Browsing by Author "Chovanec, Michal"
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Item Emerging Prognostic Biomarkers in Testicular Germ Cell Tumors: Looking Beyond Established Practice(Frontiers, 2018-11-28) Chovanec, Michal; Albany, Constantine; Mego, Michal; Montironi, Rodolfo; Cimadamore, Alessia; Cheng, Liang; Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of MedicineTesticular germ cell tumors are unique among solid cancers. Historically, this disease was deadly if progressed beyond the stage I. The implementation of cisplatin-based chemotherapy regimens has drastically changed the clinical outcome of metastatic testicular cancer. Several biomarkers were established to refine the prognosis by International Germ Cell Collaborative Group in 1997. Among these, the most significant were primary tumor site; metastatic sites, such as non-pulmonary visceral metastases; and the amplitude of serum tumor markers α-fetoprotein, β-chorionic gonadotropin, and lactate dehydrogenase. Since then, oncology has experienced discoveries of various molecular biomarkers to further refine the prognosis and treatment of malignancies. However, the ability to predict the prognosis and treatment response in germ cell tumors did not improve for many years. Clinical trials with novel targeting agents that were conducted in refractory germ cell tumor patients have proven to have negative outcomes. With the recent advances and developments, novel biomarkers emerge in the field of germ cell tumor oncology. This review article aims to summarize the current knowledge in the research of novel prognostic biomarkers in testicular germ cell tumors.Item Incorporating DNA Methyltransferase Inhibitors (DNMTis) in the Treatment of Genitourinary Malignancies: A Systematic Review(Springer, 2018-02) Chovanec, Michal; Taza, Fadi; Kalra, Maitri; Hah, Noah; Nephew, Kenneth P.; Spinella, Michael J.; Albany, Costantine; Medicine, School of MedicineInhibition of DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) has emerged as a novel treatment strategy in solid tumors. Aberrant hypermethylation in promoters of critical tumor suppressor genes is the basis for the idea that treatment with hypomethylating agents may lead to the restoration of a “normal” epigenome and produce clinically meaningful therapeutic outcomes. The aim of this review article is to summarize the current state of knowledge of DNMT inhibitors in the treatment of genitourinary malignancies. The efficacy of these agents in genitourinary malignancies was reported in a number of studies and suggests a role of induced DNA hypomethylation in overcoming resistance to conventional cytotoxic treatments. The clinical significance of these findings should be further investigated.Item Long-Term Survival in a Patient With Metastatic DDR2-Positive Adrenal Cortical Carcinoma(Elsevier, 2017-10) Taza, Fadi; Chovanec, Michal; Hahn, Noah; Albany, Constantine; Medicine, School of MedicineItem Multidisciplinary clinic approach improves overall survival outcomes of patients with metastatic germ-cell tumors(Oxford, 2018-02) Albany, Costantine; Adra, Nabil; Snavely, A. C.; Cary, C.; Masterson, T. A.; Foster, R. S.; Kesler, Kenneth; Ulbright, Thomas M.; Cheng, Liang; Chovanec, Michal; Taza, Fadi; Brames, Mary J.; Hanna, Nasser H.; Einhorn, Lawrence H.; Medicine, School of MedicineBackground To report our experience utilizing a multidisciplinary clinic (MDC) at Indiana University (IU) since the publication of the International Germ Cell Cancer Collaborative Group (IGCCCG), and to compare our overall survival (OS) to that of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. Patients and methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of all patients with metastatic germ-cell tumor (GCT) seen at IU from 1998 to 2014. A total of 1611 consecutive patients were identified, of whom 704 patients received an initial evaluation by our MDC (including medical oncology, pathology, urology and thoracic surgery) and started first-line chemotherapy at IU. These 704 patients were eligible for analysis. All patients in this cohort were treated with cisplatin–etoposide-based combination chemotherapy. We compared the progression-free survival (PFS) and OS of patients treated at IU with that of the published IGCCCG cohort. OS of the IU testis cancer primary cohort (n = 622) was further compared with the SEER data of 1283 patients labeled with ‘distant’ disease. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to estimate PFS and OS. Results With a median follow-up of 4.4 years, patients with good, intermediate, and poor risk disease by IGCCCG criteria treated at IU had 5-year PFS of 90%, 84%, and 54% and 5-year OS of 97%, 92%, and 73%, respectively. The 5-year PFS for all patients in the IU cohort was 79% [95% confidence interval (CI) 76% to 82%]. The 5-year OS for the IU cohort was 90% (95% CI 87% to 92%). IU testis cohort had 5-year OS 94% (95% CI 91% to 96%) versus 75% (95% CI 73% to 78%) for the SEER ‘distant’ cohort between 2000 and 2014, P-value <0.0001. Conclusion The MDC approach to GCT at high-volume cancer center associated with improved OS outcomes in this contemporary dataset. OS is significantly higher in the IU cohort compared with the IGCCCG and SEER ‘distant’ cohort.Item Predicting Outcomes in Men With Metastatic Nonseminomatous Germ Cell Tumors (NSGCT): Results From the IGCCCG Update Consortium(American Society of Clinical Oncology, 2021) Gillessen, Silke; Sauvé, Nicolas; Collette, Laurence; Daugaard, Gedske; de Wit, Ronald; Albany, Costantine; Tryakin, Alexey; Fizazi, Karim; Stahl, Olof; Gietema, Jourik A.; De Giorgi, Ugo; Cafferty, Fay H.; Hansen, Aaron R.; Tandstad, Torgrim; Huddart, Robert A.; Necchi, Andrea; Sweeney, Christopher J.; Garcia-Del-Muro, Xavier; Heng, Daniel Y. C.; Lorch, Anja; Chovanec, Michal; Winquist, Eric; Grimison, Peter; Feldman, Darren R.; Terbuch, Angelika; Hentrich, Marcus; Bokemeyer, Carsten; Negaard, Helene; Fankhauser, Christian; Shamash, Jonathan; Vaughn, David J.; Sternberg, Cora N.; Heidenreich, Axel; Beyer, Jörg; International Germ Cell Cancer Classification Update Consortium; Medicine, School of MedicinePurpose: The classification of the International Germ Cell Cancer Collaborative Group (IGCCCG) plays a pivotal role in the management of metastatic germ cell tumors but relies on data of patients treated between 1975 and 1990. Materials and methods: Data on 9,728 men with metastatic nonseminomatous germ cell tumors treated with cisplatin- and etoposide-based first-line chemotherapy between 1990 and 2013 were collected from 30 institutions or collaborative groups in Europe, North America, and Australia. Clinical trial and registry data were included. Primary end points were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). The survival estimates were updated for the current era. Additionally, a novel prognostic model for PFS was developed in 3,543 patients with complete information on potentially relevant variables. The results were validated in an independent data set. Results: Compared with the original IGCCCG publication, 5-year PFS remained similar in patients with good prognosis with 89% (87%-91%) versus 90% (95% CI, 89 to 91), but the 5-year OS increased from 92% (90%-94%) to 96% (95%-96%). In patients with intermediate prognosis, PFS remained similar with 75% (71%-79%) versus 78% (76%-80%) and the OS increased from 80% (76%-84%) to 89% (88%-91%). In patients with poor prognosis, the PFS increased from 41% (95% CI, 35 to 47) to 54% (95% CI, 52 to 56) and the OS from 48% (95% CI, 42 to 54) to 67% (95% CI, 65 to 69). A more granular prognostic model was developed and independently validated. This model identified a new cutoff of lactate dehydrogenase at a 2.5 upper limit of normal and increasing age and presence of lung metastases as additional adverse prognostic factors. An online calculator is provided (https://www.eortc.org/IGCCCG-Update). Conclusion: The IGCCCG Update model improves individual prognostication in metastatic nonseminomatous germ cell tumors. Increasing age and lung metastases add granularity to the original IGCCCG classification as adverse prognostic factors.Item Prognostic Value of Teratoma in Primary Tumor and Postchemotherapy Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection Specimens in Patients With Metastatic Germ Cell Tumor(American Society of Clinical Oncology, 2020-04-20) Taza, Fadi; Chovanec, Michal; Snavely, Anna; Hanna, Nasser H.; Cary, Clint; Masterson, Timothy A.; Foster, Richard S.; Einhorn, Lawrence H.; Albany, Costantine; Adra, Nabil; Medicine, School of MedicinePurpose: Presence of teratoma in patients with metastatic testicular germ cell tumor (GCT) is of unknown prognostic significance. We report survival outcomes of patients with or without teratoma in primary tumor and postchemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (PC-RPLND) specimen and assess impact on prognosis. Patients and methods: Patients with metastatic nonseminomatous GCT (NSGCT) who were evaluated at Indiana University between 1990 and 2016 and had primary testicular tumor specimen from orchiectomy (ORCH) were included. All patients were treated with cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy. The cohort was divided into 2 groups according to presence or absence of teratoma in ORCH specimen. Survival data were correlated with histopathologic findings. Differences in progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were evaluated using log-rank tests and Cox proportional hazards models to adjust for known adverse prognostic factors. Results: We identified 1,224 consecutive patients evaluated at Indiana University between 1990 and 2016 who met inclusion criteria. Median age was 27 years (range, 13-71 years); 689 patients had teratoma in ORCH specimen, and 535 did not. With median follow-up of 2.3 years, 5-year PFS was 61.9% (95% CI, 57.1% to 66.2%) for those with teratoma versus 63.1% (95% CI, 58.0% to 67.8%) for those without (P = .66); 5-year OS was 82.2% (95% CI, 77.9% to 85.8%) versus 81.4% (95% CI, 76.5% to 85.3%; P = .91), respectively. A total of 473 patients underwent PC-RPLND; 5-year PFS for patients with pure teratoma in PC-RPLND specimen versus necrosis only was 65.9% versus 79.1% (P = .06), and 5-year OS was 90.3% versus 93.4% (P = .21), respectively. Conclusion: Presence of teratoma in ORCH and PC-RPLND specimens was not a prognostic factor in this large retrospective study of patients with NSGCT.Item Survival and New Prognosticators in Metastatic Seminoma: Results From the IGCCCG-Update Consortium(American Society of Clinical Oncology, 2021) Beyer, Jörg; Collette, Laurence; Sauvé, Nicolas; Daugaard, Gedske; Feldman, Darren R.; Tandstad, Torgrim; Tryakin, Alexey; Stahl, Olof; Gonzalez-Billalabeitia, Enrique; De Giorgi, Ugo; Culine, Stéphane; de Wit, Ronald; Hansen, Aaron R.; Bebek, Marko; Terbuch, Angelika; Albany, Costantine; Hentrich, Marcus; Gietema, Jourik A.; Negaard, Helene; Huddart, Robert A.; Lorch, Anja; Cafferty, Fay H.; Heng, Daniel Y. C.; Sweeney, Christopher J.; Winquist, Eric; Chovanec, Michal; Fankhauser, Christian; Stark, Daniel; Grimison, Peter; Necchi, Andrea; Tran, Ben; Heidenreich, Axel; Shamash, Jonathan; Sternberg, Cora N.; Vaughn, David J.; Duran, Ignacio; Bokemeyer, Carsten; Patrikidou, Anna; Cathomas, Richard; Assele, Samson; Gillessen, Silke; International Germ Cell Cancer Classification Update Consortium; Medicine, School of MedicinePurpose: The classification of the International Germ-Cell Cancer Collaborative Group (IGCCCG) has been a major advance in the management of germ-cell tumors, but relies on data of only 660 patients with seminoma treated between 1975 and 1990. We re-evaluated this classification in a database from a large international consortium. Materials and methods: Data on 2,451 men with metastatic seminoma treated with cisplatin- and etoposide-based first-line chemotherapy between 1990 and 2013 were collected from 30 institutions or collaborative groups in Australia, Europe, and North America. Clinical trial and registry data were included. Primary end points were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) calculated from day 1 of treatment. Variables at initial presentation were evaluated for their prognostic impact. Results were validated in an independent validation set of 764 additional patients. Results: Compared with the initial IGCCCG classification, in our modern series, 5-year PFS improved from 82% to 89% (95% CI, 87 to 90) and 5-year OS from 86% to 95% (95% CI, 94 to 96) in good prognosis, and from 67% to 79% (95% CI, 70 to 85) and 72% to 88% (95% CI, 80 to 93) in intermediate prognosis patients. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) proved to be an additional adverse prognostic factor. Good prognosis patients with LDH above 2.5× upper limit of normal had a 3-year PFS of 80% (95% CI, 75 to 84) and a 3-year OS of 92% (95% CI, 88 to 95) versus 92% (95% CI, 90 to 94) and 97% (95% CI, 96 to 98) in the group with lower LDH. Conclusion: PFS and OS in metastatic seminoma significantly improved in our modern series compared with the original data. The original IGCCCG classification retains its relevance, but can be further refined by adding LDH at a cutoff of 2.5× upper limit of normal as an additional adverse prognostic factor.Item Targeting of Deregulated Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling by PRI-724 and LGK974 Inhibitors in Germ Cell Tumor Cell Lines(MDPI, 2021-04-20) Schmidtova, Silvia; Kalavska, Katarina; Liskova, Veronika; Plava, Jana; Miklikova, Svetlana; Kucerova, Lucia; Matuskova, Miroslava; Rojikova, Lucia; Cierna, Zuzana; Rogozea, Adriana; Konig, Heiko; Albany, Costantine; Mego, Michal; Chovanec, Michal; Medicine, School of MedicineThe majority of patients with testicular germ cell tumors (GCTs) can be cured with cisplatin-based chemotherapy. However, for a subset of patients present with cisplatin-refractory disease, which confers a poor prognosis, the treatment options are limited. Novel therapies are therefore urgently needed to improve outcomes in this challenging patient population. It has previously been shown that Wnt/β-catenin signaling is active in GCTs suggesting that its inhibitors LGK974 and PRI-724 may show promise in the management of cisplatin-refractory GCTs. We herein investigated whether LGK-974 and PRI-724 provide a treatment effect in cisplatin-resistant GCT cell lines. Taking a genoproteomic approach and utilizing xenograft models we found the increased level of β-catenin in 2 of 4 cisplatin-resistant (CisR) cell lines (TCam-2 CisR and NCCIT CisR) and the decreased level of β-catenin and cyclin D1 in cisplatin-resistant NTERA-2 CisR cell line. While the effect of treatment with LGK974 was limited or none, the NTERA-2 CisR exhibited the increased sensitivity to PRI-724 in comparison with parental cell line. Furthermore, the pro-apoptotic effect of PRI-724 was documented in all cell lines. Our data strongly suggests that a Wnt/β-catenin signaling is altered in cisplatin-resistant GCT cell lines and the inhibition with PRI-724 is effective in NTERA-2 CisR cells. Further evaluation of Wnt/β-catenin pathway inhibition in GCTs is therefore warranted.