Association between neutropenia and response to ramucirumab and paclitaxel in patients with metastatic gastric cancer

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate if the occurrence of neutropenia is correlated with response to ramucirumab plus paclitaxel for metastatic gastric cancer.METHODS: This is a retrospective study of patients treated with ramucirumab plus paclitaxel.RESULTS: Fifty-three patients were evaluated. Among these, 10 patients (26.5%) developed grade ≥3 neutropenia. Patients with grade ≥3 neutropenia reported a progression-free survival of 6.6 months (95% confidence interval 3.3-8.4) and overall survival of 11 months (95% confidence interval 5.9-13.1) vs. 4.4 months (95% confidence interval 3.9-5.2) and 8.7 months (95% confidence interval 7.8-10.1) respectively in patients' group with lower grade events.CONCLUSION: Our analysis seems to suggest that the occurrence of neutropenia predicts response to treatment with ramucirumab and paclitaxel.</p

Targeting VEGFR-2 in Metastatic Gastric Cancer: Results From a Literature-Based Meta-Analysis

Angiogenesis is a key process in cancer development. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and safety of the novel VEGFR-2 inhibitors in patients with metastatic gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancer. A literature-based meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was undertaken. The primary outcome was the overall survival. The pooled analysis from RCTs on anti-VEGFR-2 inhibitors revealed a significant increase in overall survival (hazard ratio for death: 0.69, 95% confidence interval: 0.55–0.87; p =.002). This study confirms the efficacy of novel anti-VEGFR-2 inhibitors. The future studies of these agents will evaluate alone and in combination with chemotherapy the early line of treatment along with the identification of proper predictive biomarker

New molecular therapies in patients with advanced Hepatocellular Cancer in second line of treatment: Is a real defeat?: Results from a literature based meta-analysis of randomized trials

Several new biological agents have been investigated as second line of treatment in advanced Hepatocellular Cancer (HCC). We performed a meta-analysis to assess the effect of targeted therapies in advanced HCC patients beyond the first line of treatment. A literature-based metaanalysis of randomized controlled trials was undertaken. The primary outcome was the overall survival. The secondary endpoints were the progression-free survival (PFS), the response rate (RR) and disease control rate (DCR) and the safety. Pooled analysis of targeted agents revealed a modest increase in overall survival compared with control arm (Hazard Ratio (HR)=0.93, 95%CI: 0.83-1.04; P=0.21). On the counterpart, all the secondary endpoints were in favoured to the targeted agents-based treatment (PFS: HR=0.68, 95% CI:0.56-0.83; P=0.0002; RR: 3.50,95% CI 1.81-6.76; P=0.0002, DCR: RR:1.19, 95% CI 1.06-1.32; P=0.002). To date, there is a clinical need of a more efficacious second line of therapy in treatment of the advanced HCC. This study showed some activity of the new targeted therapies in second line of treatment in advanced HC