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Abstract Following chemotherapy and human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2)-targeted neoadjuvant therapy for HER2-positive early breast cancer, residual invasive breast cancer at surgery may be HER2-negative on retesting in some patients. We evaluated outcomes with T-DM1 and trastuzumab in patients randomized in the phase III KATHERINE trial based on HER2-positive central testing of the pre-treatment core biopsy with HER2-negative central testing on their corresponding surgical specimen after neoadjuvant treatment. In the 70/845 (8.3%) patients with HER2-negative residual disease on retesting at surgery, there were 11 IDFS events in the 42 trastuzumab-treated patients (26.2%) and none in the 28 T-DM1-treated patients, suggesting that T-DM1 should not be withheld in this patient population.

PURPOSEA nationwide lockdown was enforced in Brazil starting in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic when cancer screening activities were reduced. In this study, we evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on breast cancer (BC) diagnosis.METHODSWe extracted data from the medical records of patients age older than 18 years who were diagnosed with BC and started treatment or follow-up in private oncology institutions in Brazil between 2018 and 2021. The primary objective was to compare the stage distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021) with a historical prepandemic control cohort (2018-2019). Early BC was defined as stage I-II and advanced disease as stage IV.RESULTSWe collected data for 11,753 patients with an initial diagnosis of BC, with 6,493 patients in the pandemic (2020-2021) and 5,260 patients in the prepandemic period (2018-2019). We observed a lower prevalence of early-stage BC (63.6% v 68.4%) and a higher prevalence of advanced-stage BC (16.9 v 12.7%), after the onset of the pandemic (both P < .01). This pattern was similar for both estrogen receptor–positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2–negative and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2–positive tumors: significantly decreased in the early stage from 69% to 67% and 68% to 58%, respectively, and a considerable increase in advanced-stage disease from 13% to 15% and 13% to 20%, respectively. For triple-negative BC, there was a significantly higher percentage of patients with advanced-stage disease during the pandemic (17% v 11%). Overall, age 50 years or older and postmenopausal status were associated with a greater risk of advanced stage at diagnosis during the pandemic period.CONCLUSIONWe observed a substantial increase in the number of cases of advanced-stage BC in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: Radiation therapy (RT) is frequently used for post-operative treatment in breast cancer (BC) patients who received preoperative systemic therapy (PST) and surgery. Nevertheless, the optimal timing to start RT is unclear. Material and methods: Data from BC patients who underwent chemotherapy as PST, breast surgery and RT at 3 Institutions in Brazil and Canada from 2008 to 2014 were evaluated. Patients were classified into three groups regarding to the time to initiation of RT after surgery: 16 weeks. Results: A total of 1029 women were included, most of them (59.1%; N = 608) had clinical stage III. One hundred and forty-one patients initiated RT within 8 weeks, 663 between 8 and 16 weeks and 225 beyond 16 weeks from surgery. With a median follow-up of 32 months, no differences in disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival and locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRRFS) were observed of time to indicated RT (16 weeks). However, in luminal subtype patients (46.5%; N = 478), initiation of RT up to 8 weeks after surgery was associated with better LRRFS (16 weeks: HR 0.22; 95%CI 0.05–0.86; p = 0.03), with a tendency to a better DFS (16 weeks: HR 0.50; 95%CI 0.25–1.00). Conclusion: RT initiated up to 8 weeks after surgery was related to better LRRFS in luminal BC patients who underwent PST. Our results suggest that early start of RT is important for these patients.

After more than two decades of intensive research, tremendous progress has been achieved in the management of Human Epidermal Receptor-2 overexpressing (Her2+) Early Breast Cancer (EBC). In the latest years, major clinical trials have explored the neoadjuvant scenario, in addition to the prognostic role of pathologic complete response (pCR) and the possibility of a ‘tumor biology-driven’ patient selection provided by the assessment pathologic response. However, the introduction of new agents has been a major burden for financially-constrained healthcare systems–which includes those from most emerging markets (currently representing 85% of the world population) but also, to some extent, public systems from welfare states. This manuscript addresses evidence-based opportunities to promote a more rational utilization of the available resources in Her2+ EBC, in addition to areas of interest for future research in cost-efficiency.

PURPOSE: Physicians rarely receive formal training in leadership skills. Çitaku and colleagues have identified a set of leadership competencies (LCs) providing validity evidence in North American (NA) and European Union (EU) medical education institutions. We aim to apply this same survey to a sample of Latin American (LA) medical leaders from the oncology community and related areas, compare the results with those of the previous survey, and perform subgroup analyses within the LA cohort. METHODS: The survey was sent to nearly 8,000 physicians of participating professional organizations. In addition to the 63 questions, we also collected data on the type of institution, country, specialty, sex, age, years of experience in oncology, and leadership position. RESULTS: The 217 LA respondents placed the highest value on task management competencies (91.37% reported these as important or very important v 87.0% of NA/EU respondents; P < .0001), followed by self-management (87.45% of LA respondents v 87.55% of NA/EU respondents; P = not significant [NS]), social responsibility (86.83% of LA respondents v 87.48% of NA/EU respondents; P = NS), innovation (86.69% of LA respondents v 85.31% of NA/EU respondents; P = NS), and leading others (83.31% of LA respondents v 84.71% of NA/EU respondents; P = NS). Social responsibility, which was first in importance in the NA/EU survey, was only third in the LA survey. Subgroup analyses showed significant variations in the ratings of specific LCs within the LA population. CONCLUSION: LCs valued by LA leaders somewhat differ from those valued by their NA and EU counterparts, implying that cultural aspects might influence the perception of desired LCs. We also detected variations in the responses within the LA population. Our data indicate that current physician leadership training programs should be tailored to suit specific needs and cultural aspects of each region. Further validity studies of this instrument with other samples and cultures are warranted.

Abstract Metronomic therapy has been gaining importance in the neoadjuvant setting of breast cancer treatment. Its clinical benefits may involve antiangiogenic machinery. Cancer cells induce angiogenesis to support tumor growth by secreting factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). In breast cancer, Trastuzumab (TZM) based treatment is of key importance and is believed to reduce diameter and volume of blood vessels as well as vascular permeability. Here in we investigated serum levels of angiogenic factors VEGF and MCSF in patients receiving metronomic neoadjuvant therapy with or without TZM. We observed in HER2+ cohort stable levels of MCSF through treatment, whereas VEGF trend was of decreasing levels. In HER2- cohort we observed increasing levels of MCSF and VEGF trend. Overall, HER2+ patients had better pathological response to treatment. These findings suggest that angiogenic pathway may be involved in TZM anti-tumoral effect in the neoadjuvant setting.

Rare tumors, when considered as a group, represent a significant burden to society as they may account for up to 25% of the mortality by cancer in nations like the United States. In contrast with the current scenario in highly incident cancer types, little progress has been achieved in the treatment of the most rare cancers. The reasons for this apparent stagnation are mostly intrinsic to logistical difficulties in performing large clinical trials in rare diseases and will be addressed further in this article. Because both cancer incidence and clinical research are booming in emerging nations, we also aim to address the current and future role of these countries in research and the drug development process in rare tumor types.