Clinicopathological features of HER2 positive metastatic colorectal cancer and survival analysis of anti-HER2 treatment

Therapeutic strategies targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor signaling pathway in metastatic colorectal cancer

More than 1.9 million new colorectal cancer (CRC) cases and 935000 deaths were estimated to occur worldwide in 2020, representing about one in ten cancer cases and deaths. Overall, colorectal ranks third in incidence, but second in mortality. More than half of the patients are in advanced stages at diagnosis. Treatment options are complex because of the heterogeneity of the patient population, including different molecular subtypes. Treatments have included conventional fluorouracil-based chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, etc. In recent years, with the development of genetic testing technology, more and more targeted drugs have been applied to the treatment of CRC, which has further prolonged the survival of metastatic CRC patients.

Successful treatment with trastuzumab plus chemotherapy as the first‑line regimen in advanced small bowel adenocarcinoma harboring HER2 amplification: A report of two cases

Therapeutic options are limited for individuals with unresectable or metastatic small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA), necessitating palliative chemotherapy. Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) gene amplification or protein overexpression in SBA is exceedingly rare. HER2 amplification mutations/overexpression serves as a potential target for treatment in various malignancies. However, research on targeted therapies for SBA with HER2 mutation is lacking. In this context, the present study reports two cases of advanced SBA with a HER2 amplification mutation. Both patients received the anti-HER2 agent trastuzumab in combination with an oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy regimen as a first-line treatment. Following disease progression, trastuzumab was used in conjunction with other palliative chemotherapy regimens. Notably, anti-HER2 treatment resulted in significantly extended overall survival times without the occurrence of serious treatment-related adverse events. The overall survival times of the two patients were 31 and 15 months. Additionally, a review of the existing literature was conducted with regard to the effectiveness of anti-HER2 agents in the treatment of advanced SBA. It can be concluded that it is imperative to ascertain the HER2 status prior to the initiation of palliative treatment.

Recent Progress in Second Near-Infrared (NIR-II) Fluorescence Imaging in Cancer

Cancer continues to be one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and its incidence is on the rise. Although cancer diagnosis and therapy have advanced significantly in recent decades, it is still a challenge to achieve the accurate identification and localization of cancer and to complete tumor elimination with a maximum preservation of normal tissue. Recently, second near-infrared region (NIR-II, 1000-1700 nm) fluorescence has shown great application potential in cancer theranostics due to its inherent advantages, such as great penetration capacity, minimal tissue absorption and scattering, and low autofluorescence. With the development of fluorescence imaging systems and fluorescent probes, tumor detection, margin definition, and individualized therapy can be achieved quickly, enabling an increasingly accurate diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Herein, this review introduces the role of NIR-II fluorescence imaging in cancer diagnosis and summarizes the representative applications of NIR-II image-guided treatment in cancer therapy. Ultimately, we discuss the present challenges and future perspectives on fluorescence imaging in the field of cancer theranostics and put forward our opinions on how to improve the accuracy and efficiency of cancer diagnosis and therapeutics.