Prognostic factors and skeletal-related events in patients with bone metastasis from gastric cancer

Characteristic features and prognostic factors in gastric cancer patients with bone metastases: multicenter experience

We evaluated the incidence, clinicopathological features, prognostic factors, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of patients with gastric cancer and bone metastases. The medical records of 110 patients with bone metastases were retrospectively analyzed. In our study, the incidence of bone metastases was 3.2%. The median patient age was 60 years. A total of 68 (61.8%) patients exhibited synchronous metastases, and 42 (38.2%) patients developed metachronous metastases. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels were high in 54 (49%) patients. At the median follow-up time of 9.8 months, median PFS and OS times were 4.7 and 6.3 months, respectively. The median interval from the diagnosis to bone metastases was 9.3 months. Univariate analysis showed that Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG PS) ≥2, stage at diagnosis, time of metastases, number of metastases, presence of extraskeletal metastases, use of zoledronic acid treatment, palliative chemotherapy post-bone metastases and radiotherapy to bone metastases were significant prognostic indicators for PFS. Additionally, ECOG PS ≥2, stage at diagnosis, time of metastases, number of metastases, presence of extraskeletal metastases, zoledronic acid treatment, palliative chemotherapy post-bone metastases, and radiotherapy to bone metastases significantly influenced OS. Moreover, in multivariate analysis, ECOG PS, time of metastases, presence of extra-bone metastases, and the use of palliative chemotherapy after bone metastases were found to be independent prognostic factors for PFS. Moreover, ECOG PS, time of metastases, and use of palliative chemotherapy after bone metastases were significantly independent prognostic indicators for OS. Our findings show that the presence of synchronous metastases, use of palliative chemotherapy, use of zoledronic acid after bone metastases, and ALP level within the normal range were significantly associated with prolonged OS in gastric cancer patients with bone metastases.

Risk stratification in gastric cancer lung metastasis: Utilizing an overall survival nomogram and comparing it with previous staging

BACKGROUND

Gastric cancer (GC) is prevalent and aggressive, especially when patients have distant lung metastases, which often places patients into advanced stages. By identifying prognostic variables for lung metastasis in GC patients, it may be possible to construct a good prediction model for both overall survival (OS) and the cumulative incidence prediction (CIP) plot of the tumour.

AIM

To investigate the predictors of GC with lung metastasis (GCLM) to produce nomograms for OS and generate CIP by using cancer-specific survival (CSS) data.

METHODS

Data from January 2000 to December 2020 involving 1652 patients with GCLM were obtained from the Surveillance, epidemiology, and end results program database. The major observational endpoint was OS; hence, patients were separated into training and validation groups. Correlation analysis determined various connections. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses validated the independent predictive factors. Nomogram distinction and calibration were performed with the time-dependent area under the curve (AUC) and calibration curves. To evaluate the accuracy and clinical usefulness of the nomograms, decision curve analysis (DCA) was performed. The clinical utility of the novel prognostic model was compared to that of the 7th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system by utilizing Net Reclassification Improvement (NRI) and Integrated Discrimination Improvement (IDI). Finally, the OS prognostic model and Cox-AJCC risk stratification model modified for the AJCC system were compared.

RESULTS

For the purpose of creating the OS nomogram, a CIP plot based on CSS was generated. Cox multivariate regression analysis identified eleven significant prognostic factors (P < 0.05) related to liver metastasis, bone metastasis, primary site, surgery, regional surgery, treatment sequence, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, positive lymph node count, N staging, and time from diagnosis to treatment. It was clear from the DCA (net benefit > 0), time-dependent ROC curve (training/validation set AUC > 0.7), and calibration curve (reliability slope closer to 45 degrees) results that the OS nomogram demonstrated a high level of predictive efficiency. The OS prediction model (New Model AUC = 0.83) also performed much better than the old Cox-AJCC model (AUC difference between the new model and the old model greater than 0) in terms of risk stratification (P < 0.0001) and verification using the IDI and NRI.

CONCLUSION

The OS nomogram for GCLM successfully predicts 1- and 3-year OS. Moreover, this approach can help to appropriately classify patients into high-risk and low-risk groups, thereby guiding treatment.

Clinical association between coagulation indicators and bone metastasis in patients with gastric cancer

BACKGROUND

Bones are one of the most common target organs for cancer metastasis. Early evaluation of bone metastasis (BM) status is clinically significant. Cancer patients often experience a hypercoagulable state.

AIM

To evaluate the correlation between coagulation indicators and the burden of BM in gastric cancer (GC).

METHODS

We conducted a single-center retrospective study and enrolled 454 patients. Clinical information including routine blood examination and coagulation markers were collected before any treatment. Patients were grouped according to the status of BM. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to assess diagnostic performance and determine the optimal cutoff values of the above indicators. Cutoff values, sensitivity and specificity were based on the maximum Youden index. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationships between biomarkers and BM.

RESULTS

Of the 454 enrolled patients, 191 patients were diagnosed with BM. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis suggested that prothrombin time (PT) [cutoff: 13.25; sensitivity: 0.651; specificity: 0.709; area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) = 0.738], activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) (cutoff: 35.15; sensitivity: 0.640; specificity: 0.640; AUC = 0.678) and fibrin degradation products (FDP) (cutoff: 2.75; sensitivity: 0.668; specificity: 0.801; AUC = 0.768) act as novel predictors for BM. Based on multivariate logistic regression analysis, the results showed the independent correlation between PT [odds ratio (OR): 3.16; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.612-6.194; P = 0.001], aPTT (OR: 2.234; 95%CI: 1.157-4.313; P = 0.017) and FDP (OR: 3.17; 95%CI: 1.637-6.139; P = 0.001) and BM in patients with GC. Moreover, age, carcinoembryonic antigen, erythrocyte and globulin were found to be significantly associated with BM.

CONCLUSION

Coagulation markers, namely PT, aPTT and FDP, might be potential predictors for screening BM in patients with GC.

Tumor Microenvironment, Clinical Features, and Advances in Therapy for Bone Metastasis in Gastric Cancer

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most malignant neoplasms worldwide, accounting for about 770,000 deaths in 2020. The incidence of gastric cancer bone metastasis (GC-BM) is low, about 0.9–13.4%, and GC patients develop GC-BM because of a suitable bone microenvironment. Osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and tumor cells interact with each other, secreting cytokines such as PTHrP, RANK-L, IL-6, and other growth factors that disrupt the normal bone balance and promote tumor growth. The functions and numbers of immune cells in the bone microenvironment are continuously inhibited, resulting in bone balance disorder due to the cytokines released from destroyed bone and growing tumor cells. Patients with GC-BM are generally younger than 65 years old and they often present with a later stage of the disease, as well as more aggressive tumors. They usually have shorter overall survival (OS) because of the occurrence of skeletal-related events (SREs) and undetected bone destruction due to the untimely bone inspection. Current treatments of GC-BM focus mainly on gastric cancer and SRE-related treatment. This article reviews the clinical features, possible molecular pathogeneses, and the most commonly used diagnostic methods and treatments of bone metastasis in gastric cancer.

High serum levels of L-carnitine and citric acid negatively correlated with alkaline phosphatase are detectable in Koreans before gastric cancer onset

INTRODUCTION

Monitoring metabolic biomarkers could be utilized as an effective tool for the early detection of gastric cancer (GC) risk.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to discover predictive serum biomarkers for GC and investigate biomarker-related metabolism.

METHODS

Subjects were randomly selected from the Korean Cancer Prevention Study-II cohort and matched by age and sex. We analyzed baseline serum samples of 160 subjects (discovery set; control and GC occurrence group, 80 each) via nontargeted screening. Identified putative biomarkers were validated in baseline serum samples of 140 subjects (validation set; control and GC occurrence group, 70 each) using targeted metabolites analysis.

RESULTS

The final analysis was conducted on the discovery set (control, n = 52 vs. GC occurrence, n = 50) and the validation set (control, n = 43 vs. GC occurrence, n = 44) applying exclusion conditions. Eighteen putative metabolite sets differed between two groups found on nontargeted metabolic screening. We focused on fatty acid-related energy metabolism. In targeted analysis, levels of decanoyl-L-carnitine (p = 0.019), L-carnitine (p = 0.033), and citric acid (p = 0.025) were significantly lower in the GC occurrence group, even after adjusting for age, sex, and smoking status. Additionally, L-carnitine and citric acid were confirmed to have an independently significant relationship to GC development. Notably, alkaline phosphatase showed a significant correlation with these two biomarkers.

CONCLUSION

Changes in serum L-carnitine and citric acid levels that may result from alterations of fatty-acid-related energy metabolism are expected to be valuable biomarkers for the early diagnosis of GC risk.

Tumor-Derived Exosomes Modulate Primary Site Tumor Metastasis

Tumor-derived exosomes (TDEs) are actively produced and released by tumor cells and carry messages from tumor cells to healthy cells or abnormal cells, and they participate in tumor metastasis. In this review, we explore the underlying mechanism of action of TDEs in tumor metastasis. TDEs transport tumor-derived proteins and non-coding RNA to tumor cells and promote migration. Transport to normal cells, such as vascular endothelial cells and immune cells, promotes angiogenesis, inhibits immune cell activation, and improves chances of tumor implantation. Thus, TDEs contribute to tumor metastasis. We summarize the function of TDEs and their components in tumor metastasis and illuminate shortcomings for advancing research on TDEs in tumor metastasis.

A Diagnostic Nomogram Based on 18F-FDG PET/CT for Bone Metastasis of Gastric Cancer

Purpose: To develop an effective diagnostic model for bone metastasis of gastric cancer by combining ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT and clinical data.

Materials and Methods: A total of 212 gastric cancer patients with abnormal bone imaging scans based on ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT were retrospectively enrolled between September 2009 and March 2020. Risk factors for bone metastasis of gastric cancer were identified by multivariate logistic regression analysis and used to create a nomogram. The performance of the nomogram was evaluated by using receiver operating characteristic curves and calibration plots.

Results: The diagnostic power of the binary logistic regression model incorporating skeleton-related symptoms, anemia, the SUVmax of bone lesions, bone changes, the location of bone lesions, ALP, LDH, CEA, and CA19-9 was significantly higher than that of the model using only clinical factors (p = 0.008). The diagnostic model for bone metastasis of gastric cancer using a combination of clinical and imaging data showed an appropriate goodness of fit according to a calibration test (p = 0.294) and good discriminating ability (AUC = 0.925).

Conclusions: The diagnostic model combined with the ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT findings and clinical data showed a better diagnosis performance for bone metastasis of gastric cancer than the other studied models. Compared with the model using clinical factors alone, the additional ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT findings could improve the diagnostic efficacy of identifying bone metastases in gastric cancer.

Prognostic factors for bone metastases from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: A case series of 97 patients

Although bone is the second-most frequent site of distant metastases of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), variable prognostic factors in patients with bone metastases from HNSCC have not been fully investigated. The aim of the present study was to assess the prognostic factors affecting overall survival (OS) in these patients. The medical records of 97 patients at two institutions who developed bone metastases from HNSCC between January 2010 and December 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. A multivariate analysis using a Cox proportional hazards model was performed to identify potential clinical predictive factors for longer OS. The median OS was 7 months, and the 1- and 2-year OS rates for all patients were 35.4 and 19.2%, respectively. The independent predictive factors for longer OS were single bone metastasis, good performance status and administration of systemic chemotherapy. The median OS with each predictor was 10, 10 and 10.5 months, respectively. In a selected group of patients with these three factors, the OS was 14.5 months. In conclusion, single bone metastasis, a good performance status and systemic chemotherapy were independent predictors of longer OS in patients with HNSCC, but their contributions were limited.

Bone Metastases from Gastric Cancer: What We Know and How to Deal with Them

Gastric cancer (GC) is the third cause of cancer-related death worldwide; the prognosis is poor especially in the case of metastatic disease. Liver, lymph nodes, peritoneum, and lung are the most frequent sites of metastases from GC; however, bone metastases from GC have been reported in the literature. Nevertheless, it is unclear how the metastatic sites may affect the prognosis. In particular, knowledge about the impact of bone metastases on GC patients’ outcome is scant, and this may be related to the rarity of bone lesions and/or their underestimation at the time of diagnosis. In fact, there is still a lack of specific recommendation for their detection at the diagnosis. Then, the majority of the evidences in this field came from retrospective analysis on very heterogeneous study populations. In this context, the aim of this narrative review is to delineate an overview about the evidences existing about bone metastases in GC patients, focusing on their incidence and biology, the prognostic role of bone involvement, and their possible implication in the treatment choice.