Kaposi sarcoma is an angioproliferative disease associated with human herpes virus 8 infection. Classic Kaposi sarcoma (CKS) usually develops in older age. Although CKS often does not require systemic therapy, systemic therapy can be administered in progressively symptomatic patients. In this real-life study, we purposed to determine effectiveness and safety of weekly paclitaxel therapy in the first-line treatment of CKS. In this cross-sectional retrospective study, we analyzed the clinical data of 44 patients with CKS who received first-line paclitaxel therapy between January 2000 and December 2020. Paclitaxel was administered by intravenous infusion 80 to 100 mg/weekly. The median age of the patients was 67 years (range, 39–86 years), and majority male (77.2%). All patients had cutaneous involvement in extremities. The median follow-up time from paclitaxel treatment was 39.1 (range, 3.7–173.5) months. The median progression free survival from start of therapy was 35.1 months (range, 2–144 months). Complete response, partial response and stable disease were observed in 7 (15.9%), 28 (63.7%) and 6 (13.6) patients, respectively. Objective control rate was 79.6%, and the median response time after the last dose of paclitaxel was 18.2 months. A total of 4 patients (9.1%) had grade 3 to 4 neutropenia, but it was not complicated by febrile neutropenia. Three patients (6.8%) experienced grade 3 to 4 peripheral neuropathy. No patient had grade 3 to 4 allergic reaction. There was no drug-related death. According to our results, paclitaxel is an effective therapy option with an acceptable safety profile for patients with advanced CKS.

Epithelial Ovarian cancer (EOC) is the most lethal gynecologic cancer worldwide. Carboplatin (CP) is the main chemotherapeutic agent in the treatment of ovarian cancer. However, the development of a hypersensitivity reaction (HSR) in 10% to 15% of patients with EOC is an important limiting factor for the clinical use of CP. Herein, we aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of CP-desensitization (CP-D) therapy in the treatment of recurrent patients with EOC. Forty-seven ovarian cancer cases treated with CP-desensitization at the Istanbul University Oncology Institute were retrospectively analyzed between 01.01.2017 and 01.01.2022. The decision for CP-D was based on the patients’ history of HSR and/or a positive skin test. For all patients, a 6-hour 12-step rapid drug desensitization protocol with a 30-minutes premedication regimen was used. Forty-seven patients were included in this study, and the median age at diagnosis was 53 years (range; 27–80). Twenty-one (43.7%) patients had 1 or more comorbid diseases, and 12.7% had a previous history of drug allergy. On average, HSR due to carboplatin was identified after 9 (7–16) cycles, and carboplatin was administered n = 11 (range, 3–36) times to patients. The overall survival from the first desensitization procedure (0S2) was 42.2 months (range: 25.3–59.1), and the 1-, 2-, and 5-years survival rates were 92.6%, 75.6%, and 47.2%, respectively. The objective response rate (ORR) was 78.5%. Cumulatively, 496 CP-D procedures were performed, of which 478 (96.3%) were successfully completed. None of the patients included in this study developed severe (grade 3–4) HSR during CP administration (no adrenaline was used, no need for intensive care). No deaths due to CP-D were noted. CP-D is a beneficial and safe method in treating platinum-sensitive recurrent EOC patients with CP-induced HSR.

The purpose of the study was to assess the prognosis of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer patients who received trastuzumab beyond progression and investigate the predictors of complete response. HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer patients who received long-term trastuzumab were included in the study. Predictors of complete response were analyzed with binary regression analysis. The prognosis of patients who had their trastuzumab-based treatment terminated was assessed. Eighty patients were involved in the study. The patients were received with trastuzumab for a median of 62 months (12–191). A complete response was observed in 60 (75%) patients. The median duration to development of complete response was found as 14.8 months (2.4–55). In logistic regression analysis: using endocrine therapy with trastuzumab (p = 0.04), menopausal status (p = 0.03), and the number of metastatic sites (p = 0.01) were found to be statistically significant factors for a complete response. Trastuzumab-based therapy of fifteen patients was terminated, six (40%) patients continued to receive an aromatase inhibitor, and nine (60%) patients were followed up without treatment. After termination of trastuzumab, at a median follow-up of 32 months (11–66), recurrence was detected in two (13.3%) patients. We detected that menopausal status, the number of metastatic sites, and using endocrine therapy with trastuzumab were predictors of complete response in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer patients who received long-term trastuzumab-based therapy. We observed that HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer patients may be completely cured with trastuzumab-based therapy. There are no defined criteria for termination of trastuzumab treatment in this selected patient group. It is necessary to confirm our data with multicenter studies involving a large number of patients.

OBJECTIVE: Beta-thalassemia minor is a blood disease caused by a hereditary decrease in beta-globin synthesis, frequently leading to hypochromic microcytic anemia. Formerly called endothelial cell-specific molecule 1, endocan is a proteoglycan released by vascular endothelial cells in many organs. Our aim was to investigate the relationship between the beta-thalassemia minor patients and the healthy control group in terms of serum endocan level. METHODS: The study was performed in a total of 80 subjects. They were divided into two groups, the beta-thalassemia minor group (n=40) and the healthy control group (n=40). Serum endocan levels, age, sex, body mass index value, and tobacco use data of these groups were compared. RESULTS: No statistically significant difference was detected between the two groups in terms of age, sex, and body mass index values (p>0.05). Endocan levels were measured to be 206.85±88.1 pg/mL in the beta-thalassemia minor group and 236.1±162.8 pg/mL in the control group with no significant difference between the groups in terms of serum endocan levels (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In our study, there was no change in endocan level in beta-thalassemia minor. This might be because serum endocan levels are affected by multi-factorial reasons. Serum endocan levels may be altered secondarily to decreased beta-globin chain, increased sympathetic activity due to anemia, or platelet dysfunction induced by oxidative stress in beta-thalassemia minor. Further multicenter studies involving more patients are necessary to demonstrate this.

Background: Breast cancer is rare in men. The prognosis of male breast cancer (MBC) is poor than female breast cancer. The study aims to evaluate the clinical features and prognosis in metastatic male breast cancer (mMBC). Method: The data of 28 patients were retrospectively reviewed. The clinical and histopathological features of the patients were recorded. Overall survival (OS) and prognostic factors evaluated with Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox-regression analysis. Results: The median follow-up period was 55.1 months (range, 6.6-205.6). The median age at diagnosis was 57 years (range, 26-86). Seven (27%) of the patients were de-novo metastatic. Invasive ductal carcinoma (92.6%) was the most common pathological subtype. The ratio of HER2 positivity in patients was 21.6%, and estrogen and progesterone receptor's positivity were 96.4% and 71.4%, respectively. The most common metastatic locations of disease were bone-75%, lung-39.3%, brain-21.4%, and surrenal-10.7%. Six of the patients received trastuzumab-based chemotherapy. A total of 14 (50%) patients deceased during the study period. The median OS was 42.6±10.7 months (range, 21.6-63.7) for all patients. One-, three- and five-years overall survival ratios were 95.7%, 54.2%, and 36.6%, respectively. In univariate analysis, Brain metastasis (p=0.033), the number of metastatic sites (p=0.045), and the history of regular alcohol consumption (p=0.008) were a statistically significant factor on OS. However, the results were not confirmed in multivariate analysis. Also, we found that trastuzumab-based treatment and de-novo metastasis were not affecting on OS in mMBC. Conclusions: Due to the rarity, the data of mMBC is limited. In this study, we observed that the prognosis of mMBC was poor. Despite the low number of patients, we detected that having brain metastasis, the number of metastatic sites, and history of alcohol consumption may be a prognostic factor in univariate analysis. Citation Format: Izzet Dogan, Nijat Khanmammadov, Adnan Aydıner, Pınar Saip. Outcomes of metastatic male breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Virtual Symposium; 2020 Dec 8-11; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS14-25.