Real-World Efficacy and Safety of S-1 Monotherapy in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Management: Insights From a Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: S-1, an oral chemotherapy combining tegafur, gimeracil, and oteracil, has shown efficacy comparable with docetaxel for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in clinical trials. However, its real-world effectiveness and safety remain underexplored.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at 2 tertiary referral centers: National Cheng Kung University Hospital (NCKUH) from July 1, 2012 to July 1, 2023 (last follow-up in October 31, 2023) and Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CGMH) from February 1, 2020 to January 31, 2023 (last follow-up in August 31, 2023).

Baseline and changes in inflammatory parameters for patients with EGFR-mutated NSCLC treated with afatinib.

Background: This study investigated the relationship between inflammatory biomarkers (lymphocyte ratio [NLR], monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio [MLR], and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio [PLR]) and the treatment outcomes of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with afatinib.

Methods: The patients with NSCLC treated with afatinib between June 2014 and February 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Their inflammatory biomarkers and clinical outcomes (progression-free survival [PFS] and tumor response) were explored using univariate and multivariate analyses.

Multivariable model for predicting 5-year survival in patients with EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer treated with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors: a retrospective study.

Background: Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. In Asian populations, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations are particularly prevalent, leading to the development of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) to improve patient outcomes. While extensive research has been conducted on the prognosis of patients receiving EGFR-TKIs, the estimation of 5-year survival in this population remains an underexplored area.

Genomic landscape and comparative analysis of tissue and liquid-based NGS in Taiwanese anaplastic thyroid carcinoma.

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is an aggressive cancer that requirements rapid diagnosis and multimodal treatment. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) aids in personalized therapies and improved trial enrollment. The role of liquid-based NGS in ATC remains unclear.

Comprehensive assessment of pretreatment sarcopenia impacts on patients with EGFR-mutated NSCLC treated with afatinib.

Background: This study aimed to comprehensively evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of afatinib in patients with sarcopenia, an important prognostic factor for treatment efficacy and toxicity in patients with cancer.

Methods: The clinical features of patients with advanced NSCLC treated with frontline afatinib between 2014 and 2018 at a medical center in Taiwan were retrospectively reviewed. Sarcopenia was evaluated based on the total cross-sectional area of skeletal muscles assessed by computed tomography (CT) imaging at the L3 level.

The survival after discontinuation of EGFR-TKIs due to intolerable adverse events in patients with EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) are standard treatments for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients harboring the EGFR mutation. Patients experiencing intolerable adverse events (AEs) would discontinue EGFR-TKIs. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of intolerable AEs and subsequent treatment on the survival of patients who discontinued EGFR-TKIs.

The impact of BRAF targeting agents in advanced anaplastic thyroid cancer: a multi-institutional retrospective study in Taiwan.

Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is a rare but lethal thyroid cancer. Dabrafenib and trametinib has been the standard treatment for the patients with BRAF mutation based on phase II study. This study aimed to exam the impact of dabrafenib and trametinib in ATC patients.

Adjuvant Chemoradiotherapy Associated with Improved Overall Survival in Resected Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma after Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy in Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy Era.

Background: The prognosis of patients with resected esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy is particularly poor in those who were staged as ypT3/T4 and/or ypN+. This study investigated whether adjuvant chemoradiotherapy was associated with improved clinical outcomes in these patients.

Methods: we identified patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who were staged as ypT3/T4 and/or ypN+ after being treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by esophagectomy between the years 2013 and 2019.

Epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors for non-small cell lung cancer harboring uncommon EGFR mutations: Real-world data from Taiwan.

Background: Epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) are the standard treatment for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring EGFR mutations. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of EGFR-TKIs and prognostic factors for patients with NSCLC harboring uncommon EGFR mutations, which account for 10% of EGFR mutations.

Methods: A total of 230 treatment-naive patients with NSCLC harboring uncommon EGFR mutations treated with first-line EGFR-TKIs between 2011 and 2018 at four hospitals (belonging to four institutions, Linkou, Kaohsiung, Keelung, and Chiayi, of the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital) in Taiwan were retrospectively reviewed.

Long-term use and risk of major adverse cardiac events: Comparing enzalutamide and abiraterone in chemotherapy-naïve patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

This is a retrospective cohort study by analyzing a multi-institutional electronic medical records database in Taiwan to compare long-term effectiveness and risk of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in chemotherapy-naïve metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients treated with enzalutamide (ENZ) or abiraterone (AA). Patients aged 20 years and older and newly receiving androgen receptor targeted therapies ENZ or AA from September 2016 to December 2019 were included. We followed patients from initiation of therapies to the occurrence of outcomes (prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response rate, PSA progression free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and MACE), death, the last clinical visit, or December 31, 2020.

Sequential treatment in advanced non-small cell lung cancer harboring EGFR mutations.

Background: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are standard treatments for advanced EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Osimertinib is an effective therapy for NSCLC patients with acquired resistance due to T790M mutation after first- and second-generation EGFR-TKI treatment. This study aimed to analyze the clinical outcomes of sequential therapy following first-line EGFR-TKIs and the predictive factors of an acquired T790M mutation.

Impact of T790M Mutation Status on Later-Line Osimertinib Treatment in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients.

Background: Osimertinib is a third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) designed to overcome acquired T790M resistance mutations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the efficacy of osimertinib in patients without acquired T790M mutations has not been well studied. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of osimertinib in patients treated with first- and second-generation EGFR-TKIs followed by later-line osimertinib treatment.

Systemic Therapy for Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor: Current Standards and Emerging Challenges.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), though rare, is the most common mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. KIT or PDGFRα mutation plays as an oncogenic driver in the majority of GISTs. Surgical resection is the only curative treatment for localized disease.

Epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors for de novo T790M mutation: A retrospective study of 44 patients.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate possible treatment strategies for patients with de novo T790M mutation-positive (T790M+) non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Patients diagnosed with de novo T790M+ NSCLC and treated with epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) between 2011 and 2018 at a regional hospital in Taiwan were retrospectively reviewed. Their clinicopathological characteristics and subsequent treatment information were collected, and potential prognostic factors were identified using univariate and multivariate analyses.

Real-world Afatinib Outcomes in Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Harboring Mutations.

Background/aim: Afatinib is a standard treatment for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. Osimertinib can overcome the treatment resistance-associated EGFR T790M mutation, and the sequence of afatinib followed by osimertinib is an effective therapeutic strategy for NSCLC patients. This study comprehensively evaluated the outcomes of sequential therapy following frontline afatinib and identified predictive factors for T790M mutation acquisition.

Risk Stratification Using a Novel Nomogram for 2190 EGFR-Mutant NSCLC Patients Receiving the First or Second Generation EGFR-TKI.

Epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) are the standard treatment for EGFR mutation-positive (EGFRm+) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study aimed to create a novel nomogram to help physicians suggest the optimal treatment for patients with EGFRm+ NSCLC. Records of 2190 patients with EGFRm+ NSCLC cancer who were treated with EGFR-TKIs (including gefitinib, erlotinib, and afatinib) at the branches of a hospital group between 2011 and 2018 were retrospectively reviewed.

Comparison of Different Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors for Treatment of Poor Performance Status Patients with EGFR-Mutated Lung Adenocarcinoma.

The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the tolerability and survival outcomes of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) treatment in patients with a performance status ≥ 2. The data for 517 patients treated with EGFR-TKIs between January 2011 and January 2018 at a regional hospital in northern Taiwan were analyzed. Clinical and pathological features were collected, and univariate as well as multivariable analyses were undertaken to identify potential prognostic factors.

Feasibility and effectiveness of afatinib for poor performance status patients with EGFR-mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Afatinib is one of the standard treatments for patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, data on the use of afatinib in patients with poor performance status (PS ≥ 2) are limited. This study aimed to retrospectively review the clinical outcomes and safety of afatinib treatment in EGFR-mutation-positive (EGFRm+) NSCLC patients with PS ≥ 2.

PD-L1 Immunohistochemistry Comparability and Their Correlation with Clinical Characteristics in NSCLC.

Background: PD-L1 expression is an important predictive factor of response to therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). This study was designed to retrospectively analyze the concordance of PD-L1 measurements using three different assays (Dako22C3, Dako28-8, and SP142) in NSCLC patients and to find possible predictors of high PD-L1 expression.

Materials And Methods: Data of 144 patients with histologically confirmed NSCLC and available PD-L1 measurements treated at the Taoyuan General Hospital from 2018 to 2019 were retrospectively reviewed in the study.

The association between immune-related adverse events and survival outcomes in Asian patients with advanced melanoma receiving anti-PD-1 antibodies.

Background: The association between immune-related adverse events (irAEs) and survival outcomes in patients with advanced melanoma receiving therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has not been well established, particularly in Asian melanoma.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 49 melanoma patients undergoing therapy with ICIs (anti-PD-1 monotherapy), and analyzed the correlation between irAEs and clinical outcomes including progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).

Results: Overall, the patients who experienced grade 1-2 irAEs had longer PFS (median PFS, 4.

Prognostic Value of Lymph Node-To-Primary Tumor Standardized Uptake Value Ratio in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Treated with Definitive Chemoradiotherapy.

We aimed to investigate the prognostic value of the relative maximum standardized uptake value (SUV) of metastatic lymph node (LN) compared with that of primary tumor (SUV / SUV) based on a pretreatment [F]-FDG PET/CT scan in patients with clinically node-positive esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (cN+ ESCC) treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT). We retrospectively evaluated cN+ ESCC patients who underwent a PET/CT scan before dCRT. Time-dependent receiver operating characteristics analysis was performed to identify the optimal cutoff value for SUV / SUV.

Validation and application of a prognostic model for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer receiving palliative chemotherapy.

Background: We previously developed a robust prognostic model (GS model) to predict the survival outcome of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer (APC) receiving palliative chemotherapy with gemcitabine plus S-1 (GS). This study aimed to validate the application of the GS model in APC patients receiving chemotherapy other than the GS regimen.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 727 APC patients who received first-line palliative chemotherapy other than the GS regimen between 2010 and 2016 at four institutions in Taiwan.