LUX-breast 2: Phase II, open-label study of oral afatinib in HER2-overexpressing metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients (pts) who progressed on prior trastuzumab (T) and/or lapatinib (L)

This journal suppl. is the 2012 ASCO Meeting Abstracts Part 1Open Access JournalGeneral Poster Session: Breast Cancer - HER2/ER: abstract no. TPS651BACKGROUND: Management of HER2-overexpressing MBC has improved over the past decade. However, pts still develop resistance to currently available HER2-targeted therapies and novel effective treatments are increasingly required as dual targeted combinations are given in early treatment lines already. Current therapies focus on targeting HER2 and do not inhibit all relevant ErbB Family dimers. Afatinib is an oral, irreversible ErbB Family Blocker that inhibits signaling through activated EGFR (ErbB1), HER2 (ErbB2) and ErbB4 receptors and transphosphorylation of ErbB3. Preclinical studies have demonstrated efficacy in T-sensitive and T-resistant human BC xenograft models dependent on ErbB signaling. Efficacy of afatinib in a T-resistant SUM 190 xenograft model has been shown to be increased by addition of IV vinorelbine (V). Afatinib monotherapy has shown promising clinical benefit in 46% of HER2-overexpressing MBC pts who progressed on prior T, with 10% of pts achieving PR. METHODS: This open-label Phase II trial (NCT01271725) investigates efficacy and safety of afatinib alone (40 mg/d) followed by afatinib ‘beyond progression’ plus chemotherapy in 120 pts with HER2-overexpressing MBC, who progressed on prior neoadjuvant and/or adjuvant T and/or L. Pts who progress on afatinib monotherapy receive afatinib plus either weekly paclitaxel (P) 80 mg/m2 or V 25 mg/m2. Eligible pts have confirmed HER2-overexpressing BC, stage IV disease measurable by RECIST 1.1, progressed on T and/or L therapy in either neoadjuvant and/or adjuvant setting, are eligible for retreatment with P or V and should not have been pretreated with P (≤12 months) or V, respectively. Exclusion criteria: inadequate cardiac, renal, hepatic and hematological function, pre-existing gastrointestinal dysfunction, rapidly progressing visceral disease, ILD and active brain metastases. The primary endpoint is objective response (OR) and secondary endpoints include best overall response, duration of OR and PFS; safety will be assessed separately for afatinib mono- and combination therapy. Patient enrollment began in May 2011 in 35 sites and 5 countries.link_to_OA_fulltex

Portal vein thrombosis in children and adolescents: 20 years experience of a pediatric hepatology reference center

CONTEXT: Portal vein thrombosis refers to a total or partial obstruction of the blood flow in this vein due to a thrombus formation. It is an important cause of portal hypertension in the pediatric age group with high morbidity rates due to its main complication - the upper gastrointestinal bleeding. OBJECTIVE: To describe a group of patients with portal vein thrombosis without associated hepatic disease of the Pediatric Hepatology Clinic of the Hospital das Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil with emphasis on diagnosis, presentation form and clinical complications, and the treatment of portal hypertension. METHODS: This is a descriptive study of a series of children and adolescents cases assisted from January 1990 to December 2010. The portal vein thrombosis diagnosis was established by ultrasound. RESULTS: Of the 55 studied patients, 30 (54.5%) were male. In 29 patients (52.7%), none of the risk factors for portal vein thrombosis was observed. The predominant form of presentation was the upper gastrointestinal bleeding (52.7%). In 20 patients (36.4%), the initial manifestation was splenomegaly. During the whole following period of the study, 39 patients (70.9%) showed at least one episode of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The mean age of patients in the first episode was 4.6 ± 3.4 years old. The endoscopic procedure carried out in the urgency or electively for search of esophageal varices showed its presence in 84.9% of the evaluated patients. The prophylactic endoscopic treatment was performed with endoscopic band ligation of varices in 31.3% of patients. Only one died due to refractory bleeding. CONCLUSIONS: The portal vein thrombosis is one of the most important causes of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in children. In all non febrile children with splenomegaly and/or hematemesis and without hepatomegaly and with normal hepatic function tests, it should be suspect of portal vein thrombosis. Thus, an appropriate diagnostic and treatment approach is desirable in an attempt to reduce morbidity and mortality

Targets for active immunotherapy against pediatric solid tumors.

Item does not contain fulltextThe potential role of antibodies and T lymphocytes in the eradication of cancer has been demonstrated in numerous animal models and clinical trials. In the last decennia new strategies have been developed for the use of tumor-specific T cells and antibodies in cancer therapy. Effective anti-tumor immunotherapy requires the identification of suitable target antigens. The expression of tumor-specific antigens has been extensively studied for most types of adult tumors. Pediatric patients should be excellent candidates for immunotherapy since their immune system is more potent and flexible as compared to that of adults. So far, these patients do not benefit enough from the progresses in cancer immunotherapy, and one of the reasons is the paucity of tumor-specific antigens identified on pediatric tumors. In this review we discuss the current status of cancer immunotherapy in children, focusing on the identification of tumor-specific antigens on pediatric solid tumors