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Jayakrishnan T, Yadav D, Huffman BM, Cleary JM. Immunological Checkpoint Blockade in Anal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Dramatic Responses Tempered By Frequent Resistance. Curr Oncol Rep 2024:10.1007/s11912-024-01564-z. [PMID: 38861124 DOI: 10.1007/s11912-024-01564-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/28/2024] [Indexed: 06/12/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SCCA) is an HPV-associated malignancy that has limited treatment options. Immunotherapy has expanded these options and here we review current and emerging immunotherapeutic approaches. RECENT FINDINGS Multiple studies of single-agent anti-PD1/PD-L1 immunotherapy have demonstrated a modest response rate of approximately 10% to 15%. While a minority of patients (~5%) with SCCA experience durable complete responses, most advanced SCCAs are resistant to anti-PD1/PD-L1 monotherapy. Given the need for more broadly effective immunotherapies, novel strategies, such as adaptive cell therapies and therapeutic vaccination, are being explored. To reduce the recurrence risk of localized high-risk SCCA, strategies combining immunotherapy with chemoradiation are also being investigated. While a small subset of patients with SCCA have prolonged responses to PD1-directed immunotherapy, the majority do not derive clinical benefit, and new immunotherapeutic strategies are needed. Better understanding of the immune microenvironment and predictive biomarkers could accelerate therapeutic advances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thejus Jayakrishnan
- Department of Hematology-Oncology, Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, USA
| | - Devvrat Yadav
- Department of Internal Medicine, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, 2401 W Belvedere Ave, Baltimore, MD, 21215, USA
| | - Brandon M Huffman
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - James M Cleary
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
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Dickstein DR, Edwards CR, Rowan CR, Avanessian B, Chubak BM, Wheldon CW, Simoes PK, Buckstein MH, Keefer LA, Safer JD, Sigel K, Goodman KA, Rosser BRS, Goldstone SE, Wong SY, Marshall DC. Pleasurable and problematic receptive anal intercourse and diseases of the colon, rectum and anus. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 2024; 21:377-405. [PMID: 38763974 DOI: 10.1038/s41575-024-00932-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/12/2024] [Indexed: 05/21/2024]
Abstract
The ability to experience pleasurable sexual activity is important for human health. Receptive anal intercourse (RAI) is a common, though frequently stigmatized, pleasurable sexual activity. Little is known about how diseases of the colon, rectum, and anus and their treatments affect RAI. Engaging in RAI with gastrointestinal disease can be difficult due to the unpredictability of symptoms and treatment-related toxic effects. Patients might experience sphincter hypertonicity, gastrointestinal symptom-specific anxiety, altered pelvic blood flow from structural disorders, decreased sensation from cancer-directed therapies or body image issues from stoma creation. These can result in problematic RAI - encompassing anodyspareunia (painful RAI), arousal dysfunction, orgasm dysfunction and decreased sexual desire. Therapeutic strategies for problematic RAI in patients living with gastrointestinal diseases and/or treatment-related dysfunction include pelvic floor muscle strengthening and stretching, psychological interventions, and restorative devices. Providing health-care professionals with a framework to discuss pleasurable RAI and diagnose problematic RAI can help improve patient outcomes. Normalizing RAI, affirming pleasure from RAI and acknowledging that the gastrointestinal system is involved in sexual pleasure, sexual function and sexual health will help transform the scientific paradigm of sexual health to one that is more just and equitable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel R Dickstein
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Collin R Edwards
- Department of Radiology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Catherine R Rowan
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease Unit, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Bella Avanessian
- Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Barbara M Chubak
- Department of Urology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Christopher W Wheldon
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, College of Public Health at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Priya K Simoes
- The Dr. Henry D. Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Michael H Buckstein
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Laurie A Keefer
- The Dr. Henry D. Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Joshua D Safer
- Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Keith Sigel
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Karyn A Goodman
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - B R Simon Rosser
- Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health at University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Stephen E Goldstone
- Department of Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Serre-Yu Wong
- The Dr. Henry D. Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Deborah C Marshall
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
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Huffman BM, Singh H, Ali LR, Horick N, Wang SJ, Hoffman MT, Metayer KA, Murray S, Bird A, Abrams TA, Biller LH, Chan JA, Meyerhardt JA, McCleary NJ, Goessling W, Patel AK, Wisch JS, Yurgelun MB, Mouw K, Reardon B, Van Allen EM, Zerillo JA, Clark JW, Parikh A, Mayer RJ, Schlechter B, Ng K, Kumar S, Del Vecchio Fitz C, Kuperwasser C, Hanna GJ, Coveler AL, Rubinson DA, Welsh EL, Pfaff K, Rodig S, Dougan SK, Cleary JM. Biomarkers of pembrolizumab efficacy in advanced anal squamous cell carcinoma: analysis of a phase II clinical trial and a cohort of long-term responders. J Immunother Cancer 2024; 12:e008436. [PMID: 38272561 PMCID: PMC10824013 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2023-008436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recent trials suggest that programmed cell death 1 (PD-1)-directed immunotherapy may be beneficial for some patients with anal squamous cell carcinoma and biomarkers predictive of response are greatly needed. METHODS This multicenter phase II clinical trial (NCT02919969) enrolled patients with metastatic or locally advanced incurable anal squamous cell carcinoma (n=32). Patients received pembrolizumab 200 mg every 3 weeks. The primary endpoint of the trial was objective response rate (ORR). Exploratory objectives included analysis of potential predictive biomarkers including assessment of tumor-associated immune cell populations with multichannel immunofluorescence and analysis of circulating tumor tissue modified viral-human papillomavirus DNA (TTMV-HPV DNA) using serially collected blood samples. To characterize the clinical features of long-term responders, we combined data from our prospective trial with a retrospective cohort of patients with anal cancer treated with anti-PD-1 immunotherapy (n=18). RESULTS In the phase II study, the ORR to pembrolizumab monotherapy was 9.4% and the median progression-free survival was 2.2 months. Despite the high level of HPV positivity observed with circulating TTMV-HPV DNA testing, the majority of patients had low levels of tumor-associated CD8+PD-1+ T cells on pretreatment biopsy. Patients who benefited from pembrolizumab had decreasing TTMV-HPV DNA scores and a complete responder's TTMV-HPV DNA became undetectable. Long-term pembrolizumab responses were observed in one patient from the trial (5.3 years) and three patients (2.5, 6, and 8 years) from the retrospective cohort. Long-term responders had HPV-positive tumors, lacked liver metastases, and achieved a radiological complete response. CONCLUSIONS Pembrolizumab has durable efficacy in a rare subset of anal cancers. However, despite persistence of HPV infection, indicated by circulating HPV DNA, most advanced anal cancers have low numbers of tumor-associated CD8+PD-1+ T cells and are resistant to pembrolizumab.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon M Huffman
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Harshabad Singh
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Lestat R Ali
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Nora Horick
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - S Jennifer Wang
- Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Megan T Hoffman
- Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Katherine A Metayer
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Shayla Murray
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Alexandra Bird
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Thomas A Abrams
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Leah H Biller
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jennifer A Chan
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jeffrey A Meyerhardt
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Nadine J McCleary
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Wolfram Goessling
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Anuj K Patel
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jeffrey S Wisch
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Matthew B Yurgelun
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Kent Mouw
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Eliezer M Van Allen
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jessica A Zerillo
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jeffrey W Clark
- Department of Medical Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Aparna Parikh
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Robert J Mayer
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Benjamin Schlechter
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Kimmie Ng
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | | | | | - Glenn J Hanna
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Andrew L Coveler
- University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Douglas A Rubinson
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Emma L Welsh
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Kathleen Pfaff
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Scott Rodig
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Stephanie K Dougan
- Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - James M Cleary
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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