Publications by authors named "Francois Bertucci"

Background: Liposarcomas (LPS) are among the most common sarcomas, but gather a diversity of rare to ultrarare molecular subtypes whose presentations and natural histories are partially characterized. The aim of the work was to describe the presentation and outcome of the different LPS histotypes from the NETSARC+ registry.

Methods: NETSARC+ (netsarc.

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Background: Accurate preoperative assessment of sentinel lymph node (SLN) is critical for treatment planning in breast cancer (BC). While SLN biopsy (SLNB) remains the gold standard, it is invasive and may be unnecessary for all patients, particularly those with clinically node-negative disease. Combining conventional B-mode ultrasound (BMUS) and color Doppler ultrasound (CDUS) with new techniques like radiomics and deep learning may improve SLN prediction, but this approach has not been widely studied yet.

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Background: The treatment options for HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer include targeted therapies, cytotoxic chemotherapies, and immunotherapy. However, limited specificity and inevitable resistance highlight the need for novel agents. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), such as trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) and sacituzumab govitecan (SG), represent a breakthrough by selectively delivering cytotoxic agents to tumor cells, potentially improving the therapeutic index.

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Vγ9Vδ2 (TCRVγ9+ TCRVδ2+) T cells are promising immunotherapeutic targets with effective antitumor properties in both in vitro and preclinical models of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, no information regarding their potential role in the context of human TNBC progression and response to immunotherapy has been reported. One key reason for this is the scarcity of Vγ9Vδ2 T cell infiltrates relative to their Vδ1 (TCRVδ1+) and αβCD8 (TCRαβ+ CD8αβ+) T cell counterparts.

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Antibodies-drugs conjugate (ADC) are revolutionizing breast cancer treatment thanks to their specific targeting and cytotoxic efficacy. Despite significant advances with agents such as trastuzumab emtansine, sacituzumab govitecan and trastuzumab deruxtecan, resistance mechanisms limit their efficacy. These include reduced or heterogeneous expression of the antigenic target on the surface of tumour cells (HER2, TROP2), mutations in genes encoding the targets of cytotoxic agents, increased efflux of these agents out of the cell, and alterations in intracellular trafficking.

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Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) tumors are characterized by diffuse clusters of cells found in dermal tissue and lymphatic vessels, known as tumor emboli. Thus, IBC needs a novel treatment because it is the most aggressive breast cancer subtype. We hypothesized that the interaction between tumor emboli and the tumor immune microenvironment (TiME) fosters survival signaling, leading to the aggressiveness of the IBC.

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Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a severe disease occurring mainly in the elderly population. Venetoclax (VEN) combined with azacitidine has changed the paradigm of treatment of AML. Nevertheless, approximately 30% of patients are primary refractory to VEN (VEN-R), with no current therapeutic option.

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Background: Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are key promoters of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), the most aggressive form of breast cancer. The receptor tyrosine kinase AXL is highly expressed in various cancer types, including IBC, but its role in TAMs remains unexplored.

Methods: We examined the effects of AXL inhibitor TP-0903 on tumor growth and tumor microenvironment (TME) component M2 macrophages (CD206) in IBC and triple-negative breast cancer mouse models using flow cytometry and immunohistochemical staining.

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Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a rising therapeutic class in oncology and hematology, with eleven drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as of January 2025. These "magic bullets" have a complex structure, including a monoclonal antibody, a linker, attachment sites, and a payload usually disrupting microtubules, targeting DNA, or inhibiting topoisomerase 1. By targeting specific tumor antigens, they are expected to be exquisitely effective in releasing "supertoxic" payloads inside tumor cells after intracellular trafficking.

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Objectives: Primary ovarian leiomyosarcomas are exceptionally rare, constituting less than 1% of ovarian tumors, and they typically have a poor prognosis. The available data on the management of these tumors are sparse, with limited publications mainly comprising small retrospective series that include multiple histologic types. The aim is to evaluate the clinical, surgical, pathologic characteristics and clinical outcome of patient affected by primary ovarian leiomyosarcomas.

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By identifying somatic mutations, whole-exome sequencing (WES) has become a technology of choice for the diagnosis and guiding treatment decisions in many cancers. Despite advances in the field of somatic variant detection and the emergence of sophisticated tools incorporating machine learning, accurately identifying somatic variants remains challenging. Each new somatic variant caller is often accompanied by claims of superior performance compared to predecessors.

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Antibody-drug conjugates targeting folate receptor alpha (FRα) are a promising treatment for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (OC) with high FRα expression. Challenges persist in accurately assessing FRα expression levels. Our study aimed to better elucidate FRα gene expression and identify mRNA signatures in OC.

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Ovarian cancer (OC) is one of the most common cancers in women, with a high mortality rate. Most of published studies have been focused on Caucasian populations, with the need to explore biological features and clinical outcomes of patients from other ethnicities. We described clinical outcome (progression-free survival and overall survival) and biomarkers associated with survival in a cohort of patients with OC from Tunisia.

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Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) became a standard treatment strategy for patients with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) because of high disease aggressiveness. However, given the heterogeneity of IBC, no molecular feature reliably predicts the response to chemotherapy. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) of clinical tumor samples provides an opportunity to identify genomic alterations associated with chemosensitivity.

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ETx-22, a novel ADC combining a tumor nectin-4-specific antibody and an innovative linker to exatecan, demonstrates significant and durable responses in low-target-expressing tumor models that are resistant to MMAE-based EV and has a better toxicity profile. This new ADC has the potential to benefit additional patient populations beyond its current indication.

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Article Synopsis
  • A phase 3 trial was conducted to compare the effectiveness of doxorubicin alone versus the combination of doxorubicin and trabectedin in treating advanced leiomyosarcoma.
  • The trial involved 150 patients and showed that those receiving the combination therapy had a longer median overall survival (33 months) compared to those receiving doxorubicin alone (24 months), with lower death rates in the combination group.
  • While the combination treatment improved progression-free survival (12 months vs. 6 months), it also led to a higher incidence of adverse events and dose reductions compared to doxorubicin alone.
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Background: The long-term impact of tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) discontinuation on resistance and survival in patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) is unclear. We report the exploratory long-term outcomes of patients with advanced GIST stopping imatinib in the BFR14 trial.

Methods: BFR14, an open-label, randomised, phase 3 trial, was done in 17 comprehensive cancer centres or hospitals across France.

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Therapeutic resistance presents a significant hurdle in combating inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), adding to the complexity of its management. To investigate these mechanisms, we conducted a comprehensive analysis using transcriptomic and proteomic profiling in a preclinical model alone with correlates of treatment response in IBC patients. This included SUM149 cell lines derived from treatment-naïve patients, along with acquired drug resistance (rSUM149) and others in a state of resistance reversal (rrSUM149), aiming to uncover drug resistance networks.

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Introduction: Ewing sarcoma (ES), is a rare cancer affecting children, adolescents and adults. After VIDE (vincristine-ifosfamide-doxorobucin-etoposide) induction chemotherapy, Busulfan-Melphalan (BuMel) high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous hematopoietic stem cells transplantation improved outcomes in unfavourable localized ES, but with more toxicities than conventional chemotherapy (VAI: Vincristine-dactinomycin-Ifosfamide). We evaluated whether the risk of acute toxicity associated with BuMel compared to VAI varied according to age in patients recruited in the R2Loc and R2Pulm randomised trials of the Euro-E.

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Article Synopsis
  • A phase II trial (OSAD93) tested the effectiveness of combining ifosfamide (IFO) and cisplatin (CDDP) without doxorubicin as a neoadjuvant treatment for adult osteosarcoma, focusing on patients with localized high-grade tumors.
  • The study included 60 patients who received four courses of chemotherapy, with the primary goal being a Good Histological Response (GHR) of 10% or fewer residual tumor cells in over 30% of patients, and secondary outcomes of disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), and toxicity.
  • Although the GHR target was not achieved, the study showed promising long-term survival rates (5-year DFS 51.
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Endometrioid ovarian cancers (EOvC) are usually managed as serous tumors. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive molecular investigation to uncover the distinct biological characteristics of EOvC. This retrospective multicenter study involved patients from three European centers.

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Therapeutic options for breast cancer have recently been enriched by new antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), which are now being utilized across all known molecular subtypes. ADCs represent a groundbreaking class of therapies that combine a cytotoxic agent with a monoclonal antibody via a combination molecule (linker). The primary objective is to selectively deliver chemotherapy to cells expressing the target antigen, thereby enhancing the therapeutic index.

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Background: Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most pro-metastatic form of BC. Better understanding of its enigmatic pathophysiology is crucial. We report here the largest whole-exome sequencing (WES) study of clinical IBC samples.

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Background: Perivascular epithelioid cell neoplasms (PEComas) encompass a heterogeneous family of mesenchymal tumors. Previously described clinicopathologic features aimed at distinguishing benign from malignant variants but lacked prognostic value.

Methods: This retrospective analysis examined clinicopathologic data from patients who had localized PEComa across French Sarcoma Network centers.

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