Objective. Detection of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in cancer patients can potentially serve as a noninvasive, sensitive test of disease status. The purpose of this study was to determine the ability to detect BRAF (V600E) mutations in the plasma of patients with thyroid nodules, with the goal of distinguishing between benign and malignant nodules. Methods. Consecutive patients with thyroid nodules who consented for surgery were recruited. Plasma samples were obtained preoperatively and one month postoperatively. Quantitative PCR was used to determine the levels of the BRAF (V600E) mutation preoperatively and postoperatively. Results. A total of 109 patients were recruited. On final pathology, 38 (32.8%) patients had benign thyroid nodules, 45 (38.8%) had classical papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), 23 (19.8%) had nonclassical PTC, and 3 (2.6%) had follicular thyroid cancer. 15/109 patients had detectable BRAF (V600E) ctDNA in their preoperative samples—all of them having classical PTC. Higher T-stage and extrathyroidal extension in PTC were associated with positive BRAF (V600E) ctDNA ( ). Eighty-eight pairs of preoperative and postoperative plasma samples were collected and analyzed. Of these eighty-eight paired samples, a total of 13/88 (14.8%) patients had detectable BRAF (V600E) ctDNA in their preoperative samples—all of them having classical PTC. 12 of these 13 patients had no detectable BRAF (V600E) postoperatively, while one remaining patient had a significant decline in his levels ( ). Conclusion. BRAF (V600E) circulating thyroid tumor DNA can be detected in plasma and is correlated with a final diagnosis of the classical variant of PTC. Given that a postoperative drop in BRAF (V600E) ctDNA levels was observed in all cases suggests its utility as a tumor marker.

Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs) are rare but increasingly prevalent malignancies with varied prognoses and a diverse range of treatment options, including surgery, somatostatin analogues (SSAs), chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT). This retrospective cohort study analyzed treatment patterns among 189 pNET patients treated between January 2010 and June 2021 at two Canadian cancer centres: the Verspeeten Family Cancer Centre (VFCC), which offers PRRT, and the Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre (TOHCC), which does not at the time of the study. Data on demographics, tumor characteristics, and treatment modalities were collected, and statistical analyses were conducted using chi-square, Fisher’s exact test, and the Kruskal–Wallis test. Among eligible patients, 53% presented with stage IV disease. Surgical resection was the most common treatment, followed by SSAs, chemotherapy, PRRT, and targeted therapy. Stage IV patients at VFCC were significantly more likely to receive PRRT (60%) compared to TOHCC (6%) and underwent more PRRT cycles, with a higher prevalence of well-differentiated tumors observed at VFCC. With these differences it was clear that the non-PRRT centre was unable to provide patients with the same level of PRRT access during the study period compared to patients seen at the PRRT site. The findings underscore the critical role of PRRT availability in influencing treatment patterns and highlight the need for equitable access to specialized therapies across Canada to optimize outcomes for pNET patients.

Background: Lapelga^® was approved by Health Canada as a pegfilgrastim biosimilar in 2019 and remains the most commonly used biosimilar in Ontario and is fully reimbursed under the Ontario Drug Benefit program in this category. We explored the efficacy and tolerability of Lapelga^® in a retrospective analysis of patients with early breast cancer who underwent adjuvant chemotherapy supported with Lapelga^® as a primary prophylaxis. Methods: Adult patients with early breast cancer treated with adjuvant chemotherapy at the London Regional Cancer Program in London, ON, Canada between May 2019 and June 2022 were included. All of these patients were supported with Lapelga^® as the primary prophylaxis. Patients’ age, tumour, and nodal status, their type of chemotherapy, co-morbid conditions, and incidence of febrile neutropenia (FN) and its related details as well as any reported side effects to Lapelga^® were collected. Results: A total of 201 patients were included in this review with majority (78%) of patients under 65 years of age. One third of patients were treated with the adriamycin and cyclophosphamide (AC)-Paclitaxel dose dense chemotherapy and a quarter of patients with either a docetaxel and cyclophosphamide (TC) combination or an AC-dose dense with Paclitaxel weekly, and 10% or less patients had FEC-D (5-fluorouracil, epirubicin, and cyclophosphamide) and AC chemotherapy. FN incidence was only 3.48% in this review (7/201 patients). Patients with FN were admitted to hospital and recovered completely with no mortality reported. No cases of a switch to a different granulocyte colony growth factor were seen. The most frequent side effects from Lapelga^® included musculoskeletal pain, fever, and headache. However, the majority of patients (88.6%; 178/201) did not have any reported side effects specifically assigned to Lapelga^®. Conclusions: In this single centre retrospective study, early breast cancer patients (n = 201) treated with adjuvant chemotherapy supported with primary prophylaxis with Lapelga^® had a low incidence of FN (3.48%). This supports Lapelga^® being an effective strategy as the primary prophylaxis when used with common chemotherapy regimens in the real-world setting.

Chinnadurai A, et al. J Gynecol Oncol. 2023 Oct;35:e16. https://doi.org/10.3802/jgo.2024.35.e16

Background: Neither paclitaxel plus trastuzumab (P-H) nor docetaxel-cyclophosphamide plus trastuzumab (TC-H) have been prospectively compared in HER2-positive early-stage breast cancer (EBC). A randomized trial was performed to assess the feasibility of a larger study. Methods: Lower-risk HER2-positive EBC patients were randomized to either P-H or TC-H treatment arms. The co-primary feasibility outcomes were: ≥75% patient acceptability rate, active trial participation of ≥50% of medical oncologists, ≥75% and ≥90% treatment completion, and receipt rate of planned cycles of chemotherapy, respectively. Secondary outcomes: Febrile neutropenia (FN) rate, treatment-related hospitalizations, health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) questionnaires. Analyses were performed by per protocol and intention-to-treat. Results: Between May 2019 and March 2021, 49 of 52 patients agreed to study participation (94% acceptability rate). Fifteen (65%) of 23 medical oncologists approached patients. Rates of FN were higher (8.3% vs. 0%) in the TC-H vs. P-H arm. Median (IQR) changes in scores from baseline in FACT-Taxane Trial Outcome Index at 24 weeks were −4 (−10, −1) vs. −6.5 (−15, −2) for TC-H and P-H arms, respectively. Conclusions: A randomized trial comparing P-H and TC-H was feasible. Expansion to a larger trial would be feasible to explore patient-reported outcomes of these adjuvant HER2 chemotherapy regimens.

PURPOSE: A shortage of essential intravenous (IV) etoposide lasted from 2018 until 2020 in Ontario, Canada, allowing for a natural experiment in which external factors (IV etoposide availability) dictated patients' treatment assignment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of this IV etoposide shortage (IVES) on patient care outcomes. METHODS: Individuals with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) treated during a pre-IVES (November 2017-October 2018) and IVES (November 2018-October 2019) time intervals were retrospectively reviewed at the Verspeeten Family Cancer Centre. We investigated the association of the shortage on health care utilization and survival using a time-to-event analysis, Cox proportional hazards and logistic regression modeling. RESULTS: A total of 119 patients with ES-SCLC were assessed, 49 in the pre-IVES interval and 70 in the IVES interval. The median age was 68 (IQR, 62-74) years, 48% (n = 57) were male, 33% (n = 39) had CNS metastases, and 69% (n = 82) received first-line systemic therapy. Alternate regimens used for IVES cohort included IV platinum-oral (PO) etoposide, IV platinum-IV irinotecan, and PO etoposide monotherapy. An adjusted multivariable model demonstrated a significant increase in hospitalization (odds ratio, 2.30 [95% CI, 1.01 to 5.24]; P = .047) and shorter progression-free survival (PFS; hazard ratio, 1.79 [95% CI, 1.19 to 2.68]; P = .005) during the IVES. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated increased hospitalization, and decreased PFS, among patients with ES-SCLC treated with alternate chemotherapy regimens during an IVES. The impact of cancer drug shortages can be harmful, and optimizing a more secure drug supply with mitigation strategies is warranted.