Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO) Breast Cancer Guidelines 2022

Developing guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of common cancers in China based on the evidence-based practice, the availability of diagnosis and treatment products, and the up-to-date advances in precision medicine is one of the basic tasks of the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO). In recent years, the availability of medical resources has become a major concern in clinical guidelines, which is particularly important for developing countries or socioeconomically diverse countries and territories. China is the world's largest developing country, with a large territory and uneven economic and academic developments. The CSCO guidelines must take into account the differences in regional development, the availability of medicines and diagnostic methods, and the social value of cancer treatment. Therefore, for each clinical problem and intervention in the CSCO guidelines, the levels of evidence should be graded according to the currently available evidences and expert consensuses, and the grades of recommendations should be based on the availability and cost-effectiveness of the products. Protocols with high evidence level and good availability are used as the Level I recommendations; protocols with relatively high evidence level but slightly lower expert consensus or with poor availability are used as the Level II recommendations; and protocols that are clinically applicable but with low evidence level are regarded as the Level III recommendations. Based on the findings of clinical research at home and abroad and the opinions of CSCO experts, the CSCO guidelines determine the levels of recommendations for clinical application. The CSCO Guidance Working Group firmly believes that evidence-based, availability-concerned, and consensus-based guidelines will be more feasible for clinical practice. Again, any comments from our readers are greatly appreciated and will be considered in updates of these guidelines, so as to maintain the accuracy, fairness, and timeliness of the CSCO guidelines.

Efficacy and safety of inetetamab in combination with chemotherapy as first-line treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer: a subgroup analysis in the HOPES study

Background

Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of inetetamab plus chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

Methods

A HOPES study was conducted on patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. Eligible patients were randomly divided into test group and control group at a 2:1 ratio. Among them, patients in test group received inetetamab plus vinorelbine. Concurrently, patients in the control group received vinorelbine. During the trial, safety evaluation was conducted every 4 weeks and efficacy evaluation was conducted every 8 weeks. As assessed by the Response Criteria Evaluation in Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.0 criteria, the primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) and the secondary endpoints included objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR). Safety was estimated according to the National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria (NCI-CTC) version 2.0. Efficacy and safety of the postoperative recurrent-metastases first-line subgroup in the HOPES registry study of inetetamab was analyzed and compared with previous clinical studies of trastuzumab in the first-line treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

Results

In total, we included 315 patients. Among them, 114 patients in the postoperative recurrent-metastases first-line subgroup were assigned to the full analysis set (FAS) (test group, 72; and control group, 42). The test group significantly prolonged median PFS (mPFS) (11.1 vs. 3.3 months of the control group; P<0.0001). ORR and DCR were remarkably higher than the control group (ORR, 61.5% vs. 29.7% with an increase of 31.8%, P=0.0224; DCR, 93.8% vs. 59.4% with an increase of 34.4%, P=0.0003). Efficacy and safety of postoperative recurrent-metastases first-line subgroup in the HOPES study was comparable to previous clinical studies of trastuzumab as first-line treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

Conclusions

Inetetamab has shown efficacy and safety equivalent to trastuzumab for patients in the first-line treatment of postoperative recurrence-metastases HER2-positive breast cancer, which confirms its important status and potential as first-line treatment. Inetetamab provides more first-line targeted therapy options for patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

[Construction of a risk assessment indicator system for re-establishment of imported malaria]

OBJECTIVE

To create a risk assessment indicator system for re-establishment of imported malaria.

METHODS

The risk assessment indicator system for re-establishment of imported malaria was preliminarily constructed through literature review and thematic discussions. A total of 26 malaria control experts were selected to carry out a two-round Delphi consultation of the indicator system. The active coefficient, authority coefficient and coordination coefficient of the experts and the coefficient of variation on each indicator were calculated for indicator screening and the weight of each indicator was calculated. The reliability of the indicator system was evaluated using Cronbach's coefficient α, and the content validity of the indicator system was evaluated using the authority coefficient of the expert, while the structural validity of the indicator system was evaluated using Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test and factor analysis.

RESULTS

Two rounds of Delphi expert consultations were completed by 23 malaria control experts, and a risk assessment indicator system for re-establishment of imported malaria was constructed, including 3 primary indicators, 7 secondary indicators, and 21 tertiary indicators. The active coefficient (100.00% vs. 88.46%; P < 0.01) and coordination coefficient of the expert (0.372 vs. 0.286; P < 0.01) were significantly greater in the second round of the Delphi expert consultation than in the first round. After the second round of the Delphi expert consultation, the authority coefficient of the experts ranged from 0.757 to 0.930 on each indicator, and the coefficients of variation were 0.098 to 0.136, 0.112 to 0.276 and 0.139 to 0.335 for the primary, secondary and tertiary indicators, respectively. The overall Cronbach's coefficient α of the indicator system was 0.941, and there were significant differences in the KMO values for primary (KMO value = 0.523; χ² = 18.192, P < 0.05), secondary (KMO value = 0.694, χ² = 51.499, P < 0.01) and tertiary indicators (KMO value = 0.519; χ² = 477.638, P < 0.01), while the cumulative contribution rate of six principal components in the tertiary indicators was 84.23%. The normalized weights of three primary indicators of the source of infection, transmission condition and control capability were 0.337, 0.333 and 0.329, and the three secondary indicators with the greatest normalized weights included the number of imported cases and malaria parasite species (0.160), introduction of imported cases in China and medical care seeking (0.152), vector species and density (0.152), while the five tertiary indicators with the greatest normalized weights included the malaria parasite species of imported cases (0.065), vector populations (0.064), and the time interval from onset to medical care seeking (0.059), number of imported cases (0.056), and the time interval from medical care seeking to definitive diagnosis (0.055).

CONCLUSIONS

A risk assessment indicator system for re-establishment of imported malaria is successfully created, which provides insights into the assessment of the risk of re-establishment of imported malaria and management of key high-risk factors in malaria-eliminated areas.

[Analysis of HIV-1 genetic subtype and pretreatment drug resistance among men who have sex with men infected with HIV-1 from 19 cities of 6 provinces in China]

Objective: To investigate the distribution of HIV-1 genetic subtypes and pretreatment drug resistance (PDR) among men who have sex with men (MSM) from 19 cities of 6 provinces in China. Methods: From April to November 2019, 574 plasma samples of ART-naive HIV-1 infected MSM were collected from 19 cities in Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong provinces, total ribonucleic acid (RNA) was extracted and amplified the HIV-1 pol gene region by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) after reverse transcription. Then sequences were used to construct a phylogenetic tree to determine genetic subtypes and submitted to the Stanford drug resistance database for drug resistance analysis. Results: A total of 479 samples were successfully amplified by PCR. The HIV-1 genetic subtypes included CRF01_AE, CRF07_BC, B, CRF55_01B, CRF59_01B, CRF65_cpx, CRF103_01B, CRF67_01B, CRF68_01B and unrecognized subtype, which accounted for 43.4%, 36.3%, 6.3%, 5.9%, 0.8%, 0.8%, 0.4%, 0.4%, 0.2% and 5.5%, respectively. The distribution of genetic subtypes among provinces is statistically different (χ²=44.141, P<0.001). The overall PDR rate was 4.6% (22/479), the drug resistance rate of non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and protease inhibitors were 3.5% (17/479), 0.8% (4/479) and 0.2% (1/479), respectively. The PDR rate of recent infections was significantly higher than that of long-term infections (χ²=4.634, P=0.031). Conclusions: The HIV-1 genetic subtypes among MSM infected with HIV-1 from 19 cities of 6 provinces in China are diverse, and the distribution of subtypes is different among provinces. The overall PDR rate is low, while the PDR rate of recent infections was significantly higher than that of long-term infections, suggesting the surveillance of PDR in recent infections should be strengthened.

Study of the Void Structure of PAN Fiber by Small Angle x-ray Scattering and Spline Function

The voids in fibers, especially in wet spun fibers are a major factor of fiber structure which greatly affects the fiber properties. A lot of research has shown that the inner voids and surface imperfections were the main causes of strength decreases. Therefore it is very important to determine the void morphology development in fiber processing in order to obtain high quality as-spun fiber.

In this paper we introduce a new method for the determination of void morphology using small angle x-ray scattering with a spline function method in which the average void size, size distribution and the related scattering power as well is obtained.

Abstract P5-18-10: Mecapegfilgrastim for primary prophylaxis of neutropenia in 355 HER2+ breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant docetaxel in combination with trastuzumab and/or pyrotinib: Exploratory analysis from randomized, double-blind, phase 3 PHEDRA study

Background: A dose relationship may exist for both antitumor activity and toxicity of docetaxel in breast cancer (BC) patients, while 86% grade 4 neutropenia and 12% febrile neutropenia (FN) were reported when pretreated advanced breast cancer (ABC) patients received 100 mg/m2 docetaxel monotherapy without hematopoietic support. PHEDRA was a randomized, double-blind, multicenter, phase 3 study comparing the efficacy and safety of adding pyrotinib to trastuzumab and docetaxel as neoadjuvant treatment in women with HER2+ early or locally ABC (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03588091). We conducted this exploratory analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of mecapegfilgrastim, a long-acting recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF), as primary prophylaxis for neoadjuvant chemotherapy-induced neutropenia in BC patients. Methods: Patients with HER2-positive early or locally ABC were randomly assigned (1:1) to pyrotinib arm receiving 4 neoadjuvant cycles of docetaxel (100 mg/m2 iv d1 q3w), trastuzumab (8 mg/kg iv, cycle 1 d1, then 6 mg/kg d1 q3w), and pyrotinib (400 mg po qd, d1-21, q3w) or placebo arm with placebo, trastuzumab and docetaxel. Per protocol, patients were required to receive a single, 6-mg fixed dose of mecapegfilgrastim on Day 2 of each cycle. Other G-CSF was permitted if mecapegfilgrastim was unavailable at the local center or patients occurred mecapegfilgrastim intolerance. The incidence of neutropenia, FN, time to first neutropenia onset, duration per neutropenia event and cumulative neutropenia duration during neoadjuvant treatment period; and the incidences of grade 3/4 neutropenia, FN and decreased WBC count in Cycle 1 to 4 (C1-4) were presented. The data cutoff date was April 30, 2021. Results: Between July 23, 2018 and January 8, 2021, 355 patients were randomized (pyrotinib arm, n=178; placebo arm, n=177). Among them, 291 (82.0%) patients received a single, 6-mg fixed dose of mecapegfilgrastim in Cycle 1 and 270 (76.1%) patients received mecapegfilgrastim in each of the 4 cycles. Grade 3/4 neutropenia was reported in 33 (18.5%) patients in the pyrotinib arm and 36 (20.3%) patients in the placebo arm. Five (2.8%) patients in the pyrotinib arm and 2 (1.1%) patients in the placebo arm developed FN (5 FN occurred in C1; 2 FN occurred in C2). Median duration of grade 3/4 neutropenia was 3 days in the pyrotinib group and 3 days in the placebo group. Median cumulative duration of grade 3/4 neutropenia was 4 days and 3 days in the pyrotinib group and the placebo group, respectively. Grade 3/4 neutropenia mainly occurred during the first cycle of treatment for both pyrotinib (13.5%) and placebo arm (15.8%), reduced in the second cycle (5.9% vs 4.0%) and thereafter (C3: 1.8% vs 3.4%; C4: 2.4% vs 1.7%). Similar trends were observed for grade 3/4 WBC count decreased in Cycle 1 to 4. No grade 4 infection occurred. Overview of neutropenia, FN and WBC count decreased was summarized in Table 1. Consistent findings were observed in 291 mecapegfilgrastim treated patients. Conclusion: The exploratory analysis demonstrated 6-mg fixed dose of mecapegfilgrastim was effective when administrated as primary prophylaxis for neoadjuvant chemotherapy-induced neutropenia, which could be considered as a new treatment option for its advantage of once-per-cycle dosing and convenient dose management.

Table 1.Overview of neutropenia, febrile neutropenia and WBC count decrease during neoadjuvant treatment period.Docetaxel+Trastuzumab+Pyrotinib(N=178)Docetaxel+Trastuzumab+Placebo (N=177)All randomized patients(N=355)Neutropenia, n (%)Any grade57 (32.0)54 (30.5)111 (31.3)Grade 16 (3.4)5 (2.8)11 (3.1)Grade 218 (10.1)13 (7.3)31 (8.7)Grade 315 (8.4)20 (11.3)35 (9.9)Grade 418 (10.1)16 (9.0)34 (9.6)Median time to first onset (IQR), days7 (6-63)6 (6-49)7 (6-53)Median duration per grade 3 or higher neutropenia, days (range)3 (1-16)3 (2-12)3 (1-16)Median cumulative duration of grade 3 or higher neutropenia, days (range)4 (2-16)3 (2-14)3 (2-16)FN, n (%)5 (2.8)2 (1.1)7 (2.0)Grade 3 or higher neutropenia, n (%) *Cycle 124 (13.5)28 (15.8)52 (14.6)Cycle 210 (5.9)7 (4.0)17 (4.9)Cycle 33 (1.8)6 (3.4)9 (2.6)Cycle 44 (2.4)3 (1.7)7 (2.1)Grade 3 or higher FN, n (%) *Cycle 12 (1.1)2 (1.1)4 (1.1)Cycle 22 (1.2)02 (0.6)Cycle 3000Cycle 4000Grade 3 or higher WBC count decreased, n (%) *Cycle 120 (11.2)20 (11.3)40 (11.3)Cycle 28 (4.7)2 (1.1)10 (2.9)Cycle 32 (1.2)1 (0.6)3 (0.9)Cycle 44 (2.4)2 (1.1)6 (1.8)Note: IQR, interquartile range; FN, febrile neutropenia; WBC, white blood cell.*The denominator indicates number of patients with mecapegfilgrastim for prophylaxis use in this cycle.

Citation Format: Min He, Benlong Yang, Jiong Wu, Zhenzhen Liu, Hongjian Yang, Jinhai Tang, Kun Wang, Yunjiang Liu, Haibo Wang, Peifen Fu, Shuqun Zhang, Qiang Liu, Zefei Jiang, Shusen Wang, Jian Huang, Chuan Wang, Shu Wang, Yongsheng Wang, Linlin Zhen, Xiaoyu Zhu, Shulin Liu, Ping Yan, Jianjun Zou. Mecapegfilgrastim for primary prophylaxis of neutropenia in 355 HER2+ breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant docetaxel in combination with trastuzumab and/or pyrotinib: Exploratory analysis from randomized, double-blind, phase 3 PHEDRA study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-18-10.

Abstract PD8-05: Overall survival (OS) results from the phase III PHENIX trial of HER2+ metastatic breast cancer treated with pyrotinib plus capecitabine

Background: Pyrotinib (an irreversible tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting EGFR, HER2, and HER4) plus capecitabine previously demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) over placebo plus capecitabine for HER2-positive local relapsed or metastatic breast cancer after prior trastuzumab and taxanes in the interim analysis of the PHENIX trial (NCT02973737; Jiang Z et al. Oral presentation at ASCO 2019, Abstract 1001). It is shown that patients also benefit from subsequent pyrotinib monotherapy after progressed on capecitabine alone. Here we present an updated OS from a follow-up period with a median of 42.1 months. Methods: This PHENIX trial enrolled patients with HER2-positive local relapsed or metastatic breast cancer who had received prior trastuzumab and taxanes and up to two prior lines of chemotherapy for relapsed or metastatic disease. Eligible patients were randomized 2:1 to receive pyrotinib (400 mg orally once daily) in combination with capecitabine (1000 mg/m2 orally twice daily on days 1-14 for 21-day cycles; P+C group) or placebo plus capecitabine followed by pyrotinib monotherapy upon disease progression (C-P group). Randomization was stratified by the presence of visceral disease (yes vs. no) and the hormone receptor status (estrogen receptor [ER]- and/or progesterone receptor [PR]-positive vs. ER- and PR-negative). The primary endpoint was the independent review committee-assessed PFS. The data cutoff for the updated OS analysis was January 15, 2021. Results: A total of 279 eligible patients were randomized, with 185 to P+C group and 94 to C-P group. As of data cutoff, the median duration of follow-up was 41.7 months (95% CI 40.2-42.4) in P+C group and 43.1 months (95% CI 38.8-44.5) in C-P group. 71 out of 94 patients who progressed on placebo plus capecitabine received pyrotinib monotherapy as the first subsequent anti-cancer therapy according to protocol. Excluding the protocol prespecified pyrotinib monotherapy, 129 (69.7%) patients in the P+C group and 74 (78.7%) patients in the C-P group received anti-cancer therapy after discontinuing study treatment, and 107 (57.8%) patients and 61 (64.9%) patients received post-discontinuation anti-HER2 drugs, respectively. 98 (53.0%) of the 185 patients in P+C group and 59 (62.8%) of the 94 patients in C-P group died by the time of data cutoff. Kaplan-Meier estimated median OS was 34.9 months (95% CI 28.4-42.1) in P+C group and 23.6 months (95% CI 19.3-34.4) in C-P group (HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.54-1.02; p=0.068). The 2-year OS rate was 65.2% (95% CI 57.6%-71.8%) versus 48.9% (95% CI 38.1%-58.7%), respectively. Subgroup analyses of OS were generally consistent with the overall result (Table 1). Conclusion: The updated OS analysis highlighted the long-term efficacy of pyrotinib plus capecitabine in pretreated HER2-positive local relapsed or metastatic breast cancer. We did not observe a statistically significant difference in OS between pyrotinib plus capecitabine group and capecitabine group followed by subsequent pyrotinib monotherapy upon disease progression.

Table 1.Subgroup analysis of OS.Pyrotinib plus capecitabine (n=185)Placebo plus capecitabine (n=94)HR (95% CI) *Brain metastasesPresentEvents14/21 (66.7)8/10 (80.0)Median OS22.9 (19.7-35.0)17.3 (1.6-34.4)0.77 (0.32-1.84)AbsentEvents84/164 (51.2)51/84 (60.7)Median OS36.7 (30.7-43.0)23.6 (21.5-40.4)0.72 (0.51-1.02)Previous chemotherapyNoneEvents29/60 (48.3)12/22 (54.5)Median OS37.5 (34.2-NA)32.6 (18.9-NA)0.75 (0.38-1.47)1 lineEvents34/70 (48.6)27/47 (57.4)Median OS35.6 (25.9-NA)31.6 (18.0-NA)0.73 (0.44-1.21)2 linesEvents30/44 (68.2)13/18 (72.2)Median OS21.1 (13.6-33.4)15.9 (5.4-44.0)0.77 (0.40-1.49)Data are n/N (%) or median (95% CI). NA, not available. *HRs are from unstratified analyses.

Citation Format: Zefei Jiang, Min Yan, Li Bian, Tao Wang, Xichun Hu, Qingyuan Zhang, Quchang Ouyang, Jifeng Feng, Yongmei Yin, Tao Sun, Zhongsheng Tong, Xiaojia Wang, Herui Yao, Shuping Jiang, Xiaoyu Zhu, Jianjun Zou. Overall survival (OS) results from the phase III PHENIX trial of HER2+ metastatic breast cancer treated with pyrotinib plus capecitabine [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PD8-05.

Abstract PD8-08: Pyrotinib in combination with trastuzumab and docetaxel as neoadjuvant treatment for HER2-positive early or locally advanced breast cancer (PHEDRA): A randomized, double-blind, multicenter, phase 3 study

Background: Pyrotinib (an irreversible pan-ErbB inhibitor) plus capecitabine have shown clinically and statistically meaningful progression free survival and overall survival benefits and acceptable tolerability in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer in phase 3 study. We compared the efficacy and safety of adding pyrotinib to trastuzumab and docetaxel vs placebo, trastuzumab and docetaxel as neoadjuvant treatment in women with HER2-positive early or locally advanced breast cancer (ABC) in this randomized, double-blind, multicenter, phase 3 study. Methods: Treatment naive patients with HER2-positive early or locally ABC (T2-3, N0-3, M0) were randomly assigned (1:1) to pyrotinib arm receiving 4 neoadjuvant cycles of pyrotinib (400 mg po qd, d1-21, q3w), trastuzumab (8 mg/kg iv, cycle 1 d1, then 6 mg/kg d1 q3w) and placebo arm with docetaxel (100 mg/m2 iv d1, q3w) or placebo, trastuzumab and docetaxel. Randomization was done via a centralized interactive web-response system and stratified by primary tumor size (&gt;2 cm and ≤5cm, or &gt;5cm) and hormone receptor status (ER positive and/or PR positive, or negative for both). After surgery, patients received 3 cycles of intravenous fluorouracil, epirubicin, and cyclophosphamide followed by anti-cancer treatment (anti-HER2 therapy, radiotherapy, or endocrine therapy) at physicians’ discretion in accordance with clinical practice guidelines. The primary endpoint was total pCR rate (tpCR; defined as absence of any residual invasive cancer in the breast and lymph nodes [ypT0/is, ypN0]), assessed by an independent review committee (IRC). This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT03588091. The data cutoff date was April 30, 2021. Results: Between July 23, 2018 and January 8, 2021, a total of 355 patients were randomized (pyrotinib arm, n=178; and placebo arm, n=177; mean [SD] age, 48.8 [9.4] years). Baseline demographics and disease characteristics were well balanced. In the full analysis set, IRC-assessed tpCR rates were 41.0% (73 of 178) in the pyrotinib arm and 22.0% (39 of 177) in the placebo arm (difference, 19.0% [95% CI, 9.5%-28.4%]; one-sided P&lt;0.0001). The local pathologist-assessed tpCR rates were 44.4% (79 of 178) and 24.3% (43 of 177) in the pyrotinib arm and the placebo arm, respectively. Incidence of grade ≥3 adverse events (AEs) was 71.3% (127 of 178) in the pyrotinib arm and 37.3% (66 of 177) in the placebo arm. Of the most-common grade ≥3 AEs (≥5% of patients in either arm), the incidences of diarrhea (79 of 178 [44.4%] vs 9 of 177 [5.1%]), decreased WBC count (29 of 178 [16.3%] vs 24 of 177 [13.6%]), vomiting (23 of 178 [12.9%] vs 2 of 177 [1.1%]), anemia (11 of 178 [6.2%] vs 2 of 177 [1.1%]), and hypokalemia (9 of 178 [5.1%] vs 0) were higher in the pyrotinib arm compared with the placebo arm. Grade 3 diarrhea occurred mainly during the first treatment cycle and decreased in the second cycle and thereafter. No grade 4 or 5 diarrheas occurred. The median duration per grade 3 episode was 2.0 days and median cumulative duration of grade 3 episodes was 4.0 days. Only 1 patient (1 of 178 [0.6%]) in the pyrotinb arm experienced diarrhea-related discontinuation. Serious AEs were reported in 14.6% of patients (26 of 178) in the pyrotinib arm and 6.8% of patients (12 of 177) in the placebo arm. Conclusions: Pyrotinib, trastuzumab, and docetaxel as neoadjuvant treatment achieved a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in IRC-assessed tpCR rate for patients with HER2-positive early or locally ABC compared with placebo, trastuzumab, and docetaxel, with an acceptable and manageable safety profile. These findings support pyrotinib, trastuzumab, and docetaxel as a new neoadjuvant treatment option in this patient population.

Citation Format: Jiong Wu, Zhenzhen Liu, Hongjian Yang, Jinhai Tang, Kun Wang, Yunjiang Liu, Haibo Wang, Peifen Fu, Shuqun Zhang, Qiang Liu, Zefei Jiang, Shusen Wang, Jian Huang, Chuan Wang, Shu Wang, Yongsheng Wang, Linlin Zhen, Xiaoyu Zhu, Fei Wu, Tao Zhang, Jianjun Zou. Pyrotinib in combination with trastuzumab and docetaxel as neoadjuvant treatment for HER2-positive early or locally advanced breast cancer (PHEDRA): A randomized, double-blind, multicenter, phase 3 study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PD8-08.

Abstract OT2-11-06: SERENA-4: A Phase III comparison of AZD9833 (camizestrant) plus palbociclib, versus anastrozole plus palbociclib, for patients with ER-positive/HER2-negative advanced breast cancer who have not previously received systemic treatment for advanced disease

Background: More than two thirds of patients with advanced breast cancer (ABC) have estrogen receptor-positive (ER+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2−) tumors. In most countries, current standard-of-care first-line treatments include an aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant, a selective ER degrader, combined with cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors. Concurrent use of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonists is recommended for men and premenopausal women with ABC. Nevertheless, almost all ABCs eventually become resistant to endocrine therapy and the disease is incurable in these cases. New therapies are needed to combat endocrine therapy resistance, maintain patient health-related quality-of-life, and delay the need for chemotherapy. AZD9833 (camizestrant) is a highly potent, next-generation selective ER degrader and pure ER antagonist that has demonstrated anticancer properties across a range of preclinical models, including those with ER-activating mutations (Scott et al, AACR 2020). A Phase I dose-escalation and expansion study (SERENA-1) has demonstrated that AZD9833 is well tolerated and has a promising antitumor activity when administered alone or in combination with the cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor palbociclib (Baird et al, SABCS 2020). SERENA-4 (NCT04711252) is a randomized, multicenter, double-blind, Phase III trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of AZD9833 in combination with palbociclib for patients with ER+/HER2− ABC who have not received systemic treatment in the advanced disease setting. Methods: SERENA-4 will enroll 1342 patients with de novo or recurrent ER+/HER2− ABC who have not previously received systemic treatment for their locoregionally recurrent or metastatic disease. Patients with recurrent disease must have received adjuvant aromatase inhibitor or tamoxifen therapy for at least 24 months without relapse. Patients will be randomized 1:1 to receive oral treatment with either (a) AZD9833 75 mg once daily, palbociclib 125 mg once daily for 21 days followed by 7 days off treatment and a placebo for anastrozole 1 mg once daily or (b) anastrozole 1 mg once daily, palbociclib (same as active arm) and a placebo for AZD9833 75 mg once daily. Men and premenopausal women will also receive a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonist. The primary endpoint is progression-free survival (PFS; up to 5 years). Secondary endpoints include overall survival (up to 8 years), second PFS, time to chemotherapy, objective response rate, and changes in health-related quality-of-life measures. Enrollment began in January 2021. As of 02 July 2021, the number of open sites is 57 across 15 countries. Acknowledgments: We thank Julia Mawer, PhD, of Oxford PharmaGenesis, Oxford, UK, for providing medical writing support funded by AstraZeneca Funding: The SERENA-4 trial is funded and overseen by AstraZeneca. © 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc. Reused with permission. This abstract was accepted and previously presented at the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting. All rights reserved.

Citation Format: Fabrice André, Seock-Ah Im, Patrick Neven, Richard D Baird, Johannes Ettl, Matthew P Goetz, Erika Hamilton, Hiroji Iwata, Zefei Jiang, Anil Abraham Joy, Vincent Haddad, Andrew Walding, Manuel Selvi Miralles, Cynthia Huang Bartlett, Antonio Llombart-Cussac. SERENA-4: A Phase III comparison of AZD9833 (camizestrant) plus palbociclib, versus anastrozole plus palbociclib, for patients with ER-positive/HER2-negative advanced breast cancer who have not previously received systemic treatment for advanced disease [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr OT2-11-06.

Abstract P5-18-06: Proactive diarrhea management improved tolerability of pyrotinib in combination with trastuzumab and docetaxel in patients with HER2+ early or locally advanced breast cancer: Exploratory analysis from randomized, double-blind, phase 3 PHEDRA study

Background: Diarrhea is a common side effect of many anti-cancer treatments, including chemotherapeutic agents, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and pelvic radiotherapy. PHEDRA was a randomized, double-blind, multicenter, phase 3 study comparing the efficacy and safety of adding pyrotinib (an irreversible pan-ErbB inhibitor) to trastuzumab and docetaxel (pyrotinib arm) vs placebo, trastuzumab, and docetaxel (placebo arm) as neoadjuvant treatment in women with HER2+ early or locally advanced breast cancer (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03588091). We conducted this exploratory analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of proactive diarrhea management (PDM) according to the recommendation from independent data monitoring committee. Methods: Between July 23, 2018 and January 8, 2021, 355 patients were enrolled and randomized, of whom 212 and 143 patients were randomized before and after the implementation of PDM strategy. The diarrhea management strategy was strengthened with the early identification and proactive management of diarrhea, including use of loperamide as first choice of antidiarrheal agents and strict application of loperamide recommended dose (4 mg initially and an additional 2 mg following each diarrhea stool, not exceeding 16 mg/day). Primary prophylaxis with loperamide was not allowed. The incidence, severity, onset, and duration of diarrhea were summarized. The data cutoff date was April 30, 2021. Results: Of all 178 patients with pyrotinib arm, there were 43 (40.6%) and 56 (77.8%) patients applied loperamide as the first choice of antidiarrheal agents before and after the PDM implementation, respectively. The incidence of grade 3 diarrhea has decreased from 50.0% before the PDM implementation to 36.1% after the PDM implementation (Table 1). During neoadjuvant treatment period, grade 3 diarrhea mainly occurred during the first cycle of treatment for both treatment arms (C1: 20.8%), showing a sharp decreased trend during the following cycles (C2: 8.7%; C3: 5.4%; C4: 4.5%). Furthermore, among patients with pyrotinib arm, the incidences of grade 3 diarrhea in the first, second cycle and thereafter were lower in patients enrolled after the implementation of PDM than those enrolled before the PDM implementation (C1: 29.2%. vs 44.3%; C2: 10.1% vs 21.8%; C3: 7.2% vs 14.1%; C4: 4.5% vs 11.1%). Among patients with pyrotinib, compared with those enrolled before the PDM implementation, the median duration per diarrhea episode (4 days [IQR, 2-9] vs 2 days [1-5]), median duration per grade 3 diarrhea episode (2 days [IQR, 2-3] vs 2 days [1-2]), and median cumulative duration of grade 3 diarrhea (6 days [IQR, 3-9] vs 2 [2-5] days) were shortened in those enrolled after the PDM implementation. During neoadjuvant treatment period, 31 (17.4%) patients experienced diarrhea leading to pyrotinib dose reduction, and only 1 (0.6%) patient discontinued study treatment due to diarrhea in the pyrotinib arm. Conclusion: Pyrotinib tolerability was improved with PDM, which reduced the incidence and duration of grade 3 diarrhea. Grade 3 diarrhoea occurred mainly during the first cycle of treatment and reduced in the second cycle and thereafter. Diarrhea in the pyrotinib group was characterized by early onset and short duration and was generally manageable.

Table 1.Characteristics of treatment-emergent diarrheaBEFORE the implementation of PDMAFTER the implementation of PDMPyrotinib+Trastuzumab+Docetaxel(N=106)Placebo+Trastuzumab+Docetaxel(N=106)Pyrotinib+Trastuzumab+Docetaxel(N=72)Placebo+Trastuzumab+Docetaxel(N=71)Diarrhea incidence, n (%)All grade106 (100.0)57 (53.8)72 (100.0)36 (50.7)Grade 112 (11.3)32 (30.2)7 (9.7)28 (39.4)Grade 241 (38.7)18 (17.0)39 (54.2)6 (8.5)Grade 353 (50.0)7 (6.6)26 (36.1)2 (2.8)Cycle 147 (44.3)4 (3.8)21 (29.2)2 (2.8)Cycle 222 (21.8)2 (1.9)7 (10.1)0Cycle 314 (14.1)05 (7.2)0Cycle 411 (11.1)2 (1.9)3 (4.5)0Grade 4 or 50000Median time to the first onset, days (IQR)All grade4 (2 to 5)7 (4 to 28)3 (2 to 4)6 (5 to 12)Grade 39 (5 to 11)16 (7 to 24)9 (6 to 12)11 (6 to 16)Median duration per diarrhea episode, days (IQR)All grade4 (2 to 9)2 (2 to 4)2 (1 to 5)2 (1 to 3)Grade 32 (2 to 3)2 (2 to 2)2 (1 to 2)1 (1 to 1)Median cumulative duration, days (IQR)Grade 36 (3 to 9)2 (2 to 3)2 (2 to 5)1 (1 to 1)Median time since the first onset to recovery, days (IQR)All grade7 (3 to 12)2 (2 to 4)3 (1 to 10)2 (1 to 4)Note: PDM, proactive diarrhea management; IQR, interquartile range.

Citation Format: Benlong Yang, Jiong Wu, Zhenzhen Liu, Hongjian Yang, Jinhai Tang, Kun Wang, Yunjiang Liu, Haibo Wang, Peifen Fu, Shuqun Zhang, Qiang Liu, Zefei Jiang, Shusen Wang, Jian Huang, Chuan Wang, Shu Wang, Yongsheng Wang, Linlin Zhen, Fei Wu, Shulin Liu, Xiang Lin, Jianjun Zou. Proactive diarrhea management improved tolerability of pyrotinib in combination with trastuzumab and docetaxel in patients with HER2+ early or locally advanced breast cancer: Exploratory analysis from randomized, double-blind, phase 3 PHEDRA study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-18-06.

[Current research status on pelvic autonomic nerve monitoring in rectal cancer surgery]

Rectal cancer is a common malignant tumor of the digestive tract, and surgery is the main treatment strategy. Disorders of bowel, anorectal and urogenital function remain common problems after total mesorectal resection (TME), which seriously decreases the quality of life of patients. Surgical nerve damage is one of the main causes of the complications, while TME with pelvic autonomic nerve preservation is an effective way to reduce the occurrence of adverse outcomes. Intraoperative nerve monitoring (IONM) is a promising method to assist the surgeon to identify and protect the pelvic autonomic nerves. Nevertheless, the monitoring methods and technical standards vary, and the clinical use of IONM is still limited. This review aims to summarize the researches on IONM in rectal and pelvic surgery. The electrical nerve stimulation technique and different methods of IONM in rectal cancer surgery are introduced. Also, the authors discuss the limitations of current researches, including methodological disunity and lack of equipment, then prospect the future direction in this field.

[Application of limiting antigen avidity enzyme immunoassay for estimating HIV-1 incidence in men who have sex with men]

Objective: To estimate the incidence of HIV-1 infection in men who have sex with men (MSM) in key areas of China through HIV-1 limiting antigen avidity enzyme immunoassay (LAg-Avidity EIA), analyze the deviation from the actual results and identify influencing factors, and provided reference for improving the accuracy of estimation results. Methods: Based on the principle of the cohort randomized study design, 20 cities were selected in China based on population size and the number of HIV-positive MSM. The sample size was estimated to be 700 according to the HIV-1 infection rate in MSM. MSM mobile phone app. was used to establish a detection appointment and questionnaire system, and the baseline cross-sectional survey was conducted from April to November 2019. LAg-Avidity EIA was used to identify the recent infected samples. The incidence of HIV-1 infection was calculated and then adjusted based on the estimation formula designed by WHO. The influencing factors were identified by analyzing the sample collection and detection processes. Results: Among the 10 650 blood samples from the participants, 799 were HIV-positive in initial screening, in which 198 samples (24.78%) missed during confirmation test. Only 621 samples were received by the laboratory. After excluding misreported samples, 520 samples were qualified for testing. A total of 155 samples were eventually determined as recent infection through LAg-Avidity EIA; Based on the estimation formula , the incidence of HIV-1 infection in MSM in 20 cities was 4.06% (95%CI:3.27%-4.85%), it increased to 5.53% (95%CI: 4.45%-6.60%)after the adjusting for sample missing rate. When the sample missing rate and misreporting rate were both adjusted, the incidence of HIV-1 infection in the MSM increased to 5.66% (95%CI:4.67%-6.65%). The actual incidence of HIV-1 infection in MSM in the 20 cities might be between 4.06% and 5.66%. Conclusions: Sample missing and misreporting might cause the deviation of the estimation of HIV-1 infection incidence. It is important to ensure the sample source and the quality of sample collection and detection to reduce the deviation in the estimation of HIV-1 infection incidence.

A Hierarchical Bayesian Latent Class Model for the Diagnostic Performance of Mini-Mental State Examination and Montreal Cognitive Assessment in Screening Mild Cognitive Impairment Due to Alzheimer's Disease

BACKGROUND

The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) are low costing and noninvasive neuropsychological tests in screening Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer's disease (AD). There is no consensus on which test performs better in detecting MCI due to AD based on the different imperfect reference standards. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to assess the diagnostic performance of MMSE and MoCA for screening MCI due to AD in the absence of a gold standard.

METHODS

Six electronic databases were searched for relevant studies until April, 2022. A hierarchical Bayesian latent class model was used to estimate the pooled sensitivity and specificity of MoCA and MMSE in the absence of a gold standard.

RESULTS

90 eligible studies covering 21273 individuals for MMSE, 26631 individuals for MoCA were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity was 0.71(95%CI: 0.67-0.74) for MMSE and 0.85(95%CI: 0.83-0.88) for MoCA, while the pooled specificity was 0.71(95%CI: 0.68-0.74) for MMSE and 0.79(95%CI: 0.76-0.81) for MoCA. MoCA was useful to "rule in" and "rule out" the diagnosis of MCI due to AD with higher positive likelihood ratio (4.07; 95%CI: 3.60-4.62) and lower negative likelihood ratio (0.18; 95%CI: 0.16-0.22). Moreover, the diagnostic odds ratio of MoCA was 22.08(95%CI: 17.24-28.29), which showed significantly favorable diagnostic performance.

CONCLUSIONS

It suggests that MoCA has greater diagnostic performance than MMSE for differentiating MCI due to AD when the gold standard is absent. However, these results should be taken with caution given the heterogeneity observed.

Realizing topologically ordered states on a quantum processor

[Figure: see text].

Profile, treatment patterns, and influencing factors of anthracycline use in breast cancer patients in China: A nation-wide multicenter study

Background

Anthracycline‐based chemotherapy (ABC) is one of the standard therapies against breast cancer. However, few guidelines are currently available to optimize the use of ABC. Therefore, the present analysis aimed at determining the profile and treatment patterns of ABC and the association of clinicopathological characteristics with ABC selection.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed the data of a nation‐wide multicenter epidemiological study, which collected the medical records of breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy in different settings from seven geographic regions in China (NCT03047889).

Results

In total, 3393 patients were included, with 2917 treated with ABC. Among them, 553 (89.8%), 2165 (81.7%), and 814 (25.7%) were subjected to ABC as neoadjuvant, adjuvant, and advanced chemotherapy, respectively. The most frequently used regimens were anthracycline‐taxane‐based combinations for neo‐ and adjuvant chemotherapy, along with taxanes and oral fluorouracils for the palliative stages. In the overall cohort, patients aged < 40 or 40‐65 (p < 0.001), in premenopause (p < 0.001), without comorbidities (p = 0.016), with invasive ductal carcinoma (p= 0.001), high lymph node involvement (p < 0.001), in the pTNM stage II, III, or IV versus stage I (p < 0.001), subjected to mastectomy (p < 0.001) or subjected to sentinel lymph node biopsy combined with axillary lymph node dissection (p = 0.044), or with a decreased disease‐free survival (p < 0.001) were more likely to be recommended to ABC.

Conclusion

Taken together, ABC remained the mainstay of breast cancer treatment, especially in neo and adjuvant therapy. ABC was mainly used as a combination therapy, and the correlation between influencing factors and ABC choice varied during different settings, indicating the preference and different perspectives of medication considered by medical oncologists regarding the use ABC in China.

Increased risk of diabetes in cancer survivors: a pooled analysis of 13 population-based cohort studies

BACKGROUND

Diabetes is considered as an established risk factor for cancer development. However, the link between diabetes among cancer survivors remains inconclusive. The hypothesis of this study was to assess the hazard ratio (HR) of incidence of diabetes in cancer survivors compared with the HR in the general population.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A comprehensive literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library from database inception to 15 December 2020 for population-based cohort studies. Summary effect estimates were combined using random-effects models. We also performed subgroup analyses to test sources of heterogeneity and the stability of the results stratified by various study and participant characteristics.

RESULTS

Thirteen population-based cohort studies involving 1 686 595 participants were analyzed. The HR for the development of diabetes in cancer survivors was 1.39 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29-1.50; I2 = 82.3%; P < 0.001] compared with that in noncancer controls, among which survivors of hematological, gynecologic, breast, colorectal and urinary tract cancer (all P < 0.05) showed consistent significant results, whereas no significant increased risk was observed for other cancer types. The effects were more prominent in populations of shorter cancer survival duration (<1 year) (HR 2.09, 95% CI 1.32-3.32; P = 0.009). Moreover, cancer survivors with a longer follow-up period (>10 years) had a relatively higher risk of diabetes (HR 1.54, 95% CI 1.34-1.77) than those with a shorter follow-up period.

CONCLUSIONS

In this large pooled analysis of population-based cohorts, evidence supports the hypothesis that the risk of developing diabetes is increased in cancer survivors compared with the general population. We should interpret the results with caution for considerable interstudy heterogeneity. However, health policy makers should take this as a challenge for the early prevention and effective intervention of diabetes.

Predictors for Fear of Cancer Recurrence in Breast Cancer Patients Referred to Radiation Therapy During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multi-Center Cross-Section Survey

OBJECTIVE

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted on radiotherapy (RT) strategy for breast cancer patients, which might lead to increased distressing psychological symptoms. We performed a multi-center cross-section survey to investigate prevalence of fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) and predictors for FCR in patients referred to RT during pandemic.

METHODS

542 patients were consecutively enrolled from three regions in China including Yangtze Delta River Region, Guangdong and Shanxi province. Patients' characteristics were collected using an information sheet, Fear of progression questionnaire-short form, Hospital Anxiety/Depression Scale and EORTC QLQ-C30. The hierarchical multiple regression models were performed.

RESULTS

488 patients with complete data were eligible. The RT strategy was affected in 265 (54.3%) patients, including 143 with delayed RT initiation, 66 believing to have delayed RT initiation but actually not, 24 with RT interruptions, 19 shifting to local hospitals for RT and the remaining 13 influenced on both RT schedule and hospital level. The model explained 59.7% of observed variances in FCR (p<0.001) and showed that influence of RT strategy had significantly impacted on FCR (△R2 = 0.01, △F=2.966, p=0.019). Hospitals in Shanxi province (β=-0.117, p=0.001), emotional function (β=-0.19, p<0.001), social function (β=-0.111, p=0.006), anxiety (β=0.434, p<0.001) and RT interruption (β=0.071, p=0.035) were independent predictors.

CONCLUSIONS

RT strategy for breast cancer patients was greatly influenced during pandemic. RT interruption is an independent predictor for high FCR. Our findings emphasize the necessity to ensure continuum of RT, and efforts should be taken to alleviate FCR through psychological interventions.