Clinical & Translational Oncology

Our medical research library holds 9 studies published in Clinical & Translational Oncology (2013–2026). Each entry links to the study's record on PubMed and, where there is one, to the publisher's page and a free full text. 9 have an abstract, the authors' own summary as PubMed records it: open "Abstract" to read it.

About the journal

• Publisher: Springer Italia
• Published: 2005 to the present, Italy
• Language: English, Spanish
• ISSN: 1699-048X (print), 1699-3055 (electronic)
• Continues: Revista de Oncología (Barcelona, Spain)
• Its record in the NLM Catalog

2020s

• Clinical and prognostic factors in pleural mesothelioma: insights from a Latin American cohort. R. Brugés, C. Carvajal, M. Núñez, et al. 2026;28(10):4839-4848. PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

  Abstract

  Background: Pleural mesothelioma (PM) remains a lethal but preventable disease whose burden is shifting toward low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where asbestos use has persisted or has only recently been banned. This study describes the clinical characteristics, management patterns, and prognostic factors of PM in a contemporary Colombian cohort.

  Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adults with histologically confirmed pleural mesothelioma diagnosed at a tertiary referral cancer center in Bogotá, Colombia, from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2023. Overall survival (OS) was defined from the histologic diagnosis date to death from any cause; patients without a recorded death were censored at the last documented oncologic contact. Real-world progression-free survival (PFS) was defined from diagnosis to documented progression (radiologic or clinician-documented) or death, whichever occurred first; patients without progression or death were censored at last contact. Survival was estimated using Kaplan-Meier methods and modeled using Cox proportional hazards regression.

  Results: The cohort included 106 patients (mean age, 63.2 years; 73.6% male; 84.9% epithelioid histology). There were 105 deaths (1 OS censor). Median OS was 9.9 months (95% CI, 7.1-14.1), with 12- and 24 month OS of 46.2% and 12.3%. Real-world PFS included 105 events (1 PFS censor). Median PFS was 8.1 months (95% CI, 6.2-9.4), with 12- and 24 month PFS of 30.2% and 6.6%. In multivariable analyses focused on baseline prognostic factors, ECOG performance status 2-3 was associated with shorter OS and PFS.

  Conclusions: In this contemporary Colombian cohort, OS and PFS were short, and baseline functional status was strongly associated with outcomes. Treatment-stratified survival patterns are reported descriptively and should not be interpreted as comparative effectiveness. These data add regional evidence for pleural mesothelioma prognosis in routine practice.

  © 2026. The Author(s).

• Treatment patterns and humanistic burden of malignant pleural mesothelioma in Spain. S. Cedres, J. Calvete, G. Taylor-Stokes, et al. 2025;27(1):213-222. PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

  Abstract

  Purpose: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive cancer with long latency and poor prognosis. The real-world treatment patterns and humanistic burden of MPM in an international cohort of patients were recently published. Spanish data are currently lacking and are reported here.

  Methods/Patients: Data were collected from three sources: physician-abstracted demographic, clinical and treatment characteristics of patients with MPM; patient-completed questionnaires on treatment satisfaction, symptoms, caregiver use, and impact of the disease; and caregiver-completed questionnaire reporting their activity and its impact on their daily life.

  Results: The 241 patients in Spain were primarily elderly (median age: 67 years), male, retired/unemployed/on long-term sick leave, and diagnosed at stage IV with unresectable disease. Exposure to asbestos was detected (54%, 101/188). First-line treatment (1L) consisted primarily of doublet chemotherapy (86%, 207/241). Of 102 patients who completed 1L at data abstraction, 67 were receiving maintenance therapy, most commonly singlet chemotherapy with pemetrexed. Best supportive care was given to 29 patients, primarily after 1L (86.2%, 25/29). Symptom burden was high and health-related quality of life was poor and declined with progression: mean (SD) EQ-5D score and EQ-5D visual analogue scale score were 0.615 (0.285) and 60.8 (17.1) in 1L and 0.497 (0.370) and 56.1 (19.5) in second line. Overall, 67% of patients (162/241) required daily assistance from their caregiver, who reported an impact on their psychological well-being.

  Conclusions: Patients with MPM in Spain were overall treated according to treatment guidelines at the time. Nevertheless, a considerable burden of disease was reported by patients and caregivers.

  © 2024. The Author(s).

• Malignant pleural mesothelioma: clinical experience and prognostic value of derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and PD-L1 expression. L. Gutierrez-Sainz, P. Cruz, S. Martinez-Recio, et al. 2021;23(10):2030-2035. PubMed · Publisher

  Abstract

  Background: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare and aggressive tumor, with a poor prognosis. MPM needs to find prognostic factors of survival. We provided the management of patients with MPM and sought to determine whether pre-treatment levels of derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (dNLR) as well as PD-L1 expression were reliable prognostic factors of survival.

  Methods: We conducted a single-institution retrospective study, including all patients with MPM treated at La Paz University Hospital between December 2009 and March 2018. Baseline disease, demographics, clinical data, treatment characteristics and complete blood cell counts were collected. We examined dNLR at baseline and data for PD-L1 expression were analyzed in tumor cells by immunohistochemistry.

  Results: We included 25 patients. The median overall survival (OS) was 15.7 months (95% CI 11.3-20.0). 5 patients had a dNLR greater than 3 (20%). Patients with a dNLR greater than 3 had shorter median OS (8.5 months), than patients with a dNLR less than 3 (17.0 months), with statistically significant differences (p = 0.038). Ten patients (40%) had positive PD-L1 expression (≥ 1%). Patients with positive PD-L1 expression had shorter median OS (8.5 months) than patients with negative PDL1 expression (15.7 months), but without statistically significant association (p = 0.319).

  Conclusion: The survival data obtained in our sample are consistent with those previously reported. Pretreatment levels of dNLR greater than 3 and positive PD-L1 expression could be significant prognostic factors for poor survival in patients with MPM. Further and prospective studies are needed to explore this relationship and to derive definitive conclusions.

  © 2021. Federación de Sociedades Españolas de Oncología (FESEO).

• SEOM clinical guidelines for the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma (2020). E. Nadal, J. Bosch-Barrera, S. Cedrés, et al. 2021;23(5):980-987. Guideline · Review PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

  Abstract

  Mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive tumour with dismal prognosis arising in the pleura and associated with asbestos exposure. Its incidence is on the rise worldwide. In selected patients with early-stage MPM, a maximal surgical cytoreduction in combination with additional antitumour treatment may be considered in selected patients assessed by a multidisciplinary tumor board. In patients with unresectable or advanced MPM, chemotherapy with platinum plus pemetrexed is the standard of care. Currently, no standard salvage therapy has been approved yet, but second-line chemotherapy with vinorelbine or gemcitabine is commonly used. Novel therapeutic approaches based on dual immunotherapy or chemotherapy plus immunotherapy demonstrated promising survival benefit and will probably be incorporated in the future.

• Analysis of mismatch repair (MMR) proteins expression in a series of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) patients. S. Cedrés, S. Ponce-Aix, P. Iranzo, et al. 2020;22(8):1390-1398. PubMed · Publisher

  Abstract

  Background: Promising results have been reported with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in a small proportion of MPM patients. MMR deficiency (dMMR) has been well described in several malignancies and was approved as a biomarker for anti-PD-1 inhibitors. Next generation sequencing (NGS) data demonstrated that 2% of MPM harbor microsatellite instability. The aim of this study is to characterize MMR by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in a series of MPM including a subset of patients treated with immunotherapy.

  Methods: Tumors of 159 MPM p diagnosed between 2002 and 2017 were reviewed. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue was stained for MLH1, MSH2, MSH6 and PMS2 and tumors were classified as dMMR (MMR protein expression negative) and MMR intact (all MMR proteins positively expressed). We retrospectively collected clinical outcomes under standard chemotherapy and experimental immunotherapy in the entire cohort.

  Results: MMR protein expression was analyzed in 158 samples with enough tissue and was positive in all of the cases. Twenty two patients received ICI with anti-CTLA4 or anti-PD-1 blockade in clinical trials, 58% had a response or stable disease for more than 6 m, with median progression-free survival (PFS) of 5.7 m (2.1-26.1 m). The median overall survival (mOS) in all population was 15 months (m) (13.5-18.8 m). In a multivariable model factors associated to improved mOS were PS 0, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) < 5 and epithelioid histology (p < 0.001).

  Conclusions: In our series we were unable to identify any MPM patient with dMMR by IHC. Further studies are needed to elucidate potential predictive biomarkers of ICI benefit in MPM.

2010s

• Multiple sclerosis outcomes after cancer immunotherapy. C.R. Garcia, R. Jayswal, V. Adams, et al. 2019;21(10):1336-1342. Case report · Review PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

  Abstract

  Introduction: Neurological immune-related adverse events are a rare but potentially deadly complication after immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment. As multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated disease, it is unknown how ICI treatment may affect outcomes.

  Methods: We analyzed the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database for pembrolizumab, atezolizumab, nivolumab, ipilimumab, avelumab, and durvalumab 2 years prior their FDA approval until December 31, 2017, to include all cases with confirmed diagnosis/relapse of MS. We also included cases reported in the literature and a patient from our institution.

  Results: We identified 14 cases of MS with median age of presentation of 52 years. Indications for ICI included melanoma in 7 (36.36%) cases, non-small cell lung carcinoma in 2 (18.18%) cases, 1 case (9.09%) each of pleural mesothelioma, renal cell carcinoma, and colorectal cancer, and unreported in 2 (18.18%) cases. History of MS was confirmed in 8 (57.1%) cases. Median time to beginning of symptoms was 29 days with rapid disease progression; two patients died due to their relapse. Median time for symptom resolution was 8 weeks. Outcomes did not vary by comparing CTLA-4 and PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors.

  Conclusions: Reported MS relapses after ICI are rare, but the adverse events described include rapid neurologic progression and death. Larger and prospective studies are warranted to assess disability and long-term outcomes and outweigh the risks of starting immunotherapy in patients with MS.

• Closing faucets: the role of anti-angiogenic therapies in malignant pleural diseases. D. Marquez-Medina, S. Popat. 2016;18(8):760-8. Review PubMed · Publisher

  Abstract

  Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) represents 15-35 % of pleural effusions and markedly worsens the prognosis and quality of life of patients with cancer. Malignant mesothelioma (MM) and lung adenocarcinoma are the most frequent primary and secondary causes, respectively, of MPE. Effective treatments for cancer-related MPE are warranted in order to improve symptoms, reduce the number of invasive pleural procedures, and prolong patient life. Since angiogenesis plays a key role in MPE development, the potential role of bevacizumab and other anti-angiogenic therapies have been explored in this review. No relevant phase III trials have specifically analysed the benefit from adding bevacizumab to platinum-based chemotherapy in lung cancer-related MPE. However, small retrospective series reported 71.4-93.3 % MPE control rate, a reduction in invasive procedures, and a safe profile with this combination. Being approved for the first-line treatment of non-squamous advanced NSCLC, the addition of bevacizumab should be considered for patients presenting with MPE. In addition, further studies in this are recommended. In MM, the addition of bevacizumab to platinum-based chemotherapy did not meet primary endpoints in two phase II trials. However, the beneficial results on OS reported in comparison with historical cohorts and the statistically significant benefit on PFS and OS observed in the phase III MAPS trial foretell an eventual role for the combination of platinum/pemetrexed/bevacizumab as front-line systemic therapy for pleural MM. To date, no other anti-angiogenic drug has showed significant benefit in the treatment of patients with either MPE or MM. However, new promising drugs such as ramucirumab or recombinant human endostar warrant further investigation.

• Expression of Wilms' tumor gene (WT1) is associated with survival in malignant pleural mesothelioma. S. Cedrés, M.A. Montero, E. Zamora, et al. 2014;16(9):776-82. PubMed · Publisher

  Abstract

  Introduction: Calretinin and Wilms' tumor gene (WT1) are mesothelial markers routinely used to confirm the diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). We investigated the prognostic value of calretinin and WT1 expression in predicting survival in a series of patients diagnosed with MPM in our institution.

  Materials And Methods: Fifty-two patients diagnosed of MPM were retrospectively reviewed. Calretinin and WT1 were stained for IHC analysis in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections and positivity was considered for tumors with >1 % of tumor cells stained. Survival data were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression was used to evaluate the prognostic value of the variables.

  Results: Calretinin IHC expression was positive in 83.7 % of patients and WT1 in 78.1 %. A significant association of calretinin and WT1 expression with epithelial histology was detected (p = 0.030 and p = 0.010). We found a significant increase in OS in patients with epithelial subtype, PS1 and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) ≤5 (p < 0.05). In the IHC markers analysis, we found a significant increase in OS for patients with WT1 positive expression (16.4 vs. 2.3 m, p = 0.013), but not differences for calretinin expression (16.6 vs. 5.0 months, p = 0.37). In the multivariate analysis, epithelial histology and WT1 remained as significant prognostic factors for survival (p = 0.004 and p = 0.010, respectively).

  Conclusion: In our series of 52 MPM patients, epithelial histology, PS, NLR and WT1 expression are significant prognostic factors for survival. We concluded that WT1, but not calretinin, is a useful prognostic factor in MPM. The role of WT1 assessment is worth of prospective validation in future studies on MPM.

• Chemotherapy management of malignant pleural mesothelioma: a phase II study comparing two popular chemotherapy regimens. E.E. Habib, E.S. Fahmy. 2013;15(11):965-8. Randomized trial PubMed · Publisher

  Abstract

  Purpose: The aim of this prospective, phase II clinical study is to evaluate the activity of gemcitabine and cisplatin in comparison to pemetrexed and carboplatin in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.

  Patients And Methods: The patients were recruited from May 2008 to May 2011. One group included 21 cases who received cisplatin and gemcitabine. The other group included 19 cases who received pemetrexed and carboplatin.

  Results: Response is superior in the pemetrexed group (p = 0.041). The median follow-up was 18 months (range 6-30 months). Cumulative survival at 1.5 years was 57.8 % for the pemetrexed carboplatin group. For the gemcitabine cisplatin group, the cumulative survival proportion at 1.5 years was 41 % (p = 0.0599).

  Conclusions: Pemetrexed plus carboplatin are a step forward in the treatment of mesothelioma, the prognosis for these patients remains poor. Cheaper combinations as gemcitabine and cisplatin may be considered sufficient to treat cases with advanced mesothelioma.

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