Systemic Anticancer Treatment Research Articles

Patient-Reported Experiences of Supportive Cancer Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background. During the COVID-19 pandemic, people affected by cancer were in need of information about the virus and about the (self-) management of cancer symptoms and treatment. It is important to understand how patients with cancer navigated through the pandemic and to explore their experience relating to their supportive care needs. Aim. This study aimed to describe the experience of Swiss oncological patients during the COVID-19 pandemic with additional supportive cancer care. Methods. A single-center study was conducted in 2021. Patients with melanoma, breast, lung, or colon cancer who received active systemic anticancer treatment at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and who were additionally seeing either oncology clinical nurse specialists, integrative medicine physicians, or both were included. We conducted semistructured interviews alongside the patient-reported quantitative assessment of distress and resilience. Thematic analysis was performed for the qualitative data and descriptive statistics for the quantitative data. Results. Eighteen patients with cancer were interviewed. Patients seeing an integrative medicine physician highlighted that they positively felt being addressed as a whole person during the consultations. The oncology clinical nurse specialists were perceived as the first point of contact for the patients and had more time during the pandemic compared to what the patients normally received. In general, patients did not experience delays or disruptions in their cancer treatment. As immunosuppressed and fatigued patients with cancer, they felt supported by the restrictions and hygienic measures. Access to vaccination reassured patients against the risk of infection. These results were reflected in the quantitative data, as we found moderate distress levels (M = 4.1; SD = 2.5) and high resilience scores (M = 7.5; SD = 0.9) in this patient population. Conclusion. During the COVID-19 pandemic, patients with cancer felt particularly supported by integrative medicine and cancer nurse consultations. Secured resources for nursing consultations and integrative medicine services can help to address the supportive care needs of patients with cancer.

Insights for clinical management from the real-life data of the centralized West of Scotland biliary cancer clinic.

With the increasing of novel therapeutics for the treatment of Biliary Tract Cancers (BTC), and the need to assess their socio-economic impacts for national licence approvals, it is as important as ever to have real-life data in national populations. We performed an audit of the first 2 year-activity (Sep 2019-Sep 2021) of the centralized West-of-Scotland-BTC clinic. 122 patients accessed the service, including 68% with cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), 27% with gallbladder cancer (GBC), and 5% with ampulla of Vater carcinoma with biliary phenotype (AVC). Median age at diagnosis was 66 (28-84), with 30% of newly diagnosed patients being younger than 60 years-old. Thirty-five cases (29%) underwent surgery, followed by adjuvant-chemotherapy in 66%. 60% had recurrent disease (80% with distant relapse). Sixty-four patients (58%) started first-line Systemic-AntiCancer-Treatment (SACT). Of these, 37% received second line SACT, the majority of which had iCCA and GBC. Thirty-% of those who progressed received third line SACT. About 30% of BTC were eligible for curative surgery. Fifty-eight and twenty% of the overall cohort of advanced BTC patients received first and second line SACT. Our data suggest that reflex genomic profiling may not be cost-effective until molecularly driven strategies are limited to second line setting.

Evaluation of patient satisfaction of receiving Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy prescribed by nurse Non-Medical Prescribers

PurposeTo evaluate patient satisfaction of patients receiving Systemic Anti-Cancer Treatment prescribed by nurse Non-Medical Prescribers as a new model of care at a Cancer Unit in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. MethodsA cross-sectional survey design, with a convenience sample of patients from five tumour groups who received Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy by nurse Non-Medical Prescribers, across a 3-month period in 2022 was employed. Anonymised data were collected via postal survey, which incorporated a minimally modified version of the 45-item Leeds Satisfaction Questionnaire (LSQ). ResultsOne-hundred and sixteen surveys were returned, yielding a 36% response rate. Overall patients’ satisfaction levels with nurse non-medical prescribing of systemic anti-cancer therapy were high across all six subscales of the modified LSQ corroborated by qualitative free-text comments. Eighty-five percent of participants indicated they were happy to continue being prescribed systemic anti-cancer therapy by the nurse non-medical prescribers. Conclusion/Clinical Implications: Overall patient satisfaction of Systemic Anti-Cancer Treatment prescribed by nurse Non-Medical Prescribers was positively rated; with high standards of compassionate, person-centred care reported , demonstrating an acceptable transformation in care delivery from a consultant-led model. Nonetheless, there was scope for improved health literacy to enhance patients’ understanding and compliance with treatment.

Palliative care integration and end-of-life care intensity for patients with NSCLC

BackgroundNon-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) without oncogenic driver mutations is considered to have a poor prognosis, although recent therapeutic progress. This study aims to assess the real-life integration of palliative care (PC) and the intensity of end-of-life (EOL) care for this population. MethodsThis was an observational cohort study of decedent patients from metastatic NSCLC without oncogenic driver mutations over the period 01/2018 to 12/2022, treated in first line with immunotherapy +/- chemotherapy. We analysed PC integration and aggressiveness criteria of EOL care in the last month before death: systemic anti-cancer treatment administration, emergency room visits, intensive care unit admission, hospitalization, hospitalization duration > 14 days, and hospital death. ResultsAmong 149 patients, 75 (50 %) met the PC team at least once, and the median time from the first encounter to death was 2.3 months. In the last month before death, at least one criterion of aggressive EOL care was present for 97 patients (70 %).For patients with PC use < 30 days and for patients with PC use < 90 days before death, there were significant changes: increase in the frequency of systemic anti-cancer treatment (respectively 51.1 % vs 20 %; p < 0.001 and 58.7 % vs 6.2 %; p < 0.001); decrease in hospitalization lasting > 14 days (respectively 30 % vs 7 %; p = 0.001 and 36 % vs 6.2 %; p = 0.018) and in death hospitalisation (respectively 66 % and 18 %; p < 0.001 and 58.7 % and 10.3 %; p < 0.001).After adjusting for the factors tested, patients with no PC or late PC use in the last month before death or in the last three month before death, the odds ratio (OR) remained significantly greater than 1 (respectively OR = 3.97 [1.70; 9.98]; p = 0.001 and OR = 23.1 [5.21–177.0], p < 0.0001). ConclusionPC is still insufficiently integrated for patients with NSCL cancer. Cancer centres should monitor key indicators such as PC use and aggressiveness criteria of EOL care.

Early prehabilitation reduces admissions and time in hospital in patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the UK. Prehabilitation aims to maximise patient fitness and minimise the negative impact of anticancer treatment. What constitutes prehabilitation before non-surgical anticancer treatment is not well established. We present data from a pilot project of Early prehabilitation In lung Cancer. All new patients with likely advanced lung cancer were offered prehabilitation at respiratory clinic, if fit for further investigation. Prehabilitation included assessment and appropriate intervention from a consultant in palliative medicine, registered dietitian and rehabilitation physiotherapist. Four objective endpoints were identified, namely admissions to hospital, time spent in the hospital, treatment rates and overall survival. Outcomes were to be compared with 178 prehab eligible historical controls diagnosed from 2019 to 2021. From July 2021 to June 2023, 65 patients underwent prehabilitation and 72% of patients underwent all 3 interventions. 54 patients had a stage 3 or 4 lung cancer. In the prehab group, fewer patients attended Accident and Emergency (31.5 vs 37.4 attendances per 100 patients) and fewer were admitted (51.9 vs 67.9) when compared with historical controls. Those receiving prehab spent a lot less time in the hospital (129.7 vs 543.5 days per 100 patients) with shorter admissions (2.5 vs 8 days). Systemic anticancer treatment rates increased in the short term but were broadly similar overall. Median survival was higher in the prehabilitation group (0.73 vs 0.41 years, p=0.046). Early prehabilitation appears to reduce time spent in the hospital. It may improve survival. Further work is required to understand its full effect on treatment rates.

Advances in Radionuclide Therapies for Patients with Neuro-endocrine Tumors.

To provide insights into the role of peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) in patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors (NET) and an overview of possible strategies to combine PRRT with locoregional and systemic anticancer treatments. Research on combining PRRT with other treatments encompasses a wide variety or treatments, both local (transarterial radioembolization) and systemic therapies, chemotherapy (i.e., capecitabine and temozolomide), targeted therapies (i.e., olaparib, everolimus, and sunitinib), and immunotherapies (e.g., nivolumab and pembrolizumab). Furthermore, PRRT shows promising first results as a treatment prior to surgery. There is great demand to enhance the efficacy of PRRT through combination with other anticancer treatments. While research in this area is currently limited, the field is rapidly evolving with numerous ongoing clinical trials aiming to address this need and explore novel therapeutic combinations.

Reducing renal function assessment prior to platinum-based chemotherapy: a real-world evaluation.

Platinum-based chemotherapy, a widely used backbone of systemic cytotoxic anticancer treatment, is associated with nephrotoxicity. Currently, renal function is generally assessed prior to each administration of cisplatin or carboplatin, but there is no guideline regarding the frequency of renal function determination. The primary objective was to determine the median time to a clinically relevant dosage adjustment (>10%) due to change in renal function in patients treated with cisplatin and carboplatin. Secondly, variables influencing changes in renal function were assessed. We conducted a retrospective analysis of serial renal function assessments in platinum-treated patients with cancer in two academic medical centers, using a query to extract data from the electronic health records between 2017 and 2019. In total, 512 patients receiving cisplatin and 628 patients receiving carboplatin were included. In total, 15% of all cisplatin-treated patients were found to have a renal function less than 60 mL/min at least once during treatment, with a median time to renal function decline of 67 days (range 5-96 days), which did not differ between treatment regimens. For carboplatin 21% of patients were found to have had a dosage variation of more than 10% at least once during treatment, with a median time-to-event period of 64 days (range 5-100 days). Dose adjustments during platinum-based chemotherapy resulting from renal function decline occur after a median time of ≥64 days. Our data provide substantiated guidance to recommend renal function assessment during platinum-based chemotherapy in clinically stable patients to once every 3 weeks.

British Oncology Pharmacy Association Delphi consensus guidelines: Co-infusion of trometamol-containing calcium folinate (Leucovorin) with systemic anti-cancer treatments.

Drug stability and compatibility are critical factors influencing the cost and logistics of treatment delivery, therapeutic effectiveness, and patient safety. This is particularly significant in the realm of cancer chemotherapeutics, where stability and compatibility studies play a vital role in ensuring rational and safe medicine administration. Oxaliplatin, fluorouracil, and irinotecan, commonly used in various combinations for gastrointestinal cancers, are complemented by co-administration of folinic acid in certain protocols. Notably, some folinic acid preparations include trometamol as an excipient, potentially impacting the stability of the chemotherapeutic agents if infused concomitantly. This study seeks to establish guidelines for oncology multidisciplinary teams, addressing potential risks associated with the combination of trometamol-containing folinic acid and chemotherapeutics. To achieve this, a quantitative questionnaire was distributed to members of the British Oncology Pharmacy Association (BOPA) and non-BOPA members through an online survey. Nineteen healthcare professionals with oncology experience, comprising 18 pharmacists and one nurse, completed the questionnaires. Each participant rated the validity and clarity of statements on a 5-point scale. The Delphi process concluded after the fourth round, consolidating the findings and recommendations from the multidisciplinary team. Twelve recommendations for safe practice have been made.

Abstract CT168: A phase 1/2a, multicenter, open-label, non-randomized first-in-human study to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and preliminary antitumor activity of DB-1310 (a HER3-targeting ADC) in patients with advanced/metastatic solid tumors

Abstract Background: Overexpression of epidermal growth factor receptor 3 (HER3 or ERBB3) has been reported in various cancers, including lung, prostate, head and neck, breast, and ovarian cancers, and is associated with disease progression and poor prognosis. DB-1310 is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) comprised of a humanized anti-HER3 IgG1 monoclonal antibody, covalently linked to a proprietary DNA topoisomerase I inhibitor (P1021) via a maleimide tetrapeptide-based cleavable linker, with a high drug-to-antibody ratio (~8). Preclinical studies of DB-1310 demonstrated promising antitumor activity in solid tumors and a tolerable safety profile, warranting further clinical development. Methods: This global, first-in-human, Phase 1/2a study includes dose escalation and expansion parts to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and antitumor activity of DB-1310 in patients (pts) with pretreated advanced/metastatic solid tumors (NCT05785741). Eligible pts must have progressed on or after standard systemic anticancer treatments have ECOG PS ≤1, and evidence adequate organ function. Phase 1 part will evaluate 5 ascending dose levels of DB-1310 with a standard “3+3” design to identify the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and/or recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) in pts with advanced/metastatic solid tumors. Phase 2a part will initiate after MTD and/or RP2D are determined and enroll pts with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) activating mutation, NSCLC without EGFR activating mutation, castration-resistant prostate cancer, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and HER2-positive (immunohistochemistry [IHC] 3+, or IHC 2+ and in situ hybridization-positive) breast cancer (BC). DB-1310 is administrated intravenously every 3 weeks as monotherapy, or plus trastuzumab in pts with HER2-positive BC only, until discontinuation criteria are met. The study plans to enroll approximately 95 pts in Phase 1 and 192 in Phase 2a from the United States and China. Citation Format: Aaron Lisberg, Shun Lu, Alexander Starodub, Harshad Amin, Julia Rotow, Lin Wu, Alexander Spira, Erika Hamilton, Weidi Shen, Liming Liu, Zhongyuan Zhu, Wei Gu, Yang Qiu, Rong Shi, Shengxue Liu. A phase 1/2a, multicenter, open-label, non-randomized first-in-human study to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and preliminary antitumor activity of DB-1310 (a HER3-targeting ADC) in patients with advanced/metastatic solid tumors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 2 (Late-Breaking, Clinical Trial, and Invited Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(7_Suppl):Abstract nr CT168.

One million question: How would you reduce admission rate for toxicity from Systemic Anti-Cancer Treatment (SACT) to negligible levels?

One million question: How would you reduce admission rate for toxicity from Systemic Anti-Cancer Treatment (SACT) to negligible levels?

Utility of 30-Day Mortality Following Systemic Anti-Cancer Treatment as a Quality Indicator in Advanced Lung Cancer

BackgroundA 30-day mortality after systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT) has been suggested as a quality indicator primarily for measuring use of chemotherapy towards the end of life. Utility across different cancer types is unclear, especially when using immunotherapy and targeted therapies. MethodsThis retrospective study included patients with a diagnosis of lung cancer who received palliative-intent SACT at an Australian metropolitan cancer center between 2015 and 2022. Using a prospectively maintained lung cancer database, patient, disease, and treatment characteristics were evaluated against annual 30-day mortality rates following SACT. ResultsAbout 1072 patients were identified. Annual 30-day mortality rate after palliative-intent SACT for lung cancer ranged between 9% and 15%, with significant variance between treatment types. Calculated rates of 30-day mortality are higher if longer reporting time periods are used. Patients who died within 30 days of SACT were more likely to have received targeted therapies or immunotherapy as their final line of treatment, have a poorer performance status at diagnosis, and have received multiple lines of treatment. ConclusionsOur data support differential interpretation of 30-day mortality for quality assurance, especially with regard to lung cancer. Consistency in population and reporting time periods, and accounting for treatment type is crucial if 30-day mortality is to be utilized as cancer care performance quality indicator. Relevance to quality care is questionable in the lung cancer setting.

Abstract 927: Real-world (RW) biomarker characteristics and clinical outcomes in pre-treated non-MSI-H/dMMR metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients

Abstract Introduction: Given sparse RW evidence, we assessed biomarker characteristics &amp; clinical outcomes in community oncology practices among pre-treated non-MSI-H/dMMR mCRC patients. Methods: This retrospective cohort study used structured &amp; chart review data from iKnowMed, The US Oncology Network electronic health record data &amp; included non-MSI-H/dMMR adult mCRC patients pre-treated with standard of care (SoC) chemo who initiated subsequent systemic anticancer treatment (SACT), best supportive care (BSC) or neither from 1/1/2016 - 12/31/2021. Index date for SACT users was the regimen start date post SoC chemo &amp; for patients on BSC &amp; no SACT/BSC, it was last chemo administration date. Patients were followed from index date until 8/31/2022 for overall survival (OS) &amp; real-world progression-free survival (rwPFS). KM analyses assessed outcomes, overall &amp; stratified by treatment, RAS status &amp; metastasis sites. Results: Of mCRC patients with &amp;gt;2 visits, 70.9% received MSI/MMR testing. In 292 eligible chart review patients, 69.5% received SACT in pre-treated setting (regorafenib 14.8%, trifluridine/tipiracil (TAS-102) 12.3%, other 72.9%), 28.8% received BSC &amp; 1.7% neither. 76.7% reported KRAS/NRAS testing with 60.7% wild-type &amp; 39.3% mutant. Common metastasis sites were liver-only (44.2%), liver &amp; lung (10.3%) &amp; lung-only (8.9%). Median (range) duration of follow-up was 5.2 (2.7, 10.0) months for regorafenib, 5.3 (2.5, 8.6) for TAS-102 &amp; 10.7 (5.3, 18.0) for the other treatments group. Median OS was 7.4 (95% CI: 5.8, 8.8) months &amp; median rwPFS was 3.5 (95% CI: 3.2, 4.3) months (outcomes data in Table). Conclusions: 29.1% pre-treated, mCRC patients did not receive guideline recommended MSI/MMR testing, highlighting the need to improve testing. Outcomes varied by treatment, RAS status, &amp; metastatic sites. The modest RW clinical benefit for SoC regorafenib &amp; TAS-102, was consistent with trials &amp; other RW studies; all highlighting an unmet need. Cohorts Median (95% CI) OS (months) Median (95% CI) rwPFS1 (months) Overall 7.4 (5.8, 8.8) 3.5 (3.2, 4.3) Regorafenib 5.6 (3.1, 9.7) 2.4 (1.8, 3.0) TAS-102 5.9 (3.4, 8.6) 3.0 (2.1, 3.4) Other SACT2 12.8 (9.8, 17.2) 4.9 (3.7, 5.8) BSC 2.4 (1.8, 3.2) - RAS mutation Wild-type 8.6 (6.6, 11.5) 4.0 (3.3, 4.9) Mutant 5.4 (3.4, 9.5) 3.2 (2.1, 4.6) Metastatic sites Liver only 8.0 (5.7, 11.7) 3.9 (3.0, 4.9) Lung only 17.0 (7.8, 35.6) 7.9 (3.3, 10.5) Liver &amp; lung only 5.4 (2.4, 7.2) 3.5 (2.1, 5.4) Other 6.7 (4.1, 9.4) 3.2 (2.7, 3.9) Abbreviation: CI: confidence interval, TAS-102: trifluridine/tipiracil, OS: overall survival, rwPFS: real-world progression-free survival, SACT: systemic anticancer treatment 1Overall rwPFS was calculated among patients receiving subsequent SACT only (n = 203) 2Top 2 “other SACT” included irinotecan- or oxaliplatin-based treatment Citation Format: Mayur M. Amonkar, Sneha Sura, Kaushal Desai, Rishi Jain, Zhimei Liu, Nicole Niehoff, Thomas W. Wilson, Gregory Patton, David Cosgrove. Real-world (RW) biomarker characteristics and clinical outcomes in pre-treated non-MSI-H/dMMR metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients [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 927.

Assessing the clinical benefit of systemic anti-cancer treatments in the Netherlands: The impact of different thresholds for effectiveness

BackgroundIn the Netherlands, the clinical benefit of systemic anti-cancer treatments (SACTs) is assessed by the Committee for the Evaluation of Oncological Agents (cieBOM). For non-curative SACTs, the assessment is based on the hazard ratio (HR) for progression-free survival and/or overall survival (OS), and the difference in median survival. We evaluated the impact of different thresholds for effectiveness by reassessing the clinical benefit of SACTs. MethodsWe reassessed SACTs that were initially assessed by cieBOM between 2015 and 2017. Four scenarios were formulated: replacing an “OR” approach (initial assessment) by an “AND” approach (used in all scenarios), changing the HR threshold from < 0.70 (initial assessment) to < 0.60, changing the threshold for the difference in median survival from > 12 weeks (initial assessment) to > 16 weeks, and including thresholds for OS rates. The outcomes of these scenarios were compared to the outcomes of the initial assessment. ResultsReassessments were conducted for 41 treatments. Replacing the “OR” approach by an “AND” approach substantially decreased the number of positive assessments (from 33 to 22), predominantly affecting immunotherapies. This number further decreased (to 21 and 19, respectively) in case more restrictive thresholds for the HR and difference in median survival were used. Including thresholds for OS rates slightly mitigated the impact of applying an “AND” approach. ConclusionsThe scenario-specific thresholds had a substantial impact; the number of negative assessments more than doubled. Since this was not limited to treatments with marginal survival benefits, understanding the potential challenges that may arise from applying more restrictive thresholds is essential.

Case Report on a Multidisciplinary Approach to Address Malnutrition and Improve a Patient’s Fitness for Treatment

Approximately 5,700 people are diagnosed with myeloma each year in the UK. The standard of care is to receive an autologous stem cell transplant after completion of induction therapy. There are no specific dietary recommendations for people with myeloma, however they are at risk of malnutrition due to symptoms and side effects of treatments. This report describes the journey of a 73-year-old male diagnosed with immunoglobulin A (IgA) lambda myeloma in April 2021. The patient lost 23% of his body weight during 6 months of systemic anti-cancer treatment (SACT), resulting in postponing his transplant twice due to reduced fitness. This report describes an effective, although late, multidisciplinary intervention which was successful for the patient who managed to reestablish a healthy weight and good quality of life. The patient received his transplant in January 2023. This case highlights two important aspects of patient care that should not be underestimated in dietetic clinical practice: early screening and multidisciplinary collaboration. Monitoring the nutritional status of patients and providing early nutrition support can prevent hospital admissions, treatment delays and reduce the associated costs. Multidisciplinary teamwork can improve patient care and clinical outcomes, and it is fundamental to strengthen communication and collaboration among clinical disciplines.

Belzutifan for von Hippel-Lindau Disease: Pancreatic Lesion Population of the Phase 2 LITESPARK-004 Study.

Primary analysis of the ongoing, single-arm, phase 2 LITESPARK-004 study (NCT03401788) showed clinically meaningful antitumor activity in von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease-associated renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and other neoplasms with belzutifan treatment. We describe results of belzutifan treatment for VHL disease-associated pancreatic lesions [pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNET) and serous cystadenomas]. Adults with VHL diagnosis based on germline VHL alteration, ≥1 measurable RCC tumor, no renal tumor >3 cm or other VHL neoplasm requiring immediate surgery, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 or 1, and no prior systemic anticancer treatment received belzutifan 120 mg once daily. End points included objective response rate (ORR), duration of response (DOR), progression-free survival (PFS), and linear growth rate (LGR) in all pancreatic lesions and pNETs per RECIST version 1.1 by independent review committee, and safety. All 61 enrolled patients (100%) had ≥1 pancreatic lesion and 22 (36%) had ≥1 pNET measurable at baseline. Median follow-up was 37.8 months (range, 36.1-46.1). ORR was 84% [51/61; 17 complete responses (CR)] in pancreatic lesions and 91% (20/22; 7 CRs) in pNETs. Median DOR and median PFS were not reached in pancreatic lesions or pNETs. After starting treatment, median LGR for pNETs was -4.2 mm per year (range, -7.9 to -0.8). Eleven patients (18%) had ≥1 grade 3 treatment-related adverse event (AE). No grade 4 or 5 treatment-related AEs occurred. Belzutifan continued to show robust activity and manageable safety in VHL disease-associated pNETs.

Real-world sequential treatment patterns and clinical outcomes among patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma in Japan.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors and enfortumab vedotin have opened new avenues for sequential treatment strategies for locally advanced/metastatic urothelial carcinoma (la/mUC). In the pre-enfortumab vedotin era, many patients could not receive third-line treatment owing to rapid disease progression and poor general status. This study aimed to analyze real-world sequential treatment practices for la/mUC in Japan, with a focus on patients who do not receive third-line treatment. We analyzed data for 1023 la/mUC patients diagnosed between January 2020 and December 2021 at 54 institutions from a Japanese nationwide cohort. At the median follow-up of 28.5 months, the median overall survival from first-line initiation for 905 patients who received systemic anticancer treatment was 19.1 months. Among them, 81% and 32% received second- and third-line treatment. Notably, 52% had their treatment terminated before the opportunity for third-line treatment. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that low performance status (≥1), elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (≥3), and low body mass index (<21 kg/m2) at the start of first-line treatment were independent risk factors for not proceeding to third-line treatment (p = 0.0024, 0.0069, and 0.0058, respectively). In this cohort, 33% had one of these factors, 36% had two, and 15% had all three. This study highlights the high frequency of factors associated with poor tolerance to anticancer treatment in la/mUC patients. The findings suggest the need to establish optimal sequential treatment strategies, maximizing efficacy within time and tolerance constraints, while concurrently providing strong supportive care, considering immunological and nutritional aspects.

Assessment of hair loss and skin changes during treatment in Asian breast cancer patients: A prospective cohort study.

With the increasing number of young breast cancer (BC) patients worldwide, concerns about hair loss and skin change persist among BC survivors. This study aimed to evaluate the hair loss and skin changes in Asian BC patients and to compare them according to the treatment regimens. This study enrolled 322 patients scheduled to undergo BC surgery. Hair loss and skin changes were assessed at the following two time points: one day before surgery and 6 months after surgery. Patients who had received systemic anticancer treatment before surgery were assigned to the neoadjuvant treatment group, while patients who were scheduled to receive systemic anticancer treatment were assigned to the adjuvant treatment group. In the adjuvant treatment group, patients with taxane-based chemotherapy had significantly higher odds of increased hair loss, a higher melanin index, and an increased volume of wrinkles (p < 0.0001, p = 0.0110, and p = 0.0371, respectively). In the neoadjuvant treatment group, hair loss was reversed in most patients at 6 months after surgery. Clinicians should inform BC patients about the potential for hair loss and skin changes and provide supportive care to mitigate the effects on the patients' quality of life.

Introducing a Comprehensive Score of Systemic Anticancer Treatment Relevance.

Treatment patterns in systemic anticancer therapy (SACT) are extremely varied and complex. While professional society guidelines exist that suggest recommended treatment strategies, these guidelines are produced through an extremely laborious and sometimes opaque manual process, making it impossible for such guidelines to cover all relevant treatment scenarios. To complement these manually curated guidelines, we leveraged a database of 5818 clinical trials and 7012 supporting references from 1943-present to calculate a quantifiable "relevance score". In a pilot evaluation, this score was strongly associated with professional society guideline recommendations, while also providing relevance information on thousands of additional therapies. We show that this score also accurately illustrates trends in SACT adoption over time. We foresee that this score, which comprehensively evaluates the relevance of SACT overall and by cancer subtype, will have utility for clinical practitioners as well as researchers in real-world data.

Real-world treatment patterns and unmet need in patients with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer that is not MSI-H or dMMR.

53 Background: Regorafenib and trifluridine/tipiracil (TAS-102) are standard of care (SoC) systemic anticancer treatments (SACT) for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients perviously treated with fluoropyrimidine (5-FU), irinotecan, &amp; oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy. However, evidence is limited on post-chemotherapy &amp; later SACT for patients with mCRC that is not microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR). This study assessed real-world patient characteristics and treatment patterns in community oncology practices among previously treated, not MSI-H/dMMR mCRC patients. Methods: This retrospective cohort study utilized The US Oncology Network (iKnowMed) electronic health record database, supplemented by chart review. The study cohort comprised adult, not MSI-H/dMMR mCRC patients treated with chemotherapy (5-FU/capecitabine, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin) who initiated subsequent SACT or received best supportive care (BSC) between 1/1/2016 &amp; 12/31/2021. Index date for SACT users was the regimen start date. For patients on BSC and no subsequent SACT/BSC, index date was last chemotherapy administration date. Patients were followed from index date through 8/31/2022, date of death or last contact date, whichever occurred first. Descriptive statistics were used to report patient and treatment characteristics. Results: The study consisted of 292 mCRC patients, with a median age of 57 (range: 49, 68) years. The predominant histology was adenocarcinoma (n = 237, 81.2%) with 1.7% other histology and rest missing, 198 (67.8%) patients had Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0-1 and 206 (70.5%) had primary tumors located in the colon. Liver (n = 207, 70.9%) and lung (n = 78, 26.7%) were the most common metastasis sites. Diabetes (n = 33, 11.3%) and peripheral vascular disease (n = 18, 6.2%) were the most common comorbidities. Eighty-seven (29.8%) patients received at least one chemotherapy in the adjuvant/neo-adjuvant setting, while majority (70.2%) patients received chemotherapies in the metastatic setting. Overall, 203 (69.5%) received SACT post-chemotherapy, 84 (28.8%) received BSC and 5 (1.7%) did not receive SACT/BSC. Among the SACT post-chemotherapy users, 30 (14.8%) received regorafenib, 25 (12.3%) received TAS-102 and 148 (72.9%) received other SACT. Other SACT included irinotecan-based (n = 76, 37.4%), oxaliplatin-based (n = 30, 14.8%), irinotecan and oxaliplatin-based (n = 6, 3.0%) chemotherapy, and anti-EGFR (n = 15, 7.4%) or anti-VEGF (n = 8, 3.0%) targeted therapies. Conclusions: Overall, only 27.1% of previously treated mCRC patients with tumors that were not MSI-H or dMMR received SoC. The real-world variability in choice of treatments and the high percentage of patients rechallenged with chemotherapy in subsequent lines, highlights an unmet need in this population.

Lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab versus lenvatinib alone as first-line therapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: Longer-term efficacy and safety results from the phase 3 LEAP-002 study.

482 Background: The randomized, double-blind, phase 3 LEAP-002 study (NCT03713593) was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of first-line (1L) lenvatinib (len) + pembrolizumab (pembro) vs len + placebo (pbo) in patients (pts) with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). After a median follow-up (randomization to data cutoff) of 32.1 mo, LEAP-002 did not meet its primary end points of OS at final analysis (median, 21.2 vs 19.0 mo; HR, 0.840; 95% CI, 0.708-0.997) and PFS at interim analysis 1 (IA1; median, 8.2 vs 8.0 mo; HR, 0.867; 95% CI, 0.734-1.024). However, the study highlighted the activity of len + pembro and, given the late separation of Kaplan-Meier survival curves for OS and PFS between treatment arms from 12 mo onwards, outcomes with extended follow-up are of interest. We report results after 12 mo of additional follow-up (median 43.6 mo). Methods: Eligible pts with advanced HCC were randomized 1:1 to len (8 mg/day if bodyweight [BW] &lt;60 kg; 12 mg/day if BW ≥60 kg) + pembro (200 mg IV Q3W) or len + pbo. Dual primary end points were OS and PFS (per RECIST v1.1 by BICR). Secondary end points included ORR and DOR, both per RECIST v1.1 by BICR, and safety. Data cutoff was June 6, 2023. Results: 794 pts were randomly assigned to receive len + pembro (n = 395) or len + pbo (n = 399). Median follow-up was 43.6 mo (range, 37.3-52.6), and treatment was ongoing in 25 (3.2%) pts. Median OS was 21.1 mo with len + pembro vs 19.0 mo with len + pbo (HR, 0.836; 95% CI, 0.713-0.981). OS rates for len + pembro vs len + pbo were 43.4% vs 40.0% at 24 mo, 32.7% vs 24.3% at 36 mo, and 22.4% vs 15.3% at 48 mo. Median PFS was 8.2 mo with len + pembro vs 8.1 mo with len + pbo (HR, 0.810; 95% CI, 0.692-0.949). PFS rates for len + pembro vs len + pbo were 16.4% vs 9.7% at 24 mo and 14.1% vs 3.3% at 36 mo. ORR was 26.3% for len + pembro vs 17.5% for len + pbo. Median DOR was 16.6 mo (range, 2.0+ to 45.3+) for len + pembro vs 10.4 mo (range, 1.9 to 37.0+) for len + pbo. Grade 3-5 treatment-related adverse event (TRAE) rates were 62.8% in the len + pembro arm and 58.0% in the len + pbo arm. No additional deaths due to TRAEs were reported. The most common TRAEs of any grade in the len + pembro vs len + pbo arms were hypertension (43.8% vs 46.8%), diarrhea (40.8% vs 34.2%), and hypothyroidism (40.0% vs 35.9%). Overall, 46.6% vs 55.4% of pts received ≥1 poststudy systemic anticancer treatment. Conclusions: With an additional 12 mo of follow-up, the LEAP-002 primary end points of OS and PFS for len + pembro vs len + pbo remained consistent with the primary efficacy analyses; no new safety signals were observed. The median OS of 19.0 mo with len monotherapy continues to support its role as a standard-of-care treatment in 1L advanced HCC. The activity of len + pembro for pts with advanced HCC observed in this study supports the evaluation of TACE ± len + pembro for intermediate-stage HCC in the ongoing phase 3 LEAP-012 study (NCT04246177). Clinical trial information: NCT03713593 .