Symptomatic androgen deficiency and sexual dysfunctions in male patients receiving alectinib for ALK-positive advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: It is reported that treatment with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) induces hypogonadism both in male patients with ALK-positive cancer and in murine models. METHODS: In this study, three groups, including an experimental group of male patients with ALK-positive, advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer (ANSCLC) who were receiving alectinib (cohort A), a control group of female patients with ALK-positive ANSCLC who were receiving alectinib (cohort B), and a control group of male patients with ALK-negative ANSCLC (cohort C), prospectively underwent a full hormone assessment for androgen deficiency at 8 weeks after the start of treatment and in case of reported suspected symptoms. Patients with major sexual dysfunctions were referred to an endocrinologist. RESULTS: Ninety-five patients were consecutively enrolled onto the study. Among sixty-eight male patients, both median total testosterone levels (2.93 vs. 4.92 ng/ml; p = .0001) and free testosterone levels (0.11 vs. 0.17 pg/ml; p = .0002) were significantly lower in ALK-positive ANSCLC patients in cohort A compared with ALK-negative patients in cohort C; conversely, median FSH (10.32 vs. 17.52 mUI/ml; p = .0059) and LH levels (4.72 vs. 7.49 mUI/ml; p = .0131) were significantly higher in cohort C compared to cohort A. Median inhibin B levels were higher in ALK-positive male patients (74.3 vs. 44.24 pg/ml; p = .0038), but all patients had inhibin B values within the normal range. The percentage of male patients who had positive scores on the Androgen Deficiency in Aging Males (ADAM) questionnaire was 62% in cohort A and 26.8% in cohort C, including eight patients who reported at least one major symptom and were referred to Andrology Unit. No significant differences in the endocrine assessment were reported between cohorts A and B. CONCLUSIONS: Symptoms of androgen deficiency should be tracked in male patients with ALK-positive ANSCLC who are receiving alectinib, and testosterone replacement should be considered, as appropriate.

Leptin-mediated meta-inflammation may provide survival benefit in patients receiving maintenance immunotherapy for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC).

BACKGROUND: Only few ES-SCLC patients experience long-term survival benefit by maintenance IT. Adipokines-induced metabolic meta-inflammation has been related to enhanced responsiveness to IT in obese patients; however, their prognostic role in SCLC is currently controversial. METHODS: Pre-treatment CT scan was used for determining distribution of abdominal adiposity, and blood samples were collected at fasting for measuring glycemia, insulin, ghrelin, leptin and adipokines (TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-6 and MCP-1). Patients with known history of DM type II or metabolic syndrome with HOMA index > 2.5 were considered insulin resistant (IR). RESULTS: In ES-SCLC pts receiving maintenance IT, increased leptin concentration and higher leptin/visceral adipose tissue (VAT) ratio were significantly associated with prolonged PFS. By applying a hierarchical clustering algorithm, we identified a cluster of patients characterized by higher leptin values and lower pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IFN-γ and IL-6) who experienced longer PFS (13.2 vs 8.05 months; HR: 0.42 [0.18-0.93] p = 0.02) and OS (18.04 vs 12.09 mo; HR: 0.53 [0.25-1.29] p = 0.07). CONCLUSIONS: Adipokines can play a crucial role to determining effectiveness of anti-cancer immunotherapy. The role of metabolic immune dysfunctions needs further pre-clinical validation and is currently investigated in the larger prospective cohort.

Unweaving the mitotic spindle: A focus on Aurora kinase inhibitors in lung cancer.

Lung cancer is one of the most aggressive malignancies, classified into two major histological subtypes: non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), that accounts for about 85% of new diagnosis, and small cell lung cancer (SCLC), the other 15%. In the case of NSCLC, comprehensive genome sequencing has allowed the identification of an increasing number of actionable targets, which have become the cornerstone of treatment in the advanced setting. On the other hand, the concept of oncogene-addiction is lacking in SCLC, and the only innovation of the last 30 years has been the introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors in extensive stage disease. Dysregulation of cell cycle is a fundamental step in carcinogenesis, and Aurora kinases (AURKs) are a family of serine/threonine kinases that play a crucial role in the correct advance through the steps of the cycle. Hyperexpression of Aurora kinases is a common protumorigenic pathway in many cancer types, including NSCLC and SCLC; in addition, different mechanisms of resistance to anticancer drugs rely on AURK expression. Hence, small molecule inhibitors of AURKs have been developed in recent years and tested in several malignancies, with different results. The aim of this review is to analyze the current evidences of AURK inhibition in lung cancer, starting from preclinical rationale to finish with clinical trials available up to now.

Randomised phase II trial of gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel with necuparanib or placebo in untreated metastatic pancreas ductal adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Necuparanib, a rationally engineered low-molecular-weight heparin, combined with gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel showed an encouraging safety and oncologic signal in a phase Ib trial. This randomised multicentre phase II trial evaluates the addition of necuparanib or placebo to gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel in untreated metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eligibility included 18 years, histologically or cytologically confirmed metastatic PDAC, measurable disease and Eastern Co-Operative Oncology Group performance status of 0-1. Patients were randomly assigned to necuparanib (5 mg/kg subcutaneous injection once daily) or placebo (subcutaneous injection once daily) and gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel on days 1, 8 and 15 of 28-day cycles. The primary end-point was median overall survival (OS), and secondary end-points included median progression-free survival, response rates and safety. RESULTS: One-hundred ten patients were randomised, 62 to necuparanib arm and 58 to placebo arm. The futility boundary was crossed at a planned interim analysis, and the study was terminated by the Data Safety Monitoring Board. The median OS was 10.71 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 7.95-11.96) for necuparanib arm and 9.99 months (95% CI: 7.85-12.85) for placebo arm (hazard ratio: 1.12, 95% CI: 0.66-1.89, P-value: 0.671). The necuparanib arm had a higher incidence of haematologic toxicity relative to placebo patients (83% and 70%). CONCLUSION: The addition of necuparanib to standard of care treatment for advanced PDAC did not improve OS. Safety was acceptable. No further development of necuparanib is planned although targeting the coagulation cascade pathway remains relevant in PDAC. NCT01621243.

Nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine with or without capecitabine and cisplatin in metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PACT-19): a randomised phase 2 trial.

BACKGROUND: Current treatment for metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma includes combination chemotherapy, such as FOLFIRINOX or nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine. We investigated the activity of a novel four-drug regimen, consisting of cisplatin, nab-paclitaxel, capecitabine, and gemcitabine, compared with nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine, in the PACT-19 trial. METHODS: This single-centre, randomised, open-label, phase 2 trial was done in San Raffaele Hospital in Italy. We enrolled patients aged 18-75 years with pathologically confirmed stage IV pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma who had received no previous chemotherapy and had Karnofsky performance status of at least 70. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) by computer-generated permutated block randomisation (block size of four) stratified by baseline concentration of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 to PAXG (cisplatin 30 mg/m2, nab-paclitaxel 150 mg/m2, and gemcitabine 800 mg/m2 on days 1 and 15 and oral capecitabine 1250 mg/m2 on days 1-28 every 4 weeks), or nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine alone (nab-paclitaxel 125 mg/m2 and gemcitabine 1000 mg/m2 on days 1, 8, and 15 every 4 weeks). The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients who were progression-free at 6 months, analysed in the intention-to-treat population. Data cutoff was on March 31, 2018. The safety population included all patients who received at least one dose of study treatment. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01730222, and is now closed. FINDINGS: Between April 22, 2014, and May 30, 2016, we randomly assigned 83 patients to treatment: 42 patients to PAXG and 41 patients to nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine. At 6 months, 31 (74%, 95% CI 58-86) of 42 patients in the PAXG group were alive and free from disease progression compared with 19 (46%, 31-63) of 41 patients in the nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine group. The most frequent grade 3 adverse events were neutropenia (12 [29%] of 42 in the PAXG group vs 14 [34%] of 41 in the nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine group), anaemia (nine [21%] vs nine [22%]), and fatigue (seven [17%] vs seven [17%]). The most common grade 4 adverse event was neutropenia (five [12%] in the PAXG group vs two [5%] in the nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine group). Two (5%) treatment-related deaths occurred in the nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine group compared with none in the PAXG group. INTERPRETATION: Despite the small sample size, our findings suggest that the PAXG regimen warrants further investigation in a phase 3 trial in patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. FUNDING: Celgene.