Posted on 10/11/2023 7:55:15 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
In their new editorial, researchers Deepak Bhamidipati and Vivek Subbiah discuss lurbinectedin as a method to treat neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). NETs encompass a variety of neoplasms which display a wide spectrum of biologic behavior, ranging from the aggressive neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) to often indolent well-differentiated NETs.
For well-differentiated NETs, somatostatin analogs (SSAs) are widely accepted as an effective frontline therapy for progressive or symptomatic disease; however, subsequent therapy options such as capecitabine/ temozolomide, sunitinib, everolimus, and radionuclide therapy in selected cases are associated with variable response rates (typically less than 20%) and limited progression-free survival. NECs can respond to platinum-based chemotherapy, but responses are typically short-lived.
"There is evidence to suggest that neuroendocrine neoplasms such as small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and pancreatic NETs are responsive to DNA alkylators such as temozolomide," say the researchers.
Recently, lurbinectedin a DNA minor groove inhibitor and marine derivative was shown to inhibit oncogenic transcription through binding to CG-rich sequences near the promoters of protein-coding genes to promote apoptosis and cell death. Encouraging results from a phase II basket study of lurbinectedin as a second-line treatment for patients with SCLC, which demonstrated a 35% response rate, resulted in the FDA-approval of lurbinectedin in pre-treated patients with SCLC.
Moreover, in a subset analysis lurbinectedin was shown to be an effective treatment for platinum-sensitive relapsed SCLC, especially in patients with chemotherapy-free interval (CTFI) ≥180 days with an objective response rate of over 60%. It was shown to be active in BRCA1/2 germline mutated breast cancer. In addition, it is active in Ewing sarcoma, another small round-cell tumor of neuroendocrine origin.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
My wife died of this cancer 5 years ago. There was little effective treatments then. Glad to see there is hope for others.
Just on a whim, I searched for this topic. My niece was diagnosed with this cancer last summer. First a lump in her breast, which was removed, and then more was found, in her liver and in her brain. She underwent some chemo around Thanksgiving, but it didn’t do much. We visited her after Christmas, she had lost a lot of weight. We could tell it affected her not only physically m but also mentally. The first week of January we took her to her work to drop off some work-related items and she didn’t trust herself to drive. The following week we visited her and the her condition was even worse, as she was very confused. Her funeral was this past Wednesday. I don’t know what kind of chemo she was given, and maybe it wouldn’t have made a difference, but the past month for her was a rapid fall, and I use that word deliberately.
Damn shame, she left a husband and two adult children, a son and daughter, her father and a sister. Her mother also had cancer which she succumbed to.
Liz was 52.
Some things are just wrong, they just shouldn’t happen, but they do.
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