Osimertinib in poor performance status patients with T790M-positive advanced non-small-cell lung cancer after progression of first- and second-generation EGFR-TKI treatments (NEJ032B).

BACKGROUND: Osimertinib is effective in patients with T790M mutation-positive advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) resistant to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). However, its effectiveness and safety in patients with poor performance status (PS) are unknown. METHODS: Enrolled patients showed disease progression after treatment with gefitinib, erlotinib, or afatinib; T790M mutation; stage IIIB, IV, or recurrent disease; and PS of 2-4. Osimertinib was orally administered at a dose of 80 mg/day. The primary endpoint of this phase II study (registration, jRCTs061180018) was response rate and the secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), disease control rate, and safety. RESULTS: Thirty-three patients were enrolled, of which 69.7% and 24.2% had PS of 2 and 3, respectively. One patient was excluded due to protocol violation; in the remaining 32 patients, the response rate was 53.1%; disease control rate was 75.0%; PFS was 5.1 months; and OS was 10.0 months. The most frequent adverse event of grade 3 or higher severity was lymphopenia (12.1%). Interstitial lung disease (ILD) was observed at all grades and at grades 3-5 in 15.2% (5/33) and 6.1% (2/33) of patients, respectively. Treatment-related death due to ILD occurred in one patient. Patients negative for activating EGFR mutations after osimertinib administration had longer median PFS than those positive for these mutations. CONCLUSION: Osimertinib was sufficiently effective in EGFR-TKI-resistant, poor PS patients with T790M mutation-positive advanced NSCLC. Plasma EGFR mutation clearance after TKI treatment could predict the response to EGFR-TKIs.

Dietary intervention as a therapeutic for cancer.

Cancer metabolism is influenced by availability of nutrients in the microenvironment and can to some extent be manipulated by dietary modifications that target oncogenic metabolism. As yet, few dietary interventions have been scientifically proven to mitigate disease progression or enhance any other kind of therapy in human cancer. However, recent advances in the understanding of cancer metabolism enable us to predict or devise effective dietary interventions that might antagonize tumor growth. In fact, evidence emerging from preclinical models suggests that appropriate combinations of specific cancer therapies with dietary interventions could critically impact therapeutic efficacy. Here, we review the potential benefits of precision nutrition approaches in augmenting the efficacy of cancer treatment.

Comparison of the ischemic and non-ischemic lung cancer metabolome reveals hyper activity of the TCA cycle and autophagy.

Recent advances in cancer biology reveal the importance of metabolic changes in cancer; however, less is known about how metabolic pathways in tumors are regulated in vivo. Here, we report analysis of the lung cancer metabolism based on different surgical procedures, namely lobectomy and partial resection. In lobectomy, but not in partial resection, pulmonary arteries and veins are ligated prior to removal of tissues, rendering tissues ischemic. We show that tumors indeed undergo ischemia upon lobectomy and that the tumor metabolome differs markedly from that of tumors removed by partial resection. Comparison of the responses to ischemia in tumor and normal lung tissues revealed that lung cancer tissue exhibits greater TCA cycle and autophagic activity than do normal lung tissues in vivo in patients. Finally, we report that deleting ATG7, which encodes a protein essential for autophagy, antagonizes growth of tumors derived from lung cancer cell lines, suggesting that autophagy confers metabolic advantages to lung cancer. Our findings shed light on divergent metabolic responses to ischemia seen in tumors and normal tissues.

Endoscopic laryngo-pharyngeal surgery for superficial laryngo-pharyngeal cancer.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Narrow band imaging (NBI) combined with magnifying endoscopy enables us to detect superficial laryngo-pharyngeal cancers, which are difficult to detect by standard endoscopy. Endoscopic laryngo-pharyngeal surgery (ELPS) is a technique developed to treat such lesions and the purpose of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of ELPS for superficial laryngo-pharyngeal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Seventy five consecutive patients with 104 fresh superficial laryngo-pharyngeal cancers are included in this study. Under general anesthesia, a specially-designed curved laryngoscope was inserted to create a working space in the pharyngeal lumen. A magnifying endoscope was inserted transorally to visualize the field and a head & neck surgeon dissected the lesion using the combination of the orally-inserted curved grasping forceps and electrosurgical needle knife in both hands. The safely, functional outcomes, and oncologic outcomes of ELPS were evaluated retrospectively. RESULTS: Median operation time per lesion was 35 min. Post-operative bleeding occurred in 3 cases and temporal subcutaneous emphysema occurred in 10 cases. No vocal fold impairment occurred after surgery. The median fasting period was 2 days and all patients except one have a normal diet with no limitations. Local recurrence occurred in 1 case, and the 3-year overall survival rate and the 3-year disease specific survival rate was 90% and 100%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: ELPS is a hybrid of head and neck surgery and gastrointestinal endoscopic treatment, and enjoys the merit of both procedures. ELPS makes it possible to perform minimally-invasive surgery, preserving both the swallowing and phonation functions.

A distinct human CD4+ T cell subset that secretes CXCL13 in rheumatoid synovium.

OBJECTIVE: A subset of CD4+ T cells in the synovium of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) produce CXCL13, a chemokine that is crucial for the formation of germinal centers. This study was undertaken to determine the relevance of this population to known subsets of T helper cells and to proinflammatory cytokines, and how these cells are generated. METHODS: The expression of Th markers and CXCL13 by CD4+ T cells in RA synovium and the involvement of proinflammatory cytokines in CXCL13 production were assessed. We also investigated whether CXCL13+CD4+ T cells could be newly induced. RESULTS: CXCL13+CD4+ T cells in RA synovium were negative for interferon-γ (IFNγ), interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-17, FoxP3, and CXCR5 and expressed low levels of inducible T cell costimulator, indicating that this population is a distinct human CD4 subset. T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation of CD4+ T cells, obtained from RA synovium with low expression of CXCL13, promptly induced CXCL13 production and addition of proinflammatory cytokines supported the long-term production of CXCL13. These findings indicate that CXCL13-producing CD4+ T cells can be in a memory state ready to be reactivated upon TCR stimulation and that proinflammatory cytokines are involved in persistent CXCL13 production. TCR stimulation of CD4+ T cells from the blood of healthy volunteers, together with proinflammatory cytokine supplementation, induced a population that produced CXCL13, but not IFNγ. Synovial T cells recruited CXCR5+ cells in a CXCL13-dependent manner. CONCLUSION: CXCL13-producing CD4+ T cells induced in RA synovium may play a role in the recruitment of CXCR5+ cells, such as B cells and circulating follicular helper T cells, and in ectopic lymphoid neogenesis at sites of inflammation.

A case of pneumonia caused by Legionella pneumophila serogroup 12 and treated successfully with imipenem.

The patient was an 83-year-old man hospitalized for Haemophilus influenzae pneumonia, who developed recurrent pneumonia after improvement of the initial episode. Legionella pneumophila serogroup 12 was isolated from the sputum, accompanied by increased serum antibody titers to L. pneumophila serogroup 12. Therefore, the patient was diagnosed as having Legionella pneumonia caused by L. pneumophila serogroup 12. Case reports of pneumonia caused by L. pneumophila serogroup 12 are rare, and the case described herein is the first report of clinical isolation of this organism in Japan. When the genotype was determined by the protocol of The European Working Group for Legionella Infections (Sequence-Based Typing [SBT] for epidemiological typing of L. pneumophila, Version 3.1), the sequence type was ST68. Imipenem/cilastatin therapy was found to be effective for the treatment of Legionella pneumonia in this patient.

IL-10 -592A/C polymorphism is associated with severity of Hashimoto's disease.

The genetic producibilities of T helper type 1 (Th1) and T helper type 2 (Th2) cytokines are associated with the prognosis of autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs). Interleukin (IL)-10 is considered to be a Th2 cytokine that can exhibit an anti-inflammatory role. Furthermore, IL-10 may be associated with the development of IgG4-related diseases, because IL-10 promotes IgG4 production by B cells. To evaluate the relationship between the functional -592 A/C polymorphism in the gene encoding IL-10 and the prognosis of AITDs, we genotyped this polymorphism in 57 patients with intractable GD, 43 patients with GD in remission, 63 patients with severe HD, 44 patients with untreated mild HD, and 62 healthy volunteers by the direct sequencing method. The CC genotype, which is associated with higher producibility of IL-10, was more frequent in patients with severe HD than in those with mild HD (p=0.0201). However, there were no significant differences in serum IgG4 levels between these two groups of HD patients or among 3 genotypes of this polymorphism. There were no significant differences in genotype and allele frequencies between the two GD groups, or between the controls and AITD patients. These data indicate that the functional -592 A/C polymorphism in the IL10 gene is associated with the severity of HD but not with serum IgG4 levels.

Multi-gene Liquid Biopsy to Detect Resistance to First-line Osimertinib in Patients With EGFR-mutated Lung Adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Osimertinib is currently used as a first-line treatment for EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer, and the emergence of drug resistance poses a substantial challenge. Liquid biopsy with a multi-gene panel can examine both the molecular mechanisms and possibility of early resistance diagnosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We used a molecular barcode library construction kit (Archer® LiquidPlex™) that allowed the analysis of multiple cancer-related genes using cell-free DNA from the plasma samples of patients. We collected plasma from 17 consecutive patients with lung adenocarcinoma at our hospital at various time points and cell-free DNA was extracted and subjected to LiquidPlex analysis. RESULTS: Plasma DNA concentration was not associated with the presence or absence of resistance to osimertinib. The pathological mutations detected using next-generation sequencing in the resistant specimens were in MAP2K1, PIK3CA, TP53, BRAF, and EGFR. Among the recurrent cases, EGFR mutations identified at the initial diagnosis were detected within 6 months before relapse confirmation in four cases (average 88 days). Many of the recurrent cases without detection of known EGFR mutations in the liquid biopsy showed a longer interval between the detection of relapse and the last blood draw for the liquid biopsy (average 255 days). CONCLUSION: Frequent liquid biopsies are useful for identifying known EGFR mutations as markers for early detection of relapse. Several cancer driver mutations were observed, suggesting a variety of mechanisms of resistance in first-line osimertinib-treated lung adenocarcinoma.

A Prospective Cohort Study Assessing the Relationship between Plasma Levels of Osimertinib and Treatment Efficacy and Safety.

Osimertinib is a standard treatment for patients with EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). We evaluated the relationship between plasma osimertinib concentrations and treatment outcome in patients with NSCLC for this cohort study. The plasma levels of osimertinib and its metabolite AZ5104 were measured a week after the start of treatment (P1). The primary endpoint was to evaluate the correlation between plasma concentration and adverse events (AEs). The correlation with treatment efficacy was one of the secondary endpoints. In patients with CNS metastases, the concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid was also measured. Forty-one patients were enrolled. The frequency of AEs was highest for rash, followed by anorexia and thrombocytopenia. Thirty-eight cases provided measurements for P1. The median plasma concentration of osimertinib was 227 ng/mL, and that of AZ5104 was 16.5 ng/mL. The mean CNS penetration rate of two cases was 3.8%. The P1 in the group with anorexia was significantly higher than that in the group without anorexia (385.0 ng/mL vs. 231.5 ng/mL, p = 0.009). Divided into quartiles by P1 trough level, Q2 + Q3 (164-338 ng/mL) had longer PFS, while Q1 and Q4 had shorter PFS. An appropriate plasma level of osimertinib may avoid some adverse events and induce long PFS. Further large-scale trials are warranted.

Niacin restriction with NAMPT-inhibition is synthetic lethal to neuroendocrine carcinoma.

Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) plays a major role in NAD biosynthesis in many cancers and is an attractive potential cancer target. However, factors dictating therapeutic efficacy of NAMPT inhibitors (NAMPTi) are unclear. We report that neuroendocrine phenotypes predict lung and prostate carcinoma vulnerability to NAMPTi, and that NAMPTi therapy against those cancers is enhanced by dietary modification. Neuroendocrine differentiation of tumor cells is associated with down-regulation of genes relevant to quinolinate phosphoribosyltransferase-dependent de novo NAD synthesis, promoting NAMPTi susceptibility in vitro. We also report that circulating nicotinic acid riboside (NAR), a non-canonical niacin absent in culture media, antagonizes NAMPTi efficacy as it fuels NAMPT-independent but nicotinamide riboside kinase 1-dependent NAD synthesis in tumors. In mouse transplantation models, depleting blood NAR by nutritional or genetic manipulations is synthetic lethal to tumors when combined with NAMPTi. Our findings provide a rationale for simultaneous targeting of NAR metabolism and NAMPT therapeutically in neuroendocrine carcinoma.

Phase I/II study of biweekly nab-paclitaxel in patients with platinum-pretreated non-small cell lung cancer: NJLCG1402.

BACKGROUND: NJLCG1402 was a phase I/II trial investigating biweekly nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-PTX) in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: The study included patients aged ≥20 years with previously treated NSCLC. Nab-PTX (100-150 mg/m2 ) was administered biweekly in a 28-day cycle. The phase I portion was performed to determine the recommended phase II dose of nab-PTX. In the phase II portion, the primary endpoint was the objective response rate. Secondary endpoints were disease control rate, progression-free survival, overall survival, and safety. RESULTS: A total of 15 patients received biweekly nab-PTX (100-150 mg/m2 ) and 12 patients in phase II were treated with 150 mg/m2 . In the phase I portion, 150 mg/m2 was determined as the recommended dose. Among those treated with 150 mg/m2 , the objective response rate was 22%, and the median progression-free and overall survival was 3.6 and 11.2 months, respectively. Adverse events grade ≥3 were observed in 39% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: Biweekly nab-PTX monotherapy was well tolerated and exhibited favorable antitumor activity in patients with previously treated NSCLC.

Next-generation genome sequencing of a matched normal-tumor pair from a patient with intractable gestational choriocarcinoma: A case report.

Gestational choriocarcinoma is a gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) originating from trophoblastic cells with abnormal proliferation. Although chemotherapy is effective for treating this cancer, when patients develop chemoresistance, personalized treatment, such as the use of drugs matching their genomes, is required. The present report describes a case of intractable gestational choriocarcinoma identified using a next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based tumor panel. A 51-year-old woman was diagnosed with gestational choriocarcinoma via pathological and short tandem repeat analyses. The patient did not achieve remission despite many regimens of chemotherapy, including high-dose therapy with autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. To identify drugs tailored to this particular choriocarcinoma, NGS was performed on the tumor of the patient, and the tumor genome was compared with that of the patient's blood sample using the NCC Oncopanel System. Consequently, 245 single nucleotide variants (SNVs) with a mean SNV allele frequency of 63.1% were identified. This high frequency was because the genome of the gestational choriocarcinoma contained part of the genome of the partner. Therefore, our experience of the present intractable case of choriocarcinoma suggested that matched normal-tumor pair analysis is not appropriate for treatment decisions in GTN cases. When using an NGS-based tumor panel to assess choriocarcinoma, researchers must consider whether the genomic DNA of the patient and their partner are involved in the GTN.

Divergent metabolic responses dictate vulnerability to NAMPT inhibition in ovarian cancer.

It is of current interest to target cancer metabolism as treatment for many malignancies, including ovarian cancer (OVC), in which few druggable driver mutations have been identified. Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT), a rate-limiting enzyme in the NAD salvage pathway, is a potential therapeutic target in OVC. However, factors that determine responsiveness to NAMPT inhibition are not fully understood. Here, we report that OVC cell lines can be divided into subgroups exhibiting NAMPT-dependent or NAMPT-independent glycolysis, and these metabolic differences correlate with vulnerability to NAMPT inhibition. Interestingly, cells showing NAMPT-dependent glycolysis were enriched in a group of cells lacking BRCA1/2 gene mutations. Our findings suggest the importance of selecting appropriate patients for NAMPT-targeting therapy in OVC.

Revisiting glucose metabolism in cancer: lessons from a PKM knock-in model.

Isoform selection of pyruvate kinase M (PKM), a glycolytic enzyme, influences fates of glucose-derived carbons in cellular metabolic networks. We recently developed novel mouse lines to study PKM isoform function and identified PKM1 as a potential target in a subset of human lung cancers. This work provides new insight into cancer metabolism.

Sensory preservation in neck dissection: outcomes of a sub-sternocleidomastoid approach.

OBJECTIVE: Cutaneous anesthesia in early postoperative period is common after neck dissection even if the cervical nerve (CN) rootlets are preserved. The aim of this study was to evaluate if the preservation of the terminal branches of CNs using sub-sternocleidomastoid (SCM) approach combined with medially placed skin incision can prevent early postoperative anesthesia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed on 129 neck dissections in 87 head and neck cancer patients. RESULTS: The early postoperative sensory preservation rates for the ear tab, submandibular, lateral neck, and sub-clavicular areas of CN rootlet-preserved necks (n = 86) were 75.6%, 20.9%, 74.4%, and 86.0%, respectively, compared with 37.2%, 2.3%, 2.3%, and 4.7%, respectively, in CN rootlet-resected necks (n = 43). In CN rootlet-preserved necks, the sub-SCM approach (n = 54) showed 81.5%, 27.8%, 92.6%, and 94.4% preservation rates, respectively, compared with 65.6%, 9.4%, 43.8%, and 71.9%, respectively, using the conventional subplatysmal approach (n = 32). The rates were significantly better in the submandibular, lateral neck, and sub-clavicular areas after sub-SCM approach. CONCLUSIONS: Preservation of CN rootlets is a required element for sensory preservation in neck dissection. The sub-SCM approach can effectively prevent early postoperative cutaneous anesthesia following CN-preserving neck dissection.

Relapsed Myasthenia Gravis after Nivolumab Treatment.

Nivolumab is a newly introduced promising therapy for treating lung cancer that restores the anti-tumor immunity by disrupting programmed cell death-1-mediated immuno-suppressive signaling. Although "new-onset" autoimmune diseases are well-known immune-related adverse events, whether or not nivolumab exacerbates "pre-existing" autoimmune disease remains unclear. We herein report a patient with "pre-existing" myasthenia gravis in whom nivolumab was administered that flared up after the treatment with nivolumab. Regardless of the disease stability, nivolumab has the potential to exacerbate an autoimmune disease, and we must pay close attention to each patient's medical history before administering this agent.

PKM1 Confers Metabolic Advantages and Promotes Cell-Autonomous Tumor Cell Growth.

Expression of PKM2, which diverts glucose-derived carbon from catabolic to biosynthetic pathways, is a hallmark of cancer. However, PKM2 function in tumorigenesis remains controversial. Here, we show that, when expressed rather than PKM2, the PKM isoform PKM1 exhibits a tumor-promoting function in KRASG12D-induced or carcinogen-initiated mouse models or in some human cancers. Analysis of Pkm mutant mouse lines expressing specific PKM isoforms established that PKM1 boosts tumor growth cell intrinsically. PKM1 activated glucose catabolism and stimulated autophagy/mitophagy, favoring malignancy. Importantly, we observed that pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), including small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), express PKM1, and that PKM1 expression is required for SCLC cell proliferation. Our findings provide a rationale for targeting PKM1 therapeutically in certain cancer subtypes, including pulmonary NETs.

Ex vivo model of non-small cell lung cancer using mouse lung epithelial cells.

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer mortality, however, efficient methods to culture, expand and transform lung epithelial (LE) cells have not been established. In the present study, an efficient ex vivo method was applied to recapitulate lung carcinogenesis using mouse LE cells. A Matrigel-assisted three-dimensional culture was used to isolate and selectively expand LE cells from mouse lungs. Purified LE cells were passaged and expanded for at least 2 to 3 months while maintaining epidermal growth factor-dependence. LE cells were also easily transformed by genetic manipulations using retroviral vectors. A SV40 large-T antigen, suppressing p53 and pRB, plus an activated oncogene, such as KrasG12V or EGFRex19del, were required to transform LE cells. Transformed cells formed tumors resembling non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in allograft models and exhibited strong oncogene addiction. This experimental system provided a unique model system to study lung tumorigenesis and develop novel therapeutics against NSCLC.