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• Most patients taking cabozantinib 60 mg/day had ≥ 1 dose modification owing to AEs. • Dose modifications were successful in optimizing treatment duration among patients. • The safety profile was consistent with the known safety profile for cabozantinib. • Outcomes were similar between patients initiating cabozantinib at 40 and 60 mg/day. • CASSIOPE showed that cabozantinib was clinically effective in the real-world. There is a lack of published data on real-world cabozantinib use in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma after prior vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-targeted therapy. CASSIOPE was a real-world, prospective, multicenter, non-interventional postauthorization safety study of cabozantinib in adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma in Europe following prior VEGF-targeted treatment (NCT03419572). Endpoints included cabozantinib utilization (dose modifications due to adverse events [AEs; primary endpoint], dose, dose modifications, and treatment duration), safety, effectiveness (progression-free survival [PFS], overall survival [OS], best overall response [BOR]), and healthcare resource utilization. Full analysis set (FAS)/safety population comprised 679 patients; 433 of these initiated cabozantinib at 60 mg/day (recommended dose) (primary safety population). Median age (FAS) was 67 (range, 29-93) years; most were male (73·0%), had clear-cell histology (85·7%), metastatic disease at cabozantinib initiation (97·8%), and prior nephrectomy (80·3%). In the primary safety population, 77·1% experienced dose modification owing to an AE. In the safety population, the median daily dose was 40·0 (range, 7·8-60·0) mg/day and the median treatment duration was 7·8 (< 0·1-15·2) months. Treatment-emergent and treatment-related AEs were experienced by 95·9% and 90·4% of patients, respectively. Median PFS (FAS) assessed by the local investigator using any method was 8·3 months, and 1-year OS rate was 74%. Approximately one-third of all patients had a BOR of partial response and 6 had a complete response. Second- or later-line cabozantinib was effective and manageable in a real-world setting and had a safety profile consistent with previous studies. CASSIOPE was a real-world study of cabozantinib use as a second-line or later-line therapy for advanced renal cell carcinoma after prior VEGF-targeted therapy. Of 679 patients prospectively enrolled in Europe, second-line or later-line cabozantinib use was shown to be effective and manageable in a real-world setting and had a safety profile consistent with previous studies. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To review current measures for renal cancer care and develop a comprehensive and updated list of measures for their practical use in Spain. Methods: The study was developed by Fundación ECO, a Spanish foundation aiming to improve oncology quality of care. A systematic literature review was carried out to identify measures and knowledge gaps. A scientific committee composed of nine experts reviewed the literature findings and added measures. A preliminary list of 42 measures was evaluated with the Delphi method to gather feedback from 47 medical oncology experts in Spain. Experts scored the appropriateness of the measures and ranked their priority in two consecutive online surveys. The scientific committee reviewed the Delphi results and developed the measures. A technical group from Universidad Francisco de Vitoria conducted and oversaw the Delphi method. Results: The Delphi method led to consensus on all 42 measures. The scientific committee used a prioritisation matrix to select 25 of these measures for evaluating quality of care in renal cancer. These measures regarded structure, process, and outcome and covered general management, diagnosis, treatment, follow-up, and evaluation of health outcomes. Easy-to-use index cards were developed for all 25 measures, including their definition, formula, acceptable level of attainment, and rationale. Conclusions: This manuscript aims to provide healthcare professionals with expert- and evidence-based measures that are useful for evaluating quality of care in renal cancer in Spain and cover all aspects and stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To review current measures for renal cancer care and develop a comprehensive and updated list of measures for their practical use in Spain. Methods: The study was developed by Fundación ECO, a Spanish foundation aiming to improve oncology quality of care. A systematic literature review was carried out to identify measures and knowledge gaps. A scientific committee composed of nine experts reviewed the literature findings and added measures. A preliminary list of 42 measures was evaluated with the Delphi method to gather feedback from 47 medical oncology experts in Spain. Experts scored the appropriateness of the measures and ranked their priority in two consecutive online surveys. The scientific committee reviewed the Delphi results and developed the measures. A technical group from Universidad Francisco de Vitoria conducted and oversaw the Delphi method. Results: The Delphi method led to consensus on all 42 measures. The scientific committee used a prioritisation matrix to select 25 of these measures for evaluating quality of care in renal cancer. These measures regarded structure, process, and outcome and covered general management, diagnosis, treatment, follow-up, and evaluation of health outcomes. Easy-to-use index cards were developed for all 25 measures, including their definition, formula, acceptable level of attainment, and rationale. Conclusions: This manuscript aims to provide healthcare professionals with expert- and evidence-based measures that are useful for evaluating quality of care in renal cancer in Spain and cover all aspects and stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The purpose of this investigation was to explore patients' and oncologists' preferences for the characteristics of a pharmacological regimen for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC). Material and Methods: Cross-sectional observational study based on a discrete choice experiment (DCE) conducted in Spain. A literature review, a focus group with oncologists and interviews with patients informed the DCE design. Five attributes were included: progression survival gain, risk of serious adverse events (SAEs), health-related quality of life (HRQoL), administration mode, and treatment cost. Preferences were analyzed using a mixed-logit model to estimate relative importance (RI) of attributes (importance of an attribute in relation to all others), which was compared between aRCC patients and oncologists treating aRCC. Willingness to pay (WTP, payer: health system) for a benefit in survival or in risk reduction and maximum acceptable risk (MAR) in SAEs for improving survival were estimated from the DCE. Subgroup analyses were performed to identify factors that influence preference. Results: A total of 105 patients with aRCC (77.1% male, mean age 65.9 years [SD: 10.4], mean time since RCC diagnosis 6.3 years [SD: 6.1]) and 67 oncologists (52.2% male, mean age 41.9 years [SD: 8.4], mean duration of experience in RCC 10.2 years [SD: 7.5]) participated in the study. The most important attribute for patients and oncologists was survival gain (RI: 43.6% vs. 54.7% respectively, p<0.05), followed by HRQoL (RI: 35.5% vs. 18.0%, respectively, p<0.05). MAR for SAEs was higher among oncologists than patients, while WTP (for the health system) was higher for patients. Differences in preferences were found according to time since diagnosis and education level (patients) or length of professional experience (oncologists). Conclusion: Patients' and oncologists' preferences for aRCC treatment are determined mainly by the efficacy (survival gain) but also by the HRQoL provided. The results of the study can help to inform decision-making in the selection of appropriate aRCC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identification of anaplastic lymphoma receptor tyrosine kinase (ALK) gene rearrangements is a standard diagnostic test in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The current study describes the experience of ALK rearrangement detection of a referral center in the public health care system of Galicia in North-Western Spain. The fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) patterns of the ALK gene and the clinical and pathological features of these patients are reported. This study is also of interest for comparative purposes due to the relative geographical isolation of the area, which could have contributed to particular genetic features. A total of 2,045 tissue samples from NSCLC patients were collected between October 2010 and July 2015 and tested for ALK rearrangements by FISH. Examination of 1,686 paraffin-embedded tissue specimens and 395 cytological samples (306 cell block preparations and 53 cytological smears) was conducted, and any associations between the FISH results and clinicopathological features were assessed. The rate of successful evaluation was marginally higher in tissue samples than in cytological samples (92.9% vs. 84.1%); this difference was not significant. ALK rearrangements were identified in 82 patients(4%): 65 (79.3%) in tissue specimens, 15 (18.3%) in cell block samples and 2 (2.4%) in cytological smears. This genetic translocation appeared to be associated with a non-smoking history, younger age, female gender, stage IV and adenocarcinoma histological type. The findings demonstrate that ALK evaluation by FISH is feasible in tissue and cytological samples. The clinical and pathological features of the ALK-positive series of patients are similar to those previously reported in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The impact of such recommendations after their implementation of guidelines has not usually been evaluated. Herein, we assessed the impact and compliance with the Spanish Oncology Genitourinary Group (SOGUG) Guidelines for toxicity management of targeted therapies in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) in daily clinical practice.Methods: Data on 407 mRCC patients who initiated first-line targeted therapy during the year before and the year after publication and implementation of the SOGUG guideline program were available from 34 Spanish Hospitals. Adherence to SOGUG Guidelines was assessed in every cycle.Results: Adverse event (AE) management was consistent with the Guidelines as a whole for 28.7% out of 966 post-implementation cycles compared with 23.1% out of 892 pre-implementation cycles (p = 0.006). Analysis of adherence by AE in non-compliant cycles showed significant changes in appropriate management of hypertension (33% pre-implementation vs. 44.5% post-implementation cycles; p < 0.0001), diarrhea (74.0% vs. 80.5%; p = 0.011) and dyslipemia (25.0% vs. 44.6%; p < 0.001).Conclusions: Slight but significant improvements in AE management were detected following the implementation of SOGUG recommendations. However, room for improvement in the management of AEs due to targeted agents still remains and could be the focus for further programs in this direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radionuclides have been widely used for cancer treatment. Recently, new research about radium-223 dichloride has been conducted in prostate cancer, which reveals that it is the first radiopharmaceutical to demonstrate an improvement in overall survival and time to first symptomatic skeletal event in patients with castration resistant prostate cancer with symptomatic bone metastases. This fact has created a new paradigm in the treatment of prostate cancer landscape, where only chemotherapy and hormone therapy had a role, while β-emitters had been confined exclusively to the role of pain relief with no impact on survival. The aim of this review is to outline current treatment approaches for advanced prostate cancer with a focus on the role of radium-223 dichloride, reviewing patients' profile that make them suitable to therapy and chances for further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination of programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) inhibitors with chemotherapy has emerged as a promising therapeutic option for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the efficacy of the combined strategy in this setting. For this purpose, we performed a literature search of randomized controlled trials comparing PD-(L)1 inhibitors plus platinum-based chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone in stage IV NSCLC patients. Seven clinical trials with 4562 patients were included. In the intention-to-treat wildtype population, PD-(L)1 inhibitor plus chemotherapy was significantly associated with improved progression-free survival (PFS) (Hazard ratio (HR) = 0.61, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.57–0.65, p < 0.001) and overall survival (OS) (HR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.67–0.86; p < 0.001) compared to chemotherapy. A significantly higher overall response rate (ORR) was also observed with the combined strategy (Odds ratio (OR) = 2.12, 95% CI: 1.70–2.63, p < 0.001). Furthermore, in all the analyzed subgroups, addition of PD-(L)1 inhibitors to chemotherapy significantly improved efficacy endpoints. Specifically, stratification according to PD-L1 expression revealed a benefit across all patients, regardless of their PFS status. In conclusion, PD-(L)1 blockade added to standard platinum-based chemotherapy significantly improved PFS, OS, and ORR in the up-front treatment of advanced NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pan-hypopituitarism is an unusual initial clinical presentation of metastatic stage breast cancer. Breast and lung cancers are the most frequent sites in women and in men associated with parasellar metastasis and hypothalamic invasion. Reported incidence of pituitary metastases is <5%. Treatment is, essentially, palliative and depends on the symptoms, the extent of the systemic disease, and the performance status of the patient. Prognosis is poor not only because the location of the metastasis but because of the aggressiveness of the primary neoplasia. We report, here, the case of a 59 year-old woman with a medical history that included breast cancer in 1989 and colon cancer in 1998. She was admitted to our hospital with general malaise and hypoglycaemia. Endocrine testing revealed pan-hypopituitarism, and magnetic resonance imaging showed thickening of the pituitary stalk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]