Project description:Vascular endothelial growth factor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (VEGF-TKIs) have been the mainstay of treatment for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Despite its early promising results in decreasing or delaying the progression of RCC in patients, VEGF-TKIs have provided modest benefits in terms of disease-free progression, as 70% of the patients who initially respond to the treatment later develop drug resistance, with 30% of the patients innately resistant to VEGF-TKIs. In the past decade, several molecular and genetic mechanisms of VEGF-TKI resistance have been reported. One of the mechanisms of VEGF-TKIs is inhibition of the classical angiogenesis pathway. However, recent studies have shown the restoration of an alternative angiogenesis pathway in modulating resistance. Further, in the last 5 years, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized RCC treatment. Although some patients exhibit potent responses, a non-negligible number of patients are innately resistant or develop resistance within a few months to ICI therapy. Hence, an understanding of the mechanisms of VEGF-TKI and ICI resistance will help in formulating useful knowledge about developing effective treatment strategies for patients with advanced RCC. In this article, we review recent findings on the emerging understanding of RCC pathology, VEGF-TKI and ICI resistance mechanisms, and potential avenues to overcome these resistance mechanisms through rationally designed combination therapies.
Project description:Resection remains the best treatment for carcinoma of the esophagus in terms of local control, but local recurrence and distant metastasis remain an issue after surgery. Chemo-radiotherapy (CRT) followed by surgery was associated with significantly improved survival benefit, but the effectiveness of neoadjuvant therapy in patients with resectable esophageal carcinoma remains controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in resectable esophageal carcinoma compared to surgery alone (SA).A search for publications that compared the efficacy of CRT with SA in resectable esophageal carcinoma was conducted. After a rigorous review of the quality, the data were extracted from eligible trials. The major outcomes measures were odds ratios (ORs). The ORs with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals were the principal measure of effects. For the meta-analysis, Revman 5.3 software was used to analyze the combined pooled ORs using fixed- or random-effects models according to the heterogeneity.Our findings revealed that, compared with SA, neoadjuvant CRT was associated with improved overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival times, but the 3- and 5-year OS did not show a statistical difference (P?0.05). The adjuvant chemotherapy group did not show significant improvement on reference rate and metastasis rate compared with the control group.CRT does significantly improve progression-free survival and OS in patients with esophageal cancer compared with SA. However, further assessment is still warranted on the role of CRT in future trials with well-selected patients.
Project description:A 79-year-old female was diagnosed with a right renal tumor with a level II tumor thrombus of the vena cava. presurgical therapy was initiated with a combination of avelumab and axitinib for 3 monthes. Then, she underwent nephrectomy and thrombectomy. Histologically, the primary tumor and tumor thrombus had no viable cells, indicating that pathological complete response was achieved with presurgical tyrosine kinase inhibitor/Immuno-oncology combination therapy. An immunohistological xamination showed very strong staining for tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in the embolized area of the tumor, with CD8 predominating over CD4.
Project description:BackgroundThe effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) on Gastric carcinoma (GC) has been extensively studied, while its survival and surgical benefits remain controversial. This study aims to perform a meta-analysis of high-quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs), comparing efficacy, safety and other outcomes of NAC followed by surgery with surgery alone (SA) for GC.MethodsWe systematically searched databases of MEDLINE, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library and Springer for RCTs comparing NAC with SA when treating GC. Reference lists of relevant articles and reviews, conference proceedings and ongoing trial databases were also searched. Primary outcomes were 3-year and 5-year survival rates, survival time, and total and perioperative mortalities. Secondary outcomes included down-staging effects, R0 resection rate, and postoperative complications. Meta-analysis was conducted where possible comparing items using relative risks (RRs) and weighted mean differences (WMDs) according to type of data. NAC-related objective response, safety and toxicity were also specifically analyzed.ResultsA total of 9 RCTs comparing NAC (n = 511) with SA (n = 545) published from 1995 to 2010 were identified. SA tended to be accompanied with higher overall mortality rate than NAC (46.03% vs 40.61%, RR: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.65-1.06, P = 0.14). Significantly, higher incidence of cases without regional lymph node metastasis observed upon resection were achieved among patients receiving NAC than those undergoing SA (25.68% vs 16.95%, RR: 1.92, 95% CI: 1.20-3.06, P = 0.006). All other parameters were comparable. Of the evaluable patients, 43.0% demonstrated either complete or partial response. The comprehensive NAC-related side-effect rate was 18.2% among patients available for safety assessment.ConclusionsNAC contributes to lowering nodal stages, and potentially reduces overall mortality. Response rate may be an important influential factor impacting advantages, with chemotherapy-related adverse effects as a drawback. This level 1a evidence doesn't support NAC to outweigh SA in terms of survival and surgical benefits when dealing with GC.
Project description:To summarize and clarify the association between vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) polymorphisms and the outcome in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) treated with sunitinib. A total of 8 studies including 900 patients were analyzed in this systematic review after screening the database of PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to evaluate the strength of the association. VEGFR1 rs9582036 AA/AC carriers and rs9554320 CC/AC carriers had more favorable overall survival (OS) in patients with mRCC treated with sunitinib (n = 3), but not in progression-free survival (PFS). In addition, VEGFA rs2010963 was associated with poorer PFS of mRCC (n = 1). VEGFA rs699947 was significant in predicting PFS by univariate analysis, but showed no statistical significance in OS (n = 1). VEGFR2 rs1870377 was verified to be associated with sunitinib OS (n = 1). Furthermore, patients with VEGFR3 rs307826 and rs307821 had shorter PFS and OS during sunitinib therapy (n = 2, respectively). Our results suggested that VEGF and VEGFR polymorphisms were associated with outcomes in sunitinib treated mRCC patients, especially VEGFR1 polymorphisms. However, considering the limited study numbers, its clinical application in sunitinib treated mRCC still needs further confirmation.
Project description:Several studies have reported an association between vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene polymorphisms rs2010963, rs3025039 and rs699947 and renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, the results remain inconclusive and controversial. We therefore conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate this association. Electronic databases were searched for relevant case-control studies up to November 2016. RevMan 5.2 software and STATA version 12.0 were used for statistical analysis in our meta-analysis. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 value. Nine eligible studies were retrieved for detailed evaluation. The pooled estimates indicated that the GG genotype of VEGF rs2010963 polymorphism significantly decreased RCC risk [GG vs. GC+CC; GG vs. GC]. There was also a significant association between VEGF rs3025039 polymorphism and RCC susceptibility [CC+CT vs. TT; CC vs. TT]. Furthermore, a significant association between VEGF rs699947 polymorphism and RCC susceptibility was detected [A vs. C; AA+AC vs. CC; AA vs. AC+CC; AA vs. CC; AA vs. AC; AC vs. CC]. Subgroup analysis revealed that these associations held true especially for Asians. Our meta-analysis suggested that there may be a relationship between the VEGF rs2010963, rs3025039 and rs699947 polymorphisms and RCC susceptibility.
Project description:BackgroundCurrent treatment recommendations for resectable or borderline pancreatic carcinoma support upfront surgery and adjuvant therapy. However, neoadjuvant therapy (NT) seems to increase prognosis of pancreatic carcinoma and come to everyone's attention gradually. Randomized controlled trials offering comparison with the NT are lacking and optimal neoadjuvant treatment regimen still remains uncertain. This study aims to compare both treatment strategies for resectable or borderline resectable pancreatic cancer.MethodsThe PRISMA checklist was used as a guide to systematically review relevant peer-reviewed literature reporting primary data analysis. We searched PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane Datebase and related reviews for randomized controlled trials comparing neoadjuvant therapy with surgery first for resectable or borderline resectable pancreatic carcinoma. We estimated relative hazard ratios (HRs) for median overall survival and ratios risks (RRs) for microscopically complete (R0) resection among different neoadjuvant regimens and major complications. We assessed the effects of neoadjuvant therapy on R0 resection rate and median overall survival with Bayesian analysis.ResultsThirteen eligible articles were included. Eight studies performed comparison neoadjuvant therapy with surgery first, and R0 resection rate was recorded in seven studies. Compared with surgery first, neoadjuvant therapy did increase the R0 resection rate (RR = 1.53, I2 = 0%, P< 0.00001), there was a certain possibility that gemcitabine + cisplatin (Gem+Cis) + Radiotherapy was the most favorable in terms of the fact that there was no significant difference concerning the results from the individual studies. In direct comparison, four studies were included and estimated that Neoadjuvant therapy improved mOS compared with upfront surgery (HR 0.68, 95% CI 0.58-0.92; P = 0.012; I2 = 15%), after Bayesian analysis it seemed that regimen with Cisplatin/ Epirubicin then Gemcitabine/ Capecitabine (PEXG) was most likely the best with a relatively small sample size. The rate of major surgical complications was available for six studies and ranged from 11% to 56% with neoadjuvant therapy and 11% to 45% with surgery first. There was no significant difference between neoadjuvant therapy and surgery first, also with a high heterogeneity (RR = 0.96, 95%CI = 0.65-1.43; P = 0.85; I2 = 46%).ConclusionIn conclusion neoadjuvant therapy might offer benefit over up-front surgery. Neoadjuvant therapy increased the R0 resection rate with gemcitabine + cisplatin + Radiotherapy that was the most favorable and improved mOS with Cisplatin/ Epirubicin then Gemcitabine/ Capecitabine (PEXG) that was most likely the best.
Project description:BackgroundObesity is an independent risk factor of development and progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Data on the benefits of bariatric surgery in obese patients with impaired kidney function have been conflicting.ObjectiveTo explore whether there is improvement in glomerular filtration rate (GFR), proteinuria or albuminuria after bariatric surgery.MethodsWe comprehensively searched the databases of MEDLINE, Embase, web of science and Cochrane for randomized, controlled trials and observational studies that examined bariatric surgery in obese subjects with impaired kidney function. Outcomes included the pre- and post-bariatric surgery GFR, proteinuria and albuminuria. In obese patients with hyperfiltration, we draw conclusions from studies using measured GFR (inulin or iothalamate clearance) unadjusted for BSA only. Study quality was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.Results32 observational studies met our inclusion criteria, and 30 studies were included in the meta-analysis. No matter in dichotomous data or in dichotomous data, there were statistically significant reduction in hyperfiltration, albuminuria and proteinuria after bariatric surgery.LimitationsThe main limitation of this meta-analysis is the lack of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Another limitation is the lack of long-term follow-up.ConclusionsBariatric surgery could prevent further decline in renal function by reducing proteinuria, albuminuria and improving glomerular hyperfiltration in obese patients with impaired renal function. However, whether bariatric surgery reverses CKD or delays ESRD progression is still in question, large, randomized prospective studies with a longer follow-up are needed.
Project description:IntroductionThe use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) as a front-line treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has significantly improved patient' outcome. However, little is known about the efficacy or lack thereof of immunotherapy after prior use of anti-PD1/PD-L1 or/and anti-CTLA monoclonal antibodies.MethodsElectronic databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, Medline, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library, were comprehensively searched from inception to July 2022. Objective response rates (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS), and ≥ grade 3 adverse events (AEs) were assessed in the meta-analysis, along with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and publication bias.ResultsTen studies which contained a total of 500 patients were included. The pooled ORR was 19% (95% CI: 10, 31), and PFS was 5.6 months (95% CI: 4.1, 7.8). There were ≥ grade 3 AEs noted in 25% of patients (95% CI: 14, 37).ConclusionThis meta-analysis on different second-line ICI-containing therapies in ICI-pretreated mRCC patients supports a modest efficacy and tolerable toxicity.
Project description:Neoadjuvant treatment (NAT) followed by surgery is the primary treatment for borderline resectable pancreatic cancer (BRPC). However, there is limited high-level evidence supporting the efficacy of NAT in BRPC. PubMed was searched to identify studies that compared the survival between BRPC patients who underwent NAT and those who underwent upfront surgery (UFS). The overall survival (OS) was compared using intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis. A total of 1204 publications were identified, and 19 publications with 21 data sets (2906 patients; NAT, 1516; UFS, 1390) were analyzed. Two randomized controlled trials and two prospective studies were included. Thirteen studies performed an ITT analysis, while six presented the data of resected patients. The NAT group had significantly better OS than the UFS group in the ITT analyses (HR: 0.63, 95% CI = 0.53-0.76) and resected patients (HR: 0.68, 95% CI = 0.60-0.78). Neoadjuvant chemotherapy with gemcitabine or S-1 and FOLFIRINOX improved the survival outcomes. Among the resected patients, the R0 resection and node-negativity rates were significantly higher in the NAT group. NAT improved the OS, R0 resection rate, and node-negativity rate compared with UFS. Standardizing treatment regimens based on high-quality evidence is fundamental for developing an optimal protocol.