Seminario

I farmaci agnostici in oncologia

Mercoledì, 12 maggio 2021, ore 16:30

Per partecipare: https://unito.webex.com/unito/onstage/g.php?MTID=e978fa3a78e57478d1d99755886526d92

Relatori:

Umberto Malapelle

Umberto Malapelle, PhD, is Assistant Professor in Anatomic Pathology in School of Medicine, University of Naples Federico II. Currently is the Chief Supervisor of Predictive Molecular Pathology Laboratory, Department of Public Health of University Federico II of Naples. His main research interest is in the field of genomic biomarkers validation and testing for predictive information in the field of lung cancer, metastatic colorectal cancer, melanoma and gastrointestinal stromal tumor. Moreover, he has developed skills in tailoring Next Generation Assays for a number of different applications with a special focus on the simultaneously detection of clinical relevant alterations (i.e., EGFR mutations, ALK traslocation, PD–L1 expression) in the routine setting including handling of different sample types, such as tissues and/or liquid biopsy specimens.

Agnostic Biomarkers: focus on Next Generation Technology in Predictive Molecular Pathology Gene fusions represent novel predictive agonistic biomarkers. Next Generation Sequencing gene panel able to cover ALK, ROS1, RET and NTRK gene fusions and MET splicing events represent the key weapon to maximize the identification of the eligible patients population to this new type of treatment regimen. In our experience, RNA based fusion panels were able to detect all fusions and a splicing event harboured by different tumour patients in the advanced stage starting from tissue or liquid biopsy. In this presentation we will address the use of next generation technology to identify agnostic biomarkers in advised stage cancer patients.

Antonio Russo

Antonio Russo is Full Professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Palermo (Italy).    He is  head of the Medical Oncology Unit and of the Reference Center of Rare and Heredo-familial Solid Tumors,  Palermo (Italy). In addition, he is Coordinator of the PhD in Oncology at the University of Palermo  and Adjunct Full Professor at Temple University’s, Philadelphia (USA). He is a medical oncologist and he focuses on translational oncology, hereditary, rare, lung, gastrointestinal and ovarian cancers. Previously he was Director of the Specialization School in Medical Oncology, University of Palermo. He was co-chair of the “CRCP53 International Collaborative Study” project and  also member of the international RASCAL II project group. He is an active member of the main scientific oncological  groups as ASCO, ESMO, ISBL and  AIOM, of which he is a member of the national board of councillors. He was an expert member of INSERM (France), of the Scientific Committee INCA (France) and of the NWCRF (UK). Recently, he has been the recipient of numerous professional accolades, including a Visiting Professor and an Honorary Professor membership for the Peruvian Ricardo Palma University. In 2019 he also received the prestigious NIAF Award  for Ethics and creativity in Medical research in Washington (USA). He is the author of more than 300 peer-reviewed publications listed on Medline-PubMed including Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lancet, Annals of Oncology, Oncoimmunology, Lancet Oncology, Oncologist, Cell Stem Cell. He is actually a member of the Editorial board of the high-indexed “Cancers” journal and guest editor for “Cancers” and “Frontiers in Oncology”. Lastly, he is Editor-in-Chief of several academic textbooks in oncology for Springer Nature. Attualmente è tesoriere nazionale di AIOM.

Il nuovo modello di oncologia mutazionale vede oggi una ulteriore evoluzione con la possibilità dell’approvazione agnostica di alcuni farmaci, attivi su una alterazione molecolare driver, indipendentemente dalla sede del tumore. Questa caratteristica di “indipendenza istologica” è strettamente connessa al concetto di basket trial, utili nell’individuazione dei potenziali bersagli farmacologici, trasversale a multiple istologie tumorali. Le alterazioni molecolari note come “NTRK-fusions”, rappresentate dalle fusioni di NTRK1/NTRK2/NTRK3, costituiscono uno degli esempi più paradigmatici di alterazione genetica “driver”, e della possibilità di utilizzarli come target di trattamenti antineoplastici efficaci. Le fusioni dei geni NTRK sono state identificate in svariati tipi di tumore, sia pediatrici che dell’adulto, in una quota non superiore al 1% di tutti i tumori. L'inibizione di NTRK si è dimostrata altamente efficace portando a risposte durature con i farmaci, quali entrectinib e larotrectinib, appartenenti alla famiglia degli inibitori delle tirosin-chinasi.