Precision Medicine is becoming the new paradigm in healthcare as it enables better resources allocation, treatment optimization with a potential side-effects reduction and consequent impact on quality of life and survival. This revolution is being catalyzed by liquid biopsy technologies, which provide prognostic and predictive information for advanced cancer patients, without the analytical and procedural drawbacks of tissue-biopsy. In particular, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is gaining momentum as a clinically feasible option capable to capture both spatial and temporal tumor heterogeneity. Several techniques are currently available for ctDNA extraction and analysis, each with its preferential case scenarios and preanalytical implications which must be taken into consideration to effectively support clinical decision-making and to better highlight its clinical utility. Aim of this review is to summarize both analytical developments and clinical evidences to offer a comprehensive update on the deployment of ctDNA in breast cancer's (BC) characterization and treatment.

Steroid hormones promote epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) growth and their receptor expression is associated with disease outcome. Hormone therapy is frequently used in pretreated EOC, but the magnitude of activity overall and by specific agents or tumor characteristics is unknown. Clinical Benefit Rates (CBR) and deaths from clinical trials of endocrine agents were meta-analyzed. Summary estimates of CBR (SCBR) and Odd Ratio for death (SOR) were calculated according with type of drug, ER and PgR status, platinum resistance, line of therapy, tumor grade and tamoxifen dose. Fifty-three trials in 2490 patients were analyzed. Overall, SCBR was 41% (95%CI, 0.34-0.48) for any endocrine treatment, 43% (95%CI, 0.30-0.56) for tamoxifen, 39% (95%CI, 0.29-0.50) for aromatase inhibitors and 37% (95%CI, 0.26-0.48) for progestins. The SCBR for ER+ and/or PgR+ tumors was 46% (95%CI, 0.34-0.57) versus 37% (95%CI, 0.27-0.48) in tumors with unknown receptors and 55% in platinum sensitive (95%CI, 0.28-0.80) versus 40% (95%CI, 0.29-0.51) in platinum resistant tumors The SOR for death calculated from 6 out of 9 randomized clinical trials (RCTs) showed a reduced mortality with endocrine therapy (SOR=0.69, 95%CI, 0.50-0.97), with a possible tendency for a greater effect in first line and low grade tumors. The overall quality of the RCTs was low. The activity of endocrine therapy in advanced EOC is worth considering and seems to support large properly designed randomized trials in the first treatment of hormone sensitive EOC.

Human Natural Killer (NK) cells are all round players in immunity thanks to their powerful and immediate response against transformed cells and the ability to modulate the subsequent adaptive immune response. The potential of immunotherapies based on NK cell involvement has been initially revealed in the hematological setting but has inspired the design of different immune tools to also be applied against solid tumors, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Indeed, despite cancer prevention screening plans, surgery, and chemotherapy strategies, CRC is one of the most widespread cancers and with the highest mortality rate. Therefore, further efficient and complementary immune-based therapies are in urgent need. In this review, we gathered the most recent advances in NK cell-based immunotherapies aimed at fighting CRC, in particular, the use of monoclonal antibodies targeting tumor-associated antigens (TAAs), immune checkpoint blockade, and adoptive NK cell therapy, including NK cells modified with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR-NK).

Purpose: (Neo)adjuvant treatment with chemotherapy plus trastuzumab reduces recurrence and death risk in HER2-positive breast cancer. Randomized trials assessed HER2 dual block by adding lapatinib to trastuzumab and chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant setting using pathological complete response (pCR) as the outcome measure. We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized trials testing neoadjuvant dual block with lapatinib and trastuzumab versus trastuzumab alone in HER2-positive breast cancer. Experimental design: Trials were identified by Medline (PUBMED), ISI Web of Science (Science Citation Index Expanded), Embase, Cochrane library and a reference lists of published studies, review articles, editorials and by hand-searched reports from major cancer meeting reports. Results: Six randomized trials including 1155 patients were identified, of whom 483 (41.8%) were hormone receptors negative, 672 (58.2%) hormone receptors positive, 534 (46.2%) received taxanes alone and 621 (53.8%) anthracyclines plus taxanes or the docetaxel-carboplatin regimen. Overall, the dual block was associated with a significant 13% absolute improvement in pCR rate compared to single agent trastuzumab (Summary Risk Difference, SRD 0.13; 95%CI: 0.08 to 0.19). The activity was greater in hormone receptors negative patients who received chemotherapy with taxanes alone (SRD 0.25; 95%CI: 0.13 to 0.37), compared to hormone receptors positive or hormone receptors negative disease treated with anthracyclines plus taxanes or the docetaxel-carboplatin regimen (SRD 0.09; 95%CI: 0.02 to 0.15; p-interaction 0.05). Conclusions: Based on ∆pCR data, the dual block with trastuzumab and lapatinib plus chemotherapy is a very active treatment only in HER2-positive and hormone receptors negative breast cancer treated with taxane monochemotherapy.