5-year Relapse-free Survival Research Articles

Treatment Outcomes in Patients with Conjunctival Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue (MALT) Lymphoma.

To report the outcomes of different therapies in patients with conjunctival mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. This retrospective study included patients diagnosed with conjunctival MALT lymphoma between August 2000 and April 2022. Patients were classified into three groups according to their treatment: an observation group, a radiation therapy (RT) group, and a rituximab group (rituximab with or without chemotherapy). We analyzed overall survival (OS), overall, local, and systemic relapse-free survival (RFS), and adverse events after treatment. This study included 15 patients (22 eyes). The 10-year OS was 100%. The 2-, 5-, and 10-year overall RFS rates were 80.1%, 41.2%, and 41.2% in all patients, respectively. The 2- and 5-year local RFS rates in the observation group were 100% and 0%, respectively. The 2-, 5-, and 10-year local RFS rates were 87%, 87%, and 87% in the RT group and 83%, 67%, and 67% in the rituximab group, respectively. The 2- and 5-year systemic RFS rates in the observation group were both 100%, and the 2-, 5-, and 10-year systemic RFS rates were 92%, 55%, and 55% in the RT group, and 100%, 60%, and 60% in the rituximab group, respectively. After RT, 53.3% of the eyes developed cataracts and 75% of these were treated with cataract surgery. In addition, 53.3% of the eyes developed dry eyes and were treated with eye drops. Rituximab with or without chemotherapy resulted in some systemic adverse events, but these improved following symptomatic therapies. RT resulted in good local control of conjunctival MALT lymphoma; however, systemic relapse may occur during long-term follow-up. Local and/or systemic relapse may also occur during long-term follow-up in patients treated by observation or rituximab with or without chemotherapy. Patients with conjunctival MALT lymphoma should be followed-up carefully for as long as possible after treatment.

Investigating the Efficacy and Safety of a Dose-Dense Paclitaxel, Cyclophosphamide With Trastuzumab in Stage I-II Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2) Positive Breast Cancer

BackgroundThe evolution of systemic therapies has improved outcomes for patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive (HER2+) breast cancer. Nonetheless, the tolerability and safety profile of systemic therapies represent an area for further improvement. Here we report the results of a phase 2 trial evaluating a nonanthracycline, nonplatinum adjuvant treatment regimen for patients following initial surgical resection. MethodsWe enrolled patients with stage I or II HER2+ breast cancer who underwent upfront surgery to receive adjuvant treatment with 6 cycles of dose-dense Paclitaxel, cyclophosphamide and Trastuzumab (PC-H) every 2 weeks, followed by 13 cycles of maintenance trastuzumab every 3 weeks to complete 52 weeks of treatment (compromising 19 cycles). The primary objective was to determine the safety and feasibility of adjuvant PC-H, measured by the completion rate frequency and the grade of adverse events, using National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria. The secondary objective was to estimate relapse-free survival and overall survival. ResultsBetween 2010 and 2019, a total of 39 patients were enrolled. Of those, 34 patients (87.18%) completed the planned treatment. Severe adverse events of grade 3 or 4 occurred in 27 patients (69.23%), including 3 patients (7.69%) with grade 3-4 decrease in ejection fraction. At median follow up of 5.6 years, all 39 patients were alive. The 5-year relapse-free survival was 94.30% (95% CI: 75.3-100). ConclusionsPC-H demonstrated overall safety and efficacy, yielding high rates of relapse-free survival among patients with early stage (HER2+) breast cancer.

Mismatch Repair (MMR) Gene Mutation Carriers Have Favorable Outcome in Colorectal and Endometrial Cancer: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Germline (Lynch syndrome, LS) and somatic deficiencies of mismatch repair proteins (MMRd) are linked to colorectal and endometrial cancer; however, their prognostic impact in Asian populations remains unclear. This prospective cohort study aimed to determine the prevalence and outcome of germline and somatic MMRd in cancer patients suspected of LS. Patients with colorectal or endometrial cancer suspected of LS were enrolled and underwent gene sequencing for germline MMRd (gMMRd) and immunohistochemistry staining of MMR proteins in a subset of the pathological samples (pMMRd). Among the 451 enrolled patients, 36 patients were gMMRd (+). Compared with gMMRd (-) patients, the 10-year relapse-free survival in gMMRd (+) patients was significantly higher (100% vs. 77.9%; p = 0.006), whereas the 10-year overall survival was similar (100% vs. 90.9%; p = 0.12). Among the 102 gMMRd (-) patients with available pMMR status, 13.7% were pMMRd (+). The 5-year relapse-free survival was 62.9% in gMMRd (-) pMMRd (+) patients and 35.0% in gMMRd (-) pMMRd (-) patients, both lower than gMMRd (+) patients (100%; p < 0.001). This study showed that having LS confers a favorable outcome in colorectal and endometrial cancer patients and highlights the importance of germline genetic testing following the detection of somatic MMRd.

Risks and Outcomes of Early Dose Reduction in Adjuvant CAPOX Therapy for Colorectal Cancer.

Adjuvant capecitabine and oxaliplatin (CAPOX) therapy is standard strategy for colorectal cancer with risk of recurrence. Early dose reduction (EDR) of CAPOX therapy is commonly used in real-world practice. However, there is limited evidence regarding the effectiveness of CAPOX for patients who had EDR. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify the risks of EDR and its effect on long-term outcomes and body composition factors. Patients who received CAPOX therapy after radical surgery for colorectal cancer between June 2013 and December 2021 were included. EDR was defined as dose reduction within four courses of CAPOX therapy. Body composition factors were measured for 1 year following surgery to determine the EDR effects. Eighty-four patients were included; 35 (42%) of them had EDR. The multivariate analysis revealed that underweight [odds ratio (OR)=4.95, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.13-21.7, p=0.03] was a risk factor for EDR. Relapse-free survival (RFS) was significantly better in the non-EDR group (p=0.01). The 5-year RFS rates for the non-EDR and EDR groups were 88.7% and 65.4%, respectively. The multivariate analysis revealed that age >65 years [hazard ratio (HR)=3.97; 95% CI=1.16-13.62, p=0.03] and EDR (HR=7.62; 95% CI=1.71-33.91, p=0.005) were associated with poorer RFS. The 1-year body composition analysis revealed decreases in all factors in the EDR group. Preoperative underweight status was associated with EDR, which resulted in decreased RFS and body composition factors when compared with the non-EDR group. Therefore, avoiding EDR and early nutritional intervention after EDR may improve outcomes.

Adjuvant nivolumab plus chemotherapy versus placebo plus chemotherapy for stage III gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction cancer after gastrectomy with D2 or more extensive lymph-node dissection (ATTRACTION-5): a randomised, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial

In Asia, adjuvant chemotherapy after gastrectomy with D2 or more extensive lymph-node dissection is standard treatment for people with pathological stage III gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of adjuvant nivolumab plus chemotherapy versus placebo plus chemotherapy administered in this setting. ATTRACTION-5 was a randomised, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial conducted at 96 hospitals in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China. Eligible patients were aged between 20 years and 80 years with histologically confirmed pathological stage IIIA-C gastric or GEJ adenocarcinoma after gastrectomy with D2 or more extensive lymph-node dissection, with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status score of 0 or 1 and available tumour tissue for PD-L1 expression analysis. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either nivolumab plus chemotherapy or placebo plus chemotherapy via an interactive web-response system with block sizes of four. Investigational treatment, either nivolumab 360 mg or placebo, was administered intravenously for 30 min once every 3 weeks. Adjuvant chemotherapy was administered as either tegafur-gimeracil-oteracil (S-1) at an initial dose of 40 mg/m2 per dose orally twice per day for 28 consecutive days, followed by 14 days off per cycle, or capecitabine plus oxaliplatin consisting of an initial dose of intravenous oxaliplatin 130 mg/m2 for 2 h every 21 days and capecitabine 1000 mg/m2 per dose orally twice per day for 14 consecutive days, followed by 7 days off treatment. The primary endpoint was relapse-free survival by central assessment. The intention-to-treat population, consisting of all randomly assigned patients, was used for analysis of efficacy endpoints. The safety population, defined as patients who received at least one dose of trial drug, was used for analysis of safety endpoints. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03006705) and is closed. Between Feb 1, 2017, and Aug 15, 2019, 755 patients were randomly assigned to receive either adjuvant nivolumab plus chemotherapy (n=377) or adjuvant placebo plus chemotherapy (n=378). 267 (71%) of 377 patients in the nivolumab group and 263 (70%) of 378 patients in the placebo group were male; 110 (29%) of 377 patients in the nivolumab group and 115 (31%) of 378 patients in the placebo group were female. 745 patients received assigned treatment (371 in the nivolumab plus chemotherapy group; 374 in the placebo plus chemotherapy group), which was the safety population. Median time from first dose to data cutoff was 49·1 months (IQR 43·1-56·7). 3-year relapse-free survival was 68·4% (95% CI 63·0-73·2) in the nivolumab plus chemotherapy group and 65·3% (59·9-70·2) in the placebo plus chemotherapy group; the hazard ratio for relapse-free survival was 0·90 (95·72% CI 0·69-1·18; p=0·44). Treatment-related adverse events occurred in 366 (99%) of 371 patients in the nivolumab plus chemotherapy group and 364 (98%) of 374 patients in the placebo plus chemotherapy group. Discontinuation due to adverse events was more frequent in the nivolumab plus chemotherapy group (34 [9%] of 371 patients) than the placebo plus chemotherapy group (13 [4%] of 374 patients). The most common treatment-related adverse events were decreased appetite, nausea, diarrhoea, neutrophil count decreased, and peripheral sensory neuropathy. The results of this trial do not support the addition of nivolumab to postoperative adjuvant therapy for patients with untreated, locally advanced, resectable gastric or GEJ cancer. Ono Pharmaceutical and Bristol Myers Squibb.

NEOPRISM-CRC: Neoadjuvant pembrolizumab stratified to tumour mutation burden for high risk stage 2 or stage 3 deficient-MMR/MSI-high colorectal cancer.

LBA3504 Background: The prognostic advantage of early stage deficient-MMR/MSI-High colorectal cancer (CRC) is lost after relapse. Hence, there is a clinical imperative to maximise the chance of cure in early-stage disease. Tumour mutation burden (TMB) is an emerging biomarker for response and clinical benefit to immunotherapy in the advanced setting. NEOPRISM-CRC (Neoadjuvant PembRolizumab In Stratified Medicine – ColoReCtal) is the first multicentre Phase II Trial to determine if neoadjuvant pembrolizumab is efficacious and safe, prospectively stratified to TMB. Methods: The trial population included patients (pts) with operable high-risk stage 2 or stage 3 dMMR/MSI-High CRC. Pts with tumours that were TMB high or medium (≥6 mutations/Mb on FoundationOneCDx test) received 3 cycles of pembrolizumab (200mg every 3 weeks) and underwent surgery within 4-6 weeks of last cycle. Pts with TMB low tumours (≤5 mutations/Mb) underwent surgery 4-6 weeks after 1 cycle of pembrolizumab. The primary end point was pathological complete response rate (pCR). Secondary endpoints included 3-year relapse free survival, overall survival, safety, and health-related quality of life. The trial also incorporated translational endpoints to explore relationships between possible predictive novel biomarkers and response to pembrolizumab in blood, tumour tissue and microbiome. We required 19 pts with TMB high or medium tumours to detect a pCR after 3 cycles of neoadjuvant pembrolizumab of 33% (minimum of 10%), with one-sided 5% significance level and 80% power (A’Hern single stage). The trial would be considered a success if ³5/19 of those pts achieved pCR. To achieve this number, we aimed to recruit 32 patients in total. Results: The trial opened on 20th July 2022 and 32 pts were rapidly enrolled. The pCR primary endpoint analysis was performed on 1st March 2024. The primary endpoint was exceeded with the pCR in the intent to treat pts (N=32) as well as the pCR in evaluable tumours shown in Table 1. Median TMB was 42 mutations/Mb (4-82). There was only 1 TMB low tumour and no TMB medium tumours. In the TMB high-medium cohort there were 32 evaluable resected tumours as 1 pt had 3 synchronous primaries, and 1 pt did not undergo surgery due to toxicity as well as pt choice. There were no immune-related toxicities &gt;Grade 3. At a median follow-up of 6 months (range 2-15), no pts have had disease recurrence. Conclusions: Neoadjuvant pembrolizumab for early stage deficient-MMR/MSI-High CRC is highly efficacious and safe. Longer follow up is needed to assess relapse free survival and translational biomarker work is ongoing. Clinical trial information: NCT05197322 . [Table: see text]

Improved survival for myeloid malignancy patients receiving thiotepa/cyclophosphamide (TT/Cy) versus total body irradiation/cyclophosphamide (TBI/Cy) conditioning and allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

6555 Background: TBI/Cy is a commonly used conditioning regimen prior to allogeneic stem cell transplant (SCT). Chemotherapy only regimens, mostly containing busulfan, have been shown to be effective and less toxic in patients with myeloid malignancies. Here, we present the largest reported experience with a non-busulfan myeloablative chemotherapy regimen of TT/Cy in myeloid malignancy patients undergoing allogeneic SCT and compare outcomes with TBI/Cy. Methods: Patients with myeloid malignancies receiving allogeneic SCT at Indiana University from 2007-2020 were included. TT/Cy consisted of TT 15 mg/kg and Cy 120 mg/kg. TBI/Cy consisted of 13.2 Gy in 8 fractions and Cy 3600 mg/m2. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). Secondary endpoints included relapse-free survival (RFS), engraftment, and toxicities within the first 100 days. Median follow up for surviving patients is 2,046 (range 816-5,572) days. Results: 225 patients with AML (n=160), CML (n=45), and MDS (n=30) of median age 44 (range 19-59 years) received conditioning with TT/Cy (n=159) or TBI/Cy (n=66). Baseline characteristics were similar. For TT/Cy patients, the median OS was not reached, and 4-year OS was 57.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 49.2-65.2%), which was significantly better than with TBI/Cy, with median OS 373 days and 4-year OS 33.9% (95% CI, 22.3-45.5%; p&lt;.001). Similarly, for TT/Cy patients, the median RFS was not reached and 4-year RFS was 59.2% (95% CI, 52-67.2%), significantly better than median RFS of 341 days and 4-year RFS 35.2% (95% CI, 23.7-46.9%; p&lt;.001) for recipients of TBI/Cy. On multivariable analysis adjusting for age, sex, diagnosis, disease risk, comorbidity index (HCI), and degree of stem cell source, TT/Cy had significantly lower risk of death (HR 0.44, 95% CI, 0.30-0.65; p&lt;.001) together with female sex (p=.03) and lower HCI (p=.046). As shown in the Table summarizing secondary endpoints, TBI/Cy was associated with significantly higher rates of mucositis, sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS), TPN usage, multiorgan failure, and length of stay of primary admission. Conclusions: TT/Cy is an efficacious regimen for patients with myeloid malignancies undergoing myeloablative allogeneic SCT with less toxicity and improved RFS and OS compared with TBI/Cy. TT/Cy should be compared to other non-TBI containing busulfan-based regimens. [Table: see text]

Thiotepa/cyclophosphamide (TT/Cy) preparative regimen for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

6556 Background: Total body irradiation (TBI)-based preparative regimens have been standard for patients with ALL undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplant (SCT). It is unclear if chemotherapy-only regimens are equally efficacious. Here, we present the largest reported experience with myeloablative TT/Cy in patients with ALL undergoing allogeneic SCT and compare outcomes with TBI-based regimens. Methods: Patients with ALL receiving myeloablative allogeneic SCT at Indiana University from 2007-2020 were included. TT/Cy consisted of TT 15 mg/kg and Cy 120 mg/kg. TBI/Cy consisted of 13.2 Gy in 8 fractions and Cy 3600 mg/m2 or etoposide 60 mg/kg. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). Secondary endpoints included relapse-free survival (RFS), engraftment, and toxicities within the first 100 days. Median follow up for surviving patients is 2,532 (range 599-4,762) days. Results: 80 patients with ALL of median age 40 (range 22-59 years) received conditioning with TT/Cy (n=25) versus TBI/Cy or TBI/etoposide (n=55). Baseline characteristics were similar. For patients receiving TT/Cy, the median OS was not reached, and the 4-year OS was 54.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 34.3-74.7%), compared with a median OS of 1,491 days and a 4-year OS of 50.9% (95% CI, 37.8-64.2%) for those receiving TBI-based conditioning (p=.75). Similarly, for TT/Cy patients, the median RFS was 847 days and 4-year RFS was 43.2% (95% CI, 23.4-63%), not significantly different from median RFS of 1491 days and 4-year RFS 50.2% (95% CI 36.9-63.5; p=.232) for recipients of TBI regimens. On multivariable analysis, only a higher disease risk index was associated with significantly worse OS (p&lt;.001), while conditioning regimen was not predictive of OS. Similarly, there was no significant difference in RFS between TT/Cy and TBI-based regimens on either univariable or multivariable analysis. Secondary endpoints are summarized in the table. As shown, TT/Cy was associated with significantly lower incidence of mucositis, TPN usage, bacterial infection, sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS), and longer length of stay of primary transplant admission. Conclusions: While there was no significant difference in OS or RFS for patients receiving either TT/Cy or TBI-based conditioning, TBI was associated with greater toxicity. Our data suggests that TT/Cy is an acceptable alternative to TBI-based conditioning for ALL patients undergoing myeloablative allogeneic SCT. [Table: see text]

Identification of patients at high risk for relapse using the Merlin Assay (CP-GEP) in an independent cohort of 451 patients (pts) with stage I/II melanoma who did not undergo sentinel lymph node biopsy.

9574 Background: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is the gold standard for nodal assessment in staging cutaneous melanoma (CM) according to AJCC v8 guideline. 80-85% of pts are negative for nodal metastasis, but most pts who relapse or die from melanoma are initially diagnosed as ‘low risk’ early-stage. Previously we showed that the clinicopathological-gene expression profiling (CP-GEP) model is able to stratify SLNB negative pts for their risk of recurrence (1). Later we showed in a small cohort (n=80) that CP-GEP also has the potential to stratify pts who did not undergo SLNB in low and high-risk of recurrence (2). Here we investigate CP-GEP ability to stratify pts who did not undergo SLNB for their risk of recurrence in an expanded cohort. Methods: We analysedformalin-fixed paraffin-embedded primary tumor samples of 451 pts with stage I/II CM diagnosed between 2000-2017, included in the Central Malignant Melanoma Registry, who did not receive SLNB. Study hypothesis and protocol were prospectively formulated. Tumors were analyzed blinded to clinical outcome. The CP-GEP model used combines the expression of 8 genes ( SERPINE2, GDF15, ITGB3, CXCL8, LOXL4, TGFBR1, PLAT and MLANA) by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction with age and Breslow thickness to obtain a binary output: CP-GEP Low- or High-Risk. Relapse-free survival (RFS), distant metastasis free survival (DMFS) and Melanoma Specific Survival (MSS) were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier curves. Results: We included 451 pts (stage IA-IIC). 40% were females, median age was 63-year-old, median Breslow thickness was 0.5 mm, and the majority were not ulcerated (96%). An interim analysis was performed on samples from 159 pts and showed the following survival: 5-year RFS 85.8%; DMFS 94.1; MSS 95.7%. The median follow-up time of 57 months (RFS). CP-GEP identified 149 pts as Low-Risk and 10 pts as High-Risk. The 5-year RFS rate was 90.5% and 0% (HR 23.85; p &lt; 0.001), 5-year DMFS was 97.2% and 27% (HR 43.14; p &lt; 0.001), respectively for CP-GEP Low-Risk and High-Risk pts. The 5-year MSS was 99.1% for Low-Risk pts and 25.7% for High-Risk patients (HR 112.96; p &lt; 0.001), capturing 4 out of 5 melanoma specific deaths in the CP-GEP High-Risk group. The final survival analysis of the whole cohort will be presented at the congress. Conclusions: This study shows that CP-GEP has the potential to stratify pts with early-stage melanoma who did not undergo SLNB based on their risk of recurrence. Pts with CP-GEP Low-Risk have a good long-term survival. Contrary, pts with CP-GEP High-Risk have a high risk of recurrence. CP-GEP may have the potential to stratify pts beyond SLNB. 1. Amaral et al, ASCO 2022. 2. Amaral et al, EJC 2023.

Adjuvant S-1 vs. observation for resected biliary tract cancer: 5-year follow-up of the JCOG1202/ASCOT.

4119 Background: S-1, an oral fluoropyrimidine derivative, demonstrated significant improvement in overall survival (OS) over observation in patients with curatively resected biliary tract cancer (BTC) (hazard ratio [HR] 0.694, p=0.008; the 3-year OS, 67.6% vs. 77.1%, Lancet 2023). We present updated efficacy data based on a 5-year follow-up of JCOG1202/ASCOT. Methods: Patients aged 20-80 years who had histologically confirmed extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, gallbladder carcinoma, ampullary carcinoma, or intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in a resected specimen and had undergone R0/R1 resection were randomly assigned (1:1) to undergo observation or to receive S-1 (at the dose of 40 mg/m2 twice daily for 4 weeks, followed by 2 weeks of rest, for 4 cycles). The primary endpoint was OS, and the secondary endpoints were relapse-free survival (RFS), adverse events, and proportion of treatment completion. Results: From September 2013 to June 2018, a total of 440 patients (observation, n=222; adjuvant S-1, n=218) were enrolled. The final data cutoff date was June 23, 2023, and the median follow-up duration was 61.5 months. Of all the randomized patients, 215 (48.4%) had died (118 [53.2%] in the observation group; 97 [44.5%] in the S-1 group). The 5-year OS was 52.2% in the observation group and 64.1% in the S-1 group (stratified HR 0.723, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.551-0.948; one-sided p=0.019). Of the 440 patients, 239 (54.3%) had RFS event (127 [57.2%] in the observation group; 112 [51.4%] in the S-1 group). The 5-year RFS was 45.9% in the observation group and 53.6% in the S-1 group (unstratified HR 0.797, 95% CI 0.618-1.028, stratified HR 0.761, 95% CI 0.589-0.984 in the sensitivity analysis). Most prespecified subgroup analyses (age, primary site, stage, lymph node metastases, types of resections, and serum CA19-9 levels) revealed favorable OS and RFS for the S-1 group. Conclusions: Adjuvant S-1 therapy maintained its survival benefit in a 5-year long-term follow-up, with clinically meaningful improvement in RFS, suggesting that it could be a standard of care for BTC. Clinical trial information: UMIN000011688.

Efficacy and biomarker analysis of carboplatin plus taxanes neoadjuvant chemotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer: A prospective multicenter cohort study.

e12619 Background: The efficacy and survival data of carboplatin plus taxane (anthracycline-free) neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) was lack of a large-sample study. The predictive biomarker of efficacy based on cell-free DNA (cfDNA) whole-methylome sequencing (WMS) has not been reported yet. Methods: The prospective multi-center cohort study was conducted in four hospitals of Chinabetween 2016 and 2023. Stage II-III TNBC patients were enrolled to receive NAC of carboplatin (AUC 5) every 3 weeks or carboplatin (AUC 4) every 2 weeks plus taxane(standard dose) for 4-6 cycles. Primary study endpoint were pathological complete response (pCR) and relapse-free survival (RFS). Plasma samples were prospectively collected at baseline (T1) and after NAC(T2). Chromosomal aneuploidy of featured fragments (CAFF),fragment size index (FSI) and methylation density score (MD) of cfDNA were detected with WMS. Results: A total of 267 patients were included in the study. The median age was 49 years, 156 patients (58.4%) were stage III disease. 147 patients (55.1%) received the triweekly NAC. 263 patients underwent breast surgery after NAC and 106 patients (40.3%) achieved pCR. The pCR were similar in biweekly or triweekly groups (39.8% vs 40.7%, P=0.89). The 3-year RFS and overall survival (OS) were 77.9%, 87.6%, respectively. Patients who achieved pCR had a significant better RFS (95.5%) and OS (97.7%) than those non-pCR (76.6%, P&lt;0.001; 81.2%, P&lt;0.001). A total of 66 patients with 120 plasma samples (64 samples at T1, 56 samples at T2) were included in WMS analysis. Patients with CAFF, FSI or MD positive at T1 had a higher tumor burden (stage III or cN2-3, all P values &lt;0.05). The proportion of patients with FSI negative at T2 was significantly higher in pCR group compared to non-pCR(86.2% vs 59.3%, P=0.034). There is a similar tendency in patients with CAFF negative. Patients with MD positive at T1 was significantly associated with poor RFS compared to MD negative (HR = 7.36, 95% CI: 0.93-58.75, Log-rank P=0.028). A linear SVM model based on FSI, CAFF, combining with immune cell (effector memory CD8 T cells, immature B cells) and clinical features was developed to predict pCR, with AUC = 0.90 for training dataset and AUC = 0.86 for testing data. Conclusions: Our large-sample study further confirmed that carboplatin plus taxanes (anthracycline-free) NAC in TNBC is an effective option with clinical applicability. Biomarkers based on cfDNA WMS may offer some predictive and prognostic value which needed to be further investigated.

Phase II multi-center study of adjuvant nivolumab in combination with ipilimumab in patients with high-risk uveal melanoma (HCRN MEL17-309).

9509 Background: High-risk uveal melanomas (UM) recur distantly in over 50% by 3 years (median distant metastatic-free survival (DMFS) 32 months). No effective treatment currently exists to reduce the risk of metastatic disease and patients (pts) with metastasis have a very poor prognosis with few therapeutic options. The combination of Nivolumab/Ipilimumab (Nivo/Ipi) has shown limited efficacy in pts with metastatic UM. However, preclinical data suggest differential biology between local vs metastatic UM. We performed a prospective multi-center phase II study of adjuvant Nivo/Ipi in pts high-risk UM patients to compare DMFS to a cohort of UM with the same tumor characteristics. Methods: This investigator-initiated study enrolled pts with high-risk UM, defined as a predicted 3-year distant relapse-free survival (DMFS) of approximately 50% (based on gene expression profiling (GEP) (DecisionDx-UM) class 2 with tumor largest basal diameter (LBD) of 12mm or higher). Pts received Nivo 240mg iv every 2 weeks and Ipi 1mg/kg every 6 weeks for up to 48 weeks. The target sample size was 50 evaluable pts. The primary endpoint was 3-year DMFS. Secondary endpoints were median DMFS, overall survival (OS), and toxicity (AE). In addition, a propensity score method (double robust estimate in R adjusted curves) is used to estimate the average DMFS and compare the nonrandomized treatment (tx) and the control patients. 119 pts from the Cooperative Ocular Oncology Group (COOG) database were defined as high risk, matched for tumor characteristics (GEP class 2, LBD≧12mm) and were used as a control cohort. Results: Fifty-two pts were enrolled and 50 were treated from 12/18/2018-9/29/2021. As of 11/6/2023, with a median follow-up of 36 months, the 3-year DMFS rate vs COOG control, was 69.1% vs 45.1% (two-sided p = 0.012) without any adjustment; and 70.4% vs 43.4% (two-sided p = 0.018) with the propensity score method. The median DMFS was not reached (NR) in the tx cohort vs 33.8 months. There was a reduction in the risk of distant recurrence with Nivo/Ipi vs control cohort (RR 0.52, 95%CI, 0.309-0.888). Median OS has not been reached with only 7 deaths from UM in the tx cohort so far. Grade ≥3 any-cause AE occurred in 27 pts (54%). Grade ≥3 treatment-related (TR) AE occurred in 48%. 22 pts (44%) discontinued the treatment due to toxicity. One pt died due to immune-related myocarditis. Conclusions: This phase II study of adjuvant Nivo/Ipi resulted in clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvement in 3-year DMFS of 70.4% vs 43.4% in control for pts with high-risk UM from the COOG database matched for tumor characteristics. Further investigation of this regimen as adjuvant therapy of high-risk UM is warranted. Clinical trial information: NCT03528408 .

Induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy combined with toripalimab and Endostar in high-risk locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A multicenter, randomized, phase 2 trial.

6086 Background: Even though induction chemotherapy (IC) followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) can improve the survival rate of patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA-NPC), the recurrence and/or metastasis rates for patients with stage IV (T4 and/or N3) diseases remain high. This study investigates the efficacy and safety of adding Toripalimab (PD-1 inhibitor) and Endostar (recombinant human endostatin) to IC-CCRT in patients with high-risk LA-NPC. Methods: High-risk LA-NPC patients were randomly divided (1:1) into either the IC-CCRT+TE group (gemcitabine and cisplatin induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy combined with Toripalimab and Endostar) or the IC-CCRT group (gemcitabine and cisplatin induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy). Toripalimab (240mg, d1) was administered intravenously every 3 weeks for up to 12 cycles (3 induction, 2 concurrent, and 7 adjuvant). Endostar (7.5mg/m2, d1-10) was continuously injected intravenously every 3 weeks for a total of 5 cycles (3 induction and 2 concurrent). The primary endpoint was 3-year progression-free survival (PFS), and the secondary endpoints included 3-year overall survival (OS), 3-year locoregional relapse-free survival (LRFS), 3-year distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), objective response rate (ORR) and safety. Results: From September 7, 2020, to August 23, 2022, a total of 106 eligible patients were randomly assigned to the IC-CCRT+TE group (n = 53) and IC-CCRT group (n = 53). At a median follow-up of 25 months, the PFS was significantly improved in the IC-CCRT+TE group compared to the IC-CCRT group (HR=0.36, p=0.041). 28 patients (52.8%) in the IC-CCRT+TE group and 5 patients (9.4%) in the IC-CCRT group achieved complete response (CR) after induction chemotherapy, and the difference was statistically significant (P &lt; 0.001). The incidence of grade ≥3 acute adverse events in the IC-CCRT+TE group and IC-CCRT group was 66.0% and 62.3%, respectively. The incidence of grade ≥3 late adverse events in two groups was 5.8% and 5.7%, respectively. The incidence of grade ≥3 immune-related adverse events was only 4.7%. Conclusions: IC-CCRT combined with Toripalimab and Endostar significantly improved PFS in patients with high-risk locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and the adverse events are manageable. Clinical trial information: NCT04447326 .

A pilot trial of personalized neoantigen pulsed autologous dendritic cell vaccine as adjuvant treatment in hepatocellular carcinoma.

e16264 Background: The primary treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is radical surgery. However, HCC has a high propensity to recur postoperatively and no standard adjuvant therapies have been approved. This Phase I trial aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of an adjuvant personalized neoantigen pulsed autologous dendritic cell vaccine (Neo-DCVac-02) in patients with HCC. Methods: Eligible patients had histologically confirmed high-risk HCC after radical surgery. After obtaining the necessary baseline biopsy specimens and PBMCs of appropriate quality for DNA and RNA sequencing, neoantigen prediction, screening and synthesis were performed. Subsequently, leukapheresis was performed and DCs were isolated and cultured. DCs were then pulsed with neoantigen peptides to produce Neo-DCVac-02. On day 0, patients were treated with cyclophosphamide at a dose of 250 mg/m2. The prepared Neo-DCVac-02 vaccine was administered subcutaneously to the axillary and inguinal regions bilaterally on day 1, followed by daily administration of GM-CSF at a dose of 0.075 mg for 5 days (days 2-6). The primary objectives of this study were to assess feasibility and safety/tolerability. Secondary objectives included evaluation of immune responses (via vaccine response: IFNγ ELISpot), relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS). Results: A total of 32 patients provided informed consent to initiate the process of personalized neoantigen discovery, of which 26 (81%) met the requirements for successful product selection for clinical manufacturing. Feasibility was demonstrated with 13 patients receiving Neo-DCVac-02. 13 patients did not receive the neoantigen vaccine (7 due to progressive disease, 6 due to withdrawal of informed consent because of COVID-19). The treatment was well tolerated with no grade 2+ treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs). The most common Grade 1 TRAEs were injection site reactions (75%), rash (16.7%), fatigue (8.3%), neutropenia (8.3%), and headache (8.3%). Five of 13 evaluable patients showed increased antigen-specific T-cell activity and more than 50% of the neoantigen peptides in Neo-DCVac-02, and sustained cellular responses were observed up to one year. Increases in T-cell activation/co-stimulation seen after treatment with Neo-DCVac-02, as demonstrated by flow cytometric analysis, suggest immune priming. At a median follow-up of 29.7 months, median RFS was not reached, with 1- and 2-year RFS of 84.6% and 60%, respectively, and all patients are alive. Patients with a strong immune response had a longer median relapse-free survival (not reached) compared to patients with a weak immune response (17.6 months, P = 0.003). Conclusions: These data demonstrate that Neo-DCVac-02 is safe, well tolerated and capable of inducing durable antigen-specific lymphocyte immune responses that may correlate with delayed HCC recurrence. Clinical trial information: NCT04147078 .

Significance of Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Obstructive Colorectal Cancer After Stent Placement: A Multicenter Retrospective Study.

To explore the survival benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy for obstructive colorectal cancer (OCRC) managed by self-expandable metallic stent (SEMS) placement as a bridge to surgery (BTS). One hundred twenty-nine patients with pathological stage II/III OCRC who underwent BTS using a SEMS were included in this multicenter retrospective study. Patients were divided into the no-adjuvant chemotherapy group (No-Adj group) (n=52) and adjuvant chemotherapy group (Adj group) (n=77), and relapse-free survival (RFS) was compared. The No-Adj group had more fragile patient background factors, such as higher age, higher American Society of Anesthesiologists score, and lower preoperative albumin compared with the Adj group. The 3-year RFS rates for the overall cohort were significantly different between the No-Adj and Adj groups (56.4% and 78.5%, respectively; p=0.003). Significant RFS benefits of adjuvant chemotherapy were observed in both pathological stage II and III cancer. Characteristics of more advanced cancer, such as high carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), pathological T4, and lymphovascular invasion, were associated with survival improvement by adjuvant chemotherapy. T4 and adjuvant chemotherapy were significantly associated with RFS in the multivariate Cox proportional analysis. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show a survival benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with OCRC undergoing BTS using a SEMS. Adjuvant chemotherapy is basically recommended regardless of the cancer stage and is strongly recommended with more advanced characteristics, such as high CEA, T4, and lymphovascular invasion.

Concurrent nimotuzumab and intensity-modulated radiotherapy for elderly patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Because of the common physical condition, reduced organ function, and comorbidities, elderly patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) are often underrepresented in clinical trials. The optimal treatment of elderly patients with locally advanced NPC remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of concurrent nimotuzumab combined with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in elderly patients with locally advanced NPC. We conducted a single-arm, phase II trial for elderly patients with stage III-IVA NPC (according to UICC-American Joint Committee on Cancer TNM classification, 8th edition). All patients received concurrent nimotuzumab (200 mg/week, 1 week prior to IMRT) combined with IMRT. The primary end-point was complete response (CR) rate. The secondary end-points were survival, safety, and geriatric assessment. Between March 13, 2017 and November 12, 2018, 30 patients were enrolled. In total, 20 (66.7%) patients achieved CR, and objective response was observed in 30 (100.0%) patients 1 month after radiotherapy. The median follow-up time was 56.05 months (25th-75th percentile, 53.45-64.56 months). The 5-year locoregional relapse-free survival, distant metastasis-free survival, cancer-specific survival, disease-free survival, and overall survival were 89.4%, 86.4%, 85.9%, 76.5%, and 78.8%, respectively. Grade 3 mucositis occurred in 10 (33%) patients and grade 3 pneumonia in 3 (10%) patients. Concurrent nimotuzumab combined with IMRT is effective and well-tolerated for elderly patients with locally advanced NPC.

Low frequency of Vγ9Vδ2 T cells predicts poor survival in newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia

AbstractIn several tumor subtypes, an increased infiltration of Vγ9Vδ2 T cells has been shown to have the highest prognostic value compared with other immune subsets. In acute myeloid leukemia (AML), similar findings have been based solely on the inference of transcriptomic data and have not been assessed with respect to confounding factors. This study aimed at determining, by immunophenotypic analysis (flow or mass cytometry) of peripheral blood from patients with AML at diagnosis, the prognostic impact of Vγ9Vδ2 T-cell frequency. This was adjusted for potential confounders (age at diagnosis, disease status, European LeukemiaNet classification, leukocytosis, and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as a time-dependent covariate). The cohort was composed of 198 patients with newly diagnosed (ND) AML. By univariate analysis, patients with lower Vγ9Vδ2 T cells at diagnosis had significantly lower 5-year overall and relapse-free survivals. These results were confirmed in multivariate analysis (hazard ratio [HR], 1.55 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.04-2.30]; P = .030 and HR, 1.64 [95% CI, 1.06-2.53]; P = .025). Immunophenotypic alterations observed in patients with lower Vγ9Vδ2 T cells included a loss of some cytotoxic Vγ9Vδ2 T-cell subsets and a decreased expression of butyrophilin 3A on the surface of blasts. Samples expanded regardless of their Vγ9Vδ2 T-cell levels and displayed similar effector functions in vitro. This study confirms the prognostic value of elevated Vγ9Vδ2 T cells among lymphocytes in patients with ND AML. These results provide a strong rationale to consider consolidation protocols aiming at enhancing Vγ9Vδ2 T-cell responses.

Correlation between relative dose intensity of adjuvant S-1 chemotherapy and psoas muscle mass volume and survival after resection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: A retrospective study.

This study aimed to investigate the prognostic relationship between relative dose intensity (RDI) of adjuvant S-1 chemotherapy and psoas muscle mass volume (PMV) in patients with resected pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. We enrolled 105 patients with histologically confirmed pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma who had undergone pancreatectomy. Adjuvant S-1 chemotherapy was administered to 72 (68.6%) of the 105 patients and not to the remaining 33 patients. Patients who received adjuvant S-1 chemotherapy were stratified into high- and low-RDI groups by the cutoff value for RDI. Five-year overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) rates were significantly higher in the high- than in the low-RDI group. Similarly, both the 5-year OS and RFS rates were significantly greater among patients in the high-PMV group than among patients in the low-PMV group. The RDI was an independent prognostic factor in our study patients. Furthermore, patients who received adjuvant S-1 chemotherapy were stratified into 3 groups: those with both high RDI and high-PMV, Group A; those with either high RDI or high PMV (but not both), Group B; and those with both low RDI and low-PMV, group C. There were statistically significant differences in 5-year OS and RFS between 3 patient groups (5-year overall survival: P = .023, 5-year relapse-free survival: P = .001). The area under the curve for the combination of RDI and PMV (0.674) was greater than that for RDI alone (0.645). A sufficient dosage of adjuvant S-1 chemotherapy is important in improving survival of patients with resected pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. A combination of RDI and PMV may predict the prognosis of patients with resected pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma more effective than RDI alone.

Medium-cumulative dose of cytarabine in consolidation therapy shows the greatest benefit in AML patients

BackgroundHigh-dose cytarabine (HDAC) is commonly used for consolidation therapy in young acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients, but the dosage of cytarabine is still controversial in the clinic due to its obvious post-chemotherapy adverse effects. The aim of this study was to contrast the efficacy in different dose groups of cytarabine after consolidation therapy in Chinese AML patients.MethodsAML patients treated with cytarabine consolidation at Qilu Hospital, Shandong University from January 2010 to September 2022 were retrospectively analyzed, from which 346 AML patients with relatively complete follow-up data were selected for this study. We compared the patients’ overall survival (OS) rate, relapse-free survival (RFS) rate, and hematologic adverse events in terms of their general characteristics, cytarabine consolidation therapy dose, consolidation course, 2022 European Leukemia Net (ELN) risk stratification, and transplantation.ResultsIn AML patients under 60 years of age, the 5-year RFS rate with high-dose cytarabine consolidation therapy was superior to that of small-dose cytarabine (P = 0.024), while the 5-year RFS rate was comparable in the high-dose and intermediate-dose groups, and there was no obvious difference among the three groups in the 5-year OS rate (P > 0.05). OS and RFS of those given more than 3 courses of cytarabine consolidation therapy were better than those in the 1–2 courses group (P = 0.060, P = 0.040). OS and RFS were better in patients with cumulative dose of cytarabine ≥ 36g than in patients with cumulative dose < 36g (P < 0.05), but cumulative dose ≥ 54g was comparable in OS and RFS with ≥ 36–< 54g group (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference in hematologic adverse effects among the three treatment groups.In the latest ELN risk stratification favorable-risk group, the cumulative dose of cytarabine ≥ 36g had a better 5-year RFS rate than the < 36g group (P = 0.038), and in the intermediate-risk group the 5-year OS rate and RFS rate were better in the ≥ 36g group than the < 36g group (P = 0.012, 0.025). In addition, the prognosis of transplanted patients was better than that of non-transplanted patients, whereas in non-transplanted patients, consolidation therapy with ≥ 36g cytarabine can effectively improve outcomes. Multivariate analysis indicated that age, fibrinogen (FIB) and the cumulative dose of cytarabine of ≥ 36–< 54g were predictors of OS, while age, white blood cell (WBC) and HDAC were predictors of RFS.ConclusionThe results of the study showed that consolidation therapy with cytarabine up to a cumulative dose of ≥ 36–< 54g in AML patients who did not undergo transplantation significantly improved patient prognosis. In the latest ELN risk stratification, cumulative doses of cytarabine ≥ 36g had a better prognosis in favorable and intermediate-risk patients.

Laparoscopic versus open abdominal lymph node dissection for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a propensity score matching analysis.

To compare the short- and long-term outcomes of laparoscopic and open abdominal lymph node dissection using propensity score matching (PSM) analysis. The subjects of this retrospective analysis were 459 patients who underwent curative resection for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) between May, 2005 and December, 2019, at our hospital. Patients were divided into two groups: the Laparoscopic (Lap group) and the Open (Open group). Post-PSM, 139 patients from each group were selected for the analysis to compare the short- and long-term outcomes between the groups. The Lap group experienced fewer Clavien-Dindo (CD) Grade ≥ 2 complications (28.1% vs. 40.3%, P = 0.04) and lower rates of abdominal surgical site infections (SSI) (2.9% vs. 7.9%, P = 0.02) than the Open group. The number of lymph nodes harvested was similar in the Lap and Open groups (14.8 ± 7.5 vs. 15.7 ± 8.6, P = 0.34). There was no significant difference in 3-year overall survival rates (81.2% vs. 69.5%, P = 0.12) or relapse-free survival rates (61.1% vs. 58.2%, P = 0.54) between the groups. Laparoscopic abdominal lymph node dissection for ESCC can be performed safely and appears to be beneficial.