Real-world experience of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with solid tumours in the Top End of the Northern Territory, Australia from 2016 to 2021: a retrospective observational cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Use of immune checkpoint inhibitors is growing, but clinical trial data may not apply to Indigenous patients or patients living in remote areas. AIMS: To provide real-world incidence of immune-related adverse events (irAE) in the Top End of the Northern Territory and compare incidence between demographic subgroups. METHODS: This retrospective, observational, cohort study collected data from electronic records of patients living in the Top End with solid organ cancer treated with immunotherapy between January 2016 and December 2021. The primary outcome was cumulative incidence of any-grade and severe irAE. Secondary outcomes were overall survival, treatment duration and reason for treatment discontinuation. RESULTS: Two hundred and twenty-six patients received immunotherapy. Forty-eight (21%) lived in a remote or very remote area, and 36 (16%) were Indigenous. Cumulative incidence of any-grade irAE was 54% (122/226 patients); incidence of severe irAE was 26% (59/226 patients). Rates were similar between Indigenous and non-Indigenous patients of any-grade (42% vs 56%, P = 0.11) and severe (11% vs 18%, P = 0.29) irAE. However, Indigenous patients had shorter treatment duration, more frequently discontinued treatment due to patient preference and appeared to have shorter median overall survival than non-Indigenous patients (17.1 vs 30.4 months; hazard ratio (HR) = 1.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.92-2.66). There was no difference in mortality between remote and urban patients (median overall survival 27.5 vs 30.2 months; HR = 1.1, 95% CI = 0.7-1.7). CONCLUSIONS: Rates of irAE in our cohort are comparable to those in the published literature. There was no significant difference in any-grade or severe irAE incidence observed between Indigenous and non-Indigenous patients.

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma hidden within cancer of unknown primary.

BACKGROUND: Many patients referred with a provisional diagnosis of cancer of unknown primary (pCUP) present with presumed metastatic disease to the liver. Due to the lack of definitive histological markers, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) may be overlooked. This study assessed the frequency of iCCA within a pCUP cohort. METHODS: A single UK cancer-center study of sequential patients referred with pCUP from January 2017 to April 2020. Baseline diagnostic imaging was reviewed independently by a radiologist and oncologist; those with radiological features of iCCA (dominant liver lesion, capsular retraction) were identified. RESULTS: Of 228 patients referred with pCUP, 72 (32%) had malignancy involving the liver. 24/72 patients had radiological features consistent with iCCA; they were predominantly female (75%) with an average age of 63 years and 63% had an ECOG PS ≤ 2. The median overall survival (OS) of the iCCA group and the remaining liver-involved CUP group were similar (OS 4.1 vs 4.4 months, p-value = 0.805). Patients, where a primary diagnosis was subsequently determined, had better OS (10.2 months, p-values: iCCA = 0.0279: cCUP = 0.0230). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, 34% of patients with liver-involved pCUP, fulfilled the radiological criteria for an iCCA diagnosis. Consideration of an iCCA diagnosis in patients with CUP could improve timely diagnosis, molecular characterisation and treatment.

Effect of oxaliplatin plus 5-fluorouracil or capecitabine on circulating and imaging biomarkers in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer: a prospective biomarker study.

BACKGROUND: Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer are treated with cytotoxic chemotherapy supplemented by molecularly targeted therapies. There is a critical need to define biomarkers that can optimise the use of these therapies to maximise efficacy and avoid unnecessary toxicity. However, it is important to first define the changes in potential biomarkers following cytotoxic chemotherapy alone. This study reports the impact of standard cytotoxic chemotherapy across a range of circulating and imaging biomarkers. METHODS: A single-centre, prospective, biomarker-driven study. Eligible patients included those diagnosed with colorectal cancer with liver metastases that were planned to receive first line oxaliplatin plus 5-fluorouracil or capecitabine. Patients underwent paired blood sampling and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and biomarkers were associated with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: Twenty patients were recruited to the study. Data showed that chemotherapy significantly reduced the number of circulating tumour cells as well as the circulating concentrations of Ang1, Ang2, VEGF-A, VEGF-C and VEGF-D from pre-treatment to cycle 2 day 2. The changes in circulating concentrations were not associated with PFS or OS. On average, the MRI perfusion/permeability parameter, Ktrans, increased in response to cytotoxic chemotherapy from pre-treatment to cycle 2 day 2 and this increase was associated with worse OS (HR 1.099, 95%CI 1.01-1.20, p = 0.025). CONCLUSIONS: In patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer with liver metastases, treatment with standard chemotherapy changes cell- and protein-based biomarkers, although these changes are not associated with survival outcomes. In contrast, the imaging biomarker, Ktrans, offers promise to direct molecularly targeted therapies such as anti-angiogenic agents.

Capecitabine and Temozolomide in Patients with Advanced Pulmonary Carcinoid Tumours.

BACKGROUND: Temozolomide and capecitabine (CAPTEM) chemotherapy is known to be active in patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours. OBJECTIVE: This retrospective analysis set out to describe the efficacy and toxicity of CAPTEM in patients with advanced pulmonary carcinoids (PCs). METHODS: Patients were included with advanced PC who had been treated with a maximum of 6 cycles of oral temozolomide 200 mg/m2 on days 10-14 and capecitabine 750 mg/m2 b.i.d. on days 1-14, repeated every 28 days, -followed by monthly intramuscular injection of octreotide 30 mg long-acting release as maintenance treatment. RESULTS: Of the 33 patients, all with well-differentiated PC, 61% had atypical carcinoid, 36% had Ki-67 index >10% and 42% had ≥3 organs involved by metastasis. CAPTEM was administered as first-line treatment in 42% of patients, and 17% had received prior somatostatin analogue treatment. Six patients (18%) achieved a partial response, 19 (58%) had stable disease and 8 (24%) developed progressive disease. After a median time of follow-up of 34.8 months, median progression-free survival (PFS) was 9.0 months and median overall survival 30.4 months. Median duration of disease response was 21.7 months and median duration of disease control 9.7 months. Patients with multi-organ metastasis had shorter PFS, but only when treated as second or third line with CAPTEM (p = 0.023). CONCLUSIONS: CAPTEM induced a modest response and PFS rate, comparable to other studies with temozolomide in patients with advanced PC. The efficacy of CAPTEM should be compared to that of monotherapy with temozolomide in a prospective clinical trial.

Circulating biomarkers during treatment in patients with advanced biliary tract cancer receiving cediranib in the UK ABC-03 trial.

BACKGROUND: Advanced biliary tract cancer (ABC) has a poor prognosis. Cediranib, in addition to cisplatin/gemcitabine [CisGem], improved the response rate, but did not improve the progression-free survival (PFS) in the ABC-03 study. Minimally invasive biomarkers predictive of cediranib benefit may improve patient outcomes. METHODS: Changes in 15 circulating plasma angiogenesis or inflammatory-related proteins and cytokeratin-18 (CK18), measured at baseline and during therapy until disease progression, were correlated with overall survival (OS) using time-varying covariate Cox models (TVC). RESULTS: Samples were available from n = 117/124 (94%) patients. Circulating Ang1&2, FGFb, PDGFbb, VEGFC, VEGFR1 and CK18 decreased as a result of the therapy, independent of treatment with cediranib. Circulating VEGFR2 and Tie2 were preferentially reduced by cediranib. Patients with increasing levels of VEGFA at any time had a worse PFS and OS; this detrimental effect was attenuated in patients receiving cediranib. TVC analysis revealed CK18 and VEGFR2 increases correlated with poorer OS in all patients (P < 0.001 and P = 0.02, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Rising circulating VEGFA levels in patients with ABC, treated with CisGem, are associated with worse PFS and OS, not seen in patients receiving cediranib. Rising levels of markers of tumour burden (CK18) and potential resistance (VEGFR2) are associated with worse outcomes and warrant validation.

Targeting the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor in Addition to Chemotherapy in Patients with Advanced Pancreatic Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Overexpression of epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) occurs in >90% of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs) and is associated with a poorer prognosis. A systematic review of electronic databases identified studies exploring the addition of EGFR-targeted treatment to chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced (LA)/metastatic PDAC. Efficacy, safety and tolerability of EGFR-targeted therapy were explored using meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Meta-regression was utilised to explore factors associated with improved prognosis (all studies) and benefit from EGFR-targeted therapy (RCTs). Twenty-eight studies (7 RCTs and 21 cohort studies) comprising 3718 patients were included. The addition of EGFR-targeted treatment to chemotherapy did not improve progression-free (pooled hazard ratio (HR): 0.90, p = 0.15) or overall survival (HR: 0.94, p = 0.18). EGFR-targeted therapy was associated with increased treatment-related deaths (pooled odds ratio (OR): 5.18, p = 0.007), and grade (G)3/4 rash (OR: 4.82, p = 0.03). There was a borderline significant increase in G3/4 diarrhoea (OR: 1.75, p = 0.06), but no effect on treatment discontinuation without progression (OR: 0.87, p = 0.25). Neither G3/4 rash nor diarrhoea were associated with increased survival benefit from EGFR-targeted therapy. The effect of EGFR-targeted therapy on overall survival (OS) appeared greater in studies with a greater proportion of LA rather than metastatic patients (R = -0.69, p < 0.001). Further studies in unselected patients with advanced PDAC are not warranted. The benefit from EGFR inhibitors may be limited to patient subgroups not yet clearly defined.

Systematic analysis of circulating soluble angiogenesis-associated proteins in ICON7 identifies Tie2 as a biomarker of vascular progression on bevacizumab.

BACKGROUND: There is a critical need for predictive/resistance biomarkers for VEGF inhibitors to optimise their use. METHODS: Blood samples were collected during and following treatment and, where appropriate, upon progression from ovarian cancer patients in ICON7, a randomised phase III trial of carboplatin and paclitaxel with or without bevacizumab. Plasma concentrations of 15 circulating angio-biomarkers were measured using a validated multiplex ELISA, analysed through a novel network analysis and their relevance to the PFS then determined. RESULTS: Samples (n=650) were analysed from 92 patients. Bevacizumab induced correlative relationships between Ang1 and Tie2 plasma concentrations, which reduced after initiation of treatment and remained decreased until progressive disease occurred. A 50% increase from the nadir in the concentration of circulating Tie2 (or the product of circulating Ang1 and Tie2) predicted tumour progression. Combining Tie2 with GCIG-defined Ca125 data yielded a significant improvement in the prediction of progressive disease in patients receiving bevacizumab in comparison with Ca125 alone (74.1% vs 47.3%, P<1 × 10(-9)). CONCLUSIONS: Tie2 is a vascular progression marker for bevacizumab-treated ovarian cancer patients. Tie2 in combination with Ca125 provides superior information to clinicians on progressive disease in patients with VEGFi-treated ovarian cancers.

Cediranib or placebo in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine chemotherapy for patients with advanced biliary tract cancer (ABC-03): a randomised phase 2 trial.

BACKGROUND: Cisplatin and gemcitabine is the standard first-line chemotherapy regimen for patients with advanced biliary tract cancer; expression of VEGF and its receptors is associated with adverse outcomes. We aimed to assess the effect of the addition of cediranib (an oral inhibitor of VEGF receptor 1, 2, and 3) to cisplatin and gemcitabine on progression-free survival. METHODS: In this multicentre, placebo-controlled, randomised phase 2 study, we recruited patients aged 18 years or older with histologically confirmed or cytologically confirmed advanced biliary tract cancer from hepatobiliary oncology referral centres in the UK. Patients were eligible if they had an ECOG performance status of 0-1 and an estimated life expectancy of longer than 3 months. Patients were given first-line cisplatin and gemcitabine chemotherapy (25 mg/m(2) cisplatin and 1000 mg/m(2) gemcitabine [on days 1 and 8 every 21 days, for up to eight cycles]) with either 20 mg oral cediranib or placebo once a day until disease progression. We randomly assigned patients (1:1) with a minimisation algorithm, incorporating the stratification factors: extent of disease, primary disease site, previous treatment, ECOG performance status, and centre. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival in the intention-to-treat population. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00939848, and was closed on Sept 30, 2014; results of the final analysis for the primary endpoint are presented. FINDINGS: Between April 5, 2011, and Sept 28, 2012, we enrolled 124 patients (62 in each group). With a median follow-up of 12·2 months (IQR 7·3-18·5), median progression-free survival was 8·0 months (95% CI 6·5-9·3) in the cediranib group and 7·4 months (5·7-8·5) in the placebo group (HR 0·93, 80% CI 0·74-1·19, 95% CI 0·65-1·35; p=0·72). Patients who received cediranib had more grade 3-4 toxic effects than did patients who received placebo: hypertension (23 [37%] vs 13 [21%]; p=0·05), diarrhoea (eight [13%] vs two [3%]; p=0·05); platelet count decreased (ten [16%] vs four [6%]; p=0·09), white blood cell decreased (15 [24%] vs seven [11%]; p=0·06) and fatigue (16 [24%] vs seven [11%]; p=0·04). INTERPRETATION: Cediranib did not improve the progression-free survival of patients with advanced biliary tract cancer in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine, which remains the standard of care. Although patients in the cediranib group had more adverse events, we recorded no unexpected toxic effects. The role of VEGF inhibition in addition to chemotherapy for patients with advanced biliary tract cancer remains investigational. FUNDING: Cancer Research UK and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals.

Systemic Therapy for Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer-Current Landscape and Future Directions.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a significant cause of cancer-associated mortality, with a rising global incidence. A paucity of strong predictive risk factors mean screening programmes are difficult to implement. Historically, a lack of identifiable and actionable driver mutations, coupled with a relatively immunosuppressed tumour microenvironment, has led to a reliance on cytotoxic chemotherapy. The NAPOLI-3 trial has reported data supporting consideration of NALIRIFOX as a new first-line standard of care. Kirsten Rat Sarcoma Virus (KRAS) G12D mutations are present in >90% of all PDAC's; exciting breakthroughs in small molecule inhibitors targeting KRAS G12D may open new modalities of treatment, and therapies targeting multiple KRAS mutations are also in early clinical trials. Although immunotherapy strategies to date have been disappointing, combination with chemotherapy and/or small molecule inhibitors hold promise and warrant further exploration.

Prospective Observational Study of Prevalence, Assessment and Treatment of Pancreatic Exocrine Insufficiency in Patients with Inoperable Pancreatic Malignancy (PANcreatic Cancer Dietary Assessment-PanDA).

INTRODUCTION: Pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (PEI) in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer (aPC) is well documented, but there is no consensus regarding optimal screening. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Patients diagnosed with aPC referred for palliative therapy were prospectively recruited. A full dietetic assessment (including Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC), handgrip and stair-climb test), nutritional blood panel, faecal elastase (FE-1) and 13C-mixed triglyceride breath tests were performed. PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: prevalence of dietitian-assessed PEI (demographic cohort (De-ch)); design (diagnostic cohort (Di-ch)) and validation (follow-up cohort (Fol-ch)) of a PEI screening tool. Logistic and Cox regressions were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Between 1 July 2018 and 30 October 2020, 112 patients were recruited (50 (De-ch), 25 (Di-ch) and 37 (Fol-ch)). Prevalence of PEI (De-ch) was 64.0% (flatus (84.0%), weight loss (84.0%), abdominal discomfort (50.0%) and steatorrhea (48.0%)). The derived PEI screening panel (Di-ch) included FE-1 (normal/missing (0 points); low (1 point)) and MUAC (normal/missing (>percentile 25) (0 points); low (2 points)) and identified patients at high-risk (2-3 total points) of PEI [vs. low-medium risk (0-1 total points)]. When patients from the De-ch and Di-ch were analysed together, those classified by the screening panel as "high-risk" had shorter overall survival (multivariable Hazard Ratio (mHR) 1.86 (95% CI 1.03-3.36); p-value 0.040). The screening panel was tested in the Fol-ch; 78.4% patients classified as "high-risk", of whom 89.6% had dietitian-confirmed PEI. The panel was feasible for use in clinical practice (64.8% patients completed all assessments), with high acceptability (87.5% would repeat it). Most patients (91.3%) recommended dietetic input for all patients with aPC. CONCLUSIONS: PEI is present in most patients with aPC; early dietetic input provides a holistic nutritional overview, including, but not limited to, PEI. This proposed screening panel may help to prioritise those at higher risk of PEI, requiring urgent dietitian input. Its prognostic role needs further validation.

HPB cancers in older patients | inclusion of older/senior patients in clinical trials.

Liver, biliary tract and pancreatic cancers are increasingly diseases of older people and the global population is aging. 'Older/senior' patients are a heterogeneous group who vary widely in their general health, physical reserve and degree of dependence on others. Cancer is not the only disease that becomes more prevalent in old age, which means older/senior patients may also have comorbidities and lower resilience. The use of chemotherapy decreases as age increases. Chemotherapy treatment regimens may require modification to reduce toxicity, which is more common in older/senior patients. The effect this has on treatment efficacy is not fully understood. Older/senior patients are not represented well in clinical trials which makes estimating benefit for these patients challenging. Medicine demands that new drugs are rigorously tested and evaluated before use, yet clinicians are treating older/senior patients on the basis of extrapolating from randomised controlled trials which actively exclude comorbidities and older patients. This review considers the current situation and the value of retrospective analyses and real-world evidence to plug the older/senior patient 'data gaps'. Moving forwards it is essential to broaden clinical trial inclusion criteria to include more older/senior people. The use of appropriate geriatric assessments may help selection of older patients who are fit enough for more rigorous treatment regimens, alongside effective methods of predicting and managing treatment toxicities. The ability to see past the numerical age of a person and offer appropriate therapeutic choices to individual patients in clinic, is an important skill for younger (and not so young) Medical Oncologists to learn.

Prospective observational study of prevalence, assessment and treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency in patients with inoperable pancreatic malignancy (PANcreatic cancer Dietary Assessment (PanDA): a study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (PEI) in patients with pancreatic malignancy is well documented in the literature and is known to negatively impact on overall survival and quality of life. A lack of consensus opinion remains on the optimal diagnostic test that can be adapted for use in a clinical setting for this cohort of patients. This study aims to better understand the prevalence of PEI and the most suitable diagnostic techniques in patients with advanced pancreatic malignancy. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This prospective observational study will be carried out in patients with pancreatic malignancy (including adenocarcinoma and neuroendocrine neoplasms). Consecutive patients with inoperable pancreatic malignancy referred for consideration of first-line chemotherapy will be considered for eligibility. The study comprises three cohorts: demographic cohort (primary objective to prospectively investigate the prevalence of PEI in patients with inoperable pancreatic malignancy); sample size 50, diagnostic cohort (primary objective to design and evaluate an optimal diagnostic panel to detect PEI in patients with inoperable pancreatic malignancy); sample size 25 and follow-up cohort (primary objective to prospectively evaluate the proposed PEI diagnostic panel in a cohort of patients with inoperable pancreatic malignancy); sample size 50. The following is a summary of the protocol and methodology. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Full ethical approval has been granted by the North West Greater Manchester East Research and Ethics Committee, reference: 17/NW/0597. This manuscript reflects the latest protocol V.8 approved 21 April 2020. Findings will be disseminated by presentation at national/international conferences, publication in peer-review journals and distribution via patient advocate groups. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: 194255, NCT0361643.

Systemic Treatment Selection for Patients with Advanced Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumours (PanNETs).

Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (PanNETs) are rare diseases and a good example of how research is not only feasible, but also of crucial importance in the scenario of rare tumours. Many clinical trials have been performed over the past two decades expanding therapeutic options for patients with advanced PanNETs. Adequate management relies on optimal selection of treatment, which may be challenging for clinicians due to the fact that multiple options of therapy are currently available. A number of therapies already exist, which are supported by data from phase III studies, including somatostatin analogues and targeted therapies (sunitinib and everolimus). In addition, chemotherapy remains an option, with temozolomide and capecitabine being one of the most popular doublets to use. Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy was successfully implemented in patients with well-differentiated gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours, but with certain questions waiting to be solved for the management of PanNETs. Finally, the role of immunotherapy is still poorly understood. In this review, the data supporting current systemic treatment options for locally advanced or metastatic PanNETs are summarized. Strategies for treatment selection in patients with PanNETs based on patient, disease, or drug characteristics is provided, as well as a summary of current evidence on prognostic and predictive biomarkers. Future perspectives are discussed, focusing on current and forthcoming challenges and unmet needs of patients with these rare tumours.

Early recognition of anorexia through patient-generated assessment predicts survival in patients with oesophagogastric cancer.

Cancer cachexia is common in patients with oesophagogastric cancer (OG) and is linked to overall survival (OS). One of the key components of cachexia is anorexia; it is not known whether anorexia impacts on OS and there is no method of routine screening in current practice. Diagnosis relies on patients describing the symptoms, clinicians diagnosing anorexia and acting upon it. Patients with oesophageal/gastroesophageal junction or gastric cancer were assessed using the Functional Assessment of Anorexia Cachexia Therapy Anorexia/Cachexia Subscale (FAACT A/CS). FAACT A/CS includes 12 questions validated previously to diagnose anorexia in patients with cancer. Of the 182 patients included, 69% scored ≤37/48 and were considered to be anorexic; FAACT A/CS was a better predictor of OS in metastatic patients than body mass index or weight loss in the six months prior to cancer diagnosis. The median OS of patients with FAACT A/CS scores of >37 was longer than patients with scores of ≤37 (19.3 months vs 6.7 months, Hazard Ratio [HR] 2.9, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.4-6.0, p<0.0001). Patients with performance status (PS) 0-2 and FAACT A/CS >37 had substantially longer OS than those with PS 0-2 and FAACT A/CS ≤37 (18.7 months vs 7.9 months, HR 2.5 (95% CI 1.2-5.1, P<0.0001). The FAACT A/CS questionnaire allows clinicians to identify patients with anorexia who may benefit from early nutrition interventions. Importantly, this is the first study to show the association between anorexia and survival in patients with metastatic OG cancers. This will form the basis of future interventional studies to improve patient outcomes.

Somatostatin analogue-induced pancreatic exocrine insufficiency in patients with neuroendocrine tumors: results of a prospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: Patients with advanced well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumours (Wd-NETs) are commonly treated with somatostatin analogues (SSAs). Some patients may develop SSA-related side effects such as pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (PEI). METHODS: In this prospective, observational study, the frequency of SSA-induced PEI in 50 sequential patients with advanced Wd-NETs treated with SSAs was investigated. Toxicity was assessed monthly and faecal elastase-1 (FE1) and quality of life (QoL) were assessed 3-monthly. RESULTS: The median age was 65.8 years, 58% were male and the majority (92%) of patients had metastatic disease; patients received 4-weekly long acting octreotide (60%) or lanreotide (40%). Twelve patients (24%) developed SSA-related PEI after a median of 2.9 months from SSA initiation; FE1 was a reliable screening tool for PEI, especially in symptomatic (abdominal bloating, flatulence and/or diarrhea) patients (risk ratio 8.25 (95% confidence interval 1.15-59.01)). Most of these patients (11/12; 92%) required PERT. Other SSA-related adverse events (any grade) included flatulence (50%), abdominal pain (32%), diarrhoea (30%) and fatigue (20%). Development of PEI did not significantly worsen overall QoL, however gastrointestinal symptoms and diarrhoea were increased. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that PEI occurs at a higher rate than previously reported; clinicians need to diagnose and treat this SSA-related adverse-event which occurs in 1 in 4 patients with Wd-NETs treated with SSAs. Screening with FE1 in symtomatic patients is recommend.

The HER3 pathway as a potential target for inhibition in patients with biliary tract cancers.

INTRODUCTION: Expression of human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER)2 and HER3 have been investigated in small BTC studies using variable scoring systems. METHODS: HER2 and HER3 overexpression/amplification were explored following internationally agreed guidelines using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescent in-situ hybridisation (FISH), respectively. Logistic regression and survival analysis (Kaplan Meier, Log rank test and Cox Regression) were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Sixty-seven eligible patients with Stage I/II (31.3%) or III/IV (68.7%) disease at diagnosis were included. Membrane HER2 overexpression/amplification was identified in 1 patient (1%). HER3 overexpression was predominantly cytoplasmic; the rate of overexpression/amplification of HER3 in membrane and cytoplasm was 16% [ampullary cancer (AMP) (1/13; 8%), gallbladder cancer (GBC) (1/10; 10%), intra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) (6/26; 23%), extra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ECC) (3/18; 17%)] and 24% [AMP (1/13; 8%), GBC (1/10; 10%), ICC (10/26; 38%), ECC (4/18; 22%)], respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A significant subset of patients with BTC expressed HER3. Inhibition of HER3 warrants further investigation. A better understanding of the downstream effects of HER3 in BTC requires further mechanistic investigations to identify new biomarkers and improve patient selection for future clinical trials.

Cell Death, Inflammation, Tumor Burden, and Proliferation Blood Biomarkers Predict Lung Cancer Radiotherapy Response and Correlate With Tumor Volume and Proliferation Imaging.

INTRODUCTION: There is an unmet need to develop noninvasive biomarkers to stratify patients in drug-radiotherapy trials. In this pilot study we investigated lung cancer radiotherapy response and toxicity blood biomarkers and correlated findings with tumor volume and proliferation imaging. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Blood samples were collected before and during (day 21) radiotherapy. Twenty-six cell-death, hypoxia, angiogenesis, inflammation, proliferation, invasion, and tumor-burden biomarkers were evaluated. Clinical and laboratory data were collected. Univariate analysis was performed on small-cell and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whereas multivariate analysis focused on NSCLC. RESULTS: Blood samples from 78 patients were analyzed. Sixty-one (78.2%) harbored NSCLC, 48 (61.5%) received sequential chemoradiotherapy. Of tested baseline biomarkers, undetectable interleukin (IL)-1b (hazard ratio [HR], 4.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.04-7.93; P < .001) was the only significant survival covariate. Of routinely collected laboratory tests, high baseline neutrophil count was a significant survival covariate (HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.02-1.11; P = .017). Baseline IL-1b and neutrophil count were prognostic for survival in a multivariate model. The addition of day-21 cytokeratin-19 antigen modestly improved this model's survival prediction (concordance probability, 0.75-0.78). Chemotherapy (P < .001) and baseline keratinocyte growth factor (P = .019) predicted acute esophagitis, but only chemotherapy remained significant after Bonferroni correction. Baseline angioprotein-1 and hepatocyte growth factor showed a direct correlation with tumor volume whereas changes in vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 showed significant correlations with 18F-fluorothymidine (FLT) positron emission tomography (PET). CONCLUSION: Select biomarkers are prognostic after radiotherapy in this lung cancer series. The correlation between circulating biomarkers and 18F-FLT PET is shown, to our knowledge for the first time, highlighting their potential role as imaging surrogates.

Plasma Tie2 is a tumor vascular response biomarker for VEGF inhibitors in metastatic colorectal cancer.

Oncological use of anti-angiogenic VEGF inhibitors has been limited by the lack of informative biomarkers. Previously we reported circulating Tie2 as a vascular response biomarker for bevacizumab-treated ovarian cancer patients. Using advanced MRI and circulating biomarkers we have extended these findings in metastatic colorectal cancer (n = 70). Bevacizumab (10 mg/kg) was administered to elicit a biomarker response, followed by FOLFOX6-bevacizumab until disease progression. Bevacizumab induced a correlation between Tie2 and the tumor vascular imaging biomarker, Ktrans (R:-0.21 to 0.47) implying that Tie2 originated from the tumor vasculature. Tie2 trajectories were independently associated with pre-treatment tumor vascular characteristics, tumor response, progression free survival (HR for progression = 3.01, p = 0.00014; median PFS 248 vs. 348 days p = 0.0008) and the modeling of progressive disease (p < 0.0001), suggesting that Tie2 should be monitored clinically to optimize VEGF inhibitor use. A vascular response is defined as a 30% reduction in Tie2; vascular progression as a 40% increase in Tie2 above the nadir. Tie2 is the first, validated, tumor vascular response biomarker for VEGFi.

Regulation of fibroblast growth factor-2 activity by human ovarian cancer tumor endothelium.

Fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) is a potent angiogenic cytokine that is dependent on heparan sulfate for its biological activity. We have investigated the relationship among heparan sulfate, FGF-2, and the signal-transducing receptors in human, advanced-stage, serous ovarian adenocarcinoma. Using a unique molecular probe, FR1c-Ap, which consisted of a soluble FGF receptor 1 isoform IIIc covalently linked to an alkaline phosphatase moiety, the distribution of heparan sulfate that had the ability to support the formation of a heparan sulfate/FGF-2/FGFR1 isoform IIIc alkaline phosphatase heparan sulfate construct complex was determined. This may be taken as a surrogate marker for the distribution of biologically active heparan sulfate and was distributed predominantly in endothelial cells and stroma but was absent from adenocarcinoma cells. In situ hybridization revealed the expression of FGFR1 mRNA in the endothelium and reverse transcription-PCR confirmed the presence of FGFR1 isoform IIIc but not isoform IIIb. The presence of FGF-2 around tumor endothelium was detected through immunohistochemistry. Double-staining techniques showed that heparan sulfate was found predominantly at the basal aspect of the endothelium and suggested that syndecan-3 might function as one of the proteoglycans involved in FGF-2 signaling in the endothelium. The data suggest that the entire extracellular signaling apparatus, consisting of FGF-2, biologically active heparan sulfate, and FGFRs capable of responding to FGF-2, is present in ovarian cancer endothelium, thereby highlighting the cytokine and its cognate receptor as potential targets for the antiangiogenic treatment of this disease.

Chemotherapy for advanced non-pancreatic well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumours of the gastrointestinal tract, a systematic review and meta-analysis: A lost cause?

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy is well-established in the treatment of patients with well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) arising from the pancreas (pNETs); however, its role in patients with gastrointestinal non-pancreatic NETs (non-pNETs) is uncertain. This systematic review assesses the evidence for the role of chemotherapy in well-differentiated non-pNET patients. METHODS: Eligible studies (identified using MEDLINE) were those reporting response and/or survival data for patients with well-differentiated non-pNETs receiving systemic chemotherapy. The primary end-point was overall-response (OR) rate; secondary end-points were progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), disease-stabilization (DS) and disease-control (DC) rates. RESULTS: Of 6434 studies screened, 20 were eligible: one randomised phase III trial, 2 randomised phase II studies, 10 single-arm phase II trials and 7 retrospective analyses including a total of 264 patients (median of 11 patients per study, range 6-49); and employing multiple chemotherapy schedules. The mean "median PFS" and "median OS" were 16.9 months (95%-confidence interval (CI) 3.8-30.04) and 32.2 months (95%-CI 10.4-54.2), respectively. The non-weighted mean OR, DS and DC rates were 11.5% (95%-CI 5.8-17.2), 56.5% (95%-CI 38.1-74.9) and 70.7% (95%-CI 54.9-86.5), respectively. In studies including both pNETs and non-pNET patients, meta-analysis showed a lower OR-rate in the non-pNET patients when compared to pNETs [odds ratio (OR) 0.35 (95% CI 0.18-0.66)]; however significance was lost when high-risk bias studies were excluded in a sensitivity analysis [OR 0.45 (95% CI 0.19-1.07); p-value 0.07]. CONCLUSION: Studies were of evidence level-C with heterogeneous populations and treatments; and small patient numbers. Well-designed, prospective studies are needed to adequately evaluate the role of chemotherapy in this setting.