Antiangiogenic-immune-checkpoint inhibitor combinations: lessons from phase III clinical trials

Antiangiogenic agents, generally antibodies or tyrosine-kinase inhibitors that target the VEGF-VEGFR pathway, are currently among the few combination partners clinically proven to improve the efficacy of immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). This benefit has been demonstrated in pivotal phase III trials across different cancer types, some with practice-changing results; however, numerous phase III trials have also had negative results. The rationale for using antiangiogenic drugs as partners for ICIs relies primarily on blocking the multiple immunosuppressive effects of VEGF and inducing several different vascular-modulating effects that can stimulate immunity, such as vascular normalization leading to increased intratumoural blood perfusion and flow, and inhibition of pro-apoptotic effects of endothelial cells on T cells, among others. Conversely, VEGF blockade can also cause changes that suppress antitumour immunity, such as increased tumour hypoxia, and reduced intratumoural ingress of co-administered ICIs. As a result, the net clinical benefits from antiangiogenic-ICI combinations will be determined by the balance between the opposing effects of VEGF signalling and its inhibition on the antitumour immune response. In this Perspective, we summarize the results from the currently completed phase III trials evaluating antiangiogenic agent-ICI combinations. We also discuss strategies to improve the efficacy of these combinations, focusing on aspects that include the deleterious functions of VEGF-VEGFR inhibition on antitumour immunity, vessel co-option as a driver of non-angiogenic tumour growth, clinical trial design, or the rationale for drug selection, dosing and scheduling.

Different immune contextures underlie tumor site-specific responses to immune checkpoint blockade in esophageal cancer

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have demonstrated efficacy in advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Heterogeneous responses to ICIs have been reported previously. Here, we describe a patient with advanced ESCC exhibiting a response to durvalumab plus tremelimumab for more than 6 months except primary resistant esophageal tumor. The esophageal tumor had higher regulatory T cells, neutrophils, and mast cells scores estimated by NanoString platform than hepatic tumor. The immunohistochemistry study confirmed higher expression levels of Foxp3, and myeloperoxidase (MPO) in the esophageal tumor. The different immune contextures may underlie the heterogeneous responses to ICI combination in this ESCC patient.

The Effect of Intrathoracic Lesion Location on Initial Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Response in Advanced Oncogene-Addicted Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Comparison Between RECIST 1.1 and a Novel Method of Response Assessment (MAX)

INTRODUCTION

Different subtypes of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are associated with different patterns of metastatic spread. Anatomic location of lesions in the chest may influence patterns of cancer growth and the shrinkage to therapy. Consequently, lesion location could affect apparent response rates per RECIST. We sought to explore this and develop, as needed, treatment response assessments less affected by the location.

METHODS

Cases of advanced oncogene-addicted NSCLC (EGFR, ALK, and ROS1) with pre- and on-therapy imaging during initial targeted therapy were identified. Lesions located in the lung parenchyma, pleural space or intra-thoracic lymph nodes were identified and analyzed separately from each other by RECIST 1.1 (unidimensional measurements) and by a novel MAX methodology (bidimensional measurements) which takes the axis with the greatest absolute percentage change on therapy in each location as the representative measurement.

RESULTS

Three hundred three patients with 446 unidimensional measured lesions were included for RECIST analysis. Two hundred forty nine patients with 386 bidimensional measured lesions were included for MAX analysis, as well as the analysis comparing RECIST and MAX. Intrathoracic location significantly impacted percentage shrinkage and the response rate per RECIST. The response rates for pleural, intra-parenchymal and nodal lesions were 34.1%, 49.6%, and 68.3%, respectively (P = .0002). The MAX methodology both increased the apparent treatment effect and made it consistent between intrathoracic locations. For pleural, parenchymal and nodal lesions, the MAX calculated response rate were 83.7%, 72.2%, and 75.4%, respectively (P-value = .24).

CONCLUSION

Intrathoracic lesion location affects RECIST-based treatment effectiveness estimations. The MAX methodology neutralizes location effect when examining impact of treatment and should be explored further.

B Cells in Tumor Microenvironment Associated With The Clinical Benefit to Programmed Cell Death Protein-1 Blockade Therapy in Patients With Advanced Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Background

B cells and B cell-related gene signatures in the tumor microenvironment (TME) are associated with the efficacy of anti-programmed cell death-1 (anti-PD-1) therapy in several cancer types, but not known for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Patients and Methods

Patients with advanced ESCC receiving anti-PD-1/PD-L1-based therapy were retrospectively included. A targeted RNA profiling of 770 immune-related genes from archival ESCC tissues was performed. Differential immune-related pathways and the levels of infiltrating immune cells were estimated through Gene Set Enrichment Analysis and CIBERSORT, respectively. CD19 and CD138 expression were evaluated through immunohistochemistry (IHC). The markers evaluated were correlated with clinical benefit (CB; defined as either objective response or stable disease for ≥6 months) and survival.

Results

A total of 64 patients were enrolled. The transcriptome analysis based on 25 patients revealed that B cell signature was significantly increased in patients with CB (P <.05) and correlated with a longer PFS (P = .032) and OS (P = .013). Multiple genes representative of B cells, B cell functions, and plasma cells were upregulated in patients with CB. On further analysis of B cell subtypes in patients with CB, increase of naïve B cells (P = .057) and plasma cells (P <.01) was found but not memory B cells (P = .27). The CD19 expression in tumor stroma, detected by IHC, was higher in patients with CB (P = .033).

Conclusion

B cells in the TME were associated with CB in patients with advanced ESCC receiving anti-PD-1/PD-L1-based therapy.

Yttrium-90 Selective Internal Radiation Therapy Plus Cryoablation for Recurrent Adrenocortical Carcinoma With Liver Metastases

Advanced adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) has a poor prognosis and is often resistant to the conventional regimens of mitotane administration and systemic chemotherapy. In addition to surgery, local therapeutic measures can be valuable. Here, we present the case of a 33-year-old woman who developed left retroperitoneal local recurrent ACC with hepatic and pulmonary metastases 1 year after radical adrenalectomy. The tumors progressed under chemotherapy and mitotane treatments. She was treated with yttrium-90 selective internal radiation therapy (⁹⁰Y SIRT) for hepatic metastases and cryoablation of the local recurrent tumor, after which significant tumor shrinkage was observed. She then received radiofrequency ablation for the residual hepatic metastases and radiotherapy to the residual local recurrent tumor. Complete remission was achieved and maintained at least until the data cutoff day (15.8 months after the last treatment). This is the first published report of cryoablation in a patient with ACC and the third report of ⁹⁰Y SIRT use for hepatic metastasis of ACC. Cryoablation and ⁹⁰Y SIRT are local treatment choices for ACC that are worthy of further study.

Association of annexin A10 expression with poor prognosis of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Background

Annexin A10 expression influences the prognosis of several gastrointestinal cancers. We explored the association of annexin A10 expression with the overall survival (OS) of patients who underwent curative surgery for cholangiocarcinoma.

Methods

Patients who underwent curative surgery for cholangiocarcinoma (except gallbladder cancer) and had pathological stage T1-3N0M0 disease were enrolled. Annexin A10 expression was examined by performing immunohistochemical staining. Patient demographics and survival outcome data were retrieved from medical records.

Results

In total, 185 patients were enrolled. The primary tumor location was intrahepatic and extrahepatic (including the perihilar region) for 89% and 11% of patients, respectively. Positive annexin A10 staining was detected for 61 (33%) patients and associated with extrahepatic or perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (p = 0.001) and lower histological grade (p < 0.001). Patients with positive annexin A10 staining exhibited significantly poorer survival relative to patients with negative staining results (median OS, 2.5 vs. 4.9 years, p = 0.025). In the multivariate analysis adjusting for age, sex, tumor location, tumor grade, hepatitis infection, and disease stage, positive annexin A10 remained an independent predictor of poor OS (hazard ratio 1.572, p = 0.034). In the subgroup analysis, the association between annexin A10 and prognosis was restricted to intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Among patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, patients with positive annexin A10 staining exhibited significantly poorer survival compared with patients with negative annexin A10 staining (median OS, 2.3 vs. 4.9 years, p = 0.008).

Conclusion

Positive annexin A10 expression was associated with poor prognosis of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

A single-arm phase II study of cabozantinib and atezolizumab in patients with recurrent or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (R/M ESCC) who failed platinum-based chemotherapy

TPS364

Background: Patients with R/M ESCC failing platinum-based chemotherapy have grave prognosis. Anti PD-1 immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), by demonstrating survival benefits over 2nd-line chemotherapy in multiple phase III trials, have emerged as a new standard-of-care for patients with platinum-refractory R/M ESCC. However, the efficacy of anti-PD-1 ICIs remains modest with an objective response rate (ORR) of 17-20%; and the median overall survivals (OS) for these patients range from 8.2 to 10 months. Cabozantinib, a multikinase inhibitor, in combination with atezolizumab has been investigated in the phase Ib COSMIC-021 trial, which includes multiple cohorts of various cancer types including gastroesophageal cancer and head-and-neck cancer. Promising preliminary results were reported in lung cancer and genitourinary cancer cohorts. To investigate the combination of cabozantinib plus atezolizumab in patients with ESCC, a subtype of esophageal cancer that may be under-represented in the gastroesophageal cancer cohort of COSMIC-021 trial, we thus proposed this phase II trial to verify the hypothesis whether adding cabozantinib to atezolizumab would improve the outcomes of R/M ESCC patients who have failed platinum-based chemotherapy. Methods: This single institution single-arm phase II study includes patients with histologically confirmed R/M ESCC who failed at least one platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients with prior exposure of any ICI or kinase inhibitor are excluded. Patients enrolled will receive cabozantinib 40mg once per day and atezolizumab 1200mg once every three weeks until disease progression or intolerable toxicities. The primary endpoint of this study is the ORR evaluated by RECIST 1.1; and the key secondary endpoints include progression-free survival, OS, and toxicity profile. We hypothesize that combination of cabozantinib plus atezolizumab will improve the ORR from 15% to 30%. With one-sided, 0.1 type I error (α), 0.2 type II error (β, corresponding power: 0.8), the sample size will be 37. The study, registered with clinical trial ID of NCT05007613, started patient enrollment in Jun 2021. As of Sep of 2021, 5 patients have been enrolled. Clinical trial information: NCT05007613.

Response to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Recurrent or Metastatic Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma May Be Affected by Tumor Sites

INTRODUCTION

Heterogeneous tumor response has been reported in cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). This study investigated whether the tumor site is associated with the response to ICIs in patients with recurrent or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

METHODS

Patients with ESCC who had measurable tumors in the liver, lung, or lymph node (LN) according to the response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (RECIST) 1.1 and received ICIs at 2 medical centers in Taiwan were enrolled. In addition to RECIST 1.1, tumor responses were determined per individual organ basis according to organ-specific criteria modified from RECIST 1.1. Fisher test or χ2 test was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

In total, 37 patients were enrolled. The overall response rate per RECIST 1.1 was 13.5%. Measurable tumors in the LN, lung, and liver were observed in 26, 17, and 13 patients, respectively. The organ-specific response rates were 26.9%, 29.4%, and 15.4% for the LN, lung, and liver tumors, respectively (p = 0.05). The organ-specific disease control rates were 69.2%, 52.9%, and 21.1% for the LN, lung, and liver tumors, respectively (p = 0.024). Five (27.8%) among 18 patients harboring at least 2 involved organs had heterogeneous tumor response.

CONCLUSION

The response and disease control to ICIs may differ in ESCC tumors located at different metastatic sites, with a lesser likelihood of response and disease control in metastatic liver tumors than in tumors located at the LNs and lung.

Phase II study of pembrolizumab after chemoradiotherapy (CRT) as adjuvant therapy for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (LA-ESCC) patients at high risk of recurrence following preoperative CRT plus surgery

TPS259

Background: LA-ESCC is a potentially curable disease, for which preoperative CRT followed by esophagectomy is a standard-of-care. Previous studies have identified that close/involved margin and lymph node metastasis with extranodal invasion (ENI) in post-CRT surgical specimens are associated with increased risk of recurrence. In CheckMate-577 trial, adjuvant nivolumab significantly improved disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with esophageal cancer treated with preoperative CRT and surgery; in another trial (the “PACIFIC” trial), adjuvant durvalumab has significantly improved overall survival (OS) in stage III non-small cell lung cancer treated with definitive CRT. We hypothesize that adding pembrolizumab to CRT as an adjuvant therapy would improve the outcomes of LA-ESCC patients who are treated with preoperative CRT plus esophagectomy and with high-risk of recurrence. Methods: This single institution single-arm phase II study include patients with histologically confirmed LA-ESCC (AJCC 7th staging system:cT3-4aN0M0 or T1-4aN1-3M0) harboring at least one risk factor (closed/involved margin, ENI, or ypN2-3) in post-CRT surgical specimens. Patients with adenocarcinoma of esophagus or gastroesophageal junction or synchronously diagnosed with a squamous cell carcinoma of aero-digestive way other than ESCC are excluded. Patients enrolled will receive adjuvant weekly cisplatin–CRT (cisplatin, 30mg/m2 for 2 cycles every week; radiotherapy, 180-200 cGy/fraction for 10-13 times) followed by pembrolizumab (200 mg, every 3 weeks, for 18 cycles). The primary endpoint of this study is 1-year relapse-free survival (RFS) rate; and the key secondary endpoints include RFS, 3-year RFS rate, OS, 3-yr OS rate, toxicity and safety. The study, registered with clinical trial ID of NCT03322267, started patient enrollment in Aug 2018. As of Aug of 2020, 11 of 46 planned patients have been enrolled. Clinical trial information: NCT03322267.

Association of B cells in tumor microenvironment (TME) with clinical benefit to programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) blockade therapy in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC)

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Background: Previous studies have indicated B cells as potential predictive markers for anti-PD-1 blockade therapy in several cancer types. The study explored whether B cells in TME and B cell related gene signatures are associated with clinical benefit (CB) for ESCC patients receiving anti-PD-1/PD-ligand 1 (PD-L1) therapy. Methods: Sixty-six ESCC patients treated with PD-1/PD-L1 blockade-based immunotherapy were enrolled. Tumor response was evaluated per RECIST 1.1, and CB was defined as complete response, partial response or stable disease at least 6 months. Transcriptome of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded ESCC tissues were generated by NanoString nCounter platform with Human PanCancer Immune Profiling panel (n=25), Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was performed to identify the differential immune-related pathways, and CIBERSORT was applied to estimate the levels of infiltrating immune cells. The expression of CD20 was evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC) (n=66). Results: Of 66 enrolled patients (M: F= 65: 1, median age of 59), 44 and 22 were of recurrent and de novo metastatic ESCC. Forty and 26 received PD-1/PD-L1 blockade alone and PD-1/PD-L1-based combination immunotherapy, respectively. The response rate was 17%, and the CB rate was 24%. The median progression-free-survival (PFS) and overall survival are 1.8 and 5.5 months, respectively. B cell signature was significantly increased in patients with CB ( P < 0.05) and associated with longer progression-free survival and overall survival (both P < 0.05). The genes related to B cells, B cell functions, and T cell functions were up-regulated in patients with CB compared to that with non-CB (all P < 0.05). Naïve B cells and plasma cells were significantly increased in patients with CB (both P < 0.05). The expression levels of stromal CD20 by IHC trended to increase in patients with CB ( P = 0.08). Conclusions: B cells in tumor microenvironment may be associated with CB of anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy in patients with ESCC. (Funded by MOST 105-2314-B-002 -186 -MY3; MOHW107-TDU-B-211-114017; MOST 108-2314-B-002 -076 -MY3; MOST 107-2314-B-002-199 -).

A randomized phase II/III study of paclitaxel/cisplatin versus cisplatin/5-fluorouracil in neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) followed by surgery for patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC)

TPS4650

Background: Meta-analyses have shown the survival benefit of cisplatin/5-fluorouracil (PF) neoadjuvant CRT over surgery alone for patients with locally advanced ESCC. The CROSS study has demonstrated the statistically significant survival benefit of paclitaxel/carboplatin neoadjuvant CRT for patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer, especially ESCC. A network meta-analysis based on published phase III trials suggested that paclitaxel/platinum might be superior to PF as neoadjuvant CRT in patients with ESCC (Huang et al: Jpn J Clin Oncol. 2015;45:1023–8). However, a direct comparison of two CRT regimens in a prospective randomized clinical trial has not been performed in ESCC. We designed this clinical trial to test the hypothesis that paclitaxel-platinum is superior to PF as neoadjuvant CRT in patients with locally advanced ESCC. Methods: This single center open-label phase 2/3 study randomizes patients with histologically confirmed ESCC, T3/4aN0M0 or T1-3N1-3M0 (AJCC 7th edition), in 1:1 ratio, to receive TP (paclitaxel, 50 mg/m2/week; cisplatin 30 mg/m2/week; for 5 weeks) or PF (cisplatin 75 mg/m2, d1; 5-FU 1,000 mg/m2, d1-4; on week 1 and week 5)-neoadjuvant CRT (180 cGy/d, 5 days/week, for 5 weeks). Esophagectomy will be performed 6 to 10 weeks after completing CRT. All patients must be eligible to esophagectomy, with tumor length ≤8cm and tumor radial ≤5cm, with adequate organ functions, and have ECOG performance status of 0-2. In the phase 2 stage, 128 patients will be enrolled, assuming the pathologic complete response (pCR) rate of TP and PF as 45% and 25%, respectively, with a power of 80% and one-sided 10% significance level. If the primary endpoint of pCR is met, additional 120 patients will be enrolled for the phase III stage with overall survival as the primary endpoint, assuming the hazard ratio of TP versus PF as 0.65 with a power of 80% and a 5% significance level. The trial started patient enrollment in May, 2017. As of Jan of 2020, 52 of planned 128 patients for phase II part have been enrolled. Clinical trial information: NCT03623737 .

Deleterious alterations of DNA damage response and repair (DDR) genes in association with clinical benefit to programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1)/PD ligand 1 (PD-L1)-based therapy in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC)

28

Background: Previous studies have indicated genetic alterations (GA) of DDR genes and tumor mutational burden (TMB) as potential markers for anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy in several cancer types. The study explored whether GA of DDR genes and TMB are associated with clinical benefit (CB) for ESCC patients receiving anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy. Methods: Thirty-five ESCC patients treated with PD-1/PD-L1 blockade antibody, alone or in combination, were enrolled. Tumor response was evaluated per RECIST 1.1, and CB was defined as complete response, partial response or stable disease at least 6 months. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded ESCC tissues were analyzed by FoundationOne CDx. All loss-of-function alterations were considered as deleterious according to previous reports (Teo MY, et al: Clin Cancer Res 2017; 23:3610-8 and J Clin Oncol 2018; 36:1685-94). Results: All of 35 enrolled patients was male: 16 and 19 received PD-1/PD-L1 blockade alone and PD-1/PD-L1-based combination therapy, respectively. The response rate was 14%, and the CB rate was 29%. All patients had GA of TP53 (100%), followed by CDKN2A/B (71%), and FGF3, FGF4 plus FGF19 (40%). The median TMB was 4 muts/Mb (range 1-16) and all evaluable ESCC tissues (N=31) were microsatellite stable. Twenty-one (60%) patients had GA of DDR genes, but only 4 (11%) patients had deleterious GA of DDR genes. The clinicopathological characteristics were not significantly different between patients with or without GA of DDR genes or those with or without deleterious GA of DDR genes. Patients harboring deleterious GA of DDR genes trended to have improved response rate (25% vs. 12.9%, P = 0.063), CB rate (50% vs. 22.6%, P = 0.268), and median PFS (4.1 vs. 1.8 mon, P = 0.074). Neither TMB nor all GA of DDR genes was associated with response or CB. Conclusions: Deleterious GA of DDR genes may be associated with therapeutic efficacies of anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy in patients with ESCC. (Funded by NHRI-107A1-CACO-01181816, NHRI-108A1-CACO-01191916, MOST-106-2314-B-002-225-MY2, NTU-108L901403, and MOST 108-3017-F-002-004-).

The immunogenomic difference between Asian and non-Asian esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients: An analysis of the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort

27

Background: Recently reported global phase 3 trials of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) versus second-line chemotherapy for esophageal cancer revealed that Asian population appear to obtain more benefit from ICI than non-Asian patients even in ESCC subgroups. Whether this observation could be explained by the immunogenomic difference between Asian and non-Asian ESCC remains uncertain. Methods: We retrieved the data of genetic alterations and gene expression profiling from ESCC patients of TCGA dataset, and compared the mutational profiles, immune subtypes, composition of immune cell infiltrates, and T cell-related signatures between Asian and Non-Asian patients with ESCC. Abundance of immune cell infiltrates were estimated by averaging expression values of the corresponding immune cells’ transcriptomic markers defined by Danaher et al. (J Immunother Cancer. 2017; 5:18.). The 6 immune subtypes were adopted from Thorsson et al (Immunity. 2018;48(4):812-830). The T-cell related signatures were determined by averaging the corresponding genes' expression values following previous reports. Results: We retrieved 93 patients with ESCC (Asian: non-Asian= 45: 48) from TCGA database. There is no statistical difference in overall survival between Asian and non-Asian ESCC patients. Higher mutation frequencies of TP53, NFE2L2, ZNF750, and lower mutation frequency of SMARCA4 were seen in Asian patients than in non-Asian patients. As for the immune contexture, we found that the composition of immune cell infiltrate, the distribution of immune subtypes, and a variety of T cell-related gene signatures including the 6-gene interferon-gamma signature, the 10-gene interferon-gamma signature defined by Merck or by Ribas et al, and the 13-gene inflammatory signature defined by Gajewski et al, were not significantly different between Asian and non-Asian groups. Conclusions: Our analysis failed to identify statistically significant difference in the immunogenomics of ESCC tumors between Asian and non-Asian patients in the TCGA cohort. Further immunogenomic studies focusing on patients from Asian countries with high ESCC prevalence are warranted.

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte Ratio and Use of Antibiotics Associated With Prognosis in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients Receiving Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

BACKGROUND/AIM

This study explored the prognostic significance of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and use of antibiotics in advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients were enrolled from two referral centers in Taiwan. Clinical benefit was defined as complete response, partial response, or a stable disease for ≥6 months via Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors 1.1. Clinicopathological factors' impact on overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) was analyzed via Cox proportional hazards model.

RESULTS

Forty-nine patients were enrolled. The median PFS and OS were 1.8 and 6.1 months, respectively. The median NLR at baseline was 6.40, and 21 patients received antibiotics. Both high NLR and use of antibiotics were associated with inferior PFS (p=0.028 and p<0.001, respectively) and OS (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively) in multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSION

High NLR and use of antibiotics were associated with inferior survival in advanced ESCC patients receiving ICIs.

Outcome of stage IV cancer patients receiving in-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation: a population-based cohort study

The effects of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on patients with advanced cancer remain to be elucidated. We identified a cohort of patients with stage-IV cancer who received in-hospital CPR from the Taiwan Cancer Registry and National Health Insurance claims database, along with a matched cohort without cancer who also received in-hospital CPR. The main outcomes were post-discharge survival and in-hospital mortality. In total, 3,446 stage-IV cancer patients who underwent in-hospital CPR after cancer diagnosis were identified during January 2009–June 2014. A vast majority of the patients did not survive to discharge (n = 2,854, 82.8%). The median post-discharge survival was 22 days; 10.1% (n = 60; 1.7% of all patients) of the hospital survivors received anticancer therapy after discharge. We created 1:1 age–, sex–, Charlson comorbidity index (CCI)–, and year of CPR–matched noncancer and stage-IV cancer cohorts (n = 3,425 in both; in-hospital mortality rate = 82.1% and 82.8%, respectively). Regression analysis showed that the stage-IV cancer cohort had shorter post-discharge survival than did the noncancer cohort. The outcome of patients with advanced cancer was poor. Even among the survivors, post-discharge survival was short, with only few patients receiving further anticancer therapy.

Persistently elevated soluble MHC class I polypeptide-related sequence A and transforming growth factor-β1 levels are poor prognostic factors in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma after definitive chemoradiotherapy

We evaluated the prognostic significance of immunologic inhibitory biomarkers in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients undergoing definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Thirty patients were prospectively enrolled. Plasma levels of soluble MHC class I polypeptide-related sequence A (sMICA) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) were measured before and 2 weeks after CRT. The median follow-up was 32.9 months (range: 12.4-40.6 months). The pre-treatment sMICA (p < 0.001) and TGF-β1 (p < 0.001) levels were significantly increased in HNSCC patients, compared to healthy controls. In HNSCC patients, the median pre-CRT and post-CRT sMICA levels were 43.1 pg/mL and 65.3 pg/mL, respectively, while the median pre-CRT and post-CRT TGF-β1 levels were 57.7 ng/mL and 36.0 ng/mL, respectively. After CRT, 19 patients (63.3%) exhibited persistently elevated sMICA, six patients (20.0%) exhibited persistently elevated TGF-β1, and five patients (16.7%) exhibited persistently elevated sMICA and TGF-β1. Patients with persistently elevated sMICA and TGF-β1 after CRT experienced an earlier tumor progression (p = 0.030), and poor overall survival (p = 0.010). Our results suggest that HNSCC patients who exhibit persistently elevated sMICA and TGF-β1 levels after CRT are at higher risk of tumor progression or death.

Number of Resected Lymph Nodes and Survival of Patients with Locally Advanced Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Receiving Preoperative Chemoradiotherapy

BACKGROUND

The association of extended lymph node (LN) dissection with improved outcomes in patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) who received preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) followed by surgery is debatable.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We reviewed data from patients with esophageal cancer enrolled in three phase II clinical trials of preoperative paclitaxel and cisplatin-based CRT during 2000-2012. Patients with ESCC who underwent planned esophagectomy were enrolled. The number of resected LNs and other clinicopathological factors were analyzed regarding their impact on progression-free (PFS) and overall (OS) survival using Cox proportional hazards model.

RESULTS

In total, 139 patients were included. The median PFS and OS were 24.4 and 31.8 months, respectively. The median number of resected and positive LNs were 19 (range=2-96) and 0 (range=0-9), respectively. The mean number of positive LNs did not differ significantly among quartile groups of total resected LNs (quartile 1: 2-12, 2: 13-19, 3: 20-29, and 4: 30-96). The resected LN number analyzed as dichotomies divided by the median or as continuous variables was not associated with PFS or OS. However, in an exploratory analysis, patients of quartiles 2 and 3 had longer PFS and OS than those with quartiles of 1 and 4 in multivariate analysis (p=0.019 and 0.005, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Although extensive LN dissection was not associated with improved survival, resection of 13-29 LNs was associated with improved survival in patients with locally advanced ESCC receiving preoperative paclitaxel and cisplatin-based CRT.

Validation of the postneoadjuvant therapy pathological stage of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 8th Edition for predicting outcomes of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients receiving neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) followed by esophagectomy

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Background: The AJCC 8th edition staging system introduces a new postneoadjuvant therapy staging category (ypTNM-8th) for ESCC patients receiving neoadjuvant treatment followed by esophagectomy. Whether this new staging category has better prognostic prediction than the pathological staging category of AJCC 7th edition (ypTNM-7th) needs validation. Methods: We enrolled ESCC patients receiving neoadjuvant paclitaxel/cisplatin-based CRT (RT = 40Gy) followed by esophagectomy from three phase II trials conducted in the National Taiwan University Hospital. The prognostic prediction abilities of the ypTNM-8th and the ypTNM-7th on patients’ survivals were compared using Cox regression, concordance index (C-index), R-square, and Akaike information criteria (AIC). Results: A total 135 patients (M:F = 127: 8, median age:53.0 years) were enrolled. With a median follow-up of 31.3 months, the median PFS and OS of all patients were 24.4 months (95% CI: 15.4-33.5) and 33.9 months (95% CI: 22.6-45.1), respectively. In univariate analysis, both ypTNM-8th and ypTNM-7th had statistically significant prognostic effects for PFS and OS. In multivariate analysis on OS, the ypTNM-8th demonstrated a statistically significant predicting effect (P = 0.015) while the ypTNM-7th did not (P = 0.051). Although there is no statistically different between ypTNM-8th and ypTNM-7th by R-square analysis, the ypTNM-8th had lower AIC and C-index for both PFS and OS, meaning an better efficiency of predicting survivals, than ypTNM-7th. Conclusions: The new ypTNM-8th may have better prognostic prediction for OS of locally advanced ESCC patients receiving neoadjuvant CRT than the ypTNM-7th. (Granted by 106-HCH029)

The recurrence patterns and post-recurrence survivals in patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) treated with preoperative paclitaxel/cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy

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Background: More than half of patients (pts) with locally advanced ESCC would have disease recurrence after curative preoperative chemoradiation (CRT) followed by surgery. Whether recurrence pattern correlates with the post-recurrence survival remains uncertain. Methods: We included 131 pts with locally advanced ESCC (clinical T3N0-1M0 or T1-3N1M0 or M1a according to AJCC 6thedition) who were enrolled in 3 phase II clinical trials of preoperative CRT followed by surgery and had successfully completed CRT and surgery. These pts received preoperative twice weekly paclitaxel/cisplatin-based CRT with radiotherapy 40Gy given in 20 fractions followed by esophagectomy. When pts had first disease recurrence, we divided them into three groups according to their recurrence patterns: loco-regional recurrence (LRR), distant metastasis only (DM), and both LRR and DM (LRR+DM). Survival outcomes were compared using the Kaplan-Meier curves. Results: With a median follow-up of 34.8 months, 75 pts (57.3%) had disease recurrence (Table 1) and the median post-recurrence survival of these pts is 6.7 months (m). Among them, 24 pts (32.0%) had LRR, 19 (25.3%) pts had DM, and 32 pts (42.7%) had LRR+DM. There is no statistical difference of the post-recurrence survivals (Fig. 1) among 3 groups (5.4, 7.5, 4.9m, p = 0.43 in LRR, DM, and LRR+DM group respectively). It is noteworthy that 4 pts in the DM group with limited distant metastasis (1 had brain metastasis, 3 had lung metastasis) had long post-recurrence survival (56.2+, 51.6+, 13.8+, 13.1+m) after receiving metastasectomy with or without chemotherapy. Conclusions: The post-recurrencesurvival of locally advanced ESCC pts who received preoperative CRT followed by surgerywere similar regardless of recurrence pattern (loco-regional recurrence or both loco-regional and distant failure). However, in pts with limited metastasis, curative metastasectomy might provide the opportunity of achieving long-term survival. (The work was supported by the Grant of MOST 103-2314-B-002-092, MOST 104-2314-B-002-111- and HCH104-024)

The Prognostic Impact of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus on Early Cervical Cancer in Asia

BACKGROUND

Many studies have shown that type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) increases the risk for several types of cancer but not cervical cancer (CC). Although DM and insulin-like growth factor 1 have preclinical and clinical implications for CC, less is known about the prognostic impact of DM on patients with early stage CC.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We used the nationwide Taiwan Cancer Registry database to collect the characteristics of stage I-IIA cervical cancer patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2008. DM and other comorbidities were retrieved from the National Health Insurance database. Cervical cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) times of patients according to DM status were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. We used a Cox proportional hazards model to calculate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for the effects of DM and other risk factors on mortality.

RESULTS

A total of 2,946 patients had primary stage I-IIA CC and received curative treatments, and 284 (9.6%) had DM. The 5-year CSS and OS rates for patients with DM were significantly lower than those without DM (CSS: 85.4% vs. 91.5%; OS: 73.9% vs. 87.9%). After adjusting for clinicopathologic variables and comorbidities, DM remained an independent unfavorable prognostic factor for CSS (adjusted HR: 1.46) and OS (adjusted HR: 1.55).

CONCLUSION

In Asian patients with early cervical cancer, DM is an independent unfavorable prognostic factor influencing both OS and CSS, even after curative treatments.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) increases the incidence of several types of cancer but not cervical cancer (CC); however, less is known about the impact of DM on patients who already have CC. This study suggests that DM may increase the risk of cancer recurrence and death for early stage CC patients, even after curative treatments. Incorporating DM control should be considered part of the continuum of care for early stage CC patients, and close surveillance during routine follow-up in this population is recommended.

Molecular-targeted therapy for chemotherapy-refractory gastric cancer: a case report and literature review

The prognosis of advanced gastric cancer (AGC) remains poor despite therapeutic advances in recent decades. Several recent positive phase III trials established the efficacy of second-line chemotherapy for metastatic gastric cancer in prolonging overall survival. However, malnutrition and poor performance of AGC in late stages usually preclude such patients from intensive treatment. Many targeted-therapies failed to show a significant survival benefit in AGC, but have regained attention after the positive result of ramucirumab was announced last year. Among all targeted agents, only trastuzumab, a monoclonal antibody against Human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) protein, has been proven as having survival benefit by addition to first-line chemotherapy. Herein we reported a patient who benefited from adding trastuzumab to the same second-line combination chemotherapy (paclitaxel, 5-fluorouracil, and leucovorin) upon progression of bulky liver metastases. At least five months of progression-free survival were achieved without any additional toxicity. We also reviewed literature of molecularly-targeted therapy for chemotherapy-refractory gastric cancer, including several large phase III trials (REGARD, GRANITE-1, EXPAND, and REAL-3) published in 2013-2014.