Anticancer research
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Chemotherapy is currently the standard-of-care for non-oncogene-driven advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Due to improvements in chemotherapeutic choices and supportive care, patients currently typically undergo multiple lines of chemotherapy as their disease progresses. Although treatments have improved over recent years, limited benefits are seen, especially in patients receiving later-line chemotherapy, as response rates can be low, response duration short and survival poor. ⋯ Combinatorial approaches with other immune checkpoint inhibitors, chemotherapy, or targeted-agents are being explored in ongoing clinical trials, and may improve outcome in NSCLC. The emerging data not only offer the hope of a better cancer therapy but also provide evidence that changes our understanding on how the host immune system interacts with human cancer. It is therefore conceivable that agents blocking the CTLA-4/PD-1/PD-L1 axis will provide valuable additions to the growing armamentarium of targeted-agents.
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Anticancer research · Nov 2015
Comparative StudyMethylation-associated Silencing of microRNA-126 and its Host Gene EGFL7 in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma.
We recently reported that miR-126 is down-regulated in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) and can be combined into a 4-microRNA-classifier that can accurately diagnose MPM with high sensitivity and specificity. Herein we analyzed the epigenetic regulation of miR-126 and its host gene EGF-like domain, multiple 7 (EGFL7). ⋯ In MPM, DNA-hypermethylation down-regulates miR-126 and its host gene EGFL7, therefore is a poor prognostic factor, and may represent a future therapeutic target for de-methylating strategies re-establishing EGFL7 and miR-126 expression.
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Anticancer research · Nov 2015
Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiotherapy (SABR) in Pulmonary Oligometastatic/Oligorecurrent Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients: A New Therapeutic Approach.
Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is characterized by poor prognosis. Palliative chemotherapy and/or best supportive care are considered standard treatment. Nevertheless, for patients with limited distant metastases (1-5 metastases), called oligometastatic disease, better prognosis has been observed. We evaluated response rate, survival, time to progression and toxicity in oligometastatic/oligorecurrent NSCLC patients treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) delivered to all active sites in the lung. ⋯ Aggressive stereotactic radiotherapy is a feasible and well-tolerated treatment for oligometastatic/oligorrecurrent NSCLC patients with lung metastases offering longer survival. Ablative radio therapy has a potential role in the management of well-selected stage IV NSCLC patients while increasing their quality of life and survival.
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Anticancer research · Oct 2015
Comparative StudyPC or PCV, That Is the Question: Primary Anaplastic Oligodendroglial Tumors Treated with Procarbazine and CCNU With and Without Vincristine.
While procarbazine with 1-(2-chloroethyl)-3-cyclohexyl-1-nitrosourea (PC) added to vincristine (PCV) was proven beneficial in the treatment of co-deleted anaplastic oligodendroglioma (AO), the question of whether PC alone is sufficient is important, as vincristine adds toxicity with uncertain benefit. This retrospective study provides a comparison of PC and PCV. ⋯ Initial therapy with PC achieved comparable results to those of PCV with a median follow-up of 9.9 years. Neurotoxicity was more frequent with vincristine. Although selecting only for patients with AO, rather than those with mixed histology, increased the likelihood of selecting for patients with tumors with co-deletions, further studies with correlative co-deletion status are required.
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Anticancer research · Oct 2015
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative StudyStratified Survival Analysis After Adjuvant Chemotherapy of Colon Cancer Reveals a Benefit for Older Patients.
Adjuvant treatment is still controversially discussed for elderly colon cancer (CC) patients. Our aim was to investigate the benefit of adjuvant treatment for younger (<70 years) and elderly (≥70 years) patients. ⋯ Our analysis clearly demonstrates for the first time an additional benefit of FA for adjuvant treatment of elderly CC patients. We conclude that this regimen is very safe and effective for adjuvant treatment of elderly patients.