Experience with eribulin in the treatment of elderly women with metastatic breast cancer: case studies

Although advancing age can greatly increase the complexities of treating metastatic breast cancer, chronological age alone is insufficient to determine the type or intensity of treatment. Older patients require an individualized approach that takes into account the patient's physical ability, social circumstances and mental capacity to tolerate treatment. This section features three older women treated with eribulin for metastatic breast cancer. In the first case, a 70-year-old woman maintained stable disease into her 34th month of treatment with third-line eribulin. In the remaining cases, two heavily pretreated women (80 and 90 years, respectively) with metastatic disease and liver involvement presented objective radiological benefit to later-line eribulin along with prolonged clinical improvement and good tolerability.

LC-hrms metabolomics profiling in breast cancer: Searching for biomarkers in human plasma samples

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Background: Breast cancer (BC) is most common cancer in women and development of new technologies for understanding molecular changes involved in BC progression is essential. Metabolic changes precede phenotypic changes, due to cellular regulation affects use of small-molecule substrates for cell division, growth or environmental changes, such as hypoxia. Metabolomics (profiling of metabolites in biofluid, cell and tissue) is routinely applied as a tool for biomarker discovery. Liquid chromatography−mass spectrometry(LC−MS)is the dominating platform. Methods: With the aim to find metabolomic profiles for diagnostic and prognostic of newly diagnosticated breast cancer (BC) we have investigated plasma samples in neoadjuvant setting (134 BC patients with median age of 51 years, stages T1-4,N1-2,M0 and 135 healthy controls) using high resolution mass spectrometry couple to liquid chromatography in reverse phase and HILIC modes which provided resolved chromatography of highly polar as well as hydrophobic analytes, enabling the analysis of a wide range of chemicals, necessary for untargeted metabolomics. Chromatograms were processed with software (Markerview) to generate a table listing retention times with associated ion masses and intensities. To identify potential biomarkers, we used in combination 2 independent variable selection techniques: principal component analysis and Student t-test. Results: We observed a significant difference in metabolic profile between the 2 groups. 15 molecular features [oleamide, KDNalpha2-3Galbeta1-4Glcbeta-Cer(d18:1/22:0)] were found significantly down/up regulated in BC patients compared with healthy subjects, and they were selected as diagnostic biomarkers. Additionally, ROC curve analysis was used to assess their clinical usefulness, obtaining an AUC of 0.963 (95% CI 0.919-0.989) when using a multivariate model of 3 features. As an outcome, we showed that selected biomarkers are useful as diagnostic biomarkers. Conclusions: The present study demonstrates potential of metabolomics in identifying novel biomarkers for BC. Further studies may reveal the potential of metabolites as diagnostics biomarkers for BC and their role in pathogenesis.

A metabolomic signature for predicting chemosensitivity in gastric cancer

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Background: Perioperative chemotherapy (QT) with platinum and fluoropyrimidines with or without anthracyclines is recommended option in patients with resectable gastric cancer (GC) at least cT2 or nodal involvement. Another option is surgery followed by QT with radiotherapy (QT/RT) or QT without RT in patients with D2 lymphadenectomy. Unfortunately, a considerable percentage of patients progress during neoadjuvant-QT (neo-QT) and some cases become inoperable cancer. These patients could benefit from curative surgery after diagnosis without neo-QT. Currently, histological/molecular markers have not been established to predict which patients can benefit from neo-QT. As potent analysis method, study of blood metabolites of resectable GC patients to establish a profile to differentiate responder patients (R-P) or not-responder (NR-P) to neoadjuvant-QT is promising. To establish a metabolomic profile or metabolomic signature and correlate with chemosensitivity, defined as pathological and clinical response is our endpoint. Methods: To this end we performend an untargeted metabolomic analysis by LC-HRMS of serum samples from resectable GC patients before neo-QT (n = 20 vs n = 10 healthy controls). Chemosensitive tumors were defined as those with good pathological response (Mandard 1 or 2) and partial response by TAC and chemoresistance tumors, defined as those with poor pathological response (Mandard 5) or/and progression by TAC. Reverse phase and HILIC chromatographic modes were applied to deal with highly polar as well as hydrophobic as required for untargeted metabolomics. For identification of potential biomarkers, we used in combination 2 independent variable selection techniques: principal component analysis and Student t test. Results: 11 patients were R-P and 9 patients were NR-P. We observed differences in metabolic profile between patients with GC & healthy controls and R-P & NR-P to neo-QT. Seven identified metabolites contributed most to the differentiating between R-P and NR-P. Conclusions: There are different metabolomic phenotypes among patients R-P and NR-P to neo-QT. It is necessary to validate a metabolomic signature to allow effective chemosensitivity prediction in patients with resectable GC.

Differences in survival between usual practice and clinical trial participants in advanced NSCLC by age

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Background: It is known that outcome of patients included in clinical trials have a better outcome than patients treated with standard therapy. This is a retrospective case-control study of outcome of patients with stage III and IV non-small cell lung cáncer (NSCLC) recruited in clinical trials vs advanced NSCLC patients in usual clinical practice in our institution. Methods: We performed a case-control study matching all patients participating in trials with chemotherapy and/or TKis (immunotherapy was not included) in a 5 year period (January 2010-November 2014) in 1st line setting, matching them in a ratio 1:2 with individuals in usual clinical practice. There were 36 patients in trials and 72 patients treated by our protocol. Cases were matched by age ( < 65 and > 65), histology (adenocarcinoma and squamous), EGFR status (mutated and wild-type). All patients were WHO performance status 0-1. Results: Patients in each group were matched for stage, histological subtype, previous surgery and systemic therapy. Median follow up for patients treated on a trial was 3.3 years, compared with 2.9 years for matched patients who received standard 1st line therapy. Median overall survival for patients included a trial was 19.6 months, and 15.7 months for control group. The difference between groups was not significant (Log rank test, HR 0.81, 95% CI: 0.42 to 1.30, p = 0.53). Median overall survival in younger patients in trials ( < 65) was 19.3 months, and in elderly patients was 19.8 months. The median progression-free survival in the two groups was 6.8 and 5.5 months respectively (HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.30 to 1.43, p = 0.21). Conclusions: In our institution, we didn’t found significant differences for overall survival or progression-free survival, but there is a trend for a better outcome for those items. Benefit seems to be similar in younger patients than in older patients, so this encourages recruiting of selected elderly patients.