Final results of the real-life observational VICTOR-6 study on metronomic chemotherapy in elderly metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients.

Nowadays, treatment of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) has been enriched with novel therapeutical strategies. Metronomic chemotherapy (mCHT) is a continuous and frequent administration of chemotherapy at a lower dose and so whit less toxicity. Thus, this strategy could be attractive for elderly MBC patients. Aim of this analysis is to provide insights into mCHT's activity in a real-life setting of elderly MBC patients. Data of patients ≥ 75 years old included in VICTOR-6 study were analyzed. VICTOR-6 is a multicentre, Italian, retrospective study, which collected data on mCHT in MBC patients treated between 2011 and 2016. A total of 112 patients were included. At the beginning of mCHT, median age was 81 years (75-98) and in 33% of the patients mCHT was the first line choice. Overall Response Rate (ORR) and Disease Control Rate (DCR) were 27.9% and 79.3%, respectively. Median PFS ranged between 7.6 and 9.1 months, OS between 14.1 and 18.5 months. The most relevant toxicity was the hematological one (24.1%); severe toxicity (grade 3-4) ranged from 0.9% for skin toxicity up to 8% for hematologic one. This is a large study about mCHT in elderly MBC patients, providing insights to be further investigated in this subgroup of frail patients.

Metronomic chemotherapy (mCHT) in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients: results of the VICTOR-6 study.

PURPOSE: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents a subtype of breast cancer which lacks the expression of oestrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2): TNBC accounts for approximately 20% of newly diagnosed breast cancers and is associated with younger age at diagnosis, greater recurrence risk and shorter survival time. Therapeutic options are very scarce. Aim of the present analysis is to provide further insights into the clinical activity of metronomic chemotherapy (mCHT), in a real-life setting. METHODS: We used data included in the VICTOR-6 study for the present analysis. VICTOR-6 is an Italian multicentre retrospective cohort study, which collected data of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients who have received mCHT between 2011 and 2016. Amongst the 584 patients included in the study, 97 were triple negative. In 40.2% of the TNBC patients, mCHT was the first chemotherapy treatment, whereas 32.9% had received 2 or more lines of treatment for the metastatic disease. 45.4% out of 97 TNBC patients received a vinorelbine (VRL)-based regimen, which resulted in the most used type of mCHT, followed by cyclophosphamide (CTX)-based regimens (30.9%) and capecitabine (CAPE)-based combinations (22.7%). RESULTS: Overall response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) were 17.5% and 64.9%, respectively. Median progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 6.0 months (95% CI: 4.9-7.2) and 12.1 months (95% CI: 9.6-16.7). Median PFS was 6.9 months for CAPE-based regimens (95% CI: 5.0-18.4), 6.1 months (95% CI: 4.0-8.9) for CTX-based and 5.3 months (95% CI: 4.1-9.5) for VRL-based ones. Median OS was 18.2 months (95% CI: 9.1-NE) for CAPE-based regimens and 11.8 months for VRL- (95% CI: 9.3-16.7 and CTX-based ones (95%CI: 8.7-52.8). Tumour response, PFS and OS decreased proportionally in later lines. CONCLUSION: This analysis represents the largest series of TNBC patients treated with mCHT in a real-life setting and provides further insights into the advantages of using this strategy even in this poor prognosis subpopulation.

Metronomic chemotherapy for advanced breast cancer patients in the real world practice: Final results of the VICTOR-6 study.

Metronomic chemotherapy (mCHT) refers to the minimum biologically effective dose of a chemotherapy agent given as a continuous dosing regimen, with no prolonged drug-free breaks, that leads to antitumor activity. Aim of the present study is to describe the use of mCHT in a retrospective cohort of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients in order to collect data regarding the different types and regimens of drugs employed, their efficacy and safety. Between January 2011 and December 2016, data of 584 metastatic breast cancer patients treated with mCHT were collected. The use of VRL-based regimens increased during the time of observation (2011: 16.8% - 2016: 29.8%), as well as CTX-based ones (2011: 17.1% - 2016: 25.6%), whereas CAPE-based and MTX-based regimens remained stable. In the 1st-line setting, the highest ORR and DCR were observed for VRL-based regimens (single agent: 44% and 88%; combination: 36.7% and 82.4%, respectively). Assuming VRL-single agent as the referee treatment (median PFS: 7.2 months, 95% CI: 5.3-10.3), the longest median PFS were observed in VRL-combination regimens (9.5, 95%CI 88.8-11.3, HR = 0.72) and in CAPE-single agent (10.7, 95%CI 8.3-15.8, HR = 0.70). The VICTOR-6 study provides new data coming from the real-life setting, by adding new information regarding the use of mCHT as an option of treatment for MBC patients.

Fertility concerns, preservation strategies and quality of life in young women with breast cancer: Baseline results from an ongoing prospective cohort study in selected European Centers.

OBJECTIVES: Most research addressing needs and concerns of young patients with breast cancer (≤40 years) is retrospective. The HOHO European protocol is a prospective multicenter cohort study of young women with newly diagnosed breast cancer, about fertility, psychosocial and quality of life concerns. Here we report the baseline data and focus on predictors of fertility concerns. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patient surveys and medical record review were used. The baseline survey included sociodemographic, medical and treatment data as well as questions on fertility concerns and preservation strategies. Subscales from the CAncer Rehabilitation Evaluation System-Short Form (CARES-SF) were administered to measure specific quality of life aspects. Uni- and multivariable modeling were used to investigate predictors of greater fertility concern. RESULTS: Among 297 eligible respondents, 67% discussed fertility issues before starting therapy, 64% were concerned about becoming infertile after treatment, and 15% decided not to follow prescribed therapies. Fifty-four percent of women wished future children before diagnosis; of these, 71% still desired biologic children afterwards. In multivariable analysis, not having children was the only patient characteristic significantly associated with fertility concerns at diagnosis. Twenty-seven percent used fertility preservation strategies. Women who received chemotherapy reported greater physical (p = 0.021) and sexual difficulties (p = 0.039) than women who did not. Women who were married or had a partner reported less psychosocial problems than single women (p = 0.039). CONCLUSIONS: Young women with newly diagnosed breast cancer have several concerns, including, but not limited to, fertility. The HOHO European study provides valuable information to develop targeted interventions.

Observational study on adjuvant trastuzumab in HER2-positive early breast cancer patients.

AIM: This observational study investigates the use of adjuvant trastuzumab (AT) in HER2-positive breast cancer patients in a real-life setting, focusing on relapse and discontinuation rates. PATIENTS & METHODS: Data on a group of HER2-positive patients collected from 13 oncology centers of northeast Italy were analyzed. RESULTS: In total, 1245 patients were analyzed. 13.1% of patients were excluded from AT because of comorbidities, age, tumor stage, refusal or other reasons; 8.2% of patients who received AT interrupted the therapy, mainly for toxicity. Overall the relapse rate was 10.9% in the AT-treated population versus 22.6% in nontreated patients (follow-up: 37.4 and 62.1 months, respectively). Disease-free survival (DFS) was lower in AT-relapsed patients than in not-relapsed. Statistical analysis showed a correlation between DFS and estrogen receptor status in AT-treated patients. CONCLUSION: Relapse rates are lower in clinical setting compared to clinical trials. Overall, AT is effective in HER2-positive early-stage breast cancer patients.

Mutator phenotype in human hematopoietic neoplasms and its association with deletions disabling DNA repair genes and bcl-2 rearrangements.

As mice carrying mutations of the DNA mismatch repair genes MSH2 and MSH6 often develop lymphoid neoplasms, we addressed the prevalence of the replication error (RER(+)) phenotype, a manifestation of an underlying defect of DNA mismatch repair genes, in human lymphoid tumors. We compared microsatellite instability (MSI) at 10 loci in 37 lymphoid tumors, including 16 acute lymphoid leukemias (ALL) and 21 non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL), and in 29 acute myeloid leukemias (AML). Significant differences in MSI prevalence between AMLs and ALLs emerged, and MSI occurrence was more frequent in the NHLs versus AMLs. Indeed, only 3 of 29 (10%) AMLs exhibited MSI, thus confirming its paucity in myeloid tumors, while 10 of 37 (27%) lymphoid tumors, 6 ALLs and 4 NHLs, disclosed an RER(+) phenotype. In 1 ALL patient, the same molecular alterations were observed in correspondence with a relapse, but were not detected during remission over a 14-month follow-up; in another ALL patient, findings correlated with impending clinical relapse. These results suggest that the study of MSI in lymphoid tumors might provide a useful molecular tool to monitor disease progression in a subset of ALLs. To correlate MSI with other known genetic abnormalities, we investigated the status of the proto-oncogene, bcl-2, in the lymphoma patients and found that 4 of 4 NHL patients with MSI carried bcl-2 rearrangements, thus linking genomic instability to enhanced cell survival in NHL; moreover, no p53 mutations were found in these patients. Finally, we addressed the putative cause of MSI in hematopoietic tumors by searching for both mutations and deletions affecting DNA repair genes. A limited genetic analysis did not show any tumor-specific mutation in MLH1 exons 9 and 16 and in MSH2 exons 5 and 13. However, loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of markers closely linked to mismatch repair genes MLH1, MSH2, and PMS2 was demonstrated in 4 of 6 ALLs and 1 of 3 AMLs with MSI. These observations indicate that chromosomal deletions might represent a mechanism of inactivation of DNA repair genes in acute leukemia.