Do we need postoperative chemotherapy after preoperative FOLFIRINOX in resected borderline or locally advanced pancreatic cancer? A retrospective analysis

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Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has poor outcome and surgical resection remains the only curative treatment. Post-operative (Post-Op) chemotherapy (CT) improves survival and FOLFIRINOX (FFX) regimen is the standard of care. Increasing number of patients with borderline resectable (BL) or locally advanced (LA) disease are treated with pre-operative (Pre-Op) CT with FFX. However, the benefit of Post-Op CT after Pre-Op FFX remains unclear. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact on survival of Post-Op CT in patients with resected BL or LA PDAC after Pre-Op FFX CT. Methods: 116 consecutive patients treated at the Institut Paoli-Calmettes comprehensive cancer center between 2014 and 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients underwent pancreatectomy after Pre-Op FFX for a BL or LA PDAC. Patients who progressed or died within 3 months after surgery were excluded from the analysis. We compared median relapse-free survival (mRFS) and median overall survival (mOS) defined by time from surgery to relapse or death in patients who received or not Post-Op CT. Results: 116 patients (80% BL, 20% LA) were included: 82 received Post-Op CT (CT+) and 34 did not (CT-). The median number of Pre-Op FFX cycles was 4 in the CT+ group vs 6 in the CT- group. 24 (29.3%) patients received Post-Op FFX, 37 (45.1%) received Gemcitabine, 9 (11%) received Gemcitabine + Capecitabine, and 9 (11%) received a 5FU-based CT. Median time between surgery and first Post-Op CT cycle was 63 days. No difference in mRFS nor in mOS were found between CT+ and CT- groups: mRFS 15.0 vs 13.6 months, HR 1.1 [IC95% 0.69–1.77] and mOS 33.8 vs 36.1 months, HR 0.94 [IC95% 0.55–1.60]. Among patients with pathologic node positive disease (N+) (n = 79), mRFS was 13.9 months in the CT+ group vs 6.9 months in the CT- group (HR 0.68 [IC 0.35 – 1.19]), and mOS was 31.8 months in the CT+ group vs 16.5 months in the CT- group (HR 0.96 [IC95% 0.51-1.81]). Patients who received peri-operative (Peri-Op) FFX (n = 24) experienced longer mOS compared to patients who received Gemcitabine Post-Op CT: NR vs 33.8 months, HR 0.45 [IC95% 0.25-1.02]. Patients who received Peri-Op CT for a total of six months or more (n = 31) had increased mOS (55 vs 32 months, HR 0.61 [IC 95% 0.37- 1.11] and mRFS (16 vs 14 months HR 0.80, [IC95% 0.50 -1.31]) than patients receiving less than 6 months Peri-Op CT (n = 85) Conclusions: Post-Op CT does not clearly impact survival in BL or LA pancreatic cancer pretreated with Pre-Op FFX. We observed a trend in the N+ population for a survival benefit. Peri-Op FFX was associated with longer survival than Gemcitabine Post-Op regimen. Further randomized data are needed to assess the impact of Peri-Op FFX for these patients

Chemotherapy use in end-of-life digestive cancer patients: a retrospective AGEO observational study

BACKGROUND

The use of chemotherapy (CT) near the end-of-life (EOL) is an important issue in oncology since it could degrade quality of life. CT near EOL is still poorly studied, with no dedicated study in gastrointestinal (GI) cancer patients.

AIM

To analyze in GI cancer patients the factors associated with the use of CT within 3- and 1-month before patients' death.

METHODS AND PARTICIPANTS

All consecutive patients who died from a GI cancer in 10 French tertiary care hospitals during 2014 were included in this retrospective study. Clinical, demographical and biological data were collected and compared between patients receiving or not CT within 3- and 1-month before death. Variables associated with overall survival (OS) was also determined using of univariate and multivariate analyses with a Cox model.

RESULTS

Four hundred and thirty-seven patients with a metastatic GI cancer were included in this study. Among them, 293 pts (67.0%) received CT within 3-months before death, and 121 pts (27.7%) received CT within 1-month before death. Patients receiving CT within 3-months before death were significantly younger (median age: 65.5 vs 72.8 years, p < 0.0001), with a better PS (PS 0 or 1: 53.9 vs 29.3%, p < 0.0001) and a higher albumin level (median: 32.8 vs 31.0 g/L, p = 0.048). Similar results were found for CT within 1 month before death. Palliative care team intervention was less frequent in patients who received CT in their last month of life (39.7% vs 51.3%, p = 0.02). In multivariate analysis, median OS from diagnosis was shorter in the group receiving CT within 1-month before death (HR = 0.59; 95% CI [0.48-0.74]).

CONCLUSION

In GI-cancer patients, CT is administered within 3- and 1-month before death, in two and one third of patients, respectively. Patients receiving CT within 1-month before death, had more aggressive disease with poor OS. Palliative care team intervention was associated with less administration of CT in the last month of life. These results highlight the need to better anticipate the time to stop CT treatment in the end-of-life and the importance of an active collaboration between oncology and palliative care teams.

Exploring the best treatment options for BRAF-mutant metastatic colon cancer

The BRAFV600E mutation is a well-accepted poor prognostic factor in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), as it confers Ras-independent stimulation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase/mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway involved in proliferation, migration, angiogenesis and the suppression of apoptosis. Analysis of the potential predictive value of BRAF for treatment efficacy is inherently confounded by this known prognostic impact. Currently, approved therapeutic strategies for patients with BRAF-mutant (BRAF-mt) mCRC are suboptimal, and uncertainty exists regarding how to best treat these patients. Based on the available evidence, it is currently not possible to confirm the superiority of any available treatment options cited in European Society for Medical Oncology and National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines (that is, doublet or triplet chemotherapy regimens plus anti-vascular endothelial growth factor or anti-epidermal growth factor receptors), even if triplet chemotherapy plus bevacizumab is the most accepted standard regimen. In this review, we highlight still-emerging strategies that could be deployed to combat BRAF-mt mCRC, including triplet chemotherapy plus available biologic agents, rationally derived combinations of targeted agents and immunotherapy. While it is clear that the needs of patients with BRAF-mt mCRC are currently unmet, we are cautiously optimistic that the recently renewed research interest in these patients will yield clinically relevant insights and therapeutic strategies.

Immune therapy in colorectal cancer

The evidence that the immune system, when rightly stimulated, can eradicate cancer cells, combined with the latest knowledge about antitumor immunity, has led to recent progress in cancer immunotherapy. While infiltration of tumors with immune cells is described in advanced stage colorectal cancer (CRC), the first data concerning the clinical efficacy of immune-targeted therapies in CRC patients were disappointing. The evidence of tumor responses in CRC patients with microsatellite instability treated with immune checkpoint blockers has renewed the interest for research in the field of CRC immunotherapy. In this article, we briefly review the role of T lymphocytes infiltrating CRC tumors in order to introduce a brief history of CRC immunotherapy and then current trials involving immune-based strategies and particularly immune checkpoint blockers.

Immunomodulatory Activity of VEGF in Cancer

The ability of tumor cells to escape tumor immunosurveillance contributes to cancer development. Factors produced in the tumor microenvironment create "tolerizing" conditions and thereby help the tumor to evade antitumoral immune responses. VEGF-A, already known for its major role in tumor vessel growth (neoangiogenesis), was recently identified as a key factor in tumor-induced immunosuppression. In particular, VEGF-A fosters the proliferation of immunosuppressive cells, limits T-cell recruitment into tumors, and promotes T-cell exhaustion. Antiangiogenic therapies have shown significant efficacy in patients with a variety of solid tumors, preventing tumor progression by limiting tumor-induced angiogenesis. VEGF-targeting therapies have also been shown to modulate the tumor-induced immunosuppressive microenvironment, enhancing Th1-type T-cell responses and increasing tumor infiltration by T cells. The immunomodulatory properties of VEGF-targeting therapies open up new perspectives for cancer treatment, especially through strategies combining antiangiogenic drugs with immunotherapy. Preclinical models and early clinical studies of these combined approaches have given promising results.