Checkpoint inhibitors in metastatic gastric and GEJ cancer: a multi-institutional retrospective analysis of real-world data in a Western cohort.

BACKGROUND: Safety and efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer could be demonstrated in predominantly Asian cohorts, whereas data in Western patients outside of clinical trials are vastly missing. METHODS: In this multi-institutional retrospective analysis conducted at nine oncologic centers in Austria, we tried to assess feasibility of checkpoint inhibitors in advanced gastric/GEJ cancer in a real-world Western cohort. RESULTS: In total, data from 50 patients with metastatic gastric/GEJ cancer who received nivolumab or pembrolizumab in a palliative setting between November 2015 and April 2020 have been evaluated. The median number of previous palliative therapy lines was two. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 2.1 (95% CI: 1.4-2.8) and 6.3 (95% CI: 3.3-9.3) months, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in median OS according to microsatellite or PD-L1 status. However, a trend towards prolonged PFS and OS for the microsatellite instability high subgroup could be observed. Patients with an ECOG Performance Status (PS) ≥ 2 displayed a significantly worse outcome than those with an ECOG PS ≤ 1 (p = .03). Only one patient discontinued immunotherapy due to treatment-related toxicity. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support feasibility of nivolumab and pembrolizumab in pre-treated patients with metastatic gastric and GEJ cancer in a Western real-world cohort. Further phase II/III studies are needed to confirm clinical efficacy.

First-Line Atezolizumab plus Chemotherapy in Extensive-Stage Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Enhancing tumor-specific T-cell immunity by inhibiting programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1)-programmed death 1 (PD-1) signaling has shown promise in the treatment of extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer. Combining checkpoint inhibition with cytotoxic chemotherapy may have a synergistic effect and improve efficacy. METHODS: We conducted this double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial to evaluate atezolizumab plus carboplatin and etoposide in patients with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer who had not previously received treatment. Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive carboplatin and etoposide with either atezolizumab or placebo for four 21-day cycles (induction phase), followed by a maintenance phase during which they received either atezolizumab or placebo (according to the previous random assignment) until they had unacceptable toxic effects, disease progression according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, version 1.1, or no additional clinical benefit. The two primary end points were investigator-assessed progression-free survival and overall survival in the intention-to-treat population. RESULTS: A total of 201 patients were randomly assigned to the atezolizumab group, and 202 patients to the placebo group. At a median follow-up of 13.9 months, the median overall survival was 12.3 months in the atezolizumab group and 10.3 months in the placebo group (hazard ratio for death, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.54 to 0.91; P=0.007). The median progression-free survival was 5.2 months and 4.3 months, respectively (hazard ratio for disease progression or death, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.62 to 0.96; P=0.02). The safety profile of atezolizumab plus carboplatin and etoposide was consistent with the previously reported safety profile of the individual agents, with no new findings observed. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of atezolizumab to chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer resulted in significantly longer overall survival and progression-free survival than chemotherapy alone. (Funded by F. Hoffmann-La Roche/Genentech; IMpower133 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02763579 .).

Evaluation of circulating cell-free KRAS mutational status as a molecular monitoring tool in patients with pancreatic cancer.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic carcinoma carries a devastating prognosis and is the 4th leading cause for cancer related death in the US and most European countries. Apart from imaging and CA 19-9, pancreatic carcinoma is still lacking reliable markers to assess tumor dynamics and to monitor treatment response over time. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of cell free tumor-DNA (cft-DNA), respectively KRAS mutation in peripheral blood, detection as a prognostic and predictive value for chemotherapy monitoring. METHODS: Serial plasma samples from 42 patients with KRAS mutated pancreatic cancer were prospectively collected and the ctKRAS Mutation Assay (Idylla™, Biocartis, Mechelen, Belgium) of cft-DNA was performed on 29 patients that did not receive curative surgery and went on to palliative chemotherapy. To monitor cft-DNA KRAS mutation levels during treatment quantitative assessment of cft-DNA was performed at baseline and during follow up at predetermined times. RESULTS: All 29 patients included in our analyses had a detected KRAS mutation in the tumor biopsy. In almost half (48.2%) of patients a KRAS mutation could also be detected in peripheral plasma. Patients with detectable KRAS mutations before treatment start in plasma had a significantly worse survival (16.8 months vs not reached, p < 0.031 and HR 3.303). Looking for a dynamic assessment of tumor response, we found a statistically significant association between the KRAS mutant ratio from first staging CT scan to basal levels with tumor response or progress (p = 0.014). CONCLUSION: Performing KRAS testing from peripheral blood for patients, who have no elevated tumor markers, might be a novel option for treatment monitoring complementing routine imaging techniques.

Combination Strategies for Immune-Checkpoint Blockade and Response Prediction by Artificial Intelligence.

The therapeutic concept of unleashing a pre-existing immune response against the tumor by the application of immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) has resulted in long-term survival in advanced cancer patient subgroups. However, the majority of patients do not benefit from single-agent ICI and therefore new combination strategies are eagerly necessitated. In addition to conventional chemotherapy, kinase inhibitors as well as tumor-specific vaccinations are extensively investigated in combination with ICI to augment therapy responses. An unprecedented clinical outcome with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR-)T cell therapy has led to the approval for relapsed/refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma and B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia whereas response rates in solid tumors are unsatisfactory. Immune-checkpoints negatively impact CAR-T cell therapy in hematologic and solid malignancies and as a consequence provide a therapeutic target to overcome resistance. Established biomarkers such as programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and tumor mutational burden (TMB) help to select patients who will benefit most from ICI, however, biomarker negativity does not exclude responses. Investigating alterations in the antigen presenting pathway as well as radiomics have the potential to determine tumor immunogenicity and response to ICI. Within this review we summarize the literature about specific combination partners for ICI and the applicability of artificial intelligence to predict ICI therapy responses.

Durable remissions with venetoclax monotherapy in secondary AML refractory to hypomethylating agents and high expression of BCL-2 and/or BIM.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a disease of the elderly population and survival remains poor after failure of hypomethylating agents (HMA). The BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax demonstrated activity as monotherapy and in combination with chemotherapy or HMA in AML. In this case series, patients with secondary AML (sAML) not eligible for intensive chemotherapy and refractory to HMA were treated with venetoclax within a named patient program at our tertiary cancer center in Salzburg, Austria. Between April 2017 and September 2018, seven patients with sAML received venetoclax therapy. Two out of seven patients achieved a complete remission upon venetoclax initiation with a PFS of 505 days and 352 days and another patient achieved complete peripheral blood blast clearing within nine days after start of venetoclax. Among the venetoclax responders, primary refractory disease to prior HMA therapy was documented, 2 patients harbored IDH1/IDH2 mutations and one patient had an antecedent myeloproliferative neoplasm. High BCL-2 and/or BIM expression in myeloblasts was found in venetoclax responders and response was significantly associated with overall survival (responders: 364 days versus non-responders: 24 days, P = 0.018). Venetoclax monotherapy is safe and is able to induce durable responses in elderly patients with secondary AML after treatment failure with HMA.

Sidedness and TP53 mutations impact OS in anti-EGFR but not anti-VEGF treated mCRC - an analysis of the KRAS registry of the AGMT (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Medikamentöse Tumortherapie).

BACKGROUND: In metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), the localization of the primary tumour has been shown to be of prognostic as well as predictive relevance. METHODS: With the aim to investigate clinical and molecular disease characteristics with respect to sidedness in a real-world cohort, we analyzed 161 mCRC patients included in the KRAS Registry of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Medikamentöse Tumortherapie (AGMT) between January 2006 and October 2013. RESULTS: Right-sided mCRC displayed a worse median overall survival (OS) in comparison to left-sided disease (18.1 months [95%-CI: 14.3-40.7] versus 32.3 months [95%-CI: 25.5-38.6]; HR: 1.63 [95%-CI: 1.13-2.84]; p = 0.013). The choice of the biological agent in front-line therapy had a statistically significant impact on median OS in patients with right-sided tumours (anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR): 10.6 months [95%-CI: 5.2-NA]; anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF): 26.2 months [95%-CI: 17.9-NA]; HR: 2.69 [95%-CI: 1.30-12.28]; p = 0.015) but not in patients with left-sided tumours (anti-EGFR: 37.0 months [95%-CI: 20.2-56.6]; anti-VEGF: 32.3 months [95%-CI: 23.6-41.1]; HR: 0.97 [95%-CI: 0.56-1.66]; p = 0.905). When evaluating molecular characteristics of tumour samples, we found a clinically meaningful trend towards an inferior OS in TP53 mutant mCRC treated with anti-EGFR based therapy compared to anti-VEGF based therapy (17.1 months [95%-CI: 8.7-NA] versus 38.3 months [95%-CI: 23.6-48.0], HR = 1.95 [95%-CI: 0.95-5.88]; p = 0.066), which was not significantly dependent on sidedness. This was not the case in patients with TP53 wild-type tumours. Therefore we evaluated the combined impact of sidedness and TP53 mutation status in the anti-EGFR treated cohort and patients with left-sided/TP53 wild-type mCRC showed the longest median OS (38.9 months) of all groups (right-sided/TP53 mutant: 12.1 months; right-sided/TP53 wild-type: 8.9 months; left-sided/TP53 mutant: 18.4 months; p = 0.020). CONCLUSIONS: TP53 mutation and right-sidedness are associated with shorter OS in patients treated with anti-EGFR based therapy but not with anti-VEGF based therapy. The confirmation of the predictive value of TP53 mutation status in a larger cohort is warranted.

Anti-Hu Antibody Associated Paraneoplastic Cerebellar Degeneration in Head and Neck Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Paraneoplastic syndromes are most frequently associated with small cell lung carcinoma, hematologic and gynecologic malignancies while reports in head and neck cancer are rare. CASE PRESENTATION: We present the case of a 60-year old female patient who developed paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration upon locoregional recurrence of a poorly differentiated spindle cell carcinoma of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinus. The neurological symptoms, especially ataxia, stabilized after resection of tumor recurrence and concomitant chemoradiotherapy whereas anti-Hu-antibodies remained positive. Despite the unfavorable prognosis of paraneoplastic neurological disorders associated with onconeural antibodies, the patient achieved long-standing stabilization of neurological symptoms. CONCLUSION: We report the first patient with anti-Hu antibodies and paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration associated with a spindle cell carcinoma of the head and neck. We recommend that evaluation of neurological symptoms in patients with this tumor entity should also include paraneoplastic syndromes as differential diagnoses and suggest early extensive screening for onconeural antibodies.

Independent Prognostic Value of Serum Markers in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma in the Era of the NCCN-IPI.

BACKGROUND: Several serum parameters have been evaluated for adding prognostic value to clinical scoring systems in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), but none of the reports used multivariate testing of more than one parameter at a time. The goal of this study was to validate widely available serum parameters for their independent prognostic impact in the era of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network-International Prognostic Index (NCCN-IPI) score to determine which were the most useful. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective bicenter analysis includes 515 unselected patients with DLBCL who were treated with rituximab and anthracycline-based chemoimmunotherapy between 2004 and January 2014. RESULTS: Anemia, high C-reactive protein, and high bilirubin levels had an independent prognostic value for survival in multivariate analyses in addition to the NCCN-IPI, whereas neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, high gamma-glutamyl transferase levels, and platelets-to-lymphocyte ratio did not. CONCLUSIONS: In our cohort, we describe the most promising markers to improve the NCCN-IPI. Anemia and high C-reactive protein levels retain their power in multivariate testing even in the era of the NCCN-IPI. The negative role of high bilirubin levels may be associated as a marker of liver function. Further studies are warranted to incorporate these markers into prognostic models and define their role opposite novel molecular markers.

Combined DNA Analysis from Stool and Blood Samples Improves Tumor Tracking and Assessment of Clonal Heterogeneity in Localized Rectal Cancer Patients.

Objectives: In this study, stool samples were evaluated for tumor mutation analysis via a targeted next generation sequencing (NGS) approach in a small patient cohort suffering from localized rectal cancer. Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) causes the second highest cancer-related death rate worldwide. Thus, improvements in disease assessment and monitoring that may facilitate treatment allocation and allow organ-sparing "watch-and-wait" treatment strategies are highly relevant for a significant number of CRC patients. Methods: Stool-based results were compared with mutation profiles derived from liquid biopsies and the gold standard procedure of tumor biopsy from the same patients. A workflow was established that enables the detection of de-novo tumor mutations in stool samples of CRC patients via ultra-sensitive cell-free tumor DNA target enrichment. Results: Notably, only a 19% overall concordance was found in mutational profiles across the compared sample specimens of stool, tumor, and liquid biopsies. Conclusion: Based on these results, the analysis of stool and liquid biopsy samples can provide important additional information on tumor heterogeneity and potentially on the assessment of minimal residual disease and clonal tumor evolution.

Image-based consensus molecular subtyping in rectal cancer biopsies and response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy.

The development of deep learning (DL) models to predict the consensus molecular subtypes (CMS) from histopathology images (imCMS) is a promising and cost-effective strategy to support patient stratification. Here, we investigate whether imCMS calls generated from whole slide histopathology images (WSIs) of rectal cancer (RC) pre-treatment biopsies are associated with pathological complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant long course chemoradiotherapy (LCRT) with single agent fluoropyrimidine. DL models were trained to classify WSIs of colorectal cancers stained with hematoxylin and eosin into one of the four CMS classes using a multi-centric dataset of resection and biopsy specimens (n = 1057 WSIs) with paired transcriptional data. Classifiers were tested on a held out RC biopsy cohort (ARISTOTLE) and correlated with pCR to LCRT in an independent dataset merging two RC cohorts (ARISTOTLE, n = 114 and SALZBURG, n = 55 patients). DL models predicted CMS with high classification performance in multiple comparative analyses. In the independent cohorts (ARISTOTLE, SALZBURG), cases with WSIs classified as imCMS1 had a significantly higher likelihood of achieving pCR (OR = 2.69, 95% CI 1.01-7.17, p = 0.048). Conversely, imCMS4 was associated with lack of pCR (OR = 0.25, 95% CI 0.07-0.88, p = 0.031). Classification maps demonstrated pathologist-interpretable associations with high stromal content in imCMS4 cases, associated with poor outcome. No significant association was found in imCMS2 or imCMS3. imCMS classification of pre-treatment biopsies is a fast and inexpensive solution to identify patient groups that could benefit from neoadjuvant LCRT. The significant associations between imCMS1/imCMS4 with pCR suggest the existence of predictive morphological features that could enhance standard pathological assessment.

Comparison of gemcitabine plus oxaliplatin versus gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel as first-line chemotherapy for advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma: A single-center retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic cancer is mostly diagnosed in an advanced stage and treated with systemic therapy with palliative intent. Nowadays, the doublet chemotherapy of Gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel (Gem-Nab) is one of the most frequently used regimens worldwide, but is not ubiquitarily available or reimbursed. Therefore, we compared the clinical efficacy of Gem-Nab to a historical control of patients treated with gemcitabine and oxaliplatin (Gem-Ox) at our tertiary cancer center, which was the standard treatment prior to the introduction of FOLFIRINOX. METHODS: This single-center retrospective real world study includes 121 patients diagnosed with locally advanced or primary metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma who were treated with chemotherapy doublet, with either Gem-Nab or Gem-Ox in palliative first-line. Survival rates were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and comparisons were made with log-rank tests. Gem-Ox was considered as standard first line therapy at our institution for patients who were deemed fit for doublet chemotherapy between the years 2006 to 2012. These patients were compared to a cohort of patients treated with the new standard first-line therapy of Gem-Nab between 2013 and 2020. RESULTS: A total of 554 patients with pancreatic cancer of all stages were screened, and 73 patients treated with Gem-Nab and 48 patients treated with Gem-Ox in the palliative first-line setting were identified and included in this analysis. Patients receiving Gem-Ox had a statistically significantly better performance score (ECOG PS) when compared to the Gem-Nab group (Odds ratio (OR) 0.28, 95% CI 0.12-0.65, p = 0.005), more often suffered from locally advanced than metastatic disease (OR 3.10, 95% CI 1.27-7.91, p = 0.019) and were younger in age (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.91-0.99, p = 0.013). Median overall survival (OS) of the whole study cohort was 10.3 months (95% CI 8.5-11.6). No statistically significant difference in OS could be observed between the Gem-Nab and the Gem-Ox cohort (median OS: 8.9 months (95% CI 6.4-13.5) versus 10.9 months (95% CI 9.5-13.87, p = 0.794, HR 1.27, 95% CI 0.85-1.91)). Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 6.8 months in the entire cohort (95% CI 4.9-8.4). No statistically significant difference in PFS could be observed between the Gem-Nab and the Gem-Ox cohort (median PFS: 5.8 months (95% CI 4.3-8.2) versus 7.9 months (95% CI 5.4-9.5) p = 0.536, HR 1.11, 95% CI 0.74-1.67). Zero-truncated negative binomial regressions on OS and PFS adjusting for gender, age, performance status (ECOG PS), and CA19-9 levels yielded no significant difference between Gem-Nab or Gem-Ox. CONCLUSION: From our analysis, we could evidence no difference in outcome parameters in this retrospective analysis despite the worse prognostic pattern for GemOX. Therefore, we suggest Gem-Ox as potential first line treatment option for inoperable locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer, especially if Gem-Nab is not available.

Unraveling Resistance to Immunotherapy in MSI-High Colorectal Cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Incidences of early CRC cases are increasing annually in high-income countries, necessitating effective treatment strategies. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have shown significant clinical efficacy in various cancers, including CRC. However, their effectiveness in CRC is limited to patients with mismatch-repair-deficient (dMMR)/microsatellite instability high (MSI-H) disease, which accounts for about 15% of all localized CRC cases and only 3% to 5% of metastatic CRC cases. However, the varied response among patients, with some showing resistance or primary tumor progression, highlights the need for a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Elements involved in shaping the response to ICIs, such as tumor microenvironment, immune cells, genetic changes, and the influence of gut microbiota, are not fully understood thus far. This review aims to explore potential resistance or immune-evasion mechanisms to ICIs in dMMR/MSI-H CRC and the cell types involved, as well as possible pitfalls in the diagnosis of this particular subtype.

Management of metastatic colorectal cancer in patients ≥70 years - a single center experience.

Background: Age-standardized mortality rates for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) are highest among elderly patients. In current clinical guidelines, treatment recommendations for this patient population are based on a limited number of clinical trials. Patients and methods: In this monocentric, retrospective analysis we characterized patients aged ≥70 years undergoing systemic therapy for mCRC and overall survival (OS) was investigated. Results: We included 117 unselected, consecutive mCRC patients aged ≥70 years undergoing systemic therapy for mCRC between February 2009 and July 2022. Median OS was 25.6 months (95% CI: 21.8-29.4). The median age was 78 years (range: 70-90) and 21%, 48%, 26% and 5% had an ECOG performance score of 0, 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The median number of systemic therapy lines was 2 (range: 1-5). The choice of first-line chemotherapy backbone (doublet/triplet versus mono) did not impact OS (HR: 0.83, p=0.50) or the probability of receiving subsequent therapy (p=0.697). Metastasectomy and/or local ablative treatment in the liver, lung, peritoneum and/or other organs were applied in 26 patients (22%) with curative intent. First-line anti-EGFR-based therapy showed a trend towards longer OS compared to anti-VEGF-based therapy or chemotherapy alone in left-sided mCRC (anti-EGFR: 39.3 months versus anti-VEGF: 27.3 months versus chemotherapy alone: 13.8 months, p=0.105). In multivariable analysis, metastasectomy and/or local ablative treatment with curative intent (yes versus no, HR: 0.22, p<0.001), the ECOG performance score (2 versus 0, HR: 3.07, p=0.007; 3 versus 0, HR: 3.66, p=0.053) and the presence of liver metastases (yes versus no, HR: 1.79, p=0.049) were independently associated with OS. Conclusions: Our findings corroborate front-line monochemotherapy in combination with targeted therapy as the treatment of choice for elderly mCRC patients with palliative treatment intent. Metastasectomy and/or local ablative treatment with curative intent are feasible and may improve OS in selected elderly mCRC patients.

Body composition dynamics and impact on clinical outcome in gastric and gastro-esophageal junction cancer patients undergoing perioperative chemotherapy with the FLOT protocol.

PURPOSE: Perioperative chemotherapy with FLOT constitutes a standard of care approach for locally advanced, resectable gastric or gastro-esophageal junction (GEJ) cancer. We aimed at investigating anthropometric, CT-based and FDG-PET-based body composition parameters and dynamics during this multidisciplinary approach and the impact on clinical outcomes. METHODS: This retrospective, single-center study was based on medical records and (FDG-PET)-CT images among gastric/GEJ cancer patients undergoing perioperative FLOT chemotherapy. RESULTS: Between 2016 and 2021, 46 gastric/GEJ cancer patients started perioperative FLOT at our tertiary cancer center (Salzburg, Austria). At a median follow-up of 32 months median PFS was 47.4 months and median OS was not reached. The skeletal muscle index (SMI, cm2/m2) turned out to be the only body composition parameter with a statistically significant decrease during pre-operative FLOT (51.3 versus 48.8 cm2/m2, p = 0.02). Neither pre-FLOT body mass index (BMI), nor SMI had an impact on the duration of pre-operative FLOT, the time interval from pre-operative FLOT initiation to surgery, the necessity of pre-operative or post-operative FLOT de-escalation or the likelihood of the start of postoperative chemotherapy. Pre-FLOT BMI (overweight versus normal, HR: 0.11, 95% CI: 0.02-0.65, p = 0.02) and pre-FLOT SMI (sarcopenia versus no sarcopenia, HR: 5.08, 95% CI: 1.27-20.31, p = 0.02) were statistically significantly associated with PFS in the multivariable analysis. CONCLUSION: The statistically significant SMI loss during pre-operative FLOT and the meaningful impact of baseline SMI and BMI on PFS argue for the implementation of a nutritional screening and support program prior to the initiation of pre-operative FLOT in clinical routine.

Prognostic value of [18F]FDG PET/CT on treatment response and progression-free survival of gastroesophageal cancer patients undergoing perioperative FLOT chemotherapy.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the prognostic role of [18F]FDG PET/CT metabolic parameters in gastric cancer (GC) and gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (GEJAC) patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy. METHOD: In this retrospective study, 31 patients with biopsy-proven GC or GEJAC were included between August 2016 and March 2020. [18F]FDG PET/CT was performed before the neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Primary tumours' semi-quantitative metabolic parameters were extracted. All patients received a perioperative FLOT regimen thereafter. Post-chemotherapy [18F]FDG PET/CT was performed in most patients (17/31). All patients underwent surgical resection. Histopathology response to treatment and progression-free survival (PFS) were evaluated. Two-sided p-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Thirty-one patients (mean age = 62 ± 8), including 21 GC and 10 GEJAC patients, were evaluated. 20/31(65%) patients were histopathology responders to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, including twelve complete and eight partial responders. During the median follow-up of 42.0 months, nine patients experienced recurrence. The median PFS was 60(95% CI:32.9-87.1) months. Pre-neoadjuvant chemotherapy SULpeak was significantly correlated with pathological response to treatment (p-value = 0.03;odds ratio = 16.75). In survival analysis, SUVmax (p-value = 0.01;hazard ratio[HR] = 1.55), SUVmean (p-value = 0.04;HR = 2.73), SULpeak (p-value < 0.001;HR = 1.91) and SULmean (p-value = 0.04;HR = 4.22) in the post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy pre-operative [18F]FDG PET/CT showed significant correlation with PFS. Additionally, aspects of staging were significantly correlated with PFS (p-value = 0.01;HR = 2.21). CONCLUSIONS: Pre-neoadjuvant chemotherapy [18F]FDG PET/CT parameters, especially SULpeak, could predict the pathological response to treatment in GC and GEJAC patients. Additionally, in survival analysis, post-chemotherapy metabolic parameters significantly correlated with PFS. Thus, performing [18F]FDG PET/CT before chemotherapy may help to identify patients at risk for inadequate response to perioperative FLOT and, after chemotherapy, may predict clinical outcomes.

Multimodal Treatment of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: Real-World Experience with 112 Patients.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare pleural cancer associated with asbestos exposure. According to current evidence, the combination of chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy improves patients' survival. However, the optimal sequence and weighting of the respective treatment modalities is unclear. In anticipation of the upcoming results of the MARS-2 trial, we sought to determine the relative impact of the respective treatment modalities on complications and overall survival in our own consecutive institutional series of 112 patients. Fifty-seven patients (51%) underwent multimodality therapy with curative intent, while 55 patients (49%) were treated with palliative intent. The median overall survival (OS) of the entire cohort was 16.9 months (95% CI: 13.4−20.4) after diagnosis; 5-year survival was 29% for patients who underwent lung-preserving surgery. In univariate analysis, surgical treatment (p < 0.001), multimodality therapy (p < 0.001), epithelioid subtype (p < 0.001), early tumor stage (p = 0.02) and the absence of arterial hypertension (p = 0.034) were found to be prognostic factors for OS. In multivariate analysis, epithelioid subtype was associated with a survival benefit, whereas the occurrence of complications was associated with worse OS. Multimodality therapy including surgery significantly prolonged the OS of MPM patients compared with multimodal therapy without surgery.

How We Treat Localized Rectal Cancer-An Institutional Paradigm for Total Neoadjuvant Therapy.

Total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT)-the neoadjuvant employment of radiotherapy (RT) or chemoradiation (CRT) as well as chemotherapy (CHT) before surgery-may lead to increased pathological complete response (pCR) rates as well as a reduction in the risk of distant metastases in locally advanced rectal cancer. Furthermore, increased response rates may allow organ-sparing strategies in a growing number of patients with low rectal cancer and upfront immunotherapy has shown very promising early results in patients with microsatellite instability (MSI)-high/mismatch-repair-deficient (dMMR) tumors. Despite the lack of a generally accepted treatment standard, we strongly believe that existing data is sufficient to adopt the concept of TNT and immunotherapy in clinical practice. The treatment algorithm presented in the following is based on our interpretation of the current data and should serve as a practical guide for treating physicians-without any claim to general validity.

miRNA-Based Therapeutics in the Era of Immune-Checkpoint Inhibitors.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression by binding to complementary target regions on gene transcripts. Thus, miRNAs fine-tune gene expression profiles in a cell-type-specific manner and thereby regulate important cellular functions, such as cell growth, proliferation and cell death. MiRNAs are frequently dysregulated in cancer cells by several mechanisms, which significantly affect the course of the disease. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on how dysregulated miRNAs contribute to cancer and how miRNAs can be exploited as predictive factors and therapeutic targets, particularly in regard to immune-checkpoint inhibitor therapies.

Non-pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin as Palliative Chemotherapy in pre-Treated Advanced Pancreatic Cancer: A Retrospective Analysis of Twenty-Eight Patients.

Background: Pancreatic cancer carries a devastating prognosis and is the fourth leading cause for cancer-related death in the United States and most European countries. Although one-third of patients receive a palliative third line therapy, the benefit of systemic therapy beyond second-line remains unclear. A plethora of clinical trials investigating novel drugs have failed over the past years. Due to the lack of established treatment regimens beyond second line, we offered nonpegylated liposomal doxorubicin, well known in other tumor entities, to pretreated pancreatic cancer patients requesting systemic therapy. Material and Methods: In this retrospective analysis, 28 patients with pancreatic carcinoma treated with nonpegylated liposomal doxorubicin (Myocet®) between 2012 and 2018 at our department were included. Results: For the majority of patients (n = 18, 64%), nonpeglyted liposomal doxorubicin was offered as a third-line therapy. Five patients received it as second line, four patients as fourth line, and one patient as fifth line of therapy. Half of the patients received at least a therapy cycle. The objective response rate to treatment was 7.1%. One patient had a period of radiologically confirmed stable disease with stable tumor markers. Another patient experienced partial remission. Conclusion: According to our findings the benefit of nonpegylated liposomal doxorubicin in pancreatic cancer beyond second line is limited.

Results of a hospitalization policy of asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic COVID-19-positive long-term care facility residents in the province of Salzburg-a report from the AGMT COVID-19 Registry.

COVID-19-associated case fatality rates up to 48% were reported among nursing facility residents. During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, routine SARS-CoV-2 testing in long-term care facilities in the Province of Salzburg and centralized hospitalization in the COVID-19 unit of the Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg (Austria) irrespective of symptoms was implemented. Baseline characteristics and the course of COVID-19 disease were assessed among hospitalized long-term care facility residents within the COVID-19 Registry of the Austrian Group Medical Tumor Therapy (AGMT; NCT04351529). Between the 24th of March and the 20th of April 2020, 50 COVID-19-positive residents were hospitalized. The median age was 84.5 years (range: 79-88) and the median number of comorbidities and baseline medication classes was 6 (IQR: 4-7) and 5 (IQR: 3-6), respectively. At admission, 31 residents (62%) were symptomatic, nine residents (18%) pre-symptomatic whereas ten residents (20%) remained asymptomatic. The 30-day mortality rate from hospitalization was 32% and significantly higher in symptomatic residents at admission when compared to asymptomatic residents including pre-symptomatic residents (48% [95% CI: 27-63%] versus 5% [95% CI: 0-15%], p=0.006). The Early Warning Score (EWS) at admission was associated with 30-day mortality: high risk: 100%, intermediate risk: 50% (95% CI: 0-78%), and low risk: 21% (95% CI: 7-32%) (p<0.001). In light of comparably low mortality rates between asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic hospitalized COVID-19-positive residents, we suggest the supply of comparable intensity and quality of monitoring and care in long-term care facilities as an alternative to immediate hospitalization upon a positive COVID-19 test in asymptomatic residents.