11. Biological factors of the tumour response to electrochemotherapy : review of the evidence and a research roadmapGregor Serša, Katja Uršič Valentinuzzi, Maja Čemažar, Richard Heller, Maša Omerzel, Luca Giovanni Campana, 2021, review article Abstract: The beneficial effects of electrochemotherapy (ECT) for superficial tumours and, more recently, deepseated malignancies in terms of local control and quality of life are widely accepted. However, the variability in responses across histotypes needs to be explored. Currently, patient selection for ECT is based on clinical factors (tumour size, histotype, and exposure to previous oncological treatments), whereas there are no biomarkers to predict the response to treatment. In this field, two major areas of investigation can be identified, i.e., tumour cell characteristics and the tumour microenvironment (vasculature, extracellular matrix, and immune infiltrate). For each of these areas, we describe the current knowledge and discuss how to foster further investigation. This review aims to provide a summary of the currently used guiding clinical factors and delineates a research roadmap for future studies to identify putative biomarkers of response to ECT. These biomarkers may allow researchers to improve ECT practice by customising treatment parameters, manipulating the tumour and its microenvironment, and exploring novel therapeutic combinations.
Keywords: biological factors, biomarkers, electrochemotherapy, bleomycin, cisplatin
Published in DiRROS: 23.09.2022; Views: 785; Downloads: 260
 Full text (1,32 MB) |
12. Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI in malignant pleural mesothelioma : prediction of outcome based on DCE-MRI measurements in patients undergoing cytotoxic chemotherapyMartina Vivoda Tomšič, Peter Korošec, Viljem Kovač, Sotirios Bisdas, Katarina Šurlan Popović, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: The malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) response rate to chemotherapy is low. The identification of imaging biomarkers that could help guide the most effective therapy approach for individual patients is highly desirable. Our aim was to investigate the dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MR parameters as predictors for progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with MPM treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Methods: Thirty-two consecutive patients with MPM were enrolled in this prospective study. Pretreatment and intratreatment DCE-MRI were scheduled in each patient. The DCE parameters were analyzed using the extended Tofts (ET) and the adiabatic approximation tissue homogeneity (AATH) model. Comparison analysis, logistic regression and ROC analysis were used to identify the predictors for the patient's outcome. Results: Patients with higher pretreatment ET and AATH-calculated Ktrans and ve values had longer OS (P≤.006). Patients with a more prominent reduction in ET-calculated Ktrans and kep values during the early phase of chemotherapy had longer PFS (P =.008). No parameter was identified to predict PFS. Pre-treatment ET-calculated Ktrans was found to be an independent predictive marker for longer OS (P=.02) demonstrating the most favourable discrimination performance compared to other DCE parameters with an estimated sensitivity of 89% and specificity of 78% (AUC 0.9, 95% CI 0.74-0.98, cut off > 0.08 min-1). Conclusions: In the present study, higher pre-treatment ET-calculated Ktrans values were associated with longer OS. The results suggest that DCE-MRI might provide additional information for identifying MPM patients that may respond to chemotherapy.
Keywords: cisplatin, magnetic resonance imaging, mesothelioma
Published in DiRROS: 06.04.2022; Views: 1511; Downloads: 653
Full text (1,55 MB)
This document has many files! More... |
