scholarly journals Current options and future directions of systemic therapy for advanced biliary tract cancer

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Giuseppina Prete ◽  
Antonella Cammarota ◽  
Antonio D'Alessio ◽  
Valentina Zanuso ◽  
Lorenza Rimassa

Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) are aggressive tumors arising from different portions of the biliary tree and classified according to the anatomical location in intrahepatic (i) cholangiocarcinoma (CCA, iCCA), perihilar CCA (pCCA), and distal CCA (dCCA), gallbladder cancer (GBC), and ampulla of Vater cancer (AVC). Due to their silent behavior, BTCs are frequently diagnosed at advanced stages when the prognosis is poor. The available chemotherapeutic options are palliative and unfortunately, most patients will die from their disease between 6 and 18 months from diagnosis. However, over the last decade, amounting interest has been posed on the genomic landscape of BTCs and deep-sequencing studies have identified different potentially actionable driver mutations. Hence, the promising results of the early phase clinical studies with targeted agents against isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) 1 mutation or fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor(FGFR) 2 aberrations inintrahepatic tumors, and other agents against humanepidermal growth factor receptor (HER) 2 overexpression/mutations, neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase (NTRK) fusions or B-type Raf kinase (BRAF) mutations across different subtypes of BTCs, have paved the way for a “precision medicine” strategy for BTCs. Moreover, despite the modest results when used as monotherapy, beyond microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) tumors, immune checkpoint inhibitors are being evaluated in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy, possibly further expanding the therapeutic landscape of advanced BTCs. This review aims to provide an overview of the approved systemic therapies, the promising results, and the ongoing studies to explore the current and future directions of advanced BTC systemic treatment.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 175628722098019
Author(s):  
Marie Alt ◽  
Carlos Stecca ◽  
Swanee Tobin ◽  
Di Maria Jiang ◽  
Srikala S. Sridhar

The treatment landscape for metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC) beyond first-line platinum-based chemotherapy has changed significantly over the last 5 years with the recent approvals of the immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) inhibitors and most recently Enfortumab Vedotin (EV). EV is a novel antibody–drug conjugate (ADC), that delivers monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE), a microtubule-disrupting agent, inside cells harboring the cell surface nectin-4 receptor. In mUC, EV has shown encouraging response rates and received accelerated approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2019 in the post-platinum and ICI setting. EV is generally well tolerated, with the main toxicities being neuropathy, skin rash, alopecia and fatigue. Notably EV can also be administered to patients with renal dysfunction, which is commonly a concern in this patient population. EV is now being tested in combination strategies and in earlier disease settings in urothelial cancers. In this review, we will discuss its mechanism of action, clinical trials leading to FDA approval as well as ongoing trials and future directions.


Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 2039 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sakti Chakrabarti ◽  
Mandana Kamgar ◽  
Amit Mahipal

Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) are a heterogeneous group of adenocarcinomas that originate from the epithelial lining of the biliary tree. BTCs are characterized by presentation with advanced disease precluding curative surgery, rising global incidence, and a poor prognosis. Chemotherapy is the mainstay of the current treatment, which results in a median overall survival of less than one year, underscoring the need for novel therapeutic agents and strategies. Next-generation sequencing-based molecular profiling has shed light on the underpinnings of the complex pathophysiology of BTC and has uncovered numerous actionable targets, leading to the discovery of new therapies tailored to the molecular targets. Therapies targeting fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) fusion, isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutations, the human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) family, DNA damage repair (DDR) pathways, and BRAF mutations have produced early encouraging results in selected patients. Current clinical trials evaluating targeted therapies, as monotherapies and in combination with other agents, are paving the way for novel treatment options. Genomic profiling of cell-free circulating tumor DNA that can assist in the identification of an actionable target is another exciting area of development. In this review, we provide a contemporaneous appraisal of the evolving targeted therapies and the ongoing clinical trials that will likely transform the therapeutic paradigm of BTC.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 773-791
Author(s):  
Dhaval Sanchala ◽  
Lokesh K. Bhatt ◽  
Kedar S. Prabhavalkar

Lung cancer surfaces to be the predominant determinant of mortality worldwide constituting 13% and 19% of all new cancer cases and deaths related to cancer respectively. Molecular profiling has now become a regular trend in lung cancer to identify the driver mutations. Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) is the most regular driver mutation encountered in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). Targeted therapies are now available for the treatment of EGFR mutant NSCLC. EGFR mutation is more frequently expressed in adenocarcinoma than squamous cell carcinoma. This article presents a detailed molecular insight of the therapeutic approaches for the treatment of EGFR mutant lung cancer. The article delineates molecular mechanism of the drugs that are approved, the drugs that are in clinical trial and the drugs that have not entered a clinical trial but shows promising future in the treatment of EGFR mutant lung cancer. Furthermore, this article provides concise information on relevant combinational or monotherapy clinical trials that have been completed for various approaches.


2021 ◽  
pp. 107815522110055
Author(s):  
Clement Chung

Although therapeutically actionable molecular alterations are widely distributed across many cancer types, only a handful of them show evidence of clinical utility and are recommended for routine clinical practice in the management of cancers of colon and rectum (CRC). This 2021 update aims to provide a succinct summary on the use of prognostic and/or predictive biomarkers (expanded RAS, BRAF, microsatellite-high [MSI-H] or deficient mismatch repair [dMMR], neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase [ NTRK] fusion genes, and human epidermal growth factor receptor type II [ HER2] gene amplification) associated with CRC. Therapeutic implications of each relevant predictive or prognostic biomarker for patients with CRC are described, along with discussion on new developments on (1) biomarker-driven therapies such as testing of BRAF, MLH1 promoter methylation and MMR germline genes in differentiating sporadic CRC or hereditary conditions such as Lynch syndrome; (2) first-line use of immune checkpoint inhibitors in metastatic CRC; (3) risk stratification and therapy selection based on primary tumor location (left-sided vs. right-sided colon cancer); (3) atypical BRAF mutations; (4) use of EGFR directed therapy in the perioperative oligometastatic disease setting; (5) re-challenge of EGFR directed therapy and (6) personalizing therapy of fluoropyrimidine and irinotecan based on new evidence in pharmacogenomic testing. Data are collected and analyzed from available systematic reviews and meta-analyses of treatments with known therapeutic targets in CRC, which may be associated with predictive and/or prognostic biomarkers. Discussions are presented in an application-based format, with goal to empower pharmacists or other clinicians to gain awareness and understanding in biomarker-driven cancer therapy issues.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 529-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Nicholas Bodor ◽  
Vineela Kasireddy ◽  
Hossein Borghaei

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. The majority of these cancers are non–small-cell lung cancer, of which adenocarcinoma is the most common histologic subtype. Most patients are diagnosed at advanced stages when systemic treatment is needed. Whereas prognosis has improved for patients with targetable driver mutations, the majority of patients do not possess tumors with such molecular mutations. Platinum-based chemotherapy has traditionally been the mainstay of treatment, although in recent years immunotherapy has emerged as a treatment option and can result in robust and durable treatment responses in a subset of patients. Recent clinical trials on novel immunotherapy combinations and immunochemotherapy combinations may broaden the number of patients that may benefit from checkpoint inhibitors and elicit responses in those who otherwise may not have experienced a response to monotherapy with an immunotherapy drug. This review will outline the currently available therapies for the first-line treatment of metastatic adenocarcinoma that do not possess a driver mutation and provide a recommended approach and algorithm by which to select the best first-line therapy.


Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 3370
Author(s):  
Nicola Personeni ◽  
Ana Lleo ◽  
Tiziana Pressiani ◽  
Francesca Colapietro ◽  
Mark Robert Openshaw ◽  
...  

Most patients with biliary tract cancer (BTC) are diagnosed with advanced disease, relapse rates are high in those undergoing surgery and prognosis remains poor, while the incidence is increasing. Treatment options are limited, and chemotherapy is still the standard of care in both adjuvant and advanced disease setting. In recent years, different subtypes of BTC have been defined depending on the anatomical location and genetic and/or epigenetic aberrations. Especially for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) novel therapeutic targets have been identified, including fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 gene fusions and isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 and 2 mutations, with molecularly targeted agents having shown evidence of activity in this subgroup of patients. Additionally, other pathways are being evaluated in both iCCA and other subtypes of BTC, alongside targeting of the immune microenvironment. The growing knowledge of BTC biology and molecular heterogeneity has paved the way for the development of new therapeutic approaches that will completely change the treatment paradigm for this disease in the near future. This review provides an overview of the molecular heterogeneity of BTC and summarizes new targets and emerging therapies in development. We also discuss resistance mechanisms, open issues, and future perspectives in the management of BTC.


Breast Care ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 159-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederik Marmé ◽  
Andreas Schneeweiss

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous disease comprised of several biologically distinct subtypes. However, treatment is currently mainly relying on chemotherapy as there are no targeted therapies specifically approved for TNBC. Despite initial responses to chemotherapy, resistance frequently and rapidly develops and metastatic TNBC has a poor prognosis. New targeted approaches are, therefore, urgently needed. Currently, bevacizumab, a monoclonal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A antibody, is the only targeted agent with an approval for the therapy of metastatic breast cancer, but does not provide a specific benefit in the TNBC subtype. This review discusses the current clinical developments in targeted approaches for TNBC, including anti-angiogenic therapies, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted therapies, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors and platinum salts, as well as novel strategies using immune-checkpoint inhibitors, which have recently demonstrated first promising results. Strategies focusing on specific subtypes of TNBC like anti-androgenic therapies for the luminal androgen receptor subtype (LAR) and others are also discussed.


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