Evaluating the clinical, environmental, genetic, and genomic profile of men with early-onset aggressive prostate cancer (PCa)

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Background: Although PCa incidence has stabilized/decreased in most age groups, the incidence of metastatic disease has increased among men 50-69 years-old. The incidence of fatal PCa has decreased for most age groups, it has remained unchanged in men under 55 years-old. Studies have described genetic abnormalities in aggressive localized or end-stage PCa, but early-onset cases are not included or are under-represented. The primary objective of this study is to characterize the clinical, environmental, genetic and genomic features of high-risk advanced PCa. Methods: Study cohort includes men with PCa ≤ 60 years old with N1 or M1 stage at diagnosis or who develop metastases in 5-years after local therapy. Clinical (race, family history (Hx), environmental exposure), laboratory,/pathology, cell-free DNA germline analysis were collected. Primary/metastatic tumor tissue tested via the Tempus-Xe platform (DNA sequencing, whole transcriptome expression profiling, copy number analysis, comprehensive fusion gene analysis and calculation of tumor mutational burden). We report interim analysis. Results: Study completed accrual with 30 pts. Median age 55 years (41-60), 87% are white, 13% are black, 77% had a family Hx of malignancy in 1-6 family members, including 40% with family hx of PCa. Only 33% had Hx of smoking. Median Gleason score 9. Only 27% had nodal disease, and 73% had metastatic disease at diagnosis. Molecular data are available in 25 pts. Most common germline mutations: BRCA2 (12%), ATM (12%), RB1 (8%), MSH3 (8%) and MYBPC3 (8%). Most common somatic mutations:TP53 (40%), TMPRSS2-ERG fusion (32%), MUC4 (16%), PTEN (12%), C2CD4D (12%), SPOP (12%), OBSCN (12%), MXRA5 (12%), and MYO15A (12%). Microsatellite stability status was available in 15 pts and all were stable. Tumor mutational burden was low in all pts, ranging between 0.7 to 2.7 mutations/megabase. Conclusions: Our preliminary data suggest high rates of germline mutations in early onset lethal PCa. This aggressive subset of disease requires further studying to better characterize the underlying clinical/genomic factors driving this disease.

Evaluating the clinical, environmental, genetic, and genomic profile of men with early-onset aggressive prostate cancer (PCa)

TPS333

Background: Although PCa incidence has stabilized or decreased in most age groups, the incidence of metastatic disease has increased among men 50-69 years old. The incidence of fatal PCa has decreased for most age groups, it has remained unchanged in men under 55 years old. These observations are supported by data from 3 randomized trials. In S9346 in newly diagnosed M1, 18% of men (all-comers N = 3040) were ≤ 60 years. A significant percentage of younger men enrolled in CHAARTED had de-novo metastases at diagnosis; among 575 patients without prior local therapy, the median age was 62 years, and among men < 60 years old (n = 274), 80.3% (n = 220) had de novo metastatic disease. Lastly, in S9921 (N = 983) 15% of men ≤ 60 years had pN1 disease at enrollment. A significant proportion of men with metastatic disease progress to castration -resistance within a short interval of initiating androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) ± docetaxel or abiraterone for metastatic hormone sensitive PCa. Pivotal studies have described genetic abnormalities in aggressive localized or end stage prostate cancers, but early-onset cases and those with early progression on systemic therapy are not included or are under-represented in these studies. Methods: The primary objective of this multi-institutional trial is to characterize the clinical, environmental, genetic and genomic features of high-risk advanced PCa: Cohort 1: men ≤ 60 years old with N1 or M1 at diagnosis or who develop metastases shortly after local therapy; Cohort 2: men with early progression to castration-resistant PCa in ≤ 1 year on ADT ± docetaxel or ADT ± abiraterone. Clinical and environmental history, peripheral blood for cell free DNA and germline analysis will be collected. Primary/metastatic tumor tissue will be tested via the Tempus platform, which includes DNA sequencing, whole transcriptome expression profiling, copy number analysis, comprehensive fusion gene analysis and calculation of tumor mutational burden. We will also prospectively correlate clinical and molecular characteristics with outcomes. To date, 5 patients have been registered.

The use of pharmacogenomics for selection of therapy in non-small-cell lung cancer

INTRODUCTION

Performance status (PS) is the only known clinical predictor of outcome in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), although pharmacogenomic markers may also correlate with outcome. The aim of our study was to correlate clinical and pharmacogenomic measures with overall survival.

METHODS

This was an IRB approved, retrospective study in which the medical records of 50 patients with advanced NSCLC from 1998–2008 were reviewed, and gender, race, PS, and chemotherapy regimens were documented. Stromal expression of pharmacogenomic markers (VEGFR, ERCC1, 14-3-3σ, pAKT, and PTEN) was measured. Clinical factors and pharmacogenomics markers were compared to overall survival using a Cox proportional hazards model.

RESULTS

Forty patients received platinum-based therapy. Median age was 65 years. Improved PS, female gender, and gemcitabine therapy were significantly associated with longer overall survival (P = 0.004, P = 0.04, and P = 0.003, respectively). Age was not associated with survival. Caucasians had better overall survival in comparison to African Americans with median survival of 14.8 months versus 10.4 months (P = 0.1). Patients treated with platinum-based therapy had better survival of 15 months versus 8 months for non-platinum based therapy (P = 0.01). There was no significant association between any of the pharmacogenomics markers and overall survival other than in patients treated with platinum, in whom ERCC1 negativity was strongly associated with longer survival (P = 0.007).

CONCLUSION

ERCC1 negativity with platinum therapy, gemcitabine therapy, good PS, and female gender all correlated with improved overall survival in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Phase II Clinical Trial of Gefitinib for the Treatment of Chemonaïve Patients with Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer with Poor Performance Status

BACKGROUND

Patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have no curative treatment options; therefore, improving their quality of life (QOL) is an important goal. Gefitinib, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor, is a safe oral agent that may be of benefit to a specific population of NSCLC.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A Phase II clinical trial included chemonaïve patients with advanced NSCLC and poor performance status (PS). Response rate, progression-free survival, overall survival, QOL using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy – Lung (FACT-L) questionnaire, and Trial Outcome Index (TOI) were evaluated.

RESULTS

Twelve out of 19 enrolled patients were evaluable. The median age for the evaluable patients was 68.8 years (59.7–74.6). Out of all the patients, 7 (58.3%) had adenocarcinoma and 5 (41.7%) had squamous cell carcinoma. The median duration of treatment was 62.5 days (26.5–115.0) in the evaluable patients. Grade 3/4 toxicities included fatigue, rash, diarrhea, and nausea. One patient had partial response, eight patients had stable disease (SD), and three patients progressed. The median overall survival for the evaluable population was 4.9 months (2.3–16). The median progression-free survival was 3.7 months (1.9–6.6). TOI was marginally associated with the overall survival, with a hazard ratio of 0.92 (95% confidence interval: 0.84, 1.0) (P = 0.061). FACT-L score and the TOI were highly correlated (r = 0.96, P < 0.0001). TOI scores were higher in African Americans compared to Caucasians and increased with age.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that gefitinib use in patients with NSCLC and poor PS may improve the QOL of older patients and African American patients.

Detection of EGFRvIII mutant DNA in the peripheral blood of brain tumor patients

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive brain tumor in adults and remains incurable despite multimodal intensive treatment regimens including surgical resection, radiation and chemotherapy. EGFRvIII is a truncated extracellular mutant of the EGF receptor (EGFR) found in about a third of GBMs. It confers enhanced tumorigenic behavior and is associated with chemo- and radio-resistance. GBM patients testing positive for EGFRvIII have a bleaker prognosis than those who do not. Targeting EGFRvIII positive tumors via vaccines or antibody-drug-conjugates represents a new challenging therapeutic avenue with potential great clinical benefits. In this study, we developed a strategy to detect EGFRvIII deletion in the circulating tumor DNA. The overall goal is to identify a simple and robust biomarker in the peripheral blood of patients diagnosed with GBM in order to follow their disease status while on treatment. Thirteen patients were included in this study, three of which were found to carry the EGFRvIII deletion. The circulating DNA status for EGFRvIII correlates with the analysis performed on the respective tumor samples, and its level seems to correlate with the extent of the tumor resection. This semi-quantitative blood biomarker may represent a strategy to (1) screen patients for an anti-EGFRvIII therapy and (2) monitor the patients' response to treatment.

Comprehensive review of JAK inhibitors in myeloproliferative neoplasms

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are clonal hematopoietic stem-cell disorders, characterized phenotypically by the abnormal accumulation of mature-appearing myeloid cells. Polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, primary myelofibrosis (also known as 'BCR-ABL1-negative' MPNs), and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) are the primary types of MPNs. After the discovery of the BCR-ABL1 fusion protein in CML, several oncogenic tyrosine kinases have been identified in 'BCR-ABL1-negative' MPNs, most importantly, JAK2V617F mutation. The similarity in the clinical characteristics of the BCR-ABL1-negative MPN patients along with the prevalence of the Janus kinase mutation in this patient population provided a strong rationale for the development of a new class of pharmacologic inhibitors that target this pathway. The first of its class, ruxolitinib, has now been approved by the food and drug administration (FDA) for the management of patients with intermediate- to high-risk myelofibrosis. Ruxolitinib provides significant and sustained improvements in spleen related and constitutional symptoms secondary to the disease. Although noncurative, ruxolitinib represents a milestone in the treatment of myelofibrosis patients. Other types of JAK2 inhibitors are being tested in various clinical trials at this point and may provide better efficacy data and safety profile than its predecessor. In this article, we comprehensively reviewed and summarized the available preclinical and clinical trials pertaining to JAK inhibitors.

Evaluation of an ultrasonographic score for urinary bladder morbidity in Schistosoma haematobium infection

An ultrasonographic urinary bladder morbidity score was developed and tested in 510 patients with schistosomiasis haematobia, and then evaluated for screening 1,134 randomly selected children from villages endemic for Schistosoma haematobium. The ultrasonographic urinary bladder morbidity score had four grades ranging from normal to marked thickening of the urinary bladder wall or any polyps or masses. Among both patients and randomly screened subjects, the ultrasonographic score was greater (P = 0.01 and P < 0.01) in males than in females. Children examined in the clinic had higher (P = 0.03) ultrasonographic scores than adults. Infected subjects in communities were more likely (P < 0.001) to have urinary bladder morbidity than uninfected subjects, and clinic patients with egg counts > or = 20 eggs/10 ml of urine had higher (P = 0.03) ultrasonographic urinary bladder morbidity scores than those with lighter infections. The geometric mean egg count was higher (P = 0.04) in clinic patients with grade II and III lesions than in those with grade 0 and I lesions. There was progressive improvement of the grade of urinary bladder morbidity scores in patients treated with praziquantel at each follow-up examination (P < 0.001) and there was a positive relationship (P < 0.01) between urinary bladder morbidity scores and ultrasonographic-detected renal back pressure changes. The ultrasonographic urinary bladder morbidity score objectively measured the severity of urinary bladder morbidity and correlated with intensity of S. haematobium infection in our subjects. It can be used in evaluating both morbidity in patients and in community surveys and in following the outcome of chemotherapy.