KEYNOTE-365 cohort B updated results: Pembrolizumab (pembro) plus docetaxel and prednisone in abiraterone (abi) or enzalutamide (enza)-pretreated patients (pts) with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC)

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Background: KEYNOTE-365 (NCT02861573) is a phase 1b/2 study to evaluate pembro in combination with other agents in mCRPC. Here we report updated results from cohort B (pembro + docetaxel and prednisone). Methods: Cohort B enrolled pts who failed or were intolerant to ≥4 wk of abi or enza in the prechemotherapy mCRPC state and whose disease progressed within 6 mo of screening as determined by PSA progression or radiologic bone/soft tissue progression. Pts received pembro 200 mg IV + docetaxel 75 mg/m2 IV Q3W and prednisone 5 mg orally twice daily. Primary end points were safety, PSA response rate (confirmed PSA decrease >50%), and ORR per blinded independent central review (BICR). Results: Of 104 treated pts, 72 discontinued, primarily due to progression (55%). Median age was 68 y (range 50-86), 24% were PD-L1+, 25% had visceral disease, and 50% had measurable disease. Median follow-up was 13 mo for all pts (n=104) and 19 mo for pts who had ≥27 wk of follow up (n=72). See table for efficacy outcomes. Treatment-related AEs occurred in 100 pts (96%); most frequent (≥30%) were alopecia, diarrhea, and fatigue (39% each). Grade 3-5 treatment-related AEs occurred in 42 pts (40%). Five pts died of AEs; 2 deaths were from treatment-related AEs (pneumonitis). Conclusions: With additional follow-up, pembro + docetaxel and prednisone continued to show activity in pts with mCRPC who failed previous antihormonal therapy. Safety of the combination was consistent with the known profiles of the individual agents and will be further evaluated in a phase 3 study (KEYNOTE-921). Clinical trial information: NCT02861573. [Table: see text]

KEYNOTE-365 cohort C updated results: Pembrolizumab (pembro) plus enzalutamide (enza) in abiraterone (abi)-pretreated patients (pts) with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC)

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Background: KEYNOTE-365 (NCT02861573) is a phase 1b/2 study evaluating pembro in combination with other agents in mCRPC. An earlier report of cohort C showed activity and acceptable safety with pembro + enza. Updated results from cohort C are reported. Methods: Pts who failed or became intolerant to ≥4 wks of abi in prechemotherapy mCRPC state and whose disease progressed within 6 mo of screening per PSA progression or radiologic bone or soft tissue progression enrolled. Pts received pembro 200 mg IV Q3W with enza 160 mg/day PO. Primary end points: safety, PSA response rate (confirmed PSA decline ≥50%), and objective response rate (ORR) per blinded independent central review. Key secondary end points: disease control rate (DCR), duration of response (DOR), time to PSA progression, rPFS, and OS. Results: Of 102 treated pts, 73 discontinued, primarily due to progression (60%). Median age was 70 y (range, 43-87), 29% were PD-L1+, 17% had visceral disease, and 39% had measurable disease. Median follow up was 13 mo for all patients (n=102) and 17 mo for patients with ≥27 wks’ follow-up (n=69). See Table for efficacy outcomes. Treatment-related AEs occurred in 92 pts (90%); most frequent (≥20%) were fatigue (38%), nausea (22%), and rash (20%). Grade 3-5 treatment-related AEs occurred in 40 pts (39%). Three pts died of AEs (1 AE was treatment related [cause unknown]). Conclusions: With additional follow-up, pembro + enza continued to show activity in pts with abi-pretreated mCRPC. Safety of the combination was consistent with known profiles of pembro and enza. Clinical trial information: NCT02861573. [Table: see text]

NIVOREN GETUG-AFU 26 translational study: Association of PD-1, AXL, and PBRM-1 with outcomes in patients (pts) with metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (mccRCC) treated with nivolumab (N)

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Background: The NIVOREN GETUG-AFU 26 study reported safety and efficacy of N in mccRCC pts in a “real world setting”. A translationnal research program was launched to characterize immune cell populations in the tumor by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and correlate them with outcome on N. Methods: All pts treated with N in the GETUG AFU 26 NIVOREN trial who consented for translational program and with available archived paraffin- embedded (FFPE) tumor tissue samples were eligible. Tumor were centrally reviewed. Using IHC we quantified main immune populations (B-cells, CD8 T-cells, macrophages), and immune checkpoints receptors (TIM-3, LAG-3, PD-1) at the invasive margin (IM) and at the core of the tumor (CT). We also identified AXL and PBRM1/BAP1 expression. Results: Overall 324 pts were included. Pts had similar baseline characteristics (IMDC Good, Intermediate, Poor in 18%, 60% and 22%, respectively) and comparable outcomes than overall trial population (PFS/OS = 4.5 / 25.4 months). PD-1 (IM) expression was associated with better PFS whereas AXL expression by tumor cells (TC) was associated with worse PFS (table). LAG-3 expression tend to be associated with worse OS. PBRM-1 loss (15%) was associated with better OS and PFS and with a higher density of CD8 T-cells (p = 0.001) and CD163-macrophages (p = 0.01) (CT) and a higher expression of LAG-3 (CT) (p = 0.01) and PD-1 (CT) (p = 0.02). BAP-1 loss was not associated with PFS (p = 0.6) nor OS (p = 0.9) in this cohort. Conclusions: We report the largest translational analysis supporting that PD-1 and AXL expression are associated with PFS in pts with mccRCC receiving N. We further confirm that PBRM-1 loss is a strong prognostic factor in this setting.[Table: see text]

Long survival of patients with metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Results of real life study of 344 patients

The treatment landscape in metastatic renal cell carcinoma has changed fundamentally over the last decade by the development of antiangiogenic agents, mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors and immunotherapy. Outside of the context of a clinical trial, the treatments are used sequentially. We describe results under real-life conditions of a sequential treatment strategy, before the era of immunotherapy. All patients were treated according to their prognostic score (either Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center or International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium) for advanced renal cell carcinoma. A treatment strategy involving 1 to 4 lines was determined including a rechallenge criterion for the repeat use of a treatment class. Three hundred forty-four patients were included over 3 years. Overall survival was 57 months in patients with good or intermediate prognosis and 19 months in patients with poor prognosis. In the former group, the proportions of patients treated with 2 to 4 treatment lines were 70%, 38% and 16%, respectively. The best objective response rates for lines 1 to 4 were 46%, 36%, 16% and 17%, respectively. Grade III/IV toxicity did not appear to be cumulative. The recommended strategy was followed in 68% of patients. A large proportion of patients with good or intermediate prognosis who progress after two lines of treatment still have a performance status good enough to receive a systemic treatment, which justifies such a strategy. Overall survival of patients with good and intermediate prognosis was long, suggesting a benefit from the applied approach. These results might be used as selection criterion for the treatment of patients in the era of immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Rapidly Progressive to Sunitinib: What to Do Next?

BACKGROUND

From 10% to 26% of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) experience rapidly progressive disease (PD) on treatment with sunitinib.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the benefit of subsequent treatment with another tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) or a mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor in such primary refractory patients.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

A total of 150 mRCC patients with rapidly PD on first-line sunitinib (within two cycles, n=93, or four cycles, n=57) were identified: median age 59yr; nephrectomy 86%; histological subtypes: clear cell (77.8%), papillary (14%), and sarcomatoid features (18%); according to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and French classifications: good risk (11% and 7%, respectively), intermediate (68% and 63%, respectively), and poor (21% and 29%, respectively).

OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

Data were retrospectively collected by a questionnaire from 19 European oncology centers between March 2005 and March 2011. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated (Kaplan-Meier method).

RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS

Median OS from the start of first-line treatment was 7.4mo. Second-line treatment was administered to 86 (57%) patients (44 mTOR inhibitors: 23 everolimus and 21 temsirolimus; 39 TKIs alone or in combination; three chemotherapy). Second-line PFS was not significantly different between TKIs and mTOR inhibitors (2.0 vs 0.9mo; p=0.536). Median OS from the start of second-line treatment was 5.0mo for mTOR inhibitors and 6.6mo for TKIs (p=0.15).

CONCLUSIONS

Treatment with further TKIs or mTOR inhibitors for mRCC patients primarily refractory to first-line sunitinib in the observed time period achieved very minimal benefit, suggesting avoiding TKI rechallenge and possibly preferring alternative strategies, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, after PD to a treatment line including a TKI in this setting.

PATIENT SUMMARY

The present work collected data about 150 patients affected by metastatic renal cell carcinoma, who received one of the current standard of care as first-line treatment, namely, the antiangiogenic drug sunitinib, and experienced rapid worsening of the disease. We investigated and described the subsequent outcome of such patients treated with two different types of drug, administered as second-line therapy, to better understand the best strategy to adopt for patients who got no benefit from sunitinib and to describe the current therapeutic approach in such cases.

Safety and Efficacy of Nivolumab in Brain Metastases From Renal Cell Carcinoma: Results of the GETUG-AFU 26 NIVOREN Multicenter Phase II Study

PURPOSE

Nivolumab is standard of care for patients with metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) after failure of antiangiogenic therapies, but its activity on brain metastases from ccRCC remains unknown, because these patients were excluded from pivotal studies. We aimed to assess the activity of nivolumab in this population.

METHODS

The GETUG-AFU 26 NIVOREN phase II trial assessed the activity and safety of nivolumab in patients with metastatic ccRCC who failed vascular endothelial growth factor-directed therapies (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03013335). Patients with asymptomatic brain metastases were prospectively identified and underwent dedicated brain evaluation. Two cohorts were constituted: cohort A comprised patients with previously untreated brain metastases, and cohort B comprised patients whose brain metastases underwent prior therapy. The primary end point was intracranial response rate in cohort A.

RESULTS

Seventy-three patients with brain metastases were included: 39 in cohort A and 34 in cohort B. Intracranial response rate was 12% in cohort A; no objective response was reported in patients with brain lesions that were multiple or larger than 1 cm. Median intracranial progression-free survival was 2.7 months (95% CI, 2.3 to 4.6 months) in cohort A and 4.8 months (95% CI, 3.0 to 8.0 months) in cohort B, with adjusted hazard ratio of 2.04 (95% CI, 1.08 to 3.83). Overall survival rate at 12 months was 67% (95% CI, 49.6% to 79.1%) in cohort A and 59% (95% CI, 40.6% to 73.2%) in cohort B. Most patients in cohort A (72%) needed subsequent focal brain therapy. Nivolumab was well tolerated, with no unexpected toxicity.

CONCLUSION

Nivolumab activity is limited in patients with untreated brain metastases from ccRCC. Brain imaging and focal therapy should be considered before immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with metastatic ccRCC.

Metastatic Clear-cell Renal Cell Carcinoma With a Long-term Response to Sunitinib: A Distinct Phenotype Independently Associated With Low PD-L1 Expression

BACKGROUND

Long-term responders (LTRs) are defined by at least 18 months of response to sunitinib in metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Well-described by clinical studies, the phenotype of these tumors has never been explored.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In a retrospective and multicenter study, 90 ccRCCs of patients with metastatic disease were analyzed. Immunohistochemistry (carbonic anhydrase IX, vascular endothelial growth factor, c-MET, programmed death-ligand 1 [PD-L1], and PD-1) and VHL status were performed. Progression-free survival and overall survival were calculated from sunitinib introduction and from progression. LTRs and their corresponding tumors were compared with others using univariate and multivariate analysis.

RESULTS

Twenty-eight patients were LTRs. They had a median progression-free survival of 28 months versus 4 months for other patients (P < .001). Similarly, LTRs had a median overall survival of 49 months versus 14 months (P < .001), even from progression (median, 21 vs. 7 months; P = .029). They were associated with a favorable or intermediate risk (International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium model) (P = .007) and less liver metastasis (P = .036). They experienced more frequent complete or partial responses at the first radiologic evaluation (P = .035). The corresponding ccRCCs were associated with less nucleolar International Society for Urological Pathology grade 4 (P = .037) and hilar fat infiltration (P = .006). They were also associated with low PD-L1 expression (P = .02). Only the International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium model and PD-L1 expression remained significant after multivariate analysis (P = .014 and P = .029, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Primary tumor characteristics of LTRs were studied for the first time and demonstrated a different phenotype. Interestingly, they were characterized by low expression of PD-L1, suggesting a potentially lower impact of targeted immunotherapy in these patients.

AUCtox: A new method to evaluate the safety of anticancer drugs in metastatic prostate cancer

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Background: The evaluation of anticancer drugs safety currently relies on the NCI-CTCAE classification. Most often in clinical trials, attention is focused on severe adverse events (AE) i.e.grade 3 or more. However, AE of lower grades can have a significant deleterious impact, especially when recurrent or permanent. We aimed at defining a new method to better describe the impact of treatment on quality of life (QoL). Methods: The oncology patient monitoring program OptiSoins prospectively records treatment, number of cycles, and toxicities (NCI-CTCAE). Patients with metastatic prostate cancer treated with either docetaxel (DOC) or cabazitaxel (CABA) were identified in the database. For each patient, toxicities and their grade reported in medical records were plotted against time under treatment, to calculate the area under the curve of toxicities (AUCtox) that takes into account both the intensity and duration of toxicities, and the number of events. AUCtox was calculated for any toxicity reported at least once. The association with QoL, evaluated by EQ-5D-3L. Results: In total, 146 patients were evaluable [DOC 85 (58%), CABA 61 (42%)]. Median age was 70.5 years (Q1-Q3: 64.7; 76.0). Median follow-up was 4.0 months. Patients underwent a median number of 6 cycles, with a median number of 15.0 evaluations (monitoring calls). At least one grade ≥3 AE was reported by 45.2% of patients, most frequently fatigue (20.6%) and pain (12.3%). A negative impact on global health status, assessed by the VAS of EQ-5D-3L, was identified for 3 AEs based on grade alone vs. 8 when considering AUCtox. Conclusions: Current evaluation of toxicity based on grade alone underestimates the impact of anticancer drugs on QoL. Our method, using AUCtox, can better detect this impact, allowing a more patient-oriented evaluation of drug safety. [Table: see text]

Safety and efficacy of nivolumab in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC): Final analysis from the NIVOREN GETUG AFU 26 study

542

Background: NIVOREN GETUG AFU 26 study, is a French multicenter prospective study to evaluate safety and efficacy of Nivolumab (N) in a broad “real world setting” in mRCC after failure of 1 or 2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Methods: Between February 2016 and June 2017, 729 pts have been enrolled across 27 institutions. Primary objective of the trial was safety assessed by grade ≥ 3 treatment related adverse event (TRAE). Results: Overall, 720 patients treated with N were included in this final analysis. All pts had clear cell mRCC. Median age was 64 years old, 77.4% were male, 84.7% had prior nephrectomy. ECOG PS was >1 in 15.0%, 21.3% pts had received prior everolimus, 22.4% pts had received more than 2 previous lines, IMDC risk groups were 18.3%/56.2%/25.5% for good/intermediate and poor risk respectively. Brain Metastasis at screening was noted in 83 (12.3%) pts. With a median follow up of 20.9 months (mo), median duration of treatment was 5.2 mo (0.5; 28.1) with 15% of pts still on therapy. Median PFS was 3.2 IC 95% [2.9; 4.6] mo. At the time of this analysis, 316 pts have died and 12 mo OS rate was 69% IC 95% [66; 73]. Objective response rate was 20.8% (1.2% CR, 19.6%PR). Stable disease was seen in 31.6% and PD in 47.6%. Noteworthy, 46.1% of pts were treated beyond progression. Overall, 123 pts (17.1%) have presented at least one grade ≥ 3 TRAE, including asthenia (2.4%), metabolic disorders (2.1%), gastro-intestinal disorders (1 .9%), musculoskeletal (1.7%), renal disorders (1.3%), hematologic (1.3%). 6 patients have developed grade 5 toxicity (2 cardiac failure, 1 macrophage activation syndrom, 1 Cerebral hemorrhage, 1 unknown). Treatment discontinuation due to any grade TRAE occurred in 54 pts (7.5%). Interestingly, pts with grade ≥ 3 TRAE had longer PFS than pts without grade ≥ 3 TRAE (HR 0.69 [0.55-0.87]). Conclusions: We report the primary objective analysis of the largest prospective real world setting study of N in mRCC. NIVOREN study demonstrates that N safety and efficacy in a “real world” prospective study are similar to the pivotal study. Grade ≥ 3 TRAE was associated with longer PFS. Clinical trial information: NCT03013335.

Phase III Trial of Adjuvant Sunitinib in Patients with High-Risk Renal Cell Carcinoma: Exploratory Pharmacogenomic Analysis

PURPOSE

In the S-TRAC trial, adjuvant sunitinib prolonged disease-free survival (DFS) versus placebo in patients with loco-regional renal cell carcinoma at high risk of recurrence after nephrectomy. An exploratory analysis evaluated associations between SNPs in several angiogenesis- or hypoxia-related genes and clinical outcomes in S-TRAC.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Blood samples were genotyped for 10 SNPs and one insertion/deletion mutation using TaqMan assays. DFS was compared using log-rank tests for each genotype in sunitinib versus placebo groups and between genotypes within each of three (sunitinib, placebo, and combined sunitinib plus placebo) treatment groups. P values were unadjusted.

RESULTS

In all, 286 patients (sunitinib, n = 142; placebo, n = 144) were genotyped. Longer DFS [HR; 95% confidence interval (CI)] was observed with sunitinib versus placebo for VEGFR1 rs9554320 C/C (HR 0.44; 95% CI, 0.21-0.91; P = 0.023), VEGFR2 rs2071559 T/T (HR 0.46; 95% CI, 0.23-0.90; P = 0.020), and eNOS rs2070744 T/T (HR 0.53; 95% CI, 0.30-0.94; P = 0.028). Shorter DFS was observed for VEGFR1 rs9582036 C/A versus C/C with sunitinib, placebo, and combined therapies (P ≤ 0.05), and A/A versus C/C with sunitinib (P = 0.022). VEGFR1 rs9554320 A/C versus A/A was associated with shorter DFS in the placebo (P = 0.038) and combined (P = 0.006) groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Correlations between VEGFR1 and VEGFR2 SNPs and longer DFS with sunitinib suggest germline SNPs are predictive of improved outcomes with adjuvant sunitinib in patients with renal cell carcinoma. Independent validation studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Sunitinib Alone or after Nephrectomy in Metastatic Renal-Cell Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Cytoreductive nephrectomy has been the standard of care in metastatic renal-cell carcinoma for 20 years, supported by randomized trials and large, retrospective studies. However, the efficacy of targeted therapies has challenged this standard. We assessed the role of nephrectomy in patients with metastatic renal-cell carcinoma who were receiving targeted therapies.

METHODS

In this phase 3 trial, we randomly assigned, in a 1:1 ratio, patients with confirmed metastatic clear-cell renal-cell carcinoma at presentation who were suitable candidates for nephrectomy to undergo nephrectomy and then receive sunitinib (standard therapy) or to receive sunitinib alone. Randomization was stratified according to prognostic risk (intermediate or poor) in the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center prognostic model. Patients received sunitinib at a dose of 50 mg daily in cycles of 28 days on and 14 days off every 6 weeks. The primary end point was overall survival.

RESULTS

A total of 450 patients were enrolled from September 2009 to September 2017. At this planned interim analysis, the median follow-up was 50.9 months, with 326 deaths observed. The results in the sunitinib-alone group were noninferior to those in the nephrectomy-sunitinib group with regard to overall survival (stratified hazard ratio for death, 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.71 to 1.10; upper boundary of the 95% confidence interval for noninferiority, ≤1.20). The median overall survival was 18.4 months in the sunitinib-alone group and 13.9 months in the nephrectomy-sunitinib group. No significant differences in response rate or progression-free survival were observed. Adverse events were as anticipated in each group.

CONCLUSIONS

Sunitinib alone was not inferior to nephrectomy followed by sunitinib in patients with metastatic renal-cell carcinoma who were classified as having intermediate-risk or poor-risk disease. (Funded by Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris and others; CARMENA ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00930033 .).

Sequencing of Taxanes and New Androgen-targeted Therapies in Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer: Results of the International Multicentre Retrospective CATS Database

BACKGROUND

The optimal sequence of life-extending therapies in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is unknown.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate outcomes among mCRPC patients treated with docetaxel (DOC), cabazitaxel (CABA), and a novel androgen receptor-targeted agent (ART; abiraterone acetate or enzalutamide) according to three different sequences.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

Data from 669 consecutive mCRPC patients were retrospectively collected between November 2012 and October 2016.

OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

The primary endpoint was the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response (decrease ≥50% from baseline) to each therapy. Secondary endpoints included best clinical benefit, time to PSA progression, radiological progression-free survival (rPFS), overall survival (OS), and toxicity.

RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS

A total of 158 patients received DOC→CABA→ART (group 1), 456 received DOC→ART→CABA (group 2), and 55 received ART→DOC→CABA (group 3). At baseline, PSA progression only and Gleason <8 were more common in group 3. PSA response on DOC was lower in group 3 than in other groups (p=0.02) and PSA response on CABA was higher in the second than in the third line (p=0.001). In Group 3, rPFS on ART (6.6 mo) and DOC (9.2 mo) was also shorter than in the other groups. OS calculated from the first life-extending therapy reached 34.8, 35.8, and 28.9 mo in groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively (p=0.007). Toxicity was comparable between the arms. The main limitations of the trial are its retrospective design and the low number of patients in group 3.

CONCLUSIONS

In this retrospective trial, sequencing of DOC, CABA, and one ART, was associated with median OS of up to 35.8 mo. CABA seemed to retain its activity regardless of treatment sequence. DOC activity after ART appeared to be reduced, but the data are insufficient to conclude that cross-resistance occurs.

PATIENT SUMMARY

The order of drugs administered to patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer could impact their efficacy, with cabazitaxel appearing to retain its activity whatever the therapeutic sequence.

Improved Outcome by Adding Concurrent Chemotherapy to Cetuximab and Radiotherapy for Locally Advanced Head and Neck Carcinomas: Results of the GORTEC 2007-01 Phase III Randomized Trial

Purpose To investigate the effect of adding concurrent chemotherapy (CT) to cetuximab plus radiotherapy (RT; CT-cetux-RT) compared with cetuximab plus RT (cetux-RT) in locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (LA-SCCHN). Patients and Methods In this phase III randomized trial, patients with N0-2b, nonoperated, stage III or IV (nonmetastatic) LA-SCCHN were enrolled. Patients received once-daily RT up to 70 Gy with weekly cetuximab or with weekly cetuximab and concurrent carboplatin and fluorouracil (three cycles). To detect a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.64 for progression-free survival (PFS) with 85% power at a two-sided significance level of P = .05, 203 patients needed to be included in each arm. Results Four hundred six patients were randomly assigned to either CT-cetux-RT or cetux-RT. Patient and tumor characteristics were well balanced between arms, including p16 status. With a median follow-up of 4.4 years, the HR for PFS favored the CT-cetux-RT arm (HR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.57 to 0.94; P = .015), with 3-year PFS rates of 52.3% and 40.5% and median PFS times of 37.9 and 22.4 months in the CT-cetux-RT and cetux-RT arms, respectively. The HR for locoregional control was 0.54 (95% CI, 0.38 to 0.76; P < .001) in favor of CT-cetux-RT. These benefits were observed regardless of p16 status for oropharynx carcinomas. Overall survival (HR, 0.80; P = .11) and distant metastases rates (HR, 1.19; P = .50) were not significantly different between the two arms. The CT-cetux-RT arm, compared with cetux-RT, had a higher incidence of grade 3 or 4 mucositis (73% v 61%, respectively; P = .014) and of hospitalizations for toxicity (42% v 22%, respectively; P < .001). Conclusion The addition of concurrent carboplatin and fluorouracil to cetux-RT improved PFS and locoregional control, with a nonsignificant gain in survival. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of a clinical benefit for treatment intensification using cetux-RT as a backbone in LA-SCCHN.

Pro-angiogenic gene expression is associated with better outcome on sunitinib in metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVES

Clear-cell renal cell carcinomas (ccRCC) are characterized by hyper-vascularization and can respond to vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) inhibitors such as sunitinib. We aimed to study the predictive value of the expression of genes in the hypoxia induced factor (HIF) - vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) - VEGFR-pro-angiogenic pathway in metastatic ccRCC (m-ccRCC) patients treated with sunitinib and the correlation between the expression of these genes and the molecular ccrcc-classification, the expression of genes involved in the immune-suppressive microenvironment and Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) - and Polybromo-1 (PBRM1) - mutational status.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

m-ccRCC patients treated with sunitinib as first-line targeted therapy were included. Gene expression was studied in the primary nephrectomy sample by qRT-PCR, VHL- and PBRM1-mutational status by sequencing. Response rate by RECIST, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were study endpoints.

RESULTS

One hundred and four patients were included. On multivariate-analysis, HIF2A-, platelet derived growth factor receptor beta (PDGFRB)-, VEGFC-, VEGFR1- and VEGFR2-expression were correlated with PFS and HIF1A-, HIF2A-, VEGFR1- and VEGFR2-expression with OS. VEGFR2-expression showed the strongest association with outcome, being significantly correlated with all outcome parameters. HIF2A, VEGFA, VEGFR1, VEGFR2 and VEGFR3 were highly expressed in the transcriptomic ccrcc2-subtype of tumors, known to be highly sensitive to sunitinib. In the total tumor series, there was no correlation nor inverse correlation between the expression of genes involved in angiogenesis and in the immune-suppressive microenvironment. In tumors with a bi-allelic PBRM1-inactivation, HIF2A-, VEGFA-, VEGFR1- and VEGFR2-expression were higher, compared to tumors with one or two functional PBRM1-alleles.

CONCLUSIONS

Intratumoral expression of genes involved in the HIF-VEGF-VEGFR-pro-angiogenic pathway, especially VEGFR2, is associated with favorable outcome on sunitinib in m-ccRCCs. Several genes involved in this pathway are upregulated in the molecular ccrcc2-subgroup, which usually responds well to sunitinib.

Phase III trial of adjuvant sunitinib in patients with high-risk renal cell carcinoma: Exploratory pharmacogenomic analysis

576

Background: In the phase III S-TRAC trial, adjuvant sunitinib (SU) prolonged disease-free survival (DFS) vs placebo (PBO) in patients with locoregional renal cell carcinoma at high risk of recurrence after nephrectomy (median 6.8 vs 5.6 y; hazard ratio [HR] 0.76, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.59–0.98; P= 0.03). An exploratory analysis evaluated associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in angiogenesis-related genes and clinical outcomes in S-TRAC. Methods: Prospectively collected blood samples were genotyped for 10 SNPs and 1 insertion/deletion mutation with TaqMan assays. DFS was compared with a log-rank test for each SNP genotype in SU vs PBO arms and between SNP genotypes within each arm. P-values are unadjusted for multiplicity comparison. Results: Of 615 patients, 286 (142 SU; 144 PBO) were analyzed. There were generally no genotype frequency deviations from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, but linkage disequilibrium was seen between VEGFA rs699947 and rs833061 on chromosome 6 (D′ = 1.000, r2 = 0.979). Longer DFS was observed with SU vs PBO for VEGFR1 rs9554320 C/C (median: not reached [NR] vs 5.56 y; HR 0.44, 95% CI 0.21–0.91; P= 0.023), VEGFR2 rs2071559 T/T (median: NR vs 4.47 y; HR 0.46, 95% CI 0.23–0.90; P= 0.020), and eNOS rs2070744 T/T (median: 7.07 vs 3.44 y; HR 0.53, 95% CI 0.30–0.94; P= 0.028), with a trend for VEGFR1 rs9582036 A/A (median: NR in both arms; P= 0.054) and SH3GL2 rs10963287 C/T (median: NR vs 5.35 y; P= 0.088). Shorter DFS was observed for VEGFR1 rs9582036 C/A vs C/C in the SU, PBO, and combined arms ( P< 0.05); for A/A vs common, the association was only seen in the SU arm ( P= 0.022). VEGFR1 rs9554320 A/C was associated with shorter DFS vs A/A in the PBO ( P= 0.038) and combined arm ( P= 0.006), with a trend in the SU arm ( P= 0.051). VEGFR2 rs1870377 T/T was associated with longer DFS vs A/A in the combined arms, but not in the PBO arm (n = 7 with A/A genotype in the SU arm precluded statistical tests). Conclusions: Correlations between common VEGFR1 and VEGFR2 SNPs and longer DFS with SU suggest germline SNPs are predictive of improved outcomes with adjuvant SU. Due to the exploratory nature of this analysis, prospective validation studies are needed to confirm these findings. Clinical trial information: NCT00375674.

Safety and efficacy of nivolumab in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC): Results from the NIVOREN GETUG-AFU 26 study

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Background: Nivolumab (N) has been approved for the treatment of mRCC after failure of 1 or 2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) based on the results of Checkmate 025 study. Right after approval, we initiated the NIVOREN GETUG-AFU 26 study (NCT03013335), a French multicenter prospective study to evaluate safety and efficacy of N in a “real world setting”. Methods: Patients (pts) with clear cell mRCC could be enrolled if they had received at least one TKI. Compared with the pivotal trial, inclusion criteria allowed patients with more than 2 previous lines of treatment, including previous mTOR inhibitors, ECOG PS 2, asymptomatic brain metastases (BM) or impaired renal function. The primary objective of the study was the safety of N, efficacy being the main secondary objective. Between February 2016 and June 2017, 729 pts have been enrolled. We report the results from the first 528 pts. Results: All pts had clear cell mRCC, median age was 64, 77.2% were male. ECOG PS was > 1 in 73 pts (14.7%), 27.5% pts had received prior everolimus, 29.7% pts had received more than 2 previous lines, IMDC risk groups were 19%/54.9%/26.1% for good/intermediate and poor risk respectively; 69 (14%) pts had BM at screening. With a median follow up of 13.1 months, median duration of treatment was 4.1 months [0-15.6], with 31.4% of pts still on therapy. Treatment discontinuation due to adverse event (AE) occurred in (48) 13.3% pts . 64 serious related AE have been reported in 52 pts (9.9%) including 7 renal failures and 6 pneumonitis. Median PFS was 4.4 months 95%CI[3;4.6] . At the time of this analysis, 170 pts have died and 12 months OS rate was 66.4% 95%CI[ 61.7; 70.7]. In subgroups analysis, ECOG-PS > 1 (Hazard Ratio (HR) = 2.450 [1.704;3.523]), more than 2 previous lines (HR = 1.442 [1.059;1.963]) and prior use of everolimus (HR = 1.704 [1.250;2.322]) were associated with reduced OS in univariate analysis. Conclusions: We report the first analysis of the largest prospective real world setting study of N in mRCC. NIVOREN study demonstrates that N safety and efficacy in a “real world” prospective study are comparable to the pivotal study. Clinical trial information: NCT03013335.