Satisfaction with care evaluation in cancer patients. The EORTC assessment system

Este trabajo pretende presentar el área de la evaluación de la Satisfacción con los Cuidados (SC) recibidos por el paciente oncológico. La SC es considerara como una de las variables PRO – patients reported outcomes más importantes. La SC se entiende como un concepto multidimensional en el que se incluyen las diferentes experiencias y procesos asociados con la atención que reciben los pacientes. La evaluación de la SC juega un papel importante en la investigación clínica, en la gestión o en la práctica clínica diaria, y puede ser realizada en varios niveles de la atención sanitaria. El Grupo de Calidad de Vida de la Organización Europea para la Investigación y Tratamiento del Cáncer-EORTC ha desarrollado un sistema de medida formado por un cuestionario general de Calidad de Vida y módulos para diferentes tipos de tumor, tratamientos y otras áreas que lo complementan. Dentro de este grupo hay una línea de investigación dirigida a la creación de cuestionarios de SC. En el presente trabajo presentamos los cuestionarios creados por este grupo EORTC IN-PATSAT32 y OUT-PATSAT35 RT, las validaciones que se han realizado para nuestro país de dichos instrumentos, y otros cuestionarios de medida de SC que han sido empleados en oncología. Además, se hace referencia a aspectos específicos de la medición de SC.The aim of the present work is to introduce to the field of Satisfaction with Care (SC) assessment in cancer patients. SC is considered as one of the most important PRO - patients reported outcomes variables. SC is understood as a multidimensional concept in which the different experiences and processes related to the attention patients receive are included. SC assessment has a key role in clinical research, in administration or in the daily clinical practice, and can be performed in different levels of the health care system. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer–EORTC-Quality of Life Group has developed an assessment system composed of a general Quality of Life questionnaire and some modules for different treatments, tumors and other areas that complete it. There is a research line within the EORTC Quality of Life Group for developing SC questionnaires. In the present work the SC instruments built by this group EORTC IN-PATSAT32 and OUT-PATSAT35 RT, the validation studies for Spain of these two instruments, and other SC questionnaires that have been used in oncology are presented. Besides, specific aspects of SC assessment are explained

Effects of a multicomponent exercise program in older adults with non-small-cell lung cancer during adjuvant/palliative treatment: an intervention study

Clinical intervention studies support the efficacy and safety of exercise programs as a treatment modality for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) during adjuvant/palliative treatment, but the effectiveness of real-world oncogeriatric services is yet to be established. We aimed to examine the effects of a 10-week structured and individualized multicomponent exercise program on physical/cognitive functioning and mental wellness in elderly patients with NSCLC under adjuvant therapy or palliative treatment. A non-randomized, opportunistic control, longitudinal-design trial was conducted on 26 patients with NSCLC stage I-IV. Of 34 eligible participants, 21 were allocated into two groups: (i) control group (n = 7) received usual medical care; and (ii) intervention group (n =19) received multicomponent program sessions, including endurance, strength, balance, coordination and stretching exercises. Tests included the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), 5-m habitual Gait Velocity Test (GVT), Timed Up & Go Test (TUG), 6-Min Walk Test (6MWT), independence of activities in daily living (IADL), muscular performance, cognitive function, and quality of life, which were measured at baseline and after 10weeks of the program. Results revealed a significant groupxtime interaction for SPPB (p = 0.004), 5-m GVT (p = 0.036), TUG (p = 0.007), and muscular performance (chest and leg power; p < 0.001). Similarly, significant changes were observed between groups for cognitive functioning (p = 0.021) and quality of life for EUROQoL 5D (p = 0.006). Our findings confirm that a multicomponent exercise program improves measures of physical/cognitive functioning and quality of life in the elderly with NSCLC under adjuvant therapy or palliative treatment. This is an interesting and important study that adds to our current body of knowledge on the safety of exercise interventions, especially in the elderly with solid tumors.M.I. is funded in part by a research grant PI17/01814 from the Ministerio de Economía, Industria, y Competitividad (ISCIII, FEDER). R.R.-V. is funded in part by a Postdoctoral fellowship grant ID 420/2019 of the Universidad Pública de Navarra, Spain. N.M.-V. is funded in part by a research grant from Gobierno de Navarra: 'Project prevención de deterioro funcional del anciano frágil con cáncer de pulmón mediante un programa de ejercicio tras valoración geriátrica integral' (Expediente 43/18), promovido por el Departamento de Salud

La evaluación de la satisfacción con los cuidados en el paciente oncológico. El sistema de medida de la EORTC

Este trabajo pretende presentar el área de la evaluación de la Satisfacción con los Cuidados (SC) recibidos por el paciente oncológico. La SC es considerara como una de las variables PRO – patients reported outcomes más importantes. La SC se entiende como un concepto multidimensional en el que se incluyen las diferentes experiencias y procesos asociados con la atención que reciben los pacientes. La evaluación de la SC juega un papel importante en la investigación clínica, en la gestión o en la práctica clínica diaria, y puede ser realizada en varios niveles de la atención sanitaria. El Grupo de Calidad de Vida de la Organización Europea para la Investigación y Tratamiento del Cáncer-EORTC ha desarrollado un sistema de medida formado por un cuestionario general de Calidad de Vida y módulos para diferentes tipos de tumor, tratamientos y otras áreas que lo complementan. Dentro de este grupo hay una línea de investigación dirigida a la creación de cuestionarios de SC. En el presente trabajo presentamos los cuestionarios creados por este grupo EORTC IN-PATSAT32 y OUT-PATSAT35 RT, las validaciones que se han realizado para nuestro país de dichos instrumentos, y otros cuestionarios de medida de SC que han sido empleados en oncología. Además, se hace referencia a aspectos específicos de la medición de SC

Stratification of cancer and diabetes based on circulating levels of formate and glucose

Background: Serum and urine metabolites have been investigated for their use as cancer biomarkers. The specificity of candidate metabolites can be limited by the impact of other disorders on metabolite levels. In particular, the increasing incidence of obesity could become a significant confounding factor. Methods: Here we developed a multinomial classifier for the stratification of cancer, obesity and healthy phenotypes based on circulating glucose and formate levels. We quantified the classifier performance from the retrospective analysis of samples from breast cancer, lung cancer, obese individuals and healthy controls. Results: We discovered that circulating formate levels are significantly lower in breast and lung cancer patients than in healthy controls. However, the performance of a cancer classifier based on formate levels alone is limited because obese patients also have low serum formate levels. By introducing a multinomial classifier based on circulating glucose and formate levels, we were able to improve the classifier performance, reaching a true positive rate of 79% with a false positive rate of 8%. Conclusions: Circulating formate is reduced in HER2+ breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer and highly obese patients relative to healthy controls. Further studies are required to determine the relevance of these observations in other cancer types and diseases

Real-world efficacy and safety of eribulin in advanced and pretreated HER2-negative breast cancer in a Spanish comprehensive cancer center

Background Eribulin improves survival in pre-treated HER2-negative advanced breast cancer (ABC). However, limited data exist on co-morbidities and central nervous system (CNS) efficacy. The purpose of this study was to review eribulin's efficacy and safety in everyday clinical practice with special focus on age, body mass index (BMI) and central nervous system (CNS) activity. Methods An observational study was conducted in a series of HER2-negative ABC patients treated from January'14-December'17 outside a clinical trial. Objective Response Rate (ORR), Progression Free Survival (PFS), Overall Survival (OS), and association of clinical and pathological variables with outcome were evaluated. Results Ninety-five women were treated with at least one cycle of eribulin. Median age was 57 (33-83), and 18% were obese. Median number of prior chemotherapies for ABC was 3 (2-5) and 76% of patients had visceral metastases, including 21% with CNS involvement. Most tumors were estrogen receptor-positive (79%). ORR and stable disease (SD) at 6 months were 26.2 and 37.5%, respectively. Remarkably, relevant CNS efficacy was observed with eribulin: 20% of patients obtained partial response and 25% SD. Treatment was generally well tolerated and manageable, with 29% grade 3 and 10.9% grade 4 toxicities. Median PFS and OS were 4.1 months (CI95% 3.2-4.9) and 11.1 months (CI95% 9.5-14.7), respectively. Triple-negative disease, > 2organs involved and being younger than 70 years old were independent prognosis factors for worse OS in multivariate analysis. Most patients (75%) progressed in pre-existing metastases sites. Conclusion In everyday clinical practice, eribulin's efficacy seems similar to pivotal trials. CNS-efficacy was observed. TNBC, > 2 organs involved and being younger than 70 years old were independent prognosis factors for worse OS. Remarkably, less incidence of grade 4-toxicity compared to previous studies was found

Looking for a Better Characterization of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer by Means of Circulating Tumor Cells

Traditionally, studies to address the characterization of mechanisms promoting tumor aggressiveness and progression have been focused only on primary tumor analyses, which could provide relevant information but have limitations to really characterize the more aggressive tumor population. To overcome these limitations, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) represent a noninvasive and valuable tool for real-time profiling of disseminated tumor cells. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore the value of CTC enumeration and characterization to identify markers associated with the outcome and the aggressiveness of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). For that aim, the CTC population from 32 patients diagnosed with TNBC was isolated and characterized. This population showed important cell plasticity in terms of expression of epithelia/mesenchymal and stemness markers, suggesting the relevance of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) intermediate phenotypes for efficient tumor dissemination. Importantly, the CTC signature demonstrated prognostic value to predict the patients' outcome and pointed to a relevant role of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 1 (TIMP1) and androgen receptor (AR) for TNBC biology. Furthermore, we also analyzed the usefulness of the AR and TIMP1 blockade to target TNBC proliferation and dissemination using in vitro and in vivo zebra fish and mouse models. Overall, the molecular characterization of CTCs from advanced TNBC patients identifies highly specific biomarkers with potential applicability as noninvasive prognostic markers and reinforced the value of TIMP1 and AR as potential therapeutic targets to tackle the most aggressive breast cancer

Resistance to taxanes in triple negative breast cancer associates with the dynamics of a CD49f+ tumor initiating population

Taxanes are a mainstay of treatment for breast cancer, but resistance often develops followed by metastatic disease and mortality. Aiming to reveal the mechanisms underlying taxane resistance, we used breast cancer patient-derived orthoxenografts (PDX). Mimicking clinical behavior, triple-negative breast tumors (TNBCs) from PDX models were more sensitive to docetaxel than luminal tumors, but they progressively acquired resistance upon continuous drug administration. Mechanistically, we found that a CD49f+ chemoresistant population with tumor-initiating ability is present in sensitive tumors and expands during the acquisition of drug resistance. In the absence of the drug, the resistant CD49f+ population shrinks and taxane sensitivity is restored. We describe a transcriptional signature of resistance, predictive of recurrent disease after chemotherapy in TNBC. Together, these findings identify a CD49f+ population enriched in tumor-initiating ability and chemoresistance properties and evidence a drug holiday effect on the acquired resistance to docetaxel in triple-negative breast cancer

Metformin induces a fasting- and antifolate-mimicking modification of systemic host metabolism in breast cancer patients

Certain dietary interventions might improve the therapeutic index of cancer treatments. An alternative to the "drug plus diet" approach is the pharmacological reproduction of the metabolic traits of such diets. Here we explored the impact of adding metformin to an established therapeutic regimen on the systemic host metabolism of cancer patients. A panel of 11 serum metabolites including markers of mitochondria! function and intermediates/products of folate-dependent one-carbon metabolism were measured in paired baseline and post-treatment sera obtained from HER2-positive breast cancer patients randomized to receive either metformin combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and trastuzumab or an equivalent regimen without metformin. Metabolite profiles revealed a significant increase of the ketone body beta-hydroxybutyrate and of the TCA intermediate alpha-ketoglutarate in the metformin-containing arm. A significant relationship was found between the follow-up levels of homocysteine and the ability of treatment arms to achieve a pathological complete response (pCR). In the metformin-containing arm, patients with significant elevations of homocysteine tended to have a higher probability of pCR. The addition of metformin to an established anticancer therapeutic regimen causes a fasting-mimicking modification of systemic host metabolism. Circulating homocysteine could be explored as a clinical pharmacodynamic biomarker linking the antifolate-like activity of metformin and biological tumor response

Tumor xenograft modeling identifies an association between TCF4 loss and breast cancer chemoresistance

Understanding the mechanisms of cancer therapeutic resistance is fundamental to improving cancer care. There is clear benefit from chemotherapy in different breast cancer settings; however, knowledge of the mutations and genes that mediate resistance is incomplete. In this study, by modeling chemoresistance in patientderived xenografts (PDXs), we show that adaptation to therapy is genetically complex and identify that loss of transcription factor 4 (TCF4; also known as ITF2) is associated with this process. A triple-negative BRCA1-mutaied PDX was used to study the genetics of chemoresistance. The PDX was treated in parallel with four chemotherapies for five iterative cycles. Exome sequencing identified few genes with de novo or enriched mutations in common among the different therapies, whereas many common depleted mutations/ genes were observed. Analysis of somatic mutations from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) supported the prognostic relevance of the identified genes. A mutation in TCF4 was found de novo in all treatments, and analysis of drug sensitivity profiles across cancer cell lines supported the link to chemoresistance. Loss of TCF4 conferred chemoresistance in breast cancer cell models, possibly by altering cell cycle regulation. Targeted sequencing in chemoresistant tumors identified an intronic variant of TCF4 that may represent an expression quantitative trait locus associated with relapse outcome in TCGA. Immunohistochemical studies suggest a common loss of nuclear TCF4 expression post-chemotherapy. Together, these results from tumor xenograft modeling depict a link between altered TCF4 expression and breast cancer chemoresistance