Future oncology
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Cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraoperative intrapleural chemotherapy (HITHOC) are a known option for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). This prospective study was started to prove that pleurectomy/decortication and HITHOC could be successfully performed in a low volume center. Criteria of inclusion were a proven diagnosis of MPM, early-stage disease and good performance status. ⋯ Mean survival was 21.5 months (range: 6-30). This small experience confirms that pleurectomy/decortication and HITHOC are a good therapeutic option in the multimodality treatment of MPM. A randomized controlled trial is necessary.
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Brain metastases (BM) are an increasing challenge in the management of patients with advanced cancer. Treatment options for BM are limited and mainly focus on the application of local therapies. ⋯ In the present review we discuss existing and emerging targeted therapies for the most frequent BM primary tumor types. We focus on challenges in the conduction of clinical trials on targeted therapies in BM patients such as patient selection, combination with radiotherapy, the obstacles of the blood-brain barrier and the definition of study end points.
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Multicenter Study
Eribulin in heavily pretreated metastatic breast cancer patients and clinical/biological feature correlations: impact on the practice.
This multicenter study describes the effectiveness of eribulin in current practice. ⋯ Our study confirms the effectiveness of eribulin mesylate in the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer and two or more lines of chemotherapy, in particular in the good disease control at the different metastatic sites.
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Oncologic therapeutics has evolved enormously as we entered the 21st century. Unfortunately, the treatment of advanced urothelial cancer has remained unchanged over the last two decades despite a better understanding of the genetic alterations in bladder cancer. Pathways such as the PI3K/AKT3/mTOR and FGFR have been implicated in urothelial bladder cancer. ⋯ Recently, researchers have been successful in manipulating the systemic immune response to mount antitumor effects in melanoma, lung cancer and lymphoma. Historically, intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin immunotherapy has been highly active in nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer. Early data suggest that immune checkpoint inhibitors will soon prove to be another cornerstone in the treatment armamentarium of advanced bladder cancer.