Locoregional Disease Recurrence Research Articles

LIBRETTO-432: A phase 3 study of adjuvant selpercatinib or placebo in stage IB-IIIA RET fusion-positive (RET+) NSCLC.

TPS216 Background: Around 30% of NSCLC patients (pts) present with stage IB-IIIA disease. Standard treatment options are definitive locoregional therapies w/wo chemotherapy (CT) and/or immunotherapy, followed by surveillance until disease recurrence. Targeted therapies are standard for metastatic NSCLC with driver alterations and recent Phase III trial data has emerged in support of their use in the adjuvant setting for stage IB-IIIA (ADAURA and ALINA). RET is a key oncogenic driver in NSCLC and a promising target for adjuvant targeted therapy. Selpercatinib, a highly selective, potent and CNS active RET inhibitor, recently demonstrated longer PFS than platinum-based CT as 1L treatment in pts with RET+ advanced NSCLC (Zhou et al. NEJM 2023). LIBRETTO-432 is a Phase 3, global, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial evaluating efficacy and safety of adjuvant selpercatinib v Placebo in pts with RET+ Stage IB-IIIA NSCLC following completion of definitive therapies with curative intent, and other adjuvant therapy if indicated (NCT04819100). Methods: Pts (n≈170) will be randomized (1:1) to selpercatinib BID [160mg ≥50kg; 120mg <50kg], or Placebo, in continuous 28-day cycles for a maximum treatment duration of 3y. Stratification factors include disease stage (IB/II/IIIA) and prior definitive therapy. Treatment will continue until disease recurrence/progression, unacceptable toxicity, or another protocol-defined reason. Crossover is allowed for Placebo pts who experience disease recurrence/progression. Key eligibility criteria include age ≥18 y; histologically confirmed Stage IB/II/IIIA NSCLC; RET+ tumor by PCR/NGS; prior definitive locoregional therapy with curative intent (surgery, radiotherapy) for Stage IB/II/IIIA NSCLC; and ECOG performance status 0-1. Maximum time allowed from definitive therapy completion to randomization is 26 w. Key exclusion criteria are evidence of other known oncogenic drivers; SCLC; and disease recurrence/progression following definitive therapy. Primary endpoint is investigator-assessed event-free survival (IAEFS) in the primary analysis population (pts with Stage II-IIIA). EFS is defined as time from randomization until locoregional disease recurrence with histopathological confirmation, distant disease recurrence per RECIST v1.1 or histopathological confirmation, or death. Gated secondary endpoints include IAEFS in the overall population (pts with Stage IB-IIIA) and OS in both primary analysis and overall populations. Non-gated secondary efficacy endpoints include BICR-assessed EFS, BICR and investigator-assessed time to distant disease recurrence in the CNS, and PFS on next line of treatment. Recruitment is ongoing, with enrollment across ~170 sites and 30 countries. Results from this trial will further inform the value of RET inhibition and genomic testing for adjuvant NSCLC pts. Clinical trial information: NCT04819100 .

LIBRETTO-432: A phase 3 study of adjuvant selpercatinib or placebo in stage IB-IIIA RET fusion-positive (RET+) NSCLC.

TPS8115 Background: Around 30% of NSCLC patients (pts) present with stage IB-IIIA disease. Standard treatment options are definitive locoregional therapies w/wo chemotherapy (CT) and/or immunotherapy, followed by surveillance until disease recurrence. Targeted therapies are standard for metastatic NSCLC with driver alterations and recent Phase III trial data has emerged in support of their use in the adjuvant setting for stage IB-IIIA (ADAURA and ALINA). RET is a key oncogenic driver in NSCLC and a promising target for adjuvant targeted therapy. Selpercatinib, a highly selective, potent and CNS active RET inhibitor, recently demonstrated longer PFS than platinum-based CT as 1L treatment in pts with RET+ advanced NSCLC (Zhou et al. NEJM 2023). LIBRETTO-432 is a Phase 3, global, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial evaluating efficacy and safety of adjuvant selpercatinib v Placebo in pts with RET+ Stage IB-IIIA NSCLC following completion of definitive therapies with curative intent, and other adjuvant therapy if indicated (NCT04819100). Methods: Pts (n≈170) will be randomized (1:1) to selpercatinib BID [160mg ≥50kg; 120mg < 50kg], or Placebo, in continuous 28-day cycles for a maximum treatment duration of 3y. Stratification factors include disease stage (IB/II/IIIA) and prior definitive therapy. Treatment will continue until disease recurrence/progression, unacceptable toxicity, or another protocol-defined reason. Crossover is allowed for Placebo pts who experience disease recurrence/progression. Key eligibility criteria include age ≥18 y; histologically confirmed Stage IB/II/IIIA NSCLC; RET+ tumor by PCR/NGS; prior definitive locoregional therapy with curative intent (surgery, radiotherapy) for Stage IB/II/IIIA NSCLC; and ECOG performance status 0-1. Maximum time allowed from definitive therapy completion to randomization is 26 w. Key exclusion criteria are evidence of other known oncogenic drivers; SCLC; and disease recurrence/progression following definitive therapy. Primary endpoint is investigator-assessed event-free survival (IAEFS) in the primary analysis population (pts with Stage II-IIIA). EFS is defined as time from randomization until locoregional disease recurrence with histopathological confirmation, distant disease recurrence per RECIST v1.1 or histopathological confirmation, or death. Gated secondary endpoints include IAEFS in the overall population (pts with Stage IB-IIIA) and OS in both primary analysis and overall populations. Non-gated secondary efficacy endpoints include BICR-assessed EFS, BICR and investigator-assessed time to distant disease recurrence in the CNS, and PFS on next line of treatment. Recruitment is ongoing, with enrollment across ~170 sites and 30 countries. Results from this trial will further inform the value of RET inhibition and genomic testing for adjuvant NSCLC pts. Clinical trial information: NCT04819100 .

Neoadjuvant immunotherapy for oropharynx cancer: Correlative studies and long-term outcomes from the CIAO trial.

6059 Background: CIAO (Checkpoint Inhibitors Assessment in Oropharynx cancer) was a window of opportunity trial evaluating the anti-PD-L1 durvalumab (durva) with or without the anti-CTLA-4 tremelimumab (treme) prior to surgery in 28 oropharynx squamous cell carcinoma (OPC) patients (pts). Here we report correlative analyses and long-term survival outcomes. Methods: A total of 28 OPC pts were randomized to receive durva (n=14) or durva plus treme (n=14) for 2 cycles prior to surgery. Adjuvant radiotherapy with or without concomitant chemotherapy was recommended based on pathology findings, per standard of care. Efficacy and safety results have been previously reported. Whole exome sequencing (WES), RNA sequencing (seq), and TCR-seq were performed on available pre- and post-treatment primary tumor specimens. Circulating HPV was quantified pre-treatment and longitudinally. Associations with objective response (OR) to therapy per RECIST were determined using either Fisher’s exact test (binary variables) or rank-sum test (continuous variables). Multiple comparisons were corrected for by the Benjamini and Hochberg method. Disease-free survival (DFS) was defined as the time from surgery to recurrence or death. Results: Of the 28 enrolled pts, 20 were newly diagnosed and 8 had locoregional recurrent disease; 25 were HPV-positive. The OR rate per RECIST was 43%. Efficacy was equivalent in both arms. Responders tended to be of younger age (p=0.02). At the DNA level, baseline tumor mutation burden was not associated with response, but mutational contraction post-treatment was more often observed among responders (p=0.02). There were no statistically significant differentially expressed genes between responders and non-responders, however, immune deconvolution revealed that a low inferred tumor neutrophil-to-leukocyte ratio was associated with response (p=0.01). TCR-seq revealed 8 TCR motifs enriched in responders at 25% false discovery rate. Serum HPV levels significantly decreased in responders after treatment (p=0.02). With a median follow-up from surgery of 59.6 months (range 14.9-71.5 months; data cut-off 1/19/24), none of the 20 patients with newly diagnosed OPC had recurrence and all remain alive at the last contact date (DFS=100%). Of the 9 patients with recurrent OPC, 3 had subsequent distant recurrence and died of disease (median DFS=5.7 years, overall DFS=66.7%). Conclusions: Responses to neoadjuvant checkpoint inhibitors was associated with tumor mutational contraction and a low baseline neutrophil-to-leukocyte ratio in OPC. Eight TCR motifs were enriched in responders. Serum HPV level dynamics was associated with tumor burden and may be useful in response monitoring. DFS outcomes were favorable in both newly diagnosed and recurrent cohorts.

Evaluation of the safety and effectiveness of robot-assisted neck dissections.

Robot-assisted neck dissection (RAND) for the management of the regional lymphatic basin offers the potential for improved cosmesis and reduced lymphedema. While RAND has been previously described, functional outcome and oncologic control rates need further elucidation. A retrospective, matched cohort study of neck dissections completed at UPMC from 2017 to 2021 was conducted. RAND was identified and matched to open neck dissections (open) in a 1:2 ratio. Matching characteristics included primary cancer site, pre-operative clinical N-stage, age at time of surgery, HPV status, and previous chemoradiation treatment (salvage vs. nonsalvage procedure). Additional information was collected on patient demographics, surgery characteristics, and outcomes. Comparisons were made using t-test, chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and Kaplan-Meier Wilcoxon (KMW) test with p < 0.05 indicating significance. Overall, RAND and open groups had similar distributions of age, gender, BMI, primary site of cancer, HPV status, clinical N-stage, clinical T-stage, known neck disease prior to procedure, prior chemoradiation therapy, and level(s) of neck dissection. Surgically, RAND procedures yielded less drainage on average (124 mL in RAND vs. 220 mL in open approaches; p = 0.01). There was no difference in the rates of complications, estimated blood loss, or number of lymph nodes obtained. There were also no differences in the rates of adjuvant therapy. Long term, there were no differences in the rates of local, locoregional, and distant recurrence of primary disease between RAND and open procedures. There were also no differences in postprocedure disease-free survival time (KMW p-value = 0.32; HR [of RAND compared with open] = 0.62). Similarly, there were no statistical differences in the overall survival of RAND patients when compared with the open group (75 vs. 58.9 months; HR = 0.11, p = 0.87). This study is the first to report the long-term effectiveness of robot-assisted surgery compared with the traditional, open approach. In addition to well-known cosmetic benefits, robot-assisted surgery may also offer patients a reduction in uncomfortable drains and improved effects from lymphedema. Overall, this study provides initial data that the RAND may be considered as an alternative approach to open surgery.

Wire-guided localization and surgical resection of non-palpable recurrent of thyroid carcinoma: A STROBE-compliant, retrospective cohort study

BackgroundInformation on hook-wire guided (HWG) surgery for non-palpable thyroid carcinoma (TC), locoregional-recurrent disease (LRRD) is scarce. We analyze the results of HWG resection compared with the traditional procedure. MethodsCohort study performed between January 2016 and December 2020. Patients with TC and non-palpable LRRD were included. A “Standard cohort”, patients with non-HWG resection and “HWG cohort”, with HWG resection of LRRD were defined. Surgical morbidity, re-recurrent/progressive disease (RRD), and re-recurrence-free survival (RRFS) were defined. Results43 and 23 patients were assigned to the Standard or HWG cohorts, respectively. Complications occurred in 28 % and 17.3 % of cases, in control or HWG cohorts, respectively. HWG cohort, size of primary TC, 131I dose >150 mCi, and thyroglobulin level >1 ng/ml at detection of LRRD were associated with RRD. HWG cohort, thyroglobulin level at LRRD, 131I treatment, and dose were associated with RRFS. ConclusionsHWG surgery of non-palpable TC LRRD had improved results regarding surgical morbidity, RRD, and RRFS.

Impact of the extent of lymph node dissection on survival outcomes in clinically lymph node-positive bladder cancer.

To determine the oncological impact of extended pelvic lymph node dissection (ePLND) vs standard PLND (sPLND) during radical cystectomy (RC) in clinically lymph node-positive (cN+) bladder cancer (BCa). In this retrospective, multicentre study we included 969 patients who underwent RC with sPLND (internal/external iliac and obturator lymph nodes) or ePLND (sPLND plus common iliac and presacral nodes) with or without platin-based peri-operative chemotherapy for cTany N1-3 M0 BCa between 1991 and 2022. We assessed the impact of ePLND on recurrence-free survival (RFS) and the distribution of recurrences (locoregional and distant recurrences). The secondary endpoint was overall survival (OS). We performed propensity-score matching using covariates associated with the extent of PLND in univariable logistic regression analysis. The association of the extent of PLND with RFS and OS was investigated using Cox regression models. Of 969 cN+ patients, 510 were 1:1 matched on propensity scores. The median (interquartile range [IQR]) time to recurrence was 8 (4-16) months, and median (IQR) follow-up of alive patients was 30 (13-51) months. Disease recurrence was observed in 104 patients in the ePLND and 107 in the sPLND group. Of these, 136 (27%), 47 (9.2%) and 19 patients (3.7%) experienced distant, locoregional, or both distant and locoregional disease recurrence, respectively. When stratified by the extent of PLND, we did not find a difference in recurrence patterns (P > 0.05). ePLND improved neither RFS (hazard ratio [HR] 0.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.70-1.19; P = 0.5) nor OS (HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.60-1.01; P = 0.06) compared to sPLND. Stratification by induction chemotherapy did not change outcomes. Performing an ePLND at the time of RC in cN+ patients improved neither RFS nor OS compared to sPLND, regardless of induction chemotherapy status. Pretreatment risk stratification is paramount to identify ideal candidates for RC with ePLND as part of a multimodal treatment approach.

Clinical experiences with online adaptive radiotherapy of vulvar carcinoma

Background and purpose Radiotherapy for vulvar carcinoma is challenging due to relatively high risk of locoregional disease recurrence, a technically challenging target, and postoperative lymphocele, and a high risk radiation sequelae. We aim to explore, if it is possible to reduce dose to normal tissue, while maintaining CTV coverage for this patient group with online adaptive radiotherapy. Materials and methods 20 patients with vulvar carcinoma (527 fractions) were treated with online adaptation on a Varian Ethos accelerator. Setup CBCTs were acquired daily for adaptive planning. Verification CBCTs were acquired immediately prior to dose delivery. CTV dose coverage and dose to bladder and rectum were extracted from the scheduled and adapted plans as well as from adapted plans recalculated based on verification CBCTs. In addition, analysis of the decision of the adaptive procedure was performed for 17 patients (465 fractions). Results Mean CTV D95% and standard deviation was 98% ± 5% for the scheduled plan compared to 100.0 ± 0.3% and 100.0 ± 0.8% for the adapted plan on the setup and verification CBCT respectively. Dose to OARs varied substantially and did not show any benefit from adaption itself, however a margin reduction was implemented after the first patients treated. The adapted plan was chosen for 63.5% of the fractions and dominant reasons for not adapting were ‘no significant dosimetric gain’ (75 fractions, 14%) and ‘Medical doctor (MD) not available for treatment’ (50 fractions, 9.5%). The median adaption time was 15 min and the 25th and 75th percentile was 12 and 17 min, respectively. Conclusion CTVs and PTVs dose coverage were significantly improved with adaptation compared to image-guided RT. This gain was robust during the treatment time.

Patterns of recurrent disease after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and esophageal cancer surgery with curative intent in a tertiary referral center

BackgroundRecurrence is frequently observed after esophageal cancer surgery, with dismal post-recurrence survival. Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by esophagectomy is the gold standard for resectable esophageal tumors in the Netherlands. This study investigated the recurrence patterns and survival after multimodal therapy. MethodsThis retrospective cohort study included patients with recurrent disease after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by esophagectomy for an esophageal adenocarcinoma in the Amsterdam UMC between 01 and 01–2010 and 31-12-2018. Post-recurrence treatment and survival of patients were investigated and grouped by recurrence site (loco-regional, distant, or combined loco-regional and distant). ResultsIn total, 278 of 618 patients (45.0%) developed recurrent disease after a median of 49 weeks. Thirty-one patients had loco-regional (11.2%), 145 distant (52.2%), and 101 combined loco-regional and distant recurrences (36.3%). Post-recurrence survival was superior for patients with loco-regional recurrences (33 weeks, 95%CI 7.3–58.7) compared to distant (12 weeks, 95%CI 6.9–17.1) or combined loco-regional and distant recurrent disease (18 weeks, 95%CI 9.3–26.7). Patients with loco-regional recurrences treated with curative intent had the longest survival (87 weeks, 95%CI 6.9–167.4). ConclusionRecurrent disease after potentially curative treatment for esophageal cancer was most frequently located distantly, with dismal prognosis. A subgroup of patients with loco-regional recurrence was treated with curative intent and had prolonged survival. These patients may benefit from intensive surveillance protocols, and more research is needed to identify these patients.

Real world data on off-label use of consolidation durvalumab in newly diagnosed stage II and recurrent non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy.

e18857 Background: Consolidation durvalumab is approved for treatment of newly diagnosed, unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have not progressed after definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and the NCCN guidelines has since included stage II NSCLC who have not progressed after definitive CRT. Methods: A retrospective, observational real-world study was conducted to identify and describe the off-label use of consolidation durvalumab in NSCLC after completion of CRT between June 2018-June 2021. Data sources included claims data and electronic medical records submitted with prior authorization (PA) requests to OncoHealth, a digital health company that reviews PA requests for cancer treatment. With a data cut-off of 12/22/2022, real-world Time to Progression (rwTTP) and real-world Time to Next Treatment (rwTTNT) were evaluated. All endpoints were measured from the start of consolidation durvalumab treatment; rwTTP spanned until earliest date of clinician-reported progression and rwTTNT spanned until initiation of subsequent treatment. Results: Among 326 patients identified to have received durvalumab after definitive CRT, 45 (13.8%) received off-label treatment. The median age was 71 years (range: 53 to 88), 51% male, 53% former smokers, 29% Stage I, IIA or IIB, 71% locoregional recurrent disease; 58% squamous histology, 47% had undergone prior surgery +/- adjuvant chemo, 27% received prior radiation only and 98% received concomitant platinum-based chemotherapy prior to durvalumab. Median time to initiating durvalumab after CRT was 47 days. After a median follow up of 13.1 (range: 7.0-50.7) months, 33% (n = 15) had progression of disease. The median rwTTP was 14.0 (range: 4.2-32.9) months and median rwTTNT was 14.7 (range: 6.0-33.0) months. Conclusions: In the real world, off-label use of consolidation durvalumab was based on clinical justification and extrapolation of results from PACIFIC trial. The results of rwTTP and rwTTNT outcomes suggest patients with early stage or recurrent disease achieved clinically meaningful benefit from treatment approach used in the PACIFIC trial. With additional patients and longer follow up, real-world data could shed light on the appropriateness of expanding off-label use of durvalumab consolidation.

Estimating the impact of adjuvant atezolizumab in preventing recurrences and reducing costs in resectable early PD-L1 high non-small cell lung cancer in Europe.

e20501 Background: Recurrences of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after surgery remain common and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Loco-regional or metastatic disease recurrence can lead to a substantial health care resource use and economic burden. The aim of this study was to estimate the effect of treating patients with early-stage NSCLC with adjuvant atezolizumab (ATZ) on the number of recurrences and direct healthcare costs in Germany, Spain, France Italy and the UK, together referred to as EU5. Methods: Using an epidemiological model, we estimated the reduction in loco-regional (LR) recurrences or distant metastases (DM) after adjuvant ATZ treatment following chemotherapy in operable NSCLC patients with PDL-1 expression of ≥ 50% on tumor cells (PD-L1 high), stage II-IIIA (AJCC 7th edition staging), without EFGR or ALK alterations. We used data from cancer registries, published literature sources, and market research to obtain incidence rates, staging distribution, biomarker status data, and adjuvant treatment rates. Moreover, we used evidence on the disease-free survival (DFS) of patients on adjuvant ATZ from the IMpower010 (NCT02486718) clinical trial to calculate the projected reduction in the number of LR recurrences or DM over a 10-year period post-ATZ launch relative to best supportive care (BSC). The model considers the costs associated with treatment, management of adverse events, monitoring of the disease, and follow-up healthcare. Results: We project that between 2023 and 2033, 20,483 patients with resected PD-L1 high stage II-IIIA NSCLC would experience recurrence (LR, or DM, or both) in the EU5 if they were treated with BSC (adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy) alone (Table 1). Assuming peak ATZ uptake of 75%, the model estimates that following adjuvant ATZ and chemotherapy, a total of 4,665 recurrences would be prevented in this patient population in the EU5 over 10 years, representing a 23% decrease in recurrence relative to BSC. These avoided recurrences in EU5 could translate into a considerable reduction in direct healthcare costs. Conclusions: Adjuvant ATZ following chemotherapy results in a considerable population-level reduction of loco-regional recurrence or distant metastasis in resected PD-L1 high stage II-IIIA NSCLC patients. This could translate into a substantial decrease in the economic and societal burden caused by the disease. [Table: see text]

AIUM Practice Parameter for the Performance and Interpretation of Diagnostic Ultrasound of the Thyroid and Extracranial Head and Neck.

AIUM Practice Parameter for the Performance and Interpretation of Diagnostic Ultrasound of the Thyroid and Extracranial Head and Neck.

The relation between hypoxia and proliferation biomarkers with radiosensitivity in locally advanced laryngeal cancer

PurposeTreatment decision-making in advanced-stage laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is difficult due to the high recurrence rates and the desire to preserve laryngeal functions. New predictive markers for radiosensitivity are needed to facilitate treatment choices. In early stage glottic LSCC treated with primary radiotherapy, expression of hypoxia (HIF-1α and CA-IX) and proliferation (Ki-67) tumour markers showed prognostic value for local control. The objective of this study is to examine the prognostic value of tumour markers for hypoxia and proliferation on locoregional recurrent disease and disease-specific mortality in a well-defined cohort of patients with locally advanced LSCC treated with primary, curatively intended radiotherapy.MethodsIn pre-treatment biopsy tissues from a homogeneous cohort of 61 patients with advanced stage (T3–T4, M0) LSCC primarily treated with radiotherapy, expression of HIF-1α, CA-IX and Ki-67 was evaluated with immunohistochemistry. Demographic data (age and sex) and clinical data (T- and N-status) were retrospectively collected from the medical records. Cox regression analysis was performed to assess the relation between marker expression, demographic and clinical data, and locoregional recurrence and disease-specific mortality.ResultsPatients with high expression of HIF-1α developed significantly more often a locoregional recurrence (39%) compared to patients with a low expression (21%) (p = 0.002). The expression of CA-IX and Ki-67 showed no association with locoregional recurrent disease. HIF-1α, CA-IX and Ki-67 were not significantly related to disease-specific mortality. Clinical N-status was an independent predictor of recurrent disease (p < 0.001) and disease-specific mortality (p = 0.003). Age, sex and T-status were not related to locoregional recurrent disease or disease-specific mortality.ConclusionHIF-1α overexpression and the presence of regional lymph node metastases at diagnosis were independent predictors of locoregional recurrent disease after primary treatment with curatively intended radiotherapy in patients with locally advanced LSCC.

Efficacy and toxicity of adjuvant radiotherapy in recurrent melanoma after adjuvant immunotherapy

BackgroundIn patients with stage III melanoma, despite surgical resection and adjuvant systemic therapy, locoregional recurrences still occur. The randomized, phase III Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group (TROG) 02.01 trial demonstrated that...

Abstract P6-07-01: Costs of breast cancer recurrence after initial treatment for high risk early breast cancer using SEER-Medicare linked data

Abstract Background: Despite the good prognosis with treatment for most patients with hormone receptor positive (HR+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative (HER2-) early breast cancer (EBC), ~ 20–30% of patients experience locoregional or distant disease recurrence. To assist in value assessments of novel therapies in the adjuvant setting, this study aimed to determine the costs of treated breast cancer recurrence following treated EBC. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed linked patient data from the US Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registry (2010-2014) and Medicare claims (2009 to 2019, which included data from Part A, B, and Prescription Drug Events [Part D]). Data were analyzed for patients aged ≥65 years with HR+, HER2-, node-positive EBC at high risk of recurrence (consistent with monarchE trial high risk criteria). Treated recurrences were defined based on treatment events/procedure codes, including surgery, radiation and systemic therapy, after a 90-day gap following the last treatment for initial EBC. Recurrences were classified based on Medicare claim diagnosis codes or SEER registry data. Extra cost was defined as cost attributable to treated recurrence. Cumulative extra costs were estimated by calculating cost differences between patients with treated vs non/untreated recurrence. Cumulative extra costs were analyzed over the first 6 years following first treated recurrence, a duration which ensured adequate sample size. Costs were inflated to 2021-US$. Results: We identified 3081 eligible patients (mean age at diagnosis 74.5±7.1 years, 97.4% female, 87.8% White). We identified 964 patients with treated recurrence (distant=432, locoregional=128, contralateral=9, unclassified=347) and 2117 patients with non/untreated recurrence. Six-year cumulative extra costs were higher for patients with distant recurrences ($168,656) than for patients with locoregional recurrences ($96,465) (Table 1). Conclusions: Cost of recurrence in patients with high risk EBC is considerable, particularly in patients with distant recurrences. Most patients who recurred in this population experienced distant recurrence. Delaying or preventing recurrence may reduce long term costs in these high risk EBC patients. Table 1. Mean cumulative extra costs attributable to treated recurrence. Citation Format: Alexandra S. Vitko, Pamela A. Martin, Sheng Zhang, Adam F. Johnston, Robert L. Ohsfeldt, Shen Zheng, Astra M. Liepa. Costs of breast cancer recurrence after initial treatment for high risk early breast cancer using SEER-Medicare linked data [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2022 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(5 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-07-01.

The Contemporary Presentation and Diagnosis of Endometrial Cancer Recurrence: When, Where, and How?

ABSTRACT Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common gynecologic cancer in the United States. Despite a favorable prognosis in many, EC is one of the few cancers with rising mortality rates. This is in part due to recurrence rates, being as high as 50% in patients at high risk. Survival differences between locoregional and distant disease recurrence have prompted increased focus on multimodality adjuvant treatment. Disease surveillance using routine imaging for early detection of recurrence has not shown a survival benefit in those at low risk, and a more accurate profile of recurrence pattern and presentation may aid the screening current infrastructure. This retrospective review aimed to examine patterns of recurrence, presentation, and method of diagnosis of recurrent EC in a large contemporary cohort from a single, high-volume institution. Patients who underwent surgery for an EC diagnosis between June 2014 and December 2020 at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center were included. Disease recurrence was defined as evidence of disease after a 3-month disease-free interval following primary treatment. In the setting of metastatic disease, only those with a complete radiographic response after adjuvant therapy were eligible for recurrence. Locoregional recurrence was confined to the vaginal vault or pelvis. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to assess the impact of covariates on the likelihood of receipt of treatment for recurrent disease, overall survival, and time from recurrence to death. A total of 1723 patients were included in the study cohort with a median follow-up time of 2.3 years. A total of 201 participants (11.6%) were included in the recurrence analysis. Of these patients, 120 (59.7%) were symptomatic, with abdominal and pelvic pain being the most common symptoms. Among asymptomatic recurrence cases, 15.4% were diagnosed by imaging at provider discretion, 13.4% were diagnosed by pelvic examination, and 7.5% were diagnosed by CA-125 at provider discretion. Patients diagnosed by pelvic examination were more likely to be at an early stage (66.7% vs 34.5%; P = 0.001), of endometrioid histology (66.7% vs 36.8%; P = 0.003), and without prior adjuvant therapy (48.2% vs 17.9%; P = 0.001). Patients who received adjuvant therapy experienced significantly more locoregional recurrences (60.5% vs 19.7%; P ≤ 0.001), but there was no difference in the median time to recurrence of 12.7 months. Patients with asymptomatic recurrence were more likely to be able to receive treatment than those with symptomatic presentations (91.3% vs 76.7%; P = 0.005). Age at initial diagnosis was associated with receipt of treatment for recurrence. Patients with symptomatic recurrence had a significantly shorter median time from recurrence to death (6.5 vs 11.1 months; P = 0.0053) than asymptomatic patients; however, this was driven by receipt of treatment. Overall survival did not differ significantly between mode of presentation or method of diagnosis. The results of this study find that recurrence for EC was observed in 12% of women, the majority of whom experienced symptoms, and symptomatic patients were less likely to receive treatment, which contributed to a shorter time from recurrence to death. These findings in the context of an increasing mortality for EC suggest improvements in providing timely treatment for recurrent disease are essential.

Prognostic significance of apanel of two biomarkers (E-cadherin and CD105) in laryngeal cancer.

This study aimed to evaluate the clinicopathologic significance of the combined immunohistochemical expression of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition marker E-cadherin and the angiogenesis marker CD105 in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma and assess correlation of their expression. Eighty-five patients who underwent complete resection as primary treatment were selected for this study. E-cadherin and CD105 expression levels were determined by immunohistochemistry. The receiver operating curve approach was applied to determine the cut-off value and separate patients with high and low expression of markers. The high-risk group ("CD105 high" and "E-cadherin low" expression) showed statistically significant correlations with age less than 66 years (p = 0.039), advanced T-status (T3-4) (p = 0.046), aggressive TNM stage (stage III-IV) (p = 0.003) and locoregional recurrence of disease (p = 0.004). In the Kaplan-Meier analyses, the high-risk group had significantly worse prognoses than other risk groups (log-rank test 2 = 9.415, p = 0.024). Spearman's correlation coefficient analysis showed anonsignificant negative correlation between the expression of E-cadherin and CD105 (rho = -0.073, p = 0.505). Simultaneous consideration of E-cadherin and CD105 is asimple panel of markers to determine aggressive tumour phenotype with ahigher risk of disease recurrence in patients with laryngeal cancer.

RECURRENCE FREE SURVIVAL AND PATTERNS OF RECURRENCE IN SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA OF ORAL CAVITY: AN INSTITUTIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Objective: To determine the recurrence-free survival (RFS) in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of oral cavity (OSCC) Methodology: It was a longitudinal study conducted on oncology patients who were diagnosed as having squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity and treated in our tertiary care hospital in the department of medical oncology. Patients were followed for the evaluation of disease recurrence. The Chi-square test was used to see the association between outcomes and clinicopathological features of the tumor. Results: Of 97 patients, 85(87.62%) patients had no disease, however, 12(12.37%) patients had residual/recurrent disease in the first post-treatment follow-up scans performed three months after the completion of curative treatment. Subsequent follow-up scans showed disease recurrence in 87(89.69%) patients, out of which 52 (59.77%) had loco-regional disease recurrence while 35(40.22%) patients had combined loco-regional and systemic disease recurrence with lung(n=18) being the most common site of distant metastasis. The mean RFS was 15 months (IQR= 8, 26). Patients with lymph vascular invasion (LVI), perineural invasion (PNI), positive margin, and extranodal extension(ENE) had a significantly higher risk of progressive disease after primary treatment, on follow up scans. The relationships between treatment outcomes and LVI, PNI, positive margin and ENE were statistically significant (p&lt;0.05). Conclusion: Our study shows that there is a higher frequency of recurrence in patients with OSCC among patients with extra nodal extension, lymph vascular and perineural-invasion, and positive margins. Clinical trials are required to identify other poor prognostic factors and the need of developing a prognostic model for risk-stratification of such patients.

Near-Infrared Photoimmunotherapy for Oropharyngeal Cancer.

Human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal cancer has a better prognosis than other head and neck cancers. However, rates of recurrence and metastasis are similar and the prognosis of recurrent or metastatic HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer is poor. Near-infrared photoimmunotherapy (NIR-PIT) is a treatment involving administration of a photosensitizer (IRDye®700DX) conjugated to a monoclonal antibody followed by activation with near-infrared light illumination. It is a highly tumor-specific therapy with minimal toxicity in normal tissues. Moreover, NIR-PIT is expected to have not only direct effects on a treated lesion but also immune responses on untreated distant lesions. NIR-PIT with cetuximab-IR700 (AlluminoxTM) has been in routine clinical use since January 2021 for unresectable locally advanced or locally recurrent head and neck cancer in patients that have previously undergone radiotherapy in Japan. NIR-PIT for head and neck cancer (HN-PIT) is expected to provide a curative treatment option for the locoregional recurrent or metastatic disease after radiotherapy and surgery. This article reviews the mechanism underlying the effect of NIR-PIT and recent clinical trials of NIR-PIT for head and neck cancers, treatment-specific adverse events, combination treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors, illumination approach and posttreatment quality of life, and provides a case of series of two patients who receive NIR-PIT for oropharyngeal cancer at our institution.

Survival outcomes in a prospective randomized multicenter Phase III trial comparing patients undergoing anatomical segmentectomy versus standard lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer up to 2 cm

ObjectivesThe oncological equivalence of anatomical segmentectomy for early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still controversial. Primary aim of this study was survival outcomes in combination with improved quality of life after segmentectomy compared with lobectomy in patients with pathological stage Ia NSCLC (up to 2 cm, 7th edition) Materials and MethodsWe conducted a prospective, randomized, multicenter phase III trial to confirm the non-inferiority of segmentectomy to lobectomy in regard to prognosis (trial No. DRKS00004897). Patients were randomized to undergo either segmentectomy or lobectomy and followed up for 5-years survival and tumor recurrence. The 5-year hazard ratio comparing lobectomy with segmentectomy was required to remain above 0.5. ResultsBetween October 2013 and June 2016, 108 patients with verified or suspected NSCLC up to 2 cm diameter were enrolled; 54 were assigned to lobectomy and 54 (1 drop-out) to segmentectomy. In-hospital and 90 days mortality was 0% in both groups. Overall survival at 5 years was 86.52% in the lobectomy compared to 78.21% in the segmentectomy group (HR = 0.61, (95% CI 0.23–1.66), p-value of non-inferiority test, p-ni = 0.687). Disease free survival was 77.29% for the lobectomy and 77.96% for the segmentectomy patients (HR = 1.50, (95% CI 0.60–3.76), p-ni = 0.019). At a median follow-up of 5 years, no differences were noted in either the locoregional or distant recurrent disease in both groups (9.4% vs 7.4%, p-ni = 0.506). ConclusionOverall survival, locoregional and distant recurrences was not significantly difference for patients undergoing either segmentectomy or lobectomy for stage Ia NSCLC. The targeted non-inferiority of segmentectomy to lobectomy could not be proven for primary endpoint overall survival, but was significant for the secondary endpoint of disease free survival.

Vulvar malignant melanoma: A case report and review of its management.

Vulvar malignant melanoma (VMM) is uncommon and poses a significant management challenge. Here, we presented a case of VMM managed by surgery, chemoradiation, and planned for targeted therapy. A 70- year-old woman with underlying diabetes mellitus and hypertension presented with a black-colored exophytic growth around her left vulva for two months. Initial biopsy confirmed malignant melanoma with positive staining for S100, HMB 45, and Melan A. An imaging study showed that the disease was localized to the vulva. She underwent bilateral radical vulvectomy and bilateral inguinofemoral lymph node dissection followed by radiotherapy. She had a locoregional disease recurrence, which was subsequently managed by palliative perineal radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and planned for immunotherapy. Vulvar malignant melanoma is a rare and aggressive tumor, with a poor overall prognosis, and high recurrence rate. Adjuvant chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy may be beneficial for local recurrence and distant metastasis cases. Molecular Analysis has a potential role in targeted therapy to improve the survival and outcome of the patient.