| 1. |
|
|
| 2. |
- Luen, S J, et al.
(author)
-
Genomic characterisation of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer arising in very young women.
- 2023
-
In: Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1569-8041. ; 34:4, s. 397-409
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Very young premenopausal women diagnosed with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative (HR+HER2-) early breast cancer (EBC) have higher rates of recurrence and death for reasons that remain largely unexplained.Genomic sequencing was applied to HR+HER2- tumours from patients enrolled in the SOFT clinical trial to determine genomic drivers that are enriched in young premenopausal women. Genomic alterations were characterised using next-generation sequencing from a subset of 1,276 patients (deep targeted sequencing, N=1258; whole-exome sequencing in a young-age, case-control subsample, N=82). We defined copy number (CN) subgroups and assessed for features suggestive of homologous recombination deficiency (HRD). Genomic alteration frequencies were compared between young premenopausal women (<40 years) and older premenopausal women (≥40 years), and assessed for associations with distant recurrence-free interval (DRFI), and overall survival (OS).Younger women (<40 years, N=359) compared with older women (≥40 years, N=917) had significantly higher frequencies of mutations in GATA3 (19%vs16%) and CN-amplifications (47%vs26%), but significantly lower frequencies of mutations in PIK3CA (32%vs47%), CDH1 (3%vs9%), and MAP3K1 (7%vs12%). Additionally, significantly higher frequencies of features suggestive of HRD (27%vs21%), and a higher proportion of PIK3CA mutations with concurrent CN-amplifications (23%vs11%).Genomic features suggestive of HRD, PIK3CA mutations with CN-amplifications, and CN-amplifications associated with significantly worse DRFI and OS compared with those without these features. These poor prognostic features were enriched in younger patients: present in 72% of patients aged <35 years, 54% aged 35-39 years, and 40% ≥40 years. Poor prognostic features (N=584[46%]) vs none (N=692[54%]) had an 8-year DRFI of 84%vs94% and OS of 88%vs96%. Younger women (<40) had the poorest outcomes: 8-year DRFI 74%vs85% and OS of 80%vs93% respectively.These results provide insights into genomic alterations that are enriched in young women with HR+HER2-EBC, provide rationale for genomic subgrouping, and highlight priority molecular targets for future clinical trials.
|
|
| 3. |
|
|
| 4. |
- Curigliano, G, et al.
(author)
-
De-escalating and escalating treatments for early-stage breast cancer: the St. Gallen International Expert Consensus Conference on the Primary Therapy of Early Breast Cancer 2017.
- 2017
-
In: Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1569-8041. ; 28:8, s. 1700-1712
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The 15th St. Gallen International Breast Cancer Conference 2017 in Vienna, Austria reviewed substantial new evidence on loco-regional and systemic therapies for early breast cancer. Treatments were assessed in light of their intensity, duration and side-effects, seeking where appropriate to escalate or de-escalate therapies based on likely benefits as predicted by tumor stage and tumor biology. The Panel favored several interventions that may reduce surgical morbidity, including acceptance of 2mm margins for DCIS, the resection of residual cancer (but not baseline extent of cancer) in women undergoing neoadjuvant therapy, acceptance of sentinel node biopsy following neoadjuvant treatment of many patients, and the preference for neoadjuvant therapy in HER2 positive and triple-negative, stage II and III breast cancer. The Panel favored escalating radiation therapy with regional nodal irradiation in high-risk patients, while encouraging omission of boost in low-risk patients. The Panel endorsed gene expression signatures that permit avoidance of chemotherapy in many patients with ER positive breast cancer. For women with higher risk tumors, the Panel escalated recommendations for adjuvant endocrine treatment to include ovarian suppression in premenopausal women, and extended therapy for postmenopausal women. However, low-risk patients can avoid these treatments. Finally, the Panel recommended bisphosphonate use in postmenopausal women to prevent breast cancer recurrence. The Panel recognized that recommendations are not intended for all patients, but rather to address the clinical needs of the majority of common presentations. Individualization of adjuvant therapy means adjusting to the tumor characteristics, patient comorbidities and preferences, and managing constraints of treatment cost and access that may affect care in both the developed and developing world.
|
|
| 5. |
|
|
| 6. |
- Barack, Leor, et al.
(author)
-
Black holes, gravitational waves and fundamental physics : a roadmap
- 2019
-
In: Classical and quantum gravity. - : IOP Publishing. - 0264-9381 .- 1361-6382. ; 36:14
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The grand challenges of contemporary fundamental physics dark matter, dark energy, vacuum energy, inflation and early universe cosmology, singularities and the hierarchy problem all involve gravity as a key component. And of all gravitational phenomena, black holes stand out in their elegant simplicity, while harbouring some of the most remarkable predictions of General Relativity: event horizons, singularities and ergoregions. The hitherto invisible landscape of the gravitational Universe is being unveiled before our eyes: the historical direct detection of gravitational waves by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration marks the dawn of a new era of scientific exploration. Gravitational-wave astronomy will allow us to test models of black hole formation, growth and evolution, as well as models of gravitational-wave generation and propagation. It will provide evidence for event horizons and ergoregions, test the theory of General Relativity itself, and may reveal the existence of new fundamental fields. The synthesis of these results has the potential to radically reshape our understanding of the cosmos and of the laws of Nature. The purpose of this work is to present a concise, yet comprehensive overview of the state of the art in the relevant fields of research, summarize important open problems, and lay out a roadmap for future progress. This write-up is an initiative taken within the framework of the European Action on 'Black holes, Gravitational waves and Fundamental Physics'.
|
|
| 7. |
- Battistoni, G, et al.
(author)
-
FLUKA Monte Carlo calculations for hadrontherapy application
- 2013
-
In: CERN-Proceedings-2012-002. ; , s. 461-467
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Monte Carlo (MC) codes are increasingly spreading in the hadrontherapy community due to their detailed description of radiation transport and interaction with matter. The suitability of a MC code for application to hadrontherapy demands accurate and reliable physical models for the description of the transport and the interaction of all components of the expected radiation field (ions, hadrons, electrons, positrons and photons). This contribution will address the specific case of the general-purpose particle and interaction code FLUKA. In this work, an application of FLUKA will be presented, i.e. establishing CT (computed tomography)-based calculations of physical and RBE (relative biological effectiveness)-weighted dose distributions in scanned carbon ion beam therapy.
|
|
| 8. |
- Geyer, C. E., et al.
(author)
-
Overall survival in the OlympiA phase Ill trial of adjuvant olaparib in patients with germime pathogenic variants in BRCA1/2 and high-risk, early breast cancer
- 2022
-
In: Annals of Oncology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0923-7534. ; 33:12, s. 1250-1268
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: The randomized, double-blind OlympiA trial compared 1 year of the oral poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase inhibitor, olaparib, to matching placebo as adjuvant therapy for patients with pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 (gBRCA1/2pv) and high-risk, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative, early breast cancer (EBC). The first pre-specified interim analysis (IA) previously demonstrated statistically significant improvement in invasive disease-free survival (IDFS) and distant disease-free survival (DDFS). The olaparib group had fewer deaths than the placebo group, but the difference did not reach statistical significance for overall survival (OS). We now report the pre-specified second IA of OS with updates of IDFS, DDFS, and safety. Patients and methods: One thousand eight hundred and thirty-six patients were randomly assigned to olaparib or placebo following (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation therapy if indicated. Endocrine therapy was given concurrently with study medication for hormone receptor-positive cancers. Statistical significance for OS at this IA required P < 0.015. Results: With a median follow-up of 3.5 years, the second IA of OS demonstrated significant improvement in the olaparib group relative to the placebo group [hazard ratio 0.68; 98.5% confidence interval (CI) 0.47-0.97; P = 0.009]. Four-year OS was 89.8% in the olaparib group and 86.4% in the placebo group (Delta 3.4%, 95% CI -0.1% to 6.8%). Four-year IDFS for the olaparib group versus placebo group was 82.7% versus 75.4% (Delta 7.3%, 95% CI 3.0% to 11.5%) and 4-year DDFS was 86.5% versus 79.1% (Delta 7.4%, 95% CI 3.6% to 11.3%), respectively. Subset analyses for OS, IDFS, and DDFS demonstrated benefit across major subgroups. No new safety signals were identified including no new cases of acute myeloid leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome. Conclusion: With 35 years of median follow-up, OlympiA demonstrates statistically significant improvement in OS with adjuvant olaparib compared with placebo for gBRCA1/2pv-associated EBC and maintained improvements in the previously reported, statistically significant endpoints of IDES and DDFS with no new safety signals.
|
|
| 9. |
- Battistoni, G., et al.
(author)
-
The FLUKA code and its use in hadron therapy
- 2008
-
In: Nuovo Cimento della Societa Italiana di Fisica C. - Italian Physical Society. - 1124-1896. ; 31:1, s. 69-75
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- FLUKA is a multipurpose Monte Carto code describing transport and interaction with matter of a, large variety of particles over a wide energy range ill complex geometries. FLUKA is successfully applied ill several fields, including, but not only particle physics, cosmic-ray physics, dosimetry, radioprotection, hadron therapy. space radiation, accelerator design and neutronics. Here we briefly review recent model developments and provide examples of applications to hadron therapy, including calculation of physical and biological dose for comparison with analytical treatment planning engines as well as beta(+)-activation for therapy monitoring by means of positron emission tomography.
|
|
| 10. |
|
|
