Long-term outcomes to neoadjuvant pembrolizumab based on pathological response for patients with resectable stage III/IV cutaneous melanoma

BACKGROUND

While neoadjuvant immunotherapy for melanoma has shown promising results, the data have been limited by a relatively short follow-up time, with most studies reporting 2-year outcomes. The goal of this study was to determine long-term outcomes for stage III/IV melanoma patients treated with neoadjuvant and adjuvant programmed cell death receptor 1 (PD-1) inhibition.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This is a follow-up study of a previously published phase Ib clinical trial of 30 patients with resectable stage III/IV cutaneous melanoma who received one dose of 200 mg IV neoadjuvant pembrolizumab 3 weeks before surgical resection, followed by 1 year of adjuvant pembrolizumab. The primary outcomes were 5-year overall survival (OS), 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS), and recurrence patterns.

RESULTS

We report updated results at 5 years of follow-up with a median follow-up of 61.9 months. No deaths occurred in patients with a major pathological response (MPR, <10% viable tumor) or complete pathological response (pCR, no viable tumor) (n = 8), compared to a 5-year OS of 72.8% for the remainder of the cohort (P = 0.12). Two of eight patients with a pCR or MPR had a recurrence. Of the patients with >10% viable tumor remaining, 8 of 22 patients (36%) had a recurrence. Additionally, the median time to recurrence was 3.9 years for patients with ≤10% viable tumor and 0.6 years for patients with >10% viable tumor (P = 0.044).

CONCLUSIONS

The 5-year results from this trial represent the longest follow-up of a single-agent neoadjuvant PD-1 trial to date. Response to neoadjuvant therapy continues to be an important prognosticator with regard to OS and RFS. Additionally, recurrences in patients with pCR occur later and are salvageable, with a 5-year OS of 100%. These results demonstrate the long-term efficacy of single-agent neoadjuvant/adjuvant PD-1 blockade in patients with a pCR and the importance of long-term follow-up for these patients.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT02434354.

Seasonal human coronavirus antibodies are boosted upon SARS-CoV-2 infection but not associated with protection

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has rapidly spread within the human population. Although SARS-CoV-2 is a novel coronavirus, most humans had been previously exposed to other antigenically distinct common seasonal human coronaviruses (hCoVs) before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Here, we quantified levels of SARS-CoV-2-reactive antibodies and hCoV-reactive antibodies in serum samples collected from 431 humans before the COVID-19 pandemic. We then quantified pre-pandemic antibody levels in serum from a separate cohort of 251 individuals who became PCR-confirmed infected with SARS-CoV-2. Finally, we longitudinally measured hCoV and SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the serum of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Our studies indicate that most individuals possessed hCoV-reactive antibodies before the COVID-19 pandemic. We determined that ∼20% of these individuals possessed non-neutralizing antibodies that cross-reacted with SARS-CoV-2 spike and nucleocapsid proteins. These antibodies were not associated with protection against SARS-CoV-2 infections or hospitalizations, but they were boosted upon SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Seasonal human coronavirus antibodies are boosted upon SARS-CoV-2 infection but not associated with protection

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has rapidly spread within the human population. Although SARS-CoV-2 is a novel coronavirus, most humans had been previously exposed to other antigenically distinct common seasonal human coronaviruses (hCoVs) before the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we quantified levels of SARS-CoV-2-reactive antibodies and hCoV-reactive antibodies in serum samples collected from 204 humans before the COVID-19 pandemic. We then quantified pre-pandemic antibody levels in serum from a separate cohort of 252 individuals who became PCR-confirmed infected with SARS-CoV-2. Finally, we longitudinally measured hCoV and SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the serum of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Our studies indicate that most individuals possessed hCoV-reactive antibodies before the COVID-19 pandemic. We determined that ~23% of these individuals possessed non-neutralizing antibodies that cross-reacted with SARS-CoV-2 spike and nucleocapsid proteins. These antibodies were not associated with protection against SARS-CoV-2 infections or hospitalizations, but paradoxically these hCoV cross-reactive antibodies were boosted upon SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Long-term outcomes of a phase I study of agonist CD40 antibody and CTLA-4 blockade in patients with metastatic melanoma

We report long-term clinical outcomes and immune responses observed from a phase 1 trial of agonist CD40 monoclonal antibody (mAb) and blocking CTLA-4 mAb in patients with metastatic melanoma. Twenty-four patients previously untreated with checkpoint blockade were enrolled. The agonistic CD40 mAb CP-870,893 and the CTLA-4 blocking mAb tremelimumab were dosed concomitantly every 3 weeks and 12 weeks, respectively, across four dose combinations. Two patients developed dose-limiting grade 3 immune-mediated colitis that led to the definition of the maximum tolerated dose (MTD). Other immune-mediated toxicity included uveitis (n = 1), hypophysitis (n = 1), hypothyroidism (n = 2), and grade 3 cytokine release syndrome (CRS) (n = 1). The estimated MTD was 0.2 mg/kg of CP-870,893 and 10 mg/kg of tremelimumab. In 22 evaluable patients, the objective response rate (ORR) was 27.3%: two patients (9.1%) had complete responses (CR) and four (18.2%) patients had partial responses (PR). With a median follow-up of 45 months, the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 3.2 months (95% CI, 1.3–5.1 months) and median overall survival (OS) was 23.6 months (95% CI, 11.7–35.5 months). Nine patients are long-term survivors (> 3 years), 8 of whom subsequently received other therapy including PD-1 mAb, surgery, or radiation therapy. Elevated baseline soluble CD25 was associated with shorter OS. Immunologically, treatment was associated with evidence of T cell activation and increased tumor T cell infiltration that was accomplished without therapeutic PD-1/PD-L1 blockade. These results suggest opportunities for immune activation and cancer immunotherapy beyond PD-1.

Long-term efficacy of miglustat in paediatric patients with Niemann-Pick disease type C

Niemann-Pick disease type C (NP-C) is a rare inherited neurovisceral disease characterized by progressive neurological manifestations. Oral miglustat was first approved for the treatment of children and adults with NP-C in Europe in 2009. There are still relatively few published data on the long-term efficacy and safety of miglustat in patients with NP-C in clinical practice. We report the effects of up to 6 years of treatment with miglustat 100 mg t.i.d. in five children. Overall, 3/5 patients displayed progressive dysphagia before starting miglustat, and 4/5 showed marked cognitive and/or motor impairment. The mean age at treatment start was 11.6 years, and the median (range) duration of therapy so far is 4 (4.1 to 6.1) years. No treatment dose alterations were required, but therapy was interrupted for 1-3 months at least once in all patients due to supply issues. Swallowing function was stabilised during miglustat therapy, with no significant increase in Han dysphagia scale or aspiration-penetration index scores among four evaluable patients (p > 0.05). Scores on the mini-mental state examination indicated an improvement in cognitive function during the first 3-6 months of miglustat therapy, followed by stabilisation up to 5 years. Ambulatory function remained stable for at least the first 2 years of treatment in most patients, but there was a trend towards deterioration thereafter, possibly related to treatment interruptions. The safety/tolerability profile of miglustat was similar to previous clinical studies, although reports of gastrointestinal disturbances were rare. Overall, miglustat appeared to stabilise key parameters of neurological disease progression.

Expression of multidrug resistance 1 and glutathione-S-transferase-Pi protein in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Radiotherapy is the modality of choice for the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, systemic chemotherapy has recently been found to play an increasing role in the treatment of advanced or metastatic disease. The status of drug resistance gene expression that has crucial impact on chemotherapy has not been fully addressed for patients with NPC. In this study, we examined the expression of multidrug resistance 1 (MDR-1) and glutathione-S-transferase-Pi (GST-Pi) in primary, recurrent, and metastatic NPC using results of immunohistochemical examinations. The results were correlated with the expression of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latent protein, latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1), and clinicopathologic features, including stage, histopathologic types, and survival rates. MDR-1 protein expression was detected in 18 (12.6%) of 143 patients with primary NPC, 14 (32.6%) of 43 with recurrent NPC, and O (0%) of 20 with metastatic NPC, whereas 83 (58%) of 143 patients with primary NPC, 30 (69.8%) of 43 with recurrent NPC, and 13 (65%) of 20 with metastatic NPC expressed GST-Pi. EBV-LMP1 was expressed in 59 (41.3%) of 143 patients with primary NPC, 23 (53.5%) of 43 with recurrent NPC, and 9 (45%) of 20 with metastatic NPC. Simultaneous expression of MDR1 and GST-Pi was observed in 13 (72.2%) of 18 patients with primary NPC and 12 (85.7%) of 14 with recurrent NPC. The expression of LMP1 was detected in only 6 of the 13 patients with primary NPC and 6 of the 12 with recurrent NPC. We concluded that the expression of GST-Pi was more frequent in NPC tumor tissues than the expression of MDR-1. The expression of MDR-1 correlated with clinicopathologic features of primary NPC, including the histopathologic types and survival rates, but not with disease stage. The expression of GST-Pi did not correlate with clinicopathologic features. The expression of MDR-1 and GST-Pi did not correlate with expression of EBV-LMP1 for patients with NPC.

Comparison of anti-leukemic immunity against U937 cells in endurance athletes versus sedentary controls

To examine whether endurance athletes have higher anti-leukemic immunity than sedentary controls or not, we isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (MNC) from cyclists and sedentary controls to prepare conditioned media (CM) with various doses of phytohemagglutinin (PHA). The proliferation-inhibiting and differentiation-inducing activities of these PHA-MNC-CM on human leukemic U937 cells were investigated. Our results show that the growth inhibition activity of cyclists' PHA-MNC-CM were higher than that of controls. The dosage of PHA used to prepare MNC-CM to achieve about 90% growth inhibition was 5 microg/ml in the control group and was 2 microg/ml in the athletes group. The differentiation-inducing effects were evaluated by morphological scoring, superoxide production, and monocyte-associated antigen expression (CD14 and CD68). These three parameters all demonstrated the differentiation-inducing effect of MNC-CM increased with increasing dose of PHA. These effects were significantly greater in the athletic when compared to the sedentary control group at all doses of PHA. The levels of TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma PHA-MNC-CM increased in a PHA dose-dependent manner and were much higher in the athletic group when compared to the controls. We conclude that the capacity of endurance athletes to activate anti-leukemic immunity is significantly higher than that of sedentary controls.

Internalized epidermal growth factor receptors participate in the activation of p21(ras) in fibroblasts

Regulated activation of the highly conserved Ras GTPase is a central event in the stimulation of cell proliferation, motility, and differentiation elicited by receptor tyrosine kinases, such as the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). In fibroblasts, this involves formation and membrane localization of Shc.Grb2.Sos complexes, which increases the rate of Ras guanine nucleotide exchange. In order to control Ras-mediated cell responses, this activity is regulated by receptor down-regulation and a feedback loop involving the dual specificity kinase mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase (MEK). We investigated the role of EGFR endocytosis in the regulation of Ras activation. Of fundamental interest is whether activated receptors in endosomes can participate in the stimulation of Ras guanine nucleotide exchange, because the constitutive membrane localization of Ras may affect its compartmentalization. By exploiting the differences in postendocytic signaling of two EGFR ligands, epidermal growth factor and transforming growth factor-alpha, we found that activated EGFR located at the cell surface and in internal compartments contribute equally to the membrane recruitment and tyrosine phosphorylation of Shc in NR6 fibroblasts expressing wild-type EGFR. Importantly, both the rate of Ras-specific guanine nucleotide exchange and the level of Ras-GTP were depressed to near basal values on the time scale of receptor trafficking. Using the selective MEK inhibitor PD098059, we were able to block the feedback desensitization pathway and maintain activation of Ras. Under these conditions, the generation of Ras-GTP was not significantly affected by the subcellular location of activated EGFR. In conjunction with our previous analysis of the phospholipase C pathway in the same cell line, this suggests a selective continuation of specific signaling activities and cessation of others upon receptor endocytosis.

Oral niacin prevents photocarcinogenesis and photoimmunosuppression in mice

Topical nicotinamide (niacinamide) has demonstrable preventive activity against photocarcinogenesis in mice. To better understand how this vitamin prevents ultraviolet (UV) carcinogenesis, we tested systemic administration of another form of the vitamin, niacin, and its capacity to elevate cutaneous nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide (NAD) content as well as to decrease photoimmunosuppression and photocarcinogenesis. BALB/cAnNTacfBR mice were fed the AIN-76A diet supplemented with 0%, 0.1%, 0.5%, or 1.0% niacin throughout the experiment. UV irradiation consisted of five 30-minute exposures per week to banks of six FS40 Westinghouse sunlamps for 22 weeks in the carcinogenesis experiments, yielding a total cumulative dose of approximately 1.41 x 10(6) Jm-2 of UV-B radiation. Dietary supplementation with 0.1%, 0.5%, or 1.0% niacin reduced the control incidence of skin cancer from 68% to 60%, 48%, and 28%, respectively, at 26.5 weeks after the first UV treatment. Two potential mechanisms by which niacin prevents tumor formation were identified. Photoimmunosuppression, critical for photocarcinogenesis, is measured by a passive transfer assay. Syngeneic, antigenic tumor challenges grew to an average of 91.6 +/- 19.7, 79.8 +/- 11.5, 41.9 +/- 11.7, or 13.2 +/- 4.1 mm2 in naive recipients of splenocytes from UV-irradiated mice treated with 0%, 0.1%, 0.5%, or 1.0% niacin supplementation, respectively, demonstrating niacin prevention of immunosuppression. Niacin supplementation elevated skin NAD content, which is known to modulate the function of DNA strand scission surveillance proteins p53 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, two proteins critical in cellular responses to UV-induced DNA damage. These results clearly demonstrate a dose-dependent preventive effect of oral niacin on photocarcinogenesis and photoimmunosuppression and establish the capacity of oral niacin to elevate skin NAD levels.

Mapping the role of NAD metabolism in prevention and treatment of carcinogenesis

Studies presented here show that cellular NAD, which we hypothesize to be the relevant biomarker of niacin status, is significantly lower in humans than in the commonly studied animal models of carcinogenesis. We show that nicotinamide and the resulting cellular NAD concentration modulate expression of the tumor suppressor protein, p53, in human breast, skin, and lung cells. Studies to determine the optimal NAD concentrations for responding to DNA damage in breast epithelial cells reveal that DNA damage appears to stimulate NAD biosynthesis and that recovery from DNA damage occurs several hours earlier in the presence of higher NAD or in cells undergoing active NAD biosynthesis. Finally, analyses of normal human skin tissue from individuals diagnosed with actinic keratoses or squamous cell carcinomas show that NAD content of the skin is inversely correlated with the malignant phenotype. Since NAD is important in modulating ADP-ribose polymer metabolism, cyclic ADP-ribose synthesis, and stress response proteins, such as p53, following DNA damage, understanding how NAD metabolism is regulated in the human has important implications in developing both prevention and treatment strategies in carcinogenesis.

Thioredoxin peroxidase (natural killer enhancing factor) regulation of activator protein-1 function in endothelial cells

Thioredoxin peroxidase-1 (TxP-1), originally cloned as natural killer enhancing factor-B, belongs to a highly conserved antioxidant family. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) activates the expression of activator protein-1 (AP-1) responsive genes. We show here that over-expression of TxP-1 blocks TNF-induced AP-1 activation in endothelial ECV304 cells, which was demonstrated by three independent experimental protocols: electromobility shift assay with AP-1 oligonucleotide probe; reporter gene expression with AP-1 binding site, and interleukin-8 production, which is dependent on AP-1. These results are consistent with the role of TxP-1 as an antioxidant and the previous reports that TNF-induced reactive oxygen species were responsible for AP-1 activation.

The antiallergic activities of synthetic acrophylline and acrophyllidine

The antiallergic activities of synthetic acrophylline [1] and acrophyllidine [2] have been demonstrated. Both compounds 1 and 2 at 30 mumol/kg reduced the plasma leakage in mouse ear in a passive cutaneous anaphylactic (PCA) reaction. In addition, compound 1 suppressed mast cell degranulation in a dose-dependent manner, while compound 2 at 100 microM produced no significant inhibition of the release of preformed inflammatory mediators. These results suggest that the antiallergic effect of compound 1 probably occurs through the suppression of mast cell degranulation, and that of compound 2 by protection of the vasculature against challenge by mediators of inflammation.