Telisotuzumab Vedotin Monotherapy in Patients With Previously Treated c-Met Protein-Overexpressing Advanced Non-Squamous EGFR-Wildtype NSCLC in the Phase 2 LUMINOSITY Trial.

PURPOSE: Telisotuzumab vedotin (Teliso-V) is a c-Met-directed antibody-drug conjugate with a monomethyl auristatin E cytotoxic payload. The phase 2 LUMINOSITY trial (NCT03539536) aimed to identify the optimal c-Met protein-overexpressing non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) population for treatment with Teliso-V (stage 1) and expand the selected group for efficacy evaluation (stage 2). Stage 2 enrolled patients with non-squamous epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-wildtype NSCLC. METHODS: Eligible patients had locally advanced/metastatic c-Met protein-overexpressing NSCLC and ≤2 prior lines of therapy (including ≤1 line of systemic chemotherapy). c-Met protein overexpression in non-squamous EGFR-wildtype NSCLC was defined as ≥25% tumor cells with 3+ staining (high [≥50% 3+]; intermediate [≥25%-<50%]). Teliso-V was administered at 1.9 mg/kg every 2 weeks. Primary endpoint was overall response rate (ORR) by independent central review. RESULTS: In total, 172 patients with non-squamous EGFR-wildtype NSCLC received Teliso-V in stages 1 and 2. ORR was 28.6% (95% CI, 21.7-36.2; c-Met high, 34.6% [24.2-46.2]; c-Met intermediate, 22.9% [14.4-33.4]). Median duration of response was 8.3 months (95% CI, 5.6-11.3; c-Met high, 9.0 [4.2-13.0]; c-Met intermediate: 7.2 [5.3-11.5]). Median overall survival was 14.5 months (95% CI, 9.9-16.6; c-Met high, 14.6 [9.2-25.6]; c-Met intermediate, 14.2 [9.6-16.6]). Median progression-free survival was 5.7 months (95% CI, 4.6-6.9; c-Met high, 5.5 [4.1-8.3]; c-Met intermediate: 6.0 [4.5-8.1]). Most common any-grade treatment-related adverse events (AEs) were peripheral sensory neuropathy (30%), peripheral edema (16%), and fatigue (14%); the most common grade ≥3 was peripheral sensory neuropathy (7%). CONCLUSION: Teliso-V was associated with durable responses in c-Met protein-overexpressing non-squamous EGFR-wildtype NSCLC, especially in those with high c-Met. AEs were generally manageable.

Eastern Canadian Gastrointestinal Cancer Consensus Conference 2019.

The annual Eastern Canadian Gastrointestinal Cancer Consensus Conference 2019 was held in Morell, Prince Edward Island, 19-21 September 2019. Experts in medical oncology, radiation oncology, and surgical oncology who are involved in the management of patients with gastrointestinal malignancies participated in presentations and discussion sessions for the purpose of developing the recommendations presented here. This consensus statement addresses multiple topics in the management of anal, colorectal, biliary tract, and gastric cancers, including: radiotherapy and systemic therapy for localized and advanced anal cancer; watch and wait strategy for the management of rectal cancer; role of testing for dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) deficiency prior to commencement of fluoropyrimidine therapy; radiotherapy and systemic therapy in the adjuvant and unresectable settings for biliary tract cancer; and radiotherapy and systemic therapy in the perioperative setting for early-stage gastric cancer.

Durvalumab therapy following chemoradiation compared with a historical cohort treated with chemoradiation alone in patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer: A real-world multicentre study.

BACKGROUND: The PACIFIC trial demonstrated that durvalumab therapy following chemoradiation (CRT) was associated with improved overall survival (OS) in patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It is unclear whether the results obtained as part of randomised controlled trials are a reflection of real-world (RW) data. Several questions remain unanswered with regard to RW durvalumab use, such as optimal time to durvalumab initiation, incidence of pneumonitis and response in PD-L1 subgroups. METHODS: In this multicentre retrospective analysis, 147 patients with stage III NSCLC treated with CRT followed by durvalumab were compared with a historical cohort of 121 patients treated with CRT alone. Survival curves were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared with the log-rank test in univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of standard prognostic factors for durvalumab use. RESULTS: Median OS was not reached in the durvalumab group, compared with 26.9 months in the historical group (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.56, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.37-0.85, p = 0.001). In the durvalumab group, our data suggest improved 12-month OS in patients with PD-L1 expression ≥50% (100% vs 86%, HR: 0.25, 95% CI: 0.11-0.58, p = 0.007). There was no difference in OS between patients with a PD-L1 expression of 1-49% and patients with PD-L1 expression <1%. Delay in durvalumab initiation beyond 42 days did not impact OS. Incidence of pneumonitis was similar in the durvalumab and historical groups. In the durvalumab group, patients who experienced any-grade pneumonitis had a lower 12-month OS than patients without pneumonitis (85% vs 95%, respectively; HR: 3.3, 95% CI: 1.2-9.0, p = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: This multicentre analysis suggests that PD-L1 expression ≥50% was associated with favourable OS in patients with stage III NSCLC treated with durvalumab after CRT, whereas the presence of pneumonitis represented a negative prognostic factor.

High mortality among hospital-acquired COVID-19 infection in patients with cancer: A multicentre observational cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Studies suggest that patients with cancer are more likely to experience severe outcomes from COVID-19. Therefore, cancer centres have undertaken efforts to care for patients with cancer in COVID-free units. Nevertheless, the frequency and relevance of nosocomial transmission of COVID-19 in patients with cancer remain unknown. The goal of this study was to determine the incidence and impact of hospital-acquired COVID-19 in this population and identify predictive factors for COVID-19 severity in patients with cancer. METHODS: Patients with cancer and a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 were prospectively identified using provincial registries and hospital databases between March 3rd and May 23rd, 2020 in the provinces of Quebec and British Columbia in Canada. Patient's baseline characteristics including age, sex, comorbidities, cancer type and type of anticancer treatment were collected. The exposure of interest was incidence of hospital-acquired infection defined by diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 ≥ 5 days after hospital admission for COVID-unrelated cause. Co-primary outcomes were death or composite outcomes of severe illness from COVID-19 such as hospitalisation, supplemental oxygen, intensive-care unit (ICU) admission and/or mechanical ventilation. RESULTS: A total of 252 patients (N = 249 adult and N = 3 paediatric) with COVID-19 and cancer were identified, and the majority were residents of Quebec (N = 233). One hundred and six patients (42.1%) received active anticancer treatment in the last 3 months before COVID-19 diagnosis. During a median follow-up of 25 days, 33 (13.1%) required admission to the ICU, and 71 (28.2%) died. Forty-seven (19.1%) had a diagnosis of hospital-acquired COVID-19. Median overall survival was shorter in those with hospital-acquired infection than that in a contemporary community-acquired population (27 days versus unreached, hazard ratio (HR) = 2.3, 95% CI: 1.2-4.4, p = 0.0006. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that hospital-acquired COVID-19, age, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group status and advanced stage of cancer were independently associated with death. INTERPRETATION: Our study demonstrates a high rate of nosocomial transmission of COVID-19, associated with increased mortality in both univariate and multivariate analysis in the cancer population, reinforcing the importance of treating patients with cancer in COVID-free units. We also validated that age and advanced cancer were negative predictive factors for COVID-19 severity in patients with cancer.