Drug sensitivity testing on patient-derived sarcoma cells predicts patient response to treatment and identifies c-Sarc inhibitors as active drugs for translocation sarcomas

BACKGROUND: Heterogeneity and low incidence comprise the biggest challenge in sarcoma diagnosis and treatment. Chemotherapy, although efficient for some sarcoma subtypes, generally results in poor clinical responses and is mostly recommended for advanced disease. Specific genomic aberrations have been identified in some sarcoma subtypes but few of them can be targeted with approved drugs. METHODS: We cultured and characterised patient-derived sarcoma cells and evaluated their sensitivity to 525 anti-cancer agents including both approved and non-approved drugs. In total, 14 sarcomas and 5 healthy mesenchymal primary cell cultures were studied. The sarcoma biopsies and derived cells were characterised by gene panel sequencing, cancer driver gene expression and by detecting specific fusion oncoproteins in situ in sarcomas with translocations. RESULTS: Soft tissue sarcoma cultures were established from patient biopsies with a success rate of 58%. The genomic profile and drug sensitivity testing on these samples helped to identify targeted inhibitors active on sarcomas. The cSrc inhibitor Dasatinib was identified as an active drug in sarcomas carrying chromosomal translocations. The drug sensitivity of the patient sarcoma cells ex vivo correlated with the response to the former treatment of the patient. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that patient-derived sarcoma cells cultured in vitro are relevant and practical models for genotypic and phenotypic screens aiming to identify efficient drugs to treat sarcoma patients with poor treatment options.Peer reviewe

146 A PROSPECTIVE STUDY ON EFFECTIVENESS OF TELEMEDICINE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF TYPE II DIABETES MELLITUS134-140,3043

Abstract: Diabetes mellitus is a growing public health problem worldwide and is considered as one of the main threats to human health in the 21st century. Telemedicine approaches can have a positive influence on patient blood glucose. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of SMS and telephone calls on glycaemic control and its influence on medication adherence in type 2 diabetic patients. The prospective study consisted of 81 type 2 diabetes patients, assigned to three groups: Telephone group (n = 30), SMS group (n = 27) and control group (n = 24). SMS group received 4 messages weekly for 3 months and Telephone group received calls twice weekly. Their effects in reducing the HbA1c and FBS after twelve weeks of intervention were found to be higher in Telephone and SMS group than control group. Similarly, patients in the intervention group showed a significant increase in adherence after three months. Thus it was concluded that telemedicine represents a new approach to the management of type 2 diabetes

Novel CTNND2-TERT fusion in a spindle cell liposarcoma

Soft tissue tumors can be categorized molecularly into two categories: tumors which are known to have recurrent molecular alterations and tumors which do not have consistent recurrent molecular alterations or translocations. These “nontranslocation” associated sarcomas are clinically more aggressive than their more stable counterparts. However, recent advances in RNA sequencing have discovered recurrent novel fusions within the latter group, namely TERT-TRIO fusions. Furthermore, a recent report discovered this fusion in a spindle cell liposarcoma. Our case describes a novel fusion of CTNND2, a neighbor gene of TRIO, and TERT in a spindle cell liposarcoma, and provides further evidence that spindle cell liposarcoma should be a distinct entity from dedifferentiated liposarcoma. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc