European journal of cancer : official journal for European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) [and] European Association for Cancer Research (EACR)
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Cluster identification has emerged as a priority for symptom research. Variation in statistical approaches has hampered the identification of common clusters that should be targeted for intervention. The purpose of this study was to identify and validate common symptom clusters in a large population-based cohort of ambulatory cancer subjects. ⋯ The identification of common symptom clusters using robust statistical methods will help to yield targets to improve symptom management and identify populations at risk for worse disease outcomes.
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Comparative Study
Tumor characteristics and recurrence patterns in triple negative breast cancer: a comparison between younger (<65) and elderly (≥65) patients.
In an aging population an increasing number of breast cancers is diagnosed in elderly women. Tumor characteristics and patterns of metastasation have been extensively elucidated in younger triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients, but data regarding TNBC in elderly women are missing. The goal of this investigation was to compare clinical pathological characteristics of younger and elderly TNBC patients in order to assess their relevance for TNBC in an aging population. ⋯ TNBC of elderly patients is an aggressive breast cancer subtype claiming as much attention as TNBC in younger patients, thus warranting chemotherapeutic intervention irrespectively of age.
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Contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) is the most effective option to prevent the occurrence of a second breast cancer in hereditary breast cancer patients. This study aimed to prospectively evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQoL), anxiety and depression, sexuality and body image in breast cancer patients with a family history undergoing CPM with immediate breast reconstruction. ⋯ No adverse effects on HRQoL, anxiety, depression or sexuality were observed. However, some aspects of body image were negatively affected after CPM. These findings could be used in preoperative counselling of breast cancer patients opting for CPM.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Trabectedin plus pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) versus PLD in recurrent ovarian cancer: overall survival analysis.
Trabectedin in combination with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) improves progression-free survival (PFS) compared to PLD alone in recurrent ovarian cancer (J Clin Oncol 2010;28:3107-14). ⋯ The final OS analysis did not meet the protocol-defined criterion for statistical significance. Despite stratification on platinum sensitivity, there was an imbalance in mean platinum free interval that had an effect on OS.
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Breast cancer includes high number of molecular entities targetable by specific agents. In this study, array CGH and PIK3CA/AKT1 mutations were used to drive patients into targeted therapy. A prospective molecular analysis was offered to metastatic breast cancer patients for whom samples were collected prospectively or retrospectively either from frozen or paraffin-embedded tissue. ⋯ Reasons for not providing a genomic-driven treatment included absence of progressive disease (38%), investigator's choice (9%), rapid PD (19%), and no drug access (21%). Array CGH correctly identified Her2 status in 97% cases; failures were related to low % of tumour cells. Our study showed that array CGH is feasible in the context of daily practice and, in combination with PIK3CA/AKT1 mutations, identifies a significant number of actionable molecular alterations that allow driving patients into specific targeted agents.