Total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) has emerged as a promising approach for managing locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC), aiming to enhance resectability, increase pathological complete response (pCR), improve treatment compliance, survival, and sphincter preservation. This study compares the clinical outcomes of TNT, with either induction or consolidation chemotherapy, to those of the standard chemoradiotherapy (CRT). In this retrospective multi-institutional study, patients with stage II-III LARC who underwent CRT or TNT from seven oncology centers between 2021 and 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. The TNT group was categorized into induction or consolidation groups based on the sequence of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Clinical and pathological data and treatment outcomes, including pCR, event-free survival (EFS), and overall survival (OS), were analyzed. Among the 276 patients, 105 received CRT and 171 underwent TNT. The TNT group showed significantly higher pCR (21.8% vs. 2.9%, p < 0.001) and lower lymphatic (26.3% vs. 42.6%, p = 0.009), vascular (15.8% vs. 32.7%, p = 0.002), and perineural invasion rates (20.3% vs. 37.6%, p = 0.003). Furthermore, 16.9% of TNT patients opted for non-operative management (NOM), compared to 0.9% in the CRT group (p < 0.001). The median interval between the end of radiotherapy and surgery was longer in the TNT group (17.6 weeks vs. 8.8 weeks, p < 0.001). The 3-year EFS was 58.3% for CRT and 71.1% for TNT (p = 0.06). TNT is associated with higher pCR, lower lymphatic and vascular invasion rates, and higher rates of NOM compared to CRT. This supports the use of TNT as a viable treatment strategy for LARC, offering potential benefits in quality of life.

Background: Sarcomas are rare mesenchymal tumors classified into soft tissue (STS) and bone sarcomas. Despite advances in treatment, the 5-year survival rate for metastatic disease remains low. There is still limited evidence regarding the use of next-generation sequencing (NGS).Aim: To identify targetable genomic alterations that may play a crucial role in sarcoma treatment where therapeutic options are limited.Study design: Methods: We conducted a retrospective; multicenter analysis of 81 patients diagnosed with STS and bone sarcomas who underwent NGS at Acıbadem Health Group Hospitals to investigate their mutation profiles and explore potential targeted therapies.Results: Genomic profiling using four different NGS kits identified a total of 223 genomic alterations across the cohort. Genomic alterations were detectable in 90.1% of patients, with the most common types being copy number amplifications (26.9%) and deletions (24.7%). In addition, actionable mutations were identified in 22.2% of patients, rendering them eligible for FDA-approved targeted therapies. The most common alterations were found in TP53 (38%), RB1 (22%), and CDKN2A (14%) genes. Among the 79 patients with available microsatellite status data, all were microsatellite stable.Conclusion: The high proportion of patients eligible for targeted therapies identified underscores the critical need to integrate NGS-derived genetic insights into clinical practice to improve survival rates and treatment outcomes through more tailored therapeutic approaches for each individual. NGS also led to a reclassification of diagnosis in four patients, demonstrating its utility not only in therapeutic decision-making but also as a powerful diagnostic tool.

Background and Objectives: This study aimed to compare the real-world outcomes of first-line pembrolizumab monotherapy (Mono-IO) versus pembrolizumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy (IO + ChT) in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (mNSCLC) and a PD-L1 tumor proportion score (TPS) ≥ 50%. Materials and Methods: This retrospective, multicenter, real-world study evaluated 148 patients with mNSCLC and PD-L1 expression ≥ 50% who received either first-line Mono-IO or IO + ChT. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and clinical benefit rate were compared between the two treatment strategies. Additionally, clinical prognostic factors, patterns of progression, and post-progression treatments were analyzed. Survival outcomes were assessed using Kaplan–Meier estimates, multivariable Cox regression, and restricted mean survival time (RMST) analysis. Results: Patients in the Mono-IO group were significantly older (median 69 vs. 63 years; p < 0.001) and had a higher proportion of ECOG PS 2 (35.3% vs. 5.2%; p < 0.001). No significant differences were observed between Mono-IO and IO + ChT in median OS (32.0 vs. 26.0 months; p = 0.559) or PFS (19.6 vs. 19.4 months; p = 0.572). In an exploratory multivariable analysis adjusting for organ-specific metastases and antibiotic exposure, ECOG PS ≥ 1 (aHR: 1.86, 95% CI: 1.16–2.97; p = 0.009), antibiotic use (aHR: 1.85, 95% CI: 1.16–2.95; p = 0.010), and liver metastasis (aHR: 2.58, 95% CI: 1.16–5.74; p = 0.020) were independent predictors of worse OS. Conversely, PD-L1 TPS ≥ 90% (aHR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.35–0.91; p = 0.018) was independently associated with superior OS. In exploratory subgroup analysis, a numerical survival trend favoring Mono-IO was observed in patients with PD-L1 TPS ≥ 90%, although this finding remains hypothesis-generating. Following disease progression, 64.7% of patients received no further systemic therapy. Conclusions: In this real-world cohort, no statistically significant differences in OS or PFS were detected between Mono-IO and IO + ChT; however, the wide confidence intervals do not exclude clinically meaningful differences, and equivalence cannot be inferred from these data. PD-L1 TPS ≥ 90% may potentially serve as a biomarker to identify patients who derive benefit from monotherapy, although this exploratory finding requires validation in larger cohorts. Given that the majority of patients did not transition to subsequent therapy in routine practice, likely reflecting multifactorial host frailty and rapid disease evolution, first-line therapeutic optimization warrants careful individualized consideration.