Higher Objective Response Rate Research Articles

Efficacy and safety of intrapleural perfusion with hyperthermic chemotherapy for malignant pleural effusion: a meta-analysis

ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy and safety of intrapleural perfusion with hyperthermic chemotherapy (IPHC) in treating malignant pleural effusion (MPE).MethodsPubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), VIP Chinese Science and Technology Journal Full-text Database (VP-CSJFD), and Wanfang database were searched by computer from database establishment to January 17, 2024. Relevant randomized controlled articles with IPHC as the observational group and intrapleural perfusion chemotherapy (IPC) as the control group for MPE were included. Then, the methodological quality of the included articles was evaluated and statistically analyzed using Stata 16.0.ResultsSixteen trials with 647 patients receiving IPHC and 661 patients receiving IPC were included. The meta-analysis found that MPE patients in the IPHC group had a more significant objective response rate [RR = 1.31, 95%CI (1.23, 1.38), P < 0.05] and life quality improvement rate [RR = 2.88, 95%CI (1.95, 4.24), P < 0.05] than those in the IPC group. IPHC and IPC for MPE patients had similar incidence rates of asthenia, thrombocytopenia, hepatic impairment, and leukopenia.ConclusionCompared with IPC, IPHC has a higher objective response rate without significantly increasing adverse reactions. Therefore, IPHC is effective and safe. However, this study is limited by the quality of the literature. Therefore, more high-quality, multi-center, large-sample, rigorously designed randomized controlled clinical studies are still needed for verification and evaluation.

Efficacy and safety of transarterial chemoembolization combined with targeted therapy and immunotherapy versus with targeted monotherapy in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The application of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in combination with targeted therapy and immunotherapy (TACE-T-I) for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has gained increasing attention. However, there are variations in the efficacy and safety outcomes between TACE-T-I versus TACE combined with targeted drugs (TACE-T). This study aims to systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of TACE-T-I versus TACE-T in unresectable HCC. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were searched from inception to August 21, 2023, for comparative studies on TACE-T-I versus TACE-T for unresectable HCC. Outcome measures included overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR) and the incidence of treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs). OS was the primary outcome of this study. Weighted mean difference (WMD) or hazard ratio (HR) was used as the pooled statistic for OS and PFS. Relative risk (RR) was employed as the pooled statistic for ORR, DCR and the incidence of TRAEs. And 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for all effect measures. Data analysis was conducted using Stata 14.0 software. The meta-analysis included 14 studies with 2144 patients. The pooled results showed that compared with patients in the TACE-T group, patients in the TACE-T-I group had higher ORR (RR = 1.61; 95%CI: 1.38-1.89) and DCR (RR = 1.17; 95%CI: 1.09-1.26). Patients in the TACE-T-I group experienced prolonged PFS (WMD = 3.08; 95%CI: 2.63-3.53) and OS (WMD = 5.76; 95%CI: 4.68-6.84). And the risk of disease progression (HR = 0.45; 95%CI: 0.37-0.55) and death (HR = 0.43; 95%CI: 0.38-0.49) was lower in the TACE-T-I group. Common TRAEs included fever, pain, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, elevated ALT, elevated AST, hypertension, hand-foot syndrome, proteinuria, and diarrhea. The incidence and severity of TRAEs in the TACE-T-I group were similar to those in the TACE-T group, with no significant differences (P > .05). Current evidence suggests that, on the basis of TACE combined with targeted therapy, the addition of immunotherapy provides better clinical efficacy and survival benefits for unresectable HCC patients, with good tolerability.

Abstract PO1-06-12: Phase II study of sitravatinib plus tislelizumab with or without nab-paclitaxel in patients with locally recurrent or metastatic triple negative breast cancer

Abstract Background: The combination of a PD-(L)1 inhibitor plus chemotherapy demonstrated promising anti-tumor activity as first-line therapy for patients (pts) with locally recurrent inoperable or metastatic PD-L1 positive triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, for pts without PD-L1 expression and for those who have failed prior lines of treatment, therapeutic options are still limited. This multi-cohort, phase II trial aimed to evaluate the safety and antitumor activity of 70 mg (cohort A) or 100 mg (cohort B) sitravatinib plus tislelizumab in pts with locally recurrent or metastatic TNBC, and their combination (70 mg sitravatinib plus tislelizumab) with nab-paclitaxel in untreated locally recurrent inoperable or metastatic TNBC pts (cohort C). The efficacy of sitravatinib plus tislelizumab in cohort A and B has been reported with objective response rate (ORR) of 38.1% and 45.0%, respectively. Herein, the preliminary results of cohort C and updated results of cohort A and B were reported. Methods: Pts with untreated locally inoperable or metastatic TNBC were included in cohort C and received 70 mg sitravatinib orally once daily plus 200 mg tislelizumab intravenously on day 1 and 100mg/m2 nab-paclitaxel on days 1 and 8 every three weeks until disease progression or intolerable toxicity. The primary endpoint was ORR. Secondary endpoints included disease control rate (DCR), progression-free survival (PFS), duration of response (DOR), 1-year overall survival (OS) rate and safety/tolerability. Based on Simon’s two-stage design, &amp;gt; 9 responders were need in stage 1 (n=18) for the study to continue, and &amp;gt;19 responders were needed by the end of study (n=35) to demonstrate statistical superiority with sitravatinib plus tislelizumab and nab-paclitaxel (assumed to be around 65%) to a historical control of 46% (1-sided alpha of 0.1, power of 80%). Updated analyses were provided for cohort A (Simon’s 2 stage design) and B (Bayesian optimal phase II design). Results: Among the 18 pts in stage 1 of cohort C, 12 of them achieved confirmed response, and therefore the study proceeded to the enrollment in stage 2. As of April 30, 2023, a total of 32 pts were enrolled, with a median age of 51 years. Among the 23 efficacy evaluable pts, unconfirmed ORR was 87.0% (95% CI 66.4-97.2) (including 3 CRs and 17 PRs), with 7 pts not reaching next tumor assessment after reaching CR/PR, and confirmed ORR was 52.2% (95% CI 30.6-73.2). DCR was 95.7%. Any grade of treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) occurred in 31 (96.9%) pts, and grade ≥3 TRAEs occurred in 5 (15.6%) pts. One (3.1%) patient experienced grade ≥3 immune-related adverse events. SAEs were reported in 3 (9.4%) pts. At the data cut-off date, the median follow-up duration for cohort A and B was 20.4 (range 1.3–24.3) months and 13.3 (range 5.1-19.1) months, respectively. The median PFS in cohort A was 8.2 (95% CI 2.8-12.4) months, and in cohort B was 5.4 (95% CI 4.2-10.9) months. Median OS was not reached in both cohorts. RNA-seq analysis showed that the suppression of immune regulatory pathways and the activation of metabolic pathways promoted early progression. Besides, baseline angiogenesis associated pathway held the potential to predict the favorable response to tislelizumab plus sitravatinib. Conclusion: In the first-line treatment of locally recurrent or metastatic TNBC, preliminary analysis of cohort C showed that sitravatinib combined with tislelizumab and nab-paclitaxel had promising anti-tumor activity with a high ORR, and the combination was generally well tolerated. In TNBC pts with less than three lines of therapy, the chemotherapy-free regimen with sitravatinib plus tislelizumab demonstrated promising PFS after a longer follow-up duration. Citation Format: Lei Fan, Xiyu Liu, Ying Xu, Xinyi Sui, Wenjuan Zhang, Linxiaoxi Ma, Xi Jin, Song-Yang Wu, Han Wang, Yi Xiao, Li Chen, Jiong Wu, Ke-da Yu, Guangyu Liu, Xin Hu, Zhonghua Wang, Yi-Zhou Jiang, Zhi-Ming Shao. Phase II study of sitravatinib plus tislelizumab with or without nab-paclitaxel in patients with locally recurrent or metastatic triple negative breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2023 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PO1-06-12.

Varlitinib and Paclitaxel for EGFR/HER2 Co-Expressing Advanced Gastric Cancer: a Multicenter Phase Ib/II Study (K-MASTER-13).

Varlitinib is a pan-human epidermal growth (HER) inhibitor targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), HER2, and HER4. We present a phase Ib/II study of a combination of varlitinib and weekly paclitaxel as a second-line treatment for patients with EGFR/HER2 co-expressing advanced gastric cancer (AGC). Patients whose tumors with EGFR and HER2 overexpression by immunohistochemistry (IHC) (≥1+) were enrolled. Varlitinib and paclitaxel were investigated every 4 weeks. After determining the recommended phase II dose (RP2D) in phase Ib, a phase II study was conducted to evaluate the antitumor activity. RP2D was treated with a combination of varlitinib (300 mg twice daily) and paclitaxel. Among 27 patients treated with RP2D, the median PFS and overall survival (OS) were 3.3 months and 7.9 months, respectively, with a median follow-up of 15.7 months. Among 16 patients with measurable disease, the objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate were 31% and 88%, respectively. Patients with strong HER2 expression (n=8) had a higher ORR and longer OS, whereas those with strong EGFR expression (n=3) had poorer outcomes. The most common adverse events (AEs) of any grade were neutropenia (52%), diarrhea (27%), AST/ALT elevation (22%), and nausea (19%). No treatment-related deaths or unexpected AEs resulting from treatment cessation were observed in patients with RP2D. A combination of varlitinib and paclitaxel displayed manageable toxicity and modest antitumor activity in patients with EGFR/HER2 co-expressing AGC who progressed after first-line chemotherapy.

HAIC Combined with lenvatinib plus PD-1 versus lenvatinib Plus PD-1 in patients with high-risk advanced HCC: a real-world study

BackgroundThe treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients exhibiting high-risk characteristics (Vp4, and/or bile duct invasion, and/or tumor occupancy ≥ 50%) lacks standardized approaches and yields unfavorable results. This study endeavors to evaluate the safety, efficacy, and prognostic impacts of employing hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC), lenvatinib, and humanized programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) in the treatment of high-risk HCC patients.MethodsIn this retrospective analysis, HCC patients with high-risk features were treated with either lenvatinib combined with PD-1 (LEN-PD1) or a combination of HAIC, lenvatinib, and PD-1 (HAIC-LEN-PD1). The study assessed the antitumor efficacy by calculating overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), and disease control rate (DCR). Treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were analyzed to assess the safety profiles.ResultsBetween June 2019 and September 2022, a total of 61 patients were included in the LEN-PD1 group, while 103 patients were enrolled in the HAIC-LEN-PD1 group. The OS was 9.8 months in the LEN-PD1 group, whereas the HAIC-LEN-PD1 group exhibited a significantly longer median OS of 19.3 months (HR = 0.43, p < 0.001). Furthermore, PFS was notably extended in the HAIC-LEN-PD1 group compared to the LEN-PD1 group (9.6 months vs. 4.9 months, HR = 0.48, p < 0.001). Patients in the HAIC-LEN-PD1 group had a higher ORR and DCR according to the modified RECIST (76.7% vs. 23.0%, p < 0.001; 92.2% vs. 72.1%, p = 0.001). HAIC-LEN-HAIC group led to more adverse events than LEN-PD1 group, most of which were tolerable and controllable.ConclusionLenvatinib, HAIC and PD-1 showed safe and promising anti-tumor activity compared with lenvatinib alone for HCC with high-risk features.

Serum HER2 Level Predicts Therapeutic Efficacy and Prognosis in Advanced Breast Cancer Patients.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the therapeutic efficacy and prognosis of serum HER2 (sHER2) in patients with advanced breast cancer. We analyzed the sHER2 levels of 200 patients with advanced breast cancer receiving first or second line treatment, the tissue HER2 (tHER2) level was also analyzed. Indicators of therapeutic efficacy and prognosis were objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and time to progression (TTP). The baseline sHER2 level was high in 132 patients and low in 68 patients. The high level of sHER2 is correlated with molecular subtype (p=0.016), visceral metastasis (p<0.001), liver metastasis (p<0.001), tissue HER-2 (tHER2) (p=0.001), and, among tHER2-low tumors (59 patients), the baseline sHER2 high level was associated with a higher proportion of brain metastasis. The ORR of patients with baseline sHER2 high level is higher than those with baseline sHER2 low level (p=0.026). The TTP of patients with baseline sHER2 low level is longer than the patients with baseline sHER2 high level (p=0.024). For patients with baseline sHER2 high level, a significant decrease in sHER2 after two cycles of treatment indicates higher ORR, DCR, and an extension of TTP. After multiple cycles of treatment, for patients with tHER-2 positive and baseline sHER2 high level, the DCR in the sHER2 decrease in the negative group was higher than that in the continuous positive group (p=0.037). Patients with a rapid decline type of sHER2 dynamic change curve had higher ORR and prolonged TTP compared with patients with other types of sHER2 dynamic change curve. There is no correlation between OS and sHER2 levels. Our study showed that patients with advanced breast cancer had a high level of sHER2 at recurrence, regardless of whether they are tHER2 positive or negative. Dynamic detection of sHER2 can help predict therapeutic efficacy and prognosis, regardless of whether tHER-2 is positive or negative.

Abstract 1988: Mass spectrometry profiling identifies ENO2 as a driver of lenvatinib resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the predominant type of primary liver cancer, and lenvatinib is a multi-kinase inhibitor approved by the FDA as a first-line drug for advanced HCC since 2018. Lenvatinib demonstrated antitumor activity with a higher objective response rate, longer progression-free survival, and time to progression in a non-inferiority trial compared with sorafenib. However, the clinical benefits of lenvatinib remain limited as acquired resistance to lenvatinib during HCC treatment is inevitable. This highlights the need to understand the molecular mechanisms of lenvatinib resistance and to explore new therapeutic approaches to overcome this resistance. Tumor lineage plasticity, a recognized hallmark of cancer, is a phenomenon in which tumor cells dedifferentiate into a more stemness state to attain cellular plasticity, enabling them to evade targeted therapeutic interventions. However, the mechanism by which cellular plasticity contributes to lenvatinib resistance remains elusive. In this study, we employed proteomic mass spectrometry to investigate altered proteins in two pairs of parental lenvatinib-sensitive and their corresponding trained lenvatinib-resistant HCC cell lines. This analysis revealed that upregulation of enolase 2 (ENO2), a glycolytic enzyme that catalyzes the dehydration and conversion of 2-phosphoglycerate to phosphoenolpyruvate, is a critical contributor. ENO2 upregulation is frequently observed in HCC and is strongly correlated with aggressive clinical features, including poor survival, advanced tumor stage, and poor differentiation status. We further showed that ENO2 upregulation in HCC is positively correlated with stemness and hepatic progenitor marker signatures, as well as hypoxia, and subsequently demonstrated that ENO2 is regulated by hypoxia/HIF-1α, with hypoxia response element sequences located in the ENO2 promoter region. Research is underway to investigate the functional role and underlying molecular mechanisms associated with ENO2-driven lenvatinib resistance and cellular plasticity in HCC. Citation Format: Sukbum Kim, Jia-Jian Loh, Huajian Yu, Ki-Fong Man, Kai-Yu Ng, Terence Kin-Wah Lee, Clive Yik-Sham Chung, Stephanie Ma. Mass spectrometry profiling identifies ENO2 as a driver of lenvatinib resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma [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 1988.

Memory/active T cell activation is associated with immunotherapeutic response in fumarate hydratase-deficient renal cell carcinoma.

Fumarate hydratase-deficient renal cell carcinoma (FH-deficient RCC) is a rare and lethal subtype of kidney cancer. However, the optimal treatments and molecular correlates of benefits for FH-deficient RCC are currently lacking. A total of 91 patients with FH-deficient RCC from 15 medical centers between 2009 and 2022 were enrolled in this study. Genomic and bulk RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) were performed on 88 and 45 untreated FH-deficient RCCs, respectively. Single-cell RNA-seq was performed to identify biomarkers for treatment response. Main outcomes included disease-free survival (DFS) for localized patients, objective response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) for metastatic patients. In the localized setting, we found that a cell cycle progression signature enabled to predict disease progression. In the metastatic setting, first-line immune checkpoint inhibitor plus tyrosine kinase inhibitor (ICI+TKI) combination therapy showed satisfactory safety and was associated with a higher ORR (43.2% vs. 5.6%), apparently superior PFS (median PFS: 17.3 vs. 9.6 months, P=0.016) and OS (median OS: not reached vs. 25.7 months, P=0.005) over TKI monotherapy. Bulk and single-cell RNA-seq data revealed an enrichment of memory and effect T cells in responders to ICI plus TKI combination therapy. Furthermore, we identified a signature of memory and effect T cells that was associated with the effectiveness of ICI plus TKI combination therapy. ICI plus TKI combination therapy may represent a promising treatment option for metastatic FH-deficient RCC. A memory/active T cell-derived signature is associated with the efficacy of ICI+TKI but necessitates further validation.

PD-(L)1 inhibitors plus bevacizumab and chemotherapy as first-line therapy in PD-L1-negative metastatic lung adenocarcinoma: a real-world data

BackgroundChemotherapy combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors (IC), bevacizumab (BC), or both (IBC) is the preferred first-line therapy for PD-L1-negative and oncogenic-driver wild-type metastatic lung adenocarcinoma. However, the optimal strategy is still undetermined.MethodsThis retrospective study enrolled PD-L1-negative metastatic lung adenocarcinoma patients from four cancer centers between January 1, 2018 and June 30, 2022. All the patients received IC, BC, or IBC as the first-line therapies. The efficacy and safety were evaluated.ResultsA total of 205 patients were included, with 60, 83, and 62 patients in IC, BC, and IBC groups, respectively. The baseline characteristics among three groups were well balanced. Patients treated with IBC had the highest objective response rate (ORR) (43.5%) and disease control rate (DCR) (100%) relative to those treated with IC (40.4%, 84.2%) or BC (40.5%, 96.2%) (ORR: P = 0.919, DCR: P < 0.01). Compared with the IC (6.74 m) or BC (8.28 m), IBC treatment significantly improved median progression-free survival (mPFS) (9.53 m, P = 0.005). However, no difference in overall survival (OS) was observed. When stratified by different clinical and molecular information, we found that male gender, ever smoking, wild-type genes mutations, and adrenal metastasis predict superior PFS benefit when treated with IBC. In patients with liver metastasis, IBC or BC treatment displayed better PFS compared with IC. No additional adverse reactions were observed in IBC group compared with other two groups.ConclusionCombined IBC treatment achieved superior DCR and PFS compared with IC or BC in patients with PD-L1-negative metastatic lung adenocarcinoma, while did not increase the adverse events.

Combination of Dabrafenib and Trametinib in Patients with Metastatic BRAFV600E-Mutated Thyroid Cancer.

BRAF mutations are detected in 30-80% of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) cases. Dabrafenib and trametinib showed promising antitumor activity in patients with BRAFV600E-mutated metastatic melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of dabrafenib and trametinib in patients with metastatic BRAFV600E-mutated thyroid cancer. This was a retrospective study to evaluate the efficacy of dabrafenib and trametinib in patients with metastatic BRAFV600E-mutated PTC. The patients received dabrafenib 150 mg twice daily and trametinib 2 mg once daily at the Samsung Medical Center. This study evaluated the progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR) overall survival (OS), and safety of dabrafenib and trametinib. Between December 2019 and January 2022, 27 PTC patients including 8 patients with poorly differentiated or anaplastic transformation, received dabrafenib and trametinib. The median age was 73.0 years, and the median follow-up period was 19.8 months. The majority (81.5%) had undergone thyroidectomy, while 8 patients had received prior systemic treatments. ORR was 73.1%, with 19 partial responses, and DCR was 92.3%. Median PFS was 21.7 months, and median OS was 21.7 months. Treatment-related adverse events included generalized weakness (29.6%), fever (25.9%), and gastrointestinal problems (22.2%). Dose reduction due to adverse events was required in 81.5% of the patients. Dabrafenib and trametinib demonstrated a high ORR with promising PFS; however, most patients with BRAFV600E-mutated metastatic PTC required a dose reduction.

Novel concept of "sequential particle radiotherapy" with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab for hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombus.

Owing to the high objective response rate of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (Atez/Bev) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the concept of sequential conversion to local treatment has recently become mainstream. The conversion concept is mainly applied to Barcelona Clinic for Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage B cases, and radiotherapy is rarely considered as a conversion local treatment. We herein report three patients who were treated with the novel concept of "sequential particle radiotherapy," consisting of Atez/Bev therapy followed by particle radiotherapy (PRT) for HCC with advanced portal vein tumor thrombus (Vp3/4 PVTT). All patients achieved partial response radiologically and were switched to PRT. All patients were recurrence free at 1year after the introduction of Atez/Bev therapy without any additional treatment. This upcoming combination strategy includes the advocacy of sequential concepts for BCLC stage C cases and the introduction of PRT as a local treatment after Atez/Bev.

Long-term follow-up and exploratory analysis of lenvatinib in patients with metastatic or recurrent thymic carcinoma: Results from the multicenter, phase 2 REMORA trial

ObjectivesThe main objective of this report was to detail the long-term follow-up data from the REMORA study, which investigated the safety and efficacy of lenvatinib in patients with thymic carcinoma. In addition, an exploratory analysis of the association between relative dose intensity (RDI) and the efficacy of lenvatinib is presented. Materials and MethodsThe single-arm, open-label, phase 2 REMORA study was conducted at eight Japanese institutions. Forty-two patients received oral lenvatinib 24 mg once daily in 4-week cycles until the occurrence of intolerable adverse events or disease progression. The REMORA long-term follow-up data were evaluated, including overall survival (OS). RDI was calculated by dividing the actual dose administered to the patient by the standard recommended dose. This trial is registered on JMACCT (JMA-IIA00285) and on UMIN-CTR (UMIN000026777). ResultsThe updated median OS was 28.3 months (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 17.1–34.0 months), and the OS rate at 36 months was 35.7 % (95 % CI: 21.7 %–49.9 %). When grouped by RDI of lenvatinib, the median OS was 38.5 months (95 % CI: 31.2–not estimable) in patients with ≥ 75 % RDI and 17.3 months (95 % CI: 13.4–26.2 months) in patients with < 75 % RDI (hazard ratio 0.46 [95 % CI: 0.22–0.98]; P = 0.0406) at 8 weeks. Patients who maintained their lenvatinib dose over 8 weeks had a higher objective response rate than patients whose doses were reduced (75.0 % vs 29.4 %; P = 0.0379). No new safety concerns or treatment-related deaths were reported, and lenvatinib had a tolerable safety profile. ConclusionThis follow-up report updated OS in patients with metastatic or recurrent thymic carcinoma. A higher RDI of lenvatinib at 8 weeks could be associated with improved outcomes.

Modified FOLFOX6 plus bevacizumab with and without nivolumab for first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer: phase 2 results from the CheckMate 9X8 randomized clinical trial

BackgroundStandard first-line therapies for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) include fluoropyrimidine-containing regimens with oxaliplatin and/or irinotecan and a biologic agent. Immunotherapy may enhance antitumor activity in combination with standard therapies in...

High-Risk Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Hepatic Arterial Infusion Chemotherapy versus Transarterial Chemoembolization.

To compare the efficacy and safety of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) for the treatment of high-risk hepatocellular carcinoma (hHCC) patients. Between January 2014 and August 2022, a total of 1765 consecutive patients with hHCC who underwent initial intra-arterial therapies were reviewed and divided into a TACE group (n, 507) and a HAIC group (n, 426). The study used propensity score matching (PSM) to reduce selectivity bias. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were compared using Kaplan‒Meier curves with the Log rank test. The objective response rate (ORR), conversion surgery rate (CSR) adverse event (AE) comparison and subgroup analysis were performed between the two groups. After PSM 1:1, 444 patients were divided into two groups. The patients with hHCC who received HAIC had higher median PFS (6.1 vs 3.3 months, P < 0.001) and OS (10.3 vs 8.2 months, P=0.303) than TACE. Higher ORR (24.8% vs 11.7%) and CSR (15.5% vs 8.9%) were found in the HAIC group than in the TACE group (both P < 0.05). The incidence of grade 3/4 AE was 23.9% and 8.1% in the TACE and HAIC groups, respectively. The subgroup analysis suggest that HAIC appeared to particularly benefit patients with tumor diameter of more than 10 centimeters (hazard ratio [HR], 0.6; 95% CI, 0.47-0.77; p, 0.00) and PVTT Vp4 (HR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.39-0.8; P, 0.01) for PFS outperforming TACE. HAIC can provide better disease control for hHCC than cTACE, with a comparable long-term OS and safety.

First experience of using Pembroria® medication in patients with disseminated renal cell carcinoma

Background. According to the clinical guidelines from the leading Russian and international societies, treatment of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma is based on combination use of immune and targeted drugs. In December of 2022, the first Russian analogue of immune-oncological drug pembrolizumab with trade name Pembroria® was registered in Russia.Aim. To evaluate safety of the biosimilar, as well as register its effectiveness in the form of objective response estimation in accordance with the RECIST v.1.1 (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1) criteria. The article presents the results of the first experience of using Pembroria® in real clinical practice. Two clinical observations are presented demonstrating effectiveness and safety of the biosimilar.Materials and methods. At the clinic of the N. Lopatkin Scientific Research Institute of Urology and Interventional Radiology – branch of the National Medical Research Radiology Center, 21 patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma who did not previously receive systemic antitumor treatment underwent immunotarget therapy with Pembroria® and a targeted agent: lenvatinib (20 mg/day orally) or axitinib (10 mg/day orally).Results. The analysis of effectiveness considering short follow-up periods was performed in 18 patients. Median follow-up period was 6 (2–13) months and objective response rate was 50 %, in 28 % of cases stable disease was observed. Survival rates were not evaluated due to short observation time.Conclusion. Use of Pembroria® medication in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma in real clinical practice showed high objective response rate with acceptable toxicity level. No new, previously not described adverse events were registered during Pembroria® administration.

Survival by depth of response and efficacy by International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium Subgroup with lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab versus sunitinib in advanced renal cell carcinoma: analysis of the phase 3 randomized CLEAR study

Background: The extent of tumor shrinkage has been deemed a predictor of survival for advanced/metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC), a disease with historically poor survival.Objective: To perform an exploratory analysis of overall survival (OS) by tumor response by 6 mo, and to assess the efficacy and survival outcomes in specific subgroups.Design, setting, and participants: CLEAR was an open-label, multicenter, randomized, phase 3 trial of first-line treatment of advanced clear cell RCC.Intervention: Patients were randomized 1:1:1 to lenvatinib 20mg orally daily with pembrolizumab 200 mg intravenously once every 3 wk, lenvatinib plus everolimus (not included in this analysis), or sunitinib 50 mg orally daily for 4 wk on treatment/2 wk of no treatment.Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: Landmark analyses were conducted to assess the association of OS with tumor shrinkage and progressive disease status by 6 mo. Progression-free survival, duration of response, and objective response rate (ORR) were analyzed by the International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium (IMDC) risk subgroup and by the presence of target kidney lesions. Efficacy was assessed by an independent review committee as per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1.Results and limitations: Landmark analyses by tumor shrinkage showed that patients enrolled to lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab arm with a confirmed complete response or &gt;75 % target-lesion reduction by 6 mo had a 24-mo OS probability of 91.7 %. A landmark analysis by disease progression showed that patients with no progression by 6 mo had lower probabilities of death in both arms. Patients with an IMDC risk classification of intermediate/poor had longer median progression-free survival (22.1 vs 5.9 mo) and a higher ORR (72.4 % vs 28.8 %) with lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab versus sunitinib. Similarly, results favored lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab in IMDC-favorable patients and those with/without target kidney lesions. Limitations of the study are that results were exploratory and not powered/stratified.Conclusions: Lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab showed improved efficacy versus sunitinib for patients with advanced RCC; landmark analyses showed that tumor response by 6 mo correlated with longer OS.Patient summary: In this report of the CLEAR trial, we explored the survival of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma by assessing how well they initially responded to treatment. We also explored how certain groups of patients responded to treatment overall. Patients were assigned to cycles of either lenvatinib 20 mg daily plus pembrolizumab 200 mg every 3 wk or sunitinib 50 mg daily for 4 wk (followed by a 2-wk break). Patients who either had a ‘‘complete response’’ or had their tumors shrunk by &gt;75 % within 6 mo after starting treatment with lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab had better survival than those with less tumor reduction by 6 mo. Additionally, patients who had more severe disease (as per the International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium) at the start of study treatment survived for longer without disease progression with lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab than with sunitinib.

Dual CTLA-4 and PD-1 checkpoint blockade using CS1002 and CS1003 (nofazinlimab) in patients with advanced solid tumors: A first-in-human, dose-escalation, and dose-expansion study.

This study investigated the safety and efficacy of an anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody (CS1002) as monotherapy and in combination with an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody (CS1003) in patients with advanced/metastatic solid tumors. The phase 1 study involved phase 1a monotherapy dose-escalation (part 1) and phase 1b combination therapy dose escalation (part 2) and expansion (part 3). Various dosing schedules of CS1002 (0.3, 1, or 3mg/kg every 3 weeks, or 3mg/kg every 9 weeks) were evaluated with 200mg CS1003 every 3 weeks in part 3. Parts 1, 2, and 3 included a total of 13, 18, and 61 patients, respectively. No dose-limiting toxicities or maximum tolerated doses were observed. Treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were reported in 30.8%, 83.3%, and 75.0% of patients in parts 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Grade ≥3 TRAEs were experienced by 15.4%, 50.0%, and 18.3% of patients in each part. Of 61 patients evaluable for efficacy, 23 (37.7%) achieved objective responses in multiple tumor types. Higher objective response rates were observed with conventional and high-dose CS1002 regimens (1mg/kg every 3 weeks or 3mg/kg every 9 weeks) compared to low-dose CS1002 (0.3mg/kg every 3 weeks) in microsatellite instability-high/mismatch repair-deficient tumors, melanoma, and hepatocellular carcinoma (50.0% vs. 58.8%, 14.3% vs. 42.9%, and 0% vs. 16.7%). CS1002, as monotherapy, and in combination with CS1003, had a manageable safety profile across a broad dosing range. Promising antitumor activities were observed in patients with immune oncology (IO)-naive and IO-refractory tumors across CS1002 dose levels when combined with CS1003, supporting further evaluation of this treatment combination for solid tumors. CS1002 is a human immunoglobulin (Ig) G1 monoclonal antibody that blocks the interaction of CTLA-4 with its ligands and increases T-cell activation/proliferation. CS1003, now named nofazinlimab, is a humanized, recombinant IgG4 monoclonal antibody that blocks the interaction between human PD-1 and its ligands. In this original article, we determined the safety profile of CS1002 as monotherapy and in combination with CS1003. Furthermore, we explored the antitumor activity of the combination in anti-programmed cell death protein (ligand)-1 (PD-[L]1)-naive microsatellite instability-high/mismatch repair-deficient (MSI-H/dMMR) pan tumors, and anti-PD-(L)1-refractory melanoma and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). CS1002 in combination with CS1003 had manageable safety profile across a broad dosing range and showed promising antitumor activities across CS1002 dose levels when combined with CS1003. This supports further assessment of CS1002 in combination with CS1003 for the treatment of solid tumors.

[Effect of venetoclax plus chemotherapy on treatment-naive acute myeloid leukemia patients with moderate to poor cytogenetic profiles and the combination's influence on the expression of proteins of the anti-apoptoic family].

Objective: This was an open-label observational assessment aimed to evaluate whether venetoclax (VEN) plus chemotherapy could enhance the therapeutic benefits for treatment-naive acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with adverse cytogenetic profiles. Methods: A total of 38 adult patients (including 11 patients with moderate risk stratification and 27 patients with high risk stratification) who were treated at the Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University from April 2019 to May 2022 were enrolled in this study. Patients were randomized into two cohorts according to the random number method to receive single intensive chemotherapy (18/38) alone or VEN+intensive chemotherapy (20/38), respectively. The chemotherapy cohort received 2 cycles of induction chemotherapy (idarbicin or daunorubicin plus cytarabine), followed by 6 cycles of consolidation chemotherapy (cytarabine), while the treatment for the VEN + chemotherapy cohort consisted of the same chemotherapy as above plus oral VEN. Heparinized bone marrow samples were obtained from patients at enrollment de novo and post chemotherapy. The expressions of MCL-1 and BCL-2 were detected by Western blot analysis. Results: Patients with VEN+chemotherapy showed an objective response rate (ORR) of 90.0% (18/20), compared with 55.6% (10/18, P=0.012) of the chemotherapy group. Meanwhile, the VEN + chemotherapy cohort gained more benefits in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) than the chemotherapy cohort (mean PFS: 27.1 months versus 17.9 months, P=0.038; mean OS: 32.2 months versus 21.3 months, P=0.004). For patients with moderate risk stratification, there were no differences in the ORR and PFS between the chemotherapy cohort and the VEN + chemotherapy cohort: the ORR was 80.0% (4/5) versus 100% (6/6, P=0.251), and the PFS was 27.9 months versus 32.0 months (P=0.582). Moreover, the ORR was 85.7% (12/14) for the VEN+chemotherapy cohort and 46.2% (6/13) for the chemotherapy cohort in the high risk profile (P=0.029). The PFS of the VEN+chemotherapy cohort was superior to the chemotherapy cohort in the high risk profile (mean PFS: 23.7 months versus 11.1 months, P=0.002). Meanwhile, in the chemotherapy cohort, there were no difference in the PFS between FAB-M5 patients and non-FAB-M5 patients; the mean PFS was 20.0 months versus 15.5 months (P=0.298) for the two groups. Nevertheless, FAB-M5 patients were inferior to non-FAB-M5 patients in PFS in the VEN + chemotherapy arm (mean PFS: 19.6 months versus 30.2 months, P=0.031). The most frequent grade 4 hematological toxicities (therapy related) were leukopenia and thrombopenia. Grade 3/4 hematological adverse events in patients treated with VEN+chemotherapy were not increased compared with those who received chemotherapy. Western blot showed VEN continuously decreased the expression of BCL-2 proteins in both FAB-M5 and non-FAB-M5 patients, but obviously increased the expression of MCL-1 proteins only in FAB-M5 patients. Conclusions: VEN combined with intensive chemotherapy have yielded high ORR and survival advantages for de novo AML patients with poor cytogenetics profiles. The high-expression of MCL-1 may drive resistance to VEN.

Influence of TP53 Comutation on the Tumor Immune Microenvironment and Clinical Outcomes With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in STK11-Mutant Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with STK11mut has inferior outcomes to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Using multiomics, we evaluated whether a subtype of STK11mut NSCLC with a uniquely inflamed tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) harboring TP53 comutations could have favorable outcomes to ICIs. NSCLC tumors (N = 16,896) were analyzed by next-generation sequencing (DNA-Seq/592 genes). A subset (n = 5,034) underwent gene expression profiling (RNA-Seq/whole transcriptome). Exome-level neoantigen load for STK11mut NSCLC was obtained from published pan-immune analysis. Tumor immune cell content was obtained from transcriptome profiles using the microenvironment cell population (MCP) counter. ICI data from POPLAR/OAK (n = 34) and the study by Rizvi et al (n = 49) were used to model progression-free survival (PFS), and a separate ICI-treated cohort (n = 53) from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) was used to assess time to treatment failure (TTF) and tumor RECIST response for STK11mutTP53mut versus STK11mutTP53wt NSCLC. Overall, 12.6% of NSCLC tumors had a STK11mut with the proportions of tumor mutational burden (TMB)-high (≥10 mut/Mb), PD-L1 ≥50%, and microsatellite instability-high being 38.3%, 11.8%, and 0.72%, respectively. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering of STK11mut (n = 463) for stimulator of interferon-gamma (STING) pathway genes identified a STING-high cluster, which was significantly enriched in TP53mut NSCLC (P < .01). Compared with STK11mutTP53wt, tumors with STK11mutTP53mut had higher CD8+T cells and natural killer cells (P < .01), higher TMB (P < .001) and neoantigen load (P < .001), and increased expression of MYC and HIF-1A (P < .01), along with higher expression (P < .01) of glycolysis/glutamine metabolism genes. Meta-analysis of data from OAK/POPLAR and the study by Rizvi et al showed a trend toward improved PFS in patients with STK11mutTP53mut. In the DFCI cohort, compared with the STK11mut TP53wt cohort, the STK11mutTP53mut tumors had higher objective response rates (42.9% v 16.7%; P = .04) and also had longer TTF (14.5 v 4.5 months, P adj = .054) with ICI. STK11mut NSCLC with TP53 comutation is a distinct subgroup with an immunologically active TIME and metabolic reprogramming. These properties should be exploited to guide patient selection for novel ICI-based combination approaches.

Efficacy of immunotherapy in patients with metastatic melanoma

Introduction. Melanoma is an aggressive form of skin cancer caused by the transformation of melanocytes into malignant cells. Currently, immunotherapy is one of the most promising treatment methods, but searching the most optimal treatment regimens is still ongoing.Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in patients with metastatic melanoma.Materials and methods. The study included 229 patients (114 men and 115 women) aged 21 to 91 years who received (ICIs) as nivolumab (n = 168; 73,4%) and pembrolizumab (n = 30; 13,1%) monotherapy, and combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab (n = 31; 13,5%). The objective response of the tumor to treatment was recorded in the presence of partial or complete regression of the tumor. The tumor response to treatment was determined in accordance with the iRECIST criteria.Results. Complete regression was observed in 16.7, 15.9 and 8,7% of patients, partial – in 11.1, 11.4 and 17.4%, stabilization was detected in 51.2, 50.0 and 34.8% and progression – in 21.0, 22.7 and 39.1% of patients with first, second and third and more-line setting, respectively. The median response time was 3.14, 5.18 and 3.63 months, the median response duration was 16.21, 8.96 and 30.15 months in first, second and third and more-line setting, respectively. Grade 3–4 immuno-related adverse events (irAEs) were observed in 8 (3.5%) patients.Conclusions. Immunotherapy of metastatic melanoma allows achieving high rates of objective response and disease control (27.5 and 76.9%, respectively). This method of treatment is characterized by an insignificant amount of grade 3–4 irAEs (3.5% according to our data), which indicates an acceptable safety profile.