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Abstract Background We analyzed the responses to first line treatment and clinical outcomes of metastatic breast cancer patients treated with palliative doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide (AC) according to molecular cancer subtype. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for 110 metastatic breast cancer patients selected on the basis of palliative AC treatment and the availability of immunohistochemical data for estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2/neu) status. Results Of the 110 patients analyzed, 71 (64.5%) were hormone receptor positive (HR+), 14 (12.7%) were HER2+, and 25 (22.7%) were triple negative (TN). There were no differences in age, stage at diagnosis, total number of cycles of palliative chemotherapy, incidence of visceral metastasis, and metastatic sites with the exception of liver among breast cancer subtypes. The overall response rates to AC were 55.9% for the HR+ subgroup, 42.9% for the HER2+ subgroup, and 56.5% for the TN subgroup. The progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with HER2+ and TN were significantly shorter than in the HR+ (median PFS, 9.1 vs 8.1 vs 11.5 months, respectively; p = 0.0002). The overall survival (OS) was 25.4 months in the TN subgroup and 27.3 months in HER2+ subgroup. The median OS for these two groups was significantly shorter than for patients in the HR+ subgroup (median, 38.5 months; 95% CI, 30.1-46.9 months; p < 0.0001). Conclusions The response to palliative AC chemotherapy did not differ among breast cancer subtypes. Despite chemosensitivity for palliative AC, the TN subtype has a shorter overall survival than non-TN subtypes. Innovative treatment strategies should be developed to slow the course of disease.

Introduction: Nivolumab, a programmed death 1 (PD-1) inhibitor, has recently demonstrated efficacy as second-line therapy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients in a phase III trial. We report real-world clinical outcomes of nivolumab therapy for ESCC patients., Methods: ESCC patients refractory/intolerant to at least one line of chemotherapy and who received nivolumab as a subsequent line of therapy were included. The efficacy and safety of nivolumab and the predictive role of PD-L1 and CD8 expression were analyzed., Results: Fifty-eight patients were analyzed for safety and survival outcomes, while 57 were analyzed for objective response rates (ORR) excluding one with no measurable lesions. Eleven patients achieved a partial response, leading to an ORR of 19.3%. The median response duration was 6.5 months (range 4.1-22.4). The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival were 2.1 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.8-2.3) and 7.4 (95% CI 4.8-10.0) months, respectively. Among patients with adequate samples, 56.9% (29/51), 27.5% (14/51), and 17.6% (9/51) expressed a combined positive score (CPS) ≥ 1, ≥ 10, and ≥ 20, respectively, while 24.4% (11/45) and 57.5% (23/40) were positive for intratumoral and peritumoral CD8 + T cell infiltration, respectively. A significantly longer PFS was observed in patients with a CPS ≥ 20 (7.5 [95% CI 1.8-13.1] vs. 1.9 [1.4-2.3] months, P = 0.05), and a trend towards better survival was seen in those with CPS ≥ 10 or intratumoral CD8 + T cell infiltration., Conclusions: Nivolumab is a valuable option at subsequent treatment lines for patients with advanced ESCC.

Objective: Since the first discovery of rearranged during transfection (RET) fusion in lung adenocarcinoma in 2011, two tyrosine kinase inhibitors, namely vandetanib and cabozantinib, are currently available. Despite favorable outcomes in systemic control, the intracranial therapeutic response remains insufficient. In this study, the clinical characteristics and outcomes of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with RET rearrangements were analyzed., Methods: Patients with NSCLC harboring RET fusion who received treatment between January 2006 and January 2018 were analyzed. RET rearrangement was identified by FISH or NGS., Results: A total of 59 patients were identified. About half of the patients were female (47.5%) and never smokers (50.9%). Most patients had adenocarcinoma (89.8%). A total of 17 patients (28.8%) had an intracranial lesion at the initial diagnosis of stage IV disease, and 11 additional patients (18.6%) developed intracranial metastases during follow-up. The median time to development of intracranial metastases was 19.0 months (95% CI: 9.6-28.5), resulting in a >60% cumulative incidence of brain metastasis at 24 months. The systemic efficacy of pemetrexed-based regimens was favorable with progression-free survival of 9.0 (95% CI: 6.9-11.2) and OS of 24.1 (95% CI: 15.2-33.0) months. The median progression-free survival for vandetanib and immunotherapy was 2.9 (95% CI: 2.0-3.8) and 2.1 (95% CI: 1.6-2.6) months, respectively., Conclusions: Given the likelihood of RET-rearranged NSCLC progressing to intracranial metastases and the absence of apparent clinical benefit of currently available targeted or immunotherapeutic agents, development of novel treatment with higher selectivity and better penetration of the blood-brain barrier remains a priority., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Purpose ROS1 rearrangement is a distinct molecular subset of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We investigated the efficacy and safety of ceritinib in patients with ROS1-rearranged NSCLC. Patients and Methods We enrolled 32 patients with advanced NSCLC who tested positive for ROS1 rearrangement by fluorescent in situ hybridization. Ceritinib 750 mg was administered once daily. The primary end point was objective response rate. The secondary end points were disease control rate; duration of response; progression-free survival; overall survival; toxicity; and concordance among fluorescent in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry, and next-generation sequencing. Results Between June 7, 2013, and February 1, 2016, 404 patients underwent ROS1 prescreening, and 32 patients with ROS1 rearrangement were enrolled. All patients except two were crizotinib-naïve. At the time of data cutoff, the median follow-up was 14.0 months, and 18 patients (56%) had discontinued treatment. Of the 32 patients enrolled, 28 were evaluable for response by independent radiologic review. Objective response rate was 62% (95% CI, 45% to 77%), with one complete response and 19 partial responses; duration of response was 21.0 months (95% CI, 17 to 25 months); and disease control rate was 81% (95% CI, 65% to 91%). The median progression-free survival was 9.3 months (95% CI, 0 to 22 months) for all patients and 19.3 months (95% CI, 1 to 37 months) for crizotinib-naïve patients. The median overall survival was 24 months (95% CI, 5 to 43 months). Of the eight patients with brain metastases, intracranial disease control was reported in five (63%; 95% CI, 31% to 86%). The most common adverse events (majority, grade 1 or 2) for all treated patients were diarrhea (78%), nausea (59%), and anorexia (56%). Conclusion Ceritinib demonstrated potent clinical activity in patients with ROS1-rearranged NSCLC who were heavily treated previously with multiple lines of chemotherapy.

Background: We retrospectively reviewed outcomes of treatment with pazopanib, an oral multi-tyrosine kinase angiogenesis inhibitor, in patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma, a rare and heterogeneous tumor group with limited treatment options., Methods: Between 2009 and 2013, 43 patients with metastatic soft tissue sarcoma received pazopanib as salvage chemotherapy after one or more cytotoxic regimens. Response rate, progression-free survival, and overall survival were analyzed according to histological subtype, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, and metastatic site., Results: Common histological subtypes included leiomyosarcoma (n = 9), angiosarcoma (n = 6), malignant fibrous histiocytoma/undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (MFH/UPS, n = 5), malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST, n = 5), and synovial sarcoma (n = 4). Nineteen patients (44.2%) received more than two chemotherapy regimens before pazopanib. At the time of analysis, 208 treatment cycles of pazopanib had been administered (median, 4.8 cycles per patient), and no treatment-related mortality occurred. The disease control rate was 61.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 46.1-75.9%), and the overall response rate was 17.1% (partial response, n = 7; complete response, n = 0). Partial response was achieved in two patients with synovial sarcoma, two with MFH/UPS, one with MPNST, one with leiomyosarcoma, and one with angiosarcoma. The median lengths of progression-free survival and overall survival were 5.0 months (95% CI, 3.6-6.4 months) and 8.2 months (95% CI, 5.8-10.6 months), respectively. Progression-free survival was shorter in the patients with liposarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma (1.3 and 0.9 months, respectively) than in those with leiomyosarcoma, MPNST, MFH/UPS, and synovial sarcoma (5.6, 6.5, 7.1, and 7.7 months, respectively)., Conclusions: Pazopanib demonstrated acceptable antitumor activity in the Asian patients who had been heavily pretreated for sarcoma, with seemingly more favorable results in the patients with leiomyosarcoma, MPNST, MFH/UPS, and synovial sarcoma than in those with liposarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma.

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a very rare soft tissue sarcoma. DFSP often reveals a specific chromosome translocation, t(17;22)(q22;q13), which results in the fusion of collagen 1 alpha 1 (COL1A1) gene and platelet-derived growth factor-B (PDGFB) gene. The COL1A1-PDGFB fusion protein activates the PDGFB receptor and resultant constitutive activation of PDGFR receptor is essential in the pathogenesis of DFSP. Thus, blocking PDGFR receptor activation with imatinib has shown promising activity in the treatment of advanced and metastatic DFSP. Despite the success with targeted agents in cancers, acquired drug resistance eventually occurs. Here, we tried to identify potential drug resistance mechanisms against imatinib in a 46-year old female with DFSP who initially responded well to imatinib but suffered rapid disease progression. We performed whole-genome sequencing of both pre-treatment and post-treatment tumor tissue to identify the mutational events associated with imatinib resistance. No significant copy number alterations, insertion, and deletions were identified during imatinib treatment. Of note, we identified newly emerged 8 non-synonymous somatic mutations of the genes (ACAP2, CARD10, KIAA0556, PAAQR7, PPP1R39, SAFB2, STARD9, and ZFYVE9) in the imatinib-resistant tumor tissue. This study revealed diverse possible candidate mechanisms by which imatinib resistance to PDGFRB inhibition may arise in DFSP, and highlights the usefulness of whole-genome sequencing in identifying drug resistance mechanisms and in pursuing genome-directed, personalized anti-cancer therapy.

Breast cancer is a highly heterogeneous malignancy. The triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) breast cancer subtypes are highly aggressive and are associated with a poor prognosis. The therapeutic targets for TNBC remain undefined, and many patients with the HER2 subtype acquire resistance to therapy after prolonged treatment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of HER3 expression in invasive breast carcinoma. We established matched tissue microarray (TMA) blocks and clinical data from 950 cases of invasive breast carcinoma with long-term clinical follow-up data (median 109.7 months). Using the TMAs, we characterized the expression of ER, PR, HER2, EGFR, and HER3 by immunohistochemistry. Each case was classified as one of four IHC-based subtypes based on the expression of hormonal receptor (HR) and HER2. The clinicopathological characteristics and survival of 950 patients were analyzed by subtype. In the TNBC subtype, the HER3(+) group showed poorer disease-free survival (DFS, P = 0.010) and overall survival (OS, P = 0.015) than the HER3(-) group. In the HER2 subtype, the HER3(+) group also showed poorer DFS (P = 0.022) and OS (P = 0.077) than the HER3(-) group. However, there was no difference in patients with HR-positive breast cancer. HER3 expression was associated with poor DFS in both the TNBC and HER2 subtypes and poor OS in the TNBC subtype. HER3 overexpression is an important prognostic marker in hormone receptor-negative breast cancer, and further study is needed to clarify the role of HER-3 targeted treatment.

A primary extraskeletal osteosarcoma (EOS) is a rare tumour. An EOS of the seminal vesicle has not been reported in the literature. We describe a case of a seminal vesicle EOS initially detected as a pre-rectal mass on a routine transrectal ultrasound in a 48-year-old man. A computed tomography (CT) scan confirmed the tumour to be arising from the left seminal vesicle. A robot-assisted laparoscopic seminal vesiculectomy was performed to avoid neurovascular bundle injury. Microscopic examination of the resected specimen showed a poorly differentiated osteosarcoma originating from the seminal vesicle. The patient received adjuvant chemotherapy. He is doing well without voiding or erectile dysfunction and he is tumour-free five months after surgery.

A carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP) is a histologically confirmed metastatic cancer without a definitive primary site after performing a detailed medical examination. The purpose of the study was to classify unfavorable CUPs into more reliable disease entities, which reflect the clinical course. We reviewed the medical records of patients diagnosed with a CUP between January 1995 and March 2008. Patients were classified into a conventional favorable-risk group and a newly proposed unfavorable-risk group according to the clinicopathologic features. Five hundred eighty-six patients were diagnosed with CUPs. Fifty-six (9.6%) patients were classified in the conventional favorable-risk group, and 486 (82.9%) patients were classified in the unfavorable-risk group. We further classified the 486 patients into six subgroups with an unfavorable risk, while excluding 29 patients (5.0%) who were not classifiable. The overall survival of the conventional favorable-risk group was 47.0 months (95% CI, 11.1~82.9 months), which was significantly longer than that of any subgroup of the newly proposed unfavorable-risk group (P < 0.001). Patients with squamous cell carcinoma in the abdominopelvic cavity showed similar overall survival with unfavorable-risk group (P = 0.484). Women with non-papillary malignant ascites had a survival in between the favorable and unfavorable groups (P <  0.001). The newly proposed unfavorable-risk group may assist in classifying CUP patients with an unfavorable risk in a clinically more meaningful way. Squamous cell carcinoma in the abdominopelvic cavity should be considered in the unfavorable-risk group and women with non-papillary malignant ascites in an intermediate-risk group. Further studies with molecular profiling would help in classifying and treating patients with CUPs and an unfavorable risk.

Breast cancer exhibits clinical and molecular heterogeneity, where expression profiling studies have identified five major molecular subtypes. The basal-like subtype, expressing basal epithelial markers and negative for estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and HER2, is associated with higher overall levels of DNA copy number alteration (CNA), specific CNAs (like gain on chromosome 10p), and poor prognosis. Discovering the molecular genetic basis of tumor subtypes may provide new opportunities for therapy. To identify the driver oncogene on 10p associated with basal-like tumors, we analyzed genomic profiles of 172 breast carcinomas. The smallest shared region of gain spanned just seven genes at 10p13, including calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase ID (CAMK1D), functioning in intracellular signaling but not previously linked to cancer. By microarray, CAMK1D was overexpressed when amplified, and by immunohistochemistry exhibited elevated expression in invasive carcinomas compared to carcinoma in situ. Engineered overexpression of CAMK1D in non-tumorigenic breast epithelial cells led to increased cell proliferation, and molecular and phenotypic alterations indicative of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), including loss of cell-cell adhesions and increased cell migration and invasion. Our findings identify CAMK1D as a novel amplified oncogene linked to EMT in breast cancer, and as a potential therapeutic target with particular relevance to clinically unfavorable basal-like tumors.