A phase II, multicenter, single-arm trial of eribulin in patients with bevacizumab-resistant recurrent glioblastoma

2036

Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the worst prognostic cancers and there is no effective treatment after failure of bevacizumab. Eribulin is a microtubule inhibitor used for the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer and liposarcoma. We previously reported that eribulin strongly inhibits the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) activity of TERT protein in cancer cells, and has a strong anti-tumor effect against GBM cells with TERT promoter mutation. In this study we aim to investigate the efficacy and safety of eribulin in patients with bevacizumab-resistant recurrent GBM. Methods: This is an open-label, multicenter, single-arm phase II trial. Eligible patients aged 20-75 years with bevacizumab-resistant recurrent GBM were enrolled from 2018-2020. Patients received eribulin 1.4 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 of 21-day cycle until disease progression or intolerable toxicity was observed. The primary endpoint was one-year overall survival rate (1yOS%). The 35 patients are needed to achieve an 80% power at a one-sided alpha of 10%, under threshold 1yOS% of 10% and expected 1yOS% of 25%. Results: Thirty-seven patients aged 26-73 (median: 54) years were treated. Twenty-six of 37 (70.3%) patients were diagnosed as IDH-wildtype GBM, 4 (10.8%) were with IDH-mutant GBM and 7 (18.9%) were GBM, NOS. Thirty-four (91.9%) patients had a Karnofsky performance status of 70 or 80 at the registration. Thirty-one (83.8%) patients received additional treatments, including 28 (75.7%) bevacizumab, 11 (29.7%) re-irradiation and 3 (8.1%) resection after failure of eribulin. Among 37 subjects, 32 surgical specimens were analyzed for TERT promoter mutation and 15 for RdRP activity. 1yOS% was 29.7% [80% CI: 20.5 to 39.5 (p < 0.0001), 95% CI: 16.1 to 44.6]. Median OS was 9.0 months [95% CI: 6.2 to 11.0] and median progression-free survival was 1.5 months [95% CI: 1.4 to 1.7]. Neither TERT nor RdRP statuses was associated with prolonged OS. Among all the target lesions evaluated, two lesions decreased more than 50% in size and the patients survived more than one year, however no obvious PR was confirmed at the final evaluation. The disease control rate was 25.7% [95% CI: 12.5 to 43.3]. Common ≥ grade 2 AEs were neutropenia (70.3%), leukopenia (56.8%), lymphopenia (27.0%), elevation of γ-GTP (13.5%), elevation of ALT (10.8%), elevation of AST (8.1%), alopecia (8.1%). Treatment-related grade 3 or 4 AEs occurred in 59.5% of subjects. There were no AEs leading to death. Conclusions: Eribulin was safely applied for the patients with recurrent GBM. This phase II study met its primary endpoint of 1yOS%, although no obvious response was observed. Further investigation to reveal the biomarkers related to longer survival is underway. Clinical trial information: UMIN000030359.

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio as a prognostic factor for patients with metastatic or recurrent breast cancer treated using capecitabine: a retrospective study

Background

Eribulin or capecitabine monotherapy is the next cytotoxic chemotherapy option for patients with metastatic or recurrent breast cancer who have previously received an anthracycline or a taxane. However, it is unclear what factors can guide the selection of eribulin or capecitabine in this setting, and prognostic factors are needed to guide appropriate treatment selection. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a prognostic factor for eribulin-treated patients, although it is unclear whether it is a prognostic factor for capecitabine-treated patients. Therefore, we analysed the ability of the NLR to predict oncological outcomes among patients who received capecitabine after previous anthracycline or taxane treatment for breast cancer.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with metastatic or recurrent breast cancer who had previously received anthracycline or taxane treatment at the National Cancer Center Hospital between 2007 and 2015. Patients were included if they received eribulin or capecitabine monotherapy as first-line, second-line, or third-line chemotherapy. Analyses of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were performed according to various factors.

Results

Between 2007 and 2015, we identified 125 eligible patients, including 46 patients who received only eribulin, 34 patients who received only capecitabine, and 45 patients who received eribulin and capecitabine. The median follow-up period was 19.1 months. Among eribulin-treated patients, an NLR of <3 independently predicted better OS. Among capecitabine-treated patients, an NLR of <3 independently predicted better PFS but not better OS. In addition, a lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio of ≥5 was associated with better PFS and OS.

Conclusions

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate whether the NLR is a prognostic factor for capecitabine-treated patients with metastatic or recurrent breast cancer. However, the NLR only independently predicted PFS in this setting, despite it being a useful prognostic factor for other chemotherapies.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-021-09112-9.

Risk Factors of Severe Benign Cicatricial Stricture After Definitive Chemoradiation for Localized T3 Esophageal Carcinoma

BACKGROUND/AIM

Severe benign cicatricial stricture (SBCS) is a major complication after definitive chemoradiation therapy (dCRT) for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). This study was conducted to investigate risk factors of SBCS in patients with localized ESCC.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This study included 197 patients with clinical stage (cSt) II/III ESCC with T3 primary tumor, treated with dCRT between 2000 and 2011. SBCS was defined as the inability to pass a 9-mm diameter endoscope or the presence of symptoms requiring treatment.

RESULTS

Complete response was obtained in 87 patients (44%). Multivariate analysis revealed that hypoalbuminemia (hazard ratio=5.65; 95% confidence interval=1.50-21.28; p=0.010) and the inability to pass an endoscope (hazard ratio=5.90; 95% confidence interval=1.52-22.85; p=0.010) were risk factors of SBCS.

CONCLUSION

The inability to pass an endoscope and hypoalbuminemia were identified as risk factors of SBCS in patients with cSt II/III ESCC with T3 primary tumor.

Serum microRNA-based prediction of responsiveness to eribulin in metastatic breast cancer

The identification of biomarkers for predicting the responsiveness to eribulin in patients with metastatic breast cancer pretreated with an anthracycline and a taxane remains an unmet need. Here, we established a serum microRNA (miRNA)-based prediction model for the emergence of new distant metastases after eribulin treatment. Serum samples were collected from metastatic breast cancer patients prior to eribulin treatment and comprehensively evaluated by miRNA microarray. The prediction model for estimating eribulin efficacy was established using the logistic LASSO regression model. Serum samples were collected from 147 patients, of which 52 developed at least one new distant metastasis after eribulin monotherapy and 95 did not develop new distant metastases. A combination of eight serum miRNAs (miR-4483, miR-8089, miR-4755-3p, miR-296-3p, miR-575, miR-4710, miR-5698 and miR-3160-5p) predicted the appearance of new distant metastases with an area under the curve of 0.79, sensitivity of 0.69 and specificity of 0.82. The serum levels of miR-8089 and miR-5698 were significantly associated with overall survival after the initiation of eribulin treatment. The present study provides evidence that serum miRNA profiling may serve as a biomarker for the responsiveness to eribulin and for predicting the development of new distant metastases in metastatic breast cancer.