Pre-treatment magnetic resonance imaging in anal cancer: large-scale evaluation of mrT, mrN and novel staging parameters.

BACKGROUND: In patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SCCA), magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is recommended for pre-treatment staging prior to chemo-radiotherapy (CRT), but large-scale evaluation of its staging performance is lacking. METHODS: We re-characterised pre-treatment MRs from 228 patients with non-metastatic SCCA treated consecutively by CRT (2006-2015) at one UK cancer centre. We derived TN staging from tumour size (mrTr) and nodal involvement (mrN), and additionally characterised novel beyond TN features such as extramural vascular invasion (mrEMVI) and tumour signal heterogeneity (mrTSH). Primary outcomes were 5-year overall survival (OS) and 3-year loco-regional failure (LRF). Time-to-event analyses used Kaplan-Meier estimates; Hazard Ratios (HRs) with confidence intervals (CIs) were derived from Cox models. RESULTS: With a median follow up of 60.9 months, 5-year OS was 74%. Poor OS was associated with increasing mrT (HR: 1.12 per cm [95% CI: 1.07-1.33]), nodal positivity (HR 2.08 [95% CI 1.23-3.52]) and mrEMVI (HR 3.66 [95% CI: 1.88-7.41]). 3-year LRF rate was 16.5%. Increased LRF was associated with increasing mrT (HR: 1.43 per cm [95% CI: 1.26-1.63]), nodal positivity (HR 2.70 [95% CI 1.39-5.24]) and mrTSH (HR 2.66 [95% CI 1.29-5.48]). CONCLUSIONS: In SCCA, the study demonstrates that mrT and mrN stages are prognostic, while mrEMVI and mrTSH may be novel prognostic factors.

Preoperative chemotherapy response and survival in patients with colorectal cancer peritoneal metastases.

Treatment guidelines provided by PRODIGE-7 recommend perioperative systemic chemotherapy before cytoreductive surgery (CRS) for colorectal cancer peritoneal metastases (CRPM). Toxicity with multimodal treatment needs to be better defined. Chemotherapy response and impact on survival have not been reported. We assessed CRPM patients who received systemic oxaliplatin/irinotecan before CRS (preoperative) with Mitomycin C (35 mg/m2, 90 min) or Oxaliplatin (368 mg/m2, 30 min) heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). Secondary analysis was performed from a prospective database. Overall survival (OS) in chemotherapy responders (R) and nonresponders (NR) was compared. Toxicity was assessed by rate of adverse events (AEs). From April 2005 to April 2021, 436 patients underwent CRS + HIPEC; 125 (29%) received preoperative chemotherapy. The 112 (90%) received oxaliplatin (64, 57%) or irinotecan (48, 43%). R, defined as complete (CR) or partial response on preoperative imaging and/or postoperative histology, was seen in 71, 63% (53.8-72.3); 16, 14% (8.4-22.2) had CR. Median OS in R versus NR was 43.7 months (37.9-49.4) versus 23.9 (16.3-31.4) p = 0.007, HR 0.51 (0.31-0.84). OS multivariable analysis showed HR 0.48 (0.25-0.95), p = 0.03 for chemotherapy response corrected by peritoneal cancer index, completeness of cytoreduction score. CRS led to 21% grade 3-4 AEs versus 4% for preoperative chemotherapy. HIPEC grade 3-4 AEs were 0.5%. Preoperative chemotherapy response is an independent predictor for OS in CRPM.

Time From Colorectal Cancer Surgery to Adjuvant Chemotherapy: Post Hoc Analysis of the SCOT Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: The timing of adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery for colorectal cancer and its association with long-term outcomes have been investigated in national cohort studies, with no consensus on the optimal time from surgery to adjuvant chemotherapy. Objective: To analyze the association between the timing of adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery for colorectal cancer and disease-free survival. Design, Setting, and Participants: This is a post hoc analysis of the phase 3 SCOT randomized clinical trial, from 244 centers in 6 countries, investigating the noninferiority of 3 vs 6 months of adjuvant chemotherapy. Patients with high-risk stage II or stage III nonmetastatic colorectal cancer who underwent curative-intended surgery were randomized to either 3 or 6 months of adjuvant chemotherapy consisting of fluoropyrimidine and oxaliplatin regimens. Those with complete information on the date of surgery, treatment type, and long-term follow-up were investigated for the primary and secondary end points. Data were analyzed from May 2022 to February 2024. Intervention: In the post hoc analysis, patients were grouped according to the start of adjuvant chemotherapy being less than 6 weeks vs greater than 6 weeks after surgery. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was disease-free survival. The secondary end points were adverse events in the total treatment period or the first cycle of adjuvant chemotherapy. Results: A total of 5719 patients (2251 [39.4%] female; mean [SD] age, 63.4 [9.3] years) were included in the primary analysis after data curation; among them, 914 were in the early-start group and 4805 were in the late-start group. Median (IQR) follow-up was 72.0 (47.3-88.1) months, with a median (IQR) of 56 (41-66) days from surgery to chemotherapy. Five-year disease-free survival was 78.0% (95% CI, 75.3%-80.8%) in the early-start group and 73.2% (95% CI, 72.0%-74.5%) in the late-start group. In an adjusted Cox regression analysis, the start of adjuvant chemotherapy greater than 6 weeks after surgery was associated with worse disease-free survival (hazard ratio, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.06-1.46; P = .01). In adjusted logistic regression models, there was no association with adverse events in the total treatment period (odds ratio, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.65-1.04; P = .09) or adverse events in the first cycle of treatment (odds ratio, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.56-1.09; P = .13). Conclusions and Relevance: In this international population of patients with high-risk stage II and stage III colorectal cancer, starting adjuvant chemotherapy more than 6 weeks after surgery was associated with worse disease-free survival, with no difference in adverse events between the groups. Trial Registration: isrctn.org Identifier: ISRCTN59757862.

Cytoreductive surgery plus hyperthermic intraoperative peritoneal chemotherapy for people with peritoneal metastases from colorectal, ovarian or gastric origin: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: There is uncertainty in the relative benefits and harms of hyperthermic intraoperative peritoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) when added to cytoreductive surgery (CRS) +/- systemic chemotherapy or systemic chemotherapy alone in people with peritoneal metastases from colorectal, gastric, or ovarian cancers. METHODS: We searched randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in the medical literature until April 14, 2022 and applied methods used for high-quality systematic reviews. FINDINGS: We included a total of eight RCTs (seven RCTs included in quantitative analysis as one RCT did not provide data in an analyzable format). All comparisons other than ovarian cancer contained only one trial. For gastric cancer, there is high uncertainty about the effect of CRS + HIPEC + systemic chemotherapy. For stage III or greater epithelial ovarian cancer undergoing interval cytoreductive surgery, CRS + HIPEC + systemic chemotherapy probably decreases all-cause mortality compared to CRS + systemic chemotherapy. For colorectal cancer, CRS + HIPEC + systemic chemotherapy probably results in little to no difference in all-cause mortality and may increase the serious adverse events proportions compared to CRS +/- systemic chemotherapy, but probably decreases all-cause mortality compared to fluorouracil-based systemic chemotherapy alone. INTERPRETATION: The role of CRS + HIPEC in gastric peritoneal metastases is uncertain. CRS + HIPEC should be standard of care in women with stage III or greater epithelial ovarian cancer undergoing interval CRS. CRS + systemic chemotherapy should be standard of care for people with colorectal peritoneal metastases, with HIPEC given only as part of a RCT focusing on subgroups and regimes. PROSPERO REGISTRATION: CRD42019130504.

Prognostic and Predictive Value of Immunoscore in Stage III Colorectal Cancer: Pooled Analysis of Cases From the SCOT and IDEA-HORG Studies.

PURPOSE: Immunoscore (IS) is prognostic in stage III colorectal cancer (CRC) and may predict benefit of duration (6 v 3 months) of adjuvant infusional fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) chemotherapy. We sought to determine IS prognostic and predictive value in stage-III CRC treated with adjuvant FOLFOX or oral capecitabine and infusional oxaliplatin (CAPOX) in the SCOT and IDEA-HORG trials. METHODS: Three thousand sixty-one cases had tumor samples, of which 2,643 (1,792 CAPOX) were eligible for IS testing. Predefined cutoffs (IS-Low and IS-High) were used to classify cases into two groups for analysis of disease-free survival (3-year DFS) and multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (mvHRs) by Cox regression. RESULTS: IS was determined in 2,608 (99.5%) eligible cases, with 877 (33.7%) samples classified as IS-Low. IS-Low tumors were more commonly high-risk (T4 and/or N2; 52.9% IS-Low v 42.2% IS-High; P < .001) and in younger patients (P = .024). Patients with IS-Low tumors had significantly shorter DFS in the CAPOX, FOLFOX, and combined cohorts (mvHR, 1.52 [95% CI, 1.28 to 1.82]; mvHR, 1.58 [95% CI, 1.22 to 2.04]; and mvHR, 1.55 [95% CI, 1.34 to 1.79], respectively; P < .001 all comparisons), regardless of sex, BMI, clinical risk group, tumor location, treatment duration, or chemotherapy regimen. IS prognostic value was greater in younger (≤65 years) than older (>65 years) patients in the CAPOX cohort (mvHR, 1.92 [95% CI, 1.50 to 2.46] v 1.28 [95% CI, 1.01 to 1.63], PINTERACTION = .026), and in DNA mismatch repair proficient than deficient mismatch repair disease (mvHR, 1.68 [95% CI, 1.41 to 2.00] v 0.67 [95% CI, 0.30 to 1.49], PINTERACTION = .03), although these exploratory analyses were uncorrected for multiple testing. Adding IS to a model containing all clinical variables significantly improved prediction of DFS (likelihood ratio test, P < .001) regardless of MMR status. CONCLUSION: IS is prognostic in stage III CRC treated with FOLFOX or CAPOX, including within clinically relevant tumor subgroups. Possible variation in IS prognostic value by age and MMR status, and prediction of benefit from extended adjuvant therapy merit validation.

Multiplex analysis of intratumoural immune infiltrate and prognosis in patients with stage II-III colorectal cancer from the SCOT and QUASAR 2 trials: a retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND: Tumour-infiltrating CD8+ cytotoxic T cells confer favourable prognosis in colorectal cancer. The added prognostic value of other infiltrating immune cells is unclear and so we sought to investigate their prognostic value in two large clinical trial cohorts. METHODS: We used multiplex immunofluorescent staining of tissue microarrays to assess the densities of CD8+, CD20+, FoxP3+, and CD68+ cells in the intraepithelial and intrastromal compartments from tumour samples of patients with stage II-III colorectal cancer from the SCOT trial (ISRCTN59757862), which examined 3 months versus 6 months of adjuvant oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy, and from the QUASAR 2 trial (ISRCTN45133151), which compared adjuvant capecitabine with or without bevacizumab. Both trials included patients aged 18 years or older with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0-1. Immune marker predictors were analysed by multiple regression, and the prognostic and predictive values of markers for colorectal cancer recurrence-free interval by Cox regression were assessed using the SCOT cohort for discovery and QUASAR 2 cohort for validation. FINDINGS: After exclusion of cases without tissue microarrays and with technical failures, and following quality control, we included 2340 cases from the SCOT trial and 1069 from the QUASAR 2 trial in our analysis. Univariable analysis of associations with recurrence-free interval in cases from the SCOT trial showed a strong prognostic value of intraepithelial CD8 (CD8IE) as a continuous variable (hazard ratio [HR] for 75th vs 25th percentile [75vs25] 0·73 [95% CI 0·68-0·79], p=2·5 × 10-16), and of intrastromal FoxP3 (FoxP3IS; 0·71 [0·64-0·78], p=1·5 × 10-13) but not as strongly in the epithelium (FoxP3IE; 0·89 [0·84-0·96], p=1·5 × 10-4). Associations of other markers with recurrence-free interval were moderate. CD8IE and FoxP3IS retained independent prognostic value in bivariable and multivariable analysis, and, compared with either marker alone, a composite marker including both markers (CD8IE-FoxP3IS) was superior when assessed as a continuous variable (adjusted [a]HR75 vs 25 0·70 [95% CI 0·63-0·78], p=5·1 × 10-11) and when categorised into low, intermediate, and high density groups using previously published cutpoints (aHR for intermediate vs high 1·68 [95% CI 1·29-2·20], p=1·3 × 10-4; low vs high 2·58 [1·91-3·49], p=7·9 × 10-10), with performance similar to the gold-standard Immunoscore. The prognostic value of CD8IE-FoxP3IS was confirmed in cases from the QUASAR 2 trial, both as a continuous variable (aHR75 vs 25 0·84 [95% CI 0·73-0·96], p=0·012) and as a categorical variable for low versus high density (aHR 1·80 [95% CI 1·17-2·75], p=0·0071) but not for intermediate versus high (1·30 [0·89-1·88], p=0·17). INTERPRETATION: Combined evaluation of CD8IE and FoxP3IS could help to refine risk stratification in colorectal cancer. Investigation of FoxP3IS cells as an immunotherapy target in colorectal cancer might be merited. FUNDING: Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health Research, Cancer Research UK, Swedish Cancer Society, Roche, and Promedica Foundation.

JAK/STAT3 represents a therapeutic target for colorectal cancer patients with stromal-rich tumors.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a heterogenous malignancy underpinned by dysregulation of cellular signaling pathways. Previous literature has implicated aberrant JAK/STAT3 signal transduction in the development and progression of solid tumors. In this study we investigate the effectiveness of inhibiting JAK/STAT3 in diverse CRC models, establish in which contexts high pathway expression is prognostic and perform in depth analysis underlying phenotypes. In this study we investigated the use of JAK inhibitors for anti-cancer activity in CRC cell lines, mouse model organoids and patient-derived organoids. Immunohistochemical staining of the TransSCOT clinical trial cohort, and 2 independent large retrospective CRC patient cohorts was performed to assess the prognostic value of JAK/STAT3 expression. We performed mutational profiling, bulk RNASeq and NanoString GeoMx® spatial transcriptomics to unravel the underlying biology of aberrant signaling. Inhibition of signal transduction with JAK1/2 but not JAK2/3 inhibitors reduced cell viability in CRC cell lines, mouse, and patient derived organoids (PDOs). In PDOs, reduced Ki67 expression was observed post-treatment. A highly significant association between high JAK/STAT3 expression within tumor cells and reduced cancer-specific survival in patients with high stromal invasion (TSPhigh) was identified across 3 independent CRC patient cohorts, including the TrasnSCOT clinical trial cohort. Patients with high phosphorylated STAT3 (pSTAT3) within the TSPhigh group had higher influx of CD66b + cells and higher tumoral expression of PDL1. Bulk RNAseq of full section tumors showed enrichment of NFκB signaling and hypoxia in these cases. Spatial deconvolution through GeoMx® demonstrated higher expression of checkpoint and hypoxia-associated genes in the tumor (pan-cytokeratin positive) regions, and reduced lymphocyte receptor signaling in the TME (pan-cytokeratin- and αSMA-) and αSMA (pan-cytokeratin- and αSMA +) areas. Non-classical fibroblast signatures were detected across αSMA + regions in cases with high pSTAT3. Therefore, in this study we have shown that inhibition of JAK/STAT3 represents a promising therapeutic strategy for patients with stromal-rich CRC tumors. High expression of JAK/STAT3 proteins within both tumor and stromal cells predicts poor outcomes in CRC, and aberrant signaling is associated with distinct spatially-dependant differential gene expression.

Durable responses to ATR inhibition with ceralasertib in tumors with genomic defects and high inflammation.

BACKGROUNDPhase 1 study of ATRinhibition alone or with radiation therapy (PATRIOT) was a first-in-human phase I study of the oral ATR (ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related) inhibitor ceralasertib (AZD6738) in advanced solid tumors.METHODSThe primary objective was safety. Secondary objectives included assessment of antitumor responses and pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) studies. Sixty-seven patients received 20-240 mg ceralasertib BD continuously or intermittently (14 of a 28-day cycle).RESULTSIntermittent dosing was better tolerated than continuous, which was associated with dose-limiting hematological toxicity. The recommended phase 2 dose of ceralasertib was 160 mg twice daily for 2 weeks in a 4-weekly cycle. Modulation of target and increased DNA damage were identified in tumor and surrogate PD. There were 5 (8%) confirmed partial responses (PRs) (40-240 mg BD), 34 (52%) stable disease (SD), including 1 unconfirmed PR, and 27 (41%) progressive disease. Durable responses were seen in tumors with loss of AT-rich interactive domain-containing protein 1A (ARID1A) and DNA damage-response defects. Treatment-modulated tumor and systemic immune markers and responding tumors were more immune inflamed than nonresponding.CONCLUSIONCeralasertib monotherapy was tolerated at 160 mg BD intermittently and associated with antitumor activity.TRIAL REGISTRATIONClinicaltrials.gov: NCT02223923, EudraCT: 2013-003994-84.FUNDINGCancer Research UK, AstraZeneca, UK Department of Health (National Institute for Health Research), Rosetrees Trust, Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre.

Genetic and immune landscape evolution in MMR-deficient colorectal cancer.

Mismatch repair-deficient (MMRd) colorectal cancers (CRCs) have high mutation burdens, which make these tumours immunogenic and many respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors. The MMRd hypermutator phenotype may also promote intratumour heterogeneity (ITH) and cancer evolution. We applied multiregion sequencing and CD8 and programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) immunostaining to systematically investigate ITH and how genetic and immune landscapes coevolve. All cases had high truncal mutation burdens. Despite pervasive ITH, driver aberrations showed a clear hierarchy. Those in WNT/ß-catenin, mitogen-activated protein kinase, and TGF-ß receptor family genes were almost always truncal. Immune evasion (IE) drivers, such as inactivation of genes involved in antigen presentation or IFN-γ signalling, were predominantly subclonal and showed parallel evolution. These IE drivers have been implicated in immune checkpoint inhibitor resistance or sensitivity. Clonality assessments are therefore important for the development of predictive immunotherapy biomarkers in MMRd CRCs. Phylogenetic analysis identified three distinct patterns of IE driver evolution: pan-tumour evolution, subclonal evolution, and evolutionary stasis. These, but neither mutation burdens nor heterogeneity metrics, significantly correlated with T-cell densities, which were used as a surrogate marker of tumour immunogenicity. Furthermore, this revealed that genetic and T-cell infiltrates coevolve in MMRd CRCs. Low T-cell densities in the subgroup without any known IE drivers may indicate an, as yet unknown, IE mechanism. PD-L1 was expressed in the tumour microenvironment in most samples and correlated with T-cell densities. However, PD-L1 expression in cancer cells was independent of T-cell densities but strongly associated with loss of the intestinal homeobox transcription factor CDX2. This explains infrequent PD-L1 expression by cancer cells and may contribute to a higher recurrence risk of MMRd CRCs with impaired CDX2 expression. © 2023 The Authors. The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

Accounting for intensity variation in image analysis of large-scale multiplexed clinical trial datasets.

Multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF) imaging can provide comprehensive quantitative and spatial information for multiple immune markers for tumour immunoprofiling. However, application at scale to clinical trial samples sourced from multiple institutions is challenging due to pre-analytical heterogeneity. This study reports an analytical approach to the largest multi-parameter immunoprofiling study of clinical trial samples to date. We analysed 12,592 tissue microarray (TMA) spots from 3,545 colorectal cancers sourced from more than 240 institutions in two clinical trials (QUASAR 2 and SCOT) stained for CD4, CD8, CD20, CD68, FoxP3, pan-cytokeratin, and DAPI by mIF. TMA slides were multi-spectrally imaged and analysed by cell-based and pixel-based marker analysis. We developed an adaptive thresholding method to account for inter- and intra-slide intensity variation in TMA analysis. Applying this method effectively ameliorated inter- and intra-slide intensity variation improving the image analysis results compared with methods using a single global threshold. Correlation of CD8 data derived by our mIF analysis approach with single-plex chromogenic immunohistochemistry CD8 data derived from subsequent sections indicates the validity of our method (Spearman's rank correlation coefficients ρ between 0.63 and 0.66, p ≪ 0.01) as compared with the current gold standard analysis approach. Evaluation of correlation between cell-based and pixel-based analysis results confirms equivalency (ρ > 0.8, p ≪ 0.01, except for CD20 in the epithelial region) of both analytical approaches. These data suggest that our adaptive thresholding approach can enable analysis of mIF-stained clinical trial TMA datasets by digital pathology at scale for precision immunoprofiling.

Associations between AI-Assisted Tumor Amphiregulin and Epiregulin IHC and Outcomes from Anti-EGFR Therapy in the Routine Management of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer.

PURPOSE: High tumor production of the EGFR ligands, amphiregulin (AREG) and epiregulin (EREG), predicted benefit from anti-EGFR therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) in a retrospective analysis of clinical trial data. Here, AREG/EREG IHC was analyzed in a cohort of patients who received anti-EGFR therapy as part of routine care, including key clinical contexts not investigated in the previous analysis. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Patients who received panitumumab or cetuximab ± chemotherapy for treatment of RAS wild-type mCRC at eight UK cancer centers were eligible. Archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissue was analyzed for AREG and EREG IHC in six regional laboratories using previously developed artificial intelligence technologies. Primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: A total of 494 of 541 patients (91.3%) had adequate tissue for analysis. A total of 45 were excluded after central extended RAS testing, leaving 449 patients in the primary analysis population. After adjustment for additional prognostic factors, high AREG/EREG expression (n = 360; 80.2%) was associated with significantly prolonged PFS [median: 8.5 vs. 4.4 months; HR, 0.73; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.56-0.95; P = 0.02] and OS [median: 16.4 vs. 8.9 months; HR, 0.66 95% CI, 0.50-0.86; P = 0.002]. The significant OS benefit was maintained among patients with right primary tumor location (PTL), those receiving cetuximab or panitumumab, those with an oxaliplatin- or irinotecan-based chemotherapy backbone, and those with tumor tissue obtained by biopsy or surgical resection. CONCLUSIONS: High tumor AREG/EREG expression was associated with superior survival outcomes from anti-EGFR therapy in mCRC, including in right PTL disease. AREG/EREG IHC assessment could aid therapeutic decisions in routine practice. See related commentary by Randon and Pietrantonio, p. 4021.

AN0025, a novel antagonist of PGE2-receptor E-type 4 (EP4), in combination with total neoadjuvant treatment of advanced rectal cancer.

PURPOSE: To assess the safety and efficacy of AN0025 in combination with preoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy in either short course (SCRT) or long course radiotherapy (LCRT) settings for those with locally advanced rectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-eight subjects with locally advanced rectal cancer participated in this multicenter, open-label, Phase Ib trial. Enrolled subjects received either 250 mg or 500 mg of AN0025 once daily for 10 weeks with either LCRT or SCRT with chemotherapy (7 subjects/group). Participants were assessed for safety/efficacy starting from the first dose of study drug administration and were followed for 2 years. RESULTS: No treatment-emergent adverse or serious adverse events meeting dose-limiting criteria were observed, with only 3 subjects discontinuing AN0025 treatment due to adverse events. Twenty-five of 28 subjects completed 10 weeks of AN0025 and adjuvant therapy and were evaluated for efficacy. Overall, 36.0% of subjects (9/25 subjects) achieved a pathological complete response or a complete clinical response, including 26.7% of subjects (4/15 subjects who underwent surgery) who achieved a pathological complete response. A total of 65.4% of subjects had magnetic resonance imaging-confirmed down-staging ≤ stage 3 following completion of treatment. With a median follow-up of 30 months. The 12-month disease-free survival and overall survival were 77.5% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 56.6, 89.2) and 96.3% (95% CI: 76.5, 99.5), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with AN0025 administered for 10 weeks along with preoperative SCRT or LCRT did not appear to worsen the toxicity in subjects with locally advanced rectal cancer, was well-tolerated and showed promise in inducing both a pathological and complete clinical response. These findings suggest its activity deserves further investigation in larger clinical trials.

SCOT: Tumor Sidedness and the Influence of Adjuvant Chemotherapy Duration on Disease Free Survival (DFS).

AIM: Patients with loco-regional right-sided colorectal tumors have a worse overall survival (OS). Here we investigate the difference in disease free survival (DFS) between colorectal patients with right and left sided tumors in the SCOT study. METHODS: The SCOT study showed 3-months of oxaliplatin-containing adjuvant chemotherapy (OxFp) is non-inferior to 6-months for patients with stage III and high-risk stage II colorectal cancer. We divided the cohort into patients with left and right sided tumors, and evaluated the effect on DFS and the principle 3 versus 6-months analysis. RESULTS: 6088 patients with Stage III/high risk Stage II colorectal cancers were randomized between 27th March 2008 and 29th November 2013 from 244 centers internationally. In February 2017 (3-years FU) information on sidedness was available for 3309 patients (1238 R-sided, 2071 L-sided). Patients with right-sided tumors had a significantly worse DFS (3-year DFS right: 73.3% (se = 1.3%), left: 80.2% (se = 0.9%) HR 1.423 (95% CI 1.237-1.637; P < .0001). Adjusting for T and N-stage reduced the HR to 1.230 (95% CI 1.066-1.420, P = .005). The data did not suggest that sidedness affected the impact of chemotherapy duration on 3-year DFS (R: HR 1.024 [0.831-1.261], L: HR 0.944 [0.783-1.139]). Test for heterogeneity, P = .571. Further sub-set analysis was limited due to cohort size. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to show that unselected patients with right-sided tumors had a worse DFS compared to left-sided tumors. Tumor sidedness did not impact upon the 3-months versus 6-months comparison in SCOT.

The Mental Health Burden of Patients with Colorectal Cancer Receiving Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results of the PICO-SM Study.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented changes to the lives of patients with cancer. To evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health and well-being of patients with colorectal cancer, we conducted a prospective longitudinal questionnaire study at a UK tertiary cancer centre. In total, 216 participants were included: mean age 65 years, 57% (n = 122) male, 92% (n = 198) of white ethnicity. Amongst participants who completed the screening psychometric questionnaire, 24% (n = 48/203) reported anxiety (GAD-7 ≥ 5), 15% (n = 31/204) depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥ 10), 3% (n = 5/190) probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PC-PTSD-5 ≥ 4), and 31% (n = 66/213) poor well-being (WHO-5 < 50). In the subgroup (n = 95/216, 44%) who consented to and completed a follow-up survey 6 months later, there was a significant increase in the number of participants at risk of depression (4% vs. 13%, p = 0.021). Self-reported concern about the COVID-19 pandemic impacting one's mental health is associated with increased likelihood of anxiety, depression, and poor well-being, in respective multivariate analyses. In conclusion, screening for the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is essential to ensure timely action from all key stakeholders and to avoid potentially longer-term detrimental consequences.

RAS Mutation Status Should Not Be Used to Predict Outcome from Cytoreductive Surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy for Colorectal Peritoneal Metastases.

BACKGROUND: Genetic biomarkers guide systemic anti-cancer treatment (SACT) in metastatic colorectal cancer. It has been suggested they have a role in selecting patients with colorectal peritoneal metastases (CRPM) for cytoreductive surgery (CRS) with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). This study aims to quantify the effect of mutation status on overall survival (OS), adjusting for confounders such as pre-operative systemic anticancer treatment (SACT). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective analysis of patients undergoing CRS/HIPEC for CRPM at a national peritoneal tumour centre (2004-2017) was performed. Demographics, treatment history and operative data were extracted. Known biomarker gene mutation status was noted including: KRAS, NRAS, BRAF, PIK3CA and MMR. Cox regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier curves were used to determine overall survival. RESULTS: One hundred ninety-five patients were included. Median follow-up time was 34.7 months (range 5.4-184.9 months) and median OS was 38.7 months (95% CI 32.4-44.9 months). Biomarker status was as follows: KRAS (n = 114), NRAS (n = 85), BRAF (n = 44), PIK3CA (n = 15) and MMR (n = 21). Mutation rates were 45.6%, 3.5%, 13.6%, 13.3% and 14.3%, respectively. Seventy-four per cent underwent complete cytoreduction (CC = 0), 81% received SACT pre-CRS/HIPEC and 65% post-CRS/HIPEC. RAS (p = 0.21) or BRAF (p = 0.109) mutation status did not predict OS. Nodal involvement, extramural vascular invasion, Peritoneal Cancer Index (PCI) score, CC score, SACT post-HIPEC and NRAS mutation were significant negative predictors of OS in univariate analysis (p < 0.05). Multivariate Cox regression confirmed CC-score > 1 (HR: 7.599, 95% CI 3.402-16.974, p < 0.0001) as a negative predictor of OS. RAS mutation status did not affect outcome (HR: 1.682, 95% CI 0.995-2.843, p = 0.052). CONCLUSIONS: RAS mutation status should not in isolation be used to select patients for CRS/HIPEC.

Trifluridine-tipiracil plus bevacizumab versus capecitabine plus bevacizumab as first-line treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer ineligible for intensive therapy (SOLSTICE): a randomised, open-label phase 3 study.

BACKGROUND: Trifluridine-tipiracil plus bevacizumab has shown efficacy in previous phase 2 studies including patients with unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer. We aimed to investigate first-line trifluridine-tipiracil plus bevacizumab versus capecitabine plus bevacizumab in patients with unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer ineligible for intensive treatment. METHODS: In this open-label, randomised, phase 3 study, we enrolled patients aged 18 years and older with histologically confirmed metastatic colorectal cancer, ineligible for full-dose doublet or triplet chemotherapy and curative resection across 25 countries and regions. Participants were randomly allocated (1:1) to trifluridine-tipiracil plus bevacizumab or capecitabine plus bevacizumab until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity using an interactive web response system, stratified by Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (0 vs 1 vs 2), primary tumour location (right vs left colon), and the main reason for not being a candidate for intensive therapy (clinical condition vs non-clinical condition). The primary endpoint was investigator-assessed progression-free survival, defined as the time from randomisation to radiological progression or death from any cause, in the intention-to-treat population. Safety was assessed in all patients having taken at least one dose of the study drug. The trial is ongoing, findings presented here are those of the primary analysis of progression-free survival, conducted after 629 events had occurred. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03869892. FINDINGS: Between March 21, 2019, and Sept 14, 2020, 856 patients (54% male, 46% female) were randomly assigned to trifluridine-tipiracil plus bevacizumab (n=426) or capecitabine plus bevacizumab (n=430). After a median follow-up of 16·6 months (95% CI 16·5-17·1), the hazard ratio for progression-free survival for trifluridine-tipiracil plus bevacizumab versus capecitabine plus bevacizumab was 0·87 (0·75-1·02; p=0·0464; protocol-defined significance level of p=0·021 not met). Investigator-assessed median progression-free survival was 9·4 months (95% CI 9·1-10·9) with trifluridine-tipiracil plus bevacizumab versus 9·3 months (8·9-9·8) with capecitabine plus bevacizumab. The most common grade 3 and higher treatment-emergent adverse events were neutropenia (220 [52%] of 423 patients in the trifluridine-tipiracil plus bevacizumab group vs six [1%] of 427 in the capecitabine plus bevacizumab group), decreased neutrophil count (78 [18%] vs four [<1%]), anaemia (60 [14%] vs 16 [4%]), and hand-foot syndrome (none vs 61 [15%]). Nine deaths (five in the trifluridine-tipiracil plus bevacizumab group and four in the capecitabine plus bevacizumab group) were treatment related. INTERPRETATION: First-line trifluridine-tipiracil plus bevacizumab was not superior to capecitabine plus bevacizumab in this population. As expected, the safety profile differed between the two treatments, but there were no new safety concerns. Trifluridine-tipiracil plus bevacizumab represents a feasible alternative to capecitabine plus bevacizumab in this population. FUNDING: Servier International Research Institute, Suresnes, France.

PANTHER: AZD8931, inhibitor of EGFR, ERBB2 and ERBB3 signalling, combined with FOLFIRI: a Phase I/II study to determine the importance of schedule and activity in colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a therapeutic target to which HER2/HER3 activation may contribute resistance. This Phase I/II study examined the toxicity and efficacy of high-dose pulsed AZD8931, an EGFR/HER2/HER3 inhibitor, combined with chemotherapy, in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). METHODS: Treatment-naive patients received 4-day pulses of AZD8931 with irinotecan/5-FU (FOLFIRI) in a Phase I/II single-arm trial. Primary endpoint for Phase I was dose limiting toxicity (DLT); for Phase II best overall response. Samples were analysed for pharmacokinetics, EGFR dimers in circulating exosomes and Comet assay quantitating DNA damage. RESULTS: Eighteen patients received FOLFIRI and AZD8931. At 160 mg bd, 1 patient experienced G3 DLT; 160 mg bd was used for cohort expansion. No grade 5 adverse events (AE) reported. Seven (39%) and 1 (6%) patients experienced grade 3 and grade 4 AEs, respectively. Of 12 patients receiving 160 mg bd, best overall response rate was 25%, median PFS and OS were 8.7 and 21.2 months, respectively. A reduction in circulating HER2/3 dimer in the two responding patients after 12 weeks treatment was observed. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of pulsed high-dose AZD8931 with FOLFIRI has acceptable toxicity. Further studies of TKI sequencing may establish a role for pulsed use of such agents rather than continuous exposure. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT01862003.

Clinical and radiomics prediction of complete response in rectal cancer pre-chemoradiotherapy.

Background and purpose: Patients with rectal cancer could avoid major surgery if they achieve clinical complete response (cCR) post neoadjuvant treatment. Therefore, prediction of treatment outcomes before treatment has become necessary to select the best neo-adjuvant treatment option. This study investigates clinical and radiomics variables' ability to predict cCR in patients pre chemoradiotherapy. Materials and methods: Using the OnCoRe database, we recruited a matched cohort of 304 patients (152 with cCR; 152 without cCR) deriving training (N = 200) and validation (N = 104) sets. We collected pre-treatment MR (magnetic resonance) images, demographics and blood parameters (haemoglobin, neutrophil, lymphocyte, alkaline phosphate and albumin). We segmented the gross tumour volume on T2 Weighted MR Images and extracted 1430 stable radiomics features per patient. We used principal component analysis (PCA) and receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (ROC AUC) to reduce dimensionality and evaluate the models produced. Results: Using Logistic regression analysis, PCA-derived combined model (radiomics plus clinical variables) gave a ROC AUC of 0.76 (95% CI: 0.69-0.83) in the training set and 0.68 (95% CI 0.57-0.79) in the validation set. The clinical only model achieved an AUC of 0.73 (95% CI 0.66-0.80) and 0.62 (95% CI 0.51-0.74) in the training and validation set, respectively. The radiomics model had an AUC of 0.68 (95% CI 0.61-0.75) and 0.66 (95% CI 0.56-0.77) in the training and validation sets. Conclusion: The predictive characteristics of both clinical and radiomics variables for clinical complete response remain modest but radiomics predictability is improved with addition of clinical variables.

A Phase II trial of Higher RadiOtherapy Dose In The Eradication of early rectal cancer (APHRODITE): protocol for a multicentre, open-label randomised controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: The standard of care for patients with localised rectal cancer is radical surgery, often combined with preoperative neoadjuvant (chemo)radiotherapy. While oncologically effective, this treatment strategy is associated with operative mortality risks, significant morbidity and stoma formation. An alternative approach is chemoradiotherapy to try to achieve a sustained clinical complete response (cCR). This non-surgical management can be attractive, particularly for patients at high risk of surgical complications. Modern radiotherapy techniques allow increased treatment conformality, enabling increased radiation dose to the tumour while reducing dose to normal tissue. The objective of this trial is to assess if radiotherapy dose escalation increases the cCR rate, with acceptable toxicity, for treatment of patients with early rectal cancer unsuitable for radical surgery. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: APHRODITE (A Phase II trial of Higher RadiOtherapy Dose In The Eradication of early rectal cancer) is a multicentre, open-label randomised controlled phase II trial aiming to recruit 104 participants from 10 to 12 UK sites. Participants will be allocated with a 2:1 ratio of intervention:control. The intervention is escalated dose radiotherapy (62 Gy to primary tumour, 50.4 Gy to surrounding mesorectum in 28 fractions) using simultaneous integrated boost. The control arm will receive 50.4 Gy to the primary tumour and surrounding mesorectum. Both arms will use intensity-modulated radiotherapy and daily image guidance, combined with concurrent chemotherapy (capecitabine, 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin or omitted). The primary endpoint is the proportion of participants with cCR at 6 months after start of treatment. Secondary outcomes include early and late toxicities, time to stoma formation, overall survival and patient-reported outcomes (European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaires QLQ-C30 and QLQ-CR29, low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) questionnaire). ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The trial obtained ethical approval from North West Greater Manchester East Research Ethics Committee (reference number 19/NW/0565) and is funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research. The final trial results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and adhere to International Committee of Medical Journal Editors guidelines. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN16158514.