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Objective: Because elderly patients with ovarian cancer are underrepresented in randomized studies, this study aimed to expand our knowledge on the safety and effectiveness of frontline treatment with bevacizumab in combination with standard carboplatin and paclitaxel chemotherapy in patients aged 70 years and older with a diagnosis of Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IV ovarian cancer in routine clinical practice in Belgium., Methods: Patients aged 70 years and older with FIGO stage IV ovarian cancer were included in a multicenter, non-interventional prospective studyto evaluate the safety and effectiveness of treatment with bevacizumab in combination with frontline carboplatin and paclitaxel chemotherapy. Comprehensive geriatric assessments were performed at baseline and during treatment., Results: The most frequently reported adverse events for bevacizumab were hypertension (55%), epistaxis (32%) and proteinuria (21%). The Kaplan-Meier estimate of progression-free survival was 14.5 months. The results of the comprehensive geriatric assessments during treatment indicated a slight improvement in the geriatric eight health status screening tool score for general health status and the mini-nutritional assessment score for nutritional status. The median change from baseline score was close to zero for the instruments measuring independency, activity of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living, and for the mobility-tiredness test measuring self-perceived fatigue., Conclusions: No new safety signals were registered in this study in patients aged 70 years and older treated with bevacizumab and frontline carboplatin and paclitaxel for FIGO stage IV ovarian cancer. Elderly patients should not be excluded from treatment for advanced ovarian cancer based on age alone., Eu Pas Register: ENCEPP/SDPP/13849., Clinicaltrialsgov Identifier: NCT02393898., Competing Interests: Competing interests: IV reports consulting: for Agenus (2021), Aksebio (2021), Amgen (Europe) GmbH (2019), AstraZeneca (2019-2022), Bristol Myers Squibb (2021), Clovis Oncology Inc. (2019-2019), Carrick Therapeutics (2019), Deciphera Pharmaceuticals (2020-2021), Eisai (2021), Elevar Therapeutics (2020), F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd (2019-2021), Genmab (2019-2021), GSK (2019-2021), Immunogen Inc. (2019-2022), Jazzpharma (2021-2022), Karyopharm (2021), Mersana (2020), Millennium Pharmaceuticals (2019), MSD (2019-2022), Novocure (2020-2022), Novartis (2021), Octimet Oncology NV (2019), Oncoinvent AS (2019-2022), Seagen (2021), Sotio a.s. (2019-2022), Verastem Oncology (2020), Zentalis (2020); Contracted Research (via KU Leuven) from Oncoinvent AS (2019-2020) and Genmab (2019); Grant or corporate sponsored research from Amgen (2019-2020) and Roche (2019); Accomodations, travel expenses (2019-2020) from Amgen, MSD, Tesaro, AstraZeneca and Roche. CV reports for the present publication study funding from Roche and support from Lutgart Opstaele from ANZ Medical Writing; Institutional Grant from MSD/Merck, Consultancy for Janssen-Cilag, Roche, GSK, Atheneum Partners, Astellas Pharma, MSD, BMS and Leo-Pharma, Presentation and advisory Boards: Janssens Cilag, Leo Pharma, Presentation: Bayer; Advisory Board: Merck MSD, GSK, Astrazeneca; Travel support from Roche and Pfizer. PV reports for the present publication support from Roche (medical writing and article processing charges; consulting fees from Astrazeneca and Roche, Participation on a data safety monitoring board or advisory board: Astrazeneca and Roche; unpaid leadership or fiduciary role: BSMO president 2019. MVS is employee of Roche NV. All other authors declared no conflicts of interest., (© IGCS and ESGO 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Objectives : This study evaluated the effect of lipegfilgrastim, a glycopegylated granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, used as primary (PP) or secondary prophylaxis (SP) on chemotherapy (CT) treatment modifications, as well as the incidence of CT-induced neutropenic events in adult patients receiving cytotoxic CT with or without biological therapy (BT) for solid and hematological tumors, in routine clinical practice. Other objectives were to characterize the population of lipegfilgrastim-treated cancer patients and safety assessment. Methods : This phase 4, prospective, observational study was conducted at 15 centers from Belgium and Luxembourg, between 2015 and 2017. Results : Of 139 patients, 82.7% had breast cancer and 54.7% were treated with dose-dense regimens. Most received lipegfilgrastim as PP (82.0%) and were at high-risk of febrile neutropenia (FN) (68.3%). FN and grade III/IV neutropenia were reported for 7.9% and 22.3% patients. Among 123 evaluated patients, CT/BT dose modifications were recorded for 33.3% (PP) and 52.4% (SP) of patients receiving lipegfilgrastim; dose reductions, followed by dose delays, were more frequent than omissions. Among 45 patients with dose modifications, FN was reported for 8.8% and 9.1% patients and grade IV neutropenia for 17.6% and 18.2% of patients when lipegfilgrastim was applied for PP and SP, respectively. Adverse events related to lipegfilgrastim occurred for 55 (39.6%) patients; bone pain and back pain were more frequent. Lipegfilgrastim-related serious adverse events were reported for 9 (6.5%) patients. Conclusion : Use of lipegfilgrastim in real-world settings resulted in limited CT dose modifications and low incidences of neutropenic events, with no new safety concerns arising.

Background/aim: A prospective non-randomized study was performed on 68 women who had recently undergone curative treatment (surgery +/- adjuvant radio/chemotherapy) for breast cancer., Patients and Methods: Patients were distributed into 2 subgroups, control (C) group (n=21) and experimental (E) group (n=47). The last group participated in a 12-week rehabilitation program associating physical activity and psychoeducational workshops, including management of stress, diet, and sleep disorders., Results: Despite the initial imbalance between the groups (patients from C group were older and had received less chemotherapy than those from the E group), at the end of the rehabilitation program, we observed a significant improvement in global health feeling and in objective physical tests (distance covered in 6 min and objective measures of ergospirometry), and a decrease in pathological fatigue, while these different items remained quite stable over time in the control group., Conclusion: It is suggested to recommend structured rehabilitation to any patient who does not have a contraindication to it. In addition, the scientific literature encourages us to extend the spectrum of oncological rehabilitation to pathologies other than breast cancer., (Copyright© 2020, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.)

The authors offered to 296 consecutive cancer patients aged > or = 70 to undergo a joint comprehensive geriatric and oncological assessment. After pluridisciplinary discussion, several reflections have emerged: the need in 15 - 32% of cases to reinforce the role of the paramedical staff; the correlation between age, low clinical indices, alteration of renal function as well as geriatric characteristics; 67% of evaluated cases presented a significant geriatric profile; recommendations for patients' management in relation to their pattern of frailty and health aging (standard, adapted or palliative treatment).