Nivolumab for locally advanced and metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (NIVOSQUACS study)-Phase II data covering impact of concomitant haematological malignancies.

BACKGROUND: Monoclonal antibodies, such as cemiplimab and pembrolizumab, against the programmed death receptor (PD)-1 have become the current standard of care and first-line treatment of advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), proving remarkable clinical benefit and acceptable safety. OBJECTIVES: To assess efficacy and safety of the anti-PD-1 antibody nivolumab in patients with locally advanced and metastatic cSCC. METHODS: Patients received open-label nivolumab 240 mg intravenously every 2 weeks for up to 24 months. Patients with concomitant haematological malignancies (CHMs), either non-progressing or stable under active therapy, were eligible for inclusion. RESULTS: Of 31 patients with a median age of 80 years, 22.6% of patients achieved an investigator assessed complete response, resulting in an objective response rate (ORR) of 61.3% and a disease control rate (DCR) of 64.5%. Progression-free survival (PFS) was 11.1 months, and the median overall survival (OS) was not reached after 24 weeks of therapy. Median follow-up was 23.82 months. Subgroup analysis of the CHM cohort (n = 11; 35%) revealed an ORR of 45.5%, a DCR of 54.5%, a median PFS of 10.9 months, and median OS of 20.7 months. Treatment related adverse events were reported in 58.1% of all patients (19.4% grade 3, the remaining grade 1 or 2). PD-L1 expression and CD-8+ T-cell infiltration did not significantly correlate with clinical response, although a trend towards a shorter PFS of 5.6 months was observed with PD-L1 negativity and low CD8+ intratumoral infiltration. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated robust clinical efficacy of nivolumab in patients with locally advanced and metastatic cSCCs and a tolerability comparable to data of other anti-PD-1 antibodies. Favourable outcomes were obtained despite involving the oldest hitherto reported study cohort for anti-PD-1 antibodies and a significant proportion of CHM patients prone to high risk tumours and an aggressive course otherwise typically excluded from clinical trials.

The spectrum of cutaneous adverse events during encorafenib and binimetinib treatment in B-rapidly accelerated fibrosarcoma-mutated advanced melanoma.

BACKGROUND: B-rapidly accelerated fibrosarcoma (BRAF) inhibitor encorafenib alone and in combination with MEK inhibitor binimetinib improves survival in BRAF-mutated melanoma patients. So far, the range of cutaneous adverse events has been characterized only for established BRAF inhibitors (vemurafenib, dabrafenib) and MEK inhibitors (trametinib, cobimetinib). OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate cutaneous adverse events emerging in melanoma patients treated with encorafenib and binimetinib. METHODS: Patients treated with BRAF and MEK inhibitors in clinical trials at the University Hospital of Zurich were identified. Frequency and features of cutaneous adverse events as well as their management were assessed based on the prospectively collected clinical and histopathological data. The events emerging during encorafenib and/or binimetinib therapy were compared to other BRAF and MEK inhibitors at the institution and in the literature. RESULTS: The most frequent cutaneous adverse events observed in patients treated with encorafenib alone (n = 24) were palmoplantar hyperkeratosis (54%), palmoplantar erythrodysesthesia (58%) and alopecia (46%). Drug-induced papulopustular eruptions prevailed in patients with binimetinib monotherapy (n = 25). The most frequent cutaneous adverse events in patients treated with encorafenib/binimetinib (n = 49) were palmoplantar hyperkeratosis (10%). CONCLUSION: Compared to data published for established BRAFi, encorafenib monotherapy showed less hyperproliferative cutaneous adverse events. In contrast, palmoplantar hyperkeratosis and palmoplantar erythrodysesthesia seem to occur more often. The combination of encorafenib and binimetinib is well tolerated and induces few cutaneous adverse events.

Increased tumour cell PD-L1 expression, macrophage and dendritic cell infiltration characterise the tumour microenvironment of ulcerated primary melanomas.

BACKGROUND: Primary melanoma ulceration is an unfavourable prognostic factor included in current staging systems. Yet, the immunological and molecular alterations responsible for this adverse outcome have not been fully elucidated. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to identify immunological differences between ulcerated and non-ulcerated primary melanomas concerning both innate and adaptive immunity and to correlate these with clinical outcome. METHODS: Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded primary melanomas from 112 patients (pts) were analysed by immunohistochemistry. The expression of various markers identifying tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells was evaluated semi-quantitatively by three independent investigators. Tumour cell expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), transporter of antigen processing 1 and the MxA protein was also analysed. RESULTS: Recurrence occurred in 21/56 pts (37.5%) with ulcerated vs. 14/56 pts (25.0%) with non-ulcerated tumours (P = 0.15). Tumour ulceration was associated with more frequent development of brain metastasis (17.6 vs. 3.6% of pts, P = 0.015). Immunohistochemistry showed an association of ulceration with the presence of intratumoural CD68+ macrophages (P = 0.028) as well as with increased numbers of intratumoural CD11c+ dendritic cells (P = 0.014) and CD163+ macrophages (P = 0.001). PD-L1 positivity (expression in >1% of tumour cells) was more frequent in ulcerated than non-ulcerated tumours [40 (72.7%) vs. 25 (44.6%), P = 0.003]. A positive correlation between intratumoural CD11c+ (Spearman's correlation coefficient ρ: 0.42) and CD163+ (ρ: 0.31) cell count and frequency of tumour cell PD-L1 expression was detected. CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm the adverse clinical outcome associated with primary melanoma ulceration, particularly concerning the risk of recurrence and subsequent development of brain metastases. The observed immunological differences suggest a conceivable role of increased intratumoural macrophage and dendritic cell counts associated with enhanced tumour cell PD-L1 expression potentially contributing to the immunosuppressive, growth-promoting microenvironment of ulcerated primary melanomas.