Search results for "ECK"

A shared tumor-antigen RNA-lipoplex vaccine with/without anti-PD1 in patients with checkpoint-inhibition experienced melanoma.

2020

3136 Background: Cancer vaccines are considered unsuitable for patients with advanced tumours and have not been clinically successful. Methods: Lipo-MERIT is an ongoing phase 1/2 trial (NCT02410733) with melanoma FixVac, a liposomal RNA vaccine targeting four non-mutant shared tumour-associated antigens (TAAs) (MAGE-A3, NY-ESO-1, tyrosinase, TPTE). Patients with stage IIIB-C and IV melanoma are eligible. The trial comprises 7 dose escalation and 3 dose expansion cohorts, the latter with FixVac alone or combined with anti-PD1. Eight doses of FixVac are administered i.v. weekly/bi-weekly followed by optional continued monthly treatment. This abstract summarizes the findings of an exploratory…

The Role of Immune Checkpoint Blockade in the Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Review of Clinical Trials.

2021

The prevalence of primary liver cancer is rapidly rising all around the world. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer. Unfortunately, the traditional treatment methods to cure HCC showed poor efficacy in patients who are not candidates for liver transplantation. Until recently, tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) were the front-line treatment for unresectable liver cancer. However, rapidly emerging new data has drastically changed the landscape of HCC treatment. The combination treatment of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (immunotherapy plus anti-VEGF) was shown to provide superior outcomes and has become the new standard first-line treatment for unresect…

Exploring the Dynamic Crosstalk between the Immune System and Genetics in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

2022

Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GISTs) represent a paradigmatic model of oncogene addiction. Despite the well-known impact of the mutational status on clinical outcomes, we need to expand our knowledge to other factors that influence behavior heterogeneity in GIST patients. A growing body of studies has revealed that the tumor microenvironment (TME), mostly populated by tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and lymphocytes (TILs), and stromal differentiation (SD) have a significant impact on prognosis and response to treatment. Interestingly, even though the current knowledge of the role of immune response in this setting is still limited, recent pre-clinical and clinical data have highlight…

Randomized clinical study on intratumoral BCG-cell wall preparation (CWP) therapy in patients with squamous cell carcinoma in the head and neck region

1981

Based on animal experiments a clinical study with BCG cell wall preparation (CWP) was developed. Patients with head and neck carcinomas stage T1/2N0–2M0 were randomized. One group received surgical treatment only and a second group received preoperative intralesional BCG-CWP. So far 12 patients have been included in each group. After 3 years the CCR (complete cancer remission) in the surgery only group was 39% and that in the preoperative BCG-CWP group, 69% (P=11%). The cumulative proportion of surviving patients was 50% in the surgery only and 73% in the BCG-CWP group (P=21%). BCG-CWP injection was followed by an increase in body temperature and a decrease in peripheral blood lymphocytes. …

Elevated tumor lactate concentrations predict for an increased risk of metastases in head-and-neck cancer.

2001

Purpose: Hypoxia shifts the balance of cellular energy production toward glycolysis with lactate generation as a by-product. Quantitative bioluminescence imaging allows for the quantitation of lactate concentrations in individual tumors. We assessed the relationship between pretreatment tumor lactate concentrations and subsequent development of metastatic disease in patients with newly diagnosed head-and-neck cancer. Methods and Materials: At the time of biopsy of the primary site, a separate specimen was taken and flash-frozen for subsequent quantitation of lactate concentration using a luciferase bioluminescence technique. The twodimensional spatial distribution of the bioluminescence int…

Assessing Preferences in Patients with Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Phase I and II of Questionnaire Development.

2020

Shared-decision making for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is challenged by the difficulty to integrate the patient perception of value within the framework of a multidisciplinary team approach. The aim of this study was to develop a questionnaire to assess the preferences of HNSCC patients with respect to the disease trajectory, expected treatment, and toxicities. In accordance with the standardized EORTC Quality of Life Group&rsquo

2020

The disease and treatment of patients with head and neck cancer can lead to multiple late and long-term sequelae. Especially pain, psychosocial problems, and voice issues can have a high impact on patients’ health-related quality of life. The aim was to show the feasibility of implementing an electronic Patient-Reported Outcome Measure (PROM) in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). Driven by our department’s intention to assess Patient-Reported Outcomes (PRO) based on the International Classification of Functioning during tumor aftercare, the program “OncoFunction” has been implemented and continuously refined in everyday practice. The new version of “OncoFunction” was evaluated by 20 …

Hypofractionated Radiotherapy in Head and Neck Cancer Elderly Patients: A Feasibility and Safety Systematic Review for the Clinician

2021

ObjectiveRadiotherapy (RT) in the head and neck (H&N) site are undoubtedly the most challenging treatments for patients. Older and frail patients are not always able to tolerate it, and there are still no clear guidelines on the type of treatments to be preferred for them. The recommendations for Risk-Adapted H&N Cancer Radiation Therapy during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic provided by the ASTRO-ESTRO consensus statement achieved a strong agreement about hypofractionated RT (HFRT). A systematic literature review was conducted in order to evaluate the feasibility and safety of HFRT for older patients affected by H&N malignancies.Materials and Method…

Rate of false-negative findings in sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with head and neck malignant melanoma.

2017

e17566 Background: Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy (SLNB) is the standard procedure for malignant melanoma with a thicknes above 1mm. However, the benefits of this procedure have recently been questioned because of a high number of false negative findings. The aim of our study was to investigate the number of early recurrence in patients with negative SLNB. Methods: All patients with malignant melanoma of the head and neck region who underwent SLNB between 2010 and 2016 in our department were included and data reviewed retrospectively. Recurrence in the same cervical lymph node region of the previously extirpated sentinel lymph node (SLN) within one year was defined as primary false-negative. R…

Immune checkpoint inhibitors-associated pericardial disease: a systematic review of case reports

2021

Treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can be complicated by cardiovascular toxicity, including pericardial disease. To date, no prospective studies specifically investigated the optimal treatment of ICI-associated pericardial disease, and the available evidence is based on case reports and series only. We performed a systematic review of case reports and series including 20 publications for a total of 28 cases of ICI-associated pericardial disease. In this review, pericardial disease was reversible in the majority of cases (75%), although 2 deaths were reported. The majority of cases were life-threatening (G4, 53.6%) or severe (G3, 21.4%), requiring pericardiocentesis. Higher r…