Palbociclib is a cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 inhibitor approved for advanced breast cancer. In the adjuvant setting, the potential value of adding palbociclib to endocrine therapy for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer has not been confirmed.In the prospective, randomized, phase III PALLAS trial, patients with hormone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative early breast cancer were randomly assigned to receive 2 years of palbociclib (125 mg orally once daily, days 1-21 of a 28-day cycle) with adjuvant endocrine therapy or adjuvant endocrine therapy alone (for at least 5 years). The primary end point of the study was invasive disease-free survival (iDFS); secondary end points were invasive breast cancer-free survival, distant recurrence-free survival, locoregional cancer-free survival, and overall survival.Among 5,796 patients enrolled at 406 centers in 21 countries worldwide over 3 years, 5,761 were included in the intention-to-treat population. At the final protocol-defined analysis, at a median follow-up of 31 months, iDFS events occurred in 253 of 2,884 (8.8%) patients who received palbociclib plus endocrine therapy and in 263 of 2,877 (9.1%) patients who received endocrine therapy alone, with similar results between the two treatment groups (iDFS at 4 years: 84.2% v 84.5%; hazard ratio, 0.96; CI, 0.81 to 1.14; P = .65). No significant differences were observed for secondary time-to-event end points, and subgroup analyses did not show any differences by subgroup. There were no new safety signals for palbociclib in this trial.At this final analysis of the PALLAS trial, the addition of adjuvant palbociclib to standard endocrine therapy did not improve outcomes over endocrine therapy alone in patients with early hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. 

Adjuvant Palbociclib for Early Breast Cancer: The PALLAS Trial Results (ABCSG-42/AFT-05/BIG-14-03)

New developments in mechanisms of prostate cancer progression.

Stress and coping in women with breast cancer:unravelling the mechanisms to improve resilience.

Chemotherapy, targeting not only malignant but also healthy cells, causes many undesirable side effects in cancer patients. Due to this fact, long-term cancer survivors often suffer from late effects, including cognitive impairment and cardiovascular toxicity. Chemotherapy damages the intestinal mucosa and heavily disrupts the gut ecosystem, leading to gastrointestinal toxicity. Animal models and clinical studies have revealed the associations between intestinal dysbiosis and depression, anxiety, pain, impaired cognitive functions, and cardiovascular diseases. Recently, a possible link between chemotherapy-induced gut microbiota disruption and late effects in cancer survivors has been proposed. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of preclinical and clinical findings regarding the emerging role of the microbiome and the microbiota-gut-brain axis in chemotherapy-related late effects affecting the central nervous system (CNS) and heart functions. Importantly, we provide an overview of clinical trials evaluating the relationship between the gut microbiome and cancer survivorship. Moreover, the beneficial effects of probiotics in experimental models and non-cancer patients with neurocognitive disorders and cardiovascular diseases as well as several studies on microbiota modulations via probiotics or fecal microbiota transplantation in cancer patients are discussed.

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/4/782/pdf

Exploring the Potential Role of the Gut Microbiome in Chemotherapy-Induced Neurocognitive Disorders and Cardiovascular Toxicity.

Computational analysis of protein-ligand interaction by targeting a cell cycle restrainer

Targeted therapies such as Cyclin Dependent Kinase 4 and 6 (CDK 4/6) inhibitors have improved the prognosis of metastatic hormone receptor (HR) positive breast cancer by combating the resistance seen with traditional endocrine therapy. The three approved agents currently in the market are palbociclib, ribociclib and abemaciclib. Besides the overall similarities associated with CDK4/6 inhibition, there are differences between the three approved agents that may explain the differences noted in unique clinical scenarios- monotherapy, patients with brain metastases or use in the adjuvant setting. This review article will explore the preclinical and pharmacological differences between the three agents and help understand the benefits seen with these agents in certain subgroups of patients with metastatic HR positive breast cancer.

/pdf/clinical-and-pharmacologic-differences-of-cdk4-6-inhibitors-4o8b5wtffq.pdf

Clinical and Pharmacologic Differences of CDK4/6 Inhibitors in Breast Cancer.

Patients with breast cancer experience treatment-related symptoms which are unlike side effects associated with therapy such as surgery, chemotherapy or radiation. These symptoms are collectively referred to as symptoms cluster and include concurrent physical and/or psychosocial symptoms. Psychoneurological symptom cluster has been used to describe fatigue, mood changes, cognitive and sleep disturbances and pain seen in patients diagnosed with cancer. The etiology of psychoneurological symptom cluster is unclear; however, inflammation has been shown to play a role. High quality diets defined as diets rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and polyunsaturated fatty acids and low in added sugar have been shown to decrease inflammation in patients. This article reviews the role of inflammation and high quality diet on the prevalence of psychoneurological symptoms clusters.

Psychoneurological symptom cluster in breast cancer: the role of inflammation and diet.

102Background: For patients who have a rising prostate-specific antigen value after definitive local therapy, androgen deprivation is a commonly employed option. However, immediate hormonal therapy...

Autophagic cell death with hydroxychloroquine in patients with hormone-dependent prostate-specific antigen progression after local therapy for prostate cancer.

Mridula George

Papers

Clinical and Pharmacologic Differences of CDK4/6 Inhibitors in Breast Cancer.

Psychoneurological symptom cluster in breast cancer: the role of inflammation and diet.

Autophagic cell death with hydroxychloroquine in patients with hormone-dependent prostate-specific antigen progression after local therapy for prostate cancer.

Utilization of Hypofractionated Whole-Breast Radiotherapy With Concurrent Anti-Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2) Therapy