Describing differences among populations of thoracic tumors patients under and over 80 years: Data analysis from the SLCG thoracic tumor registry

OBJECTIVES

Cancer is a disease of old age; however, most studies usually included minority of patients fit elderly. The purpose is to investigate the clinical characteristics and genetic information of patients with thoracic tumors who are 80 years old or older compared to those under 80 years old.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

The Thoracic Tumor Registry (TTR) is a Spanish observational, prospective cohort study that included patients diagnosed with thoracic tumors. Data were collected from medical records related to sociodemographic, epidemiological, clinical, molecular/genetic, and treatment outcome variables.

RESULTS

The total number of patients, recruited from August 2016 to April 2023, was 26.193 (93,1 % were younger than 80 years and 6,9 % were 80 years or older). In the group of older patients: the male ratio increased (72,9 % vs. 80 %); the number of elderly people who had never smoked or were ex-smokers increased (9,9 % vs. 21,1 % and 44,8 % vs. 61,3 %, respectively) and the number of current smokers decreased (43,3 % vs. 17,5 %); had higher ECOG performance status at diagnosis (for ECOG ≥ 2, 15 % vs. 32,9 %), and there were more patients with previous cancer (17,3 % vs. 28 %). The proportion of men is higher than that of women (73 % vs. 27 % in <80 years and 80 % vs. 20 % in ≥80 years). For all biomarkers, the proportion of patients who had a molecular determination was lower in older patients. There were no differences in terms of alterations in the biomarkers tested; except for EGFR, for which the positivity rate was higher in patients aged 80 years and older (25 % vs. 15,3 %).

CONCLUSION

The proportion of older patients with targeted mutations is higher. So, at least at diagnosis, it should be proceeded in a standard way. Then, when it comes to treatment, comorbidities and patient's baseline situation should be considered.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

NCT02941458.

Long-Term Survival and Stable Disease in a Patient with Extensive-Stage Small-Cell Lung Cancer after Treatment with Carboplatin, Etoposide and Atezolizumab

Survival beyond 2 years is rare in patients with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) treated with chemotherapy alone. We describe a patient with ES-SCLC who was treated with carboplatin, etoposide and the programmed death-ligand 1 inhibitor atezolizumab in the IMpower133 study (ClinicalTrials.gov registration: NCT02763579) and who achieved exceptionally long-term survival. Treatment-naïve patients with ES-SCLC (n = 403) were included in the IMpower133 study, and the identified patient had been randomised to the investigational treatment arm, where patients received induction therapy with carboplatin and etoposide plus atezolizumab for four 21-day cycles, followed by ongoing maintenance therapy with atezolizumab. The patient had achieved a partial response after induction therapy, and then received seven cycles of atezolizumab maintenance therapy until immune-related toxicities necessitated discontinuation. The patient was alive with an ongoing response and excellent performance status more than 6 years after starting treatment and 5 years after discontinuing atezolizumab maintenance. In conclusion, this patient with ES-SCLC from the IMpower133 study is a rare example of ongoing survival more than 6 years beyond diagnosis and the start of treatment with first-line atezolizumab. This demonstrates the potential durability of response with immunotherapy.

Real-world treatment patterns and survival outcomes for patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer in Spain: a nationwide cohort study

Background

The burden of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains high in Spain, with lung cancer accounting for 20% of cancer-related deaths annually. Programs such as the Spanish Thoracic Tumour Registry (TTR) and the global I-O Optimise initiative have been developed to observe patients in clinical practice with the aim of improving outcomes. This analysis examined treatment patterns and survival in patients with stage III NSCLC from the TTR. These patients represent a heterogenous group with complex treatment pathways.

Methods

The TTR is an ongoing, observational, prospective, and retrospective cohort multicentre study (NCT02941458) that follows patients with thoracic cancer in Spain. Adults aged ≥18 years with stage IIIA/IIIB NSCLC enrolled in the TTR between 01 Jan 2010 and 31 Oct 2019 were included in this analysis. Initial treatment received was described by cancer stage and histology (squamous and non-squamous NSCLC). Kaplan-Meier estimates of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated over a 5-year period.

Results

A total of 1,838 patients were included in the cohort, including 1,082 with stage IIIA (58.9%) and 756 with stage IIIB (41.1%). Median follow-up was 18.3 months. The median age of patients was 66 years, and most had non-squamous NSCLC (54.0%), were male (81.2%), and were active or former smokers (93.4%). Overall, 26.3% of patients received surgical resection (37.0% for stage IIIA and 11.1% for stage IIIB). The most frequent initial treatment received was concurrent chemoradiotherapy for stage IIIA (30.2%) and stage IIIB (37.0%) patients. Median OS was lower in patients with stage IIIB than stage IIIA (28 vs. 37 months) disease and was lower for patients with squamous than non-squamous histology (19 vs. 26 months). Median PFS and OS varied when patients were stratified by initial treatment.

Conclusions

This TTR analysis describes the clinical reality surrounding the initial management and survival outcomes for stage III NSCLC in Spain and presents survival outcomes comparable with other real-world evidence. It provides insights into the diverse approaches used before the availability of immunotherapies and targeted treatments in the non-metastatic NSCLC setting.

Perioperative Nivolumab and Chemotherapy in Stage III Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

BACKGROUND

Approximately 20% of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receive a diagnosis of stage III disease. There is no current consensus regarding the most appropriate treatment for these patients.

METHODS

In this open-label, phase 2 trial, we randomly assigned patients with resectable stage IIIA or IIIB NSCLC to receive neoadjuvant nivolumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy (experimental group) or chemotherapy alone (control group), followed by surgery. Patients in the experimental group who had R0 resections received adjuvant treatment with nivolumab for 6 months. The primary end point was a pathological complete response (0% viable tumor in resected lung and lymph nodes). Secondary end points included progression-free survival and overall survival at 24 months and safety.

RESULTS

A total of 86 patients underwent randomization; 57 were assigned to the experimental group and 29 were assigned to the control group. A pathological complete response occurred in 37% of the patients in the experimental group and in 7% in the control group (relative risk, 5.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.34 to 21.23; P = 0.02). Surgery was performed in 93% of the patients in the experimental group and in 69% in the control group (relative risk, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.74). Kaplan-Meier estimates of progression-free survival at 24 months were 67.2% in the experimental group and 40.9% in the control group (hazard ratio for disease progression, disease recurrence, or death, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.25 to 0.88). Kaplan-Meier estimates of overall survival at 24 months were 85.0% in the experimental group and 63.6% in the control group (hazard ratio for death, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.19 to 0.98). Grade 3 or 4 adverse events occurred in 11 patients in the experimental group (19%; some patients had events of both grades) and 3 patients in the control group (10%).

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with resectable stage IIIA or IIIB NSCLC, perioperative treatment with nivolumab plus chemotherapy resulted in a higher percentage of patients with a pathological complete response and longer survival than chemotherapy alone. (Funded by Bristol Myers Squibb and others; NADIM II ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03838159; EudraCT number, 2018-004515-45.).

Synergy between imputed genetic pathway and clinical information for predicting recurrence in early stage non-small cell lung cancer

OBJECTIVE

Lung cancer exhibits unpredictable recurrence in low-stage tumors and variable responses to different therapeutic interventions. Predicting relapse in early-stage lung cancer can facilitate precision medicine and improve patient survivability. While existing machine learning models rely on clinical data, incorporating genomic information could enhance their efficiency. This study aims to impute and integrate specific types of genomic data with clinical data to improve the accuracy of machine learning models for predicting relapse in early-stage, non-small cell lung cancer patients.

METHODS

The study utilized a publicly available TCGA lung cancer cohort and imputed genetic pathway scores into the Spanish Lung Cancer Group (SLCG) data, specifically in 1348 early-stage patients. Initially, tumor recurrence was predicted without imputed pathway scores. Subsequently, the SLCG data were augmented with pathway scores imputed from TCGA. The integrative approach aimed to enhance relapse risk prediction performance.

RESULTS

The integrative approach achieved improved relapse risk prediction with the following evaluation metrics: an area under the precision-recall curve (PR-AUC) score of 0.75, an area under the ROC (ROC-AUC) score of 0.80, an F1 score of 0.61, and a Precision of 0.80. The prediction explanation model SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) was employed to explain the machine learning model's predictions.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that our explainable predictive model is a promising tool for oncologists that addresses an unmet clinical need of post-treatment patient stratification based on the relapse risk while also improving the predictive power by incorporating proxy genomic data not available for specific patients.

PD-1/PD-L1 Inhibitors as Monotherapy in the First-Line Treatment of Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients with High PD-L1 Expression: An Expert Position Statement

INTRODUCTION

There are currently three first-line immunotherapy options used as monotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with high programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression (≥50%). This manuscript aims to evaluate the available data on atezolizumab (AT), cemiplimab (CEMI), and pembrolizumab (PEMBRO) and to study the results obtained during pivotal trials, especially regarding patient subgroups.

METHODS

Nominal group and Delphi techniques were used. Eight Spanish experts in lung cancer (the scientific committee of the project) analyzed the use of immunotherapy monotherapy as first-line treatment in patients with NSCLC and high PD-L1 expression. The expert scientific committee formulated several statements based on a scientific review and their own clinical experience. Subsequently, 17 additional Spanish lung cancer experts were selected to appraise the committee's statements through two Delphi rounds. They completed a Delphi round via an online platform and voted according to a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 10 (strongly agree). The statements were approved if ≥70% of experts voted 7 or more.

RESULTS

A total of 20 statements were proposed covering the following areas: (1) general characteristics of pivotal clinical trials; (2) overall main outcomes of pivotal clinical trials; and (3) subgroup analysis. All statements reached consensus in the first round.

CONCLUSIONS

AT, CEMI, and PEMBRO as monotherapy can be considered the standard of care in patients with advanced NSCLC and high PD-L1 expression (≥50%). Moreover, some differences noted among the drugs analyzed in this document might facilitate treatment decision-making, especially in clinically relevant patient subgroups, when using PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. The high level of agreement reached among experts supports the proposed statements.

Cost-Effectiveness of Next-Generation Sequencing Versus Single-Gene Testing for the Molecular Diagnosis of Patients With Metastatic Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer From the Perspective of Spanish Reference Centers

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of using next-generation sequencing (NGS) versus single-gene testing (SgT) for the detection of genetic molecular subtypes and oncogenic markers in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the setting of Spanish reference centers.

METHODS

A joint model combining decision tree with partitioned survival models was developed. A two-round consensus panel was performed to describe clinical practice of Spanish reference centers, providing data on testing rate, prevalence of alterations, turnaround times, and treatment pathways. Treatment efficacy data and utility values were obtained from the literature. Only direct costs (euros, 2022), obtained from Spanish databases, were included. A lifetime horizon was considered, so a 3% discount rate for future costs and outcomes was considered. Both deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to assess uncertainty.

RESULTS

A target population of 9,734 patients with advanced NSCLC was estimated. If NGS was used instead of SgT, 1,873 more alterations would be detected and 82 more patients could potentially be enrolled in clinical trials. In the long term, using NGS would provide 1,188 additional quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) in the target population compared with SgT. On the other hand, the incremental cost of NGS versus SgT in the target population was €21,048,580 euros for a lifetime horizon (€1,333,288 for diagnosis phase only). The obtained incremental cost-utility ratios were €25,895 per QALY gained, below the standard cost-effectiveness thresholds.

CONCLUSION

Using NGS in Spanish reference centers for the molecular diagnosis of patients with metastatic NSCLC would be a cost-effective strategy over SgT.

Tumor microenvironment gene expression profiles associated to complete pathological response and disease progression in resectable NSCLC patients treated with neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy

BACKGROUND

Neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has improved pathological responses and survival rates compared with chemotherapy alone, leading to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of nivolumab plus chemotherapy for resectable stage IB-IIIA NSCLC (AJCC 7th edition) without ALK or EGFR alterations. Unfortunately, a considerable percentage of tumors do not completely respond to therapy, which has been associated with early disease progression. So far, it is impossible to predict these events due to lack of knowledge. In this study, we characterized the gene expression profile of tumor samples to identify new biomarkers and mechanisms behind tumor responses to neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy and disease recurrence after surgery.

METHODS

Tumor bulk RNA sequencing was performed in 16 pretreatment and 36 post-treatment tissue samples from 41 patients with resectable stage IIIA NSCLC treated with neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy from NADIM trial. A panel targeting 395 genes related to immunological processes was used. Tumors were classified as complete pathological response (CPR) and non-CPR, based on the total absence of viable tumor cells in tumor bed and lymph nodes tested at surgery. Differential-expressed genes between groups and pathway enrichment analysis were assessed using DESeq2 and gene set enrichment analysis. CIBERSORTx was used to estimate the proportions of immune cell subtypes.

RESULTS

CPR tumors had a stronger pre-established immune infiltrate at baseline than non-CPR, characterized by higher levels of IFNG, GZMB, NKG7, and M1 macrophages, all with a significant area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) >0.9 for CPR prediction. A greater effect of neoadjuvant therapy was also seen in CPR tumors with a reduction of tumor markers and IFNγ signaling after treatment. Additionally, the higher expression of several genes, including AKT1, BST2, OAS3, or CD8B; or higher dendritic cells and neutrophils proportions in post-treatment non-CPR samples, were associated with relapse after surgery. Also, high pretreatment PD-L1 and tumor mutational burden levels influenced the post-treatment immune landscape with the downregulation of proliferation markers and type I interferon signaling molecules in surgery samples.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results reinforce the differences between CPR and non-CPR responses, describing possible response and relapse immune mechanisms, opening the possibility of therapy personalization of immunotherapy-based regimens in the neoadjuvant setting of NSCLC.

Determination of essential biomarkers in lung cancer: a real-world data study in Spain with demographic, clinical, epidemiological and pathological characteristics

Background

The survival of patients with lung cancer has substantially increased in the last decade by about 15%. This increase is, basically, due to targeted therapies available for advanced stages and the emergence of immunotherapy itself. This work aims to study the situation of biomarker testing in Spain.

Patients and methods

The Thoracic Tumours Registry (TTR) is an observational, prospective, registry-based study that included patients diagnosed with lung cancer and other thoracic tumours, from September 2016 to 2020. This TTR study was sponsored by the Spanish Lung Cancer Group (GECP) Foundation, an independent, scientific, multidisciplinary oncology society that coordinates more than 550 experts and 182 hospitals across the Spanish territory.

Results

Nine thousand two hundred thirty-nine patients diagnosed with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) between 2106 and 2020 were analysed. 7,467 (80.8%) were non-squamous and 1,772 (19.2%) were squamous. Tumour marker testing was performed in 85.0% of patients with non-squamous tumours vs 56.3% in those with squamous tumours (p-value < 0.001). The global testing of EGFR, ALK, and ROS1 was 78.9, 64.7, 35.6% respectively, in non-squamous histology. PDL1 was determined globally in the same period (46.9%), although if we focus on the last 3 years it exceeds 85%. There has been a significant increase in the last few years of all determinations and there are even close to 10% of molecular determinations that do not yet have targeted drug approval but will have it in the near future. 4,115 cases had a positive result (44.5%) for either EGFR, ALK, KRAS, BRAF, ROS1, or high PDL1.

Conclusions

Despite the lack of a national project and standard protocol in Spain that regulates the determination of biomarkers, the situation is similar to other European countries. Given the growing number of different determinations and their high positivity, national strategies are urgently needed to implement next-generation sequencing (NGS) in an integrated and cost-effective way in lung cancer.

Impact of smoking status on the relative efficacy of the EGFR TKI/angiogenesis inhibitor combination therapy in advanced NSCLC-a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

The ETOP 10-16 BOOSTER trial failed to demonstrate a progression-free survival (PFS) benefit for adding bevacizumab to osimertinib in second line. An exploratory subgroup analysis, however, suggested a PFS benefit of the combination in patients with a smoking history and prompted us to do this study.

Methods

A systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the differential effect of smoking status on the benefit of adding an angiogenesis inhibitor to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy was carried out. All relevant randomized controlled trials appearing in main oncology congresses or in PubMed as of 1 November 2021 were used according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses statement. Primarily PFS according to smoking status, and secondarily overall survival (OS) were of interest. Pooled and interaction hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated by fixed or random effects models, depending on the detected degree of heterogeneity. Bias was assessed using the revised Cochrane tool for randomized controlled trials (RoB 2).

Results

Information by smoking was available for 1291 patients for PFS (seven studies) and 678 patients for OS (four studies). The risk of bias was low for all studies. Combination treatment significantly prolonged PFS for smokers [n = 502, HR = 0.55, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.44-0.69] but not for nonsmokers (n = 789, HR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.66-1.27; treatment-by-smoking interaction P = 0.02). Similarly, a significant OS benefit was found for smokers (n = 271, HR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.47-0.93) but not for nonsmokers (n = 407, HR = 1.07, 95% CI: 0.82-1.42; treatment-by-smoking interaction P = 0.03).

Conclusion

In advanced EGFR-non-small-cell lung cancer patients, the addition of an angiogenesis inhibitor to EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy provides a statistically significant PFS and OS benefit in smokers, but not in non-smokers. The biological basis for this observation should be pursued and could determine whether this might be due to a specific co-mutational pattern produced by tobacco exposure.

•

Target population consists of EGFR-non-small-cell lung cancer patients.

•

The relative effect of adding an angiogenesis inhibitor to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor by smoking status was explored.

•

In patients with smoking history, the addition of an angiogenesis inhibitor provides significant PFS and OS benefit.

•

This is not the case in patients with a negative smoking history.

•

The biological basis for this observation should be pursued.

Multimodal prediction of response to neoadjuvant nivolumab and chemotherapy for surgically resectable stage IIIA non–small cell lung cancer

8542

Background: The NADIM trial (NCT03081689), led by the Spanish Lung Cancer Group, assessed the antitumor activity and safety of neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy for resectable stage IIIA NSCLC. Patients received neoadjuvant nivolumab and paclitaxel-carboplatin for three cycles before surgical resection, followed by one year of adjuvant nivolumab. At 24 months, progression-free survival (PFS) was 77%, suggesting that neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy represents a promising option in this setting. Pathological complete response (pCR) could potentially be used as an important surrogate endpoint for survival. We present here a re-analysis of the NADIM cohort aiming to develop a machine learning algorithm to predict the pCR status based on multimodal baseline data. Methods: We combined baseline clinical data (e.g., age, smoking status), biological data (e.g., tumor histology, mutations), radiology reports and radiomics analysis of the baseline CT scan in a multimodal analysis. While 46 patients were enrolled in the NADIM trial, only 28 had a complete set of data available for this retrospective study. For each patient, tumors were segmented on the baseline CT-scan in 3D by a Deep Learning algorithm. Radiomics features were extracted following the IBSI standards and combined with the other data modalities. A filter-based variable selection method was applied before training several machine learning algorithms. The optimization criterion was the Area Under the ROC Curve (AUC). Due to the small size of the cohort, a leave-one-out cross-validation approach was used to properly estimate the model performance. For a sub-cohort of 20 patients for which data have been collected longitudinally during the neoadjuvant treatment, an additional Delta-radiomics model was used to predict the pCR status. Results: An XGBoost algorithm with a linear base learner displayed an AUC of 0.69, a precision of 75%, a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 50%. Features with highest weight in the algorithm were a mix of radiological, radiomics, biological and clinical features (including the neutrophils to lymphocytes ratio, mutations and histology) highlighting the importance of a truly multimodal analysis. Indeed, withdrawing a specific data modality (e.g., radiomics or biological features), led to a decrease of ̃15% of the AUC. Inclusion of the Delta-radiomics analysis on the data collected longitudinally prior to surgery led to an improved AUC of 0.76 in that patient sub-cohort. Conclusions: This study is, to our knowledge, the first to offer a multimodal analysis of the response to neoadjuvant treatment for surgically resectable stage IIIA NSCLC and is a proof of concept that a machine learning algorithm can be used to predict the pCR in this context. These preliminary results are being confirmed in the ongoing NADIM II trial. Clinical trial information: NCT03838159.

Nivolumab + chemotherapy versus chemotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment for resectable stage IIIA NSCLC: Primary endpoint results of pathological complete response (pCR) from phase II NADIM II trial

8501

Background: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is incurable in most patients with locally advanced stage IIIA disease. Previous results indicate that the use of neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy could increase the percentage of cured patients being a promising therapeutic option that has to be tested in randomized clinical trials. Methods: NADIM II (NCT03838159) is an open-label, randomized, two-arm, phase II, multi-center clinical trial. Patients with resectable clinical stage IIIA (per AJCC 7th ed) NSCLC, ECOG PS 0-1, and no known EGFR/ALK alterations were randomized to receive Nivolumab (NIVO) 360mg + Paclitaxel 200mg/m2 + Carboplatin AUC5 for 3 cycles every 21 days (+/- 3 days) as neoadjuvant treatment followed by surgery, or Paclitaxel 200mg/m2 + Carboplatin AUC5 for 3 cycles every 21 days (+/- 3 days) followed by surgery. Patients with R0 resection confirmed by pathological evaluation initiated adjuvant administration of NIVO within the 3rd to 8th week (+7 days) from surgery and for 6 months. The primary endpoint was pathological complete response (pCR) by blinded independent pathological review (BIPR) in the intent-to-treat population (ITT). pCR was defined as 0% viable tumor cells in resected lung and lymph nodes; patients who did not undergo surgery were classified as non-responders. Major pathological response (MPR; ≤ 10% viable tumor) per BIPR, overall response rate (ORR), toxicity profile, and potential predictive biomarkers are secondary endpoints. Results: Between February 8, 2019, and November 11, 2021, 90 patients were enrolled, of whom 87 patients were valid. Neoadjuvant NIVO + chemo significantly increased the pCR rate compared to chemo in the ITT (36.2% vs 6.8%; Relative Risk (RR) 5.25 [99% CI 1.32-20.87]; P = 0.0071). NIVO + chemo also improved MPR rates vs chemo in the ITT (52 % vs 14 %), as well as ORR (74 % vs 48%). Definitive surgery occurred for 91% of pts treated with NIVO + chemo and 69% with chemo; surgery was cancelled rarely due to AEs (1 pts/experimental arm) and due to disease progression in 1 and 4 pts in the experimental and control arm respectively. Grade 3-4-related AEs were reported in 24 % vs 10% in the NIVO + chemo vs chemo arms, respectively. In the ITT experimental arm, patients with pCR had higher PD-L1 TPS (median 70%, IQR 5-90%) compared to non-responders (median 0%, IQR 0-37.5%, P = 0.0035). AUC to predict pCR was 0.734 (95% CI 0.59-0.88; P = 0.005). The pCR rate rises across increasing categories of PD-L1 TPS ( < 1% 14.3%; 1-49% 41.7%; ≥50% 61.1%; P = 0.008). Conclusions: This study confirms the superiority of the chemo-immuno combination in patients with resectable stage IIIA NSCLC in terms of pCR, as well as the feasibility of surgery, with a moderate increase in grade 3-4 toxicity. Thus, this treatment should become the standard of care in these patients. Clinical trial information: NCT03838159.

SEOM-GECP-GETTHI Clinical Guidelines for the treatment of patients with thymic epithelial tumours (2021)

Thymic epithelial tumours (TET) represent a heterogeneous group of rare malignancies that include thymomas and thymic carcinoma. Treatment of TET is based on the resectability of the tumour. If this is considered achievable upfront, surgical resection is the cornerstone of treatment. Platinum-based chemotherapy is the standard regimen for advanced TET. Due to the rarity of this disease, treatment decisions should be discussed in specific multidisciplinary tumour boards, and there are few prospective clinical studies with new strategies. However, several pathways involved in TET have been explored as potential targets for new therapies in previously treated patients, such as multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitors with antiangiogenic properties and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). One third of patient with thymoma present an autoimmune disorders, increasing the risk of immune-related adverse events and autoimmune flares under ICIs. In these guidelines, we summarize the current evidence for the therapeutic approach in patients with TET and define levels of evidence for these decisions.

Addition of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors to Chemotherapy vs Chemotherapy Alone as First-Line Treatment in Extensive-Stage Small-Cell Lung Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Introduction

The addition of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) to conventional chemotherapy (CT) as first-line treatment improves survival in extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC). The aim of this meta-analysis was to determine the relative efficacy of first-line ICIs compared with CT in patients with ES-SCLC.

Methods

Two independent reviewers extracted relevant data according to PRISMA guidelines and assessed the risk of bias using the Cochrane Collaboration's risk-of-bias tool. Meta-analysis was conducted using random-effects models to calculate an average effect size for overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and safety outcomes in the overall populations and clinically relevant subgroups.

Results

A literature search of PubMed and Embase was performed. Six randomized controlled clinical trials (IMpower133, CHECKMATE-451, CASPIAN, KEYNOTE-604, and phase II and III ipilimumab plus CT trials) with a total of 3757 patients were included. Compared with CT alone, ICIs plus CT showed a favourable effect on OS (hazard ratio [HR] 0.85; 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.79–0.96) and PFS (HR 0.78; 95% CI 0.72–0.83) but a non-significant increase in the risk of experiencing any adverse event (relative risk, 1.05; 95% CI 0.99–1.11). The estimated HR for OS favoured ICI combinations in all planned subgroups according to age (< 65 years/≥ 65 years), sex (men/women), and ECOG performance status (0/1). Analysis by specific ICI revealed significant improvements in OS only for atezolizumab + CT (HR 1.36; 95% CI 1.09–1.69) and durvalumab + CT (HR 1.35; 95% CI 1.12–1.62) compared with CT alone.

Conclusion

Combining anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 antibodies with platinum/etoposide is a superior therapeutic approach compared to CT alone for the first-line treatment of patients with ES-SCLC.

Graphic abstract

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40487-021-00182-0.

A randomised phase II study of osimertinib and bevacizumab versus osimertinib alone as second-line targeted treatment in advanced NSCLC with confirmed EGFR and acquired T790M mutations: the European Thoracic Oncology Platform (ETOP 10-16) BOOSTER trial

BACKGROUND

While osimertinib, a third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) is the standard treatment in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with sensitising EGFR and acquired T790M mutations, progression inevitably occurs. The angiogenic pathway is implicated in EGFR TKI resistance.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

BOOSTER is an open-label randomised phase II trial investigating the efficacy and safety of combined osimertinib 80 mg daily and bevacizumab 15 mg/kg every 3 weeks, versus osimertinib alone, in patients with EGFR-mutant advanced NSCLC and acquired T790M mutations after failure on previous EGFR TKI therapy. Primary endpoint was investigator-assessed progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR) and adverse events (AEs).

RESULTS

Between May 2017 and February 2019, 155 patients were randomised (combination: 78; osimertinib: 77). At data cut-off of 22 February 2021, median follow-up was 33.8 months [interquartile range (IQR): 26.5-37.6 months] and 129 (83.2%) PFS events were reported in the intention-to-treat population. There was no difference in median PFS between the combination [15.4 months; 95% confidence interval (CI) 9.2-18.0 months] and osimertinib arm (12.3 months; 95% CI 6.2-17.2 months; stratified log-rank P = 0.83), [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.96; 95% CI 0.68-1.37]. Median OS was 24.0 months (95% CI 17.8-32.1 months) in the combination arm and 24.3 months (95% CI 16.9-37.0 months) in the osimertinib arm (stratified log-rank P = 0.91), (HR = 1.03; 95% CI 0.67-1.56). Exploratory analysis revealed a significant interaction of smoking history with treatment for PFS (adjusted P = 0.0052) with a HR of 0.52 (95% CI 0.30-0.90) for smokers, and 1.47 (95% CI 0.92-2.33) for never smokers. ORR was 55% in both arms and the median time to treatment failure was significantly shorter in the combination than in the osimertinib arm, 8.2 months versus 10.8 months, respectively (P = 0.0074). Safety of osimertinib and bevacizumab was consistent with previous reports with grade ≥3 treatment-related AEs (TRAEs) reported in 47% and 18% of patients on combination and osimertinib alone, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

No difference in PFS was observed between osimertinib plus bevacizumab and osimertinib alone. Grade ≥3 TRAEs were more common in patients on combination.

Prognostic model of long-term advanced stage (IIIB-IV) EGFR mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) survivors using real-life data

BACKGROUND

There is a lack of useful diagnostic tools to identify EGFR mutated NSCLC patients with long-term survival. This study develops a prognostic model using real world data to assist clinicians to predict survival beyond 24 months.

METHODS

EGFR mutated stage IIIB and IV NSCLC patients diagnosed between January 2009 and December 2017 included in the Spanish Lung Cancer Group (SLCG) thoracic tumor registry. Long-term survival was defined as being alive 24 months after diagnosis. A multivariable prognostic model was carried out using binary logistic regression and internal validation through bootstrapping. A nomogram was developed to facilitate the interpretation and applicability of the model.

RESULTS

505 of the 961 EGFR mutated patients identified in the registry were included, with a median survival of 27.73 months. Factors associated with overall survival longer than 24 months were: being a woman (OR 1.78); absence of the exon 20 insertion mutation (OR 2.77); functional status (ECOG 0-1) (OR 4.92); absence of central nervous system metastases (OR 2.22), absence of liver metastases (OR 1.90) or adrenal involvement (OR 2.35) and low number of metastatic sites (OR 1.22). The model had a good internal validation with a calibration slope equal to 0.781 and discrimination (optimism corrected C-index 0.680).

CONCLUSIONS

Survival greater than 24 months can be predicted from six pre-treatment clinicopathological variables. The model has a good discrimination ability. We hypothesized that this model could help the selection of the best treatment sequence in EGFR mutation NSCLC patients.

A phase III clinical trial of adjuvant chemotherapy versus chemoimmunotherapy for stage IB-IIIA completely resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients nadim-adjuvant: New adjuvant trial of chemotherapy versus chemoimmunotherapy

TPS8581

Background: The results of current studies are considered acceptable evidence to support the hypothesis of efficacy of the proposed combination of immunotherapy with chemotherapy (CT-IO) in patients with NSCLC stages Ib-IIIA candidates for adjuvant treatment. Methods: This is an open-label, randomised, two-arm, phase III, multi-centre clinical trial. Primary objective and endpoint: The primary objective is disease free survival (DFS) defined time from randomization to the earliest event defined as disease recurrence, any new lung cancer (even in the opposite lung), or death from any cause at any known point in time Sample size: 210 patients NSCLC stages Ib-IIIA (Experimental Arm (Adjuvant Chemotherapy-Inmunotherapy + maintenance adjuvant Inmunotherapy): 105 patients, Control Arm (Adjuvant Chemotherapy): 105 patients Treatment Patients randomised to the experimental arm will receive Nivolumab 360mg + Paclitaxel 200mg/m2 + Carboplatin AUC5 for 4 cycles every 21 days (+/- 3 days) as adjuvant treatment followed by maintenance adjuvant treatment for 6 cycles with Nivolumab 480 mg Q4W (+/- 3 days). Patients randomized to the control arm will receive Paclitaxel 200mg/m2 + Carboplatin AUC5 for 4 cycles every 21 days (+/- 3 days) followed by 2 observation visits. Total trial duration: 6.5 years, 3.5 years of recruitment, 1 year of adjuvant treatment or observation and 2 years of follow up. The start date was January 2021. The estimated primary completion date is June 2027. Clinical trial information: NCT04564157.

Metronomic oral vinorelbine in previously untreated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer patients unfit for platinum-based chemotherapy: results of the randomized phase II Tempo Lung trial

Background

To assess the efficacy and safety of a metronomic schedule of oral vinorelbine (mVNR) in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients unfit for platinum-based combination chemotherapy.

Patients and methods

This was a multicenter, prospective, randomized, open-label phase II study in treatment-naive patients with TNM stage IIIB/IV NSCLC. Patients received mVNR at a fixed dose of 50 mg × 3 or standard schedule 60-80 mg/m² weekly until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) without grade 4 toxicity (G4PFS; NCI-CTC v4). Main secondary objectives were safety, disease control rate (DCR) without grade 4 toxicity (G4DCR), DCR, PFS, overall survival (OS) and quality of life (QoL).

Results

A total of 167 patients were included, 83 and 84 patients in the mVNR and standard arms, respectively. The median G4PFS was 4.0 months [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.6-4.3] and 2.2 months (95% CI: 1.5-2.9), hazard ration (HR) = 0.63 (95% CI: 0.45-0.88), P = 0.0068 in favor of metronomic arm; G4DCR was 45.8% and 26.8% in the mVNR and standard arms, respectively. Grade 3-4 treatment-related adverse events were less frequent in the mVNR arm (25.3% versus 54.4%) mainly owing to a reduction in all grades (15.7% versus 51.9%) and grade 3-4 neutropenia (10.8% versus 42%). PFS was 4.3 (95% CI: 3.3-5.1) and 3.9 months (95% CI: 2.8-5.2) in mVNR and standard arms, respectively. No difference in median OS was observed. QoL was comparable between arms.

Conclusions

Metronomic oral vinorelbine significantly prolonged median G4PFS in advanced NSCLC patients unfit for platinum combinations as first-line treatment. It was associated with a clear reduction in toxicity and may be considered as an important option in this challenging population.

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First-line oral vinorelbine prolonged PFS without grade 4 toxicity in platinum-unfit patients with advanced NSCLC.

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Metronomic oral vinorelbine is associated with a clear reduction of grade 3-4 toxicities (mainly hematological ones).

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Metronomic oral vinorelbine allows home treatment and easy tailoring of the treatment according to patient tolerance.

Comprehensive cross-platform comparison of methods for non-invasive EGFR mutation testing: results of the RING observational trial

Several platforms for noninvasive EGFR testing are currently used in the clinical setting with sensitivities ranging from 30% to 100%. Prospective studies evaluating agreement and sources for discordant results remain lacking. Herein, seven methodologies including two next‐generation sequencing (NGS)‐based methods, three high‐sensitivity PCR‐based platforms, and two FDA‐approved methods were compared using 72 plasma samples, from EGFR‐mutant non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients progressing on a first‐line tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). NGS platforms as well as high‐sensitivity PCR‐based methodologies showed excellent agreement for EGFR‐sensitizing mutations (K = 0.80–0.89) and substantial agreement for T790M testing (K = 0.77 and 0.68, respectively). Mutant allele frequencies (MAFs) obtained by different quantitative methods showed an excellent reproducibility (intraclass correlation coefficients 0.86–0.98). Among other technical factors, discordant calls mostly occurred at mutant allele frequencies (MAFs) ≤ 0.5%. Agreement significantly improved when discarding samples with MAF ≤ 0.5%. EGFR mutations were detected at significantly lower MAFs in patients with brain metastases, suggesting that these patients risk for a false‐positive result. Our results support the use of liquid biopsies for noninvasive EGFR testing and highlight the need to systematically report MAFs.

Patient preference for oral chemotherapy in the treatment of metastatic breast and lung cancer

OBJECTIVES

Although new therapies against metastatic cancer have been developed in recent decades, chemotherapy is still an important treatment option. Prolonged treatment and side-effects are often discouraging for patients, and in many cases, therapy is only palliative, not curative. This study explores patient preference for oral or intravenous (IV) chemotherapy in the treatment of metastatic breast or lung cancer.

METHODS

It is a descriptive, open label, multicentre, nation-wide study, in which a 16-item questionnaire consisting of single-choice questions scored on a 5-point Likert scale was administered to patients in a single visit, and another 11-item questionnaire was self-administered by the patient's oncologist.

RESULTS

A total of 131 breast and lung cancer specialists at 64 hospitals enrolled 412 patients (lung cancer = 161; breast cancer = 251). To be eligible, patients must have already received IV therapy and at least 2 cycles of oral chemotherapy. Most (77%) patients expressed preference for oral therapy. Most considered their daily life was less disrupted with tablets (70.4%), had no trouble swallowing them (86.9%), and were not concerned about forgetting to take them (56.8%). Half (56.3%) were worried about problems related to drug infusion with IV therapy, 61.7% were concerned about nurses failing to find a suitable vein, and 63.1% were dissatisfied with hospital waiting times. A uniform response was obtained from both samples of patients.

CONCLUSION

Convenience, ease of administration, fewer side effects and better quality of life tilt the balance towards oral drug administration.

Lung cancer in Spain: information from the Thoracic Tumors Registry (TTR study)

Background

Lung cancer remains a leading cause of cancer incidence and mortality worldwide. Although Spain contributes to global statistics related to cancer, it is difficult to discern aspects linked to clinical presentation of the disease or molecular testing. The Thoracic Tumor Registry (TTR) was created with the aim of filling this gap.

Methods

Observational cohort multicenter study performed in Spain, including patients with lung cancer or other types of thoracic tumors undergoing active treatment or palliative care only. Enrollment took place between August 2016 and December 2018. The evaluation included a review of demographic, epidemiological, clinical and molecular data.

Results

A total of 6,600 patients diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were recruited at 56 Spanish hospitals. The mean age at diagnosis was 64 years. The majority of patients (80%) presented with advanced disease, being adenocarcinoma the most frequent histological type. Up to 86% of patients were current- or ex-smokers, with men starting to smoke earlier than women (average age 17.9 vs. 19.2 years). Sixty-seven percent of patients underwent some type of molecular testing. Mutations in EGFR and KRAS genes were found in 18% and 28% of patients, respectively.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that the TTR study accurately describes the clinical reality of lung cancer in Spain, including useful information on smoking status as well as molecular profiling and tumor histology, and can therefore be used to drive improvements in health care. Social and political pressure to reduce tobacco consumption among the population should be reinforced, particularly among youth.

Phase II study of durvalumab (MEDI4736) in cancer patients HIV-1-infected

2501

Background: Durvalumab (MEDI4736), a programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) blocking antibody, is currently approved for treatment of several cancer types. As HIV-1-infected (HIV+) patients have been excluded from cancer clinical trials, there are no data on the safety of durvalumab in this population. Methods: DURVAST (NCT03094286) is a multicenter, open-label, phase 2 clinical trial evaluating the safety and feasibility of durvalumab treatment at the recommended dose of 1500 mg Q4W in HIV+ cancer patients with solid tumors. Secondary endpoints include analyses of antitumoral activity in terms of objective response rate and duration of response (DOR). An associated translational sub-study includes the assessment of antiviral activity and the interaction of chronic viral infection with anti-cancer response and drug tolerance. Results: Twenty HIV+ individuals with advanced solid tumors were enrolled (Table). All participants maintained their standard-of-care antiretroviral therapy. Basal plasma viremia was undetectable and CD4+ T-cell count was over 200/mm3. There were no durvalumab-related serious adverse events. Only 8 patients (40%) presented drug-related adverse events (all grade 1-2) including diarrhea (15%), rash (15%), nausea (15%) and asthenia (10%). Best response includes: partial response in 5 (25%) (4 NSCLC and 1 anal cancer), stable disease in 4 (20%) (3 NSCLC and 1 melanoma) and progression disease in 11 (55%) patients. At data cut-off, 8 patients (40%) remained on therapy for a median of 10.5 months (range: 6-19 m). Median DOR has not been reached (range 1m to 19 m+). Plasma viremia remained suppressed during the study suggesting no viral reactivation upon durvalumab treatment. Conclusions: DURVAST study demonstrates durvalumab safety in HIV+ cancer patients and suggests an excellent tolerance profile. Understanding how chronic viral infection could contribute to a better tolerance towards immune checkpoint inhibitors will open a new way for the development of safer anti-cancer immunotherapy strategies. Clinical trial information: NCT03094286. [Table: see text]

Neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy for the treatment of stage IIIA resectable non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC): A phase II multicenter exploratory study—Final data of patients who underwent surgical assessment

8509

Background: Patients with stage IIIA (N2 or T4N0) are potentially curable but median overall survival is only around 15 months and complete pathologic response with conventional chemotherapy (CT) is no more than 9%. Methods: A Phase II, single-arm, open-label multicenter study of resectable stage IIIA N2-NSCLC adult patients with CT plus IO as a neoadjuvant treatment: three cycles of Nivolumab (NV) 360mg IV Q3W + paclitaxel 200mg/m2 + carboplatin AUC 6 IV Q3W followed by adjuvant NV treatment for 1 year. After complete neoadjuvant therapy, tumor assessment is performed prior to surgery. Surgery is performed in the 3rd or 4th week after day 21 of the third cycle of neoadjuvant treatment. The study aims to recruit 46 pts. The primary endpoint is Progression-Free Survival (PFS) at 24 months. Efficacy is explored using objective pathologic response criteria. We present final data on all patients included in this study that underwent surgical assessment. Results: At the time of submission, 46 pts had been included and 41 had undergone surgery. CT-IO was well-tolerated and surgery was not delayed in any patient. None of the pts withdrew from the study preoperatively due to progression or toxicity. 41 surgeries had been performed and all tumors were deemed resectable, with R0 resection in all cases. 34 pts (83%) achieved major pathologic response (MPR) (CI 95% 71-95%), and 24 (71%) of them had a complete pathologic response (CPR) (CI 95% 54-87%). Downstaging was seen in 90% (CI 95% 81-100%) of cases. By RECIST, 29 pts (71%) (CI 95% 56-85%) had partial response and 3 (7%) (CI 95% 0-16%) complete response. Conclusions: This is the first multicentric study to CT-IO in the neoadjuvant setting in stage IIIA. Neoadjuvant CT-IO with nivolumab in resectable IIIA NSCLC yields a high complete pathologic response rate that has never been seen previously and unsuspected by RECIST criteria. Preliminary correlative analyses in blood samples are included in a separate abstract. EudraCT Number: 2016-003732-20. Clinical trial information: NCT 03081689.

Haematological biomarkers of pathological response on neo-adjuvant chemo-immunotherapy treatment for resectable stage IIIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients

e20026

Background: PD1/PDL1 treatments have become the main therapy in advanced stages of NSCLC due to its significant increase in overall survival (OS), but recently, combination with chemotherapy in locally advanced stages is showing promising results. Many studies have described the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelets-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) as indicator of systemic inflammation, that could be use as biomarker of response to immunotherapy. In our study, we described the effect of neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy in Complete Blood Count (CBC) parameters and evaluated their relationship with pathological responses. Methods: Immune cell populations of 46 resectable stage IIIA NSCLC patients treated with neo-adjuvant chemo-immunotherapy from NADIM clinical trial were analysed. Samples were extracted before initiating the neo-adjuvant treatment with nivolumab plus carboplatin and at the third cycle before patients underwent surgery. We classified patients in 3 subgroups of pathological response assessed in the resection specimen: complete response (pCR), mayor response (< 10% viable tumour) and incomplete response (> 10% viable tumour). Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney U statistic test were used to evaluated differences between pre and post treatment and between pathological responses groups respectively. Results: From 46 patients, 5 patients did not undergo surgery, so they were excluded from the analysis. Absolute numbers (x103cells/µl) of CBC were significantly reduced after neo-adjuvant treatment in patients, leucocytes (8.80 vs 6.64), Eosinophil (0.22 vs 0.15), Monocytes (0.72 vs 0.62), Neutrophils (5.53 vs 3.53), Haemoglobin (35.82 vs 29.68), Platelets (292.44 vs 227.22), NLR (2.73 vs 1.71) and PLR (143.34 vs 115.85) except Lymphocytes (2.22 vs 2.25) and Basophils (0.06 vs 0.05). Moreover, when the analysis was done by subgroups of pathological responses, PLR variation was significantly different between pCR and incomplete response (-21.33 vs -76.98) whereas NLR and the rest of the immune populations were no different between subgroups. Conclusions: In our study, NLR is not associated to chemo-immune neo-adjuvant treatment response. Nevertheless, in our cohort a higher decrease on PLR post neo-adjuvant treatment is associated to an incomplete pathological response.

Sex is a strong prognostic factor for overall survival in advanced non small cell lung cancer patients and should be considered for survival rates estimations

e20580

Background: Biological differences between sexes have a major impact on disease and treatment outcome. In this paper, we evaluate the prognostic value of sex in advance NSCLC in the context of real world data. Methods: Clinical data from stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients from Hospital Puerta de Hierro (HPH) was retrieved from Electronical records using BigData Analytics (N = 387). In addition, data from Spanish Lung Cancer Group (GECP) Tumor Registry (N = 1382) and from a published study through cBioPortal (MSK) (N = 601) was analyzed. Survival curves were estimated using Kaplan-Meier analysis. Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to assess the prognostic factor of sex. Results: The median overall survival (OS) time was 12 months for men and 19 months for women (P < 0.001). Similarly, women with stage IV NSCLC harbouring an EGFR sensitizing mutation lived longer than men (median overall survival was 19 months for men and 32 months for women). Gender effect was still significant after adjustment by Cox regression for other potential confounding factors. The adjusted hazard ratios for sex were 0.65 (95% CI, 0.51-0.83), 0.84 (95% CI, 0.66-1.1) and 0.76 (95% CI, 0.65-0.88) for HPH, MSK and GECP data sets respectively. Similarly, in EGFR positive population adjusted hazard ratios for sex were 0.53 (95% CI, 0.25-1.1), 0.59 (95% CI, 0.35-0.98) and 0.60 (95% CI, 0.45-0.86) for HPH, MSK and GECP data sets respectively. Conclusions: Using real world data we confirm previous finding that among stage IV NSCLC patients, women live almost twice longer than men. This effect persisted after adjusting for several factors highlighting the fact that survival rates estimations which are usually performed grouping men and women together might not be accurate enough for prognosis assessments

Clinical utility of plasma-based digital next-generation sequencing in patients with advance-stage lung adenocarcinomas with insufficient tumor samples for tissue genotyping

BACKGROUND

Approximately 30% of tumor biopsies from patients with advanced-stage lung adenocarcinomas yield insufficient tissue for successful molecular subtyping. We have analyzed the clinical utility of next-generation sequencing (NGS) of cell-free circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in patients with inadequate tumor samples for tissue genotyping.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We conducted the study in a multi-institutional prospective cohort of clinically unselected patients with advanced-stage lung adenocarcinomas with insufficient tissue for EGFR, ALK or ROS1 genotyping across 12 Spanish institutions (n = 93). ctDNA NGS was carried out by Guardant Health (Guardant360, Redwood City, CA), using a hybrid-capture-based 73-gene panel. Variants were deemed actionable if they were part of the OncoKB precision oncology knowledge database and classified in four levels of actionability based on their clinical or preclinical evidence for drug response.

RESULTS

Eighty-three out of 93 patients (89%) had detectable levels of ctDNA. Potentially actionable level 1-4 genomic alterations were detected in 53 cases (57%), of which 13 (14%) had level 1-2A alterations (Food and Drug Administration-approved and standard-care biomarkers according to lung cancer guidelines). Frequencies of each genomic alteration in ctDNA were consistent with those observed in unselected pulmonary adenocarcinomas. The majority of the patients (62%), particularly those with actionable alterations (87%), had more than one pathogenic variant in ctDNA. The median turnaround time to genomic results was 13 days. Twelve patients (13%) received genotype-matched therapies based on ctDNA results, deriving the expected clinical benefit. Patients with co-occurring pathogenic alterations had a significantly shorter median overall survival as compared with patients without co-occurring pathogenic alteration (multivariate hazard ratio = 5.35, P = 0.01).

CONCLUSION

Digital NGS of ctDNA in lung cancers with insufficient tumor samples for tissue sequencing detects actionable variants that frequently co-occur with other potentially clinically relevant genomic alterations, allowing timely initiation of genotype-matched therapies.

What do we need to make circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) a routine diagnostic test in lung cancer?

The gold standard test for detection of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation is to genotype somatic DNA extracted from a tissue biopsy or cytology specimen. Yet, in at least 20% of patients this is not possible for various reasons including insufficient availability of neoplastic tissue, lack of fitness of the available tissue for a biopsy or that a biopsy is not technically feasible. Consequently, there has been intense investigation of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA), released into the plasma fraction of blood from cancer cells during apoptosis/necrosis, as a minimally invasive 'liquid biopsy' and surrogate for cancer tissue. In 2014, the license for the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI), gefitinib, was updated to allow the use of plasma to determine EGFR mutation status in patients where tissue was not available. Then in 2016 the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) approved the first companion diagnostic plasma EGFR test. Herein, we review the evidence for ctDNA as a diagnostic in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and describe steps needed to incorporate such 'liquid biopsies' into everyday routine practice.

Selumetinib in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer

The RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK pathway regulates processes involved in the proliferation and survival of cells. KRAS mutations, prevalent in approximately 30% of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), result in constitutive activation of the pathway. Selumetinib (AZD6244, ARRY-142886) is a potent and selective inhibitor of MEK1/2 which has demonstrated significant efficacy in combination with docetaxel in patients with KRAS mutant pretreated advanced NSCLC. Several trials in combination with other chemotherapy and targeted therapy regimens in lung cancer are ongoing. We review the development of selumetinib in patients with NSCLC, summarize the pharmacodynamic, pharmacokinetic and tolerability characteristics, and the available clinical trial data to understand the role of selumetinib in the treatment of NSCLC.

Two biomarker-directed randomized trials in European and Chinese patients with nonsmall-cell lung cancer: the BRCA1-RAP80 Expression Customization (BREC) studies

BACKGROUND

In a Spanish Lung Cancer Group (SLCG) phase II trial, the combination of BRCA1 and receptor-associated protein 80 (RAP80) expression was significantly associated with outcome in Caucasian patients with nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The SLCG therefore undertook an industry-independent collaborative randomized phase III trial comparing nonselected cisplatin-based chemotherapy with therapy customized according to BRCA1/RAP80 expression. An analogous randomized phase II trial was carried out in China under the auspices of the SLCG to evaluate the effect of BRCA1/RAP80 expression in Asian patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Eligibility criteria included stage IIIB-IV NSCLC and sufficient tumor specimen for molecular analysis. Randomization to the control or experimental arm was 1 : 1 in the SLCG trial and 1 : 3 in the Chinese trial. In both trials, patients in the control arm received docetaxel/cisplatin; in the experimental arm, patients with low RAP80 expression received gemcitabine/cisplatin, those with intermediate/high RAP80 expression and low/intermediate BRCA1 expression received docetaxel/cisplatin, and those with intermediate/high RAP80 expression and high BRCA1 expression received docetaxel alone. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS).

RESULTS

Two hundred and seventy-nine patients in the SLCG trial and 124 in the Chinese trial were assessable for PFS. PFS in the control and experimental arms in the SLCG trial was 5.49 and 4.38 months, respectively [log rank P = 0.07; hazard ratio (HR) 1.28; P = 0.03]. In the Chinese trial, PFS was 4.74 and 3.78 months, respectively (log rank P = 0.82; HR 0.95; P = 0.82).

CONCLUSION

Accrual was prematurely closed on the SLCG trial due to the absence of clinical benefit in the experimental over the control arm. However, the BREC studies provide proof of concept that an international, nonindustry, biomarker-directed trial is feasible. Thanks to the groundwork laid by these studies, we expect that ongoing further research on alternative biomarkers to elucidate DNA repair mechanisms will help define novel therapeutic approaches.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

NCT00617656/GECP-BREC and ChiCTR-TRC-12001860/BREC-CHINA.

Determination of neuronal antibodies in suspected and definite Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

IMPORTANCE

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and autoimmune encephalitis with antibodies against neuronal surface antigens (NSA-abs) may present with similar clinical features. Establishing the correct diagnosis has practical implications in the management of care for these patients.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the frequency of NSA-abs in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with suspected CJD and in patients with pathologically confirmed (ie, definite) CJD.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

A mixed prospective (suspected) and retrospective (definite) CJD cohort study was conducted in a reference center for detection of NSA-abs. The population included 346 patients with suspected CJD and 49 patients with definite CJD.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Analysis of NSA-abs in cerebrospinal fluid with brain immunohistochemistry optimized for cell-surface antigens was performed. Positive cases in the suspected CJD group were further studied for antigen specificity using cell-based assays. All definite CJD cases were comprehensively tested for NSA-abs, with cell-based assays used for leucine-rich glioma-inactivated 1 (LGI1), contactin-associated protein-like 2 (CASPR2), N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA), and glycine (GlY) receptors.

RESULTS

Neuronal surface antigens were detected in 6 of 346 patients (1.7%) with rapid neurologic deterioration suggestive of CJD. None of these 6 patients fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for probable or possible CJD. The target antigens included CASPR2, LGI1, NMDAR, aquaporin 4, Tr (DNER [δ/notch-like epidermal growth factor-related receptor]), and an unknown protein. Four of the patients developed rapidly progressive dementia, and the other 2 patients had cerebellar ataxia or seizures that were initially considered to be myoclonus without cognitive decline. The patient with Tr-abs had a positive 14-3-3 test result. Small cell lung carcinoma was diagnosed in the patient with antibodies against an unknown antigen. All patients improved or stabilized after appropriate treatment. None of the 49 patients with definite CJD had NSA-abs.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

A low, but clinically relevant, number of patients with suspected CJD had potentially treatable disorders associated with NSA-abs. In contrast, none of 49 patients with definite CJD had NSA-abs, including NMDAR-abs, GlyR-abs, LGI1-abs, or CASPR2-abs. These findings suggest that cerebrospinal fluid NSA-abs analysis should be included in the diagnostic workup of patients with rapidly progressive central nervous system syndromes, particularly when they do not fulfill the diagnostic criteria of probable or possible CJD.

Postnatal fate of the ultimobranchial remnants in the rat thyroid gland

The ultimobranchial follicles (UBFs) are considered embryonic remnants from the ultimobranchial body (UBB). They are follicular structures that vary in size and appearance depending on the age of the rat. The main objective of this article was to study the progressive changes in shape, size, and frequency of the UBFs in the postnatal rat, from birth to old-age. To accomplish that objective, a systematic morphometric and incidental study of the UBF has been carried out in 110 Wistar rats of different ages and both sexes, divided into three groups: 1) young rats (5-90-day-old); 2) adult rats (6-15-month-old), and 3) old rats (18-24-month-old). The glands were serially sectioned and immunostained for calcitonin at five equidistant levels. According to our results, UBFs were observed in all thyroid glands but a more exhaustive sampling was occasionally necessary in male rats. In young rats, immature UBFs predominantly appeared whereas in adult rats, mature UBFs with cystic appearance and variable luminal content prevailed. We frequently found spontaneous anomalous UBFs in old rats, which we have termed as "ultimobranchial cystadenomata." Additionally, in young rats, UBF areas significantly increased with age and they were larger when compared to that of normal thyroid follicles. Likewise, in adult rats, UBFs were significantly larger than normal thyroid follicles but only in female rats. In general, UBFs in females were also significantly larger than those found in male rats. Finally, all these differences related to UBFs together with a higher incidence in females of UB cystadenomata suggest a sexual dimorphism in regard to the destiny of these embryonic remnants during postnatal thyroid development.

Prognostic analysis according to the expression of hormone receptors in HER2-positive breast cancer

e11075

Background: Overexpression HER 2 + + + is a distinct group within the breast cancer with different treatments in both the adjuvant and advanced setting. However, from the clinical point of view, there are significant differences within this group HER2 + + + referred to response to trastuzumab, metastatic sites and survival intervals. Recently reported data guides to a worse prognosis in the subgroup expressing hormone receptors. We propose to study these differences in HER2 + + + between subgroups hormone receptor positive and negative. Methods: Retrospective observational study of all patients diagnosed with HER2 + + + at the Hospital Virgen de Valme between the years 2005-2011. We studied the disease-free interval (DFS) and global survival (OS). We also studied the frequency of brain metastases and cerebral disease-free interval (BDFS). We explore differences between the hormone receptor-negative groups (group A) and positive (group B). All patients have been treated with at least one line of trastuzumab. Results: N = 73 (40 group A and 33 group B). Median age was 58 and 55 respectively. 33 patients had metastases in the course of the disease. 7 patients initially diagnosed with metastatic stage. There is a difference of 5.0 months in group A favorable DFS (p = 0.28). The OS was 52 months in group A versus 48 months in group B (difference of 4 months p = 0.18). The BDFS was 57 months for group A and 15 months for group B (p = 0.1). The incidence of brain metastases was 27% versus 9%. Conclusions: Our data suggests a better prognosis in terms of DFS, OS and BDFS in hormone receptor-negative group. Likewise, the incidence of brain metastases was three times lower. We need well design clinical trials, monitoring and therapeutic strategies for this subgroup of patients.

Never-smoking women with lung cancer from the Spanish WORLD07 database

1531

Background: Gender differences in lung cancer (LC) have been reported, but with many unresolved issues yet. Tobacco causes the majority of women lung cancer (WLC), although the rate of never-smoking WLC is higher than in men. Several factors may play etiologic roles, and an in-depth understanding is needed. Methods: WORLD07 is a Spanish prospective, multicenter, epidemiologic female-specific LC database sponsored by ICAPEM, a professional association committed with WLC research. In order to improve the knowledge on never-smoking WLC, information has been extracted from WORLD07 database. Results: From October/2007 to October/2011, 1371 newly diagnosed WLC were included in an e-database from 32 centers, 539 (39.3%) never-smoking. Patient (p) characteristics: median age 71.1 years(y); median age of menarche 13y.; motherhood 91.2% (median 2.3 children, median age at first child 26.4y); oral contraceptive use 11.9%; postmenopausal 88.9% (median age of menopause 49y); HRT 5.2%; second-hand smokers 40% (work-exposure 17.1%, home-exposure 88.8%); obesity 16.3%; familiar history of cancer 39.9% (LC 29.8%); previous history of cancer 13% (breast/lung/cervix: 41.4/5.7/2.9%); current LC histology(%): adenocarcinoma/SqCC/LCC/SCLC: 83.4/6.2/5.5/3.9; EGFR mut+ (268 p analyzed): 55.5% (exon 19/20/21(%): 61.1/7.4/36.9); TNM NSCLC I/II/III/IV(%): 14/3.3/19.8/60.3. Treatment: EGFR-TKI in p EGFR mut+, stage IV(1st-/2nd-line)(%): 51.7/15.4; stage IV NSCLC (1st-line/2nd-line): platinum-based CT 42.5%, EGFR-TKI 33.5%, combinations with bevacizumab 2.9% / EGFR-TKI 15.8%. Overall survival: median 27 months(m), 1/2-y(%) 74.8/55.2; stage IV NSCLC: median 20.5m, 1/2-y(%) 67/46; EGFR-mut+ p: median 27.3m, 1/2-y(%) 75/54.3. Conclusions: According to our e-database, WLC showed high rates of never-smokers (39.3%), and of relatives diagnosed with malignant tumours (39.9%, ≅1/3 LC). Adenocarcinoma was the most frequent histology (76.1%), and more than half of the cases analyzed harboured EGFR mutations. Although 40% were second-hand smokers, further investigations are warranted. Survival outcomes remain satisfactory, as expected from this selected subgroup of p. Additional epidemiologic and treatment data will be presented.

Phase II Clinical Trial With Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin (CAELYX(R)/Doxil(R)) and Quality of Life Evaluation (EORTC QLQ-C30) in Adult Patients With Advanced Soft Tissue Sarcomas: A study of the Spanish Group for Research in Sarcomas (GEIS)

BACKGROUND

Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD), a formulation with pharmacokinetic differences with respect to doxorubicin (DXR), might benefit patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma (STS) pretreated with DXR.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients with measurable and progressive STS received PLD at 35 mg/(2) every 3 weeks. Quality of life before and during treatment was assessed with EORTC QLQ-C30.

RESULTS

Twenty-eight patients, 22 DXR-pretreated, were given 140 cycles (median 3, range 1-18). Activity in 27 patients (5 GIST): one complete and one partial remission (both non-GIST and without prior DXR), 12 stabilizations and 13 progressions (response rate 7.4%, 95% CI: 0-17%). Grade 3 toxicity: palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia (19% of patients), stomatitis (4%) or cutaneous (4%). Neutropenia grade>/=3 was detected in 16% of patients. Median relative dose intensity was 95%. Progression-free rate at 3 and 6 months was, respectively, 48 and 22%, median progression-free survival 5.8 months and median overall survival 8.7 months. QLQ-C30 at baseline and at weeks 6-11 in 23 and 13 patients, respectively, showed good reliability and validity. Quality of life did not seem to worsen during therapy.

CONCLUSIONS

PLD did not induce objective remissions in 22 STS patients pretreated with DXR, but progression-free rate figures support the use of this agent in patients who have not progressed under a DXR-containing regimen. The toxicity observed was comparable to that of other PLD schedules.

Multicenter study of weekly trastuzumab, paclitaxel and carboplatin followed by a week of rest every 28 days in patients with HER2+ metastatic breast cancer (MBC)

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Background: The addition of Carboplatin to Trastuzumab and Paclitaxel improves the efficacy in HER2+ metastatic breast cancer (MBC). We have conducted a multicenter Phase II study to investigate the efficacy and safety of this combination given weekly × 3 followed by 1 week of rest. Primary endpoint was objective response rate and secondary endpoints were time to progression, overall survival and to study the toxicity profile of the combination. Methods: Between August 2003 and April 2006, 40 patients with HER2+ MBC (IHC 3+ or FISH+) have been included in the study. Pats received Trastuzumab (loading dose of 4 mg/kg/wk and 2 mg/kg/d following wks), Paclitaxel (80 mg/m2) and Carboplatin (AUC 2) all given weekly × 3 followed by 1 week of rest. Treatment was given until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Results: 40 pats had baseline data available. Median age was 54 yrs (range 29–75). 38 (95%) pats received prior adjuvant or neoadjuvant treatment. 11 (27,5%) pats have received one prior CT line for metastatic disease. 87,5% pats had PS 0 or 1 at study entry. Disease sites were liver 16 (40%), bone 12 (30%), lymph nodes 13 (32,5%) and lung 8 (20%). 19 (47,5%) had = 2 lesions. 97,5% had measurable disease. 36 pats have been evaluated for response: 11 CR (31%, 95% CI: 15–46%), 11 PR (31%, 15- 36%), 9 SD (25%, 9–36%), 5 PD (14%, 2–26%) and 4 NE resulting in an ORR of 61% (95% CI: 45–77%) and tumor growth control rate (RR+SD) of 86% of patients (95% CI: 75–97%). Median TTP was 12.1 mo (95% CI: 8.8–19.9 mo) and median duration of response and OS have not been reached yet. For a time of observation of 35 mo, the OS is 80,6%. 37 patients have received 194 cycles with a median of 5 cycles. Grade 3–4 toxicities/pats were: 3(7.5%) anaemia, 2 (5%) leucopenia, 8(20%) neutropenia, 1 (2,5%) febrile neutropenia, 1 (2,5%) trombopenia, 2(5%) asthenia, 2(5%) diarrhea, 3(7.5%) nausea, 2(5%) vomiting, 3(7.5%) mucositis Conclusions: This interim analysis shows an interesting activity with this regimen. One week of rest may be of better convenience for the patient and hospital but also may improve the tolerability profile and efficacy of the combination. Further results would be available for presentation.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.