Median Progression-free Survival Months Research Articles

2,109 randomized oncology trials map continuous, meager improvements in progression-free and overall survival over 50 years

ObjectivesTo assess the patterns and time trends in overall survival and progression-free survival treatment effects across randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in oncology. Study Design and SettingA PubMed search for oncology network meta-analyses (NMAs) was carried (to September 30, 2021). Relevant hazard ratios were extracted for systemic treatments from RCTs in the NMAs. After removing duplicate results, relationships between treatment effects, year of publication, trial design, and other features were explored. ResultsFrom 241 oncology NMAs, 2,109 unique eligible RCTs provided analyzable data. On average, there was a 12%–14% reduction in hazard for overall survival and 27%–30% reduction for progression-free survival, with substantial heterogeneity across different malignancies. Correlation between overall survival and progression-free survival treatment effects was modest (r = 0.60, 95% confidence interval, 0.56–0.64). Over time, there was a suggestive trend of increased progression-free survival treatment effect, although overall survival treatment effects remained steady. Only one in five trials met criteria for clinically meaningful improvements in overall survival. Among 300 randomly selected trials, mean absolute improvement was 1.6 months for median progression-free survival and 1.4 months for median overall survival. ConclusionBroad patterns across the past 50 years of oncology research suggest continuous progress has been made, but few results meet clinically meaningful thresholds for overall survival improvement.

Nivolumab Retreatment in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Who Responded to Prior Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and Had ICI-Free Intervals (WJOG9616L).

To explore the efficacy of retreatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who responded to prior ICI and had adequate ICI-free interval. Patients with advanced NSCLC who had achieved complete response (CR), partial response (PR), or stable disease for ≥6 months with prior ICI therapy preceding progression were prospectively enrolled. All patients should have had ICI-free interval ≥60 days before registration. Patients were treated with nivolumab (240 mg) every 2 weeks until progression. The primary endpoint was overall response rate (ORR). Secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival, and safety (Trial Identifier, UMIN000028561). Sixty-one patients were enrolled during October 2017 to February 2020, with 59 analyzed for efficacy. Regarding prior ICI, 41 patients had CR or PR. Median treatment on ICI and median ICI-free intervals were 8.1 months and 9.2 months, respectively. Twenty patients experienced immune-related adverse events (irAE) that required discontinuation of prior ICI. Nivolumab retreatment demonstrated ORR of 8.5% [95% confidence interval (CI), 2.8-18.7%] and median PFS of 2.6 months (95% CI, 1.6-2.8 months) while 5 responders had 11.1 months of median PFS. In the multivariate analysis, ICI-free interval was the only predictive factor of PFS (HR, 2.02; P = 0.02), while prior efficacy or history of irAE was not. Common adverse events were skin disorders (23%), malaise (20%), and hypoalbuminemia (15%). Even in patients who initially responded to prior ICI and had ICI-free interval, once resistance occurred, retreatment with nivolumab had limited efficacy.

Response rates and minimal residual disease outcomes as potential surrogates for progression-free survival in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.

Progression-free survival (PFS) is a common primary endpoint in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM). Patients with NDMM typically have longer PFS and are more likely to achieve minimal residual disease (MRD) or complete response (CR) compared to patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Response-based surrogate endpoints may hold value given the longer follow-up time required to evaluate PFS in NDMM. In this work, systematic literature reviews of Medline, Embase, and Cochrane databases (2010-06/2020) and relevant congresses (2018–2020) were performed to identify randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and real-world studies in NDMM reporting median PFS and objective response. Associations between PFS and each response endpoint were evaluated using Pearson’s product-moment correlation weighted by sample size in each RCT arm. Unadjusted and adjusted weighted linear regression models were applied to estimate the gain in median PFS associated with each response endpoint. Statistically significant correlations were identified for median PFS with overall response rate (ORR; Pearson r = 0.59), CR (r = 0.48), stringent CR (sCR; r = 0.68), and MRD (r = 0.69). The unadjusted models estimated 0.50 (95% CI: 0.36, 0.64; p<0.001), 0.42 (95% CI: 0.25, 0.58; p<0.001), 1.05 (95% CI: 0.58, 1.52; p<0.001), and 0.35 (95% CI: 0.12, 0.58; p = 0.006) months of median PFS gained per point of ORR, CR, sCR, and MRD, respectively. Associations for median PFS remained statistically significant in models adjusted for age and treatment type with ORR (0.35, 95% CI: 0.21, 0.49; p<0.001), and adjusted for age and International Staging System risk stage with CR (0.29, 95% CI: 0.16, 0.41; p<0.001). Due to small sample size, adjusted models could not be constructed for sCR or MRD. Nevertheless, evidence of significant survival benefit (p<0.05) associated with MRD negativity and sCR was identified across real-world studies. These findings provide support for the use of response outcomes as surrogate endpoints to estimate PFS benefit in NDMM.

Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) in the Management of Advanced Ovarian Cancer. A Literature Review

The rationale behind the use of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) after cytoreductive surgery is the association between pharmacological activity of chemotherapy delivered to the peritoneal cavity with the enhanced cytotoxic effect of hyperthermia. Data on the efficacy of HIPEC in the primary debulking surgery (PDS) setting are still controversial and limited by the small sample size of most of the studies, the inclusion of different treatment settings and chemotherapy regimens. Among the ongoing prospective trials, only the OVHIPEC-2 trial is investigating exclusively patients submitted to PDS ± HIPEC with cisplatin 100 mg/m22 and results are expected by 2026. On the interval debulking surgery (IDS) setting high quality data are coming from the result of the OVHIPEC-1 trial, which demonstrated a survival advantage of nearly 4 months in median progression-free survival (PFS) (14.2 months vs. 10.7 months; p = 0.003) and almost 12 months in median overall survival (OS) (45.7 months vs. 33.9 months; p = 0.02) for HIPEC treated patients (cisplatin 100 mg/m22) compared to no-HIPEC group, with comparable morbidity. However, due to some criticisms raised to the results of OVHIPEC-1 trial, the ESMO-ESGO guidelines recommended not to consider HIPEC as standard therapy until results from ongoing randomized control trials (RCTs) are provided. On the contrary, for the National Comprehensive cancer network (NCCN) guidelines HIPEC can be considered at the time of IDS. Similarly, data supporting the role of HIPEC in association with surgery in case of recurrent disease appear to be controversial in terms of patients and selection and intraperitoneal chemotherapy regimen. Indeed, despite the positive results coming from a prospective randomized trial, they appear to be biased by the inclusion of both platinum sensitive and resistant disease and the lack of information on PFS. Those results are in contrast with data coming from another prospective trial, which failed to demonstrate a survival gain of recurrent ovarian cancer patients treated with secondary cytoreductive surgery + HIPEC with carboplatin (800 mg/m22 for 90 min) compared to women submitted to cytoreduction only. Again, in this subgroup of patients data of ongoing RCTs are awaited to assess the impact on survival of HIPEC administration in case of recurrent disease.

Efficacy of everolimus plus octreotide LAR in patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumor and carcinoid syndrome: final overall survival from the randomized, placebo-controlled phase 3 RADIANT-2 study.

Ann Oncol 2017; 28(7): 1569–1575 (doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdx193) The following funding information has been added: “This work was supported in part by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Support Grant P30 CA016672.” Efficacy of everolimus plus octreotide LAR in patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumor and carcinoid syndrome: final overall survival from the randomized, placebo-controlled phase 3 RADIANT-2 studyAnnals of OncologyVol. 28Issue 7PreviewIn the phase 3 RADIANT-2 study, everolimus plus octreotide long-acting repeatable (LAR) showed improvement of 5.1 months in median progression-free survival versus placebo plus octreotide LAR among patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors associated with carcinoid syndrome. The progression-free survival P-value was marginally above the prespecified threshold for statistical significance. Here, we report final overall survival (OS) and key safety update from RADIANT-2. Full-Text PDF Open Archive

A Multi-Center Epidemiological and Prognostic Analysis of Cytogenetic Abnormalities in a Cohort of 1015 Chinese Patients with Newly-Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma

Introduction: Emerging evidence supports that cytogenetic abnormalities (CAs) drive myelomagenesis and heterogeneity (e.g., clinical presentation, response to therapy, and prognosis) of multiple myeloma (MM). Diversity of CAs, including primary (IgH translocations and trisomies) and secondary CAs (copy number abnormalities) argues that MM is not a "single disease". Thus, identification of CAs at diagnosis is essential for risk stratification, guiding treatment, and prognostic estimation in daily practice. However, although frequency, configuration, and significance of CAs have been well documented in the Western countries, this information is lacking in the Asian population. To this end, a multi-center retrospective analysis was carried out to examine epidemiology and prognostic significance of CAs alone or in combination in a cohort of Chinese patients with newly-diagnosed MM (NDMM). Materials and Methods: A total of 1015 NDMM patients who had the baseline information of CAs detected by FISH at four institutes nationwide were included. According to the IMWG consensus updated in 2016, 1q gain, del(17p), t[4;14], and t[14;16] were defined as high-risk CAs (HRCAs), while another HRCA t[14;20] was not tested routinely in a majority of these patients. In addition, del(1p) and del(13q14) were considered as an adverse CA. According to the mSMART3.0 proposed by Mayo Clinic in 2018, double-hit (DHMM) and triple-hit MM (THMM) were defined as co-occurrence of 2 or &gt;= 3 HRCAs, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier approach was used to estimate progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results: In this cohort, the median age of 1015 patients was 61 years; 63.5% were male. The type of IgG, light chain, IgA, IgD, non/oligosecretory, IgM, or IgE accounted for 42.9%, 26.2%, 24.5%, 3.4%, 2.5%, 0.4%, and 0.1%, respectively. Del(13q) (46.4%) and 1q gain (46.1%; 3 copies = 73.8%, &gt;= 4 copies = 26.2%) represented the most common CAs, followed by t(4;14) (14.0%), t(11;14) (11.8%), del(1p) (11.5%), del(17p) (9.9%; 20-50% cells = 35.6%, &gt; 50% cells = 64.4%), and t(14;16) (5.1%). While none of these CAs was detected in 23.8% of cases, the frequency of patients who carried 1 - 5 CAs was 31.9%, 28.0%, 13.4%, 2.0%, and 0.9%, respectively. In the 1q+ cases, 36.4% patients carried second CA(s), including del(13q) (61.1%), t(4;14) (20.3%), del(1p) (14.8%), del(17p) (10.7%), t(11;14) (10.4%), and t(14;16) (8.1%). In the del(17p) cases, 57.5% patients had additional CA(s), including del(13q) (75.2%), 1q gain (49.5%), del(1p) (21.6%), t(4;14) (19.6%), t(14;16) (8.7%), and t(11;14) (2.2%). In the cases bearing IgH translocations, 26.0% patients also carried other CA(s), including del(13q) and 1q gain (61.9% for each), and del(17p) (9.3%). In the cases harboring HRCAs, the percentage of patients who carried 1 - 4 HRCAs was 70.2%, 24.8%, 3.7%, and 1.1%, respectively. Overall, 14.3% and 2.9% patients had DHMM or THMM, of whom 65.0%, 18.0%, 12.0%, and 5.0% had 2 - 5 HRCAs, respectively. While there was no significant difference in PFS between the cases carrying 1 and 2 CAs (P = 0.209), the patients who had 3 or more CAs displayed a sharp reduction in median PFS (P = 0.022 and P = 0.003 for 3 vs 1 or 2 CAs). Although multiple CAs was associated with shorter median OS, no statistical significance was observed for each comparison (P &gt; 0.05). However, patients who carried &gt;= 2 HRCAs had significantly shorter median PFS (12.1 months; P = 0.0004) and OS (29.3 months; P = 0.027) than those who had one single HRCA (32.2 and 65.6 months for median PFS and OS). Conclusion: In comparison with the Western countries, the incidence of secondary HRCAs (e.g., 1q gain and del(17p)) is relatively higher in Chinese patients at diagnosis, while the standard-risk CA such as t(11;14) is clearly less frequent. The proportion of Chinese patients who carry multiple CAs (up to 5) or HRCAs appear to be greater as well. In this context, patients carrying two or more HRCAs, so called DHMM or THMM, exhibit significantly worse outcome than those carrying only one HRCA. Together, this study builds up an up-to-date profile of CAs for Chinese patients, which might lay a foundation for revising the criteria for risk stratification and the guideline for treatment that is more feasible and practicable in China. It also provides the information about frequency and configuration of MM-driven CAs, which might be more relevant to the Asian population. Disclosures Kumar: Takeda: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding.

Shorter Survival in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Patients With High PD-L1 Expression Associated With Sarcomatoid or Biphasic Histology Subtype: A Series of 214 Cases From the Bio-MAPS Cohort

BackgroundAnticancer immune responses are negatively regulated by programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) T-cell membrane protein interaction with its ligand, programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1), on cancer cells. We sought to assess the prognostic role of PD-L1 expression in tumor samples from patients enrolled onto the IFCT-0701 MAPS randomized phase 3 trial (NCT00651456). Patients and MethodsTumor samples were analyzed by immunohistochemistry for percentages of PD-L1 membrane-stained tumor cells using the E1L3N clone, and data were correlated to survival by multivariate Cox models including stratification variables. ResultsPD-L1 staining was assessed in 214 (47.75%) of 448 patients. Epithelioid subtype represented 83.7% (179/214). Absence of PD-L1 staining occurred in 137 (64.1%) of 214 malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) samples, while 77 (35.9%) of 214 were PD-L1 positive, with 50 (64.9%) of 77 showing < 50% PD-L1–expressing tumor cells. Sarcomatoid/biphasic subtypes were more commonly PD-L1 positive than epithelioid subtype (P < .001). In patients with 1% or more PD-L1–stained tumor cells, median overall survival (OS) was 12.3 months versus 22.2 months for other patients (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.93-1.67; P = .14). OS did not differ according to PD-L1 positivity in multivariate analyses (adjusted HR = 1.10; 95% CI, 0.81-1.49; P = .55). With a 50% cutoff, PD-L1–positive patients displayed a 10.5 months median OS versus 19.3 months for patients with lower PD-L1 expression (HR = 1.93; 95% CI, 1.27-2.93; P = .002). OS did not significantly differ in adjusted Cox models (adjusted HR = 1.20; 95% CI, 0.74-1.94; P = .47). In the 179 epithelioid MPM patients, high PD-L1 staining (≥ 50% of tumor cells) negatively affected OS, although not significantly, showing a 12.3-month median OS (95% CI, 4.3-21.6) versus 23-month (95% CI, 18.5-25.2) for patients with tumor PD-L1 staining in < 50% cells (P = .071). The progression-free survival (PFS) differences were statistically significant, with a longer 9.9-month median PFS in patients with low PD-L1 staining (< 50% cells) compared to 6.7 months of median PFS in patients with high PD-L1 expression (≥ 50% cells) (P = .0047). ConclusionAlthough high PD-L1 tumor cell expression was associated with poorer OS in MPM patients from the MAPS trial, its prognostic influence was lost in multivariate analyses in the whole cohort, while PD-L1 expression was strongly associated with the sarcomatoid/biphasic subtypes. In the epithelioid MPM subset of patients, high PD-L1 tumor expression (≥ 50%) negatively affected OS and PFS, with this prognostic influence remaining statistically significant for PFS after adjustment in multivariate Cox model.

Everolimus for the treatment of advanced gastrointestinal or lung nonfunctional neuroendocrine tumors in East Asian patients: a subgroup analysis of the RADIANT-4 study.

BackgroundIn RADIANT-4, everolimus showed an improvement of 7.1 months in median progression-free survival (PFS) vs placebo among patients with advanced, well-differentiated, nonfunctional neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) of gastrointestinal (GI) or lung origin. The present analysis focuses on the effect of everolimus on the East Asian-subgroup population of the RADIANT-4 study.MethodsPatients were randomized to receive everolimus 10 mg/day or matching placebo. The primary end point was PFS (central review). Secondary end points were overall response rate, safety, and tolerability.ResultsAmong 302 patients enrolled in RADIANT-4, 46 were included in the East Asian subgroup (everolimus, n=28; placebo, n=18) analysis. Everolimus was associated with an 82% reduction in the relative risk of disease progression or death (HR 0.18, 95% CI 0.09–0.38). The median PFS (central review) in this subgroup was 11.2 months with everolimus vs 3.1 months with placebo. Adverse events (AEs) occurred in all 28 patients treated with everolimus and ten patients receiving placebo. The majority of these AEs were grade 1 or 2. Most commonly reported ($30% of incidence) drug-related AEs of any grade included stomatitis (75%, n=21) and rash (43%, n=12) in the everolimus arm.ConclusionEverolimus demonstrated a clinically meaningful PFS benefit in the East Asian population. The safety findings were consistent with the known safety profile of everolimus. These results support the use of everolimus in the East Asian population with advanced, nonfunctional NETs of GI or lung origin.

Ramucirumab treatment in patients with gastric cancer/gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma: Secondary analysis of efficacy and safety results of 4 dosing regimens in the phase II trial I4T-MC-JVDB.

117 Background: Ramucirumab (RAM) is approved for treatment of advanced gastric cancer or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma with disease progression after prior platinum and/or fluoropyrimidine chemotherapy at 8 mg/kg every 2 weeks (Q2W). Previous phase 3 trials indicated that efficacy of RAM correlated with exposure. While the primary objectives of the open-label RAM monotherapy JVDB study were pharmacokinetics and safety, a secondary analysis was conducted on efficacy and safety of the 3 higher exposure regimens vs. the standard regimen. Methods: Patients ( n = 164) were randomized 1:1:1:1 to 4 treatment arms: 8 mg/kg Q2W (Arm 1), 12 mg/kg Q2W (Arm 2), 6 mg/kg every week (Arm 3), and 8 mg/kg Days 1 and 8 (D1D8) every 3 weeks (Q3W) (Arm 4). Treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were graded by NCI CTCAE v4.0. Tumor response was assessed by RECIST 1.1. Results: Median (months) progression-free survival (PFS) of the 3 arms and overall survival (OS) of 2 arms was increased compared to the standard regimen (Table). Best overall response was partial response (Arm 2, n = 4; Arm 3, n = 2). The majority of patients experienced ≥1 TEAE (81.4%); 39.1% had ≥1 Grade ≥3 event and 26.7% had ≥1 serious event. The most frequent Grade ≥3 events were fatigue (5.6%), abdominal pain (5.05%), hypertension (5.0%), anemia (4.3%), and vomiting (3.7%). Conclusions: Although the study was not powered for statistical comparisons, some trends toward improved efficacy vs. the standard regimen were observed; the greatest median PFS months and OS improvement was 1 month (Arm 2 vs. Arm 1; PFS = 2.50 vs. 1.45; OS = 6.74 vs. 5.68). Despite higher RAM exposures with the experimental regimens, the safety profile is similar to the standard dose regimen, and no unexpected safety findings were observed. Clinical trial information: NCT02443883. [Table: see text]

Impact Of Using Overall Survival Or Progression-Free Survival In Outcomes-Based Pricing Arrangements

Outcomes-based pricing arrangements (OBPA) can be attractive for payers to address uncertainty. In oncology overall survival (OS) is considered the gold standard outcomes measure. However, implementing OBPA based on OS poses significant practical hurdles. Here we assess the feasibility and impact of using progression-free survival (PFS) as an alternative measure to enable OBPA. A three-part, mixed-methods study was performed to assess the use of OBPA in oncology. A scoping review was conducted to identify current and past OBPA. Further, the impact of OBPA - using either OS or PFS - on savings and health improvements in the population the payer is paying for was modelled for four metastatic cancer compounds. (Ex-) payers’ perceptions and attitudes where also explored through semi-structured qualitative interviews. In the metastatic setting OBPA based on OS or PFS can both address uncertainty around health outcomes and costs. In the four compounds, OBPA based on OS had a greater impact on payers’ outcomes in the population the payer is paying for (increase in median OS of 6.9 months compared to 2.8 months in median PFS) and potential savings (15% compared to 10%). Although PFS has a smaller impact, the time to trigger a payback was reduced between 18.9 and 4.9 months in the 4 compounds. The definition of a relevant and measurable endpoint is necessary to increase the use of OBPA. OS is seen as the ultimate outcome by the interviewees and is beneficial to payers in terms of health outcomes in the population they pay for and savings. However, it is often not feasible to implement because of the long follow-up time required. Using PFS might be a good alternative to OS in the metastatic setting. More research is needed to further explore alternative outcome measures to successfully support OBPA.

Efficacy of everolimus plus octreotide LAR in patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumor and carcinoid syndrome: final overall survival from the randomized, placebo-controlled phase 3 RADIANT-2 study

In the phase 3 RADIANT-2 study, everolimus plus octreotide long-acting repeatable (LAR) showed improvement of 5.1 months in median progression-free survival versus placebo plus octreotide LAR among patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors associated with carcinoid syndrome. The progression-free survival P-value was marginally above the prespecified threshold for statistical significance. Here, we report final overall survival (OS) and key safety update from RADIANT-2. The RADIANT-2 trial compared everolimus (10 mg/day, orally; n = 216) versus placebo (n = 213), both in conjunction with octreotide LAR (30 mg, intramuscularly, every 28 days). Patients, unblinded at the time of progression or after end of double-blind core phase following primary analysis, were offered open-label everolimus with octreotide LAR (open-label phase). In the open-label phase, patients had similar safety and efficacy assessments as those in the core phase. For OS, hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs using unadjusted Cox model and a Cox model adjusted for prespecified baseline covariates were calculated. A total of 170 patients received open-label everolimus (143 crossed over from the placebo arm; 27 in the everolimus arm continued to receive the same treatment after unblinding). The median OS (95% CI) after 271 events was 29.2 months (23.8-35.9) for the everolimus arm and 35.2 months (30.0-44.7) for the placebo arm (HR, 1.17; 95% CI, 0.92-1.49). HR adjusted for baseline covariates was 1.08 (95% CI, 0.84-1.38). The most frequent drug-related grade 3 or 4 AEs reported during the open-label phase were diarrhea (5.3%), fatigue (4.7%), and stomatitis (4.1%). Deaths related to pulmonary or cardiac failure were observed more frequently in the everolimus arm. No significant difference in OS was observed for the everolimus plus octreotide LAR and placebo plus octreotide LAR arms of the RADIANT-2 study, even after adjusting for imbalances in the baseline covariates. NCT00412061, www.clinicaltrials.gov.

Objective response rate and progression-free survival as surrogate endpoints for overall survival and the impact of crossover and unbalanced post-progression treatments: A systematic review and meta-analysis in second- and further-line therapy of advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

e20609 Background: Correlations between overall survival (OS) and objective response rate (ORR) or progression-free survival (PFS) are poor. We aimed to evaluate the impact of crossover and unbalanced subsequent treatments on ORR and PFS as surrogate endpoints for OS in patients with advanced NSCLC receiving second- and further-line therapy. Methods: A systematic literature review of randomized clinical trials of systemic treatment for patients with stage IIIB/IV NSCLC receiving second- and further-line therapy was performed. Weighted (by trial size) linear regression models were fitted with the absolute difference in ORR or median PFS as an independent variable and the absolute difference in median OS as a dependent variable. The analysis was repeated in predefined subsets based on crossover and balance of post-progression therapies. Surrogate threshold effect (STE) was estimated using prediction intervals. Results: 146 trials (43,061 patients) fulfilled the eligibility criteria. In all treatment arms, the mean ORR, median PFS, and median OS were 12.2% (standard deviation [SD] 11.2%), 3.2 months (SD 1.3), and 9.6 months (SD 4.1), respectively. ORR and PFS had very weak (R = 0.181; 95% CI: 0.016-0.337) and weak (R = 0.254; 95% CI: 0.074-0.418) relationships, respectively, with OS. However, within trials that did not allow crossover and reported balanced post-progression treatments, ORR and PFS had moderate (R = 0.528; 95% CI: 0.081-0.798) and strong (R = 0.778; 95% CI: 0.475-0.916) relationships, respectively, with OS. STE estimation indicated that trials that show statistically significant treatment effect size of ≥41.0% ORR or ≥4.15 median PFS months can be expected to show significant OS benefit with sufficient certainty. Conclusions: Surrogacy of ORR and PFS for OS might be better estimated in trials that do not allow crossover and report balanced post-progression treatments. Presented STE calculation can be used to estimate the expected effect on OS when either ORR or PFS are used as primary endpoints.

Objective response rate and progression-free survival as surrogate endpoints for overall survival and the impact of crossover and unbalanced post-progression treatments: A systematic review and meta-analysis in first-line therapy of advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

9049 Background: Correlations between overall survival (OS) and objective response rate (ORR) or progression-free survival (PFS) are poor. We aimed to evaluate the impact of crossover and unbalanced subsequent treatments on ORR and PFS as surrogate endpoints for OS in patients with advanced NSCLC receiving first-line therapy. Methods: A systematic literature review of randomized clinical trials of systemic treatment for patients with stage IIIB/IV NSCLC receiving first-line therapy was performed. Weighted (by trial size) linear regression models were fitted with the absolute difference in ORR or median PFS as an independent variable and the absolute difference in median OS as a dependent variable. The analysis was repeated in predefined subsets based on crossover and balance of post-progression therapies. Surrogate threshold effect (STE) was estimated using prediction intervals. Results: 317 trials (78,644 patients) fulfilled the eligibility criteria. In all treatment arms, the mean ORR, median PFS, and median OS were 28.2% (standard deviation (SD) = 12.4%), 5.1 months (SD = 2.1), and 10.4 months (SD = 2.5), respectively. ORR and PFS had weak (R = 0.351; 95% CI: 0.251-0.443) and (R = 0.397; 95% CI: 0.267-0.512) associations with OS, respectively. However, within phase III trials that did not allow crossover and reported balanced post-progression treatments, both ORR and PFS had stronger associations with OS (ORR and OS: R = 0.601, 95% CI: 0.399-0.747; PFS and OS: R = 0.695, 95% CI: 0.446-0.844). STE estimation indicated that trials that show statistically significant treatment effect size of ≥43% ORR or ≥3.2 median PFS months can be expected to show significant OS benefit with sufficient certainty. Conclusions: Surrogacy of ORR and PFS for OS might be better estimated in trials that do not allow crossover and report balanced post-progression treatments. Presented STE calculation can be used to estimate the expected effect on OS when either ORR or PFS are used as primary endpoints.

Gefitinib and erlotinib for non-small cell lung cancer patients who fail to respond to radiotherapy for brain metastases

Survival and treatment options are limited for patients with brain metastases arising from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We evaluated erlotinib and gefitinib as salvage treatments for NSCLC patients with brain metastases that failed to respond to radiotherapy in a retrospective study. Survival was estimated using Kaplan–Meier analysis and log-rank tests. Multivariable predictors were assessed using the Cox proportional hazards model. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations were assessed in part using sequencing methods. The 103 NSCLC patients who were treated with gefitinib or erlotinib for salvage treatment for brain metastases between January 2005 and December 2011 had overall objective response rates (ORR) of 11.7%, disease control rates (DCR) of 53.4%, 3.6months of median progression-free survival (PFS), and 7.5months of median survival. Intracranial disease had an ORR of 11.7% and a DCR of 70.9%. Extracranial disease had an ORR of 8.7% and a DCR of 66.0%. Nine patients (of 22 tested) were documented with EGFR mutations (five with deletion in exon 19 and four with L858R in exon 21). The median PFS for EGFR mutation patients was 9.0months, versus 3.1months for wild-type patients (p=0.001). The recursive partitioning analysis class was the only factor predictive of PFS using univariate analyses and was associated with survival in the multivariate analysis. Our retrospective data suggest a potential role for gefitinib and erlotinib in advanced NSCLC patients with brain metastases which have failed to respond to radiotherapy. Patients with EGFR mutations benefited most from treatment.

Trebananib Boosts PFS in Ovarian Cancer

Abstract Preliminary results of a phase III trial comparing trebananib and paclitaxel with a placebo and paclitaxel in about 900 women with recurrent epithelial ovarian, primary peritoneal, or fallopian tube cancer show a statistically significant advantage of 1.8 months in median progression-free survival for women enrolled in the trebananib arm versus the control arm.

Immunotherapy with Cytokine-Induced Killer Cells as an Adjuvant Treatment for Advanced Gastric Carcinoma: A Retrospective Study of 165 Patients

Cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells have demonstrated antitumor effects in vitro and in vivo. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of CIK cell treatment as an adjuvant immunotherapy on the prognosis of gastric carcinoma in patients after surgery. The patients with stage II-III gastric carcinoma after gastrectomy, including 53 patients receiving autologous CIK cell treatment combined with chemotherapy (CIK group) and 112 patients in the corresponding period receiving chemotherapy alone (control group), were retrospectively studied. The patients in the CIK group were matched to those in the control group regarding the sex and age of patients, tumor site, histological type, pathological grade, tumor size, clinical stage, and chemotherapy plan. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were evaluated. The 5-year OS rate in the CIK group was significantly improved compared to that in the control group (56.6% vs. 26.8%, p=0.014). The 5-year PFS rate in the CIK group was also significantly improved compared to that in the control group (49.1% vs. 24.1%, p=0.026). The median PFS (36.0 months) and OS (96.0 months) in the CIK group were significantly prolonged than those in the control group (23.0 months for median PFS and 32.0 months for median OS, p=0.028 and p=0.003). No serious side effect was observed in the CIK group. This study suggests that immunotherapy with CIK cells may serve as an adjuvant treatment to prolong the survival of patients with stage II-III gastric carcinoma.

Phase II Study of Gemcitabine, Carboplatin, and Bevacizumab in Patients With Advanced Unresectable or Metastatic Urothelial Cancer

Although gemcitabine and carboplatin (GCa) is a standard option for patients with advanced urothelial cancer (UC) who are ineligible for cisplatin, outcomes remain poor. This trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of bevacizumab with GCa in advanced UC. Patients with Karnofsky performance status of 60% to 70%, creatinine clearance less than 60 mL/min, visceral metastasis, or solitary kidney were eligible and received a lead-in dose of bevacizumab 10 mg/kg followed 2 weeks later by gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8 and carboplatin at area under the [concentration-time] curve (AUC) 5.0 or 4.5 and bevacizumab 15 mg/kg on day 1 every 21 days for six cycles. Patients achieving at least stable disease (SD) continued bevacizumab 15 mg/kg every 21 days for 18 additional cycles. The study was powered to detect a 50% improvement in median progression-free survival (PFS) over a historical control. Fifty-one patients, median age 67 years (range, 42 to 83 years), were enrolled onto the study and were evaluable for toxicity. Twenty (39%) experienced grade 3 to 4 toxicity, and 10 (20%) had thromboembolic events (deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism). Four received one or fewer cycles leaving 47 evaluable for outcomes. Twenty-three (49%) achieved response (three complete; 20 partial), and 11 had SD. Median PFS was 6.5 months (95% CI, 4.7 to 7.8 months); PFS was greater in the carboplatin AUC 5.0 group (P = .04). Median overall survival (OS) was 13.9 months. The 95% one-sided lower confidence bound of 4.77 months for median PFS did not meet the predesignated PFS of more than 4.8 months considered sufficient for further study. Median OS was greater than expected. An ongoing phase III trial in patients who are eligible for therapy with cisplatin will define the role of bevacizumab in UC.

826P - Description of a Subpopulation of Renal Patients with Long-Term Progression Free Survival (PFS) with Sunitinib: A Sog_Gu Experience

ABSTRACT A multicenter retrospective analysis was performed in patients with metastatic RCC who achieved long-term progression-free survival (PFS) defined as ≥18 months during treatment with sunitinib. Forty six patients (87% male) treated with sunitinib in first (74%) or subsequent lines were included. Median age was 59 years and most common histology was clear cell (93,5%); 89% had undergone prior nephrectomy, 28.3% were metastatic at diagnosis and 58.7% presented one site of metastasis, 28.3% two sites and 13% three or more sites. Twelve patients (26%) had bone metastases. Good, medium and poor prognosis (MKSCC) was presented in 30,4%, 67,4% and 2,2% of patients respectively. Five patients (11%) achieved a complete response (CR), 28 (61%) partial response (PR) and 13 (28.3%) a stable disease with 9 patients (69.2%) achieving stabilization for ≥25 months. Median duration of response was 22.7 months Median time from diagnosis to sunitinib treatment was 2.23 years and median duration of therapy was 27 months. At the time of analysis 37% were still on sunitinib. Median time from start Sunitinib until PR and CR was 4.7 and 12.1 months respectively. Median PFS in the first line setting was 35.4 months (IC95% = [27,52-43,28]) and 31.6 months (IC95% = [5,13-58,13]) in subsequent lines. Median overall survival was not reached at the time of analysis. Reasons for discontinuation were progressive disease (83%), toxicity (10.3%) and death (3.4%). Incidence of adverse events was as expected, with asthenia, hand food syndrome (HFS), hypertension (HTA) and mucositis as main toxicities. Efficacy results are described in the table. The emergence of drug related toxicities, the lack of bone metastasis and the fact of non being metastatic at the time of diagnosis were independenly associated with a trend towards an improvement in PFS (p = NS). A comparison with a population of Sunitinib refractory patients is already ongoing. Median PFS Months (p = NS) With vs. without HTA 44.8 vs. 31.10 With vs. without Asthenia 35.5 vs. 32.43 with vs. without HFS 44.8 vs. 31 with vs. without Hypothiroidism 47.4 vs. 43.66 with vs. without bone metastasis 31 vs. 37.5 with vs. without metastasis at diagnosis 32.43 vs. 37.50 Disclosure E. Esteban: Compensated Consultant/Advisory role at Pfizer All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Bevacizumab (BEV) plus capecitabine as maintenance therapy after initial treatment with BEV plus XELOX in previously untreated patients (pts) with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC): Mature data from STOP and GO, a phase III, randomized, multicenter study.

3565 Background: Colorectal cancer is one of the most frequent malignancies, second after breast cancer in women and third after lung cancer and prostate cancer in men. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the progression-free survival (PFS) between two arms: Arm A is a combination of BEV + XELOX; Arm B is a combination of BEV + XELOX for 6 cycles followed by maintenance BEV + capecitabine as first-line therapy in mCRC. Methods: BEV (7.5 mg/kg) + XELOX (capecitabine 1000 mg/m2 bid d1–14 + oxaliplatin 130 mg/m2 d1 q3w) were administered until progression (Arm A) or 6 cycles of BEV + XELOX followed by BEV + capecitabine were administered until progression (Arm B). PFS was the primary endpoint; secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR), and safety. A sample size of 118 pts was required to detect with 80% power an increase of 1.5 months in median PFS between two arms with a standard deviation of 3.9 months and significance level of 0.05 (10% drop-out rate). Results: A total of 123 pts were randomized. Demographic characteristics were balanced between the arms. Median treatment period was 7.5 (range 0.5–13.9) and 8.1 (range 0.1–20.7) months in Arms A and B, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in median PFS between arms, although there was no significant difference in ORR and OS (see table). Tolerability was acceptable in both arms with the following grade 3/4 adverse events (AEs): Arm A 48.4%; Arm B 34.4% (p=0.116). Grade 3/4 diarrhoea occurred in 9.7% vs. 3.3%, weakness in 8.1% vs. 8.2%, hand-foot syndrome in 3.2% vs. 1.6%, and neuropathy in 4.8% vs. 3.3% of pts in Arms A and B, respectively. Conclusions: These findings suggest that maintenance therapy with BEV + capecitabine following induction with 6 cycles of BEV + XELOX may be superior to continuous BEV + XELOX until progression inpts with previously untreated mCRC. [Table: see text]

Rituximab monotherapy with eight weekly infusions for relapsed or refractory patients with indolent B cell non‐Hodgkin lymphoma mostly pretreated with rituximab: A multicenter phase II study

Information regarding rituximab monotherapy with eight weekly infusions for relapsed or refractory indolent B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL), in particular for patients pretreated with rituximab, is limited. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of eight doses of rituximab monotherapy, 52 patients with relapsed or refractory indolent B-NHL were enrolled in the present study. Forty of 45 eligible patients (89%) had follicular lymphoma and 24 (53%) were at intermediate or high risk group according to the Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index. The median number of prior chemotherapy regimens was 1 (range 1-7). At the median follow-up of 12.2 months, the overall response rate (ORR), complete response rate (%CR), and median progression-free survival (PFS) were 69% (95% confidence interval [CI] 53%-82%), 47% (95% CI 32%-62%), and 15.6 months (95% CI 10.6- months), respectively. In the 33 patients pretreated with rituximab, the ORR, %CR, and median PFS were inferior compared with values for the 12 patients who had not received rituximab previously (64%vs 83% for ORR; 39%vs 67% for %CR; and 13.8 vs 17.5 months for median PFS, respectively). All mild-to-moderate infusion-related toxicities were reversible. Grade 3/4 non-hematologic adverse events occurred in six of the 52 patients. Two patients developed Grade 4 late-onset neutropenia and a decrease (>50%) in serum immunoglobulin was observed in six patients. In conclusion, rituximab monotherapy with eight weekly infusions is effective in relapsed patients with indolent B-NHL, with acceptable toxicities, including in patients pretreated with rituximab; however, careful monitoring is recommended for infections associated with late-onset neutropenia and hypogammaglobulinemia. (University Hospital Medical Information Network no. UMIN000002974.)