UV1 telomerase vaccine with ipilimumab and nivolumab as second line treatment for pleural mesothelioma - A phase II randomised trial.

PURPOSE: The NIPU-trial investigates the effect of adding the telomerase vaccine UV1 to treatment with ipilimumab and nivolumab for patients with pleural mesothelioma (PM). METHODS: In this phase 2 open-label trial, patients with PM progressing after first-line chemotherapy were randomised to receive ipilimumab and nivolumab alone (arm B) or combined with UV1 (arm A). The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) as determined by BICR. It was estimated that 69 PFS events were needed to detect a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.60 with 80% power and a one-sided alpha level of 0.10. RESULTS: 118 patients were randomised. The median PFS determined by blinded independent central review (BICR) was 4.2 months (95%CI 2.9-9.8) in arm A and 4.7 months (95%CI 3.9-7.0) in arm B (HR 1.01, 80%CI 0.75-1.36 P = 0.979), after a median follow-up of 12.5 months (95%CI 9.7-15.6). The investigator-determined median PFS was 4.3 months (95%CI 3.0-6.8) in arm A and 2.9 months (95%CI 2.4-5.5) in arm B (HR 0.60, 80%CI 0.45-0.81 P = 0.025). Confirmed objective response rate (ORR) by BICR was 31% in arm A and 16% in arm B (odds ratio 2.44 80%CI 1.35-4.49 P = 0.056). After a median follow-up time of 17.3 months (95%CI 15.8-22.9), the OS was 15.4 months (95%CI 11.1-22.6) in arm A and 11.1 months (95%CI 8.8-18.1) in arm B, (HR 0.73, 80%CI 0.53-1.0, P = 0.197). CONCLUSION: The primary endpoint was not met. Predefined analyses of response rates are in favour of adding the vaccine.

Mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis.

Mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis (MTVT) is a rare tumour and a cause of hydrocele. This case report concerns a 26-year-old male with hydrocele treated with left hydrocelectomy. Histopathology revealed MTVT, and left radical orchiectomy was performed followed by chemotherapy. Fluorescence in situ hybridization, DNA and RNA next-generation sequencing showed no mesothelioma-associated tumour suppressor gene mutations, but deletion of CDKN2A and a rare TFG-ADGRG7 fusion both reported in pleural mesotheliomas, were detected. Clinicians should consider malignancy in case of discrepancy between symptoms and objective findings in scrotal conditions.

Initial treatment and survival in Danish patients diagnosed with non-small-cell lung cancer (2005-2015): SCAN-LEAF study.

Aim: To describe initial treatment patterns and survival of patients diagnosed with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in Denmark, before immune checkpoint inhibitor and later-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor use. Patients & methods: Adults diagnosed with incident NSCLC (2005-2015; follow-up: 2016). Initial treatments and overall survival (OS) are reported. Results: 31,939 NSCLC patients (51.6% stage IV) were included. Increasing use of curative radiotherapy/chemoradiation for stage I, II/IIIA and IIIB NSCLC coincided with improved 2-year OS. Systemic anticancer therapy use increased for patients with stage IV non-squamous NSCLC (53.0-60.6%) but not squamous NSCLC (44.9-47.3%). 1-year OS improved in patients with stage IV non-squamous NSCLC (23-31%) but not squamous NSCLC (22-25%). Conclusion: Trends indicated improved OS as treatments evolved between 2005 and 2015, but the effect was limited to 1-year OS in stage IV disease.

Correlation of MET-Receptor Overexpression with MET Gene Amplification and Patient Outcome in Malignant Mesothelioma.

Thanks to clinically newly introduced inhibitors of the mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) receptor tyrosine-kinase, MET-gene copy number gain/amplification (MET-GCNG/GA) and increased expression of the MET protein are considered very promising therapeutic targets in lung cancer and other malignancies. However, to which extent these MET alterations occur in malignant mesothelioma (MM) remains unclear. Thus, we investigated by well-established immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization methods, the frequency of these alterations in specimens from 155 consecutive MMs of different subtypes obtained from pleural or peritoneal biopsies and pleurectomies. Thirty-three benign reactive mesothelial proliferations (RMPs) were used as controls. MET-protein upregulation was observed in 35% of all MM-cases, though restricted to predominantly epithelioid MMs. We detected low-/intermediate-level MET-GCNG/GA in 22.2% of MET-overexpressing MMs (7.8% of whole MM-cohort) and no MET-GCNG/GA in the other 77.8%, suggesting other upregulating mechanisms. In contrast, 100% of RMPs exhibited no MET-upregulation or MET-GCNG/-GA. Neither MET exon 14 skipping mutations nor MET-fusions were detected as mechanisms of MET overexpression in MM using RNA next-generation sequencing. Finally, in two cohorts of 30 MM patients with or without MET overexpression (MET-positive/-negative) that were matched for several variables and received the same standard chemotherapy, the MET-positive cases showed a significantly lower response rate, but no significant difference in progression-free or overall survival. Our results imply that MET overexpression occurs in a substantial fraction of predominantly epithelioid MMs, but correlates poorly with MET-amplification status, and may impact the likelihood of response to mesothelioma standard chemotherapy. The predictive significance of MET-IHC and -FISH for possible MET-targeted therapy of MM remains to be elucidated.

Epidemiology and Survival Outcomes for Patients With NSCLC in Scandinavia in the Preimmunotherapy Era: A SCAN-LEAF Retrospective Analysis From the I-O Optimise Initiative.

INTRODUCTION: SCAN-LEAF, part of the I-O Optimise initiative, is a retrospective, longitudinal study investigating the epidemiology, clinical care, and outcomes for patients with NSCLC in Scandinavia. We report overall survival (OS) trends for patients diagnosed with NSCLC in Sweden and Denmark between 2005 and 2015. METHODS: Swedish and Danish cohorts were established by linking national registries. Data on all adults diagnosed with incident NSCLC from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2015, were included. For temporal analyses of OS trends, patients were stratified by TNM stage and histology. RESULTS: Between 2005 and 2015, a total of 30,067 and 31,939 patients from Sweden and Denmark, respectively, were diagnosed with NSCLC; the most common histological subtype was nonsquamous cell carcinoma (56.9% and 53.0%) and 48.4% and 51.6% were diagnosed at stage IV. Over the study period, significant improvements in short-term survival (1 y) were observed for patients with nonsquamous cell carcinoma in both countries, regardless of disease stage at diagnosis; however, improvements in longer-term survival (5 y) were limited to patients with stage I and II disease only. Conversely, among patients with squamous cell histology, improvements in short-term survival were only observed for stage I disease in Sweden and stage IIIA disease in Denmark, while significant improvements in longer-term survival were seen only for stage IIIA NSCLC in both countries. CONCLUSIONS: Despite some survival improvements between 2005 and 2015, an unmet need remains for patients with advanced NSCLC, particularly those with squamous cell histology. Future analyses will evaluate the impact of newer treatments on OS in NSCLC.

Intracranial effect of osimertinib in relapsed EGFR-mutated T790M-positive and -negative non-small cell lung cancer patients: results from a phase II study.

INTRODUCTION: Osimertinib is effective for relapsed T790M-positive patients with brain metastases. The high brain permeability suggests that also such patients without T790M could benefit. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of osimertinib on brain metastases in both T790M-positive and -negative patients. METHODS: The TREM-study was an investigator-initiated phase II, single-arm, multi-institutional clinical trial conducted in Northern Europe. Patients with resistance to prior EGFR-TKIs received osimertinib until radiological progression, unacceptable toxicity or death. Baseline brain scans were performed in patients with known or suspected brain metastases and repeated every 8-12 weeks. We assessed intracranial efficacy in patients with baseline brain metastases. RESULTS: Brain metastases were detected in 48/199 patients at baseline. Of these, 63% were T790M-positive, 27% -negative and 10% had unknown T790M-status. The majority (73%) of the patients had received prior whole brain radiotherapy and additionally 8% had received stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). Brain scans were available for review for 42 patients. The intracranial progression free survival was 39.7 versus 3.5 months for T790M + and T790M- patients, respectively (p < 0.001). The overall intracranial disease control rate (iDCR) was 81%, and for T790M + and T790M- patients the DCR was 89% versus 55%, respectively. The estimated risk of CNS progression was 0.8% at 6 months and 6% at 12 months for T790M-positive patients, and 14% and 17% at 6 and 12 months, respectively, for the T790M-negative. CONCLUSION: This subgroup analysis confirms CNS efficacy of osimertinib in patients with the T790M resistance mutation, while other treatment options should be considered for EGFR-TKI relapsed T790M-negative patients with brain metastases.

Nintedanib in combination with pemetrexed and cisplatin for chemotherapy-naive patients with advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma (LUME-Meso): a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial.

BACKGROUND: Nintedanib targets VEGF receptors 1-3, PDGF receptors α and ß, FGF receptors 1-3, and Src and Abl kinases, which are all implicated in malignant pleural mesothelioma pathogenesis. Here, we report the final results of the phase 3 part of the LUME-Meso trial, which aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of pemetrexed plus cisplatin combined with nintedanib or placebo in unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma. METHODS: This double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial was done at 120 academic medical centres and community clinics in 27 countries across the world. Chemotherapy-naive adults (aged ≥18 years) with unresectable epithelioid malignant pleural mesothelioma and ECOG performance status 0-1 were randomly assigned 1:1 via an independently verified random number-generating system to receive up to six 21-day cycles of pemetrexed (500 mg/m2) plus cisplatin (75 mg/m2) on day 1, then nintedanib (200 mg twice daily) or matched placebo on days 2-21. Patients without disease progression after six cycles received nintedanib or placebo maintenance on days 1-21 of each cycle. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (investigator-assessed according to mRECIST) in the intention-to-treat population. Safety was assessed in all patients who received at least one dose of their assigned study drug. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01907100. FINDINGS: Between April 14, 2016, and Jan 5, 2018, 541 patients were screened and 458 were randomly assigned to either the nintedanib group (n=229) or the placebo group (n=229). Median treatment duration was 5·3 months (IQR 2·8-7·3) in the nintedanib group and 5·1 months (2·7-7·8) in the placebo group. After 250 events, progression-free survival was not different between the nintedanib group (median 6·8 months [95% CI 6·1-7·0]) and the placebo group (7·0 months [6·7-7·2]; HR 1·01 [95% CI 0·79-1·30], p=0·91). The most frequently reported grade 3 or worse adverse event in both treatment groups was neutropenia (73 [32%] in the nintedanib group vs 54 [24%] in the placebo group). Serious adverse events were reported in 99 (44%) patients in the nintedanib group and 89 (39%) patients in the placebo group. The only serious adverse event occurring in at least 5% of patients in either group was pulmonary embolism (13 [6%] vs seven [3%]). INTERPRETATION: The primary progression-free survival endpoint of the phase 3 part of LUME-Meso was not met and phase 2 findings were not confirmed. No unexpected safety findings were reported. FUNDING: Boehringer Ingelheim.

18F-FDG PET/CT Findings in Disseminated Genital Herpes in an Immunocompetent Patient With Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase Rearranged Advanced Nonsmall Cell Lung Cancer.

We present the PET/CT findings of extensive disseminated genital herpes simplex virus infection in a 29-year-old woman known with disseminated anaplastic lymphoma kinase-mutated nonsmall lung cancer. PET/CT revealed extensive involvement of the outer and inner genitalia, multiple lymph nodes extending from the porta hepatis to the groins, and involvement of the liver. Disseminated herpes simplex virus infection is well described in neonates and immunocompromised individuals but very rare in immunocompetent adults as was the case with this patient.

Very Early Response Evaluation by PET/MR in Patients with Lung Cancer-Timing and Feasibility.

Purpose: With the increasing number of therapy options available for patients with lung cancer, early response evaluation is needed. We performed this pilot study to assess the feasibility of early, repeated Positron emission tomography-magnetic resonance (PET/MR), the impact of timing and the capability for response prediction in lung tumors during chemotherapy. Methods: Patients with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer referred for chemotherapy were prospectively recruited. Fluorine-18-Fluorodeoxyglucose(18F-FDG)-PET/MR scans were performed prior to, during and after the first or second cycle of chemotherapy. Primary tumors were defined on all scans and size, FDG-uptake and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were measured. Early response was described over time and a Standard Linear Mixed Model was applied to analyze changes over time. Results: 45 FDG-PET/MR scans were performed in 11 patients. Whereas the overall changes measured by ADC did not change significantly, there was an overall significant decrease in FDG-uptake from pre to post treatment scans. There was no difference in the FDG-uptake measured 1 or 3 weeks after therapy, but uptake measured 2 weeks after therapy differed from measurements at week 3. Changes measured in patients scanned during the first treatment cycle appeared more pronounced than during the second cycle. Conclusions: This pilot study indicates that response evaluation shortly after initiation of chemotherapy appears concordant with later evaluation and probably more reliable than evaluation midway between cycles. Responses during or after the first cycle of chemotherapy rather than during subsequent cycles are likely to be more readily measured.

Concomitant driver mutations in advanced EGFR-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer and their impact on erlotinib treatment.

BACKGROUND: Patients with EGFR-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer benefit from EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) like erlotinib. However, the efficacy may be impaired by driver mutations in other genes. METHODS: Five hundred and fourteen consecutive patients with NSCLC of all stages were tested for EGFR-mutations by cobas® EGFR Mutation Test. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) for MET-amplification, immunohistochemistry (IHC) for MET- and ALK-expression, and Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) for concomitant driver mutations were performed on EGFR-mutated tumor samples from erlotinib-treated patients. RESULTS: Thirty-six patients (7%) had EGFR-mutations, including 2 with intrinsic resistance mutation p.T790M together with the p.L858R sensitizing mutation and 1 harboring the p.G719C/S768I double-mutation. Twenty-three patients had either locally advanced or advanced disease and received first-line erlotinib-treatment. Concomitant driver mutations were found in 15/21 (71%) of NGS-analyzed TKI-treated NSCLCs, involving in 67% of cases TP53, in 13% CTNNB1, and in 7% KRAS, MET, SMAD4, PIK3CA, FGFR1, FGFR3, NRAS, DDR2, and ERBB4. No ALK-expression was found, whereas MET-overexpression and MET-amplification were observed in 5 and 4 patients, respectively. Objective responses occurred in 17/23 patients (74%), 4 did not respond (17%), and 2 harboring a SMAD4-mutation (p.R135*(stop)) and a FGFR3-mutation (p.D785fs*31), respectively, displayed mixed response with simultaneously progressing and responding tumors (8.7%). Thus, EGFR-mutated tumors harboring co-mutations were not less likely to respond. CONCLUSION: Co-mutations in other cancer-driver genes (oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes) were frequent in EGFR-mutated NSCLCs and few cases harbored concomitant activating and resistance EGFR-mutations before TKI-treatment. Most co-mutations did not impact the response to first-line erlotinib-treatment, but may represent potential additional therapeutic targets.

Molecular prediction of adjuvant cisplatin efficacy in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)-validation in two independent cohorts.

INTRODUCTION: Effective predictive biomarkers for selection of patients benefiting from adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are needed. Based on a previously validated methodology, molecular profiles of predicted sensitivity in two patient cohorts are presented. METHODS: The profiles are correlations between in vitro sensitivity to cisplatin and vinorelbine and baseline mRNA expression of the 60 cell lines in the National Cancer Institute panel. An applied clinical samples filter focused the profiles to clinically relevant genes. The profiles were tested on 1) snap-frozen tumors from 133 patients with completely resected stage 1B-2 NSCLC randomized to adjuvant cisplatin and vinorelbine (ACV, n = 71) or no adjuvant treatment (OBS, n = 62) and 2) formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumors from 95 patients with completely resected stage 1A-3B NSCLC receiving adjuvant cisplatin and vinorelbine. RESULTS: The combined cisplatin and vinorelbine profiles showed: 1) univariate Hazard Ratio (HR) for sensitive versus resistant of 0.265 (95% CI:0.079-0.889, p = 0.032) in the ACV cohort and a HR of 0.28 in a multivariate model (95% CI:0.08-1.04, p = 0.0573); 2) significant prediction at 3 year survival from surgery in univariate (HR = 0.138 (95% CI:0.035-0.537), p = 0.004) and multivariate analysis (HR = 0.14 (95% CI:0.030-0.6), p = 0.0081). No discrimination was found in the OBS cohort (HR = 1.328, p = 0.60). The cisplatin predictor alone had similar figures with 1) univariate HR of 0.37 (95% CI:0.12-1.15, p = 0.09) in the ACV cohort and 2) univariate HR of 0.14 (95% CI:0.03-0.59, p = 0.0076) to three years. Functional analysis on the cisplatin profile revealed a group of upregulated genes related to RNA splicing as a part of DNA damage repair and apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: Profiles derived from snap-frozen and FFPE NSCLC tissue were prognostic and predictive in the patients that received cisplatin and vinorelbine but not in the cohort that did not receive adjuvant treatment.

Nintedanib Plus Pemetrexed/Cisplatin in Patients With Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: Phase II Results From the Randomized, Placebo-Controlled LUME-Meso Trial.

Purpose LUME-Meso is a phase II/III randomized, double-blind trial designed to assess efficacy and safety of nintedanib plus chemotherapy as first-line treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Phase II results are reported here. Patients and Methods Chemotherapy-naïve patients with unresectable, nonsarcomatoid MPM (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0 to 1), stratified by histology (epithelioid or biphasic), were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to up to six cycles of pemetrexed and cisplatin plus nintedanib (200 mg twice daily) or placebo followed by nintedanib plus placebo monotherapy until progression. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS). Results Eighty-seven patients were randomly assigned. The median number of pemetrexed and cisplatin cycles was six; the median treatment duration for nintedanib was 7.8 months and 5.3 months for placebo. Primary PFS favored nintedanib (hazard ratio [HR], 0.56; 95% CI, 0.34 to 0.91; P = .017), which was confirmed in updated PFS analyses (HR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.33 to 0.87; P = .010). A trend toward improved overall survival also favored nintedanib (HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.46 to 1.29; P = .319). Benefit was evident in epithelioid histology, with a median overall survival gain of 5.4 months (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.40 to 1.21; P = .197; median [nintedanib v placebo], 20.6 months v 15.2 months) and median PFS gain of 4.0 months (HR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.30 to 0.82; P = .006; median [nintedanib v placebo], 9.7 v 5.7 months). Neutropenia was the most frequent grade ≥ 3 adverse event (AE; nintedanib 43.2% v placebo 12.2%); rates of febrile neutropenia were low (4.5% in nintedanib group v 0% in placebo group). AEs leading to discontinuation were reported in 6.8% of those receiving nintedanib versus 17.1% of those in the placebo group. Conclusion Addition of nintedanib to pemetrexed plus cisplatin resulted in PFS improvement. AEs were manageable. The clinical benefit was evident in patients with epithelioid histology. The confirmatory phase III part of the study is ongoing.

Implementation of lung cancer CT screening in the Nordic countries.

INTRODUCTION: We review the current knowledge of CT screening for lung cancer and present an expert-based, joint protocol for the proper implementation of screening in the Nordic countries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Experts representing all the Nordic countries performed literature review and concensus for a joint protocol for lung cancer screening. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Areas of concern and caution are presented and discussed. We suggest to perform CT screening pilot studies in the Nordic countries in order to gain experience and develop specific and safe protocols for the implementation of such a program.

High RRM1 Expression Is Associated with Adverse Outcome in Patients with Cisplatin/Vinorelbine-treated Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma.

BACKGROUND/AIM: A possible predictive impact of ribonucleotide-reductase subunit-1 (RRM1) on vinorelbine efficacy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been previously reported. The present study aimed to further explore this finding in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-one patients with MPM receiving first-line chemotherapy with cisplatin-vinorelbine (CiV group, n=54) or carboplatin-pemetrexed (CaP group, n=17) were included. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor specimens were analyzed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) for RRM1 expression using an H-score. RESULTS: In 66 patients eligible for IHC, the H-score was ≥upper quartile in 21 (RRM1-positive) and

Methylation-associated Silencing of microRNA-126 and its Host Gene EGFL7 in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma.

BACKGROUND/AIM: We recently reported that miR-126 is down-regulated in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) and can be combined into a 4-microRNA-classifier that can accurately diagnose MPM with high sensitivity and specificity. Herein we analyzed the epigenetic regulation of miR-126 and its host gene EGF-like domain, multiple 7 (EGFL7). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Resected formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded MPM tissues from 29 patients, 14 patient-matched non-neoplastic pleura (NNP) specimens, 5 MPM diagnostic biopsies (DB), and 5 samples of pneumothorax-induced benign reactive mesothelial proliferation (PTHX) were analyzed. miR-126 and EGFL7 mRNA were quantified by RT-qPCR. CpG-islands' methylation in the EGFL7 promoter was analyzed using methylation-specific PCR and in the MIR126-containing intron 7 was quantified by pyrosequencing. RESULTS: Relative to NNP, EGFL7 was under-expressed more than 4-fold in MPM (p<0.001). EGFL7 mRNA and miR-126 levels correlated in MPM (p<0.01) and NNP (p<0.001). The EGFL7 promoter region was hypermethylated in 69% of MPM and 80% of DB samples, but not in NNP and PTHX samples. EGFL7 promoter hypermethylation was associated with epithelioid histology (p<0.05) and reduced patient-survival (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: In MPM, DNA-hypermethylation down-regulates miR-126 and its host gene EGFL7, therefore is a poor prognostic factor, and may represent a future therapeutic target for de-methylating strategies re-establishing EGFL7 and miR-126 expression.

Platinum-Vinorelbine Induction Chemotherapy plus Bevacizumab With and Without Pemetrexed Switch Maintenance in Advanced NSCLC.

BACKGROUND: Little information is available until today regarding the effect of platinum-doublet chemotherapy with bevacizumab followed by pemetrexed as a sole maintenance treatment. Original data concerns different induction regimens plus bevacizumab with bevacizumab maintenance to progression in advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two consecutive groups of patients with advanced non-squamous NSCLC received carboplatin, vinorelbine and bevacizumab for four cycles. Group A (2010-2012) did not receive any maintenance therapy, whereas group B (2012-2013) received pemetrexed switch maintenance (500 mg/m(2)) every three weeks until disease progression. RESULTS: The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 4.4 months and 7.3 months (p<0.001) and one-year survival was 42% and 52% for Group A (n=20) and B (n=22) patients, respectively. Disease control rates were 65% and 86% (p=0.104). Deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism occurred in three (15%) and seven (32%) patients in group A and B, respectively. CONCLUSION: The inferior PFS (p<0.001) without maintenance suggests that induction treatment including bevacizumab should not be planned without subsequent maintenance treatment. Whether it is better to use pemetrexed or bevacizumab, or a combination of both, as maintenance therapy is not yet established.