Pressurized IntraPeritoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC) for the treatment of malignant mesothelioma.

Background: Patients with recurrent malignant epithelioid mesothelioma (MM) after surgery and standard chemotherapy with cisplatin and pemetrexed have limited treatment options.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients with recurrent MM undergoing Pressurized IntraPeritoneal/Thoracal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC/PITAC) with doxorubicin 1.5 mg/m and cisplatin 7.

Genetic heterogeneity of primary lesion and metastasis in small intestine neuroendocrine tumors.

Data on intratumoral heterogeneity of small intestine neuroendocrine tumors (SI-NETs) and related liver metastasis are limited. The aim of this study was to characterize genetic heterogeneity of 5 patients with SI-NETs. Therefore, formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples of primary and metastatic lesions as well as benign liver of five patients with synchronously metastasized, well differentiated SI-NETs were analyzed with whole exome sequencing.

Motor Cortex Reorganization in Patients with Glioma Assessed by Repeated Navigated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation-A Longitudinal Study.

Objective: Evidence for cerebral reorganization after resection of low-grade glioma has mainly been obtained by serial intraoperative cerebral mapping. Noninvasively collected data on cortical plasticity in tumor patients over a surgery-free period are still scarce. The present study therefore aimed at evaluating motor cortex reorganization by navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS) in patients after perirolandic glioma surgery.

First Clinical Data of Pressurized Intraperitoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC) as Salvage Therapy for Peritoneal Metastatic Biliary Tract Cancer.

Background: Patients suffering from peritoneal metastasis of biliary tract cancer were treated with pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC).

Patients And Methods: This was a study carried out at a single institution, tertiary referral center certified for therapy of peritoneal disease. Retrospective data analysis was performed of prospective data for PIPAC with intra-peritoneal low-dose doxorubicin (1.

Evaluation of survival across several treatment lines in metastatic colorectal cancer: Analysis of the FIRE-3 trial (AIO KRK0306).

Background: We explored the impacts of sequential application of various treatment lines on survival kinetics. Therefore, differences in overall survival (OS) observed in FIRE-3 were investigated in the context of time and exposure to applied treatment.

Patients And Methods: OS analyses (stratified by treatment with FOLFIRI plus either cetuximab or bevacizumab) were performed according to time intervals as well as using a Cox model to define changes of hazard ratio (HR) over time.

Effect of KIT and PDGFRA Mutations on Survival in Patients With Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Treated With Adjuvant Imatinib: An Exploratory Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Little is known about whether the duration of adjuvant imatinib influences the prognostic significance of KIT proto-oncogene receptor tyrosine kinase (KIT) and platelet-derived growth factor receptor α (PDGFRA) mutations.

Objective: To investigate the effect of KIT and PDGFRA mutations on recurrence-free survival (RFS) in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) treated with surgery and adjuvant imatinib.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This exploratory study is based on the Scandinavian Sarcoma Group VIII/Arbeitsgemeinschaft Internistische Onkologie (SSGXVIII/AIO) multicenter clinical trial.

HER2 testing in gastric cancer: results of a German expert meeting.

Valid HER2 testing is essential for optimal therapy of patients with HER2-positive gastric cancer and the correct use of first-line chemotherapy. While testing for HER2 status in breast cancer is routinely performed, this is not the case for HER2 testing in gastric cancer and it is usually only performed on clinician request. An interdisciplinary German expert group (pathologists and clinicians) took the challenges of HER2 testing in gastric cancer as an opportunity to address essential aspects and questions for the practical use of HER2 testing in this indication.

Relation of early tumor shrinkage (ETS) observed in first-line treatment to efficacy parameters of subsequent treatment in FIRE-3 (AIOKRK0306).

We explored the association of early tumor shrinkage (ETS) and non-ETS with efficacy of first-line and consecutive second-line treatment in patients with KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer treated in FIRE-3. Assessment of tumor shrinkage was based on the sum of longest diameters of target lesions, evaluated after 6 weeks of treatment. Shrinkage was classified as ETS (shrinkage by ≥ 20%), mETS (shrinkage by 0 to <20%), mPD (minor progression >0 to <20%) and PD (progression ≥20%).

CEA response is associated with tumor response and survival in patients with KRAS exon 2 wild-type and extended RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer receiving first-line FOLFIRI plus cetuximab or bevacizumab (FIRE-3 trial).

Background: To examine the relation of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) response with tumor response and survival in patients with (K)RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer receiving first-line chemotherapy in the FIRE-3 trial comparing FOLFIRI plus cetuximab versus FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab.

Patients And Methods: CEA response assessed as the percentage of CEA decrease from baseline to nadir was evaluated for its association with tumor response and survival. Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed an optimal cut-off value of 75% using the maximum of sensitivity and specificity for CEA response to discriminate CEA responders from non-responders.

Gallbladder carcinoma: Prognostic factors and therapeutic options.

The outcome of gallbladder carcinoma is poor, and the overall 5-year survival rate is less than 5%. In early-stage disease, a 5-year survival rate up to 75% can be achieved if stage-adjusted therapy is performed. There is wide geographic variability in the frequency of gallbladder carcinoma, which can only be explained by an interaction between genetic factors and their alteration.

Estrogen receptor α regulates non-canonical autophagy that provides stress resistance to neuroblastoma and breast cancer cells and involves BAG3 function.

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease and approximately 70% of newly diagnosed breast cancers are estrogen receptor (ER) positive. Out of the two ER types, α and β, ERα is the only ER that is detectable by immunohistochemistry in breast cancer biopsies and is the predominant subtype expressed in breast tumor tissue. ER-positive tumors are currently treated with anti-hormone therapy to inhibit ER signaling.

First-line nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer from routine clinical practice.

Background: The combination of nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine is a new effective first-line chemotherapy for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. This was demonstrated in the phase III MPACT trial.

Patients And Methods: Four patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer from our clinical practice received combination chemotherapy with nab-paclitaxel at doses from 100 to 125 mg/m(2) and gemcitabine at doses from 800 to 1,000 mg/m(2) on days 1, 8 and 15 of a 28-day cycle.

The validation of a novel method combining both HER2 immunohistochemistry and HER2 dual-colour silver in situ hybridization on one slide for gastric carcinoma testing.

Background: HER2 status assessment is a prerequisite for the establishment of an appropriate treatment strategy in gastric cancer. Gastric cancers are very heterogeneous and separate evaluations of gene amplification and protein expression lead to uncertainties in localizing distinct clones and are time consuming. This study evaluates the equivalence of the novel method combining both gene and protein platforms on one slide.

The role of radiation therapy for resectable adenocarcinoma of the gastroesophageal junction.

Adenocarcinoma of the gastroesophageal junction has become a very important subentity, for which multidisciplinary care is the widely accepted treatment approach; however, the role of radiation therapy for adenocarcinoma of gastroesophageal junction remains unclear.

Nab-paclitaxel for metastatic pancreatic cancer: clinical outcomes and potential mechanisms of action.

For almost 15 years there has been stagnation in the systemic treatment of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Recently, several developments seem to indicate clinically relevant improvements in the treatment of patients with metastatic disease. One of these developments is the introduction of nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel) into the firstline treatment of metastatic disease.

Recent advances and future trends in the targeted therapy of metastatic gastric cancer.

The better understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind gastric cancer has led to the development of new therapeutic strategies that are likely to improve patient outcomes in the near future. Recently, targeting the HER2 and the VEGF pathways with trastuzumab and ramucirumab, respectively, have been found to improve survival, while directed therapies against a number of other pathways are under clinical evaluation. These include the hepatocyte growth factor and its receptor c-MET, the insulin-like growth factor 1, the fibroblast growth factor, the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), the epidermal growth factor receptor, and other pathways, as well as relevant immunotherapeutic strategies.

Combination of trastuzumab and triple FLOT chemotherapy (5-fluorouracil/leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel) in patients with HER2-positive metastatic gastric cancer: report of 3 cases.

Background: Trastuzumab in combination with doublet chemotherapy (cisplatin and fluoropyrimidine) is a standard treatment for patients with HER2-positive advanced gastric cancer. There have been no studies evaluating trastuzumab with more intensive triplet chemotherapy regimens in this setting. We report the treatment outcome in 3 patients with HER2-positive metastatic gastric cancer who were treated with trastuzumab plus the triplet FLOT regimen (5-fluorouracil/leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel).