A practical guide for the use of apalutamide for non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in Australia

Studies of patients with castrate-resistant prostate cancer at high risk of developing overt metastases but with no current evidence of evaluable disease on computed tomography or bone scan non-metastatic castrate-resistant prostrate cancer have demonstrated increased metastasis-free survival and overall survival following treatment with the next-generation oral anti-androgen apalutamide (in addition to therapies that aim to lower testosterone to castrate levels) or luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone antagonist or surgical castration. Patients receiving apalutamide can be managed by medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, or urologists, preferably as part of a multidisciplinary team. However, the importance of additional safety monitoring for significant adverse effects and drug interactions should not be underestimated. The toxicities of apalutamide are manageable with experience and should be managed proactively to minimize their impact on patients. Monitoring of patients for apalutamide-specific toxicities, including skin rash, hypothyroidism, and QT prolongation should be carried out regularly, particularly in the first few months following initiation. Monitoring should continue alongside monitoring for toxicities of androgen deprivation, including cardiovascular risk, hot flashes, weight gain, bone health, muscle wasting, and diabetic risk. This review is a practical guide to the use of apalutamide describing the management of patients including dosing and administration, toxicities, potential drug interactions, and safety monitoring requirements.

Carboplatin in Metastatic Castrate Resistant Prostate Cancer: A Retrospective Study of Heavily Pretreated Patients (COMPACT)

INTRODUCTION

Many clinicians consider carboplatin monotherapy in advanced castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) patients who have progressed through all available hormonal and standard chemotherapy treatment options, despite the limited evidence to justify its use.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This retrospective analysis aimed to evaluate the use of carboplatin monotherapy in patients with refractory prostate cancer in Australia. Efficacy (PSA response, duration, and survival) as well as toxicity was evaluated. Demographic data, PSA response rates, survival data and details of carboplatin treatment protocols, including dose and duration, were collected. Exploratory analyses were conducted on potential prognostic factors.

RESULTS

Fifty-one patients received carboplatin: median age 68 (range 55-86 years). Most patients (78.3%) received carboplatin AUC 5 at 3-week intervals. The median number of cycles of carboplatin received was 3 (range 1-17). The median duration of treatment was 63 days (range 1-441). The median overall survival was 6.8 months. Six (11.8%) patients had a PSA response ≥ 50%. The median time to PSA progression on carboplatin, as defined by PCWG,2 was 67 days (range 15-418). Sixteen patients (31%) required dose delays or reductions and 8 patients (15.6%) ceased carboplatin due to treatment toxicity.

CONCLUSION

Carboplatin is often used in Australia once all available standard treatment options have been exhausted in patients with CRPC. Toxicity is mild, and a minority of patients have responses, but these responses are rarely durable.

Transverse Colon Primary Tumor Location as a Biomarker in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: A Pooled Analysis of CCTG/AGITG CO.17 and CO.20 Randomized Clinical Trials

PURPOSE

Sidedness is prognostic and predictive of anti-EGFR efficacy in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Transverse colon has been historically excluded from several analyses of sidedness and the optimal division between left- and right-sided colorectal cancer is unclear. We investigated transverse colon primary tumor location as a biomarker in mCRC.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Pooled analysis of CCTG/AGITG CO.17 and CO.20 trials of cetuximab in chemotherapy-refractory mCRC. Outcomes of patients with RAS/BRAF wild-type (WT) mCRC from CO.17 and KRAS WT mCRC from CO.20 were analyzed according to location.

RESULTS

A total of 553 patients were analyzed, 32 (5.8%) with cancers from the transverse, 101 (18.3%) from right, and 420 from (75.9%) left colon. Transverse mCRC failed to reach significant benefit from cetuximab versus best supportive care (BSC) for overall survival [OS; median, 5.9 vs. 2.1 months; HR, 0.63; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.28-1.42; P=0.26] and progression-free survival (PFS; median, 1.8 vs. 1.3 months; HR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.26-1.28; P=0.16). Analyzing exclusively patients randomized to cetuximab, right-sided and transverse had comparable outcomes for OS (median, 5.6 vs. 5.9 months; HR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.50-1.34; P=0.43) and PFS (median, 1.9 vs. 1.8 months; HR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.49-1.26; P=0.31). Patients with left-sided mCRC had superior outcomes with cetuximab compared with transverse for OS (median, 9.7 vs. 5.9 months; HR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.27-0.67; P=0.0002) and PFS (median, 3.8 vs. 1.8 months; HR, 0,49; 95% CI, 0.31-0.76; P=0.001). Location was not prognostic in patients treated with BSC alone.

CONCLUSIONS

Transverse mCRC has comparable prognostic and predictive features with right-sided mCRC.

Evaluation of a machine learning tool for the early identification of patients with undiagnosed psoriatic arthritis - A retrospective population-based study

Background

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA), an immune-mediated chronic inflammatory skin and joint disease, affects approximately 0.27% of the adult population, and 20% of patients with psoriasis. Up to 10% of psoriasis patients are estimated for having undiagnosed PsA. Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent irreversible joint damage, disability and deformity. Questionnaires for screening to identify undiagnosed PsA patients require patient and physician involvement.

Objective

To evaluate a proprietary machine learning tool (PredictAI™) developed for identification of undiagnosed PsA patients 1-4 years prior to the first time that they were suspected of having PsA (reference event).

Methods

This retrospective study analyzed data of the adult population from Maccabi Healthcare Service between 2008 and 2020. We created 2 cohorts: The general adult population ("GP Cohort") including patients with and without psoriasis and the Psoriasis cohort ("PsO Cohort") including psoriasis patients only. Each cohort was divided into two non-overlapping train and test sets. The PredictAI™ model was trained and evaluated with 3 years of data predating the reference event by at least one year. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to investigate the performance of the model, built using gradient boosted trees, at different specificity levels.

Results

Overall, 2096 patients met the criteria for PsA. Undiagnosed PsA patients in the PsO cohort were identified with a specificity of 90% one and four years before the reference event, with a sensitivity of 51% and 38%, and a PPV of 36.1% and 29.6%, respectively. In the GP cohort and with a specificity of 99% and for the same time windows, the model achieved a sensitivity of 43% and 32% and a PPV of 10.6% and 8.1%, respectively.

Conclusions

The presented machine learning tool may aid in the early identification of undiagnosed PsA patients, and thereby promote earlier intervention and improve patient outcomes.

Rucaparib for the Treatment of Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer Associated with a DNA Damage Repair Gene Alteration: Final Results from the Phase 2 TRITON2 Study

BACKGROUND

Initial TRITON2 (NCT02952534) results demonstrated the efficacy of rucaparib 600 mg BID in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) associated with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 (BRCA) or other DNA damage repair (DDR) gene alteration.

OBJECTIVE

To present the final data from TRITON2.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

TRITON2 enrolled patients with mCRPC who had progressed on one or two lines of next-generation androgen receptor-directed therapy and one taxane-based chemotherapy.

OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR; as per the modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumor Version 1.1/Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Working Group 3 criteria in patients with measurable disease by independent radiology review [IRR]); prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response rate (≥50% decrease from baseline [PSA50]) was a key secondary endpoint.

RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS

As of July 27, 2021 (study closure), TRITON2 had enrolled 277 patients, grouped by mutated gene: BRCA (n = 172), ATM (n = 59), CDK12 (n = 15), CHEK2 (n = 7), PALB2 (n = 11), or other DDR gene (Other; n = 13). ORR by IRR was 46% (37/81) in the BRCA subgroup (95% confidence interval [CI], 35-57%), 100% (4/4) in the PALB2 subgroup (95% CI, 40-100%), and 25% (3/12) in the Other subgroup (95% CI, 5.5-57%). No patients within the ATM, CDK12, or CHEK2 subgroups had an objective response by IRR. PSA50 response rates (95% CI) in the BRCA, PALB2, ATM, CDK12, CHEK2, and Other subgroups were 53% (46-61%), 55% (23-83%), 3.4% (0.4-12), 6.7% (0.2-32%), 14% (0.4-58%), and 23% (5.0-54%), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The final TRITON2 results confirm the clinical benefit and manageable safety profile of rucaparib in patients with mCRPC, including those with an alteration in BRCA or select non-BRCA DDR gene.

PATIENT SUMMARY

Almost half of TRITON2 patients with BRCA-mutated metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer had a complete or partial tumor size reduction with rucaparib; clinical benefits were also observed with other DNA damage repair gene alterations.

Compliance with Therapeutic Goods Association prescribing information: weekly or second weekly cetuximab for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND

Treatment with cetuximab provides a survival benefit for patients with RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Practice-defining cetuximab studies utilised weekly (q1w) administration. More convenient second weekly (q2w) administration is supported by pharmacokinetic data and a recent meta-analysis, but large head-to-head studies have not been conducted. Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA) prescribing information states cetuximab be administered q1w for all indications.

AIM

To assess the real-world use of q1w versus q2w cetuximab schedule and any difference in outcomes.

METHODS

We analysed data from a prospective mCRC database at seven Melbourne hospitals from January 2010 to August 2019. Characteristics and outcomes for cetuximab-treated patients were examined, comparing q1w versus q2w schedules. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were the primary endpoints.

RESULTS

Of 214 eligible patients, 103 (48%) received q1w and 111 (52%) received q2w cetuximab. Q2w cetuximab has been used in >70% of patients from 2015. Q2w was more commonly used in public patients (70% vs 13% in private, P < 0.001), in left-sided primary tumours (83% vs 68%, P = 0.025) and in combination with chemotherapy (73% q2w vs 40% q1w, P < 0.001). Q2w treatment was less common in BRAFV600E mutated tumours (4% vs 13%, P = 0.001). PFS was similar across all lines of therapy, including when analyses were limited to a left-sided primary and there was no difference in OS in multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSION

This real-world analysis shows q2w cetuximab has become the dominant method of administration, despite TGA guidance. Our outcome data adds to other data supporting the use of q2w cetuximab as the standard option. Consideration could be given to modifying current TGA advice.

A Bayesian approach for two-stage multivariate Mendelian randomization with mixed outcomes

Many research studies have investigated the relationship between baseline factors or exposures, such as patient demographic and disease characteristics, and study outcomes such as toxicities or quality of life, but results from most of these studies may be problematic because of potential confounding effects (eg, the imbalance in baseline factors or exposures). It is important to study whether the baseline factors or exposures have causal effects on the clinical outcomes, so that clinicians can have better understanding of the diseases and develop personalized medicine. Mendelian randomization (MR) provides an efficient way to estimate the causal effects using genetic instrumental variables to handle confounders, but most of the existing studies focus on a single outcome at a time and ignores the correlation structure of multiple outcomes. Given that clinical outcomes like toxicities and quality of life are usually a mixture of different types of variables, and multiple datasets may be available for such outcomes, it may be much more beneficial to analyze them jointly instead of separately. Some well-established methods are available for building multivariate models on mixed outcomes, but they do not incorporate MR mechanism to deal with the confounders. To overcome these challenges, we propose a Bayesian-based two-stage multivariate MR method for mixed outcomes on multiple datasets, called BMRMO. Using simulation studies and clinical applications on the CO.17 and CO.20 studies, we demonstrate better performance of our approach compared to the commonly used univariate two-stage method.

Emergence of BRCA Reversion Mutations in Patients with Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer After Treatment with Rucaparib

BACKGROUND

Poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors are approved in the USA for the treatment of patients with BRCA1 or BRCA2 (BRCA) mutated (BRCA+) metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). BRCA reversion mutations are a known mechanism of acquired resistance to PARP inhibitors in multiple cancer types, although their impact and prevalence in mCRPC remain unknown.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the prevalence of BRCA reversion mutations in the plasma of patients with BRCA+ mCRPC after progression on rucaparib.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

Men with BRCA+ mCRPC enrolled in Trial of Rucaparib in Prostate Indications 2 (TRITON2) were treated with rucaparib after progressing on one to two lines of androgen receptor-directed and one taxane-based therapy. Cell-free DNA from the plasma of 100 patients, collected at the end of treatment after confirmed progression before May 5, 2020, was queried for BRCA reversion mutations using next-generation sequencing (NGS).

OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

The association of clinical efficacy and postprogression genomics was measured in 100 patients with BRCA+ mCRPC treated with rucaparib.

RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS

No baseline BRCA reversion mutations were observed in 100 BRCA+ patients. NGS identified somatic BRCA reversion mutations in 39% (39/100) of patients after progression. Reversion rates were similar for BRCA2 and BRCA1, irrespective of germline or somatic status, but higher in samples with a high tumor DNA fraction. Most patients with reversions (74%, 29/39) had two or more reversion mutations occurring subclonally at lower allele frequencies than the original BRCA mutations. The incidence of BRCA reversion mutations increased with the duration of rucaparib treatment. The frequency of reversion mutations was higher in patients with an objective (58%) or a prostate-specific antigen (69%) response compared with those without either (39% and 29%, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that BRCA reversion mutations are a significant mechanism of acquired resistance to rucaparib in patients with BRCA+ mCRPC, with evidence of subclonal convergence promoting systemic resistance.

PATIENT SUMMARY

Men with BRCA mutated metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer enrolled in TRITON2 were treated with rucaparib after progressing on one to two lines of androgen receptor-directed and one taxane-based therapy. Cell-free DNA from the plasma of 100 patients, collected after radiographic or prostate-specific antigen progression before May 5, 2020, was analyzed by next-generation sequencing and queried for BRCA reversion mutations.

Clustering on longitudinal quality-of-life measurements using growth mixture models for clinical prognosis: Implementation on CCTG/AGITG CO.20 trial

INTRODUCTION

Analyzing longitudinal cancer quality-of-life (QoL) measurements and their impact on clinical outcomes may improve our understanding of patient trajectories during systemic therapy. We applied an unsupervised growth mixture modeling (GMM) approach to identify unobserved subpopulations ("patient clusters") in the CO.20 clinical trial longitudinal QoL data. Classes were then evaluated for differences in clinico-epidemiologic characteristics and overall survival (OS).

METHODS AND MATERIALS

In CO.20, 750 chemotherapy-refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) patients were randomized to receive Brivanib+Cetuximab (n = 376, experimental arm) versus Cetuximab+Placebo (n = 374, standard arm) for 16 weeks. EORTC-QLQ-C30 QoL summary scores were calculated for each patient at seven time points, and GMM was applied to identify patient clusters (termed "classes"). Log-rank/Kaplan-Meier and multivariable Cox regression analyses were conducted to analyze the survival performance between classes. Cox analyses were used to explore the relationship between baseline QoL, individual slope, and the quadratic terms from the GMM output with OS.

RESULTS

In univariable analysis, the linear mixed effect model (LMM) identified sex and ECOG Performance Status as strongly associated with the longitudinal QoL score (p < 0.01). The patients within each treatment arm were clustered into three distinct QoL-based classes by GMM, respectively. The three classes identified in the experimental (log-rank p-value = 0.00058) and in the control arms (p < 0.0001) each showed significantly different survival performance. The GMM's baseline, slope, and quadratic terms were each significantly associated with OS (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

GMM can be used to analyze longitudinal QoL data in cancer studies, by identifying unobserved subpopulations (patient clusters). As demonstrated by CO.20 data, these classes can have important implications, including clinical prognostication.

Use and outcomes from neoadjuvant chemotherapy in borderline resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in an Australasian population

BACKGROUND

Use of neoadjuvant (NA) chemotherapy is recommended when pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is borderline resectable METHOD: A retrospective analysis of consecutive patients with localized PDAC between January 2016 and March 2019 within the Australasian Pancreatic Cancer Registry (PURPLE, Pancreatic cancer: Understanding Routine Practice and Lifting End results) was performed. Clinicopathological characteristics, treatment, and outcome were analyzed. Overall survival (OS) comparison was performed using log-rank model and Kaplan-Meier analysis.

RESULTS

The PURPLE database included 754 cases with localised PDAC, including 148 (20%) cases with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer (BRPC). Of the 148 BRPC patients, 44 (30%) underwent immediate surgery, 80 (54%) received NA chemotherapy, and 24 (16%) were inoperable. The median age of NA therapy patients was 63 years and FOLFIRINOX (53%) was more often used as NA therapy than gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel (31%). Patients who received FOLFIRINOX were younger than those who received gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel (60 years vs. 67 years, p = .01). Surgery was performed in 54% (43 of 80) of BRPC patients receiving NA chemotherapy, with 53% (16 of 30) achieving R0 resections. BRPC patients undergoing surgery had a median OS of 30 months, and 38% (9 of 24) achieved R0 resection. NA chemotherapy patients had a median OS of 20 months, improving to 24 months versus 10 months for patients receiving FOLFIRINOX compared to gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel (Hazard Ratio (HR) .3, p < .0001).

CONCLUSIONS

NA chemotherapy use in BRPC is increasing in Australia. One half of patients receiving NA chemotherapy proceed to curative resection, with 53% achieving R0 resections. Patients receiving Infusional 5-flurouracil, Irinotecan and Oxaliplatin (FOLIRINOX) had increased survival than gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel. Treatment strategies are being explored in the MASTERPLAN and DYNAMIC-Pancreas trials.

Circulating Tumor DNA Analysis Guiding Adjuvant Therapy in Stage II Colon Cancer

BACKGROUND

The role of adjuvant chemotherapy in stage II colon cancer continues to be debated. The presence of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) after surgery predicts very poor recurrence-free survival, whereas its absence predicts a low risk of recurrence. The benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy for ctDNA-positive patients is not well understood.

METHODS

We conducted a trial to assess whether a ctDNA-guided approach could reduce the use of adjuvant chemotherapy without compromising recurrence risk. Patients with stage II colon cancer were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to have treatment decisions guided by either ctDNA results or standard clinicopathological features. For ctDNA-guided management, a ctDNA-positive result at 4 or 7 weeks after surgery prompted oxaliplatin-based or fluoropyrimidine chemotherapy. Patients who were ctDNA-negative were not treated. The primary efficacy end point was recurrence-free survival at 2 years. A key secondary end point was adjuvant chemotherapy use.

RESULTS

Of the 455 patients who underwent randomization, 302 were assigned to ctDNA-guided management and 153 to standard management. The median follow-up was 37 months. A lower percentage of patients in the ctDNA-guided group than in the standard-management group received adjuvant chemotherapy (15% vs. 28%; relative risk, 1.82; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.25 to 2.65). In the evaluation of 2-year recurrence-free survival, ctDNA-guided management was noninferior to standard management (93.5% and 92.4%, respectively; absolute difference, 1.1 percentage points; 95% CI, -4.1 to 6.2 [noninferiority margin, -8.5 percentage points]). Three-year recurrence-free survival was 86.4% among ctDNA-positive patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy and 92.5% among ctDNA-negative patients who did not.

CONCLUSIONS

A ctDNA-guided approach to the treatment of stage II colon cancer reduced adjuvant chemotherapy use without compromising recurrence-free survival. (Supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and others; DYNAMIC Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry number, ACTRN12615000381583.).

The association between quality care and outcomes for a real-world population of Australian patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer

BACKGROUND

This study: (i) assessed compliance with a consensus set of quality indicators (QIs) in pancreatic cancer (PC); and (ii) evaluated the association between compliance with these QIs and survival.

METHODS

Four years of data were collected for patients diagnosed with PC. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A multivariable analysis tested the relationship between significant patient and hospital characteristics, patient cluster effects within hospitals and survival.

RESULTS

1061 patients were eligible for this study. Significant association with improved survival were: (i) in the potentially resectable group having adjuvant chemotherapy administered following surgery or a reason documented (HR, 0.29; 95 CI, 0.19-0.46); (ii) in the locally advanced group included having chemotherapy ± chemoradiation, or a reason documented for not undergoing treatment (HR, 0.38; 95 CI, 0.25-0.58); and (iii) in the metastatic disease group included having documented performance status at presentation (HR, 0.65; 95 CI, 0.47-0.89), being seen by an oncologist in the absence of treatment (HR, 0.48; 95 CI, 0.31-0.77), and disease management discussed at a multidisciplinary team meeting (HR, 0.79; 95 CI, 0.64-0.96).

CONCLUSION

Capture of a concise data set has enabled quality of care to be assessed.

A qualitative investigation of the supportive care experiences of people living with pancreatic and oesophagogastric cancer

Background

Pancreatic and oesophagogastric (OG) cancers have a dismal prognosis and high symptom burden, with supportive care forming an integral component of the care provided to patients. This study aimed to explore the supportive care experiences of patients and caregivers living with pancreatic and OG cancers in order to identify perceived opportunities for improvement.

Methods

Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with people living with pancreatic and OG cancers, and their caregivers, across Victoria, Australia during 2020. Interviews were thematically analysed to identify common themes.

Results

Forty-one participants were interviewed, including 30 patients and 11 caregivers. Three overarching themes, each with multiple sub-themes, were identified: (i) inadequate support for symptoms and issues across the cancer journey (ii) caregiver’s desire for greater support, and (iii) a multidisciplinary care team is the hallmark of a positive supportive care experience. Generally, those who had access to a cancer care coordinator and/or a palliative care team recounted more positive supportive care experiences.

Conclusion

Unmet needs are prevalent across the pancreatic and OG cancer journey, with supportive care provided to varying levels of satisfaction. Greater awareness of and access to high-quality multidisciplinary support services is greatly desired by both patients with pancreatic and OG cancer and their caregivers.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-022-07625-y.

Update on optimal management for pancreatic cancer: expert perspectives from members of the Australasian Gastrointestinal Trials Group (AGITG) with invited international faculty

INTRODUCTION

Pancreatic cancer remains a challenging malignancy due to the high proportion of patients diagnosed at advanced stages and the limited treatment options. This article discusses recent evidence in the management of both localized and advanced pancreatic cancer and offers an expert opinion on current best practice.

AREAS COVERED

For patients with localized disease, the evidence for adjuvant chemotherapy is discussed as well as emerging neoadjuvant approaches for resectable, borderline resectable, and locally advanced disease. Advances in metastatic disease are discussed including cytotoxic chemotherapy, targeted therapies, and the role of genomic testing to identify patients with molecular alterations. Reviewed literature included journal publications, abstracts presented at major international oncology meetings, and ongoing clinical trials databases.

EXPERT OPINION

Pancreatic cancer is a devastating diagnosis and despite recent advances has a very poor prognosis. Only a minority of patients, 20%, are diagnosed with potentially curable disease. The shifting paradigm toward neoadjuvant therapy may improve resectability and survival rates; however, robust evidence is required. Thus far, there has only been limited progress in advanced stage disease. Genomic testing may potentially identify more treatment targets although limited to small subgroups.

OUP accepted manuscript

Background

Complementary medicines (CM) are frequently used by patients with cancer. Controversy exists over the effectiveness and risk that CM may add to conventional cancer therapy. The incidence of CM use among patients enrolled in phase III clinical trials is unknown.

Methods

Medication lists from 6 international phase III clinical trials were retrospectively reviewed to identify patients using CM. Patients had metastatic breast, colorectal, or lung cancers. Quality of life, adverse events, overall survival, and progression-free survival were compared between CM users and non-users. Baseline differences between groups were adjusted with propensity score matching groups.

Results

Seven hundred and six of 3446 patients (20.5%) used at least one CM. CM use was highest among patients with breast cancer (35.6%). CM users had more favorable baseline prognostic factors (ECOG 0-1, non-smoking status, younger age, and fewer metastases). CM use was associated with lower rates of adverse events (50% vs. 62%, P = .002) and quality of life was similar between both groups. After adjustment with propensity score matching, CM use was also associated with longer overall survival in patients with lung cancer (adjusted hazard ratio 0.80, 95%CI, 0.68-0.94, P =.0054). However, several key control variables like EGFR status were not available.

Conclusion

One in 5 patients in phase III clinical trials report using CM. CM was not associated with worse cancer-specific outcomes. However, CM users had more favorable baseline prognostic factors, and likely other confounders that may have contributed to improved outcomes observed in the lung cohort. Physicians should monitor for CM use and potential interactions with clinical trial drugs.

Response to Rucaparib in BRCA-Mutant Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Identified by Genomic Testing in the TRITON2 Study

PURPOSE

The PARP inhibitor rucaparib is approved in the United States for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and a deleterious germline and/or somatic BRCA1 or BRCA2 (BRCA) alteration. While sequencing of tumor tissue is considered the standard for identifying patients with BRCA alterations (BRCA+), plasma profiling may provide a minimally invasive option to select patients for rucaparib treatment. Here, we report clinical efficacy in patients with BRCA+ mCRPC identified through central plasma, central tissue, or local genomic testing and enrolled in TRITON2.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients had progressed after next-generation androgen receptor-directed and taxane-based therapies for mCRPC and had BRCA alterations identified by central sequencing of plasma and/or tissue samples or local genomic testing. Concordance of plasma/tissue BRCA status and objective response rate and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response rates were summarized.

RESULTS

TRITON2 enrolled 115 patients with BRCA+ identified by central plasma (n = 34), central tissue (n = 37), or local (n = 44) testing. Plasma/tissue concordance was determined in 38 patients with paired samples and was 47% in 19 patients with a somatic BRCA alteration. No statistically significant differences were observed between objective and PSA response rates to rucaparib across the 3 assay groups. Patients unable to provide tissue samples and tested solely by plasma assay responded at rates no different from patients identified as BRCA+ by tissue testing.

CONCLUSIONS

Plasma, tissue, and local testing of mCRPC patients can be used to identify men with BRCA+ mCRPC who can benefit from treatment with the PARP inhibitor rucaparib.

Treatment and outcomes of unresectable and metastatic pancreatic cancer treated in public and private Australian hospitals

BACKGROUND

Prior studies have reported for several cancer types that treatment in the private sector is associated with improved survival outcomes. Data for patients with locally advanced unresectable and metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) have not previously been reported.

METHODS

Analysis of patients from January 2016 to June 2020 registered to a multicentre prospective cancer database. Baseline demographic and clinicopathologic characteristics were compared. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to compare overall survival (OS). Multivariate Cox and logistic regression analyses were used to determine predictors of mortality and first-line chemotherapy treatment, respectively.

RESULTS

Of 822 patients, 22.5% received private care. Private patients were older (median 71.5 vs. 68.9 years, p ≤ .05), had better performance status (ECOG 0 to 1: 82.2 vs. 73.5%, p = .05) and more likely to reside in an area with high socioeconomic advantage (67.0 vs. 19.6%, p ≤ .01). Private patients were more likely to receive first-line chemotherapy (69.7 vs. 54.2%, p ≤ .01) with logistic regression demonstrating private care (OR: 1.87, 95% CI: 1.20 to 2.97) as an independent predictor of receiving chemotherapy. Private patients had prolonged survival (median OS: 9.2 vs. 6.9 months, HR 1.2, p = .05). Receiving first-line chemotherapy was an independent predictor of mortality, but private care was not.

CONCLUSIONS

Care in the private system is associated with improved OS, with higher uptake of first-line chemotherapy appearing to be the main contributor. Given the discrepancy, further studies are needed to determine what factors are driving this difference.

Guidelines for clinical trials of frontal fibrosing alopecia: consensus recommendations from the International FFA Cooperative Group (IFFACG)

BACKGROUND

Frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) has become one of the most common causes of cicatricial alopecia worldwide. However, there is a lack of clear aetiology and robust clinical trial evidence for the efficacy and safety of agents currently used for treatment.

OBJECTIVES

To enable data to be collected worldwide on FFA using common criteria and assessment methods.

METHODS

A multicentre, international group of experts in hair loss was convened by email to create consensus recommendations for clinical trials. Consensus was defined at > 90% agreement on each recommended part of these guidelines.

RESULTS

Standardized diagnostic criteria, severity rating, staging, and investigator and patient assessment of scalp hair loss and other clinical features of FFA were created.

CONCLUSIONS

These guidelines should allow the collection of reliable aggregate data on FFA and advance efforts in both clinical and basic research to close knowledge gaps in this condition.

Patient demographics and management landscape of metastatic colorectal cancer in the third-line setting: Real-world data in an australian population

BACKGROUND

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and second leading cause of cancer mortality in Australia, thus carrying a significant disease burden.

AIMS

This analysis aims to explore real-world treatment landscape of metastatic colorectal cancer in the third-line setting.

METHODS

We retrospectively analysed treatment of recurrent and advanced colorectal cancer (TRACC) registry database from 2009 onwards. Patients treated with palliative intent who progressed after two lines of therapies were included. One treatment line was defined as any combination of systemic therapy given until progression.

RESULTS

Out of 1820 patients treated palliatively, 32% (590 patients) met study criteria. Of these, 43% (254 patients) proceeded to third-line therapy, equating to 14% of all metastatic patients. In KRAS mutant or unknown tumours (97 patients), fluoropyrimidine (FP)-oxaliplatin combination was the most common choice (51%), followed by FP-irinotecan (15%), trifluridine/tipiracil (11%), mono-chemotherapy (10%), regorafenib (5%) and others (7%). Majority of FP-doublet (83%) was given as rechallenge. In 157 patients with KRAS wildtype disease, monotherapy with EGFR inhibitor was most commonly used (41%), followed by EGFR inhibitor with chemotherapy (20%), FP-doublet (18%), mono-chemotherapy (6%), trifluridine/tipiracil (6%), regorafenib (1%) and others (8%). Median overall survival was 7.1 months (range 0.4-41.2), and median time on third-line treatment was 3 months (range 0.1-40).

CONCLUSIONS

In real-world Australian population, treatment choices differed based on KRAS status and will likely change with the availability of newer drugs on the pharmaceutical benefits scheme. Survival outcomes are comparable to newer agents in clinical trials for select patients.

Cancer clinical trial vs real-world outcomes for standard of care first-line treatment in the advanced disease setting

Clinical trials have strict eligibility criteria, potentially limiting external validity. However, while often discussed this has seldom been explored, particularly across cancer types and at variable time frames posttrial completion. We examined comprehensive registry data (January 2014 to June 2019) for standard first-line treatments for metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC), advanced pancreatic cancer (PC), metastatic HER2-amplified breast cancer (BC) and castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CaP). Registry patient characteristics and outcomes were compared to the practice-changing trial. Registry patients were older than the matched trial cohort by a median of 2-6 years (all P = <.01) for the CRC, BC and PC cohorts. The proportion of Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) 0-1 patients was lower for CRC (94.1% vs 99.2%, P = .001) and BC (94.9% vs 99.3%, P = .001). Progression-free survival (PFS) for registry patients was similar to the trial patients or significantly longer (CaP, Hazard Ratio [HR] = 0.65, P = <.001). Overall survival (OS) was also similar or significantly longer (CaP, HR 0.49, P = <.001). In conclusion, despite real-world patients sometimes being older or having inferior PS to trial cohorts, the survival outcomes achieved were consistently equal or superior to those reported for the same treatment in the trial. We suggest that this is potentially due to optimised use of each treatment over time, improved multidisciplinary care and increased postprogression options. We can reassure clinicians and patients that outcomes matching or exceeding those reported in trials are possible. The potential for survival gains over time should routinely be factored into future trial statistical plans.

Use of high-resolution thermography as a validation measure to confirm epidural anesthesia in mice: a cross-over study

BACKGROUND

Effective epidural anesthesia is confirmed in humans by sensory assessments but these tests are not feasible in mice. We hypothesized that, in mice, infrared thermography would demonstrate selective segmental warming of lower extremities following epidural anesthesia.

METHODS

We anesthetized 10 C57BL/6 mice with isoflurane and then inserted a PU-10 epidural catheter under direct surgical microscopy at T11-12. A thermal camera (thermal sensitivity ±0.05°C, pixel resolution 320x240 pixels, and spatial resolution 200 μm) recorded baseline temperature of front and rear paws, tail and ears. Thermography was assessed at baseline and 2, 5, 10, and 15 min after an epidural bolus dose of 50 μL bupivacaine 0.25% or 50 μL saline (control) using a cross-over design with dose order randomized and investigators blinded to study drug. Thermal images were recorded from video and analyzed using FLIR software. Effect over time and maximal effect (E_max) were assessed by repeated measures ANOVA and paired t-tests. Comparisons were between bupivacaine and control, and between lower vs upper extremities.

RESULTS

Epidural bupivacaine caused progressive warming of lower compared with upper extremities (P <0.001), typically returning to baseline by 15 min after administration. Mean (±SD) E_max was +3.73 (±1.56) °C for lower extremities compared with 0.56 (±0.68) °C (P=0.03) for upper extremities. Following epidural saline, there was no effect over time (E_max for lower extremities -0.88 (±0.28) °C compared with the upper extremities -0.88 (±0.19) °C (P >0.99).

CONCLUSIONS

Thermography is a useful tool to confirm epidural catheter placement in animals for which subjective, non-noxious, sensory measures are impossible.

BRAFV600E Mutations Arising from a Left-Side Primary in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: Are They a Distinct Subset?

BACKGROUND

B-Raf proto-oncogene (BRAF)-V600E mutations (BRAFmt) in colorectal cancer (CRC) predominantly occur in right-side (RS) primaries. In metastatic CRC (mCRC), there is substantial overlap between the reported features of BRAFmt and of an RS primary.

OBJECTIVES

To explore the significance of BRAFmt in a left-side (LS) primary, we analysed data from a multi-site mCRC registry. Tumours distal to the splenic flexure were considered LS.

RESULTS

Of 3380 patients enrolled from June 2009 to June 2020, 214 (13%) of 1657 with known status were BRAFmt: 127 (24%) of 524 RS and 87 (8%) of 1133 LS. LS versus RS BRAFmt were younger (mean 59.5 vs. 65.1 years; p = 0.01), whereas sex (48 vs. 59% female; p = 0.13), mismatch repair-deficiency (dMMR) (16 vs. 21%; p = 0.47), and overall survival (OS) (median 15.1 vs. 17.7 months; p = 0.98) were similar. LS BRAFmt versus LS BRAF wildtype (wt) were of similar age (59.5 vs. 61.3 years; p = 0.28) with more females (48 vs. 37%; p = 0.04), more dMMR (16 vs. 1%; p < 0.0001), and inferior OS (median 15.1 vs. 36.6 months; p < 0.0001). Initial treatment with chemotherapy plus an epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor produced median progression-free survival (PFS) of 4.3 versus 12.3 months (p = 0.20) for LS BRAFmt (n = 9) versus LS BRAFwt (n = 104). Initial chemotherapy and bevacizumab produced a median PFS of 7.6 versus 11.6 months (p = 0.02) for LS BRAFmt (n = 36) versus LS BRAFwt (n = 438), respectively.

CONCLUSION

LS BRAFmt cancers share many features with RS BRAFmt cancers, including poor survival outcomes. Mature data on the activity of BRAF-targeted therapies in the first-line setting are eagerly awaited.

Simulating Progression-Free and Overall Survival for First-Line Doublet Chemotherapy With or Without Bevacizumab in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients Based on Real-World Registry Data

BACKGROUND

Simulation models utilizing real-world data have potential to optimize treatment sequencing strategies for specific patient subpopulations, including when conducting clinical trials is not feasible. We aimed to develop a simulation model to estimate progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival for first-line doublet chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab for specific subgroups of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients based on registry data.

METHODS

Data from 867 patients were used to develop two survival models and one logistic regression model that populated a discrete event simulation (DES). Discrimination and calibration were used for internal validation of these models separately and predicted and observed medians and Kaplan-Meier plots were compared for the integrated DES. Bootstrapping was performed to correct for optimism in the internal validation and to generate correlated sets of model parameters for use in a probabilistic analysis to reflect parameter uncertainty.

RESULTS

The survival models showed good calibration based on the regression slopes and modified Hosmer-Lemeshow statistics at 1 and 2 years, but not for short-term predictions at 0.5 years. Modified C-statistics indicated acceptable discrimination. The simulation estimated that median first-line PFS (95% confidence interval) of 219 (25%) patients could be improved from 175 days (156-199) to 269 days (246-294) if treatment would be targeted based on the highest expected PFS.

CONCLUSIONS

Extensive internal validation showed that DES accurately estimated the outcomes of treatment combination strategies for specific subpopulations, with outcomes suggesting treatment could be optimized. Although results based on real-world data are informative, they cannot replace randomized trials.

Metastasectomy and BRAF mutation; an analysis of survival outcome in metastatic colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND

Resection of oligometastases improves survival in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). It is unclear whether the benefit is consistent for BRAF V600E mutant (MT) and wild type (WT) mCRC. This retrospective analysis explores the influence of BRAF MT on survival after metastasectomy.

METHODS

Overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) for BRAF MT and WT mCRC were evaluated. Survival was also analyzed in the cohort of BRAF MT with or without metastasectomy.

RESULTS

Five hundred and thirteen patients who had undergone metastasectomy were identified, 6% were BRAF-MT. Median age 63. Median OS in BRAF MT vs WT: 25.7 vs 48.5 months (hazard ratio [HR] 1.95; 1.18-3.22). However, difference was not significant in a multivariate model. Right primary tumor, intact primary, >1 metastatic site, non-R0 resection, peritoneal metastasis, and synchronous metastasis were independent predictors of worse OS. Among 364 patients with RFS data there was no difference between BRAF MT and WT (16 vs 19 months, p=0.09). In another cohort of 158 BRAF-MT patients, OS was significantly better after metastasectomy compared to "no metastasectomy" (HR 0.34; 0.18-0.65, P= 0.001). Proficient mismatch repair status showed a trend toward worse survival after metastasectomy in BRAF MT (HR 1.71, P = 0.08).

CONCLUSION

OS did not differ after metastasectomy between BRAF MT and WT in a multivariate model. Median OS was >2 years in this study after metastasectomy among BRAFV600E MT patients suggesting a survival benefit of metastasectomy in this group where systemic therapeutic options are limited. Metastasectomy may be considered in carefully selected BRAF-MT patients.

Rucaparib in Men With Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Harboring a BRCA1 or BRCA2 Gene Alteration

PURPOSE

BRCA1 or BRCA2 (BRCA) alterations are common in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and may confer sensitivity to poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors. We present results from patients with mCRPC associated with a BRCA alteration treated with rucaparib 600 mg twice daily in the phase II TRITON2 study.

METHODS

We enrolled patients who progressed after one to two lines of next-generation androgen receptor–directed therapy and one taxane-based chemotherapy for mCRPC. Efficacy and safety populations included patients with a deleterious BRCA alteration who received ≥ 1 dose of rucaparib. Key efficacy end points were objective response rate (ORR; per RECIST/Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Working Group 3 in patients with measurable disease as assessed by blinded, independent radiology review and by investigators) and locally assessed prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response (≥ 50% decrease from baseline) rate.

RESULTS

Efficacy and safety populations included 115 patients with a BRCA alteration with or without measurable disease. Confirmed ORRs per independent radiology review and investigator assessment were 43.5% (95% CI, 31.0% to 56.7%; 27 of 62 patients) and 50.8% (95% CI, 38.1% to 63.4%; 33 of 65 patients), respectively. The confirmed PSA response rate was 54.8% (95% CI, 45.2% to 64.1%; 63 of 115 patients). ORRs were similar for patients with a germline or somatic BRCA alteration and for patients with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 alteration, while a higher PSA response rate was observed in patients with a BRCA2 alteration. The most frequent grade ≥ 3 treatment-emergent adverse event was anemia (25.2%; 29 of 115 patients).

CONCLUSION

Rucaparib has antitumor activity in patients with mCRPC and a deleterious BRCA alteration, but with a manageable safety profile consistent with that reported in other solid tumor types.

Real-World Treatment and Outcomes of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients With a Poor or Very Poor Performance Status

BACKGROUND

The management of metastatic colorectal cancer patients with a poor performance status (PS) continues to be a clinical dilemma, with the potential activity and safety of treating this population remaining poorly understood. Few of these patients are enrolled onto clinical trials, and poor PS is often multifactorial.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We analyzed the Treatment of Recurrent and Advanced Colorectal Cancer registry to describe treatment practices and outcomes in poor (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group [ECOG] PS 2) and very poor PS (ECOG PS > 2) patients to explore the relationship between age, tumor burden, comorbidities, and PS, and to evaluate the benefit of systemic therapy. Standard descriptive statistical methods, Kaplan-Meier analysis, and a multivariate Cox regression model were used.

RESULTS

Of 2769 registry patients (diagnosed January 2009 to June 2018), 329 (12%) and 182 (7%) patients had a poor and very poor PS, respectively. Good PS patients were more likely to receive systemic therapy than poor and very poor PS patients (85%, 55%, and 21.5%, P < .0001), but clinician assessed response was observed in all subsets (53%, 41%, and 29%, P = .0003). Treatment with chemotherapy was associated with longer median overall survival across PS groups. Exploratory analysis based on comorbidity score and tumor burden subgroups demonstrated a consistently positive overall survival association with treatment. Benefit was observed where poor overall survival was attributable to medical comorbidities and to tumor burden.

CONCLUSION

In routine clinical care, a substantial proportion of poor and very poor PS patients receive active treatment, which is often associated with meaningful clinical benefit.

Trifluridine/tipiracil: A practical guide to its use in the management of refractory metastatic colorectal cancer in Australia

Trifluridine/tipiracil is available on the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme for the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) previously treated with, or not considered candidates for, fluoropyrimidine-, oxaliplatin- and irinotecan-based chemotherapies, anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents and anti-epidermal growth factor receptor agents. This article reviews trifluridine/tipiracil clinical data and presents practical information on its use in the management of refractory mCRC in Australia. Whereas the primary mechanism of action of fluoropyrimidines such as fluorouracil (5-FU) and capecitabine is enzyme inhibition of nucleotide synthesis, trifluridine/tipiracil primarily acts by incorporation into DNA, resulting in DNA dysfunction. Trifluridine/tipiracil has activity in patients with 5-FU-resistant tumors and can be considered in patients with prior intolerance or toxicity to 5-FU. In the pivotal phase III RECOURSE trial evaluating trifluridine/tipiracil in chemotherapy-refractory mCRC, efficacy benefits were observed across all a priori prognostic subgroups including those defined by age (≥65 and ≥75 years), geographical origin, primary tumor site or KRAS status. Trifluridine/tipiracil therapy benefits appropriately selected patients who have an ECOG performance status of 0 or 1, with no more than mild hepatic impairment or mild-to-moderate renal impairment, and who are capable of adhering to oral therapy safely. Appropriate dosing, monitoring for adverse events and effective management of side effects are essential.

Management of early-stage gastro-esophageal cancers: expert perspectives from the Australasian Gastrointestinal Trials Group (AGITG) with invited international faculty

Introduction: A multimodal approach in operable early-stage oesophago-gastric (OG) cancer has evolved in the last decade, leading to improvement in overall outcomes.Areas covered: A review of the published literature and conference abstracts was undertaken on the topic of optimal adjunctive chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy in early-stage OG cancers. This review article focuses on the current evidence pertaining to neoadjuvant and perioperative strategies in curable OG cancers including the evolving landscape of immunotherapy and targeted drugs in this setting.Expert commentary: Adjunctive therapies in the form of preoperative chemo-radiotherapy (CRT) or chemotherapy and perioperative chemotherapy over surgery alone improve outcomes in patients with operable OG cancer. Although there are variations in practice around the world, a multi-disciplinary approach to patient care is of paramount importance. Immunotherapy and on treatment functional imaging are two examples of emerging strategies to improve the outcome for early-stage patients. A better understanding of the molecular biology of this disease may help overcome the problem of tumor heterogeneity and enable more rationally designed and targeted therapeutic interventions in the future.