Gal-1 Expression Analysis in the GLIOCAT Multicenter Study: Role as a Prognostic Factor and an Immune-Suppressive Biomarker

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most frequent primary malignant brain tumor and has a dismal prognosis. Unfortunately, despite the recent revolution of immune checkpoint inhibitors in many solid tumors, these have not shown a benefit in overall survival in GBM patients. Therefore, new potential treatment targets as well as diagnostic, prognostic, and/or predictive biomarkers are needed to improve outcomes in this population. The β-galactoside binding protein Galectin-1 (Gal-1) is a protein with a wide range of pro-tumor functions such as proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis, and immune suppression. Here, we evaluated Gal-1 expression by immunohistochemistry in a homogenously treated cohort of GBM (the GLIOCAT project) and correlated its expression with clinical and molecular data. We observed that Gal-1 is a negative prognostic factor in GBM. Interestingly, we observed higher levels of Gal-1 expression in the mesenchymal/classical subtypes compared to the less aggressive proneural subtype. We also observed a Gal-1 expression correlation with immune suppressive signatures of CD4 T-cells and macrophages, as well as with several GBM established biomarkers, including SHC1, PD-L1, PAX2, MEOX2, YKL-40, TCIRG1, YWHAG, OLIG2, SOX2, Ki-67, and SOX11. Moreover, Gal-1 levels were significantly lower in grade 4 IDH-1 mutant astrocytomas, which have a better prognosis. Our results confirm the role of Gal-1 as a prognostic factor and also suggest its value as an immune-suppressive biomarker in GBM.

Is IDO1 an adequate target for treatment in glioblastoma?

e14039

Background: Glioblastoma (GB) is the most prevalent primary brain tumor in adults. The first-line treatment is based on standard brain surgery and adjuvant radio-chemotherapy. Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) is a catabolic enzyme that plays a role in the metabolism of tryptophan (Trp), thereby promoting a state of immunosuppression. New treatments inhibiting this pathway are being tested in GB. This study aims to assess the expression of IDO in GB patients to determine whether this enzyme may be an actionable target for the treatment of GB. Methods: This is a retrospective transversal study whose database comes from the GLIOCAT project. Expression of IDO protein and mRNA was evaluated in tumor specimens of newly diagnosed GB patients by immunohistochemistry (IHC) (percentage of positive tumor cells) with an antibody anti-IDO1 (Sigma-Aldrich Cat#HPA027772) and by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). RNA-seq (IIlumina HiSeq2000) in paired-end mode with a read length of 2x76bp using TruSeq SBS Kit v4). Reads were mapped to the human reference genome version hg38 with STAR. Genes were quantified with RSEM using gencode annotation version 24. Normalization of gene expression was performed with the trimmed-mean of M values (TMM) method. IDO gene expression values of -6 logCPM were considered as not expressed. Results: From the 255 samples assessed by IHC, 199 patients (78%) did not express IDO1 protein (mean 0.8±2.73, range 0-21%). From the 139 samples assessed by RNA-seq, TMM values, were negative for 49.6%, while low expression was detected for the other samples (mean -3.36 +/- 3.15 logCPM, range -6.12-4.32). Conclusions: Although IDO1 is barely expressed in normal brain tissue, certain studies show that its expression is upregulated in GB, either by tumor cells or indirectly induced in host antigen presenting cells, leading to immune evasion. Therefore, the metabolism of Trp is an attractive pathway to be targeted for the treatment of GB; however, our results show that IDO may not be the main target to be inhibited due to its undetectable or very low levels of expression.

P14.58 Efficacy and safety of lomustine versus fotemustine as first and second line treament in relapsed glioblastoma patients

BACKGROUND

Glioblastoma (GB) is the most aggressive primary brain tumour. Despite the survival benefit associated with adjuvant therapy, most of patients (pts) relapse after initial therapy. Nitrosoureas (NU) are the standard treatment at relapse in Europe. Both fotemustine (FM) (Addeo schema) and lomustine (LM) (administered orally every 6 weeks) are used in this context.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This retrospective cohort study included pts diagnosed with GB treated with NU at relapse in four Catalonia hospitals from 2010 to 2020. Clinical and pathological data were collected from medical records. We analysed 6months-progression-free survival (6m-PFS), progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) from the start of NU to progression or death respectively. Differences in toxicity grade using CTCAE v5.0 were analysed globally as ‘non-toxicity’, ‘mild toxicity (grade 1 or 2)’ and ‘high toxicity (grade 3 or 4)’.

RESULTS

We identified 236 GB pts with a median age of 58 years old. 29% of the pts presented MGMT promotor methylation and only 3%(n=7) had IDH mutation. After a median follow-up of 20 months, 94% of the pts were dead at the time of the analyses. At first line, 83 pts were treated with FM and 18 with LM. Pts treated with FM had better performance status (PS) than those treated with LM (p=.010). Median PFS was 2 months and 6m-PFS was 12% vs 6% in FM and LM group respectively (p=.87). Median OS was 3 months with LM vs 6 months with FM, with no statistically significant differences even adjusted for prognostic factors (p=.79 HR:0.9 CI 95% 0.41–1.96).At second line, 78 were treated with FM and 24 with LM, no differences between groups. Median PFS was 2 months in both groups and median OS was 3 vs 5 months for pts treated with LM vs FM respectively, with no significant differences. 6m-PFS was 13% for LM vs 0% for the FM group (p=.39).Pts received a mean of 1.7 cycles (every 6 weeks) and 4.1 cycles (every 2 weeks) in LM and FM group, respectively. Thrombocytopenia was the most common serious side-effect, with a higher proportion of grade 1–2 toxicity in the FM group (p=.03) that also required more treatment delays (p=.01).

CONCLUSION

Despite being retrospective study and a few pts were treated with LM, there were no differences neither in PFS nor in OS in pts treated with LM vs FM at first or second line. Higher G1-2 thrombocytopenia was shown in the FM group probably due to a higher number of hematology samples collected.

Long-term results of the GEINO 1401 TRIAL: Randomizing patients to stop or to continue temozolomide until 12 cycles

2013

Background: We previously presented our results of the GEINO 1401 trial that randomized patients diagnosed with glioblastoma and treated with chemoradiotherapy and adjuvant temozolomide (TMZ) followed by six cycles of TMZ, to receive an extended use of TMZ up to 12 cycles or to control. We found no differences in 6-months neither progression free survival (PFS) nor overall survival (OS). In this report we actualize our results and analyse long-term survivor patients (LTSP). Methods: The trial NCT02209948 randomized (ratio 1:1) 159 patients diagnosed with glioblastoma who had been treated with standard therapy to stop treatment or to continue up to 12 cycles of TMZ. Patients were stratified based on their O6-methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferasa (MGMT) methylation status and presence or absence of measurable disease at inclusion. We update here OS outcomes and analyse the data of LTSP defined as an OS over 30 months from diagnosis. Results: At a median follow-up of 20 months, 82.4% of the patients had died and 89.9% had progressed. The median OS from randomization was 22.0 months for the control arm and 18.2 for the experimental arm: HR 0.957 (95%CI 0.806-1.136, p = 0.615). At 2 years from randomization there were a 61% of survivors in the TMZ group and 62% in the control group. There were a 49.7% of LTSP showing no differences between TMZ and control group. We found a higher prevalence of methylated MGMT in LTSP, but no differences were shown in patients with or without measurable disease at inclusion, status of IDH and the use of bevacizumab after progression. Conclusions: Adding 6 cycles of TMZ after the first 6 adjuvant cycles confers no additional benefit in OS. Nearly 50% of the patients included in GEINO 1401 who had been previously treated with TMZ 6 cycles without progressing were LTSP. Clinical trial information: NCT02209948.

Gene fusions in glioblastoma: Results of Gliocat project

2042

Background: Malignant gliomas are heterogeneous diseases in genetic basis. The development of sequencing techniques, such as RNA-Sequencing, has identified many gene rearrangements encoding novel oncogenic fusions. Gene fusion discovery can potentially lead to the development of novel treatments, however studies of gene fusions in glioma remain limited. Methods: The GLIOCAT project studied 139 patient samples of newly diagnosed glioblastoma who had received the standard first-line treatment from 2004 to 2015, to identify gene fusion events from glioblastoma transcriptome data (RNA-Seq). The molecular subtype could be studied in 124 cases. RNA-Seq reads were mapped against the reference human genome with STAR-fusion version 0.7.0, specifically, with FusionInspector validate ( http://star-fusion.github.io ). Two other platforms, FusionHub ( https://fusionhub.persistent.co.in ) and Oncofuse ( www.unav.es/genetica/oncofuse.html ), were applied to eliminate false positives or previously described in healthy tissue and to predict of the oncogenic potential each fusion. Results: A total of61 patients showed 103 different fusions, a median of two fusions by sample. The majority of gene fusions were intrachromosomal and most frequently implied chromosome was 12 followed by 7. In addition, fusions were more common in patients with MGMT promoter methylation, TCGA classical subtype and 18 IGS subtype. There were no differences in age, sex, type of surgery or long survivors ( > 30 months). Ten fusions were already described in cancer, including three in gliomas (FRS2-KIF5A, EGFR-SEPT14 and FGFR3-TACC3). From the detected fusions, 22 of them included an oncogene or protooncogene. Conclusions: In our study, we report the landscape of gene fusions from a large data set of glioblastomas analyzed by RNA-seq. The majority of the fusions were private fusions. A minority of these recur in a low frequency but as many as a quarter of them included an oncogene or protooncogene. RNA-seq of GBM patient samples it is an important tool for the identification of patient-specific fusions that could drive personalized therapy. Furtherless, we will plan to validate this gene fusions.

A phase II randomized, multicenter, open-label trial of continuing adjuvant temozolomide beyond 6 cycles in patients with glioblastoma (GEINO 14-01)

BACKGROUND

Standard treatment for glioblastoma is radiation with concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide for 6 cycles, although the optimal number of cycles of adjuvant temozolomide has long been a subject of debate. We performed a phase II randomized trial investigating whether extending adjuvant temozolomide for more than 6 cycles improved outcome.

METHODS

Glioblastoma patients treated at 20 Spanish hospitals who had not progressed after 6 cycles of adjuvant temozolomide were centrally randomized to stop (control arm) or continue (experimental arm) temozolomide up to a total of 12 cycles at the same doses they were receiving in cycle 6. Patients were stratified by MGMT methylation and measurable disease. The primary endpoint was differences in 6-month progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary endpoints were PFS, overall survival (OS), and safety (Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02209948).

RESULTS

From August 2014 to November 2018, 166 patients were screened, 7 of whom were ineligible. Seventy-nine patients were included in the stop arm and 80 in the experimental arm. All patients were included in the analyses of outcomes and of safety. There were no differences in 6-month PFS (control 55.7%; experimental 61.3%), PFS, or OS between arms. MGMT methylation and absence of measurable disease were independent factors of better outcome. Patients in the experimental arm had more lymphopenia (P < 0.001), thrombocytopenia (P < 0.001), and nausea and vomiting (P = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Continuing temozolomide after 6 adjuvant cycles is associated with greater toxicity but confers no additional benefit in 6-month PFS.

KEY POINTS

1. Extending adjuvant temozolomide to 12 cycles did not improve 6-month PFS.2. Extending adjuvant temozolomide did not improve PFS or OS in any patient subset.3. Extending adjuvant temozolomide was linked to increased toxicities.

Glioblastoma TCGA Mesenchymal and IGS 23 Tumors are Identifiable by IHC and have an Immune-phenotype Indicating a Potential Benefit from Immunotherapy

PURPOSE

Molecular subtype classifications in glioblastoma may detect therapy sensitivities. IHC would potentially allow the identification of molecular subtypes in routine clinical practice.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor samples of 124 uniformly treated, newly diagnosed patients with glioblastoma were submitted to RNA sequencing, IHC, and immune-phenotyping to identify differences in molecular subtypes associated with treatment sensitivities.

RESULTS

We detected high molecular and IHC overlapping of the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) mesenchymal subtype with instrinsic glioma subtypes (IGS) cluster 23 and of the TCGA classical subtype with IGS cluster 18. IHC patterns, gene fusion profiles, and immune-phenotypes varied across subtypes. IHC revealed that the TCGA classical subtype was identified by high expression of EGFR and low expression of PTEN, while the mesenchymal subtype was identified by low expression of SOX2 and high expression of two antibodies, SHC1 and TCIRG1, selected on the basis of RNA differential transcriptomic expression. The proneural subtype was identified by frequent positive IDH1 expression and high Olig2 and Ki67 expression. Immune-phenotyping showed that mesenchymal and IGS 23 tumors exhibited a higher positive effector cell score, a higher negative suppressor cell score, and lower levels of immune checkpoint molecules. The cell-type deconvolution analysis revealed that these tumors are highly enriched in M2 macrophages, resting memory CD4⁺ T cells, and activated dendritic cells, indicating that they may be ideal candidates for immunotherapy, especially with anti-M2 and/or dendritic cell vaccination.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a subset of tumors, frequently classified as mesenchymal or IGS cluster 23, that may be identified with IHC and could well be optimal candidates for immunotherapy.

P14.58 Extending adjuvant temozolomide longer than six cycles doesn’t add any benefit to glioblastoma patients according to the randomized GEINO-014 TRIAL

BACKGROUND

Standard treatment of glioblastoma (GBM) is focal radiation with concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide (TMZ) for 6 cycles. The GEINO-14-01 trial (NCT02209948) investigated the role of extending adjuvant TMZ to 12 cycles in a randomized multicenter study.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Between Aug/2014 and Nov/2018, 166 patients (p) were screened and 159 randomized to extend (80p) or not (79p) TMZ treatment to 12 cycles after proving stable disease in the MRI performed before inclusion. The trial was stratified by MGMT status and presence or absence of residual disease (defined as a residual enhancement larger than 1cm on the MRI). The primary endpoint was differences in 6monthsPFS, secondary endpoints were differences in PFS, OS, toxicity, between arms and per stratification factors.

RESULTS

Median age was 60.4 (range 29–83), 97p (61%) were methylated and 83 p (52.2%) were reported with residual disease. Median (m) PFS was 7.9 months (95%CI: 6.1–9.8) and mOS: 20.9 (95%CI: 17.6–24.1). A methylated status was a factor of better PFS (HR=0.29, 95% CI 0.46–0.95; p=0.029) and better OS (HR= 0.43: 95% CI 0.28–0.66; p=0.000) as well as the absence of residual disease (PFS: HR = 0.84: 95% CI =0.71–1.01; p=0.068; OS: HR=0.77, 95%CI 0.63–0.96; p=0.019). We didn’t find any difference in PFS (HR=1.02, 95%CI 0.85–1.21; p=0.82), or OS (HR=0.90; 0.73–1.11; p=0.34) on extending treatment with temozolomide longer than 6 cycles.

CONCLUSION

There is no benefit of continuing TMZ treatment for more than 6 cycles in the adjuvant treatment of glioblastoma. Final data will be presented at the congress. Supported by a Grant of the ISCIII: PI13/01751

Contrast-enhancement in supratentorial low-grade gliomas: a classic prognostic factor in the molecular age

BACKGROUND

Contrast enhancement (CE) is found in 10-60% of low-grade gliomas. Its prognostic significance is controversial, and its correlation with IDH mutations and 1p/19q codeletion is elusive. The aim of this study is to investigate whether CE is associated with molecular characteristics of low-grade gliomas and uncover its prognostic value.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

All confirmed histological cases of low-grade gliomas diagnosed at our institution between years 2000-2016 were reviewed (n = 102). Spinal and brainstem localization, only-biopsied tumours with ring-like enhancement and incomplete medical records were excluded.

RESULTS

Mean age was 42 years ( ± 13.9 years), and 63.6% were male. The median follow-up time was 79.8 months. CE was present on 25% of preoperative MRI, and 25% of patients were considered high-risk according to Pignatti score. Most were astrocytomas (67%) and 87.2% were surgically removed. IDH mutation was found in 64.6% of tumour samples, and 18.8% had a 1p/19q codeletion. No subgroup differences were observed according to CE except for presurgical performance status and postoperative chemotherapy. IDH status and 1p/19q codeletion were evenly distributed. On univariate analysis, age, size > 6 cm, CE, extent of resection, Pignatti score, IDH mutation and 1p/19q codeletion were significantly associated to OS. On multivariate analysis, only CE and IDH status were independently associated to OS. CE remained a significant prognostic factor in IDH-mutant non-codeleted tumours when analysed by tumour subtype.

CONCLUSION

CE in low-grade gliomas provides prognostic information in IDH-mutant non-codeleted tumours, although its meaning remains uncertain in IDH-wildtype gliomas.

Delay in starting radiotherapy due to neoadjuvant therapy does not worsen survival in unresected glioblastoma patients

PURPOSE

We retrospectively examined the potential effect on overall survival (OS) of delaying radiotherapy to administer neoadjuvant therapy in unresected glioblastoma patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We compared OS in 119 patients receiving neoadjuvant therapy followed by standard treatment (NA group) and 96 patients receiving standard treatment without neoadjuvant therapy (NoNA group). The MaxStat package of R identified the optimal cut-off point for waiting time to radiotherapy.

RESULTS

OS was similar in the NA and NoNA groups. Median waiting time to radiotherapy after surgery was 13 weeks for the NA group and 4.2 weeks for the NoNA group. The longest OS was attained by patients who started radiotherapy after 12 weeks and the shortest by patients who started radiotherapy within 4 weeks (12.3 vs 6.6 months) (P = 0.05). OS was 6.6 months for patients who started radiotherapy before the optimal cutoff of 6.43 weeks and 19.1 months for those who started after this time (P = 0.005). Patients who completed radiotherapy had longer OS than those who did not, in all 215 patients and in the NA and NoNA groups (P = 0.000). In several multivariate analyses, completing radiotherapy was a universally favorable prognostic factor, while neoadjuvant therapy was never identified as a negative prognostic factor.

CONCLUSION

In our series of unresected patients receiving neoadjuvant treatment, in spite of the delay in starting radiotherapy, OS was not inferior to that of a similar group of patients with no delay in starting radiotherapy.

Pseudoprogression as an adverse event of glioblastoma therapy

We explored predictive factors of pseudoprogression (PsP) and its impact on prognosis in a retrospective series of uniformly treated glioblastoma patients. Patients were classified as having PsP, early progression (eP) or neither (nP). We examined potential associations with clinical, molecular, and basal imaging characteristics and compared overall survival (OS), progression‐free survival (PFS), post‐progression survival (PPS) as well as the relationship between PFS and PPS in the three groups. Of the 256 patients studied, 56 (21.9%) were classified as PsP, 70 (27.3%) as eP, and 130 (50.8%) as nP. Only MGMT methylation status was associated to PsP. MGMT methylated patients had a 3.5‐fold greater possibility of having PsP than eP (OR: 3.48; 95% CI: 1.606–7.564; P = 0.002). OS was longer for PsP than eP patients (18.9 vs. 12.3 months; P = 0.0001) but was similar for PsP and nP patients (P = 0.91). OS was shorter–though not significantly so—for PsP than nP patients (OS: 19.5 vs. 27.9 months; P = 0.63) in methylated patients. PPS was similar for patients having PsP, eP or nP (PPS: 7.2 vs. 5.4 vs. 6.7; P = 0.43). Neurological deterioration occurred in 64.3% of cases at the time they were classified as PsP and in 72.8% of cases of eP (P = 0.14). PsP confounds the evaluation of disease and does not confer a survival advantage in glioblastoma.

Galectin-1 (Gal-1) expression as a prognostic factor in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma (GB) treated with Stupp regimen (GLIOCAT study)

e13526

Background: Gal-1 is a β-galactoside binding protein that plays an important role in cancer, promoting cell invasion, proliferation, migration, angiogenesis and evasion of the immune response. Gal-1 is involved in glioma progression and is related to tumor grade and poor clinical outcome. Gal-1 has been implicated in resistance to chemotherapy and as a potential mediator of resistance to anti-VEGF therapy. The aim of our study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of Gal-1 in a homogenous cohort of GB patients and to analyze its potential predictive value of response to bevacizumab at recurrence. Methods: A substudy of GLIOCAT, a multicenter study of newly diagnosed GB patients treated with standard Stupp regimen (previously reported). GLIOCAT enrolled 432 patients between 2005-2014. Tissue was available from 243 cases, from which a tissue microarray (TMA) was constructed. Gal-1 expression in tissue from initial surgery was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Results were evaluated by three reviewers and quantified by H-score. Expression levels were correlated with clinical outcome, known GB prognostic factors and response to bevacizumab. Results: We defined a cut off for Gal-1 H-Score of >60 (cytoplasm) and >25 (nucleus). HighcytoplasmicGal-1 expression significantly correlated with worse OS and with a trend for shorter PFS. In the multivariate analysis KPS, age, MGMT methylation status and, extent of resection but not Gal-1 expression were independent prognostic factors for survival. Of 92 patients who received bevacizumab at recurrence, only 54 were included in the TMA, and only 1 had low Gal-1 expression. We couldn’t find any relationship with OS or PFS in this population. Conclusions: Gal-1 expression may represent a prognostic factor for GB patients treated with standard therapy. [Table: see text]

Bevacizumab for the treatment of glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (GBM) or grade IV glioma is the most common primary brain tumor in adults. Standard treatment median overall survival (OS) is only 14–15 months and less than 10% of patients will survive 5 years after diagnosis. There is no standard treatment in recurrent GBM and OS ranges from 3 to 9 months. GBM is 1 of the most vascularized human tumors and GBM cells produce vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Bevacizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody against VEGF, has demonstrated activity in vitro and in phase II trials in relapse, as well as in 1 phase III trial as first line therapy. Bevacizumab also improves quality of life for patients suffering GBM. This paper reviews the mechanism of action of bevacizumab, its metabolism and pharmacokinetic profile. It summarizes the clinical studies in recurrent and newly diagnosed GBM, its potential side effects and complications and its place in therapy.

P3-14-27: Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin (PLD) as Primary Treatment in Estrogen Receptor (ER) and HER2 Poor Breast Cancer and Risk of Developing Cardiotoxicity or Elderly Patients (pt). Results from the Phase II CAPRICE Study

Background: Combinations of doxorubicin (DX) and taxanes are considered the standard treatment in high risk breast cancer, but classical DX is not commonly used in elderly pt or in those with risk of developing cardiotoxicity. PLD (Caelyx/Doxil® is associated with less cardiotoxicity. We present a multicentric phase II trial conducted by SOLTI group. A combination of PLD and cyclophosphamide (CP) followed by paclitaxel (PTX) was tested as primary chemotherapy (CT) in pts with stage II-IIIB breast cancer with poor estrogen receptor positivity (&lt; 50% positive nuclei) and at least one risk factor of developing cardiotoxicity. Our aim was to demonstrate a pathologic complete response (pCR) rate similar of prior DX studies without cardiac toxicity.

Method: PLD 35 mg/m2 + CP 600 mg/m2 were administered every 4 weeks (w) for 4 cycles followed by PTX 80 mg/m2 every w for 12 w. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), ECG and cardiac questionnaire were performed at baseline and 8, 16, 28, 40 w thereafter. The primary end point was pCR. Secondary endpoints included: cardiac safety, radiological response rate (RRR), breast conserving surgery (BCS) rate, toxicity and overall survival at 5 years. Results: 50 pt were included. Median age: 73 (35-84), 42 pt &gt; 65 years old; 32 pt (64%) suffer from hypertension and 7 had prior cardiac disease. Histological grade III: 36 pts (72%); stage II/III: 24/26 pt respectively; only 13 pts (26%) were candidate for BCS at diagnosis. 46 pt (92%) underwent surgery: BCS 27 (58.6%) and mastectomy 19 (41.3%); 4 pt did not proceed to surgery due to serious adverse events. In an intent-to-treat analysis pCR rate in breast was 32% (95% CI 19.5−46.7%), 22% (95% CI 10.5−33.4%) in breast and nodes. Among triple negative pt (N=48) pCR was 33.3%. Two of seven T4d pt (28.7%) achieved pCR. No significant decrease in LVEF was seen: Mean baseline LVEF was 66.6% (52-86), 66.7 (51-88) after 16w, 62.2 (48-75) after 28w and 64.7 (50-74) after 40 w. Other toxicities: edema 10%, alopecia 10%, neutropenia 10%, stomatitis 8%, neurotoxicity 8%, skin reactions 6%, Hand-Food Syndrome 6%. Grade III-V toxicities were reported in 10 patients (20%): cardiovascular 3, diarrhea 2, rash 2, lung 2 and neutropenia 1. Three non-cancer deaths occurred: 1 sudden death in a 82 year's old pt one month after surgery, 1 due to hemorrhagic stroke &gt; 30 days after completing CT pt with prior cerebrovascular disease, and another 84 year's old due to non-neutropenic pneumonia during CT. Conclusions: This schedule of primary chemotherapy achieves a pCR rate similar to the standard treatment and is feasible in a group of patients for whom DX was contraindicated. This strategy enables to double the BCS rate. Toxicity was acceptable in a very fragile cohort of patients.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2011;71(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-14-27.