Fasting plasma glucose is an independent predictor of survival in patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes is related with increased cancer mortality across multiple cancer types. Its role in lung cancer mortality is still unclear. We aim to determine the prognostic value of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and diabetes mellitus in patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy. METHODS: One-hundred seventy patients with stage III NSCLC received definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy from 2010 to 2014. Clinico-pathological data and clinical outcome was retrospectively registered. Fifty-six patients (33%), met criteria for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) at baseline. The prognostic value of FPG and other clinical variables was assessed. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional models and log-rank test were used. RESULTS: With a median follow-up of 36 months, median PFS was 8.0 months and median OS was 15.0 months in patients with FPG ≥7 mmol/L compared to 20 months (HR 1.13; 95% CI 1.07-1.19, p < 0.001) and 31 months (HR 1.09; 95% CI 1.04-1.15; p < 0.001) respectively, for patients with FPG < 7 mmol/L. In the multivariate analysis of the entire cohort adjusted by platinum compound and comorbidities, high levels of FPG as a continuous variable (HR 1.14; 95% CI 1.07-1.21; p < 0.001), the presence of comorbidity (HR 1.72; 95% CI 1.12-2.63; p = 0.012), and treatment with carboplatin (HR 1.95; 95% CI 1.26-2.99; p = 0.002) were independent predictors for shorter OS. In additional multivariate models considering non-diabetic patients as a reference group, diabetic patients with poor metabolic control (HbA1c > 8.5%) (HR 4.53; 95% CI 2.21-9.30; p < 0.001) and those receiving insulin (HR 3.22; 95% CI 1.90-5.46 p < 0.001) had significantly independent worse OS. CONCLUSION: Baseline FPG level is an independent predictor of survival in our cohort of patients with locally advanced NSCLC treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Studies in larger cohorts of patients are warranted to confirm this relevant association.

Intratumoral Delivery of Immunotherapy-Act Locally, Think Globally.

Immune mechanisms have evolved to cope with local entry of microbes acting in a confined fashion but eventually inducing systemic immune memory. Indeed, in situ delivery of a number of agents into tumors can mimic in the malignant tissue the phenomena that control intracellular infection leading to the killing of infected cells. Vascular endothelium activation and lymphocyte attraction, together with dendritic cell-mediated cross-priming, are the key elements. Intratumoral therapy with pathogen-associated molecular patterns or recombinant viruses is being tested in the clinic. Cell therapies can be also delivered intratumorally, including infusion of autologous dendritic cells and even tumor-reactive T lymphocytes. Intralesional virotherapy with an HSV vector expressing GM-CSF has been recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of unresectable melanoma. Immunomodulatory monoclonal Abs have also been successfully applied intratumorally in animal models. Local delivery means less systemic toxicity while focusing the immune response on the malignancy and the affected draining lymph nodes.

Reversion of epigenetically mediated BIM silencing overcomes chemoresistance in Burkitt lymphoma.

In Burkitt lymphoma/leukemia (BL), achievement of complete remission with first-line chemotherapy remains a challenging issue, as most patients who respond remain disease-free, whereas those refractory have few options of being rescued with salvage therapies. The mechanisms underlying BL chemoresistance and how it can be circumvented remain undetermined. We previously reported the frequent inactivation of the proapoptotic BIM gene in B-cell lymphomas. Here we show that BIM epigenetic silencing by concurrent promoter hypermethylation and deacetylation occurs frequently in primary BL samples and BL-derived cell lines. Remarkably, patients with BL with hypermethylated BIM presented lower complete remission rate (24% vs 79%; P = .002) and shorter overall survival (P = .007) than those with BIM-expressing lymphomas, indicating that BIM transcriptional repression may mediate tumor chemoresistance. Accordingly, by combining in vitro and in vivo studies of human BL-xenografts grown in immunodeficient RAG2(-/-)γc(-/-) mice and of murine B220(+)IgM(+) B-cell lymphomas generated in Eµ-MYC and Eµ-MYC-BIM(+/-) transgenes, we demonstrate that lymphoma chemoresistance is dictated by BIM gene dosage and is reversible on BIM reactivation by genetic manipulation or after treatment with histone-deacetylase inhibitors. We suggest that the combination of histone-deacetylase inhibitors and high-dose chemotherapy may overcome chemoresistance, achieve durable remission, and improve survival of patients with BL.

Uveal melanoma as a target for immune-therapy.

Uveal melanoma (UM) is a rare disease that can be deadly in spite of adequate local treatment. Systemic therapy with chemotherapy is usually ineffective and new-targeted therapies have not improved results considerably. The eye creates an immunosuppressive environment in order to protect eyesight. UM cells use similar processes to escape immune surveillance. Regarding innate immunity the production of macrophage inhibiting factor (MIF) and TGF-ß, added to MHC class I upregulation, inhibits the action of natural killer (NK) cells. UM cells produce cytokines such as IL-6 and IL-10 that favor macrophage differentiation to the M2 subtype, which promote tumor growth instead of an effective immune response. UM cells also impair the adaptive immune response through production of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), overexpression of programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1), alteration of FasL expression, and resistance to perforin. This biological background suggests that immunotherapy could be effective in fighting UM. A Phase II clinical trial with Ipilimumab has shown promising results with mean Overall Survival rate of ten months, and close to 50% of the patients alive at one year. Clinical trials with anti-PD1 antibodies in monotherapy and in combination with anti-CTLA4 are currently recruiting patients worldwide.