BJMO - volume 18, issue 2, march 2024
C. Gennigens MD, PhD, S. Altintas MD, PhD, J-F. Baurain MD, PhD, H. Denys MD, PhD, S. Henry MD, I. Vergote MD, PhD, T. Van Gorp MD, PhD
Over the past decade, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) emerged as a new therapeutic pillar across a broad range of cancer types. An important characteristic of patients responding to ICI-based therapy consists of a high mutational burden in the tumours. In line with this, patients with microsatellite instability-high or mismatch repair-deficient (MSI-H/dMMR) endometrial cancer (EC) proved to be particularly sensitive to ICI, leading to the approval of anti-PD-1 antibodies for patients with MSI-H/dMMR ≥2nd line recurrent setting. Responses to single-agent ICI have also been reported in a small proportion of patients with microsatellite stable (MSS) EC. However, a high unmet need remains for these patients. More recently, several phase III randomised controlled trials showed that adding an ICI to standard chemotherapy significantly delays the disease progression in patients with primary advanced or recurrent MSI-H/dMMR EC, but also, to a lesser extent, in MMR proficient (p)/MSS EC. This article will briefly review the available clinical trial data with ICI-based therapies in EC and will assess how this treatment modality could be integrated into the Belgian treatment paradigm for these patients.
(BELG J MED ONCOL 2024;18(2):49–59)
Read moreBJMO - volume 17, issue 2, march 2023
C. Gennigens MD, PhD, H. Denys MD, PhD, S. Altintas MD, PhD, J. Kerger MD, J-F. Baurain MD, PhD, V. Bours MD, PhD, S. Henry MD, K. Van de Vijver MD, PhD, D. Lambrechts PhD, I. Vergote MD, PhD
Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the most frequent form of OC, a disease with a poor prognosis and high lethality, as most patients are diagnosed at advanced stages. To successfully battle EOC, it is crucial to identify reliable biomarkers and use personalised therapies in patient subgroups. A common feature of high-grade serous and endometrioid OC is homologous recombination repair deficiency (HRD), which frequently stems from the inactivation of the breast cancer susceptibility (BRCA) genes. Poly-(adenosine diphosphate [ADP])-ribose polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) were, therefore, developed for their lethality against HRD tumour cells. While patients with non-HRD tumours may also benefit from PARPi therapy in the recurrent EOC setting, recent phase III trials on newly diagnosed advanced-stage EOC have shown that PARPi treatment benefit is greater in patients with HRD tumours. These findings open new avenues for the use of PARPi as maintenance therapy in HRD-positive patients who had received first-line chemotherapy. This manuscript provides recommendations for Belgian physicians on how to approach HRD testing and incorporate it into treatment decisions of patients with newly diagnosed advanced-stage EOC.
(BELG J MED ONCOL 2023;17(2):38–45)
Read moreBJMO - volume 11, issue 1, february 2017
P. Vuylsteke MD, J.C. Goeminne MD, S. Henry MD, V. Vanhaudenarde MD, B. Willemart MD, P. Marchettini MD, D. Taylor MD
Tumour infiltrating lymphocytes are a sign of immune mediated reaction of the host against the tumour. They are considered as a positive prognostic marker and may also have a predictive role for the use of certain therapies. The challenge remains to convert tumours with low tumour infiltrating lymphocytes into tumours with high tumour infiltrating lymphocytes in order to enhance the immune mediated effect of therapies.
PIK3Ca mutation is one of the most frequent mutations encountered in breast cancer, particularly in hormone receptor positive cancer in which it can confer resistance to hormonal therapy. Therefore, a lot of effort has been made to target the PI3K-pathway with drugs, and to find a way to predict their efficacy: some results have been achieved; in particular with the detection of PIK3Ca in circulating DNA, but many questions still remain. This article provides an overview concerning these two biomarkers, and attempts to determine whether they could be used in clinical practice today.
(BELG J MED ONCOL 2017;11(1):7–11)
Read moreBJMO - volume 8, issue 3, july 2014
L. Decoster MD, PhD, F. Cornélis MD, E. Joosens MD, S. Henry MD, P. Specenier MD, PhD, P. Clement MD, PhD, On behalf of the Thyroid Task Force of the BSMO
Thyroid cancers are rare diseases and include types that range from indolent localised differentiated carcinomas to fulminant and lethal anaplastic disease. Until recently, treatment options for advanced or metastatic radio-iodine refractory thyroid cancer were limited. Recently kinase inhibitors targeting angiogenesis and other pathways have shown promising activity.
(BELG J MED ONCOL 2014;8(3):81–6)
Read more
Top
To provide the best experiences, we and our partners use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us and our partners to process personal data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site and show (non-) personalized ads. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Click below to consent to the above or make granular choices. Your choices will be applied to this site only. You can change your settings at any time, including withdrawing your consent, by using the toggles on the Cookie Policy, or by clicking on the manage consent button at the bottom of the screen.
