Hodgkin lymphoma: an Australian experience of ABVD chemotherapy in the modern era.

Approximately 560 new cases of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) are diagnosed annually in Australia. Standard first-line therapy is ABVD (doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, dacarbazine). It is unknown how survival outcomes in patients receiving ABVD in current clinical practice, with routine positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and modern supportive measures, compare with results from published trials. This is a retrospective multi-centre study of patients with previously untreated HL between November 1999 and December 2014 receiving ABVD induction. Baseline characteristics, treatment details, toxicity and outcome data were collected from hospital records. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). Secondary endpoints included overall response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS), response to treatment and toxicity. One hundred and eighty-nine eligible patients were identified. Median age was 32 years (range 17-79). Nodular-sclerosing HL was the most common subtype (78 %), 44 % had B symptoms and 11 % had marrow involvement. Median number of cycles of ABVD administered was 6 (range 3-8). Eighteen patients (11 %) had dose delay, 21 (13 %) had dose reductions and 11 (8 %) had both. The ORR, defined predominantly by PET scan, was 96 % (CR 89 %). Five-year OS and PFS were 93 and 84 %, respectively in early disease (stage I-IIA) and 89 and 63 % in advanced disease (stage IIB, III and IV). No poor prognostic factors were identified on multivariate testing. The most common grade 3/4 toxicity was neutropenia (53 %). Our study confirms the excellent prognosis and manageable toxicity in HL patients receiving ABVD in phase III studies are reflected in patients treated in routine clinical practice in the modern era.

Metastatic urachal cancer responding to FOLFOX chemotherapy.

Metastatic urachal cancer is a rare disease and subsequently, does not have a defined systemic treatment. Although urachal cancer is most commonly adenocarcinoma and histologically similar to colon cancer, treatment selection is usually based upon location (the proximity of the urachus to the bladder) with bladder cancer regimens the most commonly prescribed. We report a case of metastatic urachal cancer where the immunohistochemical profile's similarities to colon cancer led to treatment with colon cancer specific chemotherapy. Our case is the first to report urachal cancer treated with and responding to modified FOLFOX6. In the age of targeted therapy, where molecular biology drives treatment selection, our case highlights that in rare tumors, when evidence is often lacking, a common sense approach can often prevail.

Impact of Primary Tumor Site on Bevacizumab Efficacy in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer.

BACKGROUND: With an ever-increasing focus on personalized medicine, all factors known to affect treatment response need to be considered when defining optimal therapy for individual patients. While the prognostic impact of primary tumor site on colorectal cancer (CRC) outcomes is established, emerging data suggest potential differences in response to biologic therapies. We studied the impact of tumor site on bevacizumab efficacy in patients with metastatic CRC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analyzed data of patients in an Australian prospective multicenter metastatic CRC (mCRC) registry who received first-line chemotherapy. Tumor site was defined as right colon, cecum to transverse; left colon, splenic flexure to rectosigmoid; and rectum. Kaplan-Meier and Cox models were used for survival analyses. RESULTS: Of 926 patients, 297 had right colon, 354 left colon, and 275 rectum primary disease. Median age was 68.6, 65.9, and 63.3 years, respectively (P = .001). Right colon disease was significantly associated with intraperitoneal spread (P < .0001), while left colon and rectum disease preferentially metastasized to the liver and lungs, respectively (P < .0001 in both settings). A total of 636 patients (68.7%) received bevacizumab. Progression-free survival was superior for bevacizumab-treated patients in all groups but appeared greatest in right colon disease (hazard ratio, 0.46; 95% confidence interval, 0.36-0.60; P ≤ .001). Overall survival was longest in patients with disease of the rectum, followed by left colon and right colon (median, 26.2, 23.6, and 18.2 months, respectively; P = .0004). CONCLUSION: Tumor site appears to be prognostic in mCRC, with rectum and right colon disease associated with the best and worst outcomes, respectively. Patients who received bevacizumab in addition to chemotherapy had superior outcomes, with the effect appearing greatest in patients with right colon disease.

Gastrointestinal perforation in metastatic colorectal cancer patients with peritoneal metastases receiving bevacizumab.

AIM: To investigate the safety and efficacy of adding bevacizumab to first-line chemotherapy in metastatic colorectal cancer patients with peritoneal disease. METHODS: We compared rates of gastrointestinal perforation in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and peritoneal disease receiving first-line chemotherapy with and without bevacizumab in three distinct cohorts: (1) the AGITG MAX trial (Phase III randomised clinical trial comparing capecitabine vs capecitabine and bevacizumab vs capecitabine, bevacizumab and mitomycinC); (2) the prospective Treatment of Recurrent and Advanced Colorectal Cancer (TRACC) registry (any first-line regimen ± bevacizumab); and (3) two cancer centres in New South Wales, Australia [Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centre and Liverpool Cancer Therapy Centre (NSWCC) from January 2005 to Decenber 2012, (any first-line regimen ± bevacizumab). For the AGITG MAX trial capecitabine was compared to the other two arms (capecitabine/bevacizumab and capecitabine/bevacizumab/mitomycinC). In the AGITG MAX trial and the TRACC registry rates of gastrointestinal perforation were also collected in patients who did not have peritoneal metastases. Secondary endpoints included progression-free survival, chemotherapy duration, and overall survival. Time-to-event outcomes were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. RESULTS: Eighty-four MAX, 179 TRACC and 69 NSWCC patients had peritoneal disease. There were no gastrointestinal perforations recorded in either the MAX subgroup or the NSWCC cohorts. Of the patients without peritoneal disease in the MAX trial, 4/300 (1.3%) in the bevacizumab arms had gastrointestinal perforations compared to 1/123 (0.8%) in the capecitabine alone arm. In the TRACC registry 3/126 (2.4%) patients who had received bevacizumab had a gastrointestinal perforation compared to 1/53 (1.9%) in the chemotherapy alone arm. In a further analysis of patients without peritoneal metastases in the TRACC registry, the rate of gastrointestinal perforations was 9/369 (2.4%) in the chemotherapy/bevacizumab group and 5/177 (2.8%) in the chemotherapy alone group. The addition of bevacizumab to chemotherapy was associated with improved progression-free survival in all three cohorts: MAX 6.9 m vs 4.9 m, HR = 0.64 (95%CI: 0.42-1.02); P = 0.063; TRACC 9.1 m vs 5.5 m, HR = 0.61 (95%CI: 0.37-0.86); P = 0.009; NSWCC 8.7 m vs 6.8 m, HR = 0.75 (95%CI: 0.43-1.32); P = 0.32. Chemotherapy duration was similar across the groups. CONCLUSION: Patients with peritoneal disease do not appear to have an increased risk of gastrointestinal perforations when receiving first-line therapy with bevacizumab compared to systemic therapy alone.

Addition of aflibercept to fluorouracil, leucovorin, and irinotecan improves survival in a phase III randomized trial in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer previously treated with an oxaliplatin-based regimen.

PURPOSE: Treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) commonly involves a fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy regimen such as infusional fluorouracil, leucovorin, and irinotecan (FOLFIRI) or fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin, often combined with bevacizumab or an epidermal growth factor receptor monoclonal antibody. We studied the effect of adding the novel antiangiogenic agent aflibercept (also known as ziv-aflibercept in the United States) to FOLFIRI in patients with mCRC previously treated with oxaliplatin, including patients who received prior bevacizumab. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients were randomly assigned to receive aflibercept (4 mg/kg intravenously; 612 patients) or placebo (614 patients) every 2 weeks in combination with FOLFIRI. Treatment was administered until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary end point was overall survival. RESULTS: Adding aflibercept to FOLFIRI significantly improved overall survival relative to placebo plus FOLFIRI (hazard ratio [HR], 0.817; 95.34% CI, 0.713 to 0.937; P = .0032) with median survival times of 13.50 versus 12.06 months, respectively. Aflibercept also significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS; HR, 0.758; 95% CI, 0.661 to 0.869; P < .0001), with median PFS times of 6.90 versus 4.67 months, respectively. The effects on overall survival and PFS exhibited a consistent trend across prespecified subgroup analyses, including bevacizumab pretreated patients. Response rate was 19.8% (95% CI, 16.4% to 23.2%) with aflibercept plus FOLFIRI compared with 11.1% (95% CI, 8.5% to 13.8%) with placebo plus FOLFIRI (P = .0001). Adverse effects reported with aflibercept combined with FOLFIRI included the characteristic anti-vascular endothelial growth factor effects and also reflected an increased incidence of some chemotherapy-related toxicities. CONCLUSION: Aflibercept in combination with FOLFIRI conferred a statistically significant survival benefit over FOLFIRI combined with placebo in patients with mCRC previously treated with oxaliplatin.

A multicenter, randomized, open-label study to assess the steady-state pharmacokinetics of bevacizumab given with either XELOX or FOLFOX-4 in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE: To compare the pharmacokinetics (PK) of bevacizumab (BV) at steady-state under two different dosing regimens, 7.5 mg/kg q3w and 5.0 mg/kg q2w, concomitantly with a combination of capecitabine and oxaliplatin (XELOX) and FOLFOX-4 (oxaliplatin in combination with infusional 5-FU/LV), respectively, in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). METHODS: Patients were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either XELOX + BV or FOLFOX-4 + BV. Blood samples for steady-state PK of BV were collected on day 1 of cycle 5 (at the earliest) for XELOX + BV treatment and day 1 of cycle 7 (at the earliest) for FOLFOX-4 + BV treatment. RESULTS: A total of 64 patients were enrolled, of which 37 were eligible for PK analyses. The primary PK parameter of BV, AUC(ss(per week)), was statistically similar between the two dosing regimens with the 90% confidence interval in the commonly used no-effect boundaries of 0.8 and 1.25. The V (ss) and CL did not differ between the two regimens; t (½) during the PK cycle was also similar for both arms at approximately 16 days. These results demonstrated no clinically relevant change in BV PK when co-administered with either XELOX or FOLFOX-4. BV in combination with XELOX and FOLFOX-4 was generally well tolerated with no unexpected safety signals and no deaths. Nine patients in the XELOX + BV arm and 15 patients in the FOLFOX-4 + BV arm experienced at least one SAE (most commonly gastrointestinal disorders) which led to dose modification in 7 and 2 patients, respectively, and to premature withdrawal in 9 and 5 patients, respectively. All 64 patients experienced at least one non-serious AE. Laboratory tests and vital signs were unremarkable. CONCLUSIONS: No clinically relevant differences in overall steady-state exposure of BV occurred when BV was given 7.5 mg/kg q3w in combination with XELOX or 5.0 mg/kg q2w with FOLFOX-4 in patients with mCRC, and the pharmacokinetics of BV were very similar between the two regimens. No unexpected adverse events or deaths were identified.

Tolerability of accelerated chest irradiation and impact on survival of prophylactic cranial irradiation in patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer: review of a single institution's experience.

INTRODUCTION: Evidence that has been published in the last decade indicates that in patients with limited-stage small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), hyperfractionated accelerated thoracic radiotherapy (RT) given twice daily and prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) have each separately improved survival. Concerns about the toxicities associated with these treatments and uncertainty about their impact on survival outside the trial setting may have restricted the extent to which they have been incorporated into standard treatment protocols. We have reviewed the experience at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre to determine the tolerability of these treatments in routine practice and to determine their effects on survival. METHODS: A retrospective review of patients with limited-stage SCLC receiving a radical course of thoracic RT between June 1998 and May 2002, including either conventional fractionation at 50 Gy for 5 weeks, or hyperfractionated accelerated RT at 45 Gy for 3 weeks. Patients achieving a complete response were offered PCI at 36 Gy in 18 fractions. The main outcomes recorded were RT toxicity (graded using CTCAE v. 3.0 and RTOG/EORTC late scoring criteria), response, relapse-free survival, and overall survival. RESULTS: Ninety patients were identified as having undergone radical-intent thoracic RT, with a median potential follow-up of 4.2 years. Fifty-seven patients (63%) were treated with hyperfractionated accelerated RT, and 33 (37%) were treated with conventional fractionation. Forty-six patients (51%) received PCI. Patients receiving hyperfractionated accelerated RT compared with conventional fractionation had higher rates of grade 3 and 4 esophagitis (14% versus 6%; p = 0.312), a higher rate of treatment interruptions (12% versus 3%; p = 0.250), and a higher hospital admission rate (39% versus 15%; p = 0.031). The majority of patients were able to complete the planned treatment, and there were no treatment-related deaths. Median survival for all patients from commencement of RT was 14.2 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 11.9-18.1 months), and survival at 2 years was 24.8% (95% CI: 16.9-35.0%). On multifactor analysis, the only factor associated with longer survival was PCI (hazard ratio = 0.40; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Hyperfractionated accelerated RT was more toxic than conventional fractionation, but it was possible to deliver treatment as planned in the majority of patients. PCI was associated with improved survival. Both treatments can be incorporated into routine practice.

Late relapse of metastatic testicular nonseminomatous germ cell cancer: surgery is needed for cure.

OBJECTIVE: To identify patients with late relapse of metastatic, nonseminomatous germ cell tumour (NSGCT) and to evaluate the patterns of relapse, treatment and outcome, as such relapse at >2 years after complete remission to treatment for metastatic disease (late relapse) is uncommon, but with prolonged follow-up is becoming increasingly recognized. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between 1980 and 2004, 1405 patients with testicular GCTs were identified who presented to Southampton University Hospital; 742 had NSGCTs or combined testicular GCTs, of whom 405 received primary chemotherapy for metastatic disease. In all, 329 (81%) patients achieved a complete response (CR) to initial treatment, with 101 of them (31%) requiring surgical resection of residual masses after chemotherapy. Any patient relapsing at >2 years after a CR to initial treatment (late relapse) was assessed in detail. RESULTS: In all, 20 patients had a late relapse, 17 of whom received initial treatment locally and three of whom were initially treated elsewhere. Most (65%) late relapses were asymptomatic and detected by routine cross-sectional imaging or rising levels of tumour markers. Late relapse occurred at a median (range) of 108 (26-217) months (approximately 9 years) after CR. Fifteen (75%) patients underwent only surgery for late relapse, including five who had invasive malignant germ cell cancer within the resected specimens. Fourteen of 15 surgically treated patients remained alive at a median of 44 (9-184) months from initial treatment for late relapse; one had died with progressive recurrent germ cell/epithelial malignancy. Five (25%) patients were initially treated with chemotherapy for late relapse; three of them died from progressive germ cell cancer and the two survivors both had surgical excision of residual abnormalities after salvage chemotherapy. Overall, 15 of 20 (75%) men remain alive with no evidence of disease; one further patient is currently undergoing salvage treatment for his third relapse. CONCLUSION: Late relapse is uncommon after modern therapy for metastatic GCTs. Surgical treatment for localized disease, where possible, is associated with prolonged disease-free and overall survival. By contrast, chemotherapy is associated with a low response rate and a poor outcome.

Liver metastases in germ cell cancer: defining a role for surgery after chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVE: To review the clinical course and outcome of patients with germ cell cancer and liver metastases treated at one centre, as the presence of hepatic metastases, although rare, is a poor prognostic feature in germ cell cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The case records of all patients with germ cell cancer and liver metastases at presentation, and treated with chemotherapy at a medical oncology unit between 1984 and 2001, were reviewed. The treatment regimens, tumour responses and patient outcome were recorded. RESULTS: Twenty-seven patients with germ cell cancer metastatic to the liver were identified. Complete biochemical and radiological responses were achieved in eight patients after initial chemotherapy and surgery for non-hepatic residual disease. Seven patients had only residual radiological hepatic abnormalities with normal tumour markers at the completion of initial treatment. There were no immediate hepatic resections and no further therapy was given. Serial computed tomography (CT) confirmed a progressive reduction in the size of hepatic lesions in six of seven patients. The persistence of residual hepatic abnormalities was not predictive of relapse, and overall survival of these patients (median survival 49 months, range 15-120) compared well with recent reports of such patients who have undergone hepatic resection. CONCLUSIONS: Conservative management with regular assessment by CT is an acceptable alternative to immediate hepatic resection for patients with isolated residual radiological hepatic abnormalities on completing first-line therapy for metastatic germ cell cancer, and does not adversely affect their survival.

Multicenter phase 2 trial of thalidomide in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma: adverse prognostic impact of advanced age.

Relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma has a poor outlook. Some patients respond to thalidomide; however, criteria for predicting response have not been conclusively identified. We initiated a prospective multicenter phase 2 trial in patients with relapsed/refractory myeloma using thalidomide up to the maximum dose, 800 mg/d. Interferon-alpha-2B (1.5-3.0 x 10(6) U, subcutaneously, 3 times per week) was added at week 12 if disease was responsive or stable. Patients intolerant of interferon continued thalidomide alone. Thalidomide with or without interferon was continued until disease progression. Objectives were to determine toxicity, response rate (RR), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) and to elucidate relevant prognostic factors. We enrolled 75 patients, with median age 64 years (range, 36-83 years). Median individual maximum-tolerated dose of thalidomide was 600 mg/d; 41% reached 800 mg/d. Overall RR was 28%, and 55% stable disease (SD). The only predictor for response was age 65 years or younger (38% versus 17%; P =.043). At 18 months median follow-up, the actuarial median PFS and OS were 5.5 and 14.6 months, respectively. Multivariate analysis for OS demonstrated age exceeding 65 years (median, 9.2 months versus longer than 26 months; P =.011), raised serum lactate dehydrogenase (P =.002), and raised serum creatinine (P =.007) predicted inferior outcomes. Nineteen patients received interferon. Ten discontinued owing to toxicity. Four of 12 patients who received interferon for longer than 4 weeks were converted from SD to partial response. Our findings confirm substantial activity of thalidomide in relapsed/refractory myeloma. Interferon may improve response in selected patients, but is often not tolerated. The inferior outcome demonstrated in those with the identified prognostic factors is important in planning management for such patients.