Combination of socio-demographic and clinical co-variates for predicting treatment responses and outcomes in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in the chronic phase / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To explore the impacts of socio-demographic and clinical co-variates on treatment responses and outcomes in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in the chronic phase (CML-CP) receiving tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) and identified the predictive models for them. Methods: Data of newly diagnosed adult patients with CML-CP receiving first-line TKI and having complete socio-demographic data and clinical information were reviewed. Cox model was used to identify the independent variables associated with complete cytogenetic response (CCyR) , major molecular response (MMR) , molecular response 4 (MR(4)) and molecular response 4.5 (MR(4.5)) , as well as failure-free survival (FFS) , progression-free survival (PFS) , overall survival (OS) and CML-related OS. Results: A total of 1414 CML-CP patients treated with first-line imatinib (n=1176) , nilotinib (n=170) or dasatinib (n=68) were reviewed. Median age was 40 (18-83) years and 873 patients (61.7% ) were males. Result of the multivariate analysis showed that lower educational level (P<0.001-0.070) and EUTOS long-term survival intermediate or high-risk (P<0.001-0.009) were significantly associated with lower cumulative incidences of CCyR, MMR, MR(4) and MR(4.5), as well as the inferior FFS, PFS, OS and CML-related OS. In addition, those who were males, from rural households, had white blood cells (WBC) ≥120×10(9)/L, hemoglobin (HGB) <115 g/L and treated with first-line imatinib had significantly lower cumulative incidences of cytogenetic and/or molecular responses. Being single, divorced or widowed, having, rural household registration, WBC≥120×10(9)/L, HGB<15 g/L, and comorbidity (ies) was significantly associated with inferior FFS, PFS, OS, and/or CML-related OS. Thereafter, the patients were classified into several subgroups using the socio-demographic characteristics and clinical variables by cytogenetic and molecular responses, treatment failure and disease progression, as well as overall survival and CML-related OS, respectively. There were significant differences in treatment responses and outcomes among the subgroups (P<0.001) . Conclusion: Except for clinical co-variates, socio-demographic co-variates significantly correlated with TKI treatment responses and outcomes in CML-CP patients. Models established by the combination of independent socio-demographic and clinical co-variates could effectively predict the responses and outcome.

Cell HE staining smears and paired cell paraffin sections in detection of epithelial growth factor receptor gene of pleural fluid specimens / 中南大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVES@#The advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with pleural effusion have no opportunity for surgery treatment. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are the first-line drugs for these patients with EGFR-sensitive mutation. However, the disease progression and drug update during or after treatment of EGFR-TKIs bring more challenges and puzzles to clinical diagnosis and treatment, which inevitably requires archived pleural cell samples for EGFR re-examination or comparative study. Understanding the DNA quality of archived pleural fluid samples and effectively using archival data of pleural fluid cells are of great significance for tracing the origin of cases and basic medical research. This study aims to evaluate the consistency of EGFR mutant gene expression between the 2 methods, and to explore a reliable way for preserving cytological data and making full use of cytological archival data via cell HE staining smear and cell paraffin section.@*METHODS@#A total of 57 pleural fluid cytology cases in the Department of Pathology of China Aerospace Center Hospital from October 2014 to April 2021 were selected. Tumor cells were detected by cell HE staining smears and immunohistochemical staining for TTF-1 and Napsin A in the paired cell paraffin sections. There were more than 200 tumor cells in cell HE staining smear and the proportion of tumor cells were ≥70% in matched cell paraffin sections. Patients with 2 cell smears (one for cell data retention and the other for DNA extraction) were selected as the research subjects, and 57 pleural fluid samples were enrolled. EGFR gene mutation was detected by amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction in 57 paired cell HE staining smears and cell paraffin sections. DNA concentration was 2 ng/μL. Cell HE smear was amplified side-by-side with DNA samples from paired cell paraffin sections. Result determination was according to the requirements of the reagent instructions. The external control cycle threshold (Ct) value of the No. 8 well of the samples to be tested was between 13 and 21, which was considered as successful and reliable samples. When the Ct value of EGFR gene mutation was <26, it was considered as positive; when the Ct value was between 26 and 29, it was critical positive; when the Ct value was equal or more than 29, it was negative. ΔCt value was the difference between mutant Ct value and externally controlled Ct value. The smaller the ΔCt value was, the better the quality of DNA of the detected sample was.@*RESULTS@#Among the 57 pleural effusion samples, 42 patients were hospitalized with pleural effusion as the first symptom, accounting for 73.7% (42/57). EGFR mutation was detected in 37 samples [64.9% (37/57)]. The mutation rate for 19del was 37.8% (14/37) while for L858R was 48.6% (18/37). Females were 56.7% (21/37) of mutation cases. The mutation consistency rate of cell HE staining smear and matched cell paraffin sections was 100%. The ΔCt values of cell HE staining smears were less than those of matched cell paraffin sections. The mutation Ct values of 37 cytological samples were statistically analyzed according to the preservation periods of the years of 2014-2015, 2016-2017, 2018-2019, and 2020-2021. There were significant differences in cell paraffin section in the years of 2014-2015 and 2016-2017 compared with the years of 2018-2019 and 2020-2021, while no significant differences were found in cell HE staining smear. Statistical analysis of externally controlled Ct values of 57 cytological samples showed that there were significant differences between cell HE staining smears and cell paraffin section in the years of 2014-2015 and 2016-2017, compared with the years of 2018-2019 and 2020-2021. The mutational Ct values of 37 paired cell blocks and smears were all <26, and the externally controlled Ct values of 57 paired cell paraffin sections and HE staining smears were all between 13 and 21.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The DNA quality of cell HE smears and matched cell paraffin section met the qualified requirements. Two methods possess show an excellent consistency in detecting EGFR mutation in NSCLC pleural fluid samples. The DNA quality of cell HE staining smear is better than that of cell paraffin sections, so cell HE staining smear can be used as important supplement of the gene test source. It should be noted that the limitation of cell HE staining smears is non-reproducibility, so multiple smears of pleural fluid are recommended to be prepared for multiple tests.

Advances in Treatment of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Harboring EGFR Exon 20 Insertion Mutations / 中国肺癌杂志

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 20 insertion mutations are the third most prevalent activating EGFR mutation in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), accounting for 5%-12% of all EGFR mutations in NSCLC cases. Patients harboring EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations exhibit similar clinical characteristics except for worse prognosis as compared to those with 'classic' EGFR mutations. EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations are considered as a heterogeneous class of alterations that cause different conformational changes in EGFR. The majority of mutations (almost 90% of cases) is positioned in the loop that immediately follows the C-terminal of the C-helix, and the most widely reported subtype of insertion mutations is D770_N771>ASVDN(A767_V769dupASV) with frequency of 21%-28%. NSCLC patients with EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations show primary drug resistance to previously approved EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors and are generally insensitive to conventional chemotherapy and immunotherapy. The recently approved targeted drugs Amivantamab and Mobocertinib shift the treatment paradigm for NSCLC patients harboring EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations. There are also several new compounds targeting NSCLC EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations are in development. In this article, we provide a through overview on the treatment development in EGFR exon 20 insertion mutant NSCLC.
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Targeted Therapy and Mechanism of Drug Resistance in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer with Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Gene Mutation / 中国肺癌杂志

Lung cancer is the sixth leading cause of death worldwide and one of the leading cause of death from malignant tumors. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutation is a common mutation in NSCLC. For advanced NSCLC patients with EGFR mutations, EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs), such as Gefitinib, Afatinib, Oxitinib and other targeted therapies have become the first-line treatment recommended by many guidelines, but many patients develop acquired drug resistance after about 1 year of medication. Patients with drug resistance will have earlier disease progression than patients without drug resistance, which has an important impact on the prognosis of patients. At present, the main treatment for patients with acquired resistance is new target inhibition for resistant mutation. For example, if patients with T790M mutation are resistant to the first or second generation drugs such as Gefitinb and Afatinib, they can be treated with the third generation drugs (Osimertinib or Almonertinib), which can delay the progression of the disease. Therefore, the study of drug resistance mechanism and treatment of drug resistance patients are essential. This paper mainly reviews targeted therapy and drug resistance mechanism of EGFR-mutant NSCLC patients, in order to provide reference for clinical application of EGFR-TKIs.
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Research Advances of EGFR-TP53 Co-mutation in Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer / 中国肺癌杂志

With the rapid development and wide application of next generation sequencing (NGS) technology, a series of researches have revealed that concurrent genetic alterations play an important role in the response and resistance of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant NSCLC to EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). Besides, TP53 mutation is the most common co-mutation gene in EGFR-mutant NSCLC, which has been proved to confer a worse prognosis in EGFR-mutated patients treated with first, second and third generation of EGFR-TKIs. Currently, it is still being explored how to select the best treatment strategies for patients with concomitant presence of TP53 mutation in EGFR-mutant NSCLC. Here, we review the literature on recent research progress of TP53 concurrent mutation in EGFR-mutant advanced NSCLC.
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Strategic Exploration of Targeted Therapy for BRAF Non-V600E Mutant Lung Cancer / 中国肺癌杂志

BACKGROUND@#Dabrafenib+Trametinib/Dabrafenib targeted therapy has been approved for V-RAF murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B1 with amino acid substitution for valine at position 600 (BRAF V600E) in lung cancer patients, however, the targeted therapy strategy for lung cancer patients with BRAF non-V600E mutations has not been determined yet. This study intends to explore the efficacy of targeted therapy for BRAF non-V600E mutant lung cancer, and provide a reference for clinical treatment.@*METHODS@#Computer search of PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, Clinicaltrials.gov, CBM, CNKI, Wanfang database. Collect the relevant literature relevant on the targeted therapy of BRAF non-V600E mutant lung cancer, and conduct a descriptive analysis of the included literature.@*RESULTS@#There were 10 articles that met the inclusion criteria, including 3 cohort studies and 7 case reports. 18 patients with BRAF non-V600E mutant lung cancer were ineffective to vermurafenib; 1 patient obtained partial response (PR) after applying vermurafenib, 5 patients did not respond to BRAF inhibitors; 9 patients showed a potential clinical benefit rate of 34% after monotherapy with trametinib; 7 patients have different degrees of benefit from dabrafenib and trametinib on progression-free survival (PFS); 1 patient is effective to sorafenib.@*CONCLUSIONS@#At present, there is no standard treatment specification for BRAF non-V600E mutation targeted therapy. The challenge lies in the heterogeneous mutation of BRAF gene. Different mutation types respond differently to targeted therapy. In addtion, real-world research evidence is scarce, so it is necessary to carry out further large-sample high-quality research to provide reference for clinical practice.

Analysis of the Curative Effect and Influencing Factors of Nilotinib Second-line and Dasatinib Third-line on Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Failed First-line and Second-line Treatment / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate the efficacy of the second-line nilotinib and third-line dasatinib on chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) with failed first- and second-line treatments, and analyze the influencing factors of the efficacy.@*METHODS@#Selected 83 patients in The Third People's Hospital of Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province with CML who were treated with nilotinib as the second-line treatment after the failure of the first-line treatment with imatinib as the second-line treatment group (referred to as the second-line group) from January 2014 to December 2018, and 61 CML patients who were treated by dasatinib as the third-line treatment group (referred to as the third-line group) after the failure of the second-line treatment with nilotinib; the first-line treatment with imatinib failed, but due to various reasons, the patients were fully after being informed of the possible serious consequences of not changing the drug treatment, 37 CML patients who were still required to continue imatinib treatment served as the control group. The hematological, genetic and molecular responses of each group were compared for 3, 6, and 24 months of treatment. LogistiC regression was used to analyze the factors affecting the second and third line curative effects.@*RESULTS@#The three groups had statistically significant differences in the rates of achieving CHR, MCyR, and MMR at 3, 6, and 12 months of treatment (P<0.05). Compared the two groups, the CHR rates of the second-line group at 3, 6, and 12 months of treatment were 100.00%, 97.59%, and 95.18%, respectively; higher than the third-line group's 90.16%, 86.89%, 83.61% and the control group's 83.78%, 75.68% and 72.97%; the CHR rate of the third-line group was higher than that of the control group at 6 and 12 months of treatment. The rates of reaching MCyR at 3, 6, and 12 months after treatment in the second-line group were 87.95%, 93.98% and 93.98%, respectively, while those in the third-line group were 80.33%, 88.52% and 86.89%, which were higher than those of the control group of 67.57%, 64.86% and 48.65%. The rates of achieving MMR at 3, 6, and 12 months of treatment in the second-line group were 19.28%, 33.72% and 60.24%, respectively, and those in the third-line group were 11.48%, 26.23% and 49.18%, which were higher than those of the control group of 0.00%, 2.70% and 0.00%; The rate of reaching MMR within 12 months of treatment in the second-line group was higher than that of the third-line group, and the differences was statistically significant (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the rate of reaching MCyR between the second-line group and the third-line group at 3, 6, and 12 months, and the rate of reaching MMR at 3 and 6 months (P>0.05). The incidence of nausea and vomiting among the three main non-hematological adverse reactions, and the incidence of grade 1~2 anemia among the hematological adverse reactions were statistically significant (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of rash, eyelid edema, diarrhea, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia and neutropenia in the three groups (P>0.05). The incidence of nausea and vomiting and grade 1~2 anemia in the second-line group and the third-line group were higher than that of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). There were statistically significant differences in Sokal score, medication compliance, and hematological adverse reactions between the MMR group and the non-MMR group (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that dose reduction or withdrawal during the treatment period, and grade 3~4 hematological adverse reactions were the main factors affecting the second and third line curative effects (OR=22.160, 2.715, 95% CI=2.795-93.027, 1.882-48.834).@*CONCLUSION@#The second-line nilotinib and the third-line dasatinib have a better effect on CML patients who have failed the first and second-line treatments. Grade 3~4 hematological adverse reactions, dose reduction or withdrawal are risk factors that affect the efficacy of second and third-line treatments.

Recent research on tofacitinib in the treatment of pediatric rheumatic diseases / 中国当代儿科杂志

Tofacitinib is a Janus kinase inhibitor and can block the Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription signal transduction pathway and reduce the production and release of a variety of cytokines. It has great potential in the treatment of various rheumatic diseases with a rapid onset of action and can reduce corticosteroid dependence and related adverse events. The therapeutic effect of tofacitinib in adult patients has been confirmed, and it has been increasingly used in pediatric patients in recent years. This article reviews the clinical application of tofacitinib in the treatment of pediatric autoimmune diseases.

Analysis of the Effcacy and Safety of Amivantamab in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients with EGFR/MET Gene Abnormalities: A Single Center's Experience / 中国肺癌杂志

BACKGROUND@#Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and cellular-mesenchymal to epithelial transition factor (c-Met) are widely expressed on cancer cells. There is a synergistic effect of EGFR and HGF/c-Met pathways on proliferation, downstream activation of signal transduction and an additive effect. Studies show that combination of both signaling pathways could potentially be targeted in a synergistic fashion. Amivantamab, a bispecific monoclonal antibody targeting EGFR and c-Met, yielded robust and durable responses in a variety of clinicals trials. However, few researches have reported its efficacy in Chinese non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and tolerance of Amivantamab in NSCLC patients with EGFR/MET gene abnormalities at Peking University Cancer Hospital.@*METHODS@#The study enrolled NSCLC patients who received Amivantamab in our hospital between August 2020 and December 2021, and analyzed the response, survival, and treatment-related adverse events.@*RESULTS@#Fifteen patients were enrolled in this research, and six of them received Amivantamab treatment and the other nine patients received Amivantamab plus Lazertinib treatment. The rates of partial response (PR), stable disease (SD), and progressive disease (PD) were 46.7% (7/15), 46.7% (7/15) and 6.7% (1/15), respectively. The overall response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) were 28.6% (2/7) and 100.0% (7/7) in seven patients with EGFR exon 20 insertion, respectively. The ORR and DCR were 40.0% (2/5) and 100.0% (5/5) in five post-osimertinib EGFR-mutant patients, respectively. After a median follow-up of 8.7 months, the median progression-free survival and overall survival were not reached. The most common treatment-related adverse events were rash (86.7%), paronychia (80.0%), and infusion-related reactions (60.0%), and most of them were graded as 1 to 2. Grade 3 to 4 adverse events included rash (33.3%), alanine aminotransferase elevation (13.3%), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase elevation (13.3%), peripheral edema (6.7%), thromboembolism (6.7%), interstitial lung disease (6.7%), and thrombocytopenia (6.7%).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Amivantamab was effective in Chinese NSCLC patients with EGFR exon 20 insertion and post-Osimertinib EGFR-mutant patients, similar to the results of clinical trials conducted in western countries. Amivantamab was well tolerated and emphases should be put on adverse events such as rash, paronychia, and infusion-related reactions.

Research Progress of Proteolysis Targeting Chimeria in NSCLC Therapy / 中国肺癌杂志

Proteolysis targeting chimeria (PROTAC) degrades target proteins by utilizing the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, subverting the concept of traditional small molecule inhibitors. Among the common mutation targets of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), PROTAC technology has successfully achieved the effective degradation of kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK ) and other proteins in preclinical studies. PROTAC drugs with their unique event-driven advantages, are expected to overcome acquired drug resistance caused by small molecule inhibitors and show good therapeutic potential for undruggable targets, thereby providing a new strategy for the treatment of NSCLC.
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Clinical Application of Zanubrutinib in B-Cell Lymphoma --Review / 中国实验血液学杂志

Zanubrutinib is a highly selective second-generation BTK inhibitor developed in China and first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a novel antineoplastic drug. In recent years, with the birth of molecularly targeted drugs, the treatment of B-cell lymphoma have entered the era of targeted therapy, and immunotherapy has been widely accepted. Especially in some relapsed and refractory lymphomas, zanubrutinib has shown deep and sustained remissions and a favorable safety, which lays a foundation for precision therapy. In this review the clinical application and new progress for zanubrutinib in B-cell lymphoma was summarized briefly.

Prevention and treatment of mucocutaneous adverse reactions associated with epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors / 中华预防医学杂志

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling is aberrantly overexpressed in many solid malignancies, making it an important target for anti-cancer biologic agents. Among them, epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors (EGFRIs), which have been widely used in clinical practice, include anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies and tyrosine kinase inhibitors. A proportion of patients treated with EGFRIs develop specific, dose-dependent skin toxicity such as papulopustular rash, paronychia, xerosis and itch. These side effects can cause physical and psychosocial discomfort that may result in dose reduction, discontinuance, or replacement of the current EGFRIs treatment. Correct diagnosis and treatment of these skin and mucosal adverse effects associated with EGFRIs is of great significance for the tertiary prevention of malignant tumors. A review on EGFRI-related mucocutaneous adverse reactions is presented here, focusing on the pathogenesis, the various clinical manifestations, the strategies for prevention and treatment of these conditions.

Quimioterapia intensiva asociada a imatinib en leucemia linfoblástica aguda del adulto, Philadelphia positivo. Experiencia en un hospital público / Intensive chemotherapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors in philadelphia-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Background: Before the advent of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), patients with Philadelphia-positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (Ph+ALL) had a poor prognosis. The association of TKIs to intensive chemotherapy (CT) improved outcome. Aim: To evaluate results of an intensive CT protocol including TKI in a public hospital in Santiago, Chile. Material and Methods: All patients with Ph+ALL diagnosed between January 2010 and February 2019, and who met inclusion criteria for intensive CT, received the Ph+ALL national protocol in association with imatinib and were included in this analysis. Results: Thirty-five patients aged 15 to 59 years received treatment. Complete response (CR) was obtained in 97%. Measurable residual disease (MRD) was negative in 61% (19/31 evaluable cases) during follow-up, and 55% (16/29) were MRD (-) before three months. Relapse was observed in 13 cases. Three patients underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), two in CR1. The overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) at three years were 52 and 34%, respectively. In patients who achieved MRD negativity before three months, no statistically significant differences in OS (64 and 42% respectively, p = 0.15) or EFS (35 and 32% respectively, p = 0.37) were observed. Conclusions: The prognosis of Ph+ALL improved with the association of imatinib to intensive CT. MRD-negative status before three months in this series was not significantly associated with better outcomes. Our series suggests that the Ph+ALL national protocol associated to TKI is a therapeutic alternative with high CR and aceptable MRD (-) rates.

Prognostic factors in patients with advanced differentiated thyroid cancer treated with multikinase inhibitors - a single Brazilian center experience

ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the real-world experience multikinase inhibitors (MKI) in the treatment advanced differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) refractory to radioactive iodine (RAIR) therapy. Subjects and methods: We reviewed the records of all patients with MKI-treated DTC from 2010 to 2018. Progression free survival (PFS), response rates (RR) and adverse events (AE) profiles were assessed. Clinical parameters were compared between groups with different outcomes (disease progression and death) to identify possible prognostic factors and benefit from treatment. Results: Forty-four patients received MKI for progressive RAIR DTC. Median PFS was 24 months (10.2-37.7) and median overall survival (OS) was 31 months. Best overall response was complete response in one patient (4.5%), partial response in nine (20.4%), stable disease in twenty-two (50%), and progressive disease (PD) in twelve (27.3%). Seventy-two point 7 percent patients had clinical benefit and AE were mild in most cases (82.7%). Progressive patients were more likely to have FDG positive target lesion than those who did not progress (p = 0.033) and higher maximum SUV on target lesions (p = 0.042). Presence of lung-only metastasis and lower thyroglobulin (Tg) during treatment was associated with stable disease (p = 0.015 and 0,049, respectively). Patients with shorter survival had larger primary tumor size (p = 0.015) and higher maximum SUV on target lesions (p = 0.023). Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate safety and effectiveness of MKI in patients with advanced RAIR DTC. We were able to identify as possible prognostic markers of better outcomes: absence of FDG uptake on target lesions, lower maximum SUV on PET-CT, presence of lung-only metastasis and lower Tg during treatment.

Association of tumor mutation burden and epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor history with survival in patients with metastatic stage III/IV non-small-cell lung cancer: A retrospective study

OBJECTIVES: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. However, factors associated with the survival of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received only hospice care are largely unclear. In this study, we aimed to determine the prognostic factors correlated with survival in patients with advanced NSCLC who had undergone hospice care only. METHODS: A total of 102 patients with recurrent stage III/IV NSCLC after traditional treatment failure were investigated. Survival was measured from the date of enrollment to December 2019 or the time of death. Tumor tissues were collected, and DNA sequencing was performed to identify somatic mutations. Data on clinical factors of patients were collected and analyzed by univariate and multivariate analyses. Overall survival analysis was conducted using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: The 6-month, 1-year, and 2-year overall survival rates of the 102 patients with metastatic NSCLC were 17.65%, 3.92%, and 0.98%, respectively. The median overall survival of the 102 patients was 3.15 months. Tumor location in the peripheral lung, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor history, low tumor mutation load, adenocarcinoma, and poor performance status score were associated with prolonged survival compared with tumor location in the central lung, no EGFR inhibitor history, high tumor mutation load, squamous cell carcinoma, and good performance status score (p=0.045, p=0.003, p=0.045, p=0.021, and p=0.0003, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: EGFR inhibitor treatment history and tumor mutation load are risk factors for the overall survival of patients with stage III/IV NSCLC who have undergone only hospice care. These results provide a critical clinical basis for further study of nontraditional anti-tumor responses induced by EGFR inhibitors.

Which Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Must We Apply Before? A Case Report of Crizotinib-resistant Patient with Concomitant EGFR and EML4-ALK Gene Mutations

ABSTRACT The concomitant epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) translocations in lung adenocancers are very rare scenarios. Until now, 42 cases described in the literature have all been treated by different drugs. There is no overall consensus regarding the treatment for this adenocarcinoma subgroup. We report here a case of lung adenocarcinoma with concomitant EGFR mutation in exon 21 (L858R) and ALK rearrangement in primary tumour, EGFR mutation in exon 21 (L858R) and no ALK rearrangement in its synchronous metastasis. We treated this patient with crizotinib as the second-line therapy (after the first line docetaxel-cisplatin chemotherapy), but no response was obtained. The therapeutic choice for the lung adenocancer patients with concomitant EGFR mutation and ALK rearrangement is unclear. Examination of c-ros oncogene 1 mutation can be used as an indicator in the prediction of the crizotinib treatment success. The ALK mutation may not responsible for the resistance to EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI), and EGFR-TKI can be initiated to EGFR and ALK dual mutant patients as the first treatment.

CDK4/6 signaling pathway and its targeted therapeutic agents in cancer therapy: a review / 生物工程学报

The development and progression of most cancers have been well recognized as the result of highly activated cell cycle. Cyclin dependent kinase 4/6 plays important roles not only in mitosis, but also in multiple biological processes that contribute to cancer development, such as aging, apoptosis and histone modification. Three FDA approved CDK4/6 inhibitors, Palbociclib, Ribociclib and Abemaciclib, have been used as targeted cancer therapeutic agents to benefit patients with endocrine therapy-resistant breast cancer and other types of cancer, prolonging their survival. However, the clinical application of these inhibitors also leads to acquired drug resistance and other problems. This paper reviews the regulatory roles of CDK4/6, the application of CDK4/6 inhibitors in cancer and the challenge of drug resistance.

Combination strategies of immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer: facts and challenges / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

Immunotherapy has dramatically altered the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. Currently, the emergence of combination strategies in immunotherapy has brightened the prospects of improved clinical outcomes and manageable safety profiles in the first/second-line settings. However, sub-optimal response rates are still observed in several clinical trials. Hence, alternative combination models and candidate selection strategies need to be explored. Herein, we have critically reviewed and commented on the published data from several clinical trials, including combined immunotherapy and chemotherapy, anti-angiogenic agents, epidermal growth factor receptor/anaplastic lymphoma kinase tyrosine kinase inhibitors, radiotherapy, and other immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Consensus recommendations for the clinical application of CDK4/6 inhibitors in patients with hormone receptor positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative advanced breast cancer / 中华肿瘤杂志

The introduction of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitors has revolutionized the clinical management paradigm of hormone receptor (HR) positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) 2 negative breast cancer. As of today, CDK 4/6 inhibitors including Palbociclib, Ribociclib, and Abemaciclib have been widely approved by regulatory agencies. Randomized clinical trials demonstrated that CDK 4/6 inhibitors in combination with an aromatase inhibitor (AI) or fulvestrant in the first-, second- or later-line setting for HR positive/HER2 negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer led to substantial reduction in the risk of disease progression or death. Adverse effects of treatment were manageable and as or better than expected in terms of patient satisfaction. Considering CDK4/6 inhibitors in combination with endocrine therapy being a novel approach in China clinical practice, the panel developed the consensus comprehensively describing the pharmacology properties, monitoring strategy during treatment and adverse events management, to facilitate greater understanding in Chinese oncologists of a whole new therapeutic class of drug, promote accuracy of clinical decision and help reach the ultimate goal of improving survival and quality of life of the target patient population.

Role of metabolic reprogramming in drug resistance to epidermal growth factor tyrosine kinase inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer / 中南大学学报(医学版)

Epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) can effectively inhibit the growth of EGFR-dependent mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Unfortunately, NSCLC patients often develop severe drug resistance after long-term EGFR-TKI treatment. Studies have shown that the disorder of energy metabolism in tumor cells can induce EGFR-TKI resistance. Due to the drug action, gene mutation and other factors, tumor cells undergo metabolic reprogramming, which increases the metabolic rate and intensity of tumor cells, promotes the intake and synthesis of nutrients (such as sugar, fat and glutamine), forms a microenvironment conducive to tumor growth, enhances the bypass activation, phenotype transformation and abnormal proliferation of tumor cells, and inhibits the activity of immune cells and apoptosis of tumor cells, ultimately leading to drug resistance of tumor cells to EGFR-TKI. Therefore, targeting energy metabolism of NSCLC may be a potential way to alleviate TKI resistance.