Nivolumab Plus Chemotherapy Versus Placebo Plus Chemotherapy in Korean Patients with HER2-Negative, Untreated, Unresectable Advanced or Recurrent Gastric or Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer: Subgroup Analysis of a Randomized, Multicenter, Double-Blind Phase 3 Trial (ATTRACTION-4).

Purpose: We report the safety and efficacy of nivolumab + chemotherapy for first-line treatment of advanced or recurrent gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer in the Korean subpopulation of the ATTRACTION-4 clinical trial.

Materials And Methods: ATTRACTION-4 (NCT02746796) was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of patients aged ≥20 years with histologically confirmed unresectable advanced or recurrent gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer. Patients received nivolumab or placebo, both combined with physician-choice chemotherapy (oxaliplatin plus oral S-1 [tegafur‒gimeracil‒oteracil] [SOX] or oral capecitabine [CAPOX]).

Differential Efficacy of Alpelisib by PIK3CA Mutation Site in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: An Analysis from the KCSG HN 15-16 TRIUMPH Trial.

Purpose: The TRIUMPH trial was a biomarker-driven umbrella trial for patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC). This analysis focuses on the PIK3CAɑ inhibitor alpelisib (arm 1) in patients with phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway alterations.

Materials And Methods: Patients with PI3K pathway altered tumors were enrolled in the alpelisib arm of the TRIUMPH study.

A Prospective, Single-Cohort, Open, Multi-Center, Observational Study of Sublingual Fentanyl for Breakthrough Cancer Pain: Effectiveness, Safety, and Tolerability in Korean Cancer Patients.

Purpose: Fentanyl, a highly lipophilic opioid, was developed as a sublingual fentanyl tablet (SFT) for the management of breakthrough cancer pain (BTcP), and its efficacy and safety were confirmed in a randomized, controlled study. We investigated the effectiveness and safety of SFT administered to alleviate BTcP in a real-world setting.

Materials And Methods: In this prospective, open, single-cohort study, conducted in 13 referral hospitals in South Korea, opioid-tolerant cancer patients receiving around-the-clock opioids for persistent cancer pain were enrolled if the individual had BTcP ≥ 1 episode/day during the preceding week.

Real-world outcomes of third-line immune checkpoint inhibitors versus irinotecan-based chemotherapy in patients with advanced gastric cancer: a Korean, multicenter study (KCSG ST22-06).

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) or irinotecan-based chemotherapy is frequently used after failure of second-line paclitaxel plus ramucirumab treatment for patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic advanced gastric cancer (AGC). This study aimed to compare the efficacy between ICI and irinotecan-based chemotherapy as third-line treatment in patients with AGC.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients with AGC, whose third-line treatment started between July 2019 and June 2021 at 17 institutions in Korea.

Comparison of prophylactic effects for chemotherapy induced neutropenia between same-day versus next-day administration of pegteograstim (Neurapeg®) in patients treated with chemotherapy regimen composed of day 1 intensive myleosuppressive agent: A randomized phase III clinical trial.

Background And Purpose: Administration of pegylated granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (peg-GCSF) 24 to 72 hours after chemotherapy is usually recommended. Next-day administration (after 24 hours) resulted in fewer duration of grade (Gr) 4 chemotherapy-induced neutropenia (CIN) and decreased severity of CIN than same-day (within 4 hours). However, patients sometimes receive same-day Peg-GCSF for the sake of convenience.

A phase 2 multicenter study of docetaxel-PM and trastuzumab-pkrb combination therapy in recurrent or metastatic salivary gland carcinomas.

Background: Salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) is uncommon but is the most aggressive subtype of salivary gland carcinomas. The high positivity rate for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) led to an investigation of the efficacy of HER2-targeted agents. Docetaxel-PM (polymeric micelle) is a low-molecular-weight, nontoxic, biodegradable, and docetaxel-loaded micellar formulation.

A Multicenter, Prospective, Observational Study to Evaluate Ethanol-Induced Symptoms in Patients Receiving Docetaxel Chemotherapy.

Purpose: Several previous studies and case reports have reported ethanol-induced symptoms in patients receiving anticancer drugs containing ethanol. Most docetaxel formulations contain ethanol as a solvent. However, there are insufficient data on ethanol-induced symptoms when docetaxel-containing ethanol is administered.

Lossless Immunocytochemistry Based on Large-Scale Porous Hydrogel Pellicle for Accurate Rare Cell Analysis.

Rare cells, such as circulating tumor cells or circulating fetal cells, provide important information for the diagnosis and prognosis of cancer and prenatal diagnosis. Since undercounting only a few cells can lead to significant misdiagnosis and incorrect decisions in subsequent treatment, it is crucial to minimize cell loss, particularly for rare cells. Moreover, the morphological and genetic information on cells should be preserved as intact as possible for downstream analysis.

Effect of smartphone app-based health care intervention for health management of high-risk mothers: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: The 4th Industrial Revolution with the advent of the smart era, in which artificial intelligence, such as big data analysis and machine learning, is expected, and the provision of healthcare services using smartphones has become a reality. In particular, high-risk mothers who experience gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, and prenatal and postpartum depression are highly likely to have adverse effects on the mother and newborn due to the disease. Therefore, continuous observation and intervention in health management are needed to prevent diseases and promote healthy behavior for a healthy life.

Continuous centrifugal microfluidics (CCM) isolates heterogeneous circulating tumor cells via full automation.

Understanding cancer heterogeneity is essential to finding diverse genetic mutations in metastatic cancers. Thus, it is critical to isolate all types of CTCs to identify accurate cancer information from patients. Moreover, full automation robustly capturing the full spectrum of CTCs is an urgent need for CTC diagnosis to be routine clinical practice.

Soluble PD-L1 is a predictive and prognostic biomarker in advanced cancer patients who receive immune checkpoint blockade treatment.

Circulating soluble programmed death-1 ligand (sPD-L1) is measurable in the serum of cancer patients. This study aimed to investigate the significance of sPD-L1 in cancer patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. Blood samples were obtained before and after immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy (January 2015 to January 2019).

Ramucirumab plus paclitaxel as second-line treatment in patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma: a nationwide real-world outcomes in Korea study (KCSG-ST19-16).

Background: Ramucirumab as monotherapy or in combination with paclitaxel is a second-line treatment option recommended for patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma. However, real-world data from large study cohorts focused on ramucirumab plus paclitaxel in gastric cancer are limited.

Methods: The study population comprised all patients with gastric or GEJ cancer who received ramucirumab plus paclitaxel in South Korea between 1 May 2018 and 31 December 2018.

Verification of performance of a direct fluorescent assay for cell-free DNA quantification, stability according to pre-analytical storage conditions, and the effect of freeze-thawing.

A simple fluorescence-based cell-free DNA (CFD) assay has been previously developed that can directly measure nucleic acids without prior DNA extraction and amplification. However, studies on fluorescence-based CFD are lacking. In particular, there is no known information regarding the stability with regard to pre-analytical storage conditions in relation to time and temperature, or on the influence of freeze-thawing.

Clinicopathological Features of BRCA1/2 Mutation-Positive Breast Cancer.

Purpose: The BRCA1/2 gene is the most well-known and studied gene associated with hereditary breast cancer. BRCA1/2 genetic testing is widely performed in high-risk patients of hereditary breast cancer in Korea. This study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological characteristics of BRCA1/2 mutation-positive breast cancer patients.

Treatment Patterns and Clinical Outcomes in Korean Cancer Patients With Venous Thromboembolism: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

This study assessed epidemiologic data and clinical outcomes, including venous thromboembolism (VTE) recurrence and bleeding events, in patients with cancer-associated VTE, and assessed factors associated with clinical outcomes. Data were extracted from retrospective medical-chart review of adult patients diagnosed with cancer-associated deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism who received anticoagulation treatment for ≥3 months. Patients were classified by: low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH), direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), and other anticoagulants.

Safety and feasibility of 3-month interval access and flushing for maintenance of totally implantable central venous port system in colorectal cancer patients after completion of curative intended treatments.

Patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) treated with curative intent surgery undergo continuous fluorouracil (5-FU) infusion-based chemotherapy using totally implantable central venous port system (TICVPS) in cases with high risk of recurrence. Approximately 30% of patients relapse after therapy completion, especially within 2 years. Hence, many patients with high risk CRC keep the TICVPS for 6 to 24 months after treatment with regular intervals of TICVPS flushing.

Safety, Efficacy, and Patient Satisfaction with Initial Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters Compared with Usual Intravenous Access in Terminally Ill Cancer Patients: A Randomized Phase II Study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether routine insertion of peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) at admission to a hospice-palliative care (HPC) unit is acceptable in terms of safety and efficacy and whether it results in superior patient satisfaction compared to usual intravenous (IV) access.

Materials And Methods: Terminally ill cancer patients were randomly assigned to two arms: routine PICC access and usual IV access arm. The primary endpoint was IV maintenance success rate, defined as the rate of functional IV maintenance until the intended time (discharge, transfer, or death).

Effect of education on preference of parenteral nutrition for patients in palliative care unit: quantitative and qualitative study with an anthropological approach.

Background: Patients and their family have resistance in withholding parenteral nutrition (PN) when patient become unable to intake food in the end-of-life. We aimed to investigate whether the preference for PN is changed after receiving an individual education about the risk and benefit of PN. Additionally, we focused on the preferences of patients and their family and why they prefer it about the nutritional support in the end of life.

Interference with daily functioning by breakthrough pain in patients with cancer.

Purpose: To investigate the association between quality of life (QOL) and breakthrough cancer pain (BTCP) intensity in patients who met the commonly accepted definition of BTCP.

Methods: This study was a subset analysis of a South Korean multicenter, non-interventional, cross-sectional, nationwide survey. Participants were recruited from March 2016 to December 2017.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Epidermal Growth Factor Ointment for Treating Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Inhibitor-Induced Skin Toxicities.

Background: The efficacy of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) inhibitors in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), pancreatic cancer (PC), or colorectal cancer (CRC) has been demonstrated. However, dermatological reactions to these inhibitors can cause significant physical and psychosocial discomfort. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of EGF ointment for EGFR inhibitor-related skin adverse events (ERSEs).