Neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to radical cystectomy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer with variant histology.

BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy in pure urothelial bladder cancer provides a significant survival benefit. However, to the authors' knowledge, it is unknown whether this benefit persists in histological variants. The objective of the current study was to assess the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on the probability of non-organ-confined disease and overall survival after radical cystectomy (RC) in patients with histological variants. METHODS: Querying the National Cancer Data Base, the authors identified 2018 patients with histological variants who were undergoing RC for bladder cancer between 2003 and 2012. Variants were categorized as micropapillary or sarcomatoid differentiation, squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, neuroendocrine tumors, and other histology. Logistic regression models estimated the odds of non-organ-confined disease at the time of RC for each histological variant, stratified by the receipt of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Cox regression models were used to examine the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on overall mortality in each variant subgroup. RESULTS: Patients with neuroendocrine tumors (odds ratio [OR], 0.16; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.08-0.32 [P<.001]), micropapillary differentiation (OR, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.10-0.95 [P=.041]), sarcomatoid urothelial carcinoma (OR, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.17-0.94 [P=.035]), and adenocarcinoma (OR, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.06-0.91 [P=.035]) were less likely to harbor non-organ-confined disease at the time of RC when treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. An overall survival benefit for neoadjuvant chemotherapy was only found in patients with neuroendocrine tumors (hazard ratio, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.33-0.74 [P=.001]). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with neuroendocrine tumors benefit from neoadjuvant chemotherapy, as evidenced by better overall survival and lower rates of non-organ-confined disease at the time of RC. For tumors with micropapillary differentiation, sarcomatoid differentiation, or adenocarcinoma, neoadjuvant chemotherapy decreased the frequency of non-organ-confined disease at the time of RC. However, this favorable effect did not translate into a statistically significant overall survival benefit for these patients, potentially due to the aggressive tumor biology. Cancer 2017;123:4346-55. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

Differential Expression of PD-L1 in High Grade T1 vs Muscle Invasive Bladder Carcinoma and its Prognostic Implications.

PURPOSE: PD-L1 is expressed on tumor cells and tumor immune cell infiltrates. In metastatic bladder cancer increased tumor immune cell infiltrate PD-L1 positivity correlated with better overall survival. However, to our knowledge in high grade T1 bladder tumors positivity on tumor cells and tumor immune cell infiltrates, and correlation with outcomes or pathological features remain unknown. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tumor samples from 140 patients with clinically annotated, high grade T1 bladder tumors were retrieved. All patients were initially diagnosed with high grade T1 bladder tumors by transurethral resection, subsequently received bacillus Calmette-Guérin and had a median followup of 7.4 years. PD-L1 positivity on initial transurethral resection was evaluated by immunohistochemistry using a mouse monoclonal antiPD-L1 antibody (405.9A11). Tumor cell PD-L1 positivity was defined as staining of 5% of the tumor cell membrane. Tumor immune cell infiltrate PD-L1 positivity was scored based on the extent of infiltrate and the percent of positive cells. The Fisher exact test was used to assess associations of PD-L1 positivity with disease outcomes, carcinoma in situ presence and the difference between high grade T1 bladder tumors and muscle invasive bladder cancer. RESULTS: Among 140 patients with high grade T1 bladder tumors tumor cells and tumor immune cell infiltrate PD-L1 positivity was seen in 6 (4%) and 48 (34.3%), respectively. In a subset of 106 patients with adequate followup PD-L1 positivity did not correlate with disease outcomes on tumor cells (p = 0.3) or on tumor immune cell infiltrates (p = 0.47). PD-L1 positivity also did not correlate with the presence of carcinoma in situ. Tumor cell PD-L1 positivity was significantly less in high grade T1 bladder tumors than in muscle invasive bladder cancer (p <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: PD-L1 is widely expressed on tumor immune cell infiltrates but not on tumor cells in high grade T1 bladder tumors. We did not find a correlation between PD-L1 positivity and outcomes or carcinoma in situ presence. Tumor cell PD-L1 positivity is significantly lower in high grade T1 bladder tumors than in muscle invasive bladder cancer.

Publisher Correction: The long tail of oncogenic drivers in prostate cancer.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

The Clinical Activity of PD-1/PD-L1 Inhibitors in Metastatic Non-Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Programmed death 1 (PD-1) and PD ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors have shown activity in metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Data on the activity of these agents in patients with non-clear cell RCC (nccRCC) or patients with sarcomatoid/rhabdoid differentiation are limited. In this multicenter analysis, we explored the efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in patients with nccRCC or sarcomatoid/rhabdoid differentiation. Baseline and follow-up demographic, clinical, treatment, and radiographic data were collected. The primary endpoint was objective response rate. Secondary endpoints include time-to-treatment failure (TTF), overall survival (OS), and biomarker correlates. Forty-three patients were included: papillary (n = 14; 33%), chromophobe (n = 10; 23%), unclassified (n = 9; 21%), translocation (n = 3; 7%), and ccRCC with sarcomatoid differentiation (n = 7, 16%). Of those 43 patients, 11 patients (26%) had sarcomatoid and/or rhabdoid differentiation (n = 7 with ccRCC; n = 4 nccRCC). Overall, 8 patients (19%) objectively responded, including 4 patients (13%) who received PD-1/PD-L1 monotherapy. Responses were observed in patients with ccRCC with sarcomatoid and/or rhabdoid differentiation (n = 3/7, 43%), translocation RCC (n = 1/3, 33%), and papillary RCC (n = 4/14, 29%). The median TTF was 4.0 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 2.8-5.5] and median OS was 12.9 months (95% CI, 7.4-not reached). No specific genomic alteration was associated with clinical benefit. Modest antitumor activity for PD-1/PD-L1-blocking agents was observed in some patients with nccRCC. Further prospective studies are warranted to investigate the efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 blockade in this heterogeneous patient population. Cancer Immunol Res; 6(7); 758-65. ©2018 AACR.

The long tail of oncogenic drivers in prostate cancer.

Comprehensive genomic characterization of prostate cancer has identified recurrent alterations in genes involved in androgen signaling, DNA repair, and PI3K signaling, among others. However, larger and uniform genomic analysis may identify additional recurrently mutated genes at lower frequencies. Here we aggregate and uniformly analyze exome sequencing data from 1,013 prostate cancers. We identify and validate a new class of E26 transformation-specific (ETS)-fusion-negative tumors defined by mutations in epigenetic regulators, as well as alterations in pathways not previously implicated in prostate cancer, such as the spliceosome pathway. We find that the incidence of significantly mutated genes (SMGs) follows a long-tail distribution, with many genes mutated in less than 3% of cases. We identify a total of 97 SMGs, including 70 not previously implicated in prostate cancer, such as the ubiquitin ligase CUL3 and the transcription factor SPEN. Finally, comparing primary and metastatic prostate cancer identifies a set of genomic markers that may inform risk stratification.

Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinomas: Prognostic Factors and Outcomes in Patients With Non-Lymph Node Distant Metastasis.

BACKGROUND: Upper tract urothelial carcinomas (UTUCs) are increasingly recognized as separate malignancies. Additional insight into clinical outcomes and key prognostic factors are needed. OBJECTIVES: To detail outcomes of patients with UTUCs recurring after radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) and to determine a risk score that predicts outcomes of patients with non-lymph node distant metastasis. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Chart review of all patients who had an extraurothelial recurrence after RNU for UTUC at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute between 2009 and 2014. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Median overall survival defined as time from chemotherapy for distant relapse to death. Prognostic relevance of performance status, hemoglobin, and receipt of cisplatin were assessed by Cox regression model. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: A total of 102 patients were identified, 57 of whom had non-lymph node distant metastases at relapse; 45 received chemotherapy. Median follow-up was 29.8 months; median overall survival was 14.7 months. Objective response rate to any chemotherapy in the first-line setting was only 22%. Hemoglobin > 11 g/dL and receipt of cisplatin was associated with numerically longer median survival but did not reach statistical significance in univariate and multivariate analysis. Prognostic risk score scale including hemoglobin < 11 g/dL and receipt of cisplatin was inversely associated with survival, with scores of 0, 1, and 2 leading to median survival of 19.0, 14.9, and 7.2 months (P = .38), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Advanced UTUC portends a poor prognosis, and most patients cannot receive cisplatin-based chemotherapy. A risk score that includes anemia and receipt of cisplatin helps stratify patients with distant metastasis for inclusion into eventual clinical trials. More studies are needed to validate these findings. PATIENT SUMMARY: Metastatic UTUC is an aggressive disease, where anemia and ineligibility to receive cisplatin are adverse features associated with shorter survival.

Genomic Resistance Patterns to Second-Generation Androgen Blockade in Paired Tumor Biopsies of Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer.

PURPOSE: Patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) receive second-generation androgen-deprivation therapy, but frequently experience relapse or do not respond. Understanding the genetic mechanisms of resistance will help to identify strategies and biomarkers that are essential for the next line of therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analyzed whole exomes of patient-matched pre- and post-treatment tumors from patients with CRPC. These patients had received the secondary androgen-deprivation therapy agent, abiraterone, which suppresses androgens to below castration levels, or enzalutamide, which competitively inhibits the key androgen signaling effector, androgen receptor. RESULTS: We observed that abiraterone-resistant tumors harbored alterations in AR and MYC, whereas enzalutamide-resistant tumors gained alterations in cell-cycle pathway genes, such as mutation in cyclin-dependent kinase N2A (CDKN2A) or amplification of CDK6. Experimentally, overexpressing cell-cycle kinases promoted enzalutamide resistance in androgen-sensitive LnCAP cells that was mitigated via CDK4/6 blockade-palbociclib and ribociclib. CONCLUSION: CDK4/6-mediated resistance observed in preclinical experiments suggests that CDK4/6 amplifications may sufficiently promote enzalutamide resistance in CRPC, and that these patients may respond to palbociclib or ribociclib. The overall observations suggest that, in genomically selected advanced CRPC, clinical strategies against abiraterone- or enzalutamide-resistant tumors may require treatment strategies that are tailored to the resistance mechanisms that are specific to those patient subpopulations.