Induction Therapy Followed by Surgery for Unresectable Thymic Epithelial Tumours

Background and ObjectivesThe treatment of unresectable thymic epithelial tumours (TETs) remains controversial. Here, we present the efficacy and safety of induction therapy followed by surgery for unresectable TET.MethodsEighty-one patients with unresectable TETs treated with induction therapy followed by surgery were selected from a retrospective review of consecutive TETs from January 2005 to January 2021. Clinicopathological data were analyzed to assess tumour responses, resectability, adverse events, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).ResultsInduction therapy produced a major tumour response rate of 69.1%, a tumour response grade (TRG) 1-3 rate of 84.0% and an R0 resection rate of 74.1%. The most common toxic effects were all-grade neutropenia (35.8%) and anaemia (34.6%). The 10-year OS and PFS rates were 45.7% and 35.2%. Multivariate analysis showed that ypTNM stage, ypMasaoka stage, complete resection, and TRG were significant independent prognostic factors. Exploratory research revealed that different induction modalities and downstaging of T, N, M, TNM, or Masaoka classifications did not significantly alter the pooled hazard ratio for survival.ConclusionsInduction therapy followed by surgery is well tolerated in patients with unresectable TETs, with encouraging R0 resection rates. Multimodality management provides good control of tumors for unresectable TET patients.

Current Roles of PET/CT in Thymic Epithelial Tumours: Which Evidences and Which Prospects? A Pictorial Review

Background: The use of 18F FDG PET/CT scan in thymic epithelial tumours (TET) has been reported in the last two decades, but its application in different clinical settings has not been clearly defined. Methods: We performed a pictorial review of pertinent literature to describe different roles and applications of this imaging tool to manage TET patients. Finally, we summarized future prospects and potential innovative applications of PET in these neoplasms. Results: 18FFDG PET/CT scan may be of help to distinguish thymic hyperplasia from thymic epithelial tumours but evidences are almost weak. On the contrary, this imaging tool seems to be very performant to predict the grade of malignancy, to a lesser extent pathological response after induction therapy, Masaoka Koga stage of disease and long-term prognosis. Several other radiotracers have some application in TETs but results are limited and almost controversial. Finally, the future of PET/CT and theranostics in TETs is still to be defined but more detailed analysis of metabolic data (such as texture analysis applied on thymic neoplasms), along with promising preclinical and clinical results from new “stromal PET tracers”, leave us an increasingly optimistic outlook. Conclusions: PET plays different roles in the management of thymic epithelial tumours, and its applications may be of help for physicians in different clinical settings.

Oestrogen Receptor, Progesterone Receptor Expression on Epithelial Tumours of Ovary and Correlation with Their Clinicopathological Features

BACKGROUND Ovarian carcinoma is one of the most lethal malignancies. Their histogenesis and complex pathogenesis remain largely unknown in spite of the many studies and research carried out in the field. The receptors for female sex hormones are implicated in the pathogenesis of ovarian tumours in many studies. This concept points out the necessity of developing a highly affected targeted therapy, which requires a proper understanding of the pathogenesis of the tumours. This study was done to evaluate the expression of these receptors on the primary epithelial tumours of the ovary and explore the possible correlation with clinical and pathological features. METHODS A hundred cases of primary epithelial tumours of the ovary were selected; tissue samples were taken from appropriate areas and processed. Tissues were cut into sections of three to five-micron thickness. Sections from the tissues were stained and examined. Once the histological type was clear, the receptor expression was assessed with immunohistochemistry markers. RESULTS Among the hundred tumours studied, serous tumours were the commonest, accounting for 65 % followed by mucinous tumours which constituted 34 %. Clear cell tumours accounted for 1 %. Endometrioid and transitional cell tumours were still rarer. Among these, oestrogen receptor (ER) was expressed in 78.5 % of serous tumours and progesterone receptor (PR) was expressed in 64.6 % of serous tumours. CONCLUSIONS Serous tumours were seen to show maximum expression of the hormone receptors among the surface tumours of ovaries. Furthermore, the expression of the receptors was more consistently seen in high-grade tumours. This finding may be of help in designing personalized hormone therapy in epithelial tumours. KEY WORDS Surface Epithelial Tumours, Receptors, ER, PR.

EP.FRI.874 Laparoscopic Assisted Submucosal Excision of an Intussuscepted Colonic Lipoma through a Colotomy; A New Technique

Lipomas are the most common non-epithelial tumours of the colon. Nevertheless, symptomatic colonic lipomas are a rare entity in adults. Intussusception is the commonest complication of submucosal lipomas and often presents with absent, non-specific or intermittent symptoms, hence the diagnosis is challenging. In non-emergency situations, most patients undergo computed tomography scan as well as endoscopic evaluation of the colon prior to any surgical intervention. While successful endoscopic excision of lipomas has been reported, segmental resection of the colon is most commonly practiced. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of laparoscopic assisted submucosal excision of an intussuscepting colonic lipoma through a colotomy. We present the case of a young female patient with few weeks history of intermittent abdominal pain associated with nausea. She had previously undergone various investigations including colonoscopy and was awaiting an elective left hemicolectomy. She presented to our Emergency department with subacute large bowel obstruction. A CT scan confirmed the diagnosis of colo-colic intussusception due to a large descending colon lipoma. The patient underwent a laparoscopic assisted procedure - following laparoscopic colonic mobilisation, submucosal excision of the large lipoma was performed through a colotomy placed through the taenia on the opposite wall. The mucosal defect and colotomy were closed following the excision. The patient recovery was uneventful and histopathology of the specimen confirmed the diagnosis.

The Rise of the TROP2-Targeting Agents in NSCLC: New Options on the Horizon

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Lung cancer is the most common thoracic malignancy, representing the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide with a 5-year survival rate of &#x3c;10%. <b><i>Summary:</i></b> The emergence of targeted therapy and immunotherapy has changed the treatment paradigm of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, for those who are not eligible for such therapy or currently have no available standard treatment options, new precision treatment approaches are needed. Human trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2 (TROP2) is a transmembrane glycoprotein that is highly expressed on several epithelial tumours including NSCLC. TROP2 is recognized as a promising molecular target for therapeutic development in various types of TROP2-expressing malignancies. As a result, several TROP2-targeted therapeutics have recently been developed for clinical use, such as anti-TROP2 antibodies and TROP2-targeted antibody-drug conjugates. <b><i>Key Message:</i></b> This review explores the literature data on the role of TROP2 in cancer development and the potential use of emerging TROP2 antibody-drug conjugates in NSCLC treatment.

68Ga-FAPI-04 Versus 18F-FDG PET/CT in the Detection of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

BackgroundFibroblast activation protein (FAP) is commonly expressed in activated stromal fibroblasts in various epithelial tumours. Recently, 68Ga-FAPI-04 has been used for tumour imaging in positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT). This study aimed to compare the diagnostic performances of 68Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and to assess factors associated with 68Ga-FAPI-04 uptake in HCC.Materials and MethodsTwenty-nine patients with suspiciously HCC who received both 18F-FDG and 68Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT were included in this retrospective study. The results were interpreted by two experienced nuclear medicine physicians independently. The maximum and mean standardized uptake values (SUVmax and SUVmean) were measured in the lesions and liver background, respectively. The tumour-to-background ratio (TBR) was then calculated as lesion’s SUVmax divided by background SUVmean.ResultsA total of 35 intrahepatic lesions in 25 patients with HCC were finally involved in the statistical analysis. 68Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT showed a higher sensitivity than 18F-FDG PET/CT in detecting intrahepatic HCC lesions (85.7% vs. 57.1%, P = 0.002), including in small (≤ 2 cm in diameter; 68.8% vs. 18.8%, P = 0.008) and well- or moderately-differentiated (83.3% vs. 33.3%, P = 0.031) tumors. SUVmax was comparable between 68Ga-FAPI-04 and 18F-FDG (6.96 ± 5.01 vs. 5.89 ± 3.38, P &gt; 0.05), but the TBR was significantly higher in the 68Ga-FAPI-04 group compared with the 18F-FDG group (11.90 ± 8.35 vs. 3.14 ± 1.59, P &lt; 0.001). SUVmax and the TBR in 68Ga-FAPI-04 positive lesions were associated with tumour size (both P &lt; 0.05), but not the remaining clinical and pathological features (all P &gt; 0.05).Conclusions68Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT is more sensitive than 18F-FDG PET/CT in detecting HCC lesions, and 68Ga-FAPI-04 uptake is correlated mainly with tumour size.

Cytogenetic Study Of Peripheral Blood Leukocytes In Patients With Uterine Mesenchymal Tumors

According to the World Health Organization, uterine tumours rank second in the structure of oncological morbidity in women. Epithelial tumours account for 95% of all genital tumours and only 5% are mesenchymal tumours. Malignant mesenchymal tumours include uterine sarcomas. Annually, 10 cases of uterine sarcomas are diagnosed in 1 million women worldwide. The problems of early diagnosis and screening of malignant uterine mesenchymal tumours (sarcomas) have not yet been solved. Due to the fact that this disease is rare and the treatment of uterine sarcomas remains a pressing problem.