Clinical Oncology - 2020;7(2)

Clinical Oncology

APRIL 30, 2020

[Coronavirus pandemic – new challenges in oncotherapy]

MINÁROVITS János

[This review outlines some of the basic observations related to coronaviruses infecting animals and describes – in a nutshell – the characteristics of human coronaviruses causing mild or severe respiratory diseases in infected individuals. A special attention is given to SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of the current coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, and to the pathomechanism of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) which is also accompanied with multiorgan failure in a subset of infected patients. Recently discovered unique molecular features of SARS-CoV-2 are described as well. These molecular cues may affect human to human virus transmission whereas they are absent, remarkably, from the other lung-targeting highly pathogenic human coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV) which did not spread all over the world. The possibilities of active immunization to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of selective small molecule inhibitors curbing the replication of the virus are also touched upon. The review closes with a few remarks regarding the Hungarian and international recommendations concerning the treatment of SARSCoV- 2 infected cancer patients.]

HUN 2020;7(2)

Clinical Oncology

APRIL 30, 2020

[Immunotherapy of hepatocellular carcinoma]

DEMETER Gyula

[The systemic treatment of HCC was based exclusively on sorafenib near 10 years. In the past 2-3 years some new molecules demostrated their effectivites in phase III clinical trials. So the immuncheckpoint-inhibitors (ICI) demands their place in systemic treatment of HCC. Nivolumab and pembrolizumab are recommended already in second line in NCCN and ESMO clinical guidelines. Nivolumab demostrated his effectivity against the standard treatment sorafenib in a phase III clinical trial, although the results were not signifi cant. However, the combination treatment of atezolizumab and bevacizumab seems better than sorafenib in a phase III clinical trial, so the combination is recommended already in fi rst line in the NCCN guideline. There are more clinical trials with ICIs in progress as in monotherapy as in combination therapy with other modalities.]

HUN 2020;7(2)

Clinical Oncology

APRIL 30, 2020

[Hormone replacement therapy in cancer survivors – Review of the literature]

DELI Tamás, OROSZ Mónika, JAKAB Attila

[Rapid advance in oncology leads to increasing survival of oncologic patients. More and more of them live long enough to reach either the natural age of menopause or, as a side effect of their oncotherapy, experience the cessation of gonadal function, leading to premature ovarian insuffi ciency, with disturbing vasomotor symtoms and long-term negative cardiovascular and skeletal effects. Thus, an ever increasing number of cancer survivors search endocrinologic help in the form of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The misinterpretation of the WHI (Women’s Health Initiative) Study has lead to an irrational fear of female hormone replacement, both by the general population and medical professionals. It has seemed the logical and safe conclusion to many physicians to avoid HRT, supposing that this attitude defi nitely causes no harm, whereas the decision of prescribing estrogen alone or with progestins might bear oncologic and thromboembolic risks and may even lead to litigation in case of a potentially related complication. However, it was known even before the WHI results that premature menopause and hypogonadism decreases the life expectancy of women by years through its skeletal and cardiovascular effects, and this negative effect correlates with the length of the hypoestrogenaemic period. Yet, the oncologic risk of HRT is extremely diffi cult to assess. In this work we review the latest evidence from in vitro experiments to clinical studies. We group tumours regarding the oncologic risk of properly chosen female hormone replacement therapy in cancer survivors as follows: ’HRT is advanageous’ (e.g. endometrial cancer type I, cervical adenocarcinoma, haematologic malignancies, local cutaneous malignant melanoma, colorectal cancer, hepatocellular cancer); ’HRT is neutral’ (e.g. BRCA 1/2 mutation carriers without cancer, endometrial cancer type II, uterinal carcinosarcoma and adenosarcoma, certain types of ovarian cancer, cervical, vaginal and vulvar squamous cell carcinoma, prolactinoma, kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer, thyroid cancer); ’HRT is relatively contraindicated’ for various reasons (e.g. leiomyosarcoma, certain types of ovarian tumours, brain tumours, advanced metastatic malignant melanoma, lung cancer, gastric cancer, bladder cancer); ’HRT is diasadvantageous and thus contraindicated’ (e.g. breast cancer, endometrial stroma sarcoma, meningioma, glioma, hormone receptor positive gastric and bladder cancer).]

HUN 2020;7(2)

Clinical Oncology

APRIL 30, 2020

[Development and 10-year history of a biosimilar: the example of Binocrit®]

AAPRO Matti, KRENDYUKOV Andriy, HÖBEL Nadja, SEIDL Andreas, GASCÓN Pere

[Patent expirations for several biological products have prompted the development of alternative versions, termed ‘biosimilars’, which have comparable quality, safety and effi cacy to a licensed biological medicine (also referred to as the ‘reference’ medicine). The fi rst biosimilars developed in oncology were the supportive-care agents fi lgrastim and epoetin. Binocrit® (HX575) is a biosimilar version of epoetin alfa, indicated in the oncology setting for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced anemia (CIA). The process for development and approval of Binocrit® as a biosimilar included extensive analytical characterization and comparison with the reference epoetin alfa. This was followed by a clinical development program comprising phase I pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic studies to show bioequivalence to the reference medicine and a confi rmatory phase III study to confi rm therapeutic effectiveness in CIA. Since its approval, Binocrit® has been extensively used and studied in real-world clinical practice. The accumulated data confi rm that Binocrit® is an effective and well-tolerated option for the treatment of CIA in patients with cancer.]

HUN 2020;7(2)

Clinical Oncology

APRIL 30, 2020

[Molecular residual tumor monitoring in solid cancers]

SZÁSZ A. Marcell, TOBIÁS Bálint, KÓSA János, LAKATOS Péter

[Blood-based diagnostics has long been used in the oncological practice of solid tumors, but its full potential is just unfolding recently. Quantitative measurement of tumor markers, circulating tumor cells, and some of their products or components have now become available and are part of a multimodal system that provides additive parameters in clinical decision making. The most challenging oncological questions can be answered by the detection, characterization and measurement of circulating free DNA (cfDNA), which, due to its growing importance, bears the potential of incorporation into routine practice. In this overview, we review the „blood impressions” of solid tumors and present the most promising results in different patient groups, especially in lung, breast, colon, and bladder tumors, which are also valid for other solid tumors.]

HUN 2020;7(2)

Clinical Oncology

APRIL 30, 2020

[Tumor induction by chemotherapy]

[Without chemotherapy, the fi ve-year survival rate of detected cancers would be between 0 and 15%, depending on the tumor, and between 17 and 85% with current therapy. Several warnings call attention to the dangers of chemotherapy-induced side effects, most notably the potential for tumor-inducing ability, which can affect 5-10% of patients who have recovered beyond fi ve years. Some systematically applied drugs used in chemotherapy (alkylating agents, etoposide, arsenic trioxide) are able to cause mutations in healthy cells of the patients, increasing the likelihood that the mutated cells will start a later (secondary) tumor formation. In addition to mutagenic effects, some chemotherapeutic agents exert their effects on normal myeloid and epithelial cells of the body, which, by altering the tissue microenvironment, create the potential for malignant transformation. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), which can alter gene expression patterns by tumor cell secreted factors and promote the survival and invasiveness of tumor cells by pro-carcinogenic signals, are very important in this process. It is of utmost importance that doctors, pharmacists, technicians and nurses working with cancer-causing materials do not come into direct contact with dangerous substances and wear appropriate protective equipment.]

HUN 2020;7(2)

Clinical Oncology

APRIL 30, 2020

[Biological clock and cancer]

VELLAINÉ Takács Krisztina, SZTANKOVICS Dániel, HOFFMANN Gyula, KOPPER László, GÁLOSI Rita

[In the present paper, we are giving a review about the circadian rhythm of the biological rhythm, its regulation and relation to tumorigenesis. The circadian rhythm is an approximately 24-hour cycle in biochemical, physiological processes in organisms from unicellular to vertebrates. This biological rhythm is generated by the synchronization of our endogenous clocks and the light as the main “Zeitgeber”. The nucleus suprachiasmaticus (SCN) of the hypothalamus is the region, which is considered to be the circadian “main clock” of the organism and is responsible for coordinating peripheral clocks in different organ systems. At the cellular level, the regulation of the circadian rhythm is basically provided by the so-called “circadian locomotor output cycles kaput” the CLOCK genes. The discovery of those cellular mechanisms was awarded with Nobel Prize in 2017. The CLOCK genes, acting on other effector genes, regulate diurnal rhythm of protein synthesis. More and more data are available, which suggest that there is an association between circadian genes and tumor development. Furthermore, many studies show a link between the shift work and the development of breast and prostate cancer and between mutations in some circadian genes and development of carcinomas. More data suggest a relationship between tumor metabolism and CLOCK genes and their regulations. Based on all these data, the circadian rhythm, so the time of day, may need to be taken into account during cancer therapy.]

HUN 2020;7(2)