Final results of the Choroid Plexus Tumor study CPT-SIOP-2000.

INTRODUCTION: Standards for chemotherapy against choroid plexus tumors (CPT) have not yet been established. METHODS: CPT-SIOP-2000 (NCT00500890) was an international registry for all CPT nesting a chemotherapy randomization for high-risk CPT with Carboplatin/Etoposide/Vincristine (CarbEV) versus Cyclophosphamide/Etoposide/Vincristine (CycEV). Patients older than three years were recommended to receive irradiation: focal fields for non-metastatic CPC, incompletely resected atypical choroid plexus papilloma (APP) or metastatic choroid plexus papilloma (CPP); craniospinal fields for metastatic CPC/APP and non-responsive CPC. High risk was defined as choroid plexus carcinoma (CPC), incompletely resected APP, and all metastatic CPT. From 2000 until 2010, 158 CPT patients from 23 countries were enrolled. RESULTS: For randomized CPC, the 5/10 year progression free survival (PFS) of patients on CarbEV (n = 20) were 62%/47%, respectively, compared to 27%/18%, on CycEV (n = 15), (intention-to-treat, HR 2.6, p = 0.032). Within the registry, histological grading was the most influential prognostic factor: for CPP (n = 55) the 5/10 year overall survival (OS) and the event free survival (EFS) probabilities were 100%/97% and 92%/92%, respectively; for APP (n = 49) 96%/96% and 76%/76%, respectively; and for CPC (n = 54) 65%/51% and 41%/39%, respectively. Without irradiation, 12 out of 33 patients with CPC younger than three years were alive for a median of 8.52 years. Extent of surgery and metastases were not independent prognosticators. CONCLUSIONS: Chemotherapy for Choroid Plexus Carcinoma is feasible and effective. CarbEV is superior to CycEV. A subset of CPC can be cured without irradiation.

A phase 1 study of the pan-bromodomain and extraterminal inhibitor mivebresib (ABBV-075) alone or in combination with venetoclax in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia.

BACKGROUND: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogenous malignancy driven by genetic and epigenetic factors. Inhibition of bromodomain and extraterminal (BET) proteins, epigenetic readers that play pivotal roles in the regulation of genes relevant to cancer pathogenesis, constitutes a novel AML treatment approach. METHODS: In this first-in-human study of the pan-BET inhibitor mivebresib as monotherapy (MIV-mono) or in combination with venetoclax (MIV-Ven), the safety profile, efficacy, and pharmacodynamics of mivebresib were determined in patients with relapsed/refractory AML (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02391480). Mivebresib was administered at 3 monotherapy dose levels (1.5, 2.0, or 2.5 mg) or in combination with venetoclax (400 or 800 mg). RESULTS: Forty-four patients started treatment: of 19 who started MIV-mono, 5 went on to receive MIV-Ven combination therapy after disease progression and a washout period. Twenty-five patients started MIV-Ven, resulting in a total of 30 patients treated with the combination. The most common mivebresib-related treatment-emergent adverse events were dysgeusia (74%), decreased appetite (42%), and diarrhea (42%) in the MIV-mono group and decreased appetite (44%), vomiting (44%), and nausea (40%) in the MIV-Ven group. Serious adverse events occurred in 14 patients (74%) who received MIV-mono and in 22 patients (88%) who received MIV-Ven. In the MIV-mono group, responses were complete remission with incomplete blood count recovery in 1 patient and resistant disease in 15 patients. In the MIV-Ven group, responses were complete remission in 2 patients, partial remission in 2 patients, morphologic leukemia-free state in 2 patients, resistant disease in 12 patients, and aplasia in 1 patient. The pharmacodynamic effects of mivebresib were proportional to dose and drug exposure. CONCLUSIONS: Mivebresib was tolerated and showed antileukemic effects as monotherapy and in combination with venetoclax in patients with relapsed/refractory AML. LAY SUMMARY: Mivebresib is a novel drug that influences the way cancer cells read genetic information. Mivebresib was tested together with venetoclax in patients with acute myeloid leukemia after standard medicines failed and the disease returned, or when standard medicine was unavailable. Adverse effects were described for different drug doses, and the dose that is tolerable was determined. In some patients, their leukemia improved for some time. More studies are necessary to determine whether mivebresib can be used to treat acute myeloid leukemia.

A novel trial of topotecan, ifosfamide, and carboplatin (TIC) in children with recurrent solid tumors.

BACKGROUND: Ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide (ICE) in children with refractory or recurrent solid tumors and lymphomas has resulted in good overall response rates (ORR). Etoposide, a topoisomerase-II inhibitor, however, has been associated with a significant increase in secondary leukemia. The rationale for substituting topotecan, a topoisomerase-I inhibitor, for etoposide in this regimen, a topoisomerase-II inhibitor, includes its limited toxicity profile and decreased leukemogenicity. Furthermore, topotecan in combination with both alkylators and platinating agents are additive and/or synergistic against a variety of solid tumors. PROCEDURE: Patients with relapsed/refractory solid tumors received ifosfamide (9 g/m2 ) and carboplatin (area under the curve: 3 mg/ml/min). Topotecan was also administered at 0.5 mg/m2 /day × 3 days (N = 12) and in a small cohort (N = 3) at 0.75 mg/m2 /day. RESULTS: Fifteen patients were entered onto study. Two patients developed seizures/encephalitis secondary to ifosfamide. One patient had dose-limiting thrombocytopenia secondary to TIC that resolved with supportive care. Patients received a median of three cycles (1-3) of TIC. Of the 14 evaluable patients for response, 4/14 had a complete response (CR), 2/14 had a partial response (PR), and 1/14 patients had stable disease (SD). The ORR (CR + PR) was 43%. CONCLUSION: TIC chemotherapy is feasible and tolerable in children and adolescents with refractory/recurrent solid tumors and lymphomas and results in a 43% excellent ORR in this poor-risk group of patients. A larger cohort of patients, especially in Wilms tumor and central nervous system (CNS) tumors, should be studied in the future to attempt to confirm these preliminary findings. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2015;62:274-278. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Choroid plexus carcinomas are characterized by complex chromosomal alterations related to patient age and prognosis.

Choroid plexus carcinoma is a malignant brain tumor predominantly occurring in young children. Only limited data are available regarding the underlying molecular genetic alterations. Therefore, molecular inversion probe single nucleotide polymorphism (MIP SNP) arrays were performed on a series of 26 neuropathologically well-characterized choroid plexus carcinomas. Recurrent copy number losses of chromosomes 5, 6, 16, 18, 19, and 22 as well as gains of chromosomes 1, 2, 4, 12, and 20 were identified. Furthermore, GISTIC analysis identified significant recurrent gains of 17 genes in 9 regions, and recurrent losses of 96 genes in 14 regions. Clustering analysis separated choroid plexus carcinomas into two groups: one characterized by marked losses and the other characterized by gains across the chromosomes. Chromosomal losses of 9, 19p, and 22q were significantly more frequent in younger children (<36 months), whereas gains on chromosomes 7 and 19, and chromosome arms 8q, 14q, and 21q prevailed in older patients. Multivariate analysis revealed that loss of 12q was associated with shorter survival [12 ± 5 months vs. 86 ± 8 months; (mean ± SD; P = 0.001)] and, in addition, 45 smaller chromosomal regions showing genetic alterations significantly associated with survival could be identified. The MIP SNP array profiles also contributed to the diagnosis of two difficult SMARCB1-negative tumors as choroid plexus carcinoma and cribriform neuroepithelial tumor (CRINET), respectively. In conclusion, choroid plexus carcinomas are characterized by complex genetic alterations, which are related to patient age and may have prognostic and diagnostic value.

How long can folinic acid rescue be delayed after high-dose methotrexate without toxicity?

To determine the optimal time of folinic acid rescue after methotrexate (MTX) treatment in patients with ALL, we selected and evaluated relevant studies that included doses, rescue delay, and side effects. Rescue at 42-48 hours resulted in considerable toxicity, except when low doses of MTX were used (1 g/m(2)) or serum MTX levels remained consistently low at 24, 30, and 36 hours. Rescue started at 30-36 hours was safe. In the absence of evidence that later rescue improves prognosis, we suggest that folinic acid rescue (105 mg/m(2)) be started no later than 36 hours from the start of MTX (5-6 g/m(2)).

Selective MCL-1 inhibitor ABBV-467 is efficacious in tumor models but is associated with cardiac troponin increases in patients.

BACKGROUND: MCL-1 is a prosurvival B-cell lymphoma 2 family protein that plays a critical role in tumor maintenance and survival and can act as a resistance factor to multiple anticancer therapies. Herein, we describe the generation and characterization of the highly potent and selective MCL-1 inhibitor ABBV-467 and present findings from a first-in-human trial that included patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (NCT04178902). METHODS: Binding of ABBV-467 to human MCL-1 was assessed in multiple cell lines. The ability of ABBV-467 to induce tumor growth inhibition was investigated in xenograft models of human multiple myeloma and acute myelogenous leukemia. The first-in-human study was a multicenter, open-label, dose-escalation study assessing safety, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy of ABBV-467 monotherapy. RESULTS: Here we show that administration of ABBV-467 to MCL-1-dependent tumor cell lines triggers rapid and mechanism-based apoptosis. In vivo, intermittent dosing of ABBV-467 as monotherapy or in combination with venetoclax inhibits the growth of xenografts from human hematologic cancers. Results from a clinical trial evaluating ABBV-467 in patients with multiple myeloma based on these preclinical data indicate that treatment with ABBV-467 can result in disease control (seen in 1 patient), but may also cause increases in cardiac troponin levels in the plasma in some patients (seen in 4 of 8 patients), without other corresponding cardiac findings. CONCLUSIONS: The selectivity of ABBV-467 suggests that treatment-induced troponin release is a consequence of MCL-1 inhibition and therefore may represent a class effect of MCL-1 inhibitors in human patients.

Apoptosis is a type of cell death that removes abnormal cells from the body. Cancer cells can have increased levels of MCL-1, a protein that helps cells survive and prevents apoptosis. ABBV-467 is a new drug that blocks the action of MCL-1 (an MCL-1 inhibitor) and could promote apoptosis. In animal models, ABBV-467 led to cancer cell death and delayed tumor growth. ABBV-467 was also studied in a clinical trial in 8 patients with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer. In 1 patient, ABBV-467 treatment prevented the cancer from getting any worse for 8 months. However, in 4 out of 8 patients ABBV-467 increased the levels of troponin, a protein associated with damage to the heart. This concerning side effect may impact the future development of MCL-1 inhibitors as anticancer drugs.

Loss of TP53 expression in immortalized choroid plexus epithelial cells results in increased resistance to anticancer agents.

Choroid plexus carcinomas are malignant brain tumors predominantly arising in young children. Because a prognostic role of p53 alterations has been demonstrated, further research into potential underlying mechanisms is essential. Our objective was, therefore, to investigate the role of p53 in the growth-inhibitory potential of a variety of anticancer agents in the rodent choroid plexus epithelial cell line Z310. Furthermore, association of p53 alterations with proliferative activity (Ki67/MIB1) in choroid plexus carcinoma samples (N = 20) was examined by use of immunohistochemistry. Silencing of TP53 expression did not significantly alter metabolic activity in Z310 cells and p53 protein expression status was not associated with increased proliferative activity in choroid plexus carcinomas. However, the growth-inhibitory activity of vincristine, doxorubicin, carboplatin, etoposide, and temozolomide was significantly impaired by silencing of TP53. In conclusion, these results indicate a potential predictive role of p53 in choroid plexus carcinomas. Alterations of p53 should be taken into account when evaluating the effect of anticancer agents in future clinical trials.

Treatment of recurrent diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma: the MD Anderson Cancer Center experience.

Recurrent diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG) are traditionally treated with palliative care since no effective treatments have been described for these tumors. Recently, clinical studies have been emerging, and individualized treatment is attempted more frequently. However, an informative way to compare the treatment outcomes has not been established, and historical control data are missing for recurrent disease. We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients with recurrent DIPG treated between 1998 and 2010. Response progression-free survival and possible influencing factors were evaluated. Thirty-one patients were identified who were treated in 61 treatment attempts using 26 treatment elements in 31 different regimens. The most frequently used drugs were etoposide (14), bevacizumab (13), irinotecan (13), nimotuzumab (13), and valproic acid (13). Seven patients had repeat radiation therapy to the primary tumor. Response was recorded after 58 treatment attempts and was comprised of 0 treatment attempts with complete responses, 7 with partial responses, 20 with stable diseases, and 31 with progressive diseases The median progression-free survival after treatment start was 0.16 years (2 months) and was found to be correlated to the prior time to progression but not to the number of previous treatment attempts. Repeat radiation resulted in the highest response rates (4/7), and the longest progression-free survival. These data provide a basis to plan future clinical trials for recurrent DIPG. Repeat radiation therapy should be tested in a prospective clinical study.

Preliminary experience with personalized and targeted therapy for pediatric brain tumors.

BACKGROUND: A new generation of anticancer drugs has reached clinical care in common diseases, but their use in rare diseases such as pediatric brain tumors lags behind since conventional clinical trial design requires larger patient numbers. PROCEDURE: We designed individualized treatment protocols for pediatric patients with relapsed brain tumors, based upon the patient's treatment history. In addition, each tumor was analyzed with morphoproteomics using a panel of markers to show treatment targets, resulting in a list of potential novel drugs to be added to chemotherapy. Here, we present the concept and report the experiences of the first patients enrolled in the program. RESULTS: Eleven treatment protocols were designed using morphoproteomic information and given to eight patients. The histological diagnoses included: medulloblastoma (n = 3), glioblastoma multiforme (n = 2), atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (n = 1), choroid plexus carcinoma (n = 1), and primitive neuroectodermal tumors (n = 1). Tumor markers included p-ERK, Topoisomerase IIa, Bcl-2, VEGF-A, p-STAT3, ER-beta, p-mTOR, and p-NF-kappaBp65. The novel agents included sorafenib, bevacizumab, fulvestrant, rapamycin, bortezomib, and curcumin. The response to the first protocol was complete response: 1, partial response: 1, stable disease: 0, progressive disease: 4, and continuous complete remission: 2. The median Event-Free Survival was 0.32 year ± 0.4. For the comparison with the institutional control group, the individual response probability was calculated. The observed response was superior to the historical controls (P = 0.006 Whitman U-test). CONCLUSION: This approach warrants further, systematic evaluation as proof of concept and then expansion to drug-specific hypotheses.

A Hybrid Geometric Phase II/III Clinical Trial Design based on Treatment Failure Time and Toxicity.

The problem of comparing several experimental treatments to a standard arises frequently in medical research. Various multi-stage randomized phase II/III designs have been proposed that select one or more promising experimental treatments and compare them to the standard while controlling overall Type I and Type II error rates. This paper addresses phase II/III settings where the joint goals are to increase the average time to treatment failure and control the probability of toxicity while accounting for patient heterogeneity. We are motivated by the desire to construct a feasible design for a trial of four chemotherapy combinations for treating a family of rare pediatric brain tumors. We present a hybrid two-stage design based on two-dimensional treatment effect parameters. A targeted parameter set is constructed from elicited parameter pairs considered to be equally desirable. Bayesian regression models for failure time and the probability of toxicity as functions of treatment and prognostic covariates are used to define two-dimensional covariate-adjusted treatment effect parameter sets. Decisions at each stage of the trial are based on the ratio of posterior probabilities of the alternative and null covariate-adjusted parameter sets. Design parameters are chosen to minimize expected sample size subject to frequentist error constraints. The design is illustrated by application to the brain tumor trial design.

Fatigue in Cancer Treatment Studies: Analysis of Placebo Arms.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Fatigue and asthenia are common in patients with cancer; and identifying the cause as drug toxicity versus cancer progression is difficult, particularly in clinical trials without control arms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We carried out a systematic literature review of fatigue in placebo arms of randomized cancer trials reported in PubMed from 2000 to 2021. RESULTS: Fatigue/asthenia were reported in 100 out of 134 placebo cohorts, and the average of reported frequencies was 22.8%, with a range of 0-83%. Grade 3 or higher fatigue/asthenia was reported in 2.3% (0-17%). Fatigue/asthenia was positively correlated with nausea (R=0.683) Conclusion: For detection of drug toxicity, observations should be flagged when they are higher than the maximum reported in the placebo arm, and the assessment should be supplemented by comparing observations in early oncology trials to literature placebo arms, including both sample sizes and event numbers.

Adverse Events in Placebo Arms of Cancer Trials.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Adverse events (AEs) in cancer trials may be caused by the investigational agents or the underlying disease. Determining the causality is challenging, especially in early cancer drug development when a control arm is lacking. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We carried out a systematic literature review of AE frequencies in placebo arms of randomized trials for malignant solid tumors and hematologic malignancies reported in PubMed from 2016 to January 2022. RESULTS: Among 148 placebo arms, the AEs with the highest reported mean frequencies among all publications were: Fatigue (20.1%), nausea (16.3%), diarrhea (14.3%), abdominal pain (12.4%), and anemia (10.9%); AEs resulting in drug discontinuation were reported in 5.6% of placebo-treated patients and serious AEs in 18.7% of placebo patients. CONCLUSION: The data presented here may be used as a benchmark to help assess drug causality in early development cancer studies without a control arm.

Co-clinical Modeling of the Activity of the BET Inhibitor Mivebresib (ABBV-075) in AML.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The therapeutic potential of bromodomain and extra-terminal motif (BET) inhibitors in hematological cancers has been well established in preclinical and early-stage clinical trials, although as of yet, no BETtargeting agent has achieved approval. To add insight into potential response to mivebresib (ABBV-075), a broadspectrum BET inhibitor, co-clinical modeling of individual patient biopsies was conducted in the context of a Phase I trial in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Co-clinical modeling involves taking the patient's biopsy and implanting it in mice with limited passage so that it closely retains the original characteristics of the malignancy and allows comparisons of response between animal model and clinical data. Procedures were developed, initially with neonate NOD/Shi-scid-IL2rγnull (NOG) mice and then optimized with juvenile NOG-EXL as host mice, eventually resulting in a robust rate of engraftment (16 out of 26, 62%). RESULTS: Results from the co-clinical AML patient-derived xenograft (PDX) modeling (6 with >60% inhibition of bone marrow blasts) were consistent with the equivalent clinical data from patients receiving mivebresib in monotherapy, and in combination with venetoclax. The modeling system also demonstrated the activity of a novel BD2-selective BET inhibitor (ABBV-744) in the preclinical AML setting. Both agents were also highly effective in inhibiting blast counts in the spleen (10/10 and 5/6 models, respectively). CONCLUSION: These findings confirm the validity of the model system in the co-clinical setting, establish highly relevant in vivo models for the discovery of cancer therapy, and indicate the therapeutic value of BET inhibitors for AML and, potentially, myelofibrosis treatment.

Which therapy works better in choroid plexus carcinomas?

Choroid plexus carcinomas (CPCs) are rare tumors with dismal outcome. While it has been established that surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy improve survival, the best chemotherapy drugs for treating this disease still need to be identified. Since CPC is too rare to permit a prospective clinical trial, we performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the effects of individual drugs in patients with CPCs. We expanded a pre-existing database and included all cases of choroid plexus tumors, identified in PubMed through the end of 2007, for a total of 906 patients. At first, we restricted the analysis to patients with histologically confirmed CPC (n = 361) and with residual tumor after surgery (n = 130/361 patients), and we compared response and survival between patients who received a particular drug and those who did not. Response to chemotherapy was documented in 43 patients. Of the drugs used in these patients, etoposide was associated with the highest response rate (17/36). Next survival was compared among all CPC. Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests suggested a statistically significant treatment benefit for cyclophosphamide, etoposide, and carboplatin, while the effect of vincristine was found to be marginally significant (P = 0.07, log rank). Of these, only etoposide's effect could be confirmed in a limited Cox multiple regression analysis. In conclusion, etoposide should be included in future standard treatment protocols. However the survival rates are still unsatisfactory, and additional novel drugs should be studied in prospective multicenter studies.

High dose methotrexate for pediatric high grade glioma: results of the HIT-GBM-D pilot study.

We conducted a phase II study to test methotrexate (5 g/m(2)), as a single agent prior to radiochemotherapy for pediatric high-grade glioma and diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma. Thirty patients (19 male, median age 10.8) were enrolled. Tumors were located as follows: cortex 10, pons 7, other 13. Tumor resection was classified as gross total in 6, subtotal in 6, partial in 4, biopsy in 11 and not performed in 3. WHO grading of the histology was: IV: 11, III: 12 and II: 3. Patients received methotrexate 5 g/m(2) in 24-hour infusions on days 1 and 15. Subsequently 54 Gy radiation was administered with simultaneous chemotherapy including cisplatin, etoposide, vincristine and ifosfamide as previously described. Eight 6-weeks cycles of maintenance chemotherapy consisted of vincristine 1.5 mg/m(2) on days 1, 8 and 15; lomustine 100 mg/m(2) on day 2 and prednisone 40 mg/kg on days 1-17. Event-free survival rates in the whole group of 30 patients were: 43, 20, and 13% after 1, 2 and 5 years, respectively. The response evaluation after methotrexate was available in 19 of the 24 patients who started treatment with measurable disease: CR: 0, PR: 1, SD 18, PD: 0. After radiochemotherapy the response of 24 patients with measurable disease was CR: 1, PR 10, SD 12, PD 1. Both response and event-free survival were superior to the control group of 330 patients treated in various protocols of the same cooperative group. In subgroup analyses the use of dexamethasone during early treatment was linked to poor event free survival. Giving two cycles of high-dose methotrexate prior to radiochemotherapy was feasible, and the approach was taken forward to a randomized phase III trial.

Defining and ranking effects of individual agents based on survival times of cancer patients treated with combination chemotherapies.

An important problem in oncology is comparing chemotherapy (chemo) agents in terms of their effects on survival or progression-free survival time. When the goal is to evaluate individual agents, a difficulty commonly encountered with observational data is that many patients receive a chemo combination including two or more agents. Because agents given in combination may interact, quantifying the contribution of each individual agent to the combination's overall effect is problematic. Still, if on average combinations including a particular agent confer longer survival, then that agent may be considered superior to agents whose combinations confer shorter survival. Motivated by this idea, we propose a definition of individual agent effects based on observational survival data from patients treated with many different chemo combinations. We define an individual agent effect as the average of the effects of the chemo combinations that include the agent. Similarly, we define the effect of each pair of agents as the average of the effects of the combinations including the pair. Under a Bayesian regression model for survival time in which the chemo combination effects follow a hierarchical structure, these definitions are used as a basis for estimating the posterior effects and ranks of the individual agents, and of all pairs of agents. The methods are illustrated by a data set arising from 224 pediatric brain tumor patients treated with over 27 different chemo combinations involving seven chemo agents.

Anemia in Placebo Arms of Cancer Studies.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Adverse event (AE) frequencies observed in interventional clinical trials are difficult to interpret when the placebo control is missing. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Systematic literature review of AEs reported from the placebo arms of randomized cancer trials between 2008 and 2021. Imputation of missing values assuming normal distribution of hemoglobin values. RESULTS: Anemia grade 1 or higher was reported in 46 of 100 placebo monotherapy cohorts with a mean frequency of 23.4% (SD=27%) of the enrolled patients. The reported frequency depended on the type of cancer; other demographic variables had no significant influence on anemia frequency. CONCLUSION: External controls for anemia in clinical trials should be disease specific.

Diarrhea in Placebo Arms of Cancer Studies.

Background/Aim: Diarrhea is among the most common adverse events in early oncology clinical trials, and drug causality may be difficult to determine. Materials and Methods: This is a systematic literature review of placebo arms of randomized cancer trials. Results: Anemia was reported in 95 of 127 placebo monotherapy cohorts. Publications involving healthy volunteers and cancer prevention studies reported lower frequencies than those with cancer patients. The average reported frequency of diarrhea grade 1 or higher among studies in cancer patients was 15%. The maximal reported frequencies for grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 were 56, 24, 6, 2, and 0%, respectively. Conclusion: When higher diarrhea frequencies than those are observed in treatment arms of clinical trials, then drug causality is likely.

Headache Reporting in Oncology Trials Depends on the Demographics of the Study Population.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The frequency of adverse events (AEs) in clinical trials without control arms is difficult to interpret. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a systematic literature review of AEs reported from the placebo arms of randomized cancer trials in PubMed between 2008 and 2020. RESULTS: We found 80 placebo patient cohorts in 73 publications, describing 17,968 subjects who received placebo. Headaches were reported in 35 patient cohorts with an average frequency of 12.3% (+/- SD=8.0, range=0.4-34.1), and were more common in cohorts with a median age between 45 and 50 years, with higher performance status, and breast cancer (average 29.8% +/- SD=6.1). AEs leading to discontinuation were reported in 5% of cohorts (+/- SD=5.1, range=0-22.7). CONCLUSION: Considering covariates allows more accurate interpretation of the observed AE frequencies in cancer trials.

Clinical characteristics, late effects and outcomes in pineoblastomas in children: a single center experience.

BACKGROUND: Pineoblastomas (PB) are rare tumors of the central nervous system and are more common in children. There is no consensus about standard of care. The objective of this study is to analyze the outcome of children with PB. METHODS: Six patients with PB who were diagnosed between 1990-2012 were evaluated retrospectively. Demographics, age of diagnosis, first complaint, tumor region, diagnosis type, seeding metastasis to the spinal axis or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), treatment and survival of these patients were recorded. RESULTS: Three patients had subtotal resection and all patients received chemotherapy and craniospinal irradiation (CSI) after diagnosis. Median follow-up after treatment was 5.5 (range:1-19) years. Two patients are alive with no evidence of disease for 7.5 and 10 years, one of whom was diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma 9.5 years after treatment. One of the patients who died had lived for 19 years after diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Pineoblastomas are rare but very aggressive tumors; more effective treatment strategies are needed. Survivors should be followed up for late effects such as second malignancies and endocrine deficiencies.