Advanced Cholangiocarcinoma Research Articles

Palliative Interventions in Advanced Cholangiocarcinoma

Palliative Interventions in Advanced Cholangiocarcinoma

Cholangiocarcinoma, sequential chemotherapy, and prognostic tests.

Routine blood tests are prognostic tests for patients with cholangiocarcinoma. New drug regimens may produce a median overall survival of 2 years or more. This single practice, IRB-approved, phase II trial examines prognostic tests, Kaplan-Meier survival, and univariate Cox regression analyses. Eligibility requires: intent-to-treat; signed consent; advanced measurable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, with or without resistance to the test drugs; any adult age; performance status 0-2; and expected survival of ≥ 6 weeks. Biweekly treatment, with 1/3 of standard dosages in mg/M2, includes: Gemcitabine 500; 5-Fluorouracil 1200 over 24 hours; Leucovorin 180; Irinotecan 80; and on day 2, Oxaliplatin 40. On progression, drugs are added on day 2: first, Docetaxel 25 precedes Oxaliplatin, with or without Mitomycin C 6 after Oxaliplatin. The next sequential additions are day 1, Cetuximab 400 total mg, then 200 mg weekly, and then Bevacizumab 10 mg/kg is substituted for Cetuximab (FDA IND# 119005). For 35 patients, 19 with 1-2 lines of prior therapy, resistant tumors, and 16 no prior therapy, survival at 24-months is ≥ 72 and ≥ 58%, respectively. For 14 patients aged ≥ 70 years, ≥ 63% survive 24 months, P = 0.28. Validated tests that predict ≤ 6-month survivals find median survival times of 17-months through > 2-years when compared to patients with favorable tests: Neutrophils lymphocyte ratio > 3.0, HR = 6.54, P < 6.4x10-3; absolute neutrophil count > 8000/μl, HR = 4.95, P < 6.5x10-3; serum albumin < 3.5 g/dl, HR = 4.10, P < 0.03; and lymphocyte monocyte ratio< 2.1, HR = 1.6, P = 0.50. Overall, the 76 (60-90)% of patients with 0-2 out of 4 high risk tests survive ≥ 24 months, (P = 7.1x10-3). Treatments produce neither hospitalization, neutropenic fever, severe enteritis, nor severe neuropathies. Two-year survival is replicable and predictable. Findings warrant phase III validation tests of sequential regimens, re-challenge with recombination, low dosages, and blood tests that are associated with lethal mechanisms that impair response and survival.

Identification of the human Cytochrome P450 enzymes (P450s) responsible for metabolizing infigratinib to its pharmacologically active Metabolites, BHS697, and CQM157, and assessment of their in vitro inhibition of P450s and UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs)

Infigratinib, an oral FGFR inhibitor for advanced cholangiocarcinoma, yielded two active metabolites, BHS697 and CQM157, with similar receptor affinity. Our study characterized P450s that are responsible for the metabolism of infigratinib to its two major active metabolites, BHS697 and CQM157. In vitro inhibition of P450s and UGTs by infigratinib, BHS697 or CQM157 was further investigated. The unbound apparent Km values for metabolism of infigratinib to BHS697 by HLM, human recombinant CYP2C8, CYP2C19, CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 enzymes are 4.47, 0.65, 2.50, 30.6 and 2.08 μM, while Vmax values are 90.0 pmol/min/mg protein, 0.13, 0.027, 0.81, and 0.56 pmol/min/pmol protein, respectively. The unbound apparent Km value for metabolism of infigratinib to CQM157 by HLM is 0.049 μM, while the Vmax value is 0.32 pmol/min/mg protein respectively. In HLM, infigratinib displayed moderate inhibition of CYP3A4 and CYP2C19 and weak or negligible inhibition of other P450 isoforms. BHS697 exhibited weak inhibition of CYP2B6, CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and CYP3A4, and no inhibition of CYP2C8 and CYP2D6. CQM157 moderately inhibited CYP2C9 and CYP3A4, and weakly or negligibly inhibited other P450 isoforms. Regarding UGTs, infigratinib moderately inhibited UGT1A4 and weakly inhibited UGT1A1, respectively. BHS697 weakly inhibited UGT1A1. In contrast, CQM157 moderately inhibited both UGT1A1 and UGT1A4. Our findings provide novel insights into the metabolism of and potential DDIs implicating infigratinib.

Extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA) characteristics in the bile and plasma of advanced perihilar cholangiocarcinoma patients and the construction of an eccDNA-related gene prognosis model.

Extrachromosomal DNAs (eccDNAs) frequently carry amplified oncogenes. This investigation aimed to examine the occurrence and role of eccDNAs in individuals diagnosed with advanced perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (pCCA) who exhibited distinct prognostic outcomes. Five patients with poor survival outcomes and five with better outcomes were selected among patients who received first-line hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy from June 2021 to June 2022. The extracted eccDNAs were amplified for high-throughput sequencing. Genes associated with the differentially expressed eccDNAs were analyzed using Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses. The differentially expressed bile eccDNA-related genes were used to construct a prognostic model. Across all 10 patients, a total of 19,024 and 3,048 eccDNAs were identified in bile and plasma, respectively. The concentration of eccDNA detected in the bile was 9-fold higher than that in plasma. The chromosome distribution of the eccDNAs were similar between bile and matched plasma. GO and KEGG pathway analyses showed enrichment in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and Wnt/β-catenin pathways in patients with poor survival outcomes. According to the prognostic model constructed by eccDNA-related genes, the high-risk group of cholangiocarcinoma patients displayed significantly shorter overall survival (p < 0.001). Moreover, the degree of infiltration of immunosuppressive cells was higher in patients in the high-risk group. In conclusion, EccDNA could be detected in bile and plasma of pCCA patients, with a higher concentration. A prognostic model based on eccDNA-related genes showed the potential to predict the survival and immune microenvironment of patients with cholangiocarcinoma.

Hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy combined with toripalimab and surufatinib for the treatment of advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

The aim of the present study is to report the clinical results of patients with advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) who received combination therapy of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC), toripalimab and surufatinib. The study cohort consisted of 28 patients with advanced ICC who were treated with HAIC (mFOLFOX6 regimen, Q3W) in combination with intravenous toripalimab (240 mg, Q3W) and oral surufatinib (150 mg, once daily). The cohort had 14 male and 14 female patients. The baseline characteristics of the study cohort were obtained. The tumor response and drug-associated toxicity were assessed and reported. During the follow-up period (median follow-up time: 11.3 months; range: 4-19 months), four patients died of tumor progression. The objective response rate and disease control rate were 58% and 79%, respectively. The mPFS was 9.5 months, and the overall survival rate was 83.3%. The most frequent adverse events were nausea and vomiting (100%) and abdominal pain (85.7%). Serious complications related to death were not observed. The combination treatment schedule for advanced ICC demonstrated positive efficacy and safety profiles. This study provides promising clinical guidance for the treatment of advanced cholangiocarcinoma and is expected to modify the treatment strategy for this disease.

Addition of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) to systemic chemotherapy in locally advanced cholangiocarcinoma (CC) (ABC-07): Results from a randomized phase II trial.

4006 Background: Locoregional treatments for inoperable, non-metastatic CC remain undefined. Single arm phase 2 data suggested that SBRT may improve clinical outcomes. We aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of the addition SBRT with CisGem in locally advanced inoperable CC. Methods: ABC-07 (ISRCTN:10639376) is a phase II multicentre randomized trial for patients with inoperable, histologically confirmed locally advanced CC, WHO performance status 0-1. After registration patients showing no progression after 4 cycles of CisGem were randomized (2:1) for treatment after completing six cycles: either SBRT (50 Gy in 5 fractions or 67.5 Gy in 15 fractions, based on tumour size) or two additional cycles (cycles 7 and 8) of CisGem (CG-only). Primary endpoint was progression free survival (PFS). With 80% power and a 15% one-sided alpha, the study planned to randomize 65 patients to detect a median PFS increase from 10.4 to 17.4 months. Secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS), toxicity and patterns of failure. RT quality assurance was undertaken. Results: Between March 2016 and August 2022, 16 UK centres randomized 69 patients (SBRT, 45; CG only, 24). Median age was 66 (38 to 83) yrs, 58 (84.1%) perihilar location, 48(69.6%) stent in situ, median tumor size was 3.5cm (range 0.6-10.5). The median follow-up time was 20.7 months. In the SBRT arm, 43 completed 6 cycles CisGem (96%) and 41 (91%) received SBRT. In the CG-only arm, 18 (75%) completed 8 cycles. The median PFS from randomization was 8.6 and 9.0 months in the SBRT and CG-only arms, respectively (HR: 1.00; 95% CI: 0.58,1.70; p = 0.989). The first PFS events were 7 (16%) local and 24 (53%) metastatic relapses for SBRT, versus 7 (29%) and 7 (29%) in the CG-only arm, respectively. From registration, median OS time was 23.4 (95% CI: 14.6, 27.7) months for SBRT and 17.2 (95% CI: 10.2, NR) months for CG-only arm. Post-randomization, OS was 19.4 months (11.2, 24.6) for SBRT and 14.2 (7.0, NR) months for CG-only (HR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.41,1.51; p = 0.47). Adverse events of grade ≥3 were observed in 33 (73%) and 21 (88%) patients in SBRT and CG-only arms, respectively. Of the infections, of which biliary sepsis was common, pre-cycle 6, SBRT had 19 (42%) cases vs. 7 (29%) in CG-only; post-cycle 6, SBRT had 17 (38%) sepsis cases vs. 6 (25%) in CG-only. There was 1 Grade 3 duodenal hemorrhage and 1 death due to sepsis in the SBRT arm. Primary causes of death included disease (20, 44% vs 11, 46%), sepsis (5, 11% vs 3, 13%), and hepatic failure (0 vs 3, 13%) for the SBRT and CG-only arms, respectively. Conclusions: SBRT did not show a PFS advantage over CG-only, yet a longer median OS time and better primary tumour control were observed without safety concerns. However, more mature survival data is still needed. Clinical trial information: 10639376.

Utility of an amplicon-based ctDNA platform for advanced cholangiocarcinomas (CCA) in Asia.

e16206 Background: Cholangiocarcinoma represents a major cause of cancer mortality in Asia. While clinical outcomes have improved with the addition of anti-PD1/PDL1 agents to standard-of-care chemotherapy for advanced disease, recent data suggests that novel agents against IDH1 mutations, FGFR2 and NTRK rearrangements, BRAF V600E mutations, and microsatellite instability (MSI) are effective. Tumor-based next generation sequencing (NGS) is routinely recommended by guidelines but is limited by tissue availability and quality in patients with unresectable disease. A comprehensive circulating tumor DNA-based (ctDNA) NGS platform offers an acceptable alternative, but its clinical utility and pickup rate for oncogenic drivers remain unknown. Methods: In our multi-national cohort of advanced CCA across 5 countries, we explored the utility of Lucence LiquidHALLMARK (LHM), a Medicare-reimbursed, amplicon-based NGS ctDNA platform targeting 80 cancer related genes, 10 fusions, and MSI. Performance of LHM has been previously reported. Data was retrieved in-house by a de-identified centralized database and pooled for analysis. Here, we report the demographic and genomic findings of our cohort and highlight the impact of testing on actionable molecular alteration discovery. Results: Between Jan 2020 and Dec 2023, 60 samples from 56 patients (62.5% male) with advanced CCA in Hong Kong SAR (50.0%), Singapore (41.1%), Thailand (3.6%), Philippines (3.6%), and Malaysia (1.8%) underwent LHM testing. Metastatic disease accounted for 83.9% and 8.9% had locally advanced disease. Median age was 67 years (range 33-88), with 34% and 30% of tests obtained during first-line therapy and at diagnosis respectively. Only 6 cases had available tissue NGS results. Analysis on 56 baseline samples showed an 80.4% discovery rate (45/56 patients) for ≥1 molecular alterations. A median of 2 variants (mean 3.27) was detected per sample, with variant allele fraction ranging from 0.05% to 66.5%. Importantly, 8.9% (5/56) of patients harbored ≥1 actionable variants, including 3 with FGFR2 rearrangements ( FGFR2- WAC, FGFR2- ACTR1A, FGFR2- CAMK2D) and 2 with BRAF V600E drivers. A further 3 patients had potentially druggable variants in IDH2 and FGFR3 and 12 harbored BRCA1/2 variants, of which 4 were deleterious. None of the samples had MSI. Top 10 mutated genes were TP53 (48%), KRAS (21%), BRCA2 (18%), PIK3CA (11%), TERT (9%), CDKN2A (9%), SMAD4 (9%), FGFR2 (7%), BRAF (7%), and CDK6 (5%). Limited histopathological and treatment outcomes are available in the current dataset. Conclusions: Our advanced cholangiocarcinoma cohort of 56 patients from 5 Asian countries showed that an amplicon based ctDNA liquid biopsy platform overcomes the tissue-related challenges of genomic profiling specific to unresectable biliary tumors. We showed an 80.4% discovery rate for any molecular alterations and a 8.9% pickup rate for variants with strong actionability.

Survival outcomes in patients with advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in United States: A nationwide analysis.

e16211 Background: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is the second most common primary liver malignancy after hepatocellular carcinoma. Anecdotal evidence shows that chemotherapy and radiotherapy after surgical resection confer better survival outcomes in patients with advanced disease. This study aims to demonstrate outcomes of different therapeutic options in patients with stage 4 ICC. Methods: We queried the National Cancer Database from 2004 to 2020 to identify patients with stage 4 ICC. The study compared median overall survival (mOS) using Kaplan-Meier methodology and pair-wise log-rank test among different therapeutic groups, including surgery (Sx) alone, chemotherapy (CT) alone, radiotherapy (RT) alone, surgery + chemotherapy (Sx+CT), surgery + chemoradiation (Sx+CRT), and chemoradiation (CRT). The results of the study were reported in concordance with STROBE guidelines. Results: Among 13,735 patients with stage 4 ICC, the median age was 64 years (range: 17-90+ years), 51.0% were male, 83.6% were White, 9.1% Black and 4.0 % Asian. 342 (2.5%) underwent Sx, 10061 (73.3%) CT alone, 427 (3.1%) underwent RT alone, 744 (5.4%) Sx+CT, 314 (2.3%) Sx+CRT, and 1847 (13.5%) underwent CRT. Patients who underwent Sx+CRT had better mOS (23.8 months, 95% CI 20.5-24.1) than all other modalities, including Sx (11.1 months, 95% CI 8.2-13.4), CT (8.6 months, 95% CI 8.4-8.9), RT (4.7 months, 95% CI 3.8-5.2), Sx+CT (21.9 months, 95% CI 20.0-24.1) and CRT (11.7 months, 95% CI 11.1-12.3) p &lt; 0.01. Conclusions: Unlike other gastrointestinal malignancies, multimodal therapy i.e., chemoradiation after surgical resection of primary tumor improves survival in advanced ICC. However, prospective studies affirming these findings are warranted.[Table: see text]

282P Nivolumab and ipilimumab combination treatment in advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder cancer

282P Nivolumab and ipilimumab combination treatment in advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder cancer

313P Disease and treatment patterns for advanced cholangiocarcinoma: A multicentric study from Portugal

313P Disease and treatment patterns for advanced cholangiocarcinoma: A multicentric study from Portugal

286P TQB3454 in mutant IDH1 advanced cholangiocarcinoma (CCA): Results of a phase I dose escalation and expansion study cohort

286P TQB3454 in mutant IDH1 advanced cholangiocarcinoma (CCA): Results of a phase I dose escalation and expansion study cohort

Real-world outcomes of chemotherapy plus immune checkpoint inhibitors versus chemotherapy alone in advanced, unresectable, and recurrent intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

BackgroundThere are limited treatment options available to improve the prognosis of patients with advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma particularly intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA). This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of combining chemotherapy plus anti-PD-1/L1 drugs compared to chemotherapy alone in advanced, unresectable, and recurrent intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma patients.MethodsPatients with advanced, unresectable, or recurrent iCCA who received chemotherapy combined with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors or chemotherapy alone were retrospectively screened and analyzed. The primary outcomes were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). The secondary outcomes were overall response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and safety.Results81 eligible patients were included in the study (chemotherapy plus anti-PD-1/L1 group n=51, and chemotherapy-alone group n=30). The median OS was 11 months for the chemotherapy plus anti-PD-1/L1 group, significantly longer than the 8 months in the chemotherapy-alone group, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.53 (95% CI 0.30–0.94, P = 0.008). The median PFS of 7 months in the chemotherapy plus anti-PD-1/L1 group was significantly longer than the 4 months in the chemotherapy-alone group, with HR of 0.48 (95% CI 0.27–0.87); P = 0.002). Similarly, the combined therapy group showed a higher ORR (29.4%) and DCR (78.4%) compared to 13.3% and 73.3% in the chemotherapy-alone group, respectively. More grade 3–4 treatment-related adverse effects were recorded in the chemotherapy plus anti-PD-1/L1 group (66.7%) compared to the chemotherapy-alone group (23.3%), however, they were manageable and tolerable.ConclusionChemotherapy plus anti-PD-1/L1 represents a more effective and tolerable treatment option for advanced, unresectable, and recurrent iCCA patients compared to chemotherapy alone.

Cost-effectiveness of ivosidenib versus chemotherapy for previously treated IDH1-mutant advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in Taiwan

BackgroundInternational guidelines recommend ivosidenib followed by modified FOLFOX (mFOLFOX) for advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) with isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) mutations. Taiwan National Health Insurance covers only fluorouracil/leucovorin (5-FU/LV) chemotherapy for this ICC group, and there has been no prior economic evaluation of ivosidenib. Therefore, we aimed to assess ivosidenib’s cost-effectiveness in previously treated, advanced ICC-presenting IDH1 mutations compared with mFOLFOX or 5-FU/LV.MethodsA 3-state partitioned survival model was employed to assess ivosidenib’s cost-effectiveness over a 10-year horizon with a 3% discount rate, setting the willingness-to-pay threshold at 3 times the 2022 GDP per capita. Efficacy data for Ivosidenib, mFOLFOX, and 5-FU/LV were sourced from the ClarIDHy, ABC06, and NIFTY trials, respectively. Ivosidenib’s cost was assumed to be NT$10,402/500 mg. Primary outcomes included incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) and net monetary benefit. Deterministic sensitivity analyses (DSA) and probabilistic sensitivity analyses (PSA) were employed to evaluate uncertainty and explore price reduction scenarios.ResultsIvosidenib exhibited ICERs of NT$6,268,528 and NT$5,670,555 compared with mFOLFOX and 5-FU/LV, respectively, both exceeding the established threshold. PSA revealed that ivosidenib was unlikely to be cost-effective, except when it was reduced to NT$4,161 and NT$5,201/500 mg when compared with mFOLFOX and 5-FU/LV, respectively. DSA underscored the significant influence of ivosidenib’s cost and utility values on estimate uncertainty.ConclusionsAt NT$10,402/500 mg, ivosidenib was not cost-effective for IDH1-mutant ICC patients compared with mFOLFOX or 5-FU/LV, indicating that a 50–60% price reduction is necessary for ivosidenib to be cost-effective in this patient group.

Bispecific T cell engager-armed T cells targeting integrin ανβ6 exhibit enhanced T cell redirection and antitumor activity in cholangiocarcinoma

Advanced cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) presents a clinical challenge due to limited treatment options, necessitating exploration of innovative therapeutic approaches. Bispecific T cell engager (BTE)-armed T cell therapy shows promise in hematological and solid malignancies, offering potential advantages in safety over continuous BTE infusion. In this context, we developed a novel BTE, targeting CD3 on T cells and integrin αvβ6, an antigen elevated in various epithelial malignancies, on cancer cells. The novel BTE was generated by fusing an integrin αvβ6-binding peptide (A20) to an anti-CD3 (OKT3) single-chain variable fragment (scFv) through a G4S peptide linker (A20/αCD3 BTE). T cells were then armed with A20/αCD3 BTE (A20/αCD3-armed T cells) and assessed for antitumor activity. Our results highlight the specific binding of A20/αCD3 BTE to CD3 on T cells and integrin αvβ6 on target cells, effectively redirecting T cells towards these targets. After co-culture, A20/αCD3-armed T cells exhibited significantly heightened cytotoxicity against integrin αvβ6-expressing target cells compared to unarmed T cells in both KKU-213A cells and A375.β6 cells. Moreover, in a five-day co-culture, A20/αCD3-armed T cells demonstrated superior cytotoxicity against KKU-213A spheroids compared to unarmed T cells. Importantly, A20/αCD3-armed T cells exhibited an increased proportion of the effector memory T cell (Tem) subset, upregulation of T cell activation markers, enhanced T cell proliferation, and increased cytolytic molecule/cytokine production, when compared to unarmed T cells in an integrin αvβ6-dependent manner. These findings support the potential of A20/αCD3-armed T cells as a novel therapeutic approach for integrin αvβ6-expressing cancers.

Futibatinib: A Review in Locally Advanced and Metastatic Cholangiocarcinoma.

Futibatinib (LYTGOBI®) is an oral small molecule compound that selectively, irreversibly and potently inhibits the tyrosine kinase activity of fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR)1-4. It is approved in the EU, Japan and the USA for the treatment of adults with locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) harbouring an FGFR2 fusion or rearrangement who have progressed following systemic therapy. In the phase II part (FOENIX-CCA2) of a multinational phase I/II study in this patient population, monotherapy with futibatinib 20mg once daily was associated with clinically meaningful and durable responses, sustained health-related quality of life (HR-QOL), and a manageable safety profile with supportive care and as-needed dose modifications. Indeed, hyperphosphataemia (the most common all grade and grade 3 treatment-related adverse event) was manageable with phosphate-lowering therapy and dose reductions or interruptions. Although further efficacy and tolerability data are expected, current evidence indicates that futibatinib is a valuable targeted therapy option for adults with locally advanced or metastatic CCA harbouring an FGFR2 fusion or rearrangement who have progressed following systemic therapy, a patient population with limited treatment options and poor life expectancy.

Options in Targeted Therapy for Advanced Cholangiocarcinoma: A 2024 Update

Options in Targeted Therapy for Advanced Cholangiocarcinoma: A 2024 Update

Bortezomib in previously treated phosphatase and tension homology-deficient patients with advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: An open-label, prospective and single-centre phase II trial.

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is characterized by a dismal prognosis with limited therapeutic alternatives. To explore phosphatase and tension homolog (PTEN) as a biomarker for proteasome inhibition in ICC, we conducted aphase II trial to assess the second-lineefficacy of bortezomib in PTEN-deficient advanced ICC patients. A total of 130 patients with advanced ICC in our centre were screened by PTEN immunohistochemical staining between 1 July 2017, and 31 December 2021, and 16 patients were ultimately enrolled and treated with single-agent bortezomib 1.3mg/m2on days 1, 4, 8 and 11 of a 21-day cycle. The primary endpoint was the objective response rate (ORR) according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors v1.1. The median follow-up was 6.55 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.7-19.9 months). Among the 16 enrolled patients, the ORR was 18.75% (3/16) and the disease control rate was 43.75% (7/16). The median progress-free survival was 2.95 months (95% CI: 2.1-5.1 months) and the median overall survival (mOS) was 7.2 months (95% CI: 0.7-21.6 months) in the intent-to-treat-patients. Treatment-related adverse events of any grade were reported in 16 patients, with thrombopenia being the most common toxicity. Patients with PTEN staining scores of 0 were more likely to benefit from bortezomib than those with staining scores>0. Bortezomib yielded an encouraging objective response and a favourable OSas a second-line agent in PTEN-deficient ICC patients. Our findings suggest bortezomib as a promising therapeutic option for patients with PTEN-deficient ICC. There is a limited strategy for the second-line option of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). This investigator-initiated phase 2 study evaluated bortezomib in ICC patients with phosphatase and tension homology deficiency. The overall response rate was 18.75% and the overall survival was 7.2 months in the intent-to-treat cohort. These results justify further developing bortezomib in ICC patients with PTEN deficiency.

Octamer-binding transcription factor 4-positive circulating tumor cell predicts worse treatment response and survival in advanced cholangiocarcinoma patients who receive immune checkpoint inhibitors treatment

BackgroundOctamer-binding transcription factor 4-positive circulating tumor cell (OCT4+CTC) exhibits high stemness and invasive potential, which may influence the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). This study aimed to assess the prognostic role of OCT4+CTC in advanced cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) patients who received ICI treatment.MethodsIn total, 40 advanced CCA patients who received ICI treatment were included, and CTC and OCT4 counts were detected via a Canpatrol system and an RNA in situ hybridization method before ICI treatment. Patients were subsequently divided into none CTC, OCT4−CTC, and OCT4+CTC groups. Patients were followed up for a median of 10.4 months.ResultsThe percentages of patients in none CTC, OCT4−CTC, and OCT4+CTC groups were 25.0%, 30.0%, and 45.0%, respectively. The proportion of patients with lymph node metastasis was highest in OCT4+CTC group, followed by none CTC group, and lowest in OCT4−CTC group (P = 0.025). The objective response rate (ORR) was lowest in OCT4+CTC group, moderate in OCT4−CTC group, and highest in none CTC group (P = 0.009), while disease control rate was not different among three groups (P = 0.293). In addition, progression-free survival (PFS) (P < 0.001) and overall survival (OS) (P = 0.001) were shorter in the OCT4+CTC group than in none CTC & OCT4−CTC group. Moreover, OCT4+CTC (versus none CTC) was independently linked with poorer PFS [hazard ratio (HR) = 6.752, P = 0.001] and OS (HR = 6.674, P = 0.003) in advanced CCA patients.ConclusionOCT4+CTC relates to lymph node metastasis and shows a good predictive value for poor treatment response and survival in advanced CCA patients who receive ICI treatment.

Surufatinib combined with photodynamic therapy induces ferroptosis to inhibit cholangiocarcinoma in vitro and in tumor models.

The curative effect of single therapy for advanced cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is poor, thus investigating combined treatment strategies holds promise for improving prognosis. Surufatinib (SUR) is a novel multikinase inhibitor that has been confirmed to prolong survival of patients with advanced CCA. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) can also ablate advanced CCA and relieve biliary obstruction. In this study, we explored the anti-CCA effect of SUR combined with PDT, and explored the underlying mechanism. We found that SUR could effectively inhibit the abilities of proliferation, migration and metastasis in CCA cells (HUCCT-1, RBE). The ability of SUR to inhibit CCA was also confirmed by the HUCCT-1 cell xenograft model in Balb/c nude mice and CCA patient-derived organoids. SUR combined with PDT can significantly enhance the inhibitory effect on CCA, and can be alleviated by two ferroptosis inhibitors (Ferrostatin-1, Deferoxamine). By detecting the level of reactive oxygen species, lipid peroxides, malondialdehyde and glutathione, we further confirmed that SUR combined with PDT can inhibit CCA cells by inducing ferroptosis. Glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) belongs to the glutathione peroxidase family and is mainly responsible for the metabolism of intracellular hydrogen peroxide. GPX4 inhibits ferroptosis by reducing cytotoxic lipid peroxides (L-OOH) to the corresponding alcohols (L-OH). Acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4 (ACSL4) is a member of the long-chain fatty acid coenzyme a synthetase family and is mainly involved in the biosynthesis and catabolism of fatty acids. ACSL4 induces ferroptosis by promoting the accumulation of lipid peroxides. Both SUR and PDT can induce ferroptosis by promoting ACSL4 and inhibiting GPX4. The regulation effect is found to be more significant in combined treatment group. In conclusion, SUR combined with PDT exerted an anti-CCA effect by inducing ferroptosis. Combination therapy provides a new idea for the clinical treatment of CCA.

Abstract 4980: Genomic and clinical characteristics of advanced pancreatobiliary cancer, stratified by KRAS mutation status

Abstract Mutations in KRAS are common in pancreatobiliary cancer, occurring in 90% of advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC) and 20% of advanced cholangiocarcinomas (CCA). We analyzed clinico-genomic databases to evaluate the hypothesis that KRAS mutation status defines subsets of PDAC and CCA with similar genomic characteristics and clinical behavior. Using the genomic data of PDAC and CCA from AACR Project GENIE Cohort version 14.0-public, we analyzed the genomic landscape of four cohorts of pancreatobiliary cancer: KRAS mutated PDAC, KRAS wild-type PDAC, KRAS mutated CCA, and KRAS wild-type CCA. Excluding KRAS mutations, there were 53 gene alterations observed in &amp;gt;2.5% of cases in at least one of the four cohorts. The three most common gene alterations in each cohort were; TP53, SMAD4, and CDKN2A mutations (KRAS mutated PDAC), TP53, ARID1A, and SMAD4 mutations (KRAS wild-type PDAC), TP53 mutation, CDKN2A deletion and SMAD4 mutation (KRAS mutated CCA), and TP53, ARID1D and IDH1 mutations. (KRAS wild-type CCA) The similarity of gene alteration patterns was evaluated by principal component analysis (PCA) 3D plot and calculation of average Euclidean distance. The PCA plot suggested heterogeneous genomic profiles in KRAS wild-type CCA in contrast to relatively monotonous profiles in KRAS mutated PDAC. The average Euclidean distance between KRAS mutated CCA and KRAS wild-type CCA was significantly longer than that between KRAS mutated CCA and KRAS mutated PDAC (2.00 vs. 1.89, p &amp;lt; 0.001), suggesting that KRAS mutated CCA is more genomically related to KRAS mutated PDAC than KRAS wild-type CCA. The average Euclidean distance between KRAS mutated PDAC and KRAS wild-type PDAC was significantly shorter than that between KRAS wild-type CCA and KRAS wild-type PDAC. To compare the clinical characteristics of the four cohorts, we evaluated the data of patients with stage IV pancreatobiliary cancer, using cBioPortal. The number of cases in each cohort was 1544 (KRAS mutated PDAC), 121 (KRAS wild-type PDAC), 91 (KRAS mutated CCA), and 459 (KRAS wild-type CCA). Median overall survival (OS) was 14.7, 21.5, 10.7, and 15.4 months, respectively. Compared to KRAS wild-type CCA, KRAS mutated CCA had a significantly shorter OS (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.45, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.12 - 1.89). The OS of KRAS mutated CCA was shorter than KRAS mutated PDAC (HR 1.32, 95% CI 1.03 - 1.68). KRAS wild-type PDAC had a significantly longer OS compared to KRAS mutated PDAC. (HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.57 - 0.92) In conclusion, KRAS mutated CCA has a poor OS and a genomic landscape distinct from KRAS wild-type CCA; it is genomically more similar to KRAS mutated PDAC. KRAS wild-type PDAC has a better OS than KRAS mutated PDAC, though it was not genomically similar to KRAS wild-type CCA. Therapeutic approaches stratified by KRAS mutation status should be considered for pancreaticobiliary cancers. Citation Format: Hirotaka Miyashita, Parth S. Shah, Gabriel A. Brooks. Genomic and clinical characteristics of advanced pancreatobiliary cancer, stratified by KRAS mutation status [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 4980.