MONARCH plus: abemaciclib plus endocrine therapy in women with HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer: the multinational randomized phase III study.

Aim: To compare the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of abemaciclib plus endocrine therapy (ET) ET alone in postmenopausal women with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative advanced breast cancer (ABC) from China, Brazil, India, and South Africa.

Methods: This randomized, double-blind, phase III study was conducted between 9 December 2016 and 29 March 2019. Postmenopausal women with HR-positive, HER2-negative ABC with no prior systemic therapy in an advanced setting (cohort A) or progression on prior ET (cohort B) received abemaciclib (150 mg twice daily) or placebo plus: anastrozole (1 mg/day) or letrozole (2.

nextMONARCH: Abemaciclib Monotherapy or Combined With Tamoxifen for Metastatic Breast Cancer.

Background: Abemaciclib is a selective cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 inhibitor administered continuously for hormone receptor-positive (HR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2) advanced breast cancer. Abemaciclib is associated with dose-dependent early-onset diarrhea. nextMONARCH evaluated abemaciclib monotherapy (with or without prophylactic loperamide) and combined with tamoxifen for endocrine refractory metastatic breast cancer (MBC) after chemotherapy.

Asymptomatic postmenopausal women: what are the risk factors for endometrial malignancies? A multicentric retrospective study.

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and risk factors for endometrial malignancies in asymptomatic postmenopausal women.

Methods: Multicentric retrospective analytical study in two Brazilian Reference Centers. All women without postmenopausal bleeding who were submitted to hysteroscopy with biopsy were included (1665).

Assessment of IGF-1 expression in the peripheral blood of women with recurrent breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy affecting women worldwide. The insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) gene encodes a protein responsible for a wide variety of physiological processes, including differentiation and cell proliferation. Despite several studies on tumor tissues, no study has evaluated IGF-1 expression in the peripheral blood of women with recurrent breast cancer.

Different Perceptions among Women and Their Physicians Regarding Contraceptive Counseling: Results from the TANCO Survey in Brazil.

Objective:  The optimal use of contraceptive methods requires that women participate in targeted choice of methods that meet their individual needs and expectations. The Thinking About Needs in Contraception (TANCO) study is a quantitative online survey of the views of health professionals and women on aspects of contraceptive counseling and contraceptive use.

Methods:  Physicians and women attending clinics for contraception were invited to complete online questionnaires.

CYP19A1 gene expression in the peripheral blood of Brazilian women with breast cancer relapse.

Background: The CYP19A1 gene, which encodes the enzyme responsible for androgen aromatization into estrogens, may play an important role in breast cancer aggressiveness. However, no study has evaluated CYP19A1 gene expression in the peripheral blood of women with relapsed breast cancer.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, CYP19A1 gene expression was quantified by RT-PCR in the peripheral blood of 146 women with breast cancer who were first divided into two groups according to the expression of CYP19A1 (low and high); each group had 73 patients.

The impact of letrozole administration on oocyte morphology in breast cancer patients undergoing fertility preservation.

Abstract: Patients submitted to oncological fertility preservation with letrozole and gonadotropins seem to present a higher rate of immature oocytes and lower fertilization rates in comparison to infertile patients submitted to IVF cycles with gonadotropins. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of letrozole on oocyte morphology in patients with breast cancer submitted to fertility preservation.

Methods: Retrospective analysis performed at a public tertiary hospital in São Paulo, Brazil.

CD163 tumor-associated macrophage accumulation in breast cancer patients reflects both local differentiation signals and systemic skewing of monocytes.

Objectives: The accumulation of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) is correlated with poor clinical outcome, but the mechanisms governing their differentiation from circulating monocytes remain unclear in humans.

Methods: Using multicolor flow cytometry, we evaluated TAMs phenotype in 93 breast cancer (BC) patients. Furthermore, monocytes from healthy donors were cultured in the presence of supernatants from dilacerated primary tumors to investigate their differentiation into macrophages (MΦ) .

Could Increased Expression of Hsp27, an "Anti-Inflammatory" Chaperone, Contribute to the Monocyte-Derived Dendritic Cell Bias towards Tolerance Induction in Breast Cancer Patients?

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most efficient - and link the innate immune sensing of the environment to the initiation of adaptive immune responses, which may be directed to either acceptance or elimination of the recognized antigen. In cancer patients, though DCs would be expected to present tumor antigens to T lymphocytes and induce tumor-eliminating responses, this is frequently not the case. The complex tumor microenvironment subverts the immune response, blocks some effector mechanisms, and drives others to support tumor growth.

Adjuvant denosumab in early breast cancer (D-CARE): an international, multicentre, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial.

Background: Denosumab is a fully human monoclonal antibody that binds to, and inhibits, the receptor activator of RANKL (TNFSF11) and might affect breast cancer biology, as shown by preclinical evidence. We aimed to assess whether denosumab combined with standard-of-care adjuvant or neoadjuvant systemic therapy and locoregional treatments would increase bone metastasis-free survival in women with breast cancer.

Method: In this international, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 study (D-CARE), patients were recruited from 389 centres in 39 countries.

Prevalence and risk factors of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw in osteoporotic and breast cancer patients: a cross-sectional study.

Purpose: Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) has been reported as a side effect of bisphosphonate (BP). The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of MRONJ in women taking BP for osteoporosis and for metastatic breast cancer and correlate it with risk factors and biochemical markers of bone metabolism.

Methods: Patients taking oral or intravenous BP with osteoporosis (G1; n = 153; median 72.

Characterization of Adolescent Pregnancy and Legal Abortion in Situations Involving Incest or Sexual Violence by an Unknown Aggressor.

In pregnancies resulting from incest, the adolescent maintains close family and emotional relations with the aggressor, different from what occurs when pregnancy results from sexual violence by strangers. Evidence indicates that this type of relationship with the aggressor may interfere in the dynamics of such violence and the adolescent's access to health services. The objective of this research was to describe and correlate aspects associated with pregnancy when resulting from rape of adolescents in situations of incest; rape when perpetrated by an unknown aggressor and an abortion as allowed by law was sought.

Cervical ectopic pregnancy after in vitro fertilization: case report successfully treated with cervical electric aspiration.

Cervical ectopic gestation is a serious and potentially lethal condition considered exceptional in in vitro fertilization. Early diagnosis is critical to successful treatment and preservation of fertility. We report a rare case of cervical pregnancy after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer, successfully treated exclusively with electrical aspiration.

Subcutaneous vs Intravenous Trastuzumab for Patients With ERBB2-Positive Early Breast Cancer: Final Analysis of the HannaH Phase 3 Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Confirmation of long-term comparability between subcutaneous and intravenous trastuzumab is essential.

Objective: To evaluate efficacy and safety of subcutaneous trastuzumab compared with that of intravenous trastuzumab for patients with ERBB2 (HER2)-positive early breast cancer after 6 years' follow-up in the HannaH (Enhanced Treatment With Neoadjuvant Herceptin) trial.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Open-label, prospective, multicenter, international, neoadjuvant-adjuvant, randomized, phase 3 noninferiority clinical trial (primary end points: pathologic complete response and serum trough concentration predose cycle 8) conducted for 596 patients with ERBB2-positive early breast cancer enrolled from October 19, 2009, to December 1, 2010.

Patient satisfaction with breast reconstructionusing musculocutaneous flap from latissimus dorsiversus from rectus abdominis: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Breast cancer is the second most frequent type of cancer worldwide and the most common type among women. The treatment for this condition has evolved over recent decades with therapeutic and technological advances. Breast reconstruction techniques using musculocutaneous flaps from the latissimus dorsi and rectus abdominis have aroused interest regarding patients' quality of life.

Impaired brain dopamine transporter in chemobrain patients submitted to brain SPECT imaging using the technetium-99m labeled tracer TRODAT-1.

Purpose: "Chemobrain" is a medical secondary effect of cancer chemotherapy treatment characterized by a general decline in cognition affecting visual and verbal memory, attention, complex problem-solving skills, and motor function. Dopamine (DA) central nervous system neurotransmitters serve an important role in cognition, and changes in DA could potentially explain impaired cognition associated with chemotherapy. Therefore, our objective was to assess in vivo dopaminergic dysfunction in the central nervous system (CNS) of a group of female breast cancer survivors with cognitive impairment following chemotherapy.

Swainsonine, an alpha-mannosidase inhibitor, may worsen cervical cancer progression through the increase in myeloid derived suppressor cells population.

Cervical cancer, caused by high oncogenic risk Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection, continues to be a public health problem, mainly in developing countries. Using peptide phage display as a tool to identify potential molecular targets in HPV associated tumors, we identified α-mannosidase, among other enriched sequences. This enzyme is expressed in both tumor and inflammatory compartment of the tumor microenvironment.

Randomized phase II study evaluating weekly oral vinorelbine versus weekly paclitaxel in estrogen receptor-positive, HER2-negative patients with advanced breast cancer (NorBreast-231 trial).

Background: Single-agent paclitaxel and vinorelbine are recommended treatments for advanced breast cancer (ABC) non-responsive to hormone therapy and without visceral crisis. This phase II trial compared first-line oral vinorelbine versus weekly paclitaxel for ABC.

Methods: Eligible female patients had measurable locally recurrent/metastatic estrogen receptor-positive HER2-negative breast cancer and had received prior endocrine therapy (any setting) but no chemotherapy for ABC.

Specific protocols of controlled ovarian stimulation for oocyte cryopreservation in breast cancer patients.

Background: Fertility preservation is an important concern in breast cancer patients. In the present investigation, we set out to create a specific protocol of controlled ovarian stimulation (cos) for oocyte cryopreservation in breast cancer patients.

Methods: From November 2014 to December 2016, 109 patients were studied.

First-Line Trastuzumab Plus an Aromatase Inhibitor, With or Without Pertuzumab, in Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-Positive and Hormone Receptor-Positive Metastatic or Locally Advanced Breast Cancer (PERTAIN): A Randomized, Open-Label Phase II Trial.

Purpose: To assess pertuzumab plus trastuzumab and an aromatase inhibitor (AI) in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive and hormone receptor-positive metastatic/locally advanced breast cancer (MBC/LABC).

Patients And Methods: The PERTAIN trial (NCT01491737) is an ongoing randomized, open-label, multicenter-80 sites and eight countries-phase II trial. Patients have HER2-positive, hormone receptor-positive MBC/LABC and no prior systemic therapy with the exception of endocrine.