Efficacy of nivolumab in pre-treated non-small-cell lung cancer patients harbouring KRAS mutations.

BACKGROUND: The present study investigated the efficacy and safety of nivolumab in pre-treated patients with advanced NSCLC harbouring KRAS mutations. METHODS: Clinical data and KRAS mutational status were analysed in patients treated with nivolumab within the Italian Expanded Access Program. Objective response rate, progression-free survival and overall survival were evaluated. Patients were monitored for adverse events using the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events. RESULTS: Among 530 patients evaluated for KRAS mutations, 206 (39%) were positive while 324 (61%) were KRAS wild-type mutations. KRAS status did not influence nivolumab efficacy in terms of ORR (20% vs 17%, P = 0.39) and DCR (47% vs 41%, P = 0.23). The median PFS and OS were 4 vs 3 months (P = 0.5) and 11.2 vs 10 months (P = 0.8) in the KRAS-positive vs the KRAS-negative group. The 3-months PFS rate was significantly higher in the KRAS-positive group as compared to the KRAS-negative group (53% vs 42%, P = 0.01). The percentage of any grade and grade 3-4 AEs were 45% vs 33% (P = 0.003) and 11% vs 6% (P = 0.03) in KRAS-positive and KRAS-negative groups, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Nivolumab is an effective and safe treatment option for patients with previously treated, advanced non-squamous NSCLC regardless of KRAS mutations.

Italian Cohort of Nivolumab Expanded Access Program in Squamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Results from a Real-World Population.

BACKGROUND: Nivolumab has shown a survival benefit compared with docetaxel as second-line treatment for patients with previously treated advanced squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in a randomized phase III trial. The experiences of patients and physicians in routine clinical practice are often different from those in a controlled clinical trial setting. We present data from the entire Italian cohort of patients with squamous NSCLC enrolled in a worldwide nivolumab NSCLC expanded access program. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with pretreated advanced squamous NSCLC received nivolumab 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks for up to 24 months. Safety was monitored throughout; efficacy data collected included objective tumor response, date of progression, and survival information. RESULTS: The Italian cohort comprised 371 patients who received at least one dose of nivolumab. In the overall population, the objective response rate (ORR) was 18%, the disease control rate (DCR) was 47%, and median overall survival (OS) was 7.9 months (95% confidence interval 6.2-9.6). In subgroup analyses, ORR, DCR, and median OS were, respectively, 17%, 48%, and 9.1 months in patients previously treated with two or more lines of therapy (n = 209) and 8%, 40%, and 10.0 months in patients treated beyond disease progression (n = 65). In the overall population, the rate of any-grade and grade 3-4 adverse events was 29% and 6%, respectively. Treatment-related adverse events led to treatment discontinuation in 14 patients (5%). There were no treatment-related deaths. CONCLUSION: To date, this report represents the most extensive clinical experience with nivolumab in advanced squamous NSCLC in current practice outside the controlled clinical trial setting. These data suggest that the efficacy and safety profiles of nivolumab in a broad, real-world setting are consistent with those obtained in clinical trials. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Nivolumab is approved in the U.S. and Europe for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after failure of prior platinum-based chemotherapy. In this cohort of Italian patients with previously treated, advanced squamous NSCLC treated in a real-world setting as part of the nivolumab expanded access program, the efficacy and safety of nivolumab was consistent with that previously reported in nivolumab clinical trials.

Safety and efficacy of nivolumab for metastatic renal cell carcinoma: real-world results from an expanded access programme.

OBJECTIVE: To report the safety and efficacy results of patients enrolled in the Italian Nivolumab Renal Cell Cancer Expanded Access Programme. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with metastatic renal cell cancer (mRCC) previously treated with agents targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor pathway were eligible to receive nivolumab 3 mg/kg once every 2 weeks. Patients included in the analysis had received ≥1 dose of nivolumab and were monitored for adverse events (AEs) using Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v.4.0. RESULTS: A total of 389 patients were enrolled between July 2015 and April 2016, of whom 18% were aged ≥75 years, 6.7% had non-clear cell RCC, 49.6% had bone and 8.2% brain metastases, and 79% had received ≥2 previous lines of therapy. The most common any-grade treatment-related AEs were fatigue (13%) and rash (9%). Twenty-two patients (5.7%) discontinued treatment because of AEs. There were no treatment-related deaths. The objective response rate was 23.1%. At a median follow-up of 12 months, the median progression-free survival was 4.5 months (95% confidence interval 3.7-6.2) and the 12-month overall survival rate was 63%. Similar survival rates were reported among patients with non-clear-cell histology, elderly patients, those with bone and/or brain metastases, and those who had received prior first-line sunitinib or pazopanib, or prior everolimus. CONCLUSION: The safety and efficacy observed were consistent with those reported in the pivotal Checkmate 025 trial. Results in patients with non-clear-cell mRCC who were elderly, pretreated with everolimus, and had bone and/or brain metastases encourage the use of nivolumab in these categories of patients.

Negative prognostic factors and resulting clinical outcome in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma included in the Italian nivolumab-expanded access program.

AIM: We report the outcomes observed with nivolumab in metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients with poor prognostic features enrolled in the Italian expanded access program. PATIENTS & METHODS: Nivolumab was available for patients who relapsed after at least one prior systemic treatment in the advanced or metastatic setting. RESULTS: Of 389 patients, 32 (8%) had brain metastasis, 129 (33%) had liver and 193 (50%) had bone metastasis. These subpopulations achieved a disease control rate of 53, 45 and 47%, respectively. Fifty-one patients had G4 tumor, and they showed 23% objective response rate. The safety profile of the subgroups was in line with the expanded access program population. No new safety signals were reported. CONCLUSION: Patients with poor prognostic features may derive relevant benefits from nivolumab.

Immune-related adverse events correlate with clinical outcomes in NSCLC patients treated with nivolumab: The Italian NSCLC expanded access program.

OBJECTIVES: The incidence of any and of severe-grade immune-related adverse events (irAEs) with second-line nivolumab monotherapy is 31-65 % and 2-5 % respectively. While potentially serious and even fatal, in the absence of an appropriate therapy, such events might be indicators of the activation of the immune system and, potentially, of efficacy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We collected the records of 1959 non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with nivolumab in the Italian expanded access program, and we registered the appearance of any and of severe grade irAEs. We retrospectively searched for correlations between toxicity and efficacy parameters by using Cox's regression analysis. RESULTS: Overall, 342 (17.8%) patients developed an irAE of any grade. We observed that patients developing irAE of any grade achieved a significantly higher response rate (RR 27.2% vs 15.2%; p < 0.0001), disease control rate (DCR 60.5% vs 40.2%; p < 0.0001), median progression-free survival (mPFS 6.0 months [95% CI 4.9-7.1] vs 3.0 [95% CI: 2.8-3.2], p < 0.0001) and median overall survival (mOS 16.7 months [95% CI: 13.5-19.9] vs 9.4 [95% CI: 8.4-10.4], p < 0.00001) compared to patients who did not. At multivariate analysis the development of an irAE remained an independent indicator of nivolumab efficacy (HR 1.44 [95% CI: 1.22-1.71] p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: This report, performed in Caucasian NSCLC patients, showed that the appearance of irAEs correlated with outcome.

Author Correction: Sex-Related Differences in Impact on Safety of Pharmacogenetic Profile for Colon Cancer Patients Treated with FOLFOX-4 or XELOX Adjuvant Chemotherapy.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Real-world efficacy and safety of nivolumab in previously-treated metastatic renal cell carcinoma, and association between immune-related adverse events and survival: the Italian expanded access program.

BACKGROUND: The Italian Renal Cell Cancer Early Access Program was an expanded access program that allowed access to nivolumab, for patients (pts) with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) prior to regulatory approval. METHODS: Pts with previously treated advanced or mRCC were eligible to receive nivolumab 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks. Pts included in the analysis had received ≥1 dose of nivolumab and were monitored for drug-related adverse events (drAEs) using CTCAE v.4.0. Immune-related (ir) AEs were defined as AEs displaying a certain, likely or possible correlation with immunotherapy (cutaneous, endocrine, hepatic, gastro-intestinal and pulmonary). The association between overall survival (OS) and irAEs was assessed, and associations between variables were evaluated with a logistic regression model. RESULTS: A total of 389 pts were enrolled between July 2015 and April 2016. Overall, the objective response rate was 23.1%. At a median follow-up of 12 months, the median progression-free survival was 4.5 months (95% CI 3.7-6.2) and the 12-month overall survival rate was 63%. Any grade and grade 3-4 drAEs were reported in 124 (32%) and 27 (7%) of pts, respectively, and there were no treatment-related deaths. Any grade irAEs occurred in 76 (20%) of patients, 8% cutaneous, 4% endocrine, 2% hepatic, 5% gastro-intestinal and 1% pulmonary. Of the 22 drAEs inducing treatment discontinuation, 10 (45%) were irAEs. Pts with drAEs had a significantly longer survival than those without drAEs (median OS 22.5 versus 16.4 months, p = 0.01). Pts with irAEs versus without irAEs had a more significant survival benefit (median OS not reached versus 16.8 months, p = 0.002), confirmed at the landmark analysis at 6 weeks. The occurrence of irAEs displayed a strong association with OS in univariable (HR 0.48, p = 0.003) and multivariable (HR 0.57, p = 0.02) analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The appearance of irAEs strongly correlates with survival benefit in a real-life population of mRCC pts treated with nivolumab.

Real-life results from the overall population and key subgroups within the Italian cohort of nivolumab expanded access program in non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Nivolumab was the first immune checkpoint inhibitor approved for previously treated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Before its introduction in the market, nivolumab was made available to NSCLC patients through an expanded access program (EAP). Here we present the Italian cohort of patients with non-squamous NSCLC enrolled in a worldwide nivolumab EAP, with subgroup analyses involving elderly patients, patients with central nervous system (CNS) metastases and patients receiving nivolumab beyond progression. METHODS: Pretreated patients with advanced non-squamous NSCLC received nivolumab at 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks up to 24 months. Efficacy data (investigator-assessed tumour response, progression date and survival) and safety data were collected. FINDINGS: 1588 patients were treated across 153 Italian centres. Overall response rate and disease control rate were 18% and 44%, respectively; median overall survival (OS) was 11.3 months (95% CI: 10.2-12.4). Elderly patients (≥70 n = 522; ≥75 n = 232) achieved outcomes similar to the global study population; patients with CNS metastases (n = 409) had an OS of 8.6 months (95% CI: 6.4-10.8), and a 1-year OS rate of 43%. Nivolumab was administered beyond progression to 276 patients (26%), 57 of whom achieved subsequent disease control; the median OS of patients receiving nivolumab beyond progression was 16.2 months (95% CI: 14.0-18.4), while 1-year OS rate was 62%. INTERPRETATION: To date, this is the largest clinical experience with nivolumab in a real-world setting. Our data support its use in clinical practice for pretreated non-squamous NSCLC, including patients with older age or CNS metastases.

Sex-Related Differences in Impact on Safety of Pharmacogenetic Profile for Colon Cancer Patients Treated with FOLFOX-4 or XELOX Adjuvant Chemotherapy.

Polymorphisms contribute to inter-individual differences and show a promising predictive role for chemotherapy-related toxicity in colon cancer (CC). TOSCA is a multicentre, randomized, non-inferiority, phase III study conducted in high-risk stage II/stage III CC patients treated with 6 vs 3 months of FOLFOX-4 or XELOX adjuvant chemotherapy. During this post-hoc analysis, 218 women and 294 men were genotyped for 17 polymorphisms: TYMS (rs34743033, rs2853542, rs11280056), MTHFR (rs1801133, rs1801131), ERCC1 (rs11615), XRCC1 (rs25487), XRCC3 (rs861539), XPD (rs1799793, rs13181), GSTP1 (rs1695), GSTT1/GSTM1 (deletion +/-), ABCC1 (rs2074087), and ABCC2 (rs3740066, rs1885301, rs4148386). The aim was to assess the interaction between these polymorphisms and sex, on safety in terms of time to grade ≥3 haematological (TTH), grade ≥3 gastrointestinal (TTG) and grade ≥2 neurological (TTN) toxicity. Interactions were detected on TTH for rs1801133 and rs1799793, on TTG for rs13181 and on TTN for rs11615. Rs1799793 GA genotype (p = 0.006) and A allele (p = 0.009) shortened TTH in men. In women, the rs11615 CC genotype worsened TTN (co-dominant model p = 0.008, recessive model p = 0.003) and rs13181 G allele improved the TTG (p = 0.039). Differences between the two sexes in genotype distribution of rs1885301 (p = 0.020) and rs4148386 (p = 0.005) were found. We highlight that polymorphisms could be sex-specific biomarkers. These results, however, need to be confirmed in additional series.

Use of nivolumab in elderly patients with advanced squamous non-small-cell lung cancer: results from the Italian cohort of an expanded access programme.

AIM: This analysis evaluated the efficacy and safety of nivolumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, in elderly patients with stage IIIB or IV squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) enrolled in the expanded access programme (EAP) in Italy. METHODS: Nivolumab was available on physician request. Safety data included adverse events (AEs). Efficacy data included investigator-assessed tumour response, progression date and survival information. Results were analysed for patients aged <65, 65-<75 and ≥75 years and for the overall population. RESULTS: A total of 371 patients with squamous NSCLC were enrolled at 96 centres between April 2015 and September 2015; 34% (n = 126), 47% (n = 175) and 19% (n = 70) were aged <65, 65-<75 and ≥75 years, respectively. Efficacy was similar among patients aged <65, 65-<75 and ≥75 years and the overall population (objective response rates: 18%, 18%, 19% and 18%, respectively; disease control rates: 49%, 47%, 43% and 47%, respectively). Median overall survival was reduced in patients aged ≥75 years (5.8 months) versus patients aged <65; years (8.6 months), patients aged 65-<75 years (8.0 months) and the overall population (7.9 months). The incidence of grade 3-4 treatment-related AEs was low in patients aged 65, 65-<75 and ≥75 years and the overall population (3%, 9%, 3%, 6%, respectively). Discontinuation rates due to treatment-related AEs were low irrespective of age (4-5%). CONCLUSIONS: These EAP results suggest that elderly patients with advanced squamous NSCLC benefit from nivolumab, with tolerability similar to that in the overall population.

Italian Nivolumab Expanded Access Program in Nonsquamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients: Results in Never-Smokers and EGFR-Mutant Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Nivolumab is the first checkpoint inhibitor approved for the treatment of nonsquamous NSCLC. We report results from the nivolumab Italian expanded access program focusing on never-smokers and patients with EGFR-mutant nonsqamous NSCLC. METHODS: Nivolumab (3 mg/kg intravenously every 2 weeks) was administered upon physicians' request to patients who had relapsed after one or more prior systemic treatments for stage IIIB/IV nonsquamous NSCLC. Efficacy and safety were evaluated in patients who received at least one dose of nivolumab. RESULTS: Of 1588 patients with nonsquamous NSCLC, 305 (19.2%) were never-smokers. EGFR status was available for 1395 patients. Of the 102 patients (6.4%) with EGFR mutation-positive tumors, 51 (50%) were never-smokers. The objective response rate was significantly higher in patients with wild-type EGFR than patients with EGFR-mutant tumors (19.6% versus 8.8% [p = 0.007]), in former and current smokers than in never-smokers (21.5% versus 9.2% [p = 0.0001]), and in never-smokers with wild-type EGFR than in never-smokers with mutant EGFR (11.0% versus 1.9% [p = 0.04]). There was no significant difference in objective response rate between smokers with wild-type EGFR and smokers with mutant EGFR (22.0% versus 20.6%). There was no statistically significant difference in median progression-free survival or in median overall survival. The median overall survival times were 11 months in patients with EGFR wild-type tumors versus 8.3 months in patients with EGFR-mutant tumors, 11.6 months in smokers versus 10.0 months in never-smokers, 11.0 months in never-smokers with EGFR wild-type tumors versus 5.6 months in never-smokers with EGFR-mutant tumors, and 14.1 months in smokers with EGFR-mutant tumors versus 11.3 months in smokers with EGFR wild-type tumors. CONCLUSIONS: The data on the Italian expanded access program in populations with nonsquamous NSCLC suggest that subgroups of patients could benefit differently from nivolumab according to their EGFR mutational status and smoking habits. These results warrant further investigation.

Impact of second-line cetuximab-containing therapy in patients with KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer: results from the ITACa randomized clinical trial.

The ITACa trial was designed to define the role of cetuximab (Cet) and bevacizumab (Bev) in combination with standard chemotherapy (CT, FOLFIRI or FOLFOX4) as first- and second-line treatment in metastatic colorectal cancer. All patients with WT KRAS tumors who had been enrolled in the first-line trial were randomized onto two independent second-line trials: CT or CT + Cet (study 2A) and CT + Bev or CT + Bev + Cet (study 2B). Patients with mutated KRAS were not eligible for randomization and were treated with CT alone (study 2A) or CT + Bev (study 2B). The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). 48 and 56 KRAS WT patients were randomized while 31 and 40 KRAS mutated patients were treated without randomization. Study 2A: median PFS was 3.4 (95%CI 2.3-4.6) and 6.2 (95%CI 4.3-7.8) months for the CT and CT + Cet arms, respectively, with a hazard ratio (HR) = 0.64 (95%CI 0.35-1.16, p = 0.144). Study 2B: median PFS was 7.7 (95%CI 4.1-10.1) and 4.9 (95%CI 3.2-7.0) months for CT + Bev and CT + Cet + Bev arms, respectively, with a HR = 1.31 (95%CI 0.76-2.26, p = 0.330). Notwithstanding limitations due to the small sample size, among patients with WT KRAS the addition of Cet to second-line CT increased PFS, whereas the addition of Cet to CT + Bev was associated with worse PFS.

Bolus fluorouracil and leucovorin with oxaliplatin as first-line treatment in metastatic colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE: A phase II trial investigated the activity and toxicity of a bolus administration schedule of oxaliplatin, fluorouracil (5-FU), and leucovorin (LV) therapy in patients with untreated advanced colorectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-five patients in this multicenter, open, nonrandomized study received oxaliplatin 130 mg/m(2) on the first day of each course and 5-FU and LV 350 mg/m(2) and 20 mg/m(2), respectively, as a daily bolus for 5 days, every 21 days, for a maximum of six courses. RESULTS: Partial responses occurred in 18 patients, giving an intent-to-treat response rate of 40.0%. Median time to response was 12.7 weeks; median duration of response was 18.4 weeks. Median progression-free survival was 5.9 months; median survival was 14 months. The independent prognostic factors for improved overall survival were good performance status and negative carcino-embryonic antigen blood level. Incidences of adverse effects were reduced after the 5-FU dose was reduced to 300 mg/m(2). Reversible neurologic toxicity occurred in 44.4% of patients. CONCLUSION: Bolus administration of oxaliplatin, 5-FU, and LV as first-line therapy for untreated advanced colorectal cancer is efficacious and safe. In addition to a more favorable safety profile, the 300 mg/m(2) dosage offered improved dose-intensity compared with the initial dosage.

Genetic markers for toxicity of adjuvant oxaliplatin and fluoropyrimidines in the phase III TOSCA trial in high-risk colon cancer patients.

We investigated 17 polymorphisms in 11 genes (TS, MTHFR, ERCC1, XRCC1, XRCC3, XPD, GSTT1, GSTP1, GSTM1, ABCC1, ABCC2) for their association with the toxicity of fluoropyrimidines and oxaliplatin in colorectal cancer patients enrolled in a prospective randomized trial of adjuvant chemotherapy. The TOSCA Italian adjuvant trial was conducted in high-risk stage II-III colorectal cancer patients treated with 6 or 3 months of either FOLFOX-4 or XELOX adjuvant chemotherapy. In the concomitant ancillary pharmacogenetic study, the primary endpoint was the association of polymorphisms with grade 3-4 CTCAE toxicity events (grade 2-4 for neurotoxicity). In 517 analyzed patients, grade ≥ 3 neutropenia and grade ≥ 2 neurotoxicity events occurred in 150 (29%) and in 132 patients (24.8%), respectively. Diarrhea grade ≥ 3 events occurred in 34 (6.5%) patients. None of the studied polymorphisms showed clinically relevant association with toxicity. Hopefully, genome-wide association studies will identify new and more promising genetic variants to be tested in future studies.

Ovarian Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor, endometrioid-like yolk sac tumor, and Y-chromosomal material.

Sertoli-Leydig cell tumors (SLCTs) are rare neoplasms, accounting for less than 0.2% of ovarian tumors. The endometrioid-like variant of yolk sac tumor (YST) is very rare, and the most extensive series reported only 8 cases. We present a case of ovarian SLCT with endometrioid-like YST in a patient with a 46,XX karyotype with Y-chromosomal material. A 26-year-old woman had undergone a right salpingo-oophorectomy for SLCT with endometrioid-like YST. Chromosomal analysis revealed a 46,XX karyotype with Y-chromosomal material insertion into chromosome 1. The patient's father and sister, and 7 other paternal relatives (4 male and 3 female) presented the same chromosome variant without evidence of cancer. The YST component relapsed to the right side of the uterine wall and then metastasized to the peritoneum and liver, while SLCT was eradicated with primary surgery. Several chemotherapeutic regimens were totally ineffective to control tumor progression. She died of disease progression 54 months after the diagnosis. We adopted the policy of a close surveillance for ovarian neoplasms for the 22-year-old sister of the patient, who presented the same Y-chromosomal material in her karyotype. In very rare tumors, new methods, based on molecular and cytogenetic models, are requested to define recommended management.