scholarly journals Unexpected tumor reduction in metastatic colorectal cancer patients during SARS-Cov-2 infection

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 175883592110114
Author(s):  
Alessandro Ottaiano ◽  
Stefania Scala ◽  
Crescenzo D’Alterio ◽  
Annamaria Trotta ◽  
Annamaria Bello ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Colorectal Cancer ◽  
Immune Response ◽  
Metastatic Colorectal Cancer ◽  
Disease Burden ◽  
Tumor Burden ◽  
Lymphocyte Function ◽  
Converting Enzyme ◽  
Antiviral Immune Response ◽  
Tumor Reduction ◽  
Colorectal Cancer Patients

Herein, we describe three patients affected by metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) experiencing infection by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) and reduction of disease burden during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) course. Insights into tumor-associated angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)-2 expression and lymphocyte function suggest a correlation between host/SARS-Cov-2 infection and tumor burden reduction. This may shed new light into (a) the infection mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 virus and (b) the multiple aspects of a composite antiviral immune response with potential paradoxical and unexpected applications.

scholarly journals The tumor burden of metastatic colorectal cancer patients at initial diagnosis, pre- versus post-Covid-19 lockdown

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
AR Thierry ◽  
B Pastor ◽  
E Pisareva ◽  
F Ghiringhelli ◽  
O Bouche ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Colorectal Cancer ◽  
Metastatic Colorectal Cancer ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Median Survival ◽  
Tumor Burden ◽  
Poor Survival ◽  
Case Identification ◽  
Colorectal Cancer Patients ◽  
Delays In Diagnosis

AbstractBackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant reduction in the provision of screening, case identification and hospital referrals to cancer patients. To our knowledge, no study has yet correlated quantitatively the consequences of these limitations for cancer patient management. This study evaluates the implications of such reductions for patients newly diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) in both the pre- and post-lockdown periods.MethodsWe examined 80 newly identified mCRC patients from 18 different clinical centers. These cases come from the screening procedure of a clinical trial which is using circulating DNA (cirDNA) analysis to determine their RAS and BRAF status.ResultsThe tumor burden as evaluated by the median total plasma cirDNA concentration showed a statistically higher level in patients diagnosed post-lockdown compared to those diagnosed pre-lockdown (119.2 versus 17.3 ng/mL; p<0.0001). In order to link tumor burden to survival, we compared the survival of these mCRC patients with previous studies in which cirDNA was examined in the same way (median survival, 16.2 months; median follow up, 48.7 months, N=135). Given the poor survival rate of mCRC patients with high cirDNA levels (14.7 vs 20.0 and 8.8 vs 19.3 months median survival when dichotomizing the cohort by the median cirDNA concentration 24.4 and 100 ng/mL, respectively), our study points to the potential deleterious consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.ConclusionsRecognizing that our exploratory study offers a snapshot of an evolving situation, our observations nonetheless clearly highlight the need to determine actions which would minimize delays in diagnosis during the ongoing and future waves of COVID-19.

scholarly journals Influence of Postoperative Changes in Sarcopenia on Long-Term Survival in Non-Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 2410
Author(s):  
Chungyeop Lee ◽  
In-Ja Park ◽  
Kyung-Won Kim ◽  
Yongbin Shin ◽  
Seok-Byung Lim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Colorectal Cancer ◽  
Metastatic Colorectal Cancer ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
The Body ◽  
Term Survival ◽  
Postoperative Changes ◽  
Asan Medical ◽  
Colorectal Cancer Patients

The effect of perioperative sarcopenic changes on prognosis remains unclear. We conducted a retrospective cohort study with 2333 non-metastatic colorectal cancer patients treated between January 2009 and December 2012 at the Asan Medical Center. The body composition at diagnosis was measured via abdominopelvic computed tomography (CT) using Asan-J software. Patients underwent CT scans preoperatively, as well as at 6 months–1 year and 2–3 years postoperatively. The primary outcome was the association between perioperative sarcopenic changes and survival. According to sarcopenic criteria, 1155 (49.5%), 890 (38.2%), and 893 (38.3%) patients had sarcopenia preoperatively, 6 months–1 year, and 2–3 years postoperatively, respectively. The 5-year overall survival (OS) (95.8% vs. 92.1%, hazard ratio (HR) = 2.234, p < 0.001) and 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) (93.2% vs. 86.2%, HR = 2.251, p < 0.001) rates were significantly lower in patients with preoperative sarcopenia. Both OS and RFS were lower in patients with persistent sarcopenia 2–3 years postoperatively than in those who recovered (OS: 96.2% vs. 90.2%, p = 0.001; RFS: 91.1% vs. 83.9%, p = 0.002). In multivariate analysis, postoperative sarcopenia was confirmed as an independent factor associated with decreased OS and RFS. Pre- and postoperative sarcopenia and changes in the condition during surveillance were associated with oncological outcomes.

scholarly journals Small EVs-Associated DNA as Complementary Biomarker to Circulating Tumor DNA in Plasma of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 128
Author(s):  
Silvia Galbiati ◽  
Francesco Damin ◽  
Dario Brambilla ◽  
Lucia Ferraro ◽  
Nadia Soriani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Colorectal Cancer ◽  
Metastatic Colorectal Cancer ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Digital Pcr ◽  
Extracellular Vesicle ◽  
Circulating Tumor Dna ◽  
Mutation Status ◽  
Promising Practice ◽  
Colorectal Cancer Patients ◽  
Tumor Dna

It is widely accepted that assessing circular tumor DNA (ctDNA) in the plasma of cancer patients is a promising practice to evaluate somatic mutations from solid tumors noninvasively. Recently, it was reported that isolation of extracellular vesicles improves the detection of mutant DNA from plasma in metastatic patients; however, no consensus on the presence of dsDNA in exosomes has been reached yet. We analyzed small extracellular vesicle (sEV)-associated DNA of eleven metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients and compared the results obtained by microarray and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) to those reported on the ctDNA fraction. We detected the same mutations found in tissue biopsies and ctDNA in all samples but, unexpectedly, in one sample, we found a KRAS mutation that was not identified either in ctDNA or tissue biopsy. Furthermore, to assess the exact location of sEV-associated DNA (outside or inside the vesicle), we treated with DNase I sEVs isolated with three different methodologies. We found that the DNA inside the vesicles is only a small fraction of that surrounding the vesicles. Its amount seems to correlate with the total amount of circulating tumor DNA. The results obtained in our experimental setting suggest that integrating ctDNA and sEV-associated DNA in mCRC patient management could provide a complete real-time assessment of the cancer mutation status.

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