Triplet Therapy, Transplantation, and Maintenance until Progression in Myeloma.

BACKGROUND: In patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, the effect of adding autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT) to triplet therapy (lenalidomide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone [RVD]), followed by lenalidomide maintenance therapy until disease progression, is unknown. METHODS: In this phase 3 trial, adults (18 to 65 years of age) with symptomatic myeloma received one cycle of RVD. We randomly assigned these patients, in a 1:1 ratio, to receive two additional RVD cycles plus stem-cell mobilization, followed by either five additional RVD cycles (the RVD-alone group) or high-dose melphalan plus ASCT followed by two additional RVD cycles (the transplantation group). Both groups received lenalidomide until disease progression, unacceptable side effects, or both. The primary end point was progression-free survival. RESULTS: Among 357 patients in the RVD-alone group and 365 in the transplantation group, at a median follow-up of 76.0 months, 328 events of disease progression or death occurred; the risk was 53% higher in the RVD-alone group than in the transplantation group (hazard ratio, 1.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.23 to 1.91; P<0.001); median progression-free survival was 46.2 months and 67.5 months. The percentage of patients with a partial response or better was 95.0% in the RVD-alone group and 97.5% in the transplantation group (P = 0.55); 42.0% and 46.8%, respectively, had a complete response or better (P = 0.99). Treatment-related adverse events of grade 3 or higher occurred in 78.2% and 94.2%, respectively; 5-year survival was 79.2% and 80.7% (hazard ratio for death, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.73 to 1.65). CONCLUSIONS: Among adults with multiple myeloma, RVD plus ASCT was associated with longer progression-free survival than RVD alone. No overall survival benefit was observed. (Funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and others; DETERMINATION ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01208662.).

Aspirin vs Placebo as Adjuvant Therapy for Breast Cancer: The Alliance A011502 Randomized Trial.

Importance: Observational studies of survivors of breast cancer and prospective trials of aspirin for cardiovascular disease suggest improved breast cancer survival among aspirin users, but prospective studies of aspirin to prevent breast cancer recurrence are lacking. Objective: To determine whether aspirin decreases the risk of invasive cancer events among survivors of breast cancer. Design, Setting, and Participants: A011502, a phase 3, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial conducted in the United States and Canada with 3020 participants who had high-risk nonmetastatic breast cancer, enrolled participants from 534 sites from January 6, 2017, through December 4, 2020, with follow-up to March 4, 2023. Interventions: Participants were randomized (stratified for hormone receptor status [positive vs negative], body mass index [≤30 vs >30], stage II vs III, and time since diagnosis [<18 vs ≥18 months]) to receive 300 mg of aspirin (n = 1510) or placebo once daily (n = 1510) for 5 years. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was invasive disease-free survival. Overall survival was a key secondary outcome. Results: A total of 3020 participants were randomized when the data and safety monitoring committee recommended suspending the study at the first interim analysis because the hazard ratio had crossed the prespecified futility bound. By median follow-up of 33.8 months (range, 0.1-72.6 months), 253 invasive disease-free survival events were observed (141 in the aspirin group and 112 in the placebo group), yielding a hazard ratio of 1.27 (95% CI, 0.99-1.63; P = .06). All invasive disease-free survival events, including death, invasive progression (both distant and locoregional), and new primary events, were numerically higher in the aspirin group, although the differences were not statistically significant. There was no difference in overall survival (hazard ratio, 1.19; 95% CI, 0.82-1.72). Rates of grades 3 and 4 adverse events were similar in both groups. Conclusion and Relevance: Among participants with high-risk nonmetastatic breast cancer, daily aspirin therapy did not improve risk of breast cancer recurrence or survival in early follow-up. Despite its promise and wide availability, aspirin should not be recommended as an adjuvant breast cancer treatment. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02927249.

Perceptions of patients with early stage breast cancer toward research biopsies.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to describe the perspective of patients with early breast cancer toward research biopsies. The authors hypothesized that more patients at academic sites than at community-based sites would be willing to consider these procedures. METHODS: In total, 198 patients with early stage breast cancer were recruited from 3 academic centers (n = 102) and from 1 community oncology practice (n = 96). The primary objective was to compare the proportion of patients willing to consider donating excess tissue biospecimens from surgery, from a clinically indicated breast biopsy, or from a research purposes-only biopsy (RPOB) between practice types. RESULTS: Most patients (93% at academic sites, 94% at the community oncology site) said they would consider donating excess tissue from surgery for research. One-half of patients from academic or community sites would consider donating tissue from a clinically indicated breast biopsy. On univariate analysis, significantly fewer patients from academic sites would consider an RPOB (22% at academic sites, 42% at the community site; P = .003); however, this difference was no longer significant on multivariate analysis (P = .96). Longer transportation times and unfavorable prior experiences were associated with less willingness to consider an RPOB on multivariate analysis. Significantly fewer patients from academic sites (14%) than from the community site (35%) would consider a research biopsy in a clinical trial (P = .04). Contributing to scientific knowledge, return of results, and a personal request by their physician were the strongest factors influencing patients' willingness to undergo research biopsies. CONCLUSIONS: The current results rejected the hypothesis that more patients with early breast cancer at academic sites would be willing to donate tissue biospecimens for research compared with those at community oncology sites. These findings identify modifiable factors to consider in biobanking studies and clinical trials.

A Genomically and Clinically Annotated Patient-Derived Xenograft Resource for Preclinical Research in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models are an effective preclinical in vivo platform for testing the efficacy of novel drugs and drug combinations for cancer therapeutics. Here we describe a repository of 79 genomically and clinically annotated lung cancer PDXs available from The Jackson Laboratory that have been extensively characterized for histopathologic features, mutational profiles, gene expression, and copy-number aberrations. Most of the PDXs are models of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), including 37 lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and 33 lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) models. Other lung cancer models in the repository include four small cell carcinomas, two large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas, two adenosquamous carcinomas, and one pleomorphic carcinoma. Models with both de novo and acquired resistance to targeted therapies with tyrosine kinase inhibitors are available in the collection. The genomic profiles of the LUAD and LUSC PDX models are consistent with those observed in patient tumors from The Cancer Genome Atlas and previously characterized gene expression-based molecular subtypes. Clinically relevant mutations identified in the original patient tumors were confirmed in engrafted PDX tumors. Treatment studies performed in a subset of the models recapitulated the responses expected on the basis of the observed genomic profiles. These models therefore serve as a valuable preclinical platform for translational cancer research. SIGNIFICANCE: Patient-derived xenografts of lung cancer retain key features observed in the originating patient tumors and show expected responses to treatment with standard-of-care agents, providing experimentally tractable and reproducible models for preclinical investigations.

Role of Patient and Disease Factors in Adjuvant Systemic Therapy Decision Making for Early-Stage, Operable Breast Cancer: Update of the ASCO Endorsement of the Cancer Care Ontario Guideline.

PURPOSE: To update the American Society of Clinical Oncology endorsement of the Cancer Care Ontario recommendations on the Role of Patient and Disease Factors in Adjuvant Systemic Therapy Decision Making for Early-Stage, Operable Breast Cancer. METHODS: Two phase III trials-the Trial Assigning Individualized Options for Treatment (TAILORx) in women with hormone receptor-positive, node-negative tumors and the Microarray in Node-Negative and 1 to 3 Positive Lymph Node Disease May Avoid Chemotherapy (MINDACT) trial-provided the evidence for this update. UPDATED RECOMMENDATIONS: Shared decision making between clinicians and patients is appropriate for adjuvant systemic therapy for breast cancer. For patients older than age 50 years and whose tumors have Oncotype DX recurrence scores less than 26, and for patients age 50 years or younger whose tumors have Oncotype DX recurrence scores less than 16, there is little to no benefit from chemotherapy. Clinicians may offer endocrine therapy alone for these patients. For patients age 50 years or younger with recurrence scores of 16 to 25, clinicians may offer chemoendocrine therapy. Patients with recurrence scores greater than 30 should be considered candidates for chemoendocrine therapy. Based on informal consensus, the Panel recommends that oncologists may offer chemoendocrine therapy to patients with Oncotype DX scores of 26 to 30.The MammaPrint assay could be used to guide decisions on withholding adjuvant systemic chemotherapy in patients with hormone receptor-positive lymph node-negative breast cancer and in select patients with lymph node-positive cancers. In both patients with node-positive and node-negative disease, evidence of clinical utility of the MammaPrint assay was only apparent in those determined to be at high clinical risk; the Panel thus did not recommend use of MammaPrint assay in patients determined to be at low clinical risk. Remaining recommendations from the 2016 ASCO guideline endorsement are unchanged.Additional information is available at www.asco.org/breast-cancer-guidelines.

Role of Patient and Disease Factors in Adjuvant Systemic Therapy Decision Making for Early-Stage, Operable Breast Cancer: American Society of Clinical Oncology Endorsement of Cancer Care Ontario Guideline Recommendations.

PURPOSE: An American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) panel considered the Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) recommendations on the role of patient and disease factors in selecting adjuvant therapy for women with early-stage breast cancer for endorsement. METHODS: ASCO staff reviewed the CCO guideline for methodologic rigor, and an ASCO panel of content experts reviewed the content of the recommendations. CCO RECOMMENDATIONS: For making decisions regarding adjuvant therapy, nodal status, tumor size, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PgR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status, tumor grade, and lymphovascular invasion are relevant; Oncotype DX score and Adjuvant! Online may be used as risk stratification tools; and age, menopausal status, and medical comorbidities should be considered. Chemotherapy should be considered for patients with positive lymph nodes, ER-negative disease, HER2-positive disease, Adjuvant! Online mortality greater than 10%, grade 3 lymph node-negative tumors (T > 5 mm), triple-negative (ER-negative, PgR-negative, HER2-negative) tumors, lymphovascular invasion positivity, or estimated distant relapse risk of greater than 15% at 10 years based on Oncotype DX recurrence score (RS). Chemotherapy may not be beneficial or required for small node-negative tumors (T < 5 mm) without high-risk features or for patients with HER2-negative, strongly ER-positive, and PgR-positive cancer with micrometastatic nodal disease, T less than 5 mm, or Oncotype DX RS with an estimated distant relapse risk of less than 15% at 10 years. ASCO PANEL CONCLUSION: The ASCO panel endorses the recommendations with minor suggested revisions and highlights three areas that warrant further consideration: tumor histology and adjuvant therapy recommendations, risk stratification tools and proposed Oncotype DX RS thresholds to guide decisions about chemotherapy, and patient factors in decision making.