FGFR a promising druggable target in cancer: Molecular biology and new drugs.

Abstract: Introduction: The Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor (FGFR) family consists of Tyrosine Kinase Receptors (TKR) involved in several biological functions. Recently, alterations of FGFR have been reported to be important for progression and development of several cancers. In this setting, different studies are trying to evaluate the efficacy of different therapies targeting FGFR. Areas Covered: This review summarizes the current status of treatments targeting FGFR, focusing on the trials that are evaluating the FGFR profile as inclusion criteria: Multi-Target, Pan-FGFR Inhibitors and anti-FGF (Fibroblast Growth Factor)/FGFR Monoclonal Antibodies. Expert opinion: Most of the TKR share …

Central nervous system involvement in ALK-rearranged NSCLC : promising strategies to overcome crizotinib resistance

ABSTRACT: Introduction: ALK rearranged Non Small Cell Lung Cancers (NSCLCs) represent a distinct subgroup of patients with peculiar clinic-pathological features. These patients exhibit dramatic responses when treated with the ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitor Crizotinib, albeit Central Nervous System (CNS) activity is much less impressive than that observed against extracranial lesions. CNS involvement has become increasingly observed in these patients, given their prolonged survival. Several novel generation ALK inhibitors have been developing to increase CNS penetration and to provide more complete ALK inhibition. Areas covered: The CNS activity of Crizotinib and novel generation ALK inhibito…

P1.06-046 Can We Better Manage Advanced NSCLC in the Elderly with the New Therapeutic Agents? Preliminary Analysis of a Real-Life Multicenter Study

Corticosteroids in oncology: Use, overuse, indications, contraindications. An Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM)/ Italian Association of Medical Diabetologists (AMD)/ Italian Society of Endocrinology (SIE)/ Italian Society of Pharmacology (SIF) multidisciplinary consensus position paper

Corticosteroids (CSs) are widely used in oncology, presenting several different indications. They are useful for induction of apoptosis in hematological neoplasms, for management of anaphylaxis and cytokine release/hypersensitivity reaction and for the symptomatic treatment of many tumour- and treatment-related complications. If the employment of CSs in the oncological setting results in several benefits for patients and satisfaction for clinicians, on the other hand, many potential adverse events (AEs), both during treatment and after withdrawal of CSs, as well as the duality of the effects of these compounds in oncology, recommend being cautious in clinical practice. To date, several gray…

The comparison of outcomes from tyrosine kinase inhibitor monotherapy in second- or third-line for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer patients with wild-type or unknown EGFR status

// Giuseppe Bronte 1, * , Tindara Franchina 2, * , Massimiliano Alu 3, * , Giovanni Sortino 1 , Claudia Celesia 1 , Francesco Passiglia 1 , Giuseppina Savio 3 , Agata Laudani 3 , Alessandro Russo 2 , Antonio Picone 2 , Sergio Rizzo 1 , Michele De Tursi 4 , Elisabetta Gambale 4 , Viviana Bazan 1 , Clara Natoli 4 , Livio Blasi 3 , Vincenzo Adamo 2 , Antonio Russo 1 1 Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy 2 Medical Oncology Unit-AOOR Papardo-Piemonte, Messina and Department of Human Pathology, University of Messina, Messina, Italy 3 Medical Oncology Unit, A.R.N.A.S. Civico, Palermo, Italy 4 Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological …

Circulating miR-22, miR-24 and miR-34a as novel predictive biomarkers to pemetrexed-based chemotherapy in advanced non small cell lung cancer

Pemetrexed has been widely used in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The clinical relevance of polymorphisms of folate pathway genes for pemetrexed metabolism have not been fully elucidated yet. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression levels of circulating miR-22, miR-24, and miR-34a, possibly involved in folate pathway, in NSCLC patients treated with pemetrexed compared with healthy controls and to investigate their impact on patient clinical outcomes. A total of 22 consecutive patients with advanced NSCLC, treated with pemetrexed-based chemotherapy and 27 age and sex matched healthy controls were included in this preliminary analysis. miR-22, miR-24, …

The Risk of Toxicities from Trastuzumab, Alone or in Combination, in an Elderly Breast Cancer Population

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Breast cancer in the elderly is associated with high recurrence and death rates, due mostly to undertreatment. Human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2) overexpression is infrequent in older patients. Trastuzumab-based chemotherapy is often withheld from elderly patients because of its cardiotoxicity. <b><i>Patients and Methods:</i></b> Medical records of consecutive HER2-positive breast cancer patients aged ≥70 years old treated between 2005 and 2010 in the participating centers were retrospectively reviewed. All patients underwent multidimensional geriatric assessment (MGA). <b><i>Results:<…

Prognostic clinical factors in patients affected by non-small-cell lung cancer receiving Nivolumab

Background: Immune-checkpoint inhibitors have radically changed the treatment landscape of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). It is still unclear whether specific clinical characteristics might identify those patients benefiting from immunotherapy more than others. The aim of this study was to identify clinical characteristics associated with disease-specific survival (DSS), time-to-treatment failure (TTF), objective responses (OR) and progressive disease (PD) in NSCLC patients treated with Nivolumab. Methods: This was a multicenter retrospective study conducted on 294 patients treated with Nivolumab for advanced NSCLC. Results: Of the more than 50 variables analyzed, five showed a signifi…

The role of second and third line tyrosine kinase inhibitor monotherapy in EGFR wild-type (and unknown mutational status) advanced non-small-cell lung cancer patients: Findings from a retrospective analysis

Safety of trastuzumab, alone or in combination, in elderly patients with HER2-positive breast cancer: A 5-year case series.

e11056 Background: Breast cancer (BC) is frequent in the elderly and is burdened by high recurrence and death rates, due mostly to undertreatment. Trastuzumab (T), in combination with chemotherapy (CT) or hormonotherapy (HT), is a well-established treatment strategy for early and advanced HER2-positive (HER2+) breast cancer, but has been poorly studied in the elderly setting due to its infrequency. The aim of our study is to assess the safety of T in elderly patients with HER2+ BC. Methods: Between 2005 and 2010, consecutive HER2+ breast cancer patients of ≥70 years of age referred to two oncology centers and that received T-based therapy were retrospectively reviewed. All patients were tr…

Listening understanding and acting (lung): focus on communicational issue in thoracic oncology.

Background: In the field of oncological assistance, nowadays we have to deal with a complex scenario where patients got used to obtain a huge amount of information through internet or social media and to apply them in performing their health-related decisions. This landscape requires that clinicians become able to handle therapeutical approaches and adequate skills in communication tools to satisfy the current needs. Our project aimed to build a communication model based on clinical oncologists’ real experiences in order to find a simple way to share with patients all the innovative therapeutical opportunities today available in lung cancer. The final goal is to design a flexible and person…

Safety and activity of trastuzumab-containing therapies for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer: our long-term clinical experience (GOIM study).

Background: Trastuzumab is widely used as the treatment of choice for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Patients and methods: Seventy patients, median age 57 years and range 31-81 years, were included in our retrospective analysis with the aim to evaluate safety and activity of trastuzumab-containing therapies. Results: We observed for first-line treatment response rate (RR) 41%, stable disease (SD) 47% and time to progression (TTP) 8 months (range 1-44). Corresponding numbers for second line were RR 23%, SD 62% and (TTP) 9 months (range 3-23) and beyond second line RR 22%, SD 78% and (TTP) 9 months (range 4-19). Overall survival was 19.2 months (3-62 months). The median cumulat…

Gefitinib in lung cancer therapy. Clinical results, predictive markers of response and future perspectives.

Over the past few years, epidermal growth factor receptor has emerged as one of the most important targets in tumorgenesis and several drugs targeting signal transduction pathways have been developed. The first among these agents to be approved for the treatment of NSCLC was gefitinib, a potent, selective and reversible inhibitor of HER1/EGFR tyrosine kinase activity. The review summarizes its clinical development and the new therapeutic options, with particular focus on predictive markers of susceptibility to this drug.

The role of second-line tyrosine kinase inhibitor monotherapy in EGFR wild-type advanced non-small-cell lung cancer patients: Findings from a retrospective analysis.

e19030 Background: Second-line treatment for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) patients includes monotherapy with a third generation cytotoxic drug (CT) or with the tyrosine kinase inhib...

Retrospective analysis of the therapeutic efficacy of platinum/etoposide schedules in the treatment of advanced poor differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas of the lung

Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR), Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR), and Outcomes with Nivolumab in Pretreated Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): A Large Retrospective Multicenter Study

Introduction: Immune checkpoint inhibitors have provided substantial benefit in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with unprecedented results in terms of survival. However, the identification of reliable predictive biomarkers to these agents is lacking and multiple clinicopathological factors have been evaluated. The aim of this study was to analyze the potential role of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels in patients with pretreated NSCLC receiving nivolumab. Methods: This was a retrospective multicenter study involving 14 Italian centers, evaluating the role of some laboratory results in patients with NSCLC treat…

Neutrophil-To-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) Platelet-To-Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR), and Outcomes With Nivolumab in Pretreated Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): A Large Retrospective Multicenter Study

Provide enhanced digital features for this article This Figshare page contains a Summary Slide. If you are an author of this publication and would like to provide additional enhanced digital features for your article then please contact adisrapidplus@springer.com. The journal offers a range of additional features designed to increase visibility and readership. All features will be thoroughly peer reviewed to ensure the content is of the highest scientific standard and all features are marked as ‘peer reviewed’ to ensure readers are aware that the content has been reviewed to the same level as the articles they are being presented alongside. Moreover, all sponsorship and disclosure informati…