Publications by authors named "Marta Vaz Batista"

Leptomeningeal metastatic disease (LMD) is a severe complication of solid cancers with poor outcomes and limited treatment options. The antibody-drug conjugate patritumab deruxtecan (HER3-DXd) demonstrated efficacy in breast and lung cancers, and HER3 is involved in central nervous system metastases, particularly in parenchymal colonization. In this study, we investigated HER3-DXd efficacy and safety in patients with LMD in cohort 3 of the TUXEDO-3 phase 2 trial.

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Background: Leptomeningeal metastases (LM) in patients with breast cancer (BC) are associated with a dismal prognosis. We explored clinical characteristics and prognostic factors in patients with BC and LM in the German Brain Metastases in Breast Cancer Registry.

Methods: All patients with histologically confirmed BC and diagnosis of LM (defined as the presence of tumor cells in the cerebrospinal fluid, or presence of typical clinical symptoms in combination with typical magnetic resonance imaging findings) were included.

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Article Synopsis
  • Leptomeningeal disease (LMD) significantly impacts survival and quality of life, and trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) has demonstrated effectiveness in treating advanced HER2-positive and HER2-low breast cancer in patients with a history of brain metastases or LMD.
  • In a phase 2 trial involving seven patients with confirmed LMD, T-DXd was administered, revealing a median overall survival (OS) of 13.3 months and a progression-free survival (PFS) of 8.9 months, with many patients achieving disease stabilization.
  • The results suggest T-DXd has promising activity in this challenging patient population, indicating a need for further research on its efficacy in treating LMD.
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Ovarian cancer is one of the most common gynecological malignancies and has low survival rates. One of the main determinants of this unfavorable prognosis is the high rate of peritoneal metastasis at diagnosis, closely related to its morbidity and mortality. The mechanism underlying peritoneal carcinomatosis is not clearly defined, but a clear preference for omental spread has been described.

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Background: Trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) has shown durable antitumor activity in pretreated patients with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer (ABC), but its efficacy has not yet been evaluated in patients with active brain metastases (BMs). DEBBRAH aims to assess T-DXd in patients with HER2-positive or HER2-low ABC and central nervous system involvement.

Methods: This ongoing, five-cohort, phase II study (NCT04420598) enrolled patients with pretreated HER2-positive or HER2-low ABC with stable, untreated, or progressing BMs, and/or leptomeningeal carcinomatosis.

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Introduction: Cancer care providers have faced many challenges in delivering safe care for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional survey-based study investigated the impact of the pandemic on clinical practices of Portuguese medical oncologists caring for patients with breast cancer.

Methods: An anonymous online survey comprising 42 questions gathered information regarding COVID-19 testing, treatment in (neo)adjuvant and metastatic settings, and other aspects of breast cancer management.

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The clinicopathological breast cancer subtypes are used in clinical practice to better anticipate biological behaviour and guide systemic treatment strategy. In the adjuvant setting, genomic assay recurrence scores became widely available for luminal-like disease. Recently, next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms have been used, essentially, in more advanced disease setting, in situations refractory to conventional treatment, or even in rare cancers for which there are no established treatment guidelines.

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Introduction With an estimated incidence of 2%-4% per year, the development of a second primary malignancy (SPM) in patients with head and neck tumors (HNTs) is not a rare event. The present study aimed to (i) assess the frequency of SPMs in patients with HNTs treated in a university hospital over a five-year period and (ii) provide a demographic characterization of these patients. Methods Retrospective single-centre study of patients with more than one primary tumor (including at least one HNT) diagnosed between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2019.

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Article Synopsis
  • Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and its connection to gut microbiota has been studied, revealing that microbiota imbalances can influence its development and treatment.
  • In postmenopausal breast cancer patients, differences in gut bacteria compared to healthy individuals have been noted, particularly with bacteria affecting hormone levels that could increase cancer risk.
  • The review explores how both gut and breast microbiota may contribute to cancer progression, along with the potential for using microbiome analysis to tailor more personalized treatment strategies for breast cancer.
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