, HPV16+ advanced cancer patients received subcutaneous TG4001 at two dose levels (DL) in phase Ib and at the recommended phase II dose (RP2D) in phase II weekly for 6 weeks, then every 2 weeks (q2Wk) until 6 months, thereafter every 12 weeks, in combination with avelumab q2Wk starting from day 8. Exploratory end-points included immunomonitoring from sequential tumour and blood samples.

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Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with blockade of the PD-1 pathway may enhance immune-mediated tumor control through increased phagocytosis, cell death, and antigen presentation. The NiCOL phase 1 trial (NCT03298893) is designed to determine the safety/tolerance profile and the recommended phase-II dose of nivolumab with and following concurrent CRT in 16 women with locally advanced cervical cancer. Secondary endpoints include objective response rate (ORR), progression free survival (PFS), disease free survival, and immune correlates of response.

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Background: Data on the role of the microbiota in cancer have accumulated in recent years, with particular interest in intratumoral bacteria. Previous results have shown that the composition of intratumoral microbiome is different depending on the type of primary tumour and that bacteria from the primary tumour could migrate to metastatic sites.

Methods: Seventy-nine patients with breast, lung, or colorectal cancer and available biopsy samples from lymph node, lung, or liver site, treated in the SHIVA01 trial were analysed.

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Background: Nivolumab improved patients’ survival in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). We aimed to evaluate resting energy expenditure (REE) (i.e.

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Introduction: Immune checkpoint inhibitor are standard therapy in metastatic urothelial carcinoma. No predictive biomarker of immune related adverse events (iRAE) exists. Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) can be the sign of a subclinical autoimmune condition that could be enhanced by Immune checkpoint inhibitor.

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Introduction: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have been approved for front-line therapy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). However, progressive disease often occurs and subsequent therapies are needed. ICI rechallenge may be an option, but there is a lack of data regarding efficacy and prognostic factors.

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Immunotherapy has made a breakthrough in medical oncology with the approval of several immune checkpoint inhibitors in clinical routine, improving overall survival of advanced cancer patients with refractory disease. However only a minority of patients experience a durable response with these agents, which has led to the development of combination strategies and novel immunotherapy drugs to further counteract tumor immune escape. Epigenetic regulations can be altered in oncogenesis, favoring tumor progression.

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