A phase 2 study of first-line nivolumab in patients with locally advanced or metastatic cutaneous squamous-cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Cutaneous squamous-cell carcinoma (CSCC) is among the most frequent malignancies worldwide. For those not amenable to treatment with curative intent, immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) with anti-programmed death receptor 1 (PD-1) antibodies has emerged as a novel therapeutic option. In this study, the authors sought to investigate the activity of the anti-PD-1 agent nivolumab in patients with advanced CSCC (aCSCC). METHODS: CA209-9JC was an open-label, single-arm, phase 2 study to evaluate the safety and/or efficacy of nivolumab in systemic treatment-naive patients with aCSCC. Nivolumab (3 mg/kg) was administered every 2 weeks until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, or 12 months of treatment. The primary end point was the best objective response rate (BORR) as per RECIST 1.1 criteria. Secondary end points included safety, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: Twenty-four patients with aCSCC were enrolled with a median age of 74 years (range, 48-93). Among the 24 patients evaluable for response, the BORR was 58.3% (14/24); there were no complete responses. With a median follow-up of 17.6 months, median duration of response has not been reached, and the estimated median PFS and OS were 12.7 and 20.7 months, respectively. Prior exposure to radiotherapy was associated with worse outcomes (p = .035, univariate analysis). Treatment-related adverse events of any grade and grade ≥ 3 occurred in 21 (87.5%) and six (25%) patients, respectively, and one patient discontinued nivolumab due to toxicities. CONCLUSIONS: Nivolumab resulted in robust antitumor activity, sustained responses, and good tolerability in systemic treatment-naive patients with aCSCC. These data provide further evidence to support the use of ICI as the standard treatment of aCSCC.

Brazilian consensus on the diagnosis and treatment of extremities soft tissue sarcomas.

INTRODUCTION: Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) are rare tumors and constitute only 1% of all tumors in adults. Indeed, due to their rarity, most cases in Brazil are not treated according to primary international guidelines. METHODS: This consensus addresses the treatment of STSs in the extremities. It was made by workgroups from Brazilian Societies of Surgical Oncology, Orthopaedics, Clinical Oncology, Pathology, Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging, and Radiation Oncology. The workgroups based their arguments on the best level of evidence in the literature and recommendations were made according to diagnosis, staging, and treatment of STSs. A meeting was held with all the invited experts and the topics were presented individually with the definition of the degree of recommendation, based on the levels of evidence in the literature. RESULTS: Risk factors and epidemiology were described as well as the pathological aspects and imaging. All recommendations are described with the degree of recommendation and levels of evidence. CONCLUSION: Recommendations based on the best literature regional aspects were made to guide professionals who treat STS. Separate consensus on specific treatments for retroperitoneal, visceral, trunk, head and neck sarcomas, and gastrointestinal stromal tumor, are not contemplated into this consensus.

Treatment of advanced melanoma - A changing landscape.

Following decades of relative ostracism, advances in the treatment of melanoma have brought a new reality for patients, physicians and researchers. While antibodies targeting molecules involved in the modulation of the interaction between melanoma and immune cells changed the meaning of the term "cancer immunotherapy," a better characterization of the molecular aberrations involved in melanoma carcinogenesis prompted the development of inhibitors of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway (MAPK) that also led to significant improvements both in response rates and survival. As a result, new drugs have been approved for clinical use in the United States and Europe, including the immune-checkpoint blockers ipilmumab, pembrolizumab and nivolumab, the oncolytic herpesvirus talimogene laherparepvec, and the targeted-agents vemurafenib, dabrafenib, cobimetinib and trametinib. In this article, we review the results of studies that brought new approaches to the bedside and discuss how these developments are being incorporated into the care of patients in Brazil.

Successful Intravascular Correction of Intratumoral Pseudoaneurysm by Erosion of the Aorta in a Patient with Thoracic Giant Cell Tumor of Bone Responding to Denosumab.

Giant cell tumor of bone (GCT) is a rare, locally aggressive neoplasm characterized by the presence of giant cells with osteoclast activity. Its biology involves the overexpression of the Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor kB Ligand (RANKL) by osteoclast-like giant cells and tumor stromal cells, which has been shown to be an actionable target in this disease. In cases amenable to surgical resection, very few therapeutic options were available until the recent demonstration of significant activity of the anti-RANK-ligand monoclonal antibody denosumab. Here we present a case of a patient with advanced GCT arising in the spine, recurring after multiple resections and embolization. Following initiation of denosumab, which resulted in unequivocal clinical improvement, computed tomography of the chest done for reassessment purposes revealed an intratumoral pseudoaneurysm by erosion of the aorta, further corrected by endovascular approach and stent placement. Patient had an unremarkable recovery from the procedure and continued benefit from therapy with denosumab and remains on treatment 24 months after the first dose.

Treatment of advanced melanoma - A changing landscape / Tratamento de melanoma avançado - Um panorama em transformação

Summary Following decades of relative ostracism, advances in the treatment of melanoma have brought a new reality for patients, physicians and researchers. While antibodies targeting molecules involved in the modulation of the interaction between melanoma and immune cells changed the meaning of the term "cancer immunotherapy," a better characterization of the molecular aberrations involved in melanoma carcinogenesis prompted the development of inhibitors of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway (MAPK) that also led to significant improvements both in response rates and survival. As a result, new drugs have been approved for clinical use in the United States and Europe, including the immune-checkpoint blockers ipilmumab, pembrolizumab and nivolumab, the oncolytic herpesvirus talimogene laherparepvec, and the targeted-agents vemurafenib, dabrafenib, cobimetinib and trametinib. In this article, we review the results of studies that brought new approaches to the bedside and discuss how these developments are being incorporated into the care of patients in Brazil.

Resumo Após décadas de ostracismo, os recentes avanços no tratamento do melanoma trouxeram uma nova realidade para pacientes, médicos e pesquisadores. Enquanto anticorpos monoclonais voltados a moléculas envolvidas na modulação da interação entre células do melanoma e do sistema imune consolidaram o uso da "imunoterapia", um melhor conhecimento acerca das aberrações genômicas envolvidas na carcinogênese do melanoma viabilizaram o desenvolvimento de inibidores da via mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway (MAPK), o que também resultou em ganhos significativos em taxas de resposta e sobrevida. Consequentemente, novas modalidades de tratamento foram aprovadas para uso clínico nos Estados Unidos e na Europa, incluindo os bloqueadores de correceptores imunes ipilimumabe, nivolumabe e pembrolizumabe, o herpesvírus oncolítico talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC), e os agentes-alvo vemurafenibe, dabrafenibe, cobimetinibe e trametinibe. Nesse artigo, revisamos os resultados que trouxeram novas alternativas para a prática clínica e discutimos a incorporação desses avanços ao cuidado de pacientes no Brasil.