Quality of Surgery and Outcome in Localized Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Treated Within an International Intergroup Randomized Clinical Trial of Adjuvant Imatinib.

Importance: The association between quality of surgery and overall survival in patients affected by localized gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) is not completely understood.

Objective: To assess the risk of death with and without imatinib according to microscopic margins status (R0/R1) using data from a randomized study on adjuvant imatinib.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This is a post hoc observational study on patients included in the randomized, open-label, phase III trial, performed between December 2004 and October 2008.

Adenosine-producing regulatory B cells in head and neck cancer.

Background: Multiple mechanisms of immunosuppression have been identified in the tumor microenvironment including regulatory B cells (B). Recently, we have shown that B suppress T cell function by production of adenosine (ADO). However, the autocrine effect of ADO on B cells and the role of B in head and neck cancer remains unclear.

Doxorubicin plus dacarbazine, doxorubicin plus ifosfamide, or doxorubicin alone as a first-line treatment for advanced leiomyosarcoma: A propensity score matching analysis from the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Soft Tissue and Bone Sarcoma Group.

Background: The optimal treatment for advanced leiomyosarcoma is still debated. Given histotype-specific prospective controlled data lacking, this study retrospectively evaluated doxorubicin plus dacarbazine, doxorubicin plus ifosfamide, and doxorubicin alone as first-line treatments for advanced/metastatic leiomyosarcoma treated at European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Soft Tissue and Bone Sarcoma Group (EORTC-STBSG) sites.

Methods: The inclusion criteria were a confirmed histological diagnosis, treatment between January 2010 and December 2015, measurable disease (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors 1.

The management of desmoid tumours: A joint global consensus-based guideline approach for adult and paediatric patients.

Desmoid tumor (DT; other synonymously used terms: Desmoid-type fibromatosis, aggressive fibromatosis) is a rare and locally aggressive monoclonal, fibroblastic proliferation characterised by a variable and often unpredictable clinical course. Previously surgery was the standard primary treatment modality; however, in recent years a paradigm shift towards a more conservative management has been introduced and an effort to harmonise the strategy amongst clinicians has been made. We present herein an evidence-based, joint global consensus guideline approach to the management of this disease focussing on: molecular genetics, indications for an active treatment, and available systemic therapeutic options.

The EORTC QLQ-C30 Summary Score as a Prognostic Factor for Survival of Patients with Cancer: A Commentary.

Patients can provide a unique perspective on their disease, symptoms, and health‐related quality of life. This commentary provides context for the recently reported results of the PROFILES study of patient‐reported outcomes using the 30‐item quality of life questionnaire developed by the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer.

Adenosine production in mesenchymal stromal cells in relation to their developmental status.

Background: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) are multipotent progenitor cells found in the tumor microenvironment. They have an innate and regulatory immune activity, and they are able to produce immunosuppressive adenosine (ADO) via their ectonucleotidases CD39 and CD73. The present study explores ADO metabolism of MSC in relation to their developmental status.

Volume changes of the pancreatic head remnant after distal pancreatectomy.

Background: Little is known about pancreatic regeneration in humans after surgical resection. We examined pancreatic head volume changes after distal pancreatectomy.

Methods: Using computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging volumetry, we assessed volume changes of the pancreatic head remnant in 67 patients at defined time points (3, 6, 9, and 12 months) after distal pancreatectomy.

Current State of Sarcoma Care in Germany: Results of an Online Survey of Physicians.

Background: Sarcoma treatment is a complex and multidisciplinary process. Little is known about the actual status of sarcoma care in Germany.

Objectives: We evaluated: (1) on an institutional level, which physician diagnosed and treated sarcomas; (2) whether guidelines and tumor board recommendations were routinely implemented; and (c) access to which diagnosis and treatment options was regarded as problematic.

Quality of surgery and surgical reporting for patients with primary gastrointestinal stromal tumours participating in the EORTC STBSG 62024 adjuvant imatinib study.

Background: EORTC (European Organisation of Research and Treatment of Cancer) 62024 is a phase III randomised trial evaluating adjuvant imatinib in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) and no evidence of residual disease after surgery in 908 patients from 11 countries participated. As surgical treatment aspects (tumour rupture and incomplete resection) contribute to the risk of recurrence, the data of primary surgery were reviewed.

Methods: The surgical record, local pathology report and a surgical questionnaire on details of the operation had to be completed when patients entered the study.

EORTC SPECTA-AYA: A unique molecular profiling platform for adolescents and young adults with cancer in Europe.

For most adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancers, age-specific molecular features are poorly understood. EORTC-SPECTA, an academic translational research infrastructure for biomaterial collection, will explicitly recruit AYA patients and will therefore collect empirical data to bridge the molecular gap between pediatric and adult oncology. The initial pilot study, activated in February 2019 across Europe, will recruit 100 AYA patients (aged 12-29 years) with newly diagnosed or relapsed high-grade gliomas and high-grade bone and soft tissue sarcomas.

Safety and efficacy of Pazopanib in advanced soft tissue sarcoma: PALETTE (EORTC 62072) subgroup analyses.

Background: PALETTE is a phase 3 trial that demonstrated single-agent activity of pazopanib in advanced soft tissue sarcomas (aSTS). We performed retrospective subgroup analyses to explore potential relationships between patient characteristics, prior lines of therapy, dose intensity, and dose modifications on safety and efficacy of pazopanib in aSTS.

Methods: PALETTE compared pazopanib with placebo in patients with aSTS (age ≥ 18 years) whose disease had progressed during or following prior chemotherapy.

Neoadjuvant Pazopanib Treatment in High-Risk Soft Tissue Sarcoma: A Quantitative Dynamic F-FDG PET/CT Study of the German Interdisciplinary Sarcoma Group.

The outcome of high-risk soft tissue sarcoma (STS) is poor with radical surgery being the only potentially curative modality. Pazopanib is a multikinase inhibitor approved for the treatment of metastatic STS. Herein, in terms of the German Interdisciplinary Sarcoma Group (GISG-04/NOPASS) trial, we evaluate the potential role of kinetic analysis of fludeoxyglucose F-18 (F-FDG) data derived from the application of dynamic positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in response assessment to pazopanib of STS patients scheduled for surgical resection.

The Disease-Free Interval Between Resection of Primary Colorectal Malignancy and the Detection of Hepatic Metastases Predicts Disease Recurrence But Not Overall Survival.

Introduction: The disease-free interval (DFI) between resection of primary colorectal cancer (CRC) and diagnosis of liver metastases is considered an important prognostic indicator; however, recent analyses in metastatic CRC found limited evidence to support this notion.

Objective: The current study aims to determine the prognostic value of the DFI in patients with resectable colorectal liver metastases (CRLM).

Methods: Patients undergoing first surgical treatment of CRLM at three academic centers in The Netherlands were eligible for inclusion.

The challenge of finding new therapeutic avenues in soft tissue sarcomas.

Soft tissue sarcomas are rare malignancies of mesenchymal origin comprising about 1% of all adult cancers. Systemic therapies for locally advanced and metastatic disease have been restricted for decades to very few effective and approved agents such as doxorubicin and ifosfamide. However, new therapeutic avenues including new drug developments and registrations such as trabectedin, pazopanib and eribulin as well as numerous clinical trial options have recently enriched the therapeutic armamentarium in the treatment of patients with advanced soft tissue sarcomas.

Chest wall thickness and depth to vital structures in paediatric patients - implications for prehospital needle decompression of tension pneumothorax.

Background: Recommendations regarding decompression of tension pneumothorax in small children are scarce and mainly transferred from the adult literature without existing evidence for the paediatric population. This CT-based study evaluates chest wall thickness, width of the intercostal space (ICS) and risk of injury to vital structures by needle decompression in children.

Methods: Chest wall thickness, width of the intercostal space and depth to vital structures were measured and evaluated at 2nd ICS midclavicular (MCL) line and 4th ICS anterior axillary line (AAL) on both sides of the thorax using computed tomography (CT) in 139 children in three different age groups (0, 5, 10 years).

Preoperative Pazopanib in High-Risk Soft Tissue Sarcoma: Phase II Window-of Opportunity Study of the German Interdisciplinary Sarcoma Group (NOPASS/GISG-04).

Background: Preoperative devascularization might improve local control and thus the outcome of patients with soft tissue sarcoma (STS). The multikinase inhibitor pazopanib has antiangiogenic effects and is approved for treating metastatic STS. We conducted a trial of preoperative pazopanib therapy in high-risk STS.

The impact of chemotherapy on survival of patients with extremity and trunk wall soft tissue sarcoma: revisiting the results of the EORTC-STBSG 62931 randomised trial.

Background: This study was aimed at determining whether patients with high-risk soft tissue sarcoma (STS), as identified using the nomogram Sarculator, benefitted from adjuvant chemotherapy in the EORTC-STBSG 62931 randomised controlled trial (RCT), which failed to detect an impact for adjuvant doxorubicin plus ifosfamide (Adj) over observation (Obs).

Methods: Patients with extremity and trunk wall STS in the EORTC-STBSG 62931 RCT were analysed (N = 290/351). Ten-year predicted probability of overall survival (pr-OS) was calculated using the prognostic nomogram Sarculator.

Tissue sealants for the prevention of lymphoceles after radical inguinal lymph node dissection in patients with melanoma: A systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis.

Background And Objectives: Postoperative lymphoceles and further wound complications occur frequently after radical inguinal lymph node dissection (ILND). In various studies, tissue sealants have shown to reduce the incidence of postoperative morbidity.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effectiveness of tissue sealants in reducing the incidence of postoperative lymphoceles following ILND in patients with melanoma was conducted.

Standard Approach to Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors - Differences between China and Europe.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. With the considerable research and application of molecular-targeted therapy for GISTs in the last two decades, GISTs have become a model of multidisciplinary oncological treatment. Although Western clinical guidelines are available for GISTs, such as those by the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO), the clinical situations in China are different from those in European countries.

Clinical Presentation of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract. They constitute 1-2% of all gastrointestinal neoplasms but are the most common subtype of soft tissue sarcomas, accounting for 20-25%. In the late 1990s, GISTs were more and more recognized as a particular tumor entity.

Responding to the challenges of international collaborations between the east and the west - report of the first JCOG-EORTC symposium and a perspective from young JCOG and EORTC investigators.

International/intercontinental collaboration is necessary to set up new innovative clinical trials for cancer treatment. However, the infrastructure, especially Asia-Europe academic partnerships, to enable such collaboration has not been fully structured and differences and similarities between the research groups have not been well studied. In 2015, collaboration started between the biggest cancer research organizations in Asia and EU, Japan Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG) and European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC).