PD-L1 expression associates with favorable survival of patients with cancer of unknown primary (CUP) not treated with checkpoint inhibitors.

PURPOSE: Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) is a heterogeneous entity with limited overall survival (OS) in most patients. Prognostic biomarkers are needed, particularly for treatment stratification. We investigated the impact of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression as prognostic marker in immunotherapy-naïve CUP patients. METHODS: Clinical data from patients with confirmed CUP diagnosis according to ESMO guidelines, treated at the West German Cancer Center, Essen from 2015 to 2021, were analyzed. Patients treated with checkpoint inhibitors were excluded. PD-L1 expression was assessed in tumor tissues following established guidelines. RESULTS: Of a cohort of 132 patients, 62 patients, including 30 patients with prognostically unfavorable CUP, met inclusion criteria and were evaluable for PD-L1 expression. Comparing PD-L1 Tumor Proportional Score (TPS) and Combined Positive Score (CPS) revealed almost complete concordance (96.2 %). Patients with PD-L1-positive CUP (TPS ≥1 %; n = 36; 58 %) had superior overall survival (median not reached) as compared to patients with PD-L1-negative CUP (median 14 months, 95 %CI 10.0-18.0; HR 0.3, p < 0.001). The benefit of PD-L1 positivity (n = 12; 40 %) was maintained in the unfavorable CUP subgroup (median 20 months, 95 %CI 3.0-37.0 versus 10 months, 95 %CI 3.1-16.9; HR 0.4, p = 0.032). In PD-L1-positive CUP there was a positive correlation between the level of PD-L1 expression and survival (TPS ≥50 %: median survival not reached, HR 0.1; TPS 1 to 49 %: OS: 77 months, HR 0.4). CONCLUSION: PD-L1 expression associates with favorable survival in checkpoint inhibitor-naïve CUP patients. This implies a role of cancer immunity in CUP biology and may nominate PD-L1 for patient stratification in further studies and clinical care.

Comprehensive biomarker diagnostics of unfavorable cancer of unknown primary to identify patients eligible for precision medical therapies.

PURPOSE: Current guidelines recommend combination chemotherapy for treatment of patients with unfavorable cancer of unknown primary (CUP). Biomarker-guided targeted therapies may offer additional benefit. Data on the feasibility and effectiveness of comprehensive genomic biomarker profiling of CUP in a standard clinical practice setting are limited. METHODS: This analysis included 156 patients with confirmed unfavorable CUP diagnosis according to ESMO guidelines, who were treated at the West German Cancer Center, Essen, Germany, from 2015 to 2021. Clinical parameters and outcome data were retrieved from the electronic hospital information system. Genomic biomarker analyses were performed in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissue whenever possible using the QIAseq Multimodal-Pancancer-Panel. RESULTS: Non-squamous histologies, high tumor burden, and age above 60 years associated with poor survival outcome. Tissue availability restricted comprehensive biomarker analyses to 50 patients (32%), reflecting a major limitation in the real-world setting. In those patients a total of 24 potentially actionable alterations were identified in 17 patients (34% of profiled patients, 11% of total population). The most prevalent biomarkers were high tumor mutational burden and BRCA-mutations. CONCLUSION: In a real-world setting precision medicine for patients with CUP is severely restricted by tissue availability, and a limited spectrum of actionable alterations. Progress for patients may require emphasizing the need for sufficient biopsies, and prospective exploration of blood-based biomarker profiling.

SUVmax Above 20 in 18F-FDG PET/CT at Initial Diagnostic Workup Associates with Favorable Survival in Patients with Cancer of Unknown Primary.

Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) is a heterogeneous entity with a limited prognosis. Novel prognostic markers are needed for patient stratification in prospective clinical trials exploring innovative therapies. Methods: In CUP patients treated at the West German Cancer Center Essen, the prognostic value of 18F-FDG PET/CT at the initial diagnostic workup was analyzed by comparing overall survival (OS) in patients who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT with those who did not. Results: Of 154 patients with a CUP diagnosis, 76 underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT at the initial diagnostic workup. The median overall survival (OS) of the full analysis set was 20.0 mo. Within the PET/CT subgroup, an SUVmax above 20 was associated with significantly superior OS (median OS, not reached vs. 32.0 mo; hazard ratio, 0.261; 95% CI, 0.095-0.713; P = 0.009). Conclusion: Our retrospective work shows that an SUVmax above 20 on 18F-FDG PET/CT at the initial diagnostic workup is a favorable prognostic factor in patients with CUP. This finding deserves further prospective studies for validation.

Clinical Outcome and Treatment Sequences of Patients with Advanced Pancreatic Cancer Treated with Contemporary Chemotherapy Protocols.

INTRODUCTION: Systemic therapy is firmly established in patients with advanced or metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Clinical efficacy is still modest and options are limited. Combination therapy protocols such as FOLFIRINOX and gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel (Gem/NP) define standard-of-care. Patients may receive a sequence of both regimens as first- and second-line palliative treatment. However, there is no guidance regarding a preferred order. METHODS: This is a retrospective analysis of clinical characteristics, treatment trajectories, and outcomes of patients with advanced PDAC treated at the West German Cancer Center Essen from 2014 to 2020 to inform treatment decisions with respect to predictive factors, impact of chemotherapy regimen sequence, and maintenance treatment. RESULTS: We identified 170 patients with available follow-up. Of those, 160 (94.1%) patients received palliative CTX for primary metastatic, locally advanced, or recurrent PDAC. Median progression-free survival (PFS) upon first palliative chemotherapy was 4.1 (3.1-5.9) months. First-line FOLFIRINOX was associated with superior PFS (median 6.3 months) and OS (9.7 months, HR 0.7, p = 0.03) as compared to Gem/NP or other regimens (PFS 3.0, OS 6.9 months). However, OS benefit of first-line FOLFIRINOX was lost in patients who received at least two treatment lines (median OS 12.1 vs. 13.1 months, p = 0.43). A landmark analysis of patients with clinical benefit (defined as CR/PR/SD for at least 20 weeks) upon first-line therapy revealed improved OS (HR 0.53, p = 0.02) for patients receiving continued deescalated maintenance therapy. Second-line regimens resulted in similar PFS (overall log-rank p = 0.92, median PFS upon second-line therapy 2.3 [1.8-2.9], per-regimen median between 1.8 and 3.9 months). A previously established systemic inflammation score proved to be strongly prognostic and allowed identification of a patient subgroup with dismal prognosis (OS 2.9 vs. 11.4 months, HR 5.23, p < 0.001), independent of other prognostic factors and with no relevant interaction with the choice of first-line regimen. CONCLUSION: In this real-world population of PDAC patients treated with contemporary combination chemotherapies, a positive impact of first-line FOLFIRINOX was only observed when no second or further line treatment was administered. Intensity-reduced maintenance therapy may lead to superior survival.

A Phase II Study of Nab-Paclitaxel and Gemcitabine as First-Line Therapy in Patients with Cholangiocarcinoma Ineligible for Cisplatin-Based Chemotherapy (NACHO).

INTRODUCTION: Gemcitabine and cisplatin is the standard first-line systemic treatment in patients with advanced cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). However, a substantial number of patients do not qualify for cisplatin due to comorbidities or poor performance status. The phase II pilot study NACHO evaluated the efficacy of nab-paclitaxel (125 mg/m2) and gemcitabine (1000 mg/m2) given on days 1, 8, and 15 every 4 weeks as first-line therapy in patients with advanced CCA ineligible for cisplatin-based chemotherapy. METHODS: Patients with any comorbidity precluding cisplatin therapy, such as renal impairment, impaired hearing, increased risk or history for thromboembolic events, intolerance of extensive hydration, or significant cardiovascular disease were eligible. Primary endpoint was overall response rate (ORR) per RECIST 1.1. Secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), safety, and patient reported outcome. RESULTS: From December 2016 to July 2017, 10 patients were prospectively enrolled and treated. The ORR with nab-paclitaxel/gemcitabine was 50%, the disease control rate (DCR) was 90%. Median PFS was 5.7 months (95% CI: 5.3-6.1), and median OS was 7.8 months (95% CI: 5.4-10.2). In total, 13 SAEs were documented without any new safety signals. There were 14 grade 3-4 treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) in 10 patients of the ITT population. Exploratory subgroup analyses including known prognostic markers were performed. CONCLUSIONS: The NACHO trial supports safety and efficacy of nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine in patients with advanced CCA ineligible for cisplatin-based therapy and should be further evaluated in a larger prospective trial.

Immune-Checkpoint-Inhibitor Therapy-Principles and Relevance of Biomarkers for Pathologists and Oncologists.

Immune-checkpoint-inhibitor (ICI) therapy has been one of the major advances in the treatment of a variety of advanced or metastatic tumors in recent years. Therefore, ICI-therapy is already approved in first-line therapy for multiple tumors, either as monotherapy or as combination therapy. However, there are relevant differences in approval among different tumor entities, especially with respect to PD-L1 testing. Different response to ICI-therapy has been observed in the pivotal trials, so PD-L1 diagnostic testing is used for patient selection. In addition to PD-L1 testing of tumor tissue, liquid biopsy provides a noninvasive way to monitor disease in cancer patients and identify those who would benefit most from ICI-therapy. This overview focuses on the use of ICI-therapy and how it relates to common and potential future biomarkers for patient-directed treatment planning.

[Current treatment options for recurrent/metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC)]. / Aktuelles zur medikamentösen Therapie des rezidivierten/metastasierten Nierenzellkarzinom (mNCC).

Renal cell carcinoma is a common malignant tumour, whose incidence is steadily increasing. Whilst operative techniques have recently improved, including possibilities of renal preservation and minimally invasive surgery, no use has been shown for adjuvant treatment strategies. When local therapies are not suitable in relapsed or metastatic disease, medical drug treatment is indicated. The first immunologic treatment for renal cell carcinoma consisted of cytokines and overall survival amounted to a median of 13 months. Over the last decade, tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI), which inhibit the tumour vasculature, dominated the therapeutic area and raised the clinical discussion about the best sequential pattern. More recently, checkpoint inhibitors (CPI) have set a new standard as therapeutic tools in renal cell cancer. Modern first-line therapies consist of checkpoint inhibitor-based combinations, which have shifted the median overall survival expectation to >40 months. However, tyrosine kinase inhibitors have retained their therapeutic value as combination partners and also as monotherapy in individual cases. One combined immunotherapy and 3 combinations of a checkpoint inhibitor and a TKI are currently approved in Germany.

Biweekly Cetuximab Plus FOLFOX6 as First-Line Therapy in Patients With RAS Wild-Type Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: The CEBIFOX Trial.

BACKGROUND: The multicenter, single-arm, phase II study CEBIFOX evaluated the efficacy of a biweekly cetuximab administration in combination with FOLFOX6 as first-line therapy in KRAS (exon 2) wild-type (wt) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients received FOLFOX6 with cetuximab (500 mg/m2) every second week. Primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR), among others secondary endpoints were safety, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and patient-reported outcome (PRO). The impact on the treatment efficacy was evaluated in explorative subgroup analyses, including extended molecular profiling and primary tumor location. RESULTS: In total, 57 were included in the intention-to-treat (ITT) analyses. New RAS mutations were detected in 14.0% by post hoc next-generation sequencing analysis in 43 patients. The ORR in the all RASwt population was 70.3% with a median PFS and OS of 10.9 (95% confidence interval [CI], 9.0-12.9) and 33.8 (95% CI, 21.1-45.5) months. Grade 3-5 adverse events occurred in 66.7% of the ITT, without significant impact on the PRO. Patients with right-sided primary tumors had a reduced ORR (54.5%), and median PFS and OS (10.1 and 23.8 months). BRAF mutations were detected in 11.3%. These patients had a significantly lower ORR, and median PFS and OS. Patients with RASwt/BRAFwt tumors had a notably high median PFS and OS of 14.3 and 38.9 months. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the efficacy and safety of biweekly cetuximab given in combination with FOLFOX6 in patients with RASwt/BRAFwt mCRC with left-sided primary tumor. CEBIFOX is the first trial reporting the complete dataset, including extended molecular profiling and tumor location of a biweekly administered cetuximab/FOLFOX6 in mCRC. Clinical trial number: NCT01051167.

Mapping Patient Data to Colorectal Cancer Clinical Algorithms for Personalized Guideline-Based Treatment.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer in Germany, and the second and third most commonly diagnosed cancer in women and men, respectively. In this context, evidence-based guidelines positively impact the quality of treatment processes for cancer patients. However, evidence of their impact on real-world patient care remains unclear. To ensure the success of clinical guidelines, a fast and clear provision of knowledge at the point of care is essential. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study are to model machine-readable clinical algorithms for colon carcinoma and rectal carcinoma annotated by Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) based on clinical guidelines and the development of an open-source workflow system for mapping clinical algorithms with patient-specific information to identify patient's position on the treatment algorithm for guideline-based therapy recommendations. METHODS: This study qualitatively assesses the therapy decision of clinical algorithms as part of a clinical pathway. The solution uses rule-based clinical algorithms, which were developed based on the corresponding guidelines. These algorithms are executed on a newly developed open-source workflow system and are visualized at the point of care. The aim of this approach is to create clinical algorithms based on an established business process standard, the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN), which is annotated by UMLS terminologies. The gold standard for the validation process was set by manual extraction of clinical datasets from 86 rectal cancer patients and 89 colon cancer patients. RESULTS: Using this approach, the algorithm achieved a precision value of 87.64% for colon cancer and 84.70% for rectal cancer with recall values of 87.64 and 83.72%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that the automatic positioning of a patient on the decision pathway is possible with tumor stages that have a less complex clinical algorithm with fewer decision points reaching a higher accuracy than complex stages.

[What does the nonradiologist expect from the radiologist?] / Was erwartet der Nichtradiologe vom Radiologen?

BACKGROUND: Positron-emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) and positron-emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) are hybrid medical imaging techniques that are becoming increasingly important in the diagnostic workup of cancer. Correct definition and interpretation of results are key challenges for both radiologists/specialists in nuclear medicine as well as for the treating clinician. Strong interdisciplinary communication is prerequisite to solve the upcoming complexity of retrieved information generated by hybrid imaging. OBJECTIVES: Different indications for hybrid medical imaging and review of current theranostic principles from the perspective of clinicians/clinical oncologists. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The GBA guidelines and recommendations retrieved from the corresponding German S3 guidelines for the use of PET imaging are summarized, followed by a review of innovative clinical trials that promote PET-based therapeutic strategies and radioligand therapies. RESULTS: Next generation PET/CT and PET/MRI imaging are being increasingly used for diagnostic purposes and follow-up staging in malignant tumors. Radioligand therapy may have the potential to be a further cornerstone in personalized antitumor therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Careful implementation of hybrid medical imaging can clearly improve the quality of the diagnosis in cancer patients and even increase the quality of care for cancer patients. Close interdisciplinary collaboration is essential to optimize therapeutic strategies for each patient.

Natural language processing of German clinical colorectal cancer notes for guideline-based treatment evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer in Germany, and the second and third most commonly diagnosed cancer in women and men, respectively. The therapy for this disease is based primarily on the tumor stages, which are usually documented in an unstructured form in medical information systems. In order to re-use this knowledge, the information must be extracted and annotated using the correct terminology. METHODS: In this study, a natural language processing pipeline is developed to identify specific guideline-based patient information and to annotate it with Unified Medical Language System concepts for manual evaluation by a physician. The gold standard for one-time evaluation is determined using the human abstraction of 2513 German clinical notes from electronic health records. RESULTS: Using this approach to process the narrative clinical notes on colorectal cancer for retrospective evaluation of the therapy recommendation, the algorithm achieves a precision value of 96.64% for tumor stage detection and 97.95% for diagnosis recognition with recall values of 94.89% and 99.54%, respectively. The average precision value across all concepts relevant to treatment decisions for patients with known cancer diagnoses (11 concept groups) achieved a precision value of 82.05% with a recall value of 82.45% and an F1-score of 81.81%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The identification of guideline-based information from narrative clinical notes has the potential for implementation as clinical decision support tools.

[Immuno-oncology of head and neck tumors]. / Immunonkologie von Kopf-Hals-Tumoren.

Treatment of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) is nowadays multidisciplinary. Therapeutic concepts include modern surgical and radiation techniques as well as systemic therapies. However, the prognosis of these patients is still poor for all stages. In the recurrent or metastatic situation after definitive therapy, there is an indication for palliative systemic treatment, whereby classical platinum-based chemotherapy and the monoclonal epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) antibody cetuximab are established, and immunotherapy (IO) has recently been proven a potent treatment option. In this review, the results of trials relevant for approval of checkpoint inhibitors in the palliative setting after platinum failure, as well as ongoing trials evaluating their impact as first-line treatment, in combination with definitive or adjuvant radiation, preoperatively in resectable head and neck cancers, or in combination with other IO therapeutics shall be discussed.

MET Expression in Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Effect on Clinical Outcomes of Chemotherapy, Targeted Therapy, and Immunotherapy.

BACKGROUND: The receptor tyrosine kinase MET is implicated in malignant transformation, tumor progression, metastasis, and acquired treatment resistance. We conducted an analysis of the effect of MET expression and MET genomic aberrations on the outcome of patients with advanced or metastatic pulmonary adenocarcinomas prospectively enrolled in an institutional precision oncology program. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Standardized immunohistochemistry (IHC) analyses of MET and markers of pathway activation were available in 384 patients, and next-generation sequencing-based MET hotspot mutation analyses were available from 892 patients. Clinical data were retrieved with a median follow-up from initial diagnosis of 37 months. RESULTS: High MET expression, defined as MET IHC 3+ or MET H-Score in the upper quartile, was observed in 102 of 384 patients (26.6%). MET exon 14 mutations were only detected in 7 of 892 patients (0.78%). High MET expression correlated with activation markers of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) pathways only in cases without Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), v-Raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B (BRAF), anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) and proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase ROS (ROS1) aberrations. There was no association of MET expression with outcome during chemotherapy. High MET expression negatively affected the outcome during EGFR-targeting therapy but was associated with more favorable results with programmed death 1/programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1)-directed therapy, independent of smoking history, PD-L1 expression or KRAS mutation. Two patients with MET exon 14 mutation and high PD-L1 expression failed to respond to pembrolizumab. CONCLUSION: MET expression affects the outcomes of targeted therapies in non-small-cell lung cancer, thus supporting the development of biomarker-informed combination strategies. The interaction of MET expression and MET mutation with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy is novel and merits further investigation.

Phosphorylation of p70 Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinase ß-1 is an Independent Prognostic Parameter in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Deregulation of signal transduction pathways plays a critical role in oncogenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC) and directly affects sensitivity to targeted therapies. Against this background we developed a comprehensive biomarker profiling program including markers of downstream signaling to study their association with clinical outcomes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A prospectively studied cohort of 160 patients with metastatic CRC was included. Standard diagnostic workup included mutational analyses of Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS), neuroblastoma RAS viral oncogene homolog (NRAS), and v-Raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B (BRAF). In addition, markers of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) and mammalian target of rapamycin pathway activation (phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase [ERK], AKT, and p70 ribosomal protein S6 kinase ß-1 [p70S6K]) were studied using standardized immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: There was a significant correlation between markers of ERK and AKT activation in the full cohort. In addition, phosphorylation of p70S6K correlated strongly with ERK and AKT phosphorylation and primary tumor localization in the right colon. Subgroup analyses specified these correlations to patients with all-RAS wild type tumors. In contrast, tumors harboring RAS mutations predominantly exhibited ERK phosphorylation. Interestingly, patients with CRC showing high p70S6K phosphorylation (highest quartile) had a significantly inferior overall survival (hazard ratio [HR], 2.4; P = .002) irrespective of RAS mutational status. This effect remained significant in multivariate analysis (P = .002). A patient subgroup characterized by high p70S6K phosphorylation and right-sided primary tumors had a particularly poor prognosis with a dramatically inferior overall survival (HR, 5.2; P < .001). Patients with right-sided primary tumor and low p70S6K phosphorylation had responses to anti-epidermal growth factor receptor antibody-based therapies and overall survival similar to patients with left-sided primary tumors. CONCLUSION: High phosphorylation of p70S6K is a novel, independent biomarker for poor prognosis, in particular in patients with right-sided primary tumors.

Spatiotemporally restricted arenavirus replication induces immune surveillance and type I interferon-dependent tumour regression.

Immune-mediated effector molecules can limit cancer growth, but lack of sustained immune activation in the tumour microenvironment restricts antitumour immunity. New therapeutic approaches that induce a strong and prolonged immune activation would represent a major immunotherapeutic advance. Here we show that the arenaviruses lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) and the clinically used Junin virus vaccine (Candid#1) preferentially replicate in tumour cells in a variety of murine and human cancer models. Viral replication leads to prolonged local immune activation, rapid regression of localized and metastatic cancers, and long-term disease control. Mechanistically, LCMV induces antitumour immunity, which depends on the recruitment of interferon-producing Ly6C+ monocytes and additionally enhances tumour-specific CD8+ T cells. In comparison with other clinically evaluated oncolytic viruses and to PD-1 blockade, LCMV treatment shows promising antitumoural benefits. In conclusion, therapeutically administered arenavirus replicates in cancer cells and induces tumour regression by enhancing local immune responses.