0000000000132341
AUTHOR
Nicoletta Colombo
Quality of life in patients with malignant ascites during catumaxomab treatment: Results from the CASIMAS trial.
e13095^ Background: Malignant Ascites (MA) is associated with a poor prognosis and limited palliative treatment options. To demonstrate the value of a new treatment the assessment of quality of life (QoL) is of particular importance. Following the demonstration of catumaxomab’s potential to stabilize QoL and prolong the time to first deterioration of QoL, results from CASIMAS give evidence that the QoL of patients remains unaffected during catumaxomab treatment Methods: In a two-arm, open-label, multicentre phase II/III study 219 patients were randomized to catumaxomab plus premedication of 25 mg prednisolone (111 pts) or to catumaxomab alone (108 pts) QoL was measured using the EQ-5D visu…
Catumaxomab with and without prednisolone in patients with malignant ascites due to epithelial cancer: Results from the phase IIIb CASIMAS study
e13097^ Background: The primary objective of this study was to compare catumaxomab with prednisolone (CP) to catumaxomab without prednisolone (C) as 3-hour intraperitoneal (i.p.) infusion by demonstrating superiority for safety and non-inferiority for efficacy of the CP arm. Methods: 219 patients were randomized to catumaxomab plus premedication of 25 mg prednisolone (111 pts) or to catumaxomab alone (108 pts). The primary endpoint was the composite safety score (CSS) summarizing the worst CTCAE grades for the main TEAEs (pyrexia, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain). A potential impact of prednisolone on efficacy was assessed by the co-primary endpoint puncture-free survival (PuFS). Furt…
BRCA1/2 molecular assay for ovarian cancer patients: A survey through Italian departments of oncology and molecular and genomic diagnostic laboratories
In Italy, 5200 new ovarian cancers were diagnosed in 2018, highlighting an increasing need to test women for BRCA1/2. The number of labs offering this test is continuously increasing. The aim of this study was to show the results coming from the intersociety survey coordinated by four different Clinical and Laboratory Italian Scientific Societies (AIOM, SIAPEC-IAP, SIBIOC, and SIGU). A multidisciplinary team belonging to the four scientific societies drew up two different questionnaires: One was targeted toward all Italian Departments of Medical Oncology, and the second toward laboratories of clinical molecular biology. This survey was implemented from September 2017 to March 2018. Seventy-…
Recommendations for the implementation of BRCA testing in ovarian cancer patients and their relatives
The current availability of new Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase (PARP)-inhibitors for the treatment of ovarian cancer patients independently of the presence of a BRCA pathogenic variant, together with the validation of somatic test for the analysis of BRCA1/2 genes, involves the need to optimise the guidelines for BRCA testing. The AIOM-SIGU-SIBIOC-SIAPEC-IAP Italian Scientific Societies, in this position paper, recommend the implementation of BRCA testing with 2 main objectives: the first is the identification of ovarian cancer patients with higher probability of benefit from specific anticancer treatments (test for response to therapy); the second goal, through BRCA testing in the family memb…
A Long-Term Extension Study of Bevacizumab in Patients With Solid Tumors
Abstract Background Bevacizumab has been studied in numerous clinical trials in multiple types of cancer; however, patients may receive bevacizumab over an extended period of time. This study assessed the long‐term safety and tolerability of bevacizumab among patients with solid tumors. Materials and Methods Patients enrolled in a Roche/Genentech‐sponsored trial who had derived benefit from bevacizumab therapy as monotherapy or in combination with anticancer drugs were eligible for continuation of bevacizumab in this long‐term extension (LTE) study. The primary endpoints were the incidence of adverse events (AEs) of Common Terminology Criteria for AEs (CTCAE) grade ≥3 related to bevacizumab…
Recommendations for the implementation of BRCA testing in the care and treatment pathways of ovarian cancer patients
In the last 20 years, following the identification of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes (hereinafter referred to as the BRCA genes), preventive pathways have been developed for the identification and clinical management of individuals at high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer due to the presence of a pathogenic variant in either of these genes. These pathways are aimed at educating high-risk subjects on programs targeted toward early diagnosis and cancer risk reduction. The approval of a novel class of drugs, the PARP enzyme inhibitors, for the treatment of ovarian cancer patients carrying high-risk BRCA pathogenic variants has changed this scenario. BRCA testing, in addition to providin…