Lenvatinib Beyond First-Line Therapy in Patients With Advanced Biliary Tract Carcinoma

Lenvatinib inhibits cholangiocarcinoma progression by targeting the FGF19/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is known for its high aggressiveness and dismal prognosis, whose effectiveness of systemic therapy remains limited. As a multi-target drug, lenvatinib has exhibited promising effects in many solid tumors. However, the therapeutic role of lenvatinib in CCA is rarely investigated. Here, the in vitro assays including EdU, colony formation, transwell, wound healing, and apoptosis analyses demonstrated that lenvatinib significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion, while simultaneously inducing apoptosis of CCA cells. Mechanistically, lenvatinib downregulated the expression of FGF19 and inactivated the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Depletion of FGF19 enhanced the anti-tumor effects of lenvatinib, which was attributed to the inhibition of p-PI3K and p-AKT expression in CCA cells. In contrast, overexpression of FGF19 activated the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, thereby impairing the inhibitory effects of lenvatinib against CCA. In addition, the AKT inhibitor, MK-2206, reinforced the lenvatinib-induced CCA inhibition. Notably, the in vivo experiment confirmed that the subcutaneous tumorigenicity of CCA cells in nude mice was weakened by lenvatinib. Lenvatinib markedly downregulated the expression of FGF19, p-AKT, Ki-67, vimentin, and VEGF in the xenograft tumor tissues. Collectively, these findings demonstrated that lenvatinib inhibits CCA progression by targeting the FGF19/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. The present study provides novel experimental evidence for the potential clinical application of lenvatinib in CCA, which also highlights the promising role of targeting FGF19 in combined therapeutic approaches for CCA.

The roles of cancer stem cell-derived secretory factors in shaping the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent malignancies worldwide and has a poor prognosis. Although immune checkpoint inhibitors have entered a new era of HCC treatment, their response rates are modest, which can be attributed to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment within HCC tumors. Accumulating evidence has shown that tumor growth is fueled by cancer stem cells (CSCs), which contribute to therapeutic resistance to the above treatments. Given that CSCs can regulate cellular and physical factors within the tumor niche by secreting various soluble factors in a paracrine manner, there have been increasing efforts toward understanding the roles of CSC-derived secretory factors in creating an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. In this review, we provide an update on how these secretory factors, including growth factors, cytokines, chemokines, and exosomes, contribute to the immunosuppressive TME, which leads to immune resistance. In addition, we present current therapeutic strategies targeting CSC-derived secretory factors and describe future perspectives. In summary, a better understanding of CSC biology in the TME provides a rational therapeutic basis for combination therapy with ICIs for effective HCC treatment.

Current and Future Therapeutic Targets for Directed Molecular Therapies in Cholangiocarcinoma

We conducted a comprehensive review of the current literature of published data, clinical trials (MEDLINE; ncbi.pubmed.com), congress contributions (asco.org; esmo.org), and active recruiting clinical trains (clinicaltrial.gov) on targeted therapies in cholangiocarcinoma. Palliative treatment regimens were analyzed as well as preoperative and perioperative treatment options. We summarized the current knowledge for each mutation and molecular pathway that is or has been under clinical evaluation and discussed the results on the background of current treatment guidelines. We established and recommended targeted treatment options that already exist for second-line settings, including IDH-, BRAF-, and NTRK-mutated tumors, as well as for FGFR2 fusion, HER2/neu-overexpression, and microsatellite instable tumors. Other options for targeted treatment include EGFR- or VEGF-dependent pathways, which are known to be overexpressed or dysregulated in this cancer type and are currently under clinical investigation. Targeted therapy in CCA is a hallmark of individualized medicine as these therapies aim to specifically block pathways that promote cancer cell growth and survival, leading to tumor shrinkage and improved patient outcomes based on the molecular profile of the tumor.

Complete response of recurrent perihilar cholangiocarcinoma following sintilimab combined with lenvatinib plus S-1: a case report and review of literature

Perihilar cholangiocarcinoma is a refractory malignancy with an unfavorable prognosis and a high probability of recurrence. Systemic chemotherapy is critical for palliative treatment, but effective therapeutic strategies for perihilar cholangiocarcinoma after first-line chemotherapy failure are scarce. Here, we introduced a sustained benefit following sintilimab combined with lenvatinib plus S-1 in a patient with recurrent perihilar cholangiocarcinoma. A 52-year-old female patient was admitted to our hospital due to yellow skin and sclera, and further radiological examination revealed perihilar cholangiocarcinoma. The patient underwent surgery and histopathological results confirmed moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma with metastatic lymph nodes. Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with gemcitabine and S-1 was given. One year after surgery, the patient experienced hepatic recurrence. Then, she received radiofrequency ablation combined with gemcitabine and cisplatin. Unfortunately, radiological assessment revealed progressive disease with multiple liver metastases after treatment. Subsequently, she received sintilimab combined with lenvatinib plus S-1 and the lesions were completely regressed following 14 cycles of combination therapy. The patient recovered well without disease recurrence at the last follow-up. Sintilimab combined with lenvatinib plus S-1 may be an alternative therapeutic option for chemotherapy-refractory perihilar cholangiocarcinoma, and further evaluation in a larger number of patients is needed.

Comparison analysis of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors plus lenvatinib or gemcitabine/cisplatin as first-line treatment for patients with advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Background

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a highly aggressive primary liver cancer, with increasing incidence worldwide. Effective first-line treatments for advanced ICC patients are currently limited. Therefore, our study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of programmed death-1 (PD-1)/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors in combination with gemcitabine/cisplatin (GC) and lenvatinib as first-line treatment in advanced ICC patients.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study included 51 advanced ICC patients, among whom 25 patients were administered with PD-1/PD-L1 plus lenvatinib and 26 patients were administered with PD-1/PD-L1 plus GC. Baseline characteristics including demographic information, medical history, clinical characteristics, laboratory data, and imaging examination were collected. The primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and sixth- and ninth-month overall survival (OS) rate. Survival curve was plotted by the Kaplan-Meier method. A Cox proportion risk model was performed to investigate independent risk factors of PFS and OS. The secondary outcomes were objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and adverse events.

Results

The median age of advanced ICC patients in our study was 58.0 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 48.0-72.4) years, with 33 male and 18 female patients. Patients in the PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors plus lenvatinib group were more likely to be in ECOG grade above 1, develop ascites, and have an elevated level of ALT. The ORR was 16.0% in the PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors plus lenvatinib group and 23.1% in the GC group (p = 0.777). The DCR was 52.0% in the lenvatinib group and 46.2% in the GC group (p = 0.676). The combination treatment of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors plus lenvatinib was associated with longer PFS than the GC group; however, it was not statistically significant (lenvatinib: 9.5 months, GC: 5.1 months, p = 0.454). The sixth-month and ninth-month OS rates were 82.0% and 76.9% in the lenvatinib group and 87.4% and 71.5% in the GC group. After adjusting for confounders, multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that ECOG grade above 1 was an independent risk factor for PFS (hazard ratio [HR] = 3.388, 95% CI = 1.312-8.746, p = 0.012) and OS (HR = 4.220, 95% CI = 1.131-15.742, p = 0.032).

Conclusion

PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in combination with lenvatinib or GC all demonstrated significant efficacy and safety as first-line treatment in patients with advanced ICC. As for patients who refuse or are intolerant to chemotherapy, PD-1/PD-L1 plus lenvatinib would be recommended.

Effectiveness and safety of radiotherapy plus programmed death-1 inhibitors and lenvatinib in patients with advanced biliary tract carcinoma: a real-world study

BACKGROUND

Radiotherapy (RT) may function synergistically with immunotherapy and targeted agents (TA). This study aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of RT combined with programmed death-1 (PD-1) inhibitors and lenvatinib in patients with relapsed or refractory advanced biliary tract carcinoma (BTC).

METHODS

This retrospective study included patients with relapsed or refractory advanced BTC who received RT combined with PD-1 inhibitors and lenvatinib at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH). Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and safety were evaluated.

RESULTS

Thirty-one patients who received RT combined with PD-1 inhibitors and lenvatinib as a second- or later-line therapy were analyzed. RT sites were mainly distributed in the liver lesions (64.5%) and lymph nodes (58.1%). The ORR and DCR were 32.3% (10/31; 95% CI: 14.8-49.7) and 87.1% (27/31; 95% CI: 74.6-99.6), respectively. The median PFS (mPFS) and median OS (mOS) were 7.9 (95% CI: 7.1-8.7) and 11.7 (95% CI: 8.3-15.0) months, respectively. Subgroup analyses of this cohort included 12 and 19 patients who received concurrent and salvage (> 6 weeks after commencing PD-1 inhibitor therapy) RT, respectively. The salvage RT group had higher mOS (11.7 vs. 10.5; p = 0.75) and mPFS (7.9 vs. 6.9; p = 0.85) than the concurrent RT group; however, statistical significance was not reached. All patients experienced any-grade adverse events (AEs), and excessive PD-1 inhibitors or RT toxicity were not observed.

CONCLUSIONS

RT, PD-1 inhibitors, and lenvatinib may be safely combined and have antitumor effectiveness in patients with advanced BTC.

Targeting Angiogenesis in the Era of Biliary Tract Cancer Immunotherapy: Biological Rationale, Clinical Implications, and Future Research Avenues

Although biliary tract cancers are traditionally considered rare in Western countries, their incidence and mortality rates are rising worldwide. A better knowledge of the genomic landscape of these tumor types has broadened the number of molecular targeted therapies, including angiogenesis inhibitors. The role of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) could potentially change the first-line therapeutic approach, but monotherapy with ICIs has shown disappointing results in CCA. Several clinical trials are evaluating combination strategies that include immunotherapy together with other anticancer agents with a synergistic activity. The tumor microenvironment (TME) composition plays a pivotal role in the prognosis of BTC patients. The accumulation of immunosuppressive cell types, such as tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and regulatory T-cells, together with the poor infiltration of cytotoxic CD8+ T-cells, is known to predispose to a poor prognosis owing to the establishment of resistance mechanisms. Likewise, angiogenesis is recognized as a major player in modulating the TME in an immunosuppressive manner. This is the mechanistic rationale for combination treatment schemes blocking both immunity and angiogenesis. In this scenario, this review aims to provide an overview of the most recent completed or ongoing clinical trials combining immunotherapy and angiogenesis inhibitors with/without a chemotherapy backbone.

Safety and feasibility of toripalimab plus lenvatinib with or without radiotherapy in advanced BTC

Background

Toripalimab shows antitumor efficacy in cholangiocarcinoma. Radiotherapy (RT) may enhance systemic responses of PD-1 inhibitors and lenvatinib. This study was designed to assess the safety and feasibility of toripalimab plus lenvatinib with or without RT in advanced BTC.

Methods

This study involved 88 patients with advanced BTC receiving toripalimab plus lenvatinib with or without RT from the clinical trials (NCT03892577). Propensity score matching (PSM) (1:1) analysis was used to balance potential bias. The overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), and adverse events (AEs) were evaluated.

Results

After PSM, the final analysis included 40 patients: 20 receiving toripalimab plus lenvatinib without RT (NRT); 20 receiving toripalimab plus lenvatinib with RT. The AEs were more frequent in the RT group than in the NRT group without treatment-associated mortality. The addition of RT did not cause specific AEs. The median PFS was significantly longer with RT (10.8 versus 4.6 months, p<0.001). The median OS was 13.7 months with RT versus 9.2 months in the NRT group (p=0.008). The ORR was 35% (95% CI: 12.1-57.9) in the RT group versus 20% (95% CI: 0.8-39.2) in the NRT group.

Conclusions

The addition of RT may enhance the efficacy of toripalimab plus lenvatinib. Toripalimab plus lenvatinib with RT have a good safety profile without an increase in specific toxicities in advanced BTC patients.

Lenvatinib Plus Programmed Cell Death Protein-1 Inhibitor Beyond First-Line Systemic Therapy in Refractory Advanced Biliary Tract Cancer: A Real-World Retrospective Study in China

Background

Currently, no second-line systemic treatment regimen has been recommended in advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC). Cumulative clinical evidence showed that systemic treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in combination with immunotherapy may shed light on the dim clinical outcome in advanced BTC.

Objective

The aim of this study is to evaluate the anticancer efficacy of lenvatinib plus programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) antibody in patients with BTC who progressed after first-line cisplatin/gemcitabine (CisGem) chemotherapy.

Methods

Patients with advanced BTCs who progressed after CisGem were recruited. A combination regimen of lenvatinib (8/12 mg daily) plus PD-1 antibody (200/240 mg injection every 3 weeks) was prescribed. Clinicopathological information and therapeutic outcome, including tumor subtypes, biomarkers, treatment duration, adverse events (AE), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS), were recorded and estimated.

Results

A total of 351 patients with BTCs were reviewed and 74 were recruited eventually: 35 had intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (47.3%), 4 had extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (5.4%), and 35 had gallbladder cancer (47.3%). The median administered cycles of PD-1 antibody were 6.43 (95% CI: 5.83–7.04) cycles, and the median duration of lenvatinib medication was 21.0 weeks (95% CI: 18.04–23.93). Twenty-eight patients (37.83%) experienced detectable objective response per RECIST1.1 within a median follow-up duration of 15.0 months. The objective response rate (ORR) was 20.27% (95% CI: 10.89%–29.65%), and the disease control rate (DCR) was 71.62% (95% CI: 61.11%–82.14%). The median PFS and OS were 4.0 months (95% CI: 3.5–5.0) and 9.50 months (95% CI: 9.0–11.0), respectively. Seventy-three patients (98.64%) reported AEs and 39 (52.70%) experienced ≥grade 3 AEs. In subgroup analyses, tumoral PD-L1 expression ≥50% and tumor mutation burden (TMB) ≥2.5 Muts/Mb were associated with prolonged PFS.

Conclusion

Lenvatinib plus PD-1 antibody treatment shows an active trend towards improving survival in patients with advanced BTCs after failure with CisGem chemotherapy. The treatment-related AEs are worthy of attention and are manageable.