What do we know about the role of neoadjuvant targeted therapy in early-stage -mutant and -fused non-small cell lung cancer?-a narrative review of the current literature.

Background And Objective: The standard first-line treatment for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harbouring epidermal growth factor receptor () mutations or anaplastic lymphoma kinase () fusions is targeted therapy using tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). However, data are still lacking on the use of TKIs as a neoadjuvant or induction approach. Therefore, this narrative review aims to summarize the current knowledge on resectable -mutant and -fused NSCLC regarding available perioperative treatment regimens and off-label neoadjuvant use of targeted therapy.

Pain in Palliative Cancer Patients - Analysis of the German National Palliative Care Registry.

Context: Palliative care aims to improve the quality of life in patients with progressive diseases such as cancer. Effective cancer pain management is a major challenge of palliative treatment. Empirical data on the prevalence of cancer pain, the efficiency of pain treatment and influencing factors are scarce.

Minimally invasive determination of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) subtype by means of circulating cell-free RNA.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) comprises two clinically relevant molecular subtypes that are currently determined using tissue biopsies, which are spatially biased and highly invasive. We used whole transcriptome sequencing of 10 plasma samples with tumor-informed subtypes, complemented by proteomic analysis for minimally invasive identification of PDAC subtype markers. Data were validated in independent large cohorts and correlated with treatment response and patient outcome.

Pre-treatment metastatic biopsy: a step towards precision oncology for urothelial cancer.

Early metastatic spread and clonal expansion of individual mutations result in a heterogeneous tumour landscape in metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC). Substantial molecular heterogeneity of common drug targets, such as membranous NECTIN4, FGFR3 mutations, PDL1 or immune phenotypes, has been documented between primary and metastatic tumours. However, translational and clinical studies frequently do not account for such heterogeneity and often investigate primary tumour samples that might not be representative in patients with mUC.

Comparative Efficacy and Safety of Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy with Nivolumab vs. Pembrolizumab in Resectable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Immunotherapy has emerged as a promising treatment option due to its favorable toxicity profile. However, selecting the most appropriate immunotherapeutic agent for neoadjuvant use-aimed at curative intent in early-stage NSCLC-based on efficacy and safety remains a critical question.

Head-to-head comparison of Ga-FAPI-46 PET/CT, F-FDG PET/CT, and contrast-enhanced CT for the detection of various tumors.

Objective: FAPI-PET/CT exhibits high tumor uptake and low background accumulation, enabling high-sensitivity tumor detection. We compared the diagnostic performance of  Ga-FAPI-46 PET/CT plus contrast-enhanced CT (CE-CT), F-FDG PET/CT plus CE-CT, and standalone CE-CT in patients with various malignancies.

Methods: 232 patients underwent  Ga-FAPI-46 PET/CT,F-FDG PET/CT, and CE-CT each within 4 weeks.

Neurofeedback Reduces P300 Amplitudes to Intensely Emotive Pictures in Depressed Cancer Patients.

Electroencephalographic neurofeedback (EEG NF) or its effects on event-related potentials (ERPs) in quantitative EEG have not yet been systematically studied in cancer patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the emotional arousal and valence effects on the event-related P300 in a visual oddball paradigm by an individualized EEG alpha and theta/beta NF intervention in cancer patients and survivors (= 18, age between 31 and 73 years). .

Novel Radiopharmaceuticals and Future of Theranostics in Genitourinary Cancers.

Background And Objective: This review aims to provide an overview of novel diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals tested recently or used currently in genitourinary cancers within prospective phase 1-2 clinical trials, summarizing progresses and future directions.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted using the PubMed/MEDLINE and ClinicalTrials.gov databases for original prospective research studies following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines.

First-line encorafenib plus binimetinib and pembrolizumab for advanced BRAF V600-mutant melanoma: Safety lead-in results from the randomized phase III STARBOARD study.

Background: BRAF inhibitors plus MEK inhibitors (BRAFi/MEKi) and immune checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) are approved for BRAF V600-mutant advanced melanoma. Combinations of BRAFi/MEKi with CPIs may further improve outcomes and could offer additional treatment strategies.

Methods: STARBOARD (NCT04657991) is a phase III study with an initial safety lead-in (SLI) phase conducted to determine the recommended phase III dose (RP3D) for encorafenib in combination with binimetinib and pembrolizumab.

Genetic Mouse Models of Lymphomas.

Mouse models are an indispensable tool in lymphoma research. Here, we focus on the utilization of genetically engineered mouse models as preclinical avatars in lymphoma research. We describe lymphoma-relevant alleles and allele combinations, as well as general considerations for model selection.

Small cell transformation in EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer: DLL3 expression and efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors or tyrosine kinase inhibitors combined with chemotherapy.

Introduction: Small cell transformation (SCT) is a typical mechanism of adaptive resistance to third generation epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors (EGFRi) which have become the standard of care for EGFR-driven non-small cell lung cancer (EGFR+ NSCLC). Little is known about the optimal management of SCT patients. This study aimed to compare outcomes under platinum/etoposide chemotherapy alone (chemo) or in combination with EGFR inhibitors (EGFRi+chemo) or immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI+chemo).

Structure-based discovery of first inhibitors targeting the helicase activity of human PIF1.

PIF1 is a conserved helicase and G4 DNA binding and unwinding enzyme, with roles in genome stability. Human PIF1 (hPIF1) is poorly understood, but its functions can become critical for tumour cell survival during oncogene-driven replication stress. Here we report the discovery, via an X-ray crystallographic fragment screen (XChem), of hPIF1 DNA binding and unwinding inhibitors.

Differential effects of mindfulness treatment and mobile neurofeedback on event-related potentials in early posterior negativity in cancer patients: a clinical-experimental parallel group design.

Introduction: Cancer frequently leads to psychological challenges, among them emotion regulation problems. These can be alleviated with the help of mindfulness therapies or neurofeedback (NF) interventions. Possible intervention effects on emotion procession can be detected in clinical EEG studies by exploring event-related potentials, e.

Impact of F-FDG PET/MRI on Therapeutic Management of Women with Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer: Results from a Prospective Double-Center Trial.

Our rationale was to investigate whether F-FDG PET/MRI in addition to (guideline-recommended) conventional staging leads to changes in therapeutic management in patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer and compare the diagnostic accuracy of F-FDG PET/MRI with that of conventional staging for determining the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) stage. In this prospective, double-center study, 208 women with newly diagnosed, therapy-naïve invasive breast cancer were enrolled in accordance with the inclusion criteria. All patients underwent guideline-recommended conventional staging and whole-body F-FDG PET/MRI with a dedicated breast examination.

How to optimize the CAR-T Cell therapy process? A group concept mapping analysis of preconditions for a frictionless process from a German multistakeholder perspective.

Introduction: Treatment with chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells involves a large number of interdisciplinary stakeholders and is associated with complex processes ranging from patient-specific production to follow-up care. Due to the complexity, maximum process optimization is required in order to avoid efficiency losses. This study aimed at systematically determining the preconditions for a frictionless flow of the CAR-T process by surveying the stakeholders involved.

Outcomes of haploidentical transplants with PT-CY vs 10/10 MUD transplants with ATG in Germany.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is the best curative treatment modality for many malignant hematologic disorders. In the absence of a matched related donor, matched unrelated donors (MUDs) and haploidentical donors are the most important stem cell sources. In this registry-based retrospective study, we compared the outcomes of allo-HSCTs from 10/10 MUDs with antithymocyte globulin (ATG)-based regimens (n = 7050) vs haploidentical transplants (Haplo-Tx) using posttransplant cyclophosphamide (PT-CY Haplo; n = 487) in adult patients with hematologic malignancies between 2010 and 2020.