Dimitrios Bafaloukos

Metropolitan Hospital · Department of Oncology

Objective: Melanoma is one of the most aggressive cancers and is responsible for the majority of skin cancer deaths, with the presence of metastases prognostic for poor survival. At a time when most cancer incidences are falling, the annual incidence of melanoma has risen as rapidly as 4-6% in many European countries, with a substantial economic bu...

PurposeThe efficacy of nab-paclitaxel in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) has been demonstrated in randomized clinical trials. However, real-world evidence on effectiveness remains limited.Patients and methodsThe primary objective of this multicenter prospective study was to assess the overall response rate (ORR) of patients with MBC tr...

Purpose Crevicular fluid was used to assess interleukin-17 (IL-17) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in cancer patients receiving zoledronic acid and/or bevacizumab. The markers were also assessed in the serum. Methods Twenty-five patients were included and comprised three groups: patients who received zoledronic acid (n = 9), patients...

Background The principles of dose-dense (dd) and sequential (s) chemotherapy (CT) were introduced in the adjuvant setting by HeCOG in 1997. We aimed to explore the long-term clinical benefit and safety of treatment of adjuvant dds-CT in patients (pts) with high-risk BC. Methods We performed a pooled analysis from 6 HeCOG-initiated clinical trials...

Background: Alternative splicing of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) results in VEGFAxxxb antiangiogenic isoforms that fail to activate angiogenesis. Bevacizumab, widely used in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC), binds both VEGFA and VEGFAxxxb isoforms. Patients and methods: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded primary tu...

Background: Src, CDKN1B, and JAK2 play a crucial role in the coordination of cell signaling pathways. In the present study, we aim to investigate the prognostic significance of these biomarkers in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients treated with trastuzumab (T). Methods: Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissue samples fro...

Background-aim: SRC, CDKN1B and JAK2 play a crucial role in the coordination and facilitation of cell-signaling pathways controlling a wide range of cellular functions. In the present study, we investigated the prognostic significance and clinical utlity of these biomarkers in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients treated with trastuzumab (T). Me...

In the current study, we performed a complete analysis, with four different methods, of all four HER family receptors, in a series of patients with metastatic breast cancer treated with trastuzumab-based regimens and evaluated their prognostic value. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissue samples were collected from 227 patients, considered...

Associations of EGFR, HER2, HER3 and HER4 protein expression with mRNA expression. (DOCX)

This retrospective cohort study assessed the prognostic significance of distant metastasis-free interval (DMFI) in patients with relapsed BRAF-mutant melanoma treated with BRAF with or without MEK inhibitors (BRAFi±MEKi). Patients with a DMFI of up to 24 months were compared with those with DMFI of more than 24 months, with regard to their postrela...

BACKGROUND: Trastuzumab is a monoclonal antibody against HER2-positive breast cancer. Despite improving the natural history of the disease, there is a number of patients who are resistant to it, whereas all patients will eventually develop resistance and disease will progress. Inconsistent preclinical data show that the IGF-R pathway may contribute...

Background Tumor‐infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have been shown to be of prognostic value in several cancer types. In early breast cancer, TILs have a prognostic utility, as well, especially in HER2‐positive and triple‐negative breast cancer. TILs presence is broadly associated with improved survival; however, there is controversy regarding TILs s...

Several studies support an important role of angiogenesis in breast cancer growth and metastasis. The main objectives of the study were to investigate the immunohistochemical expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family ligands (VEGF-A and VEGF-C) and receptors (VEGFR1, VEGFR2 and VEGFR3) in breast cancer and their associations wi...

Hazard ratios (95% CIs) estimated from univariate Cox regression for selected clinicopathological parameters. (PDF)

Descriptive statistics for the five angiogenesis-related proteins (calculated as the percentage of tumor stained cells). (PDF)

Associations between the angiogenesis-related proteins (using 5-years ROC curve cut-offs) and selected clinicopathological parameters. Data presented as N (%). p-values of the chi-square test are shown. (PDF)

Associations among the angiogenesis-related proteins (using 5-years ROC curve cut-offs). Data presented as N (%). p-values of the chi-square test are shown. (PDF)

Background: The efficacy and safety of the FOLFIRI (leucovorin, 5-fluorouracil, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin) regimen combined with aflibercept has not been studied in the first-line management of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Patients and methods: In the context of a prospective single-arm trial (NCT02129257), patients with...

Background-aim: Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is an incurable disease. Trastuzumab, a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody, was found to significantly prolongsurvival of patients with metastatic HER2 over-expressing and/or amplified breast cancer. In the current study, we performed a complete analysis, with four different methods, of all four...

Background: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have been shown to be of prognostic value in several cancer types. In early breast cancer, TILs have a prognostic utility, as well, especially in HER2-positive and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). TILs presence is broadly associated with improved survival, however there is controversy regarding...

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Skin imaging is crucial for the early detection of melanoma. There are many different techniques that are in use in the clinic, such as dermoscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy, ultrasound, PET scan, and MRI. Following diagnosis, accurate disease staging is appropriate for treatment planning, and the detection of distant metastases is very im...

Background-Aim To evaluate the prognostic role of elaborate molecular clusters encompassing cyclin D1, cyclin E1, p21, p27 and p53 in the context of various breast cancer subtypes. Methods Cyclin E1, cyclin D1, p53, p21 and p27 were evaluated with immunohistochemistry in 1077 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues from breast cancer patients who...

Associations among the examined markers—N (%). (DOC)

Associations of the examined markers with patient and tumor characteristics—N (%). Bold cells indicate p-values lower than 0.05. (DOC)

Clinical trial characteristics. (DOC)

Background: The Notch pathway has been implicated in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Herein, we studied the subcellular localization of the less investigated Notch2 and Notch3 and that of the Jagged1 (Jag1) ligand in patients with operable TNBC. Patients and methods: We applied immunohistochemistry for Notch2, Notch3 and Jag1 in 333 tumors...

Background: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) aberrations have been implicated in the pathogenesis of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) but their impact on prognosis and, therefore, druggability, remain controversial. Herein, we studied EGFR aberrations at different molecular levels and assessed their prognostic impact in patients with op...

The preservation of pathogenic BRCA1/2 germline mutations in tumor tissues is usually not questioned, while it remains unknown whether these interact with somatic genotypes for patient outcome. Herein we compared germline and tumor genotypes in operable triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and evaluated their combined effects on prognosis. We analy...

Background: There is an unmet need for more efficient patient stratification for receiving trastuzumab in the metastatic breast cancer (mBC) setting, since only part of such patients benefit from the addition of this agent to chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of biomarkers including MYC and MET in mBC pati...

Background: We investigated the impact of PIK3CA and TP53 mutations and p53 protein status on the outcome of patients who had been treated with adjuvant anthracycline-taxane chemotherapy within clinical trials in the pre- and post-trastuzumab era. Results: TP53 and PIK3CA mutations were found in 380 (21.5%) and 458 (25.9%) cases, respectively, i...

Background-Aim: There is an unmet need for de-selecting HER2-positive patients with advanced breast cancer (ABC), since only some of those patients benefit from the addition of anti-HER2 agents to chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to investigate candidate biomarkers, including MYC and MET, in parallel with an extended array of biomarkers prev...

Resected stage IIB-IIIC malignant melanoma has a poor prognosis with a high risk of relapse and death. Treatment with adjuvant interferon alfa-2b (IFN-α-2b) is associated with improved relapse-free and overall survivals (OS), but the most appropriate dose and duration of treatment are unknown. In this article, we present an individual patient data...

Prophylactic erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) administration for chemotherapy-induced anemia (CIA) is not supported by current guidelines. Long-term follow-up of patients WHO had been treated with ESA for CIA in the past may provide useful information. In 2002, we undertook a prospective, randomized phase III trial of prophylactic vs. hemoglo...

Background: Intensive chemotherapy confers benefit to patients with high-risk early breast cancer (BC). We characterized the feasibility and toxicity profile of anthracycline-containing adjuvant chemotherapy (ACAC) in older women with early BC. Patients and methods: Available data from women who received ACAC for BC in 3 randomized trials were r...

Purpose: Local recurrence is considered a major concern in patients diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), as its invasive occurrence is associated with high rates of distant disease and mortality. This study aims to assess the possible correlation of hormonal receptor status, Ki-67 and HER2 expression with recurrence rates in women with...

Background: The PI3K-AKT pathway is frequently activated in breast cancer. PIK3CA mutations are most frequently found in the helical (exon 9) and kinase (exon 20) domains of this protein. The aim of the present study was to examine the role of different types of PIK3CA mutations in combination with molecular biomarkers related to PI3K-AKT signalin...

Vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGFC) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (VEGFR1) mRNA overexpression has recently been shown to have strong predictive and prognostic value in patients with high-risk early breast cancer undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy. The present study evaluated associations of VEGFC and VEGFR1 with human ep...

The aim of the study was to evaluate the prognostic ability of the transcriptional profiling of the HER family genes in early breast cancer, as a validation analysis of another previously published HeCOG study. RNA was extracted from 663 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor tissue samples of high-risk early breast cancer patients enrolled...

The aim of the trial was to compare two active adjuvant chemotherapy regimens in patients with early stage colorectal cancer (CRC). Patients were assigned to oxaliplatin, leucovorin and 5-FU for 12 cycles (group A, FOLFOX6) or oxaliplatin and capecitabine for eight cycles (group B, CAPOX). Primary endpoint was disease-free survival (DFS). Tumors we...

The urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) and the plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) are associated with an aggressive course in breast cancer and are used to determine whether chemotherapy is needed in node-negative patients. The objective of the study was to evaluate the prognostic value of uPA and PAI-1 protein expression in advanced brea...

Metronomic taxane administration has putative antiangiogenic properties. Herein, we examined the baseline tumor angiogenic profile of patients with metastatic breast carcinoma (MBC) in a prospective-retrospective translational research study. The interplay between the angiogenic factors expressed in the tumors and their prognostic value in MBC were...

Recent progress with BRAF and immune checkpoint inhibitors has dramatically changed the treatment landscape of metastatic melanoma (MM). The limited duration of responses to new agents, however, justifies the, still important, role of chemotherapy in the management of MM. This study prospectively explored biomarkers to first-line temozolomide-based...

Cutaneous malignant melanoma has a predilection for young adults. Early stage disease is curable with surgery.

Aim: Prophylactic erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) administration for chemotherapy-induced anemia (CIA) is not supported by current guidelines. Long-term follow-up of patients that had been treated with EPO for CIA in the past may provide useful information. Methods: In 2002 we undertook a prospective, randomized phase III trial of prophylact...