Search

Cancers of unknown primary (CUP) are histologically proven metastatic malignant tumors without an identified primary site before treatment. The common characteristics are early dissemination, lower response to chemotherapy and poor prognosis with short life expectancy. Treatment was directed according to the presence of localized or disseminated disease. The most frequent site of metastasis is the liver, which is a suitable target organ for arterial-directed therapies. We report a case of 53-year-old woman who was diagnosed with CUP and suspected with intracellular cholangiocellular carcinoma (ICC), presented with a very large, unresectable, chemotherapy-refractory hepatic mass and treated with transarterial chemoembolization and transarterial radioembolization and surprisingly followed for 48 months with minimally progressive and stable disease. Arterial-directed therapies, an important therapeutic option in unresectable liver tumors, can provide survival benefit even for ICC and CUP which are very large in size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study is to clarify the relationship between recurrence risk of breast cancer and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphisms. Patients and methods: Breast cancer patients who had undergone surgery in Gaziantep University Oncology Hospital between June 2005 and June 2012 were followed-up and retrospectively enrolled in this study. Blood samples were collected from all patients to assess MTHFR C677T polymorphisms. Stage according to tumor-node-metastasis system, estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 status, grade of disease, menopausal status, and administered chemotherapy or hormonal therapy were recorded. Effects of these parameters on recurrence risk were evaluated using univariate analysis and multivariate binary logistic regression model. Results: Association of MTHFR C677T polymorphisms with recurrence risk was evaluated in 298 patients whose median age was 47 years (range: 21-79 years). In all patients, age (odds ratio [OR] =0.953, P=0.005) and N3 lymph node status (OR =6.293, P=0.001) were found to affect the recurrence risk. While MTHFR homozygote genotype did not have an effect on recurrence risk in all patients, increased risk was observed in lymph node-positive subgroup (OR =4.271; 95% CI 1.515-12.023; P=0.006). Adjusting for age, tumor size (T), and node status (N), MTHFR homozygote genotype had more statistically significant risk for recurrence (OR =3.255; 95% CI 1.047-10.125; P=0.041). Conclusion: MTHFR TT genotype was found to be associated with increased recurrence risk in patients with lymph node-positive breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Interindividual variability of pharmacogenetics may account for unpredictable neurotoxicities of taxanes. Methods: From March 2011 to June 2015, female patients with operable breast cancer who had received docetaxel-or paclitaxel-containing adjuvant chemotherapy were included in this study. All patients were treated with single-agent paclitaxel intravenously (IV) 175 mg/m² every 3 weeks for four cycles, or IV 80 mg/m² weekly for 12 cycles, and IV 100 mg/m² docetaxel for four cycles as adjuvant treatment. We evaluated the relationship between neurotoxicity of taxanes and single-nucleotide polymorphisms of ABCB1, CYP3A4, ERCC1, ERCC2, FGFR4, TP53, ERBB2, and CYP2C8 genes. Taxane-induced neurotoxicity during the treatment was evaluated according to the National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria version 4.03 prior to each cycle. Chi-squared tests were used to compare the two groups, and multivariate binary logistic regression models were used for determining possible risk factors of neuropathy. Results: Pharmacogenetic analysis was performed in 219 females. ABCB1 3435 TT genotype had significantly higher risk for grade ≥2 neurotoxicity (odds ratio [OR]: 2.759, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.172-6.493, P: 0.017) compared to TC and CC genotype, and also CYP3A4 392 AA and AG genotype had significantly higher risk for grade ≥2 neurotoxicity (OR: 2.259, 95% CI: 1.033-4.941, P: 0.038) compared to GG genotype. For FDGF4 gene with AG and GG genotype, OR was 1.879 (95% CI: 1.001-3.525, P: 0.048) compared to AA genotype with regard to any grade of neuropathy risk. We could not find any other association of other genotypes with neurotoxicity grades. Conclusion: ABCB1 3435 TT genotype and CYP3A4 392 AA/AG genotypes may be used as predictors of neurotoxicity during taxane chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate whether the initial maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) on fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) has a prognostic significance in metastatic lung adenocarcinoma. Patients and methods: Sixty patients (24 females, mean age: 57.9±12 years) with metastatic stage lung adenocarcinoma who used erlotinib and underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT at the time of diagnosis between May 2010 and May 2014 were enrolled in this retrospective study. The patients were stratified according to the median SUVmax value, which was found as 11. Progression-free survival (PFS) rates for 3, 6, and 12 months were examined for SUVmax values and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation status. Results: The number of EGFR-sensitizing mutation positive/negative/unknown was 26/17/17, respectively, and the number of patients using erlotinib at first-line, second-line, and third-line therapy was 15, 31, and 14 consecutively. The PFS rates of EGFR mutation positive, negative, and unknown patients for 3 months were 73.1%, 35.3%, and 41.2% (P=0.026, odds ratio [OR]=4.39; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.45–13.26), respectively. The PFS rates of EGFR positive, negative, and unknown patients for 6 months were 50%, 29.4%, and 29.4% (P=0.267, OR: 2.4; 95% CI: 0.82–6.96), respectively. The PFS rates of EGFR positive, negative, and unknown patients for 12 months were 42.3%, 29.4%, 23.5% (P=0.408, OR: 2.0; 95% CI: 0.42–5.26), respectively. Thirty-one of 60 patients had SUVmax values ≤11. The PFS rates for 3, 6, and 12 months were 70.5%/28% (P=0.001, OR=9.0; 95% CI: 2.79–29.04), 61.7%/8% (P<0.001, OR=28.35; 95% CI: 5.5–143), and 52.9%/8% (P<0.001, OR=18.69; 95% CI: 3.76–92.9) for low SUVmax (≤11) group/high SUVmax (>11) group, respectively. Conclusion: Initial SUVmax value on 18F-FDG PET/CT is found to be a prognostic factor anticipating the response to erlotinib for 3, 6, and 12-month rates of PFS in both EGFR-sensitizing mutation and wild-type tumor group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]