This preliminary study suggests that TS repetitive-sequence polymorphisms are predictive for tumor downstaging. TR sequences in TS promoter may be useful as a novel means of predicting response to preoperative 5-FU-based chemoradiation.

See Appendix for individual names.Background: Pertuzumab combined with trastuzumab and docetaxel is the standard first-line therapy for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, based on results from the phase III CLEOPATRA trial. PERUSE was designed to assess the safety and efficacy of investigator-selected taxane with pertuzumab and trastuzumab in this setting. Patients and methods:In the ongoing multicentre single-arm phase IIIb PERUSE study, patients with inoperable HER2-positive advanced breast cancer (locally recurrent/metastatic) (LR/MBC) and no prior systemic therapy for LR/MBC (except endocrine therapy) received docetaxel, paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel with trastuzumab [8 mg/kg loading dose, then 6 mg/kg every 3 weeks (q3w)] and pertuzumab (840 mg loading dose, then 420 mg q3w) until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary end point was safety. Secondary end points included overall response rate (ORR) and progression-free survival (PFS). Results:Overall, 1436 patients received at least one treatment dose (initially docetaxel in 775 patients, paclitaxel in 589, nabpaclitaxel in 65; 7 discontinued before starting taxane). Median age was 54 years; 29% had received prior trastuzumab. Median treatment duration was 16 months for pertuzumab and trastuzumab and 4 months for taxane. Compared with docetaxel-containing therapy, paclitaxel-containing therapy was associated with more neuropathy (all-grade peripheral neuropathy 31% versus 16%) but less febrile neutropenia (1% versus 11%) and mucositis (14% versus 25%). At this preliminary analysis (52 months' median follow-up), median PFS was 20.6 [95% confidence interval (CI) 18.9-22.7] months overall (19.6, 23.0 and 18.1 months with docetaxel, paclitaxel and nab-paclitaxel, respectively). ORR was 80% (95% CI 78%-82%) overall (docetaxel 79%, paclitaxel 83%, nab-paclitaxel 77%).Conclusions: Preliminary findings from PERUSE suggest that the safety and efficacy of first-line pertuzumab, trastuzumab and taxane for HER2-positive LR/MBC are consistent with results from CLEOPATRA. Paclitaxel appears to be a valid alternative taxane backbone to docetaxel, offering similar PFS and ORR with a predictable safety profile.ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01572038.

Satisfaction with care among cancer patients treated at the day hospital is high. Nurses play a key and successful role. Age and tumour location revealed stronger relationships with SC. Correlations between SC and quality of life indicate that these concepts are complementary.

The OUT-PATSAT35 CT is a reliable and valid instrument when applied to a sample of Spanish cancer patients. These results are in line with those of the validation study conducted by the authors of the questionnaire and with the validation study for Spain of the OUT-PATSAT35 RT.

Introduction There are few studies on the effect on quality of life (QL) of cancer-related illness and treatment in elderly patients. The aim of this work was to evaluate prospectively QL in a sample of elderly patients with stages I-III breast cancer who started radiotherapy treatment and compare their QL with that of a sample of younger patients. Materials and methods Forty-eight patients, ≥ 65 years of age completed the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QL questionnaires QLQ-C30 and QLQ-BR23, and the Interview for Deterioration in Daily Living Activities in Dementia (IDDD) daily activities scale three times throughout treatment and follow-up periods. Clinical and demographic data were also recorded. Fifty patients ages 40-64 years with the same disease stage and treatment modality had previously completed the QL questionnaires. QL scores, changes in them among the three assessments, differences between groups based on clinical factors, and differences between the two samples were calculated. Results QL scoring was good and stable (> 70/100 points) in most areas, in line with clinical data. Light and moderate limitations occurred in global QL and some emotional, sexual, and treatment-related areas. Moderate decreases (10-20) appeared in some toxicity-related areas, which recovered during the follow-up period. Breast-conservation and sentinel-node patients presented higher scores in emotional areas. There were few QL differences among agebased samples. Conclusions QL and clinical data indicate radiotherapy was well tolerated. Age should not be the only factor evaluated when deciding upon treatment for breast cancer patients.