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Timely and successful drug development for rare cancer populations, such as pediatric oncology, requires consolidated efforts in the spirit of shared responsibility. In order to advance tailored development efforts, the concept of multistakeholder Strategy Forum involving industry, academia, patient organizations, and regulators has been developed. In this study, we review the first five pediatric oncology Strategy Forums co-organized by the European Medicines Agency between 2017 and 2020, reflecting on the outcomes and the evolution of the concept over time and providing an outline of how a "safe space" for multistakeholder engagement facilitated by regulators could be of potential value beyond pediatric oncology drug development.

The third multistakeholder Paediatric Strategy Forum organised by ACCELERATE and the European Medicines Agency focused on immune checkpoint inhibitors for use in combination therapy in children and adolescents. As immune checkpoint inhibitors, both as monotherapy and in combinations have shown impressive success in some adult malignancies and early phase trials in children of single agent checkpoint inhibitors have now been completed, it seemed an appropriate time to consider opportunities for paediatric studies of checkpoint inhibitors used in combination. Among paediatric patients, early clinical studies of checkpoint inhibitors used as monotherapy have demonstrated a high rate of activity, including complete responses, in Hodgkin lymphoma and hypermutant paediatric tumours. Activity has been very limited, however, in more common malignancies of childhood and adolescence. Furthermore, apart from tumour mutational burden, no other predictive biomarker for monotherapy activity in paediatric tumours has been identified. Based on these observations, there is collective agreement that there is no scientific rationale for children to be enrolled in new monotherapy trials of additional checkpoint inhibitors with the same mechanism of action of agents already studied (e.g. anti-PD1, anti-PDL1 anti-CTLA-4) unless additional scientific knowledge supporting a different approach becomes available. This shared perspective, based on scientific evidence and supported by paediatric oncology cooperative groups, should inform companies on whether a paediatric development plan is justified. This could then be proposed to regulators through the available regulatory tools. Generally, an academic-industry consensus on the scientific merits of a proposal before submission of a paediatric investigational plan would be of great benefit to determine which studies have the highest probability of generating new insights. There is already a rationale for the evaluation of combinations of checkpoint inhibitors with other agents in paediatric Hodgkin lymphoma and hypermutated tumours in view of the activity shown as single agents. In paediatric tumours where no single agent activity has been observed in multiple clinical trials of anti-PD1, anti-PDL1 and anti-CTLA-4 agents as monotherapy, combinations of checkpoint inhibitors with other treatment modalities should be explored when a scientific rationale indicates that they could be efficacious in paediatric cancers and not because these combinations are being evaluated in adults. Immunotherapy in the form of engineered proteins (e.g. monoclonal antibodies and T cell engaging agents) and cellular products (e.g. CAR T cells) has great therapeutic potential for benefit in paediatric cancer. The major challenge for developing checkpoint inhibitors for paediatric cancers is the lack of neoantigens (based on mutations) and corresponding antigen-specific T cells. Progress critically depends on understanding the immune macroenvironment and microenvironment and the ability of the adaptive immune system to recognise paediatric cancers in the absence of high neoantigen burden. Future clinical studies of checkpoint inhibitors in children need to build upon strong biological hypotheses that take into account the distinctive immunobiology of childhood cancers in comparison to that of checkpoint inhibitor responsive adult cancers. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Inflammation and immune response play an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. In this prospective study we tested the hypothesis of whether polymorphic variations in the NOD2/CARD15 gene may influence the risk of developing clinically evident coronary artery disease (CAD). ARG702TRP, GLY908ARG, and Leu1007fsinsC NOD2/CARD15 polymorphisms were analyzed in 109 consecutive patients with angiographically documented CAD and in 109 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. The ARG702TRP, GLY908ARG, and Leu1007fsinsC polymorphisms were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction digestion. The prevalence of the Leu1007fsinsC polymorphism was significantly increased in CAD patients compared with controls (11.9% vs 1.8%; odds ratios (OR) 7.2, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.5-32.9; p = 0.01), especially in those presenting with an acute coronary syndrome (OR 5.7; 95% CI 1.1-39.7; p = 0.034 vs stable angina). In CAD patients the frequency of GLY908ARG polymorphism was significantly lower (1.8% vs 6.4% in controls; OR 0.05, 95% CI 0.01-0.69; p = 0.031, at multivariable analysis) and the prevalence of the ARG702TRP polymorphism was higher compared with controls (10.1% vs 3.7%; OR 2.9, 95% CI 0.91-9.6; p = 0.07). We report in a Caucasian population that NOD2/CARD15 polymorphisms influence the development of clinically evident and angiographically documented coronary artery disease. In particular, the Leu1007fsinsC polymorphism was associated with an increased risk of clinically evident and angiographically documented coronary atherosclerosis and clinical destabilization of coronary plaques, whereas the GLY908ARG polymorphism demonstrated a protective effect on coronary atherogenesis. These correlations were independent of cardiovascular risk factors at multivariable analysis. These findings may contribute to the identification of a novel genetic approach for the stratification of cardiovascular risk profile.

Background: KRAS wild-type mutational status is necessary but not sufficient to get benefit from epidermal growth factor receptor inhibition. Predictive markers are currently being evaluated. In this study, we investigated early hypomagnesemia as a predictor of efficacy and outcome in terms of time to progression (TtP) and overall survival (OS) in a cohort of patients affected by advanced colorectal adenocarcinoma KRAS wild-type cetuximab-treated. Patients and methods: One hundred and forty-three patients affected by stage IV colorectal adenocarcinoma KRAS wild type receiving cetuximab + irinotecan (CTX+IRI) as third-line anticancer treatment and resistant to oxaliplatin- and irinotecan-based chemotherapy were retrospectively included. Magnesium plasma levels were measured before the first day and 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after CTX+IRI infusion. Results: The median magnesium basal value showed a statistically significant decrease after the start of CTX+IRI treatment (at 28 days, P 50% compared with the basal level had a higher tumor response rate (55.8% versus 16.7%, P < 0.0001), a longer TtP (6.3 versus 3.6, P < 0.0001) and a longer median OS (11.0 versus 8.1, P = 0.002). Conclusions: We have shown that early hypomagnesemia could be a predictor of efficacy and outcome in those patients. Magnesium circulating level is an easy and inexpensive biomarker to routinely be detected in patients treated with cetuximab.

This system constituted of the Receptor Activator of nuclear Factor-kB Ligand (RANKL), the Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor-kB (RANK) and by the decoy Receptor Osteoprotegerin (OPG) plays a central role in bone resorption. Denosumab (AMG 162) is an investigational fully human monoclonal antibody with a high affinity and specificity for RANKL.This review will critically describe and discuss the recent results of clinical trial investigating denosumab in different settings of medical oncology. In particular, we will report the recently published data of clinical trials investigating denosumab in prevention of cancer treatment induced bone loss (CTIBL), in prevention of skeletal related events (SREs) in bone metastatic patients and the ongoing studies in prevention of disease recurrence in the adjuvant setting of solid tumours. The clinical data that will be reported in this review represent the first step in a path that will conduct us to explore new horizons in the field of bone health care in cancer patients.

Bisphosphonate therapy has become a standard of therapy for patients with malignant bone disease. In vivo pre-clinical data suggest that bisphosphonates may exert an antitumor effect and preliminary clinical data show promising activity on metastatic disease in cancer patients. This review will describe the pre-clinical evidence of action of bisphosphonates on osteoclasts and tumor cells, in both in vitro and animal models. In addition, the effects of principal bisphosphonates on skeletal disease progression in patients with cancers in different sites, including breast cancer, prostate cancer and non-small cell lung cancer will be reported. The preliminary clinical data from retrospective trials on the effect of bisphosphonates on survival will be described and the ongoing adjuvant phase III trial will be analyzed. This review will describe the preliminary clinical evidences from prospective studies on the effect of zoledronic acid treatment on the prevention of bone metastases.

Quality by design (QbD) is an innovative approach to drug development that has started to be implemented into the regulatory framework, but currently mainly for chemical drugs. The recent marketing authorization of the first monoclonal antibody developed using extensive QbD concepts in the European Union paves the way for future further regulatory approvals of complex products employing this cutting-edge technological concept. In this paper, we report and comment on insights and lessons learnt from the non-public discussions in the European Medicines Agency's Biologicals Working Party and Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use on the key issues during evaluation related to the implementation of an extensive QbD approach for biotechnology-derived medicinal products. Sharing these insights could prove useful for future developments in QbD for biotech products in general and monoclonal antibodies in particular.

In this study, we evaluated the prevalence and association with thrombosis and/or thrombocytopenia of IgG and IgM antibodies to cardiolipin (aCL), phosphatidic acid (aPA), phosphatidylinositol (aPI), phosphatidylserine, and beta(2)-glycoprotein I (abeta(2)-GPI) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Sera were obtained from 87 patients affected by SLE (77 of the 87 patients were females), 41 of them with a history of arterial and/or venous thrombosis. Antiphospholipid antibodies and abeta(2)-GPI were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. IgG-aCL, IgG-aPA, IgG-aPI, IgG-aPS, and IgG-abeta(2)-GPI were found in 53%, 37%, 32%, 38%, and 24% of patients, respectively. IgM-aCL, IgM-aPA, IgM-aPI, IgM-aPS, and IgM-abeta(2)-GPI were detected in 15%, 17%, 18%, 14%, and 16%, respectively. With respect to antibody titer, IgG-aCL strongly correlated with all other antiphospholipid antibodies and abeta(2)-GPI of IgG isotype. Thrombosis was significantly associated with IgG-aPA (p = 0.044), IgG-aPI (p = 0.038), IgG-aPS (p = 0.026), IgG-abeta(2)-GPI, IgM-aPA (p = 0.044), IgM-aPI (p = 0.024), and IgM-aPS (p = 0.01), irrespective of antibody titer, whereas IgG-aCL were associated with thrombosis and thrombocytopenia when taken at medium-high titer (p = 0.009 and p = 0.046, respectively). Our results confirm that, besides aCL and abeta(2)-GPI, other antibodies to negatively-charged phospholipids are present in a large percentage of patients with SLE. However, it remains doubtful whether these other antiphospolipid antibodies actually represent an important parameter predictive of thrombosis and thrombocytopenia in SLE.

Neuropsychiatric involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) is considered as one of the major manifestations of the disease. Epilepsy has been documented in about 10% of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). It is well known that vascular damage in SLE occurs because of multiple mechanisms including hypercoagulation. It has been recently reported that in SLE patients raised levels of homocysteine are associated with arterial thrombosis. Hyperhomocysteinaemia is a condition due to both genetic and non-genetic factors. The most common genetic defect in homocysteine metabolism is a decreased activity of a common 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) variant (677C →T, a thermolabile form).In this paper we describe the epileptic manifestations in six out of 55 SLE patients. Seizures were the SLE onset symptom for three patients, appeared during the active disease in two cases, and occurred during a period of clinical remission in one patient. In all cases we documented the association of epilepsy with the MTHFR mutation: the homozygosity form was present in one case (16.7%), and heterozygosity in five cases (83.3%). Nevertheless, levels of homocysteine in plasma were in the normal range. Moreover, we found a decrease in the level of S protein values in one case, a high titre positivity of anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) (IgG and IgM) in three patients and low titre positivity (IgG) in one patient, and lupus anticoagulant (LAC) positivity in four cases.In conclusion, we believe that the abnormalities of coagulation present in our patients could be related to epileptogenesis or to an alteration of the seizure threshold.

Objective: To evaluate the association of IgG and IgM antibodies directed against different negatively charged phospholipids (that is, anticardiolipin (aCL), antiphosphatidylinositol, antiphosphatidylserine, and antiphosphatidic acid) and anti-β 2 -glycoprotein I (aβ 2 GPI), with Raynaud’s phenomenon in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods: Ninety three patients with SLE (81 female), 40 with and 53 without Raynaud’s phenomenon, were included in the study. IgG and IgM antiphospholipid antibodies and aβ 2 GPI were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Fifty patients (54%) were positive for IgG and/or IgM antibodies to one or more phospholipid antigens or to β 2 GPI. The prevalence of all autoantibodies evaluated, either IgG or IgM, was higher in patients without than in those with Raynaud’s phenomenon. A negative association was found between IgG aCL and Raynaud’s phenomenon (p=0.038), whereas autoantibodies other than aCL were not significantly associated with Raynaud’s phenomenon. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate no positive association between antiphospholipid antibodies and Raynaud’s phenomenon in SLE and indicate that measurement of anti-negatively charged phospholipid antibodies other than aCL is not useful as a serological marker predictive for Raynaud’s phenomenon.

The authors assessed the prevalence of neuropsychiatric manifestations occurring in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE), according to the American College of Rheumatology standardized definitions for NPSLE, and evaluated the relationship between NPSLE and antiphospholipid antibodies. Sixty-one consecutive SLE patients were studied. Neuropsychiatric manifestations consistent with the diagnosis of NPSLE occurred in 44 (72%). Patients with NPSLE showed significantly higher levels of anticardiolipin antibodies.

PML regulates a wide range of pathways involved in tumorigenesis, such as apoptosis, which is also one of the main mechanisms through which oxaliplatin and fluoropyrimidine exert their antineoplastic activity. The present study aims to investigate PML expression as a predictive factor of oxaliplatin/fluoropyrimidine therapy efficacy. Seventy-four metastatic colorectal cancer patients who received oxaliplatin/floropyrimidine-based first line therapy have been included in this retrospective study. PML expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry. PML down-regulation was detected in 39 (52.7%) patients (14 complete and 25 partial PML loss). RR was significantly lower (25.6%) in patients with PML down-regulation than in patients with preserved PML expression (60%) (P = 0.006). Median TTP was 5.5 months when PML was down-regulated versus 11.9 months in case of preserved PML expression (P

Many ErbB2-positive cancers may show intrinsic resistance, and the frequent development of acquired resistance to ErbB-targeted agents represents a substantial clinical problem. The constitutive NF-κB activation in some HER-2/neu positive breast cancer may represent a potential cause of resistance to trastuzumab therapy. Preclinical data revealed that 4-(N-Methyl-N- nitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK), the tobacco-specific nitrosamine is able to enhance NF-κB DNA binding activity and theoretically to increase the resistance to trastuzumab. Two hundred and forty-eight women with pathologically confirmed, uni- or bidimensionally measurable, HER-2-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) treated with trastuzumab-based therapy as first line combination for metastatic disease were considered eligible. For all included patients data on smoking habit were detectable from medical records. We retrospectively analysed the smoking habits of 248 MBC patients and correlated these habits with activity and efficacy of trastuzumab-based therapy. No statistically significant difference in terms of response rate (RR), time to progression (TTP) and overall survival (OS) was identified between smokers (former plus active smokers) and never smokers. Moreover, no statistically significant difference in terms of RR, TTP and OS was identified either comparing active smokers and former smokers. Moreover, we did not observed any significant statistical difference in terms of TTP and OS between smokers ≥10 cigarettes/day and ≤10 cigarettes/day. This study clearly showed lack of any correlation between cigarette smoking habit and both activity and efficacy of trastuzumab-based first line therapy in metastatic HER2/neu positive breast cancer patients. Copyright © 2011 Spandidos Publications Ltd. All rights reserved.

The key role of epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR) in tumorigenesis has been demonstrated in several cancer types, so recent clinical trials have investigated their activity/efficacy in different settings. Two different types of EGFR-targeted agents were developed: monoclonal antibodies such as cetuximab and panitumumab, and tyrosine kinase inhibitors, such as gefitinib and erlotinib. In this review, we summarize the preclinical rational of potential activity and the most important clinical trials evaluated anti-EGFR targeted agents in non-colorectal digestive cancer, both in monotherapy and in combination with other chemotherapeutic or targeted agents. Patient selection by use of biologic markers will identify which patients are more likely to respond, contributing to the successful use of these agents.

TO THE EDITOR: KRAS mutations have been implicated in the pathogenesis of numerous tumors and detected in approximately 40% to 45% of colorectal adenocarcinomas. The mutational status of KRAS has emerged as a predictive factor for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) undergoing treatment with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) –targeted therapy. In the clinical setting, a consistent correlation between presence of a KRAS mutation in codon 12 or 13 and lack of response to anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody therapy in mCRC patients has been described. 1-3 Based on these findings, anti-EGFR therapies were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, as well as the European Medicinal Agency, for use exclusively in patients with mCRC harboring KRAS wild-type status and in combination with irinotecan after progression or as first line with standard chemotherapy. Thus, KRAS mutational status actually represents a criterion to select patients who would benefit from anti-EGFR therapy. Point mutations in KRAS codons 12 and 13 represent two hotspots that include more than 95% of mutations in this gene. 4 Different methods forKRAS mutation analysis have been used in experimental settings or as part of clinical trials. Instead, in relation to KRAS mutational status for routine use, comparison of diverse techniques and their diagnostic applicability is being recently analyzed and needs further critical evaluation. Current international recommendations for KRAS mutational status detection advice well-established molecular assays use. 5 All of these tests have to be sensitive, specific, and reliable DNA-based assays. Among them, direct sequencing analysis and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are commonly used 5 whereas pyrosequencing has recently emerged as a new powerful sequencing methodology for single nucleotide polymorphism/mutation analysis. Direct sequencing method is able to detect all the mutations in KRAS gene but it has lower sensitivity compared with other methods. Real-time PCR uses oligonucleotide primers that bind specifically to the most common mutations in codons 12 and 13 and it is sufficiently sensitive to identify KRAS mutants represented at a relatively low frequency. The detection limit of these two methods is around 20% of the mutation rate. 6 The pyrosequencing-based assay detects KRAS mutations in codons 12, 13 and it is more sensitive than traditional sequencing methods or real-time PCR being able to detect mutation rate represented in fewer than 20% of the analyzed sample. Differences in detection limits and quantitation among KRAS testing platforms represent a relevant issue for pathologists to face with, since it is currently unknown what level of test sensitivity is unambiguously required to provide useful and predictive information in clinical practice. In our institution, pyrosequencing platform is routinely used to detectKRAS mutational status in patients with mCRC. We tested 100 consecutive patients and we observed a higher percentage, attested on more than 50% of KRAS mutated (codon 12/13) patients than that usually reported (40% to 45%). To explore this difference of approximately 20%, we retrospectively obtained archival tissue samples from patients previously resulted wild-type for KRAS codon 12/13 by real time-PCR. All these samples were reanalyzed by performing real time-PCR and pyrosequencing methods at the same time, in the same laboratory and in a blinded way. We aimed to identify the diagnostic and clinical implications in using the two methods in KRAS mutational status detection as mandatory criterion to select patients to receive anti-EGFR therapy. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor samples from 29 patients with primary colorectal adenocarcinomas KRAS wild type for codon 12/13 were identified. Other main selection criteria were: tumor tissue availability, clinical response (partial or complete response; taking into account the best clinical response according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors [RECIST]) after cetuximab irinotecan after progression on prior irinotecan-based therapy. Of 29 patients, three (10.3%) were identified as KRAS mutant in codon 12 G for 12D mutation by pyrosequencing whereas all of them were reconfirmedKRAS wild-type by real-time PCR. Consistent with the findings in the literature, mutations in codon 12 were far more common and all of them were G12D. All three patients who were mutant by pyrosequencing have been previously treated with anti-EGFR therapy according to wild-type status reported by real time-PCR. All of these patients with mutations showed partial response according to RECIST as best response during cetuximab-based chemotherapy. Moreover, the percentage of mutation rate at pyrosequencing resulted of 18.6%, 20.%, and 18.2%, respectively, which are under the general detection limit of real time-PCR. Our concerns are the clinical implications of using the most recent technologies in diagnostic routine for KRAS status detection. Until pyrosequencing introduction in diagnostic setting, the detection limit of the other molecular tests was not inferior to 20%. Our experience suggests that in those patients with low KRAS mutational rate by pyrosequencing ( 20%), critical clinical interpretation of the result is needed. The identification of a very low frequency of KRAS mutations in patients could not influence negatively tumor anti-EGFR response, as demonstrated by our three mutated responder patients. These observations would advise oncologists in considering critically pyrosequencing as routine diagnostic test to mandatory discriminate patients eligible to receive anti-EGFR therapy in clinical practice. Prospective studies using pyrosequencing are needed to evaluate the role of different percentages of mutated alleles in terms of response to anti-EGFR treatment in larger number of patients.

Bone metastases have a major impact on morbidity and on mortality in cancer patients. Despite its clinical relevance, metastasis remains the most poorly elucidated aspect of carcinogenesis. The biological mechanisms leading to bone metastasis establishment have been referred as " vicious circle," a complex network between cancer cells and the bone microenvironment. This review is aimed to underline the new molecular targets in bone metastases management other than bisphosphonates. Different pathways or molecules such as RANK/RANKL/OPG, cathepsin K, endothelin-1, Wnt/DKK1, Src have recently emerged as potential targets and nowadays preclinical and clinical trials are underway. The results from those in the advanced clinical phases are encouraging and underlined the need to design large randomised clinical trials to validate these results in the next future.Targeting the bone by preventing skeletal related events (SREs) and bone metastases has major clinical impact in improving survival in bone metastatic patients and in preventing disease relapse in adjuvant setting. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

Sir, Small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA) is a rare and aggressive tumour. SBA in the United States increased from 5.7 cases per million in 1973 to 7.3 cases per million in 2004 (Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER), 1973–2004 database; Jemal et al (2009). Surgery is the mainstay of treatment, even if chemotherapy in advanced disease has been associated with an increased survival. The most effective agents include 5-FU, irinotecan, platinum agents and gemcitabine (Fishman et al, 2006; Speranza et al, 2010). The molecular characterisation of this cancer could help to improve prognosis. Specifically, the frequency of KRAS gene mutations is similar than in colorectal cancer (Ari et al, 1997). The role of targeted therapy, specifically of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors, has never been investigated in patients with SBA. A recent report showed that a high percentage of tumours express both EGFR and VEGF-A suggesting that these patients could benefit from therapeutic strategies targeting EGFR and VEGF receptors (Overman et al, 2010). In our institution four patients with advanced SBA (three men and one woman) were enrolled to receive cetuximab in combination with chemotherapy. The primary site of disease was duodenum in two patients and jejunum in the other two patients. All patients had peritoneal carcinosis, whereas one presented also bone, abdominal lymph nodes and liver metastases. Cetuximab (250 mg mq−1, with a loading dose of 400 mg mq−1) was associated with CPT-11-based chemotherapy in first- (two patients) or second-line (two patients) therapy for metastatic disease. The patients previously treated progressed with folfiri during first-line chemotherapy. The median number of weekly cetuximab cycles was 14 (range: 8–28). One patient obtained a complete peritoneal response, two patients a partial peritoneal response and one patient stable disease in all the disease localisations. Two patients have a time to progression with cetuximab of 3 months, whereas the other two are still on cetuximab after 3 and 10 months. Two patients are still alive (overall survival of 7 and 17 months), the other two had an overall survival of 35 and 19 months. Treatment was well tolerated, with one patient presenting grade 3 neutropenia and grade 3 diarrhoea. Nobody needed to have a dose modification. In three patients KRAS status was tested, resulting in KRAS wild-type mutational status. The same patients presented a G2 skin rash, that was associated with the two partial responses and the complete response. Table 1 shows the main characteristics and the results. Table 1 Patients' characteristics and results obtained with cetuximab These case reports show that anti-EGFR therapy may have a role in SBA, especially in those patients harbouring a wild-type KRAS status. A prospective trial is needed to explore and to support these preliminary observations.

Cetuximab (IMC-C225, Erbitux ImClone Systems Inc, New York, NY) is a recombinant, human/mouse chimeric monoclonal antibody (MAb) that binds specifically to the extracellular domain of the human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) on both normal and tumor cells, and competitively inhibits the binding of epidermal growth factor (EGF) as well as other ligands. Cetuximab binding to the EGFR blocks phosphorylation and activation of receptor-associated kinases and their associated downstream signalling (MAPK, PI3K/Akt, Jak/Stat pathways) resulting in inhibition of many cellular processes such as induction of apoptosis, cell growth, decreased Matrix Metallo-Proteinase (MMPs) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production. Cetuximab is also able to display cytotoxic effect through antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). In vitro and in vivo experiments elucidated a wide range of biological properties attributed to cetuximab, these include: direct inhibition of EGFR tyrosine kinase activity, inhibition of cell cycle progression, inhibition of angiogenesis, invasion and metastatization processes, activation of pro-apoptotic molecules and synergic cytotoxicity effect with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Several studies have shown cetuximab is able to inhibit growth of EGFR-expressing tumor cells in vitro as well as in nude mice bearing xenografts of human cancer cell lines. Moreover, numerous clinical trials demonstrated cetuximab efficacy in different tumor types and it is approved by Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) for use in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) as single agent or in combination with chemotherapy, for locally/regionally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in combination with radiotherapy, and as monotherapy for recurrent/metastatic HNSCC after failing platinum-based chemotherapy. This review will illustrate pre-clinical and clinical data on biological properties of cetuximab focusing on the predictive markers of clinical response to this drug.

Bone metastases represent an important problem in the elderly. These patients are exposed to a higher risk of developing skeletal-related events (SREs) with a subsequent decrease in quality of life and survival. Bisphosphonates have demonstrated to reduce and delay the appearance of SREs and to improve the quality of life also in elderly bone metastatic patients. Moreover, in vitro and in vivo preclinical studies suggest that bisphosphonates exert direct as well as indirect antitumor effect. Interestingly, recent clinical data confirm these results in bone metastatic cancer patients. However, randomized trials restricted to elderly patients with metastatic bone disease and focused to evaluate survival benefits have not yet been planned even if elderly patients, especially multiple myeloma, prostate and lung cancer patients, have been often included in trials. This review will examine in detail the preclinical rationale for using bisphosphonates as anticancer agents in elderly patients and will critically explore the first retrospective and prospective clinical evidences of an increased survival in patients treated with bisphosphonates. Moreover, we will analyze the safety of bisphosphonates in elderly population and discuss the clinical recommendations expressed by the SIOG Society for the use of bisphosphonates in elderly patients. Randomized clinical trials to assess the role of bisphosphonate therapy in the adjuvant setting are currently in progress and will be described in this review. If the results of these ongoing clinical trials will be positive, the indications for bisphosphonates could increase, including also elderly patients.

Introduction: Magnesium plays a role in a large number of cellular metabolic reactions. Cetuximab is able to induce hypomagnesemia by interfering with magnesium (Mg2+) transport in the kidney. We designed this trial to investigate if Mg2+ serum level modifications may be related with clinical response and outcome in advanced colorectal cancer patients during treatment with cetuximab plus irinotecan. Experimental Design: Sixty-eight heavily pretreated metastatic colorectal cancer patients were evaluated for Mg2+ serum levels at the following time points: before; 6 hours; and 1, 7, 14, 21, 50, and 92 days after the start of treatment. Results: Basal Mg2+ median levels were significantly decreased just 7 days after the first anticancer infusion and progressively decreased from the 7th day onward, reaching the highest significance at the last time point (P < 0.0001). Twenty-five patients showed a reduction in median Mg2+ circulating levels of at least 20% within the 3rd week after the first infusion. Patients with this reduction showed a response rate of 64.0% versus 25.6% in the nonreduced Mg2+ group. The median time to progression was 6.0 versus 3.6 months in the reduced Mg2+ group and in that without reduction, respectively (P < 0.0001). Overall survival was longer in patients with Mg2+ reduction than in those without (10.7 versus 8.9 months). Conclusions: Our results confirm that cetuximab treatment may induce a reduction of Mg2+ circulating levels and offer the first evidence that Mg2+ reduction may represent a new predictive factor of efficacy in advanced colorectal cancer patients treated with cetuximab plus irinotecan.

Purpose: On the basis of stimulating data on animals reporting that weekly regimens of zoledronic acid (ZA) were effective in reducing skeletal tumor burden, we designed a study on humans to investigate the potential antiangiogenic role of a weekly low-dose therapy with ZA in patients with malignancies. Experimental Design: Twenty-six consecutive patients with advanced solid cancer and bone metastases received 1 mg of ZA every week for four times (days 1, 7, 14, and 21) followed by 4 mg of ZA with a standard 28-day schedule repeated thrice (days 28, 56, and 84). Patients were prospectively evaluated for circulating levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) just before the beginning of drug infusion (0) and again at 7, 14, 21, 28, 56, and 84 days after the first ZA infusion. Results: The median VEGF basal value showed an early statistically significant (P = 0.038) decrease 7 days after the first 1-mg infusion of ZA. This effect on VEGF-circulating levels persisted also after the following 1-mg infusions at 14 (P = 0.002), 21 (P = 0.001), and 28 days (P = 0.008). Interestingly, the decrease of VEGF-circulating levels persisted also at each programmed time point during the second phase of the study (ZA 4 mg every 4 weeks). No significant differences were recorded in platelet levels, WBC count, or hemoglobin concentration before and after each ZA infusion. Conclusions: In the present study, we report that a repeated low-dose therapy with ZA is able to induce an early significant and long-lasting decrease of VEGF levels in cancer patients.

Background: Bisphosphonate (BP) therapy has become a standard of therapy for patients with malignant bone disease. In vivo preclinical and preliminary clinical data indicate that BPs may prevent cancer treatment-induced bone loss and the onset of malignant bone disease in patients with early-stage cancer. Design: This review will describe the preclinical evidences of action of BPs on osteoclasts and tumor cells. In addition, the effects of principal BPs on skeletal disease progression in patients with breast cancer, prostate cancer, non-small-cell lung cancer and other cancers will be reported. The preliminary clinical data from retrospective trials on the effect of zoledronic acid (ZA) on survival will be described and the ongoing adjuvant phase III trial will be analyzed. Conclusions: This review will describe the preliminary clinical evidences from prospective studies on the effect of ZA treatment on the prevention of bone metastasis.

Bisphosphonate therapy has become a standard of therapy for patients with malignant bone disease. Moreover, in vivo preclinical and preliminary clinical data suggest that bisphosphonates may prevent cancer treatment-induced bone loss and the onset of malignant bone disease in patients with early-stage cancer. This comprehensive review critically reports the several preclinical evidences of action of bisphosphonates on osteoclasts, lymphocytes and tumour cells. In addition, all the clinical trials evaluating the effects of principal bisphosphonates on skeletal disease progression in patients with breast cancer, prostate cancer, non-small cell lung cancer and other cancers have been reported. Of the available bisphosphonates, intravenous zoledronic acid has demonstrated the broadest clinical activity and is actually approved for the treatment of bone metastases from any solid tumour in many countries. Renal safety is an important consideration for oncologists who are treating patients with bisphosphonates. This issue and the other topics relating to the safety of bisphosphonates are discussed in this review.

Objective To investigate the thrombotic tendency in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) by evaluating congenital or acquired abnormalities associated with an increased risk of venous and/or arterial thrombosis. Methods A total of 57 patients with SLE were included in the study. Twenty-one patients (37%) had a history of arterial and/or venous thrombosis and 36 patients (63%) did not have such a history. Sera from 50 healthy controls were examined. Protein C, protein S, antithrombin, D-dimer, fibrinogen, homocysteine, anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL), lupus anticoagulant (LAC), prothrombin G20210A, and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T gene mutation were evaluated. Results Protein C, antithrombin, fibrinogen, D-dimer, and homocysteine levels were significantly higher in patients with SLE than in controls. A prothrombin mutation was observed in 2 (4%) of 50 controls and in 6 (11%) of 57 patients. A significantly higher prevalence (P = 0.036) of MTHFR homozygous mutation was observed in patients with SLE (14 [25%] of 57) in comparison with controls (4 [8%] of 50). IgG-aCL and IgM-aCL levels were significantly higher in patients with SLE than in controls (P < 0.0001). The presence of medium-high (≥20 IgG phospholipid units/ml) IgG-aCL antibody titers was significantly higher (P = 0.005) in patients with thrombosis (11 [52%] of 21) than in patients without (5 [14%] of 36) thrombosis. LAC was present in 22 (38.5%) of 57 patients and in none of 50 controls. Conclusion In this study, we confirm the association between thrombosis and IgG-aCL at medium-high titers and suggest that the coexistence of other risk factors can affect the expression of thrombosis in patients with SLE.

Lactoferrin (LF) is a multifunctional iron-binding protein present in several mucosal secretions as well as in secondary granules of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN). Anti-LF antibodies, which belong to antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA), have been described in several immunomediated diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), with conflicting results regarding either their prevalence or clinical associations. We studied the prevalence and isotype distribution of anti-LF and their association with clinical manifestations, disease activity, and other autoantibodies in 97 patients (83 women) affected by SLE. Anti-LF were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Disease activity was assessed using the Systemic Lupus Activity Measure (SLAM). Cutoff for antibody positivity was set at three standard deviations (SD) above the mean optical density obtained in sera from 34 healthy subjects. Positive sera were arbitrarily subdivided into low (from >3 to 5 SD), medium (from >5 to 10 SD), and high (>10 SD) positive. IgG, IgM, and IgA anti-LF were detected in 53, 18, and 14 patients, respectively. IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4 anti-LF were demonstrated in 34, 10, 31, and 35 patients, respectively. IgG anti-LF at the medium/high level were found in 33 patients, correlated with disease activity (p = 0.017), anti-dsDNA (0.04), and anticardiolipin antibodies (p = 0.02) and were associated with Raynaud's phenomenon (p = 0.028), renal involvement (p = 0.007), serositis (p = 0.026), and history of thrombosis (p = 0.006). Anti-LF of IgM, IgA, or IgG subclass isotypes showed no correlation with clinical and serological findings. Our results demonstrate that anti-LF are frequently present in patients affected by SLE. IgG anti-LF at the medium/high level are associated with some clinical manifestations and other autoantibodies. However, it remains to be established whether anti-LF play a specific pathogenic role.

We report on a 26-year-old female affected by Noonan syndrome (NS), a congenital disorder characterized by various phenotypic features and congenital anomalies) associated with a variety of autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus, celiac disease, and Hashimoto thyroiditis. Autoimmunity is seldom described in NS and the association between this congenital disease and three autoimmune disorders has not been previously reported. Should the occurrence of autoimmune disorders in NS be confirmed, a relevant clinical and laboratory evaluation of NS patients should be performed in order to clarify whether the immune system involvement represents only an occasional event or is a feature of the disease.

1053 Background: Recently, it has been demonstrated that RANK is overexpressed in about 65% of primary breast tumors. Here we explored the clinical significance of RANK expression in early breast cancer. For this purpose we included in the study a series of early breast cancer primary tissues and correlated IHC RANK expression with skeletal clinical outcome. Methods: This study included 93 patients with breast cancer with complete clinicopathological information and up to 2 years of follow-up. Samples contained 15 lobular carcinomas and 77 ductal carcinomas; N0-1 versus N2-3: 63/29; HER2/neu ±/unknown: 25/55/13; sites of metastases: 16 patients only skeletal, 16 only visceral, 29 skeletal plus visceral, 32 without metastases. No patient was treated with neoadjuvant therapy. RANK protein expression was determined using immunohistochemistry. We considered RANK-positive patients when more than 50% of tumoral tissues was scored as grade 2 (intensity higher than internal control -macrophages-) or 3 (intensity ...

4106 Background: Magnesium plays a role in a large number of cellular metabolic reactions. Cetuximab is able to induce hypomagnesaemia by interfering with magnesium (Mg2+) transport in the kidney. ...

3558 Purpose: Recent data have demonstrated in preclinical tumor models an antiangiogenic and antitumor activity of low weekly doses of ZA. As a consequence, the purpose of this study was to confirm these data, evaluating in cancer patients the modifications in angiogenic cytokines levels following repeated weekly low doses of ZA. Experimental Design: 26 consecutive cancer patients with bone metastases treated, for the first time, with four weekly doses of 1 mg of ZA followed by standard doses (4 mg every 28 days) were prospectively evaluated for circulating levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) at different time points: just before and after 1, 7, 14, 21, 28, 56 and 84 days following the first disphosphonate infusion. Results: Basal serum VEGF median levels were significantly decreased just after 7 days (-29.7%) (with only one weekly infusion) (P=0.038), This significant decrease of circulating VEGF levels persisted 14(-33.2%), 21 (-39.4%), 28(-31.8%), 56(-33.6%) and 84(-27.9%) days after the first infusion (respectively, P=0.002, P=0.001, P=0.008, P=0.002, P=0.014). Conclusions: This study confirms, for the first time in humans, that weekly low doses of zoledronic acid could have antiangiogenic properties through a significant and long lasting decrease of VEGF serum levels. No significant financial relationships to disclose.