La evaluación de la calidad de vida del paciente oncológico. El grupo de calidad de vida de la EORTC

Este trabajo pretende presentar el área de medición de la Calidad de Vida en el paciente oncológico. Su valoración juega un papel importante en los ensayos clínicos y en la práctica clínica. La Organización Europea para la Investigación y Tratamiento del Cáncer (EORTC) cuenta con un grupo de estudio dedicado a la Calidad de Vida. Este grupo ha desarrollado un sistema de medida formado por un cuestionario general de Calidad de Vida y módulos para diferentes tipos de tumores y tratamientos, que lo complementan. El Servicio de Oncología del Hospital de Navarra lleva colaborando en este Grupo desde 1992. En el presente trabajo presentamos algunos de los cuestionarios de la EORTC. Además incluimos un estudio de valoración de Calidad de Vida en pacientes de cáncer de mama tras un período de seguimiento largo.The aim of the present work is to introduce to the field of Quality of Life assessment in cancer patients. Its measurement plays a big role in the clinical trials and in the clinical practice. The European Organization of Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) has a study group on Quality of Life. This group has created an assessment system composed of a core questionnaire for Quality of Life measurement and some modules for different treatments and tumours, that complete it. The Oncology Department of the Hospital of Navarre has been collaborating in this Group since 1992. Some EORTC questionnaires are presented. Also a Quality of Life study performed in a sample of breast cancer patients who were in a follow up period long after the end of their treatment

Novel potential predictive markers of sunitinib outcomes in long-term responders versus primary refractory patients with metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma

Background: Several potential predictive markers of efficacy of targeted agents in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) have been identified. Interindividual heterogeneity warrants further investigation. Patients and methods: Multicenter, observational, retrospective study in patients with clear-cell mRCC treated with sunitinib. Patients were classified in two groups: long-term responders (LR) (progression-free survival (PFS)=22 months and at least stable disease), and primary refractory (PR) (progressive disease within 3-months of sunitinib onset). Objectives were to compare baseline clinical factors in both populations and to correlate tumor expression of selected signaling pathways components with sunitinib PFS. Results: 123 patients were analyzed (97 LR, 26 PR). In the LR cohort, overall response rate was 79% and median duration of best response was 30 months. Median PFS and overall survival were 43.2 (95% confidence intervals[CI]:37.2-49.3) and 63.5 months (95%CI:55.1-71.9), respectively. At baseline PR patients had a significantly lower proportion of nephrectomies, higher lactate dehydrogenase and platelets levels, lower hemoglobin, shorter time to and higher presence of metastases, and increased Fuhrman grade. Higher levels of HEYL, HEY and HES1 were observed in LR, although only HEYL discriminated populations significantly (AUC[ROC]=0.704; cut-off=34.85). Increased levels of hsa-miR-27b, hsa-miR-23b and hsa-miR-628-5p were also associated with prolonged survival. No statistical significant associations between hsa-miR-23b or hsa-miR-27b and the expression of c-Met were found. Conclusions: Certain mRCC patients treated with sunitinib achieve extremely long-term responses. Favorable baseline hematology values and longer time to metastasis may predict longer PFS. HEYL, hsa-miR-27b, hsa-miR-23b and hsa-miR- 628-5p could be potentially used as biomarkers of sunitinib response

Prevalence of pathogenic germline variants in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

PURPOSE Germline pathogenic variants are estimated to affect 3-5% of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients. However, higher mutational prevalence in non-clear cell RCC (non-ccRCC) and advanced disease has been suggested. METHODS To clarify the prevalence of pathogenic germline variants in metastatic RCC, we sequenced 29 cancer susceptibility genes in 294 unselected metastatic RCC cases plus 21 patients with clinical hereditary features. In 145 tumors, genes frequently mutated in RCC were sequenced and methylation was assessed in selected cases. RESULTS Germline variants in RCC predisposition genes (FH, VHL) were detected in 1.4% of the unselected metastatic patients, with higher frequency in non-ccRCC versus ccRCC (6.4% and 0.4%; P = 0.0025) and in younger patients (P = 0.036). Among the 315 studied patients, 14% of non-type 1 papillary cases (4 of 28), all metastatic <1 year after diagnosis, carried a FH germline variant with loss of heterozygosity and tumor genome hypermethylation. Variants in other cancer-associated genes (e.g., MUTYH, BRCA2, CHEK2) occurred in 5.1% of the unselected series, with unclear significance for RCC. CONCLUSION Our findings confirm a high prevalence of pathogenic germline variants in RCC predisposition genes in metastatic non-ccRCC, and highlight that metastatic patients with papillary type 2 or unconventional histologies compatible with FH would benefit from genetic screening.This work was supported by the projects RTI2018-095039-B-I00 (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation [MCI/AEI], cofunded by the European Regional Development Fund [ERDF]). We thank Dr. Osorio and Dr. Urioste for their work on variant interpretation and Rocio Leton and Fatima Mercadillo for their technical assistance in the MLPA performance. We acknowledge Histopathology Core Unit from the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) for their technical support.S

Recent therapeutic advances in urothelial carcinoma: A paradigm shift in disease management

Management of first-line advanced urothelial carcinoma (UC) has consisted during the past three decades in the administration of platinum-based chemotherapy followed by observation. Despite moderate to high response rates to first-line treatment, most patients will relapse shortly after and the outcomes with subsequent therapies are poor with 5-year overall survival rates of 5% in the pre-immunotherapy era. Nonetheless, recent therapeutic developments including the paradigm shift of first-line maintenance therapy with avelumab after response or stabilization on platinum-based chemotherapy, along with the incorporation of new drug classes in further lines of treatment such as antibody drug-conjugates and fibroblast growth factor receptor inhibitors have reshaped the field leading to better outcomes in this patient population. This article reviews the current state of the art with an overview on UC management, recent advances, and the upcoming strategies currently in development in advanced UC with an insight into the biology of this disease