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PURPOSE Gastric cancer (GC) is the fourth most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Platinum agents and fluoropyrimidines are the main compounds used in the first-line setting for advanced GC. Given the activity of fluorouracil (FU) bolus, the PFL protocol, a chemotherapy regimen combining cisplatin, FU bolus, and leucovorin, was incorporated at the Brazilian National Cancer Institute, because this schedule does not require hospitalization or infusion pumps. This study aims to evaluate the outcomes of PFL in the first-line setting for patients with advanced GC. MATERIALS AND METHODS This was a retrospective cohort study evaluating patients with advanced GC treated in the first-line setting with cisplatin 80 mg/m2 on day 1 and FU bolus 400 mg/m2 plus leucovorin 20 mg/m2 on days 1, 8, 15, and 22 every 4 weeks, from January 2008 to December 2014. RESULTS A total of 109 patients were enrolled. The median number of cycles received per patient was four (one to 11). Complete responses were achieved in 6.4% and partial responses in 14.7%. Median progression-free survival was 6.3 months (95% CI, 5.08 to 7.58 months) and median overall survival was 8.3 months (95% CI, 6.79 to 9.87 months). Thirty-four (31.2%) patients were alive in 1 year. Grade 3 and 4 adverse events were experienced by 26.6% and 3.7% of patients, respectively, with dose reduction necessary in 9.1%. CONCLUSION PFL is active in advanced GC and could be an alternative for FU continuous infusion protocols in institutions with limited resources and/or low budget, which is the reality in many nations all over the world.

Gastrointestinal cancers are very common cancers with colorectal being the fourth most common type, gastric the sixth, and esophageal the tenth. Although recent advances have been made in management including incorporation of antiangiogenic, anti-EGFR, and anti-HER2 directed therapies, overall their prognosis remains poor. Anti-PD-1 therapy with nivolumab and pembrolizumab are licensed for advanced chemorefractory gastroesophageal cancer and many other checkpoint inhibitor therapies are being assessed alone and in combination in these diseases. One of the challenges posed in assessing response to immunotherapy treatment is the phenomenon of pseudoprogression. This phenomenon, which is well described in patients with malignant melanoma is most frequently described as a size increase of contrast enhancing lesions or appearance of new lesions that stabilize or reduce in size with time. Most other solid tumors have a low incidence of pseudoprogression although cases have been reported for lung, head, and neck cancer and a range of gliomas. Herein we present 6 cases of patients with gastrointestinal cancers who were treated with anti-PD1 (programmed cell death) and anti-PD-L1 (programmed cell death ligand-1) antibodies, and experience pseudoprogression.

Introduction: Immunotherapy has revolutionized the treatment of cancer. Given this growing success, at the same time, there are significant limitations and unanswered questions concerning response rates, duration of therapy, why some patients respond and others do not, and if combining different immune-agents would overcome this lack of response, increase the chance of success and postpone acquired resistance. Areas covered: The comprehension of how to properly modulate the immune pathways, the molecular and the immunological bases of the disease, will be fundamental to guide the development of therapeutic interventions and combinations that will be more suitable for treatment of cancer patients. In this review, we discuss the strategies of immunotherapy combinations in order to develop more effective immunotherapy programs, with a particular focus on melanoma and renal cancer patients, as well as the combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy. Expert Opinion: Given the complexity of immune activation, combinatorial approaches are needed, and due to the considerable variability in tumor biology across patients and tumor types, patient selection and biomarkers need to be further explored. In summary, combined therapies have shown promising success, but additional and continuous research to identify the safety, efficacy, optimal combination, dosage and timing are still required.

Objective Cervical cancer represents the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the fourth cause of cancer death in women worldwide. In the palliative scenario, the combination of paclitaxel and cisplatin is widely used. Carboplatin is also an active agent in cervical cancer, and its association with paclitaxel could represent a well-tolerated, less toxic, and effective therapeutic option. The objective of this study was to evaluate response rate, progression-free survival, overall survival, and toxicity of carboplatin and paclitaxel in first palliative line for cervical cancer. Methods A retrospective search of database at Brazilian National Cancer Institute was performed, and all patients with persistent/recurrent and advanced cervical cancer treated with paclitaxel and carboplatin in first palliative line, between August 2008 and January 2010, were included. Results A total of 153 women were enrolled. Objective responses were documented in 34.6% (5.2% of complete responses and 29.4% of partial responses). With a median follow-up of 27.8 months, the median progression-free survival was 5.2 months, and the median overall survival was 10.63 months. The most common toxicity was myelosuppression: grades 3 and 4 anemia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia observed in 43.0%, 17.8%, and 9.2% of the cases, respectively. Neurotoxicity was presented by 30.7% of the patients. Renal toxicity was detected in 21.9% of the patients, but only 4.0% were grade 3, and none were grade 4. Conclusions This retrospective study has demonstrated that paclitaxel-carboplatin is an active and well-tolerated regimen for the treatment of advanced cervical cancer.

The treatment of advanced gynecologic cancers remains palliative in most of cases. Although systemic treatment has entered into the era of targeted drugs the antitumor efficacies of current therapies are still limited. In this context there is a great need for more active treatment and rationally designed targeted therapies. The PI3K/AKT/mTOR is a signaling pathway in mammal cells that coordinates important cell activities. It has a critical function in the survival, growth, and proliferation of malignant cells and was object of important research in the last two decades. The mTOR pathway emerges as an attractive therapeutic target in cancer because it serves as a convergence point for many growth stimuli and, through its downstream substrates, controls cellular processes that contribute to the initiation and maintenance of cancer. Aberrant PI3K-dependent signaling occurs frequently in a wide range of tumor types, including endometrial, cervical, and ovarian cancers. The present study reviewed the available evidence regarding the potential impact of some mTOR pathway inhibitors in the treatment of gynecological cancer. Few advances in medical management have occurred in recent years in the treatment of advanced or recurrent gynecological malignancies, and a poor prognosis remains. Rationally designed molecularly targeted therapy is an emerging and important option in this setting; then more investigation in PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway-targeted therapies is warranted.

Objective: Cervical cancer represents the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and is an important cause of death for women suffering with malignancies. Patients who are refractory or progressed after first-line palliative treatment have a dismal prognosis and no second-line chemotherapy is considered standard so far. Several agents have been investigated in this setting and topotecan is one of the most characterized. The objective of this study was to evaluate response rate (RR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and toxicity of topotecan in second palliative line for cervical cancer. Methods: An analysis was performed of all patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer treated with topotecan in second palliative line at Brazilian National Cancer Institute, between 2008 and 2010. Results: A total of 73 courses of topotecan were given in the current study (median: 3.5 cycles; range 1 - 6). Anemia was the most frequent adverse event (grade 2:35%; grade 3:30%). Of the 20 patients evaluable, there were 2 partial responders to the treatment. The overall response rate (ORR) was 10%; 3 patients (15%) had stable disease as maximum response. The median PFS for the entire group was 2.93 months (95% CI 2.41 - 3.45) and OS was 4.66 months (95% CI 1.21 - 8.11). Conclusion: The limited activity of topotecan schemas in second-line treatment of cervical cancer and the associated overall toxicity may not justify their use in this setting. Patients who progress after first-line treatment may be offered participation in clinical trials, other second-line agents or best supportive care measures.

Cervix cancer (CC) represents the fourth most common cancer in women. Treatment involving cisplatin and radiotherapy has been the standard for locally advanced disease. Everolimus inhibits the aberrant activity of mTOR that is part of carcinogenesis in CC. Further everolimus inactivates the HPV E7 oncoprotein and inhibits its proliferation. Preclinical models have suggested that everolimus sensitizes tumoral cells and vasculature to cisplatin and radiotherapy. In a 3 + 3 design, the trial aimed to treat three dose levels of at least three patients with daily doses of everolimus (2.5, 5 and 10 mg/day), cisplatin and radiotherapy delivered in a 9-week interval in CC patients, stage IIB, IIIA or IIIB. Patients received everolimus from day −7 up to the last day of brachytherapy. Primary objective was to evaluate safety, toxicity and the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD) of everolimus in association with cisplatin and radiotherapy. Pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters and response rates were analyzed as secondary objectives. Thirteen patients were enrolled, 6 at 2.5 mg, 3 at 5 mg and 4 at 10 mg. Four patients did not complete the planned schedule, 1 at 2.5 mg presented grade 4 acute renal failure interpreted as dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) and 3 at 10 mg: 1 with disease progression, and 2 with DLTs—1 grade 3 rash and 1 grade 4 neutropenia. PK results were characterized by dose-dependent increases in AUC and C max. The MTD of everolimus in combination with cisplatin and radiotherapy has been defined as 5 mg/day. The data regarding safety and response rates support further studies.

Cervical cancer represents the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the fourth cause of cancer death in women worldwide. Developing countries carry the biggest burden with approximately 76–85 % of cervical cancer. The most important factor for the development of this neoplasia is persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and the incidence of cervical cancer is related to the prevalence of HPV in the population. Squamous cell cervical cancer represents approximately 80 % of all cervical cancers and adenocarcinoma and its variations accounts for approximately 20 %. Staging is essentially a clinical evaluation. The FIGO staging procedures include colposcopy, biopsy; cystoscopy, proctosigmoidoscopy and chest radiograph, accordingly to the symptoms. The treatment for early-stage cervical cancer is either surgery or radiation therapy. Surgery is reserved for stages IA, IB1 and selected IIA1. Chemoradiation is the treatment of choice for stage IB2 to IVA and for patients who are not candidates for hysterectomy. For patients with metastatic disease (stage IVB), platinum-based chemotherapy is usually the first choice. Immunization against HPV is expected to prevent specific HPV cancer in women and more effective screening in developing countries will contribute for a significant decline in incidence and mortality of cervical cancer.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide among women, and, in developed countries, it is the leading cause of mortality among gynecological malignancies. With an overall cure rate of

9589 Background: Breast cancer is frequently associated with thromboembolic events (TEE). TEE may result in significant morbidity, a substantial economic burden and they represent a leading cause of death. Methods: We conducted a case-control study to analyze patients’ baseline and treatment characteristics in predicting TEE occurrence as well as the prognosis of breast cancer patients with thromboembolic events. We identified all breast cancer patients with a TEE at INCA (Brazilian National Cancer Institute), between January 2007 and December 2011. The control group consisted of breast cancer patients that had a doppler ultrasound with normal findings during the same period. Variables found to be significant (P