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Purpose The Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM, for its Spanish acronym) would like to attest to the relevance of training in Oncology as part of the undergraduate education in Medicine program and issue recommendations to improve said training, with the aim of responding better to the challenges that cancer poses to our society. Materials and methods The curricula of 42 schools of medicine were reviewed with interviews with at least one teaching medical oncologist from each faculty. The qualitative and opinion analysis was completed by means of an online questionnaire targeting lecturers, resident tutors, and residents in Medical Oncology (MO), enabling the detection of needs and areas for improvement at an organizational level and in terms of skill acquisition. Results While the number of medical schools with a specific, mandatory program in MO has grown by up to 90%, it has not been accompanied by an increase in independent programs. Instead, they largely consist of programs shared with other specialties (61% of the medical faculties). In most of the undergraduate education programs, Oncology contents are fragmented and approached from the perspective of each organ system. Conclusions Despite the positive evolution in recent years, the heterogeneity in Oncology contents during undergraduate education training continues to be remarkable. Cross-sectional programs with an integral vision, taught in the final years of undergraduate medical education would be desirable. Among the recommendations for improvement of training in Medical Oncology, the SEOM proposes that updated, theoretical content be incorporated and clinical practice in Medical Oncology departments be promoted, This study was funded as an unrestricted grant by Janssen

Background: The addition of H to chemotherapy improved disease outcome in HER2+ MBC. The combination of H and L with chemotherapy improved event free survival (EFS) in the neo-adjuvant setting but not in the adjuvant setting. However, improved EFS did not translate to overall survival benefit. This international trial (ICORG (CTRIAL-IE) 11-10/NCT01526369) compared the efficacy of TH vs. THL in first line treatment of HER2+ MBC. The primary aim of this study was to assess any benefit for the addition of L to TH in an advanced HER2+ breast cancer patient population. Target accrual was not met due to changes to standard of care mid-study. Methods: Patients (Pts) (n= 75 enrolled, randomized 1:1) received weekly T (80mg/m², for 3 weeks of a 4 week cycle) + H (8mg/kg loading dose on cycle 1 day 1 and 4mg/kg every 2 weeks) + L (1,000 mg daily)) until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity or consent withdrawal. The primary outcome measure was progression free survival (PFS). Secondary outcome measure was overall survival (OS). Eligibility criteria included: Female > 18 years, invasive MBC, measurable disease by RECIST criteria V1.1, HER2+ by testing of the primary tumour and if available the biopsied metastatic lesion. No prior systemic therapy for metastatic disease (except one line of hormonal therapy for metastatic disease without H). No recurrence within 12 months (mo) from completion of adjuvant chemotherapy to the development of metastatic disease. No recurrence within 6 mo from completion of adjuvant H to the development of metastatic disease and no prior L treatment. Results: Of the 75 pts enrolled, n=65 (TH n=34, THL n=31) were included in the PFS analysis. Median PFS (95% CI) was numerically higher, but not statistically significant, in THL (24.0 mo (9.5, 34.5)) vs TH (19.3 mo (8.7, 22.7)), HR 0.827, p= 0.601. For OS analysis, n=69 (TH n=35 and THL n=34) were included. 41/69 (59.4%) had no prior therapy. No statistically significant, clinically meaningful improvement in OS (Median (95% CI)) was observed (TH 53.8 mo (41.8, -) vs. THL 45.6 mo (29.7, -), HR 1.048, p=0.891). Analysis of the safety set (n=70 (TH n= 36, THL n=34)) revealed a higher incidence of Grade 3/4 AEs in THL (61.8%) vs. TH (50%), p=0.322. There were 2 on-treatment fatalities due to adverse events (AEs) in the THL arm, one due to respiratory failure, the other due to central nervous system metastasis. There were no on-treatment fatalities in the TH arm. GI disorders were the most prevalent AE, with the incidence of diarrhea significantly higher in the THL arm (88% vs. 42%, p Citation Format: John Crown, William Jacot, Denis M. Collins, Linda Coate, Anna Saetersdal, M John Kennedy, Catherine Kelly, Blanca Cantos Sanchez De Ibarguen, Raquel Andrés Conejero, Luis Costa, Margarida Brito, Maccon Keane, Pedro Sanchez Rovira, Miguel Martin, Miriam O'Connor, Manuel Ramos Vazquez, Elena Alvarez, Seamus O'Reilly, Johanna Mattson, Laura Jolis Lopez, Alvaro Rodriguez Lescure, Esperanza Blanco, Coralia Bueno Muino, Brian Moulton, Norma O'Donovan, Andres Hernando, Marc Nolan, Imelda Parker, Giuseppe Gullo, Bryan Hennessy. A phase III randomized study of paclitaxel (T) and trastuzumab (H) versus T, H and lapatinib (L) in first line treatment of HER2+ metastatic breast cancer (MBC) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr CT212.

Glioblastomas are highly resistant to radiation and chemotherapy. Currently, there are no effective therapies for this type of tumor. Signaling mechanisms initiated by PDGFR and IGF-1R are important in glioblastoma, and inhibition of the signal transduction pathways initiated by these receptors could be a useful alternative strategy for glioblastoma treatment. We have studied the effects of the PDGFR inhibitor JNJ-10198409 (JNJ) and the IGF-1R inhibitor picropodophyllin (PPP) in glioblastoma cell lines as well as in primary cultures derived from patients affected by this type of tumor. JNJ and PPP treatment blocked PDGFR and IGF-1R signaling respectively and reduced Akt and Erk 1/2 phosphorylation. Both inhibitors diminished cell proliferation, inducing a G2/M block of the cell cycle. Cell death induced by JNJ was caspase-dependent, Annexin-V positive and caused PARP cleavage, especially in T98 cells, suggesting an apoptotic mechanism. However, cell death induced by PPP was not completely inhibited by caspase inhibitors in all cell lines apart from LN-229 cells, indicating a caspase-independent mechanism. Several inhibitors targeted against different cell death pathways could not block this caspase-independent component, which may be a non-programmed necrotic mechanism. Apoptotic arrays performed in T98 and LN-229 cells upon JNJ and PPP treatment revealed that procaspase 3 levels were augmented by both drugs in T98 cells and only by JNJ in LN229-cells. Furthermore, XIAP and survivin levels were much higher in LN-229 cells than in T98 cells, revealing that LN-229 cells are more susceptible to undergo caspase-independent cell death mechanisms. JNJ and PPP combination was more effective than each treatment alone.

Purpose Capecitabine is an active drug in metastatic breast cancer (BC). GEICAM/2003-10 is an adjuvant trial to investigate the integration of capecitabine into a regimen of epirubicin and docetaxel for node-positive early BC. Patients and Methods Patients with operable node-positive BC (T1-3/N1-3) were eligible. After surgery, 1,384 patients were randomly assigned to receive epirubicin plus cyclophosphamide (EC; 90 and 600 mg/m2, respectively, × four cycles), followed by docetaxel (100 mg/m2 × four cycles; EC-T) or epirubicin plus docetaxel (ET; 90 and 75 mg/m2, respectively, × four cycles), followed by capecitabine (1,250 mg/m2 twice a day on days 1 to 14, × four cycles; ET-X); all regimens were given every 3 weeks. The primary end point was invasive disease-free survival. Secondary end points included safety (with an alopecia-specific study) and overall survival (OS). Results After a median follow-up of 6.6 years and 297 events, 86% of patients who received EC-T and 82% of those who received ET-X were invasive disease free at 5 years (hazard ratio, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.64; log-rank P = .03). The OS difference between arms was not statistically significant (hazard ratio, 1.13; 95% CI, 0.82 to 1.55; log-rank P = .46). The most frequent grade 3 to 4 adverse events in the EC-T versus ET-X arms were neutropenia (19% v 10%), with 7% febrile neutropenia across arms; fatigue (13% v 11%); diarrhea (3% v 11%); hand-foot syndrome (2% v 20%); mucositis (6% v 5%); vomiting (both, 5%); and myalgia (4.5% v 1%). Incomplete scalp hair recovery was more frequent in the EC-T than ET-X arm (30% v 14%), and patients who received EC-T wore wigs significantly longer than those who received ET-X (8.35 v 6.03 months). Conclusion Invasive disease-free survival, but not OS, was significantly superior for patients with node-positive early BC who received the adjuvant standard schedule EC-T than for those who received the experimental ET-X regimen. Toxicity profiles differed substantially across arms.

Background: Vertical dual blockade with L and T in heavily pretreated HER2+ MBC patients has shown consistent survival gain in a phase III trial (Blackwell KL et al. 2012), justifying an EMA approval for the hormone-negative subgroup. However, there is very limited information about the futility of the combination in clinical practice, mostly in patients progressing also on prior L regimens. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis among patients treated in Spain by compassionate uses for the combination of T-L. The study was approved by the regulatory authorities and ethics committees from the 14 participating centers. Major inclusion criteria were (1) HER2+ MBC; (2) progression on at least one prior line of T for advanced disease; and (3) T-L treatment started between JAN/2005 and DEC/2012. Concomitant endocrine therapy for HR+ patients as well as prior exposure to L was allowed. Chemotherapy combinations were excluded. A total of 111 patients were predefined for the primary outcome: clinical benefit rate (CBR). Secondary endpoints included time to progression (TTP), overall survival (OS) and toxicity. 114 women were included and externally monitored. Results: The median age was 60 years (34 - 89); 64% HR+; 77% visceral disease; 32% CNS disease (37 patients); 47% with ≥3 organs involved. Mean number of prior T lines 4 (range 0-13); 64% previously treated with L. A total of 40 patients (35%) achieved a CBR (95%CI 26–44%); 6 CR, 19 PR and 15 SD lasting >24 weeks. The median time to progression was 3.8 months (95%CI 3.3–5.1) and the median overall survival 21.6 months (95%CI 17.1–27.3). CBR, median TTP and median OS achieved in patients with CNS disease were 32.4% (95%CI 17.3–47.5%), 3.6 (95%CI 2.8–5.9) and 15.4 (95%CI 10.9–27.3) months, respectively. The CBR was independent of L treatment (41.5% L naïve vs. 31.5% L pretreated, p=0.285) and HR status (39% HR- vs. 32.9% HR+, p=0.509). Patients with Conclusions: The combination of T-L seems safe and active in heavily pretreated patients. The combination remains active among patients progressing on prior L. Future research may focus on the ability of endocrine therapy to increase activity among HER2+/HR+ patients. REFERENCES: 1 Blackwell KL, Burstein HJ, Storniolo AM, et al: Overall survival benefit with lapatinib in combination with trastuzumab for patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive metastatic breast cancer: final results from the EGF104900 Study. J Clin Oncol 2012;30(21):2585-2592. Citation Format: Joaquin Gavilá, Begoña Bermejo, Álvaro Rodríguez-Lescure, Juan Lao Romera, Luis Manso, Joan Brunet, Eva Muñoz, Marta Santisteban, César A Rodríguez, Ana Santaballa, Juan de la Haba, Pedro Sánchez-Rovira, Manuel Ruiz-Borrego, Jose Ángel García-Saenz, Javier Cortés, Antonio Llombart. TRASTYVERE study: A retrospective analysis of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients treated in Spain with lapatinib (L) plus trastuzumab (T) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2014 Dec 9-13; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(9 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-19-21.

Purpose. To determine intrinsic breast cancer subtypes represented within categories defined by quantitative hormone receptor (HR) and HER2 expression. Methods. We merged 1,557 cases from three randomized phase III trials into a single data set. These breast tumors were centrally reviewed in each trial for quantitative ER, PR, and HER2 expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC) stain and by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), with intrinsic subtyping by research-based PAM50 RT-qPCR assay. Results. Among 283 HER2-negative tumors with 10%) expression, only 69 (54%) were HER2-enriched and 55 (43%) were luminal (39 luminal B, 16 luminal A). Quantitative HR expression by RT-qPCR gave similar results. Regardless of methodology, basal-like cases seldom expressed ER/ESR1 or PR/PGR and were associated with the lowest expression level of HER2/ERBB2 relative to other subtypes. Conclusion. Significant discordance remains between clinical assay-defined subsets and intrinsic subtype. For identifying basal-like breast cancer, the optimal HR IHC cut point was

Resumen El ejercicio de una practica clinica basada en la evidencia exige unas competencias basicas para valorar e interpretar la literatura biomedica. En este articulo se revisan los puntos criticos para determinar la calidad de la evidencia global y formular recomendaciones.

Resumen El ejercicio de una practica clinica basada en la evidencia exige unas competencias basicas para valorar e interpretar la literatura biomedica. En este articulo se revisan los puntos criticos para determinar la validez de los resultados de un ensayo clinico, circunscribiendonos al ensayo ACOSOG-Z0011.

Purpose To determine the frequency of breast cancer (BC) patients with hereditary risk features in a wide retrospective cohort of patients in Spain. Methods a retrospective analysis was conducted from 10,638 BC patients diagnosed between 1998 and 2001 in the GEICAM registry ªElAÂ lamo IIIº, dividing them into four groups according to modified ESMO and SEOM hereditary cancer risk criteria: Sporadic breast cancer group (R0); Individual risk group (IR); Familial risk group (FR); Individual and familial risk group (IFR) with both individual and familial risk criteria. Results 7,641 patients were evaluable. Of them, 2,252 patients (29.5%) had at least one hereditary risk criteria, being subclassified in: FR 1.105 (14.5%), IR 970 (12.7%), IFR 177 (2.3%). There was a higher frequency of newly diagnosed metastatic patients in the IR group (5.1% vs 3.2%, p = 0.02). In contrast, in RO were lower proportion of big tumors (> T2) (43.8% vs 47.4%, p = 0.023), nodal involvement (43.4% vs 48.1%, p = 0.004) and lower histological grades (20.9% G3 for the R0 vs 29.8%) when compared to patients with any risk criteria. Conclusions Almost three out of ten BC patients have at least one hereditary risk cancer feature that would warrant further genetic counseling. Patients with hereditary cancer risk seems to be diagnosed with worse prognosis factors

1077 Background: In Spain there is limited prospective data for unresectable locally advanced breast cancer (ULABC) or metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients (pts) treated as per clinical practice. RegistEM study will provide epidemiological, pathological and clinical data, including treatments given for different disease stages. Understanding the real distribution of the different BC subtypes is the primary objective. Methods: This is a non-interventional cohort study enrolling approximately 1,400 pts with advanced disease diagnosed from January 2016 to December 2018, either after recurrence or as first diagnosis, in 38 Spanish sites. Biological samples (primary tumor, metastatic lesions, blood) are currently being collected. In this first analysis, we include 489 pts who met study criteria before October 31, 2017. All data are described in two subgroups: on the most recent tumor lesion or on the primary breast tumor. Results: At first diagnosis, 67.9%, 31.5% and 0.6% of pts had early BC (EBC), MBC and ULABC, respectively. In the total analysis population, median age at diagnosis of advanced disease was 59.6 years, most of pts were white (98.2%), female (99.4%) and postmenopausal (70%). Family history of BC and ovarian cancer was reported in 5.7% pts. In ~390 pts BC clinical subtypes distribution was luminal B(HER2-)-like (~55%), luminal B(HER2+)-like (~16%), luminal A-like or triple negative (TN) (~10% each) and HER2 enriched-like (~8%). Median time to recurrence (years) in EBC pts was: luminal A-like 5.8, luminal B(HER2-)-like 5.1, luminal B(HER2+)-like 3.9, HER2 enriched-like 2.7 and TN 1.7. Bone (59%), visceral (58%) and lymph node (27%) lesions were the most frequent metastatic locations. The two most frequent therapies in first line consisted in: endocrine therapy (ET) (47%) and ET+biological therapy (BT) (29%) for luminal A-like; ET (32%) and ET+BT (32%) for luminal B(HER2-)-like; chemotherapy (CT)+ET+BT (43%) and CT+BT (24%) for luminal B(HER2+)-like; CT+BT (68%) and CT (16%) for HER2 enriched-like; CT (59%) and CT+BT (34%) for TN. Conclusions: These first data confirm that luminal B (HER2-)-like subtype is the most predominant in MBC.

Background: Several prognostic multigene tests are available for the management of breast cancer patients, but so far there is little data available directly comparing the classification performance of different breast cancer tests in the same patient cohort. Here, we compared the prognostic performance of two second generation multigene tests in ER+/HER2- early node-positive breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy followed by endocrine therapy. Patients and methods: The EndoPredict (EP) score and two research laboratory-based versions of the PAM50 risk of recurrence (ROR based on subtype [ROR-S] and based on subtype and proliferation [ROR-P]) score were compared in 536 ER+/HER2- breast cancer patients who participated in the GEICAM/ 9906 trial. Patients had either been treated with fluorouracil, epirubicin, and cyclophosphamide (FEC) or with FEC followed by weekly paclitaxel (FEC-P), and endocrine therapy. ROR and EP scores were combined with clinical information to obtain the following hybrid scores as published before: a) ROR-T score (subtype and tumor size), b) ROR-PT score (subtype, proliferation and tumor size) scores, and c) EPclin score (EP Score plus tumor size and nodal status). Each patient was assigned to risk categories according to pre-specified cut-off levels for the scores. The primary endpoint was distant metastasis. Metastasis rates were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. C-index analysis was used to estimate the performance of the different scores. Results: The PAM50 ROR-S and ROR-P scores, and the EP score were prognostic in patients with ER+/HER2- tumors and consistently identified a low-risk group with a particular good outcome (10 year MFS rate - ROR-S: 81.7%, ROR-P: 82.9% and EP: 89.4%). Combining the molecular signatures with clinical information, improved the prognostic performance of all signatures (10 year MFS rate - ROR-T: 83.4%, ROR-PT: 87.3% and EPclin: 100%). All signatures added prognostic information to common clinical parameters. Among the signatures evaluated only EPclin added a significantly improved prediction of distant metastasis to ROR-T (p < 0.001) and ROR-PT (p < 0.001), which may be due to the feature that EPClin includes a term for node status, but which is not included in any ROR-based model. Conclusions: Our study suggests that PAM50 ROR and EP can be used to reliably predict risk of distant metastasis in node-positive ER+/HER2- breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy. There was no significant difference between the molecular signatures in terms of low risk classification. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2013;73(24 Suppl): Abstract nr P2-11-06.

Summary Background We compared standard adjuvant anthracycline chemotherapy with anthracycline–taxane combination chemotherapy in women with operable node-positive breast cancer. Here we report the final, 10-year follow-up analysis of disease-free survival, overall survival, and long-term safety. Methods BCIRG 001 was an open label, phase 3, multicentre trial in which 1491 patients aged 18–70 years with node-positive, early breast cancer and a Karnofsky score of 80% or more were randomly assigned to adjuvant treatment with docetaxel, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide (TAC) or fluorouracil, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide (FAC) every 3 weeks for six cycles. Randomisation was stratified according to institution and number of involved axillary lymph nodes per patient (one to three vs four or more). Disease-free survival was the primary endpoint and was defined as the interval between randomisation and breast cancer relapse, second primary cancer, or death, whichever occurred first. Efficacy analyses were based on the intention-to-treat principle. BCIRG 001 is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00688740. Findings Enrolement took place between June 11, 1997 and June 3, 1999; 745 patients were assigned to receive TAC and 746 patients were assigned to receive FAC. After a median follow-up of 124 months (IQR 90–126), disease-free survival was 62% (95% CI 58–65) for patients in the TAC group and 55% (51–59) for patients in the FAC group (hazard ratio [HR] 0·80, 95% CI 0·68–0·93; log-rank p=0·0043). 10-year overall survival was 76% (95% CI 72–79) for patients in the TAC group and 69% (65–72) for patients in the FAC group (HR 0·74, 0·61–0·90; log-rank p=0·0020). TAC improved disease-free survival relative to FAC irrespective of nodal, hormone receptor, and HER2 status, although not all differences were significant in these subgroup analyses. Grade 3–4 heart failure occurred in 26 (3%) patients in the TAC group and 17 (2%) patients in the FAC group, and caused death in two patients in the TAC group and four patients in the FAC group. A substantial decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction (defined as a relative decrease from baseline of 20% or more) was seen in 58 (17%) patients who received TAC and 41 (15%) patients who received FAC. Six patients who received TAC developed leukaemia or myelodysplasia, as did three patients who received FAC. Interpretation Our results provide evidence that the initial therapeutic outcomes seen at the 5-year follow-up with a docetaxel-containing adjuvant regimen are maintained at 10 years. However, a substantial percentage of patients had a decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction, probably caused by anthracycline therapy, which warrants further investigation. Funding Sanofi.

Background: The EndoPredict (EP) score is an RNA-based multigene test to predict the likelihood of distant recurrence in ER-positive (ER+), HER2-negative (HER2−) breast cancer (BC) patients treated with adjuvant endocrine therapy. Results from two large randomized phase III trials involving endocrine therapy only (n > 1700) demonstrated a prognostic power of the EP score beyond what can be achieved by combining the commonly used clinicopathological parameters (Filipits M, 2011). The performance of the EP in chemotherapy-treated patients has not been evaluated yet. Here, we analyzed the EndoPredict score in node-positive ER+/HER2− BC patients from the GEICAM-9906 trial, treated with adjuvant chemotherapy followed by hormonal therapy. Methods: Patients included in this study participated in the GEICAM/9906 trial and were either treated with fluorouracil, epirubicin, and cyclophosphamide (FEC) or with FEC followed by weekly paclitaxel (FEC-P) (Martin M, 2008). ESR1 and ERBB2 gene expression were assessed by qRT-PCR in 800 formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tumor samples out of 1246 patients included in the GEICAM/9906 trial. The EndoPredict score (including eight prognostic genes) was successfully determined in 555 out of the 566 ER+/HER2− patients. Patients were assigned into two categories (high/low), according to the predefined EP cut-off value (Filipits M, 2011). The primary endpoint for the analysis was distant metastasis. Metastasis rates were estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method. Multivariate analysis was performed using Cox regression. Interaction between treatment effects and EP was tested as well. Results: Twenty-five percent of patients (n = 141) were classified as EP-low-risk. Kaplan Meier analysis demonstrated that the metastasis-free survival (MFS) was 92% in the EP-low risk vs. 69% in the EP-high-risk group (absolute difference of 23%, HR 4.4 (2.3–8.4) p < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis showed that EP is an independent prognostic parameter after adjustment for age, grade, lymph node status and tumor size. EP was found to be prognostic in pre- (p = 0.0002, HR = 5.5 (2.2–13.6)) and postmenopausal (p = 0.0129, HR = 3.3 (1.3–8.2)) BC patients. There were not statistically significant differences in MFS between treatment arms (FEC vs. FEC-P) neither in the high nor in the low-risk groups. Interaction test between chemotherapy arm and EP score was not significant. Conclusions: The results of this study shows that the EndoPredict score is an independent prognostic parameter in node-positive, ER+/HER2− BC patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy followed by hormonal therapy. EndoPredict was not found to be predictive of weekly paclitaxel efficacy. Novel predictive biomarkers are needed to identify the small subset of patients with ER+/HER2− tumors that actually benefit from weekly paclitaxel-containing regimens. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2012;72(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-10-11.

Background: LEA Study (GEICAM/2006-11/GBG51), is a randomized clinical trial comparing bevacizumab in combination with endocrine therapy (ET + B) with endocrine therapy (ET) in postmenopausal women with advanced or metastatic HR-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer (BC) with indication of hormonotherapy as first-line treatment. Patients with secondary hypertension had better progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). We have evaluated the role of two hypertension-related biomarkers, Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) and Small-Inducible Cytokine B10 (CXCL10) as prognostic and/or predictive biomarkers of benefit to bevacizumab in the first line metastatic disease. Methods: From 380 patients, 266 were included in 33 Spanish sites. Median age was 64 years, 63.5% had measurable disease, 97.4% were metastatic at randomization, 51.5% had visceral disease and 52.6% received previous chemotherapy. PFS was 14.3 months (range 0.8-61.1), OS was 34 months (range 0.8-71.6) and 93 patients had Objective Response (OR). We analyzed 124 plasma samples collected before treatment (52 from ET and 72 from ET + B arms). Circulating levels of ACE and CXCL10 were determined by ELISA. ACE levels of 115ng/ml and 135ng/ml were pre-defined as cutoff values. CXCL10 was explored as a quantitative variable. Results: PFS was 15.1 months (range 1.4-61.1), OS was 31.1 months (range 2.8-61.1) and 40.3% had OR. OR was significantly different between treatment arms (p < 0.001) but not PFS or OS. Median ACE concentration was 130.9ng/ml (range 35.3-315.4). Low ACE (

Letrozole is superior to tamoxifen in terms of response and breast preservation rates as primary systemic therapy (PST) in postmenopausal women with ER-positive early breast cancer. However, the optimum duration of endocrine PST remains uncertain.A phase 2 multicentre, open-label trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of letrozole over a preoperative period of 4 months to 1 year. Seventy postmenopausal patients (over 65 years) were recruited in four centers. The primary endpoint was to establish the optimal duration of treatment defined as the time required to attain the maximum response by clinical palpation.The median age of the group was 79 years (66-91) and the median tumour size 35 mm (range 25-100 mm). No severe adverse events were reported. Fifty-six patients were evaluable for the primary objective. A total of 43 patients (76.8%) achieved an objective response; 29 (51.8%) being partial and 14 (25.0%) complete. The median time to objective response was 3.9 months (95% CI, 3.3-4.5) and the median time to maximum response was 4.2 months (95% CI, 4.0-4.5), although 20 (37.1%) patients achieved the maximal response within 6-12 months.Letrozole shows a high activity and excellent tolerability as neoadjuvant therapy in elderly patients with endocrine-dependent breast cancer. Four to six months of letrozole as PST is an optimum duration with modest benefits thereafter.

BACKGROUND: Predictive factors of survival benefit from taxane over non-taxane based adjuvant chemotherapy regimens are needed. Recent studies have suggested that “intrinsic” breast cancer subtypes may differ in their responsiveness to specific chemotherapeutics. Tumor samples from GEICAM 9906 study (Randomized Phase 3 Trial of Fluorouracil, Epirubicin, and Cyclophosphamide Alone [FEC] or FEC Followed by Paclitaxel [FEC-P] for Early Breast Cancer, JNCI 100:805, 2008) were gene expression profiled using the RT-qPCR PAM50 clinical test in order to identify potential predictive markers of taxane clinical benefit. METHODS: 793 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumors were studied and classified into intrinsic subtypes (Luminal A & B, HER2−enriched, Basal-like, and Normal) using the PAM50 test. The assay also provided gene expression scores for the standard protein biomarkers usually measured by immunohistochemistry (ESR1/ER, PGR/PR, and ERBB2/HER2) and a meta-gene score for proliferation (proliferation signature) and for a luminal gene signature. Intrinsic subtypes, individual genes, or meta-genes were correlated with disease-free survival (DFS). Multivariable Cox regression analyses were performed to determine the significance of the interaction between treatment and intrinsic subtypes, single genes and meta-genes, adjusting for standard clinicopathological factors. RESULTS: A 8.7 years follow-up update of GEICAM 9906 trial confirmed a statistically significant advantage of FEC-P over FEC in terms of DFS (p=0.016) and OS (p=0.013). Exploratory analyses for prognostic factors showed that treatment arm (p=0.016), tumor size (p Concerning predictive factors, exploratory analyses were performed and interaction tests were calculated. Theses analyses showed that FEC-P was superior to FEC in low PGR expression (HR= 0.68, p=0.034) and not in high PGR group (HR=0.83, p=0.245); interaction test p=0.358. Similarly, FEC-P was superior in low ERBB2 expression (HR=0.67; p=0.005) and not in the high ERBB2 group (HR=0.92, P=0.707); interaction test p=0.256. Interestingly, superiority of FEC-P was observed for the low Proliferation Signature group (HR=0.58, p= 0.006) in contrast to the high proliferation group (HR=0.93, p=0.633); the interaction test showed an almost statistical significant difference (p=0.069). The FEC-P arm showed improved outcome in all genomic intrinsic subtypes, although no subtype alone reached statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that the PAM50 proliferation signature could be predictive of benefit for adding weekly paclitaxel to the adjuvant chemotherapy FEC regimen. These results need further validation in an independent study. The last two authors of this abstract have contributed equally to this study. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2011;71(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-06-04.

Breast cancer is the most common neoplasm in women. Bone is the most common site of metastatic spread from primary operable breast cancer, causing pain, fractures and hypercalcemia. This spread depends on the release of osteolytic substances by the cancer cells. The osteoclasts also release growth factors that can act back on the cancer cells to activate growth. Biphosphonates, antiosteolytic agents, have been shown to reduce the progression of established bone metastases. Emerging evidence suggests that biphosphonates also have antitumor and antimetastatic properties, including the inhibition of angiogenesis, tumor-cell invasion, and adhesion in bone; the induction of apoptosis; antitumor sinergy with cytotoxic chemotherapy; and immunomodulatory effects through induction of γ/δ T cells. These findings were the background and rationale for ongoing clinical trials, in order to establish their role as a part of adjuvant treatment for early breast cancer. The oral biphosphonate clodronate (1600mg/d) is effective in patients with bone metastases. When used as adjuvant therapy, given to patients with operable breast cancer for two years, clodronate has been reported to reduce the risk of bone metastases during a 2-year study period with a significant reduction in mortality. This benefit supports its use as additional adjuvant therapy for patients with operable breast cancer. Zoledronic acid, a potent nitrogen-containing biphosphonate, has been shown to maintain or increase bone mineral density (BMD) in premenopausal women with early-stage breast cancer receiving adjuvant hormone therapies as well as healthy postmenopausal women with low BMD. Recent large clinical trials with biphosphonates in the (neo)adjuvant setting for early-breast cancer, demonstrate an improvement of disease-free and overall survival as well as increased pathologic rate responses.

This randomized multicenter phase III trial evaluated the role of maintenance therapy with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) after induction chemotherapy in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Patients without disease progression following first-line induction chemotherapy consisting of three cycles of doxorubicin (75 mg/m(2)) followed by three cycles of docetaxel (100 mg/m(2)) both every 21 days, were randomized to PLD (40 mg/m(2)) every 28 days for six cycles or to observation. Time to progression (TTP) was the primary endpoint. 288 patients were enrolled and received induction first-line chemotherapy. One hundred and fifty-five achieved response or stable disease and were randomized to maintenance PLD (n = 78) or observation (n = 77). With a median follow-up of 20 months from randomization (range 1-56), disease progression occurred in 94% of patients. PLD significantly improved TTP by 3.3 months (8.4 vs. 5.1 months; hazard ratio [HR] = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.39 to 0.76, P = 0.0002) compared with observation. Overall survival was not significantly prolonged with PLD (24.8 vs. 22.0 months, respectively; HR = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.58-1.27, P = 0.44). PLD-induced toxicity was mild and manageable with up to 5% of patients experiencing grade 3/4 non-hematologic events (fatigue, mucositis, palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia). Grade 3/4 neutropenia occurred in 12% of patients; two patients developed febrile neutropenia. This phase III trial demonstrated that maintenance chemotherapy with PLD is well tolerated and offers improved TTP in patients with MBC following first-line chemotherapy.

Introduction Recent studies have identified both the prognostic and predictive utility of determining the number of circulating tumour cells (CTC) in patients with solid cancers. Material and methods In the present pilot study we evaluated the ability of two different methods to isolate CTC in combination with two strategies to enumerate CTC from patients with stages II and III surgically treated colorectal cancer (CRC). First, we used two systems for tumour cell enrichment (differential centrifugation and immunomagnetic beads), combined with two methods to enumerate CTC (real-time PCR and flow cytometry), to determine the most efficient combination. These experiments were performed in a model system using serial dilutions of HT29 tumour cell lines with lymphocytes. Then, CTC analysis using the technical approach selected before was performed in 109 blood samples from 16 stage II and III CRC patients during chemotherapy treatment and follow-up. Results Immunomagnetic beads followed by flow cytometry was the most efficient combination (ED=60.53; p=0.5). Two cases out of 16 patients analysed had clinical tumour relapse. In both, we detected a significant increase of CTC five and six months, respectively, before the relapse was clinically evidenced. An increase of CTC was also observed in another case without clinical evidence of relapse. The remaining cases (13) had very few or no detectable CTC and no clinical evidence of relapse (p=0.029). Conclusions Changes in CTC numbers during follow-up might predict tumour relapse. Further evaluation of CTC prognostic and predictive value in patients with early CRC is warranted.

Neutropenia is a common complication of cancer chemotherapy. Colony-stimulating factors (CSF) may be used to avoid neutropenia-associated complications. The Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM) recently constituted a working group to review the main issues concerning the use of CSF and carried out a consensus process about the use of CSF in cancer patients, held in Madrid on 26 May 2006. The group concluded the following recommendations: prophylactic use of CSF is recommended when a rate of febrile neutropenia (FN) higher than 20% is expected without the use of CSF or when additional risk factors for neutropenia exist; therapeutic use of CSF is recommended in order to treat FN episodes but not to treat afebrile neutropenic episodes. In addition, the use of CSF is considered effective when used to mobilise stem cells before high-dose chemotherapy and when used for chemotherapy schedule optimisation in dose-dense and in dose-intense regimens.

The randomised controlled trial BCIRG001 has recently demonstrated that docetaxel in combination with doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (TAC) has better efficacy than the standard treatment (FAC, i.e., 5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide) in the adjuvant treatment of patients with node-positive breast cancer. The cost-effectiveness of TAC vs. FAC in the Spanish setting is analysed.Clinical outcomes from trial BCIRG001 were combined with Spanish costs and longterm efficacy of FAC and TAC extrapolated up to 5 years by means of a Markov model. Results are shown as cost per life year gained (C/LYG) and cost per quality-adjusted life year (C/QALY). Costs and effects were discounted at a rate of 3%.Mean survival was 17.8 and 16.5 years for TAC and FAC, with total costs of euro14,611 and euro11,586, respectively. The results of the cost-effectiveness analysis showed that TAC achieves a C/LYG and a C/QALY of only euro2345 and euro2631, respectively. Sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of the results.Combined therapy based on docetaxel (TAC) is not only an effective option, but also presents a favourable cost-effectiveness ratio, clearly below the Spanish efficiency threshold in all the scenarios considered.

Clinical Trial, Phase III; Comparative Study; Journal Article; Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; BACKGROUND Taxanes are among the most active drugs for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, and, as a consequence, they have also been studied in the adjuvant setting. METHODS After breast cancer surgery, women with lymph node-positive disease were randomly assigned to treatment with fluorouracil, epirubicin, and cyclophosphamide (FEC) or with FEC followed by weekly paclitaxel (FEC-P). The primary endpoint of study-5-year disease-free survival (DFS)-was assessed by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Secondary endpoints included overall survival and analysis of the prognostic and predictive value of clinical and molecular (hormone receptors by immunohistochemistry and HER2 by fluorescence in situ hybridization) markers. Associations and interactions were assessed with a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model for DFS for the following covariates: age, menopausal status, tumor size, lymph node status, type of chemotherapy, tumor size, positive lymph nodes, HER2 status, and hormone receptor status. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS Among the 1246 eligible patients, estimated rates of DFS at 5 years were 78.5% in the FEC-P arm and 72.1% in the FEC arm (difference = 6.4%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.6% to 11.2%; P = .006). FEC-P treatment was associated with a 23% reduction in the risk of relapse compared with FEC treatment (146 relapses in the 614 patients in the FEC-P arm vs 193 relapses in the 632 patients in the FEC arm, hazard ratio [HR] = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.62 to 0.95; P = .022) and a 22% reduction in the risk of death (73 and 95 deaths, respectively, HR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.57 to 1.06; P = .110). Among the 928 patients for whom tumor samples were centrally analyzed, type of chemotherapy (FEC vs FEC-P) (P = .017), number of involved axillary lymph nodes (P < .001), tumor size (P = .020), hormone receptor status (P = .004), and HER2 status (P = .006) were all associated with DFS. We found no statistically significant interaction between HER2 status and paclitaxel treatment or between hormone receptor status and paclitaxel treatment. CONCLUSIONS Among patients with operable breast cancer, FEC-P treatment statistically significantly reduced the risk of relapse compared with FEC as adjuvant therapy. Yes

This review examines all randomized studies that evaluated the role of taxanes in the neoadjuvant treatment of breast cancer and have reported results in terms of efficacy and tolerance. The primary objective of this review was to evaluate whether, at this point in time, there is sufficient evidence to support the routine use of taxanes in the neoadjuvant treatment of breast cancer. Other objectives were to determine the optimal schedule in which to administer taxanes and anthracyclines and whether the addition of other antitumor drugs improves the efficacy of these anthracycline/taxane-based schedules. A literature search revealed 9 major randomized clinical trials published to date. To facilitate analysis, they were classified according to their protocol design. Five trials evaluated the effect of the addition of a taxane to an anthracycline-based schedule, either concomitantly or sequentially. The remaining 4 trials contained taxanes in both treatment arms in an attempt to optimize the administration schedule of anthracyclines and taxanes, or to improve efficacy by adding a further antitumor drug. This type of analysis has provided the opportunity to draw some conclusions regarding the optimal use of taxanes.

Six major randomized clinical trials evaluating the role of taxanes in the adjuvant setting of breast cancer have demonstrated significant improvements in terms of efficacy in favour of the taxane treatment arm. In all cases, different anthracycline-based regimens were used as the control arm. Nevertheless, many clinicians are still not sufficiently convinced to incorporate the routine use of taxanes in the adjuvant treatment of breast cancer. There are two main objections, first the possible lack of effectiveness of chemotherapy in hormone-receptor positive tumors and second, some of the anthracycline-based control arms used in these trials were not the optimal ones. In this review, we have searched and analyzed all randomized studies that evaluated the role of taxanes in the adjuvant setting of breast cancer patients and have reported results in terms of efficacy or tolerance. The suitability of the control arm, the prospective definition of patient's subgroups and the statistical methodology were taking into account. The objective of this review was to analyze if, at this point in time, there is sufficient evidence to support the routine use of taxanes in the adjuvant setting of breast cancer, and if it is valid for all subgroups including hormone-receptor and Her2/neu positive breast cancer patients. Other objectives of this review were to define the optimal regimen for administration of taxanes, how the tolerability of taxanes may be improved and also, to investigate any potential differences in efficacy or tolerability between docetaxel and paclitaxel.

At the present time, there is not a standard regimen in upfront metastatic setting for breast cancer. A wide variety of regimens which includes anthracyclines, taxanes, gemcitabine or capecitabine are currently used, however, there is evidence to support the use of many of these drugs in early breast cancer and consequently limiting their use in first line treatment. The aim of this review is to evaluate every randomized phase III trials conducted in first line metastatic breast cancer. For this reason, all randomized studies that evaluated the role of chemotherapy in advanced breast cancer were analyzed and classified according to their protocol design. So far, sixteen major randomized clinical trials have evaluated the role of chemotherapy as front line in metastatic breast cancer. Some of them have analyzed a different anthracyclines-based regimen as the control arm versus new combinations or new drugs. In others, the aim is to evaluate the most effective therapy after progression to an adjuvant anthracyclines-containing regimen. The suitability of the control arm, the prospective definition of patient's subgroups as well as the statistical methodology have been taken into account.

Background: The aim of the study was to analyse the toxicity and health related quality of life (HRQoL) of breast cancer patients treated with FAC (5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide) and TAC (docetaxel, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide) with and without primary prophylactic G-CSF (PPG). Patients and methods: This was a phase III study to compare FAC and TAC as adjuvant treatment of high-risk node-negative breast cancer patients. After the entry of the first 237 patients, the protocol was amended to include PPG in the TAC arm due to the high incidence of febrile neutropenia. A total of 1047 evaluable patients from 49 centres in Spain, two in Poland and four in Germany were included in the trial. Side-effects and the scores of the EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ BR-23 questionnaires were compared in the three groups (FAC, TAC pre-amendment and TAC post-amendment). Results: The addition of PPG to TAC significantly reduced the incidence of neutropenic fever, grade 2–4 anaemia, asthenia, anorexia, nail disorders, stomatitis, myalgia and dysgeusia. Patient QoL decreased during chemotherapy, more with TAC than FAC, but returned to baseline values afterwards. The addition of PPG to TAC significantly reduced the percentage of patients with clinically relevant Global Health Status deterioration (10 or more points over baseline value) at the end of chemotherapy (64% versus 46%, P < 0.03). Conclusions: The addition of PPG significantly reduces the incidence of neutropenic fever associated with TAC chemotherapy as well as that of some TAC-induced haematological and extrahaematological side-effects. The HRQoL of patients treated with TAC is worse than that of those treated with FAC but improves with the addition of PPG, particularly in the final part of chemotherapy treatment.

All the countries of the European Union face similar challenges when providing adequate and high quality treatment in oncology. A working party was established to consider what should comprise a specialist service and the Requirements of a Breast Unit, published in 2000, represent the opinion of the European Society of Mastology (EUSOMA) on the standards required for creating high quality Breast Cancer Units across Europe. We studied the application of the mandatory requisites and general recommendations of EUSOMA: critical mass, or minimum number of patients, core team (composition and specific training), quality assurance, and application of diagnostic and treatment protocols. A thorough literature search was performed and was completed with information from search tools, the web pages of scientific societies, national associations for the fight against cancer, and health ministries of the countries belonging to the European Union. We also analyzed the latest reports of the European Parliamentary Committee for breast cancer. Distinct approaches to the multidisciplinary management of breast disease can be found in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy, France and Spain. A common European standard would be useful to improve the care provided to patients.

Background A prospective randomized clinical trial was implemented to assess whether the concomitant or the sequential addition of tamoxifen to chemotherapy provides improved clinical benefit in the adjuvant treatment of breast cancer in postmenopausal patients. Patients and methods Four-hundred and eighty-five patients with node-positive operable disease were randomized to receive tamoxifen (20 mg/day) concomitantly (CON) or sequentially (SEQ) to EC chemotherapy (epirubicin 75 mg/m2 + cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2 on day 1, every 21 days for four cycles). Results In the 474 fully evaluable patients there were 96 events; eight being second neoplasms and 88 being related to the breast cancer. Of these, 48 of 88 occurred in the CON arm and 40 of 88 in the SEQ arm. The Kaplan–Meier estimation of disease-free survival (DFS) at 5 years was 70% in the CON and 75% in the SEQ group (log-rank test, P = 0.43). Adjusted hazard ratio for treatment was 1.11 (95% confidence interval 0.71–1.73; P = 0.64). Conclusion This study fails to show an advantage of one treatment arm over the other, but a trend, albeitnon-significant, appears to favor the sequential addition of tamoxifen to epirubicin + cyclophosphamide and, as such, warrants further investigation.

Effectiveness of 5-HT3 receptor antagonists in preventing cyclophosphamide-induced emesis suggests that it is mediated by serotonin release. Since urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) is not significantly increased, the mechanism of emesis induction remains poorly understood, and the usefulness of these drugs in late-onset emesis prevention remains controversial. In this randomised, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trial, 139 chemotherapy-naive breast cancer patients received intravenous chemotherapy combinations containing cyclophosphamide at doses ≥500 mg/m2. Total antiemetic control was the primary efficacy parameter. On day 0 all patients received intravenous granisetron (3 mg) prior to chemotherapy. On day 1 patients were randomly assigned either to oral granisetron (1 mg bid) or to placebo, for a 2-day course. Patients remained hospitalised during the study period. Rescue therapy (up to 2 doses of i.v. granisetron 3 mg) was promptly administered should there be a second episode of vomiting. Twenty-four hour urine samples were collected on days −1 to +2, for analysis of 5-HIAA excretion. Relative to the control group, significantly more patients in the oral granisetron group experienced total control of emesis on day 1 (67% versus 49%; p=0.04), on day 2 (76% versus 52%; p

Purpose. To determine the efficacy of high-dose consolidation DICEP chemotherapy (HD-DICEP) in prolonging progression free survival (PFS) of chemotherapy-responsive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients with monotopic disease.

Cytochrome P-450 CYP2C9 enzyme is involved in the metabolism of xenobiotics and carcinogens. Variant alleles CYP2C9*2 and CYP2C9*3 encode enzymes with altered properties, and CYP2C9*2 has been related to lung cancer risk. The frequency of CYP2C9 variant alleles was analyzed in genomic DNA from 104 patients with lung cancer and in 197 healthy controls. No statistically significant differences in CYP2C9 genotypes, allele frequencies or predicted phenotypes were observed between overall patients and controls. Unconditional logistic regression for the interaction smoking/genotype indicate P values of 0.66 and 0.62 for carriers of CYP2C9*2 and CYP2C9*3, respectively, versus individuals without these mutations. The P values for the same interaction in carriers of one and two mutated genes were 0.56 and 0.67, respectively, versus individuals homozygous for non-mutated genes. Independent analyses of histological types of lung cancer also indicated the absence of statistically significant differences as compared to healthy subjects. Association between CYP2C9 polymorphism and lung cancer risk was not identified in this study.