CREAM study: Clinical correlation between immunotherapy-RElated clinical outcome and intestinal microbiote in metastatic patients

TPS215

Background: It's known that composition of intestinal flora can influence the development of inflammatory gastrointestinal diseases, even though the association of inflammation with specific intestinal microbes is still unknown, because the inflammation and its treatment can change the composition of microbiote. Some bacterial species are essential to maintain the mucosal physiological tolerance, although species such as Bacteroides, Clostridium and Faecalibacterium can induce the up-regulation of T-cells and stimulate the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines. Innovative therapies such as anti-CTLA-4 antibody and inhibitors of the PD-1 receptor are particularly involved in the up-regulation of lymphocyte system: among their side effects, the most relevant are those immune-mediated such as hypophysitis, thyroiditis and colitis. In particular this last one usually occurs within 16weeks from the start of treatment: about one third of patients develop intestinal inflammation of any grade as a result of immune system dysregulation. So, the high incidence of colitis in patients treated with immunotherapy offers the possibility to characterize the intestinal microbiote before the development of immune-mediated inflammation. In addition, our curiosity has been oriented to the response to immunotherapy and the HLA class expressed by our patients: which any better predictor of response to immunological treatment than this one? Methods: Our is a single-center study of clinical and biological parameters prospectively stratified. Specifically, we collect from patients eligible for immunotherapy a blood sample to analyze HLA class and an other one to analyze serum cytokines levels, inflammatory indices and a sample of fecal material at baseline and at least after 3 administrations of treatment: actually we enrolled 34 out of 40 planned patients; we suppose to complete the enrollment in 2 months. According to preliminary data published in literature, we expect to find an alteration of intestinal microbiote in metastatic patients treated with immunotherapy. Once we'll identify it, we want to assess whether there is any correlation with the patient's clinical outcome.

Prognostic neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in head and neck cancer: A single center experience

e17540

Background: The Neutrophil-to-Lymphocytes ratio (NLR) represents a potential prognostic and predictive marker in a different tumor types. The purpose of our study was to investigate the prognostic value of the pretreatment inflammatory marker NLR in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Methods: Pretreatment NLR were retrospectively investigated for correlation with overall survival (OS). Kaplan-Meier statistic and long rang test were used. Univariate analysis for categorical and descriptive variables were performed. Results: Thirty-nine patients, from local to advanced stage disease, were included in our analysis. At a median follow up of 9.44 months (2.04 – 30.3), of the total patients 30.7% died and 41.9% had progression of disease. The median PFS was 4.6 months (2.9 – 27.2) and the median OS (mOS) was 18.9 months. Following ROC curve analysis the optimum cut-off value of NLR was 3.93 (p = 0.017). Patient with NLR > 3.92 had a mOS of 11.9 months, whereas the mOS for NLR ≤ 3.92 was 30.3 months (Log-rank p = 0.189). The 1 year Kaplan-Meier estimates of OS for NLR ≤ 3.92 vs. >3.92 was 72% vs. 45% respectively (Log-rank p = 0.243). According to COX univariate analysis, the risk of death increases of 7.7% each unitary rise of NLR mean value (p = 0.3407). Conclusions: In our limited case series NLR was not significantly associated with clinical outcome. Therefore, multicenter studied are needed to determine an optimal NLR cutoff value. [Table: see text]

Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in gastrointestinal tumors: Controversies and future clinical implications

Chronic inflammation following infections, autoimmune diseases or exposure to environmental irritants plays a crucial role in tumor development and influences the host immune response to neoplastic cells. The presence of an anti-tumor immune infiltrate is often associated with better outcomes in gastro-intestinal primary cancers, particularly in those with high microsatellite instability (MSI-H). Immunotherapeutic drugs inhibiting the PD-1 and PD-L1 pathway showed promising results in the treatment of these patients in the metastatic setting. The aim of this review is to resume the role tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) play in gastrointestinal tumors, underlining their potential value as a prognostic and predictive biomarker. TILs assessment could identify subsets of patients with high extent of TILs and better prognosis, that could be spared from adjuvant systemic treatments. Immune infiltration parameters might be additional predictors of a greater benefit from the immunotherapy with the immune checkpoint blockade.

Neuromuscular and vascular hamartoma of the small intestine

Neuromuscular and vascular hamartoma is an extremely rare stricturing condition of the small bowel. It consists of abnormal mixtures of intestinal tissues: disorganized fascicles of smooth muscle derived from the submucosa, bundles of nonmyelinated nerve fibers with scattered abnormal ganglion cells and hemangiomatous vessels, occurring focally and causing recurrent obstructive symptoms or occult chronic gastrointestinal bleeding. In this paper we report our experience with this tumor.

[Neuromuscular and vascular hamartoma of the small intestine. Report of a clinical case and review of the literature]

We present the case of a 50-year old patient, operated on for three adjoining annular strictures in the jejunum with proximal dilatation. He presented with a one-year history of recurrent cramping in the upper abdomen and vomiting, with two episodes of intestinal obstruction. Microscopic examination of the stricture revealed, in the submucosa, disorganised fascicles of smooth muscle derived from the muscularis mucosae, bundles of non-myelinated nerve fibres with scattered abnormal ganglion cells and haemangiomatous vessels. The pathological findings observed were similar to those described as neuromuscular and vascular hamartoma, a rare stricturing condition of the small intestine. Many authors have questioned the hamartomatous nature of this disorder, since identical features may be seen in Crohn's disease, in ischaemic enteritis, in radiation enteritis and in non-steroidal antiinflammatory drug-induced small intestinal strictures. On the basis of a review of the 5 previously described cases and of our own experience, we believe that neuro muscular and vascular hamartoma of the small bowel should be considered as a distinct entity if histological hallmarks of Crohn's disease are absent, in patients with no history of gastrointestinal disease, or of chronic ingestion of non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs.

Congenital hepatic dysplasia from cytomegalovirus

The Authors report on a case of liver dysplasia in a four-month-old infant affected by prenatal cytomegalovirus infection. Immunologic, histologic and ultrastructural studies suggest an embryopathic origin of the lesions.