CD74/SLC34A2-ROS1 Fusion Variants Involving the Transmembrane Region Predict Poor Response to Crizotinib in NSCLC Independent of TP53 Mutations.

INTRODUCTION: Variable partners and breakpoints have been reported in patients with ROS1-rearranged NSCLC. Here, we investigated the association of fusion partners and breakpoints with crizotinib efficacy in NSCLCs with common ROS1 fusions. METHODS: DNA and RNA next-generation sequencing (NGS) and immunohistochemistry were performed to characterize ROS1 fusions. RESULTS: Using DNA NGS, we identified ROS1 fusions in 210 cases, comprising 171 common (CD74/EZR/TPM3/SDC4/SLC34A2-ROS1) and 39 uncommon (variants identified in <5%) ROS1 fusion cases. DNA NGS detected variable ROS1 genomic breakpoints in common ROS1 fusions, whereas RNA NGS found ROS1 breakpoints mainly occurring in exons 32, 34 and 35, resulting in long (exon 32) and short (exon 34 or 35) ROS1 fusions. ROS1 immunohistochemistry revealed that membranous and cytoplasmic staining was predominant in long ROS1 fusions, whereas cytoplasmic staining was predominant in short ROS1 fusions (p = 0.006). For patients who received first-line crizotinib, median progression-free survival (mPFS) was lower in patients with long ROS1 fusions than those with short ROS1 fusions (8.0 versus 24.0 mo, p = 0.006). Moreover, mPFS for patients with and without TP53 mutations was 8.0 and 19.0 months, respectively (p = 0.159); mPFS for patients with and without BIM deletion polymorphism was 5.0 and 22.0 months, respectively (p = 0.003). When analyzing together with fusion partners, patients with long CD74/SLC34A2-ROS1 fusions were found to have shorter PFS than those with other ROS1, regardless of the presence or absence of TP53 mutations (p < 0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Long CD74/SLC34A2-ROS1 fusions, which retain transmembrane regions in ROS1 and fusion partners, are associated with poor response to crizotinib independent of TP53 mutations.

Development and validation of a nomogram based on preoperative variables for predicting recurrence-free survival in stage IA lung adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to establish a nomogram for predicting risk of recurrence and provide a model for decision-making between lobectomy and sublobar resection in patients with stage IA lung adenocarcinoma. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with stage IA lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) between December 2010 and October 2018 from Cancer Hospital Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences were included. Patients were randomly assigned to training and validation cohorts, accounting for 70% and 30% of the total cases, respectively. We collected laboratory variables before surgery. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed in the training cohort to identify variables significantly associated with recurrence-free survival (RFS) which were subsequently used to construct a nomogram. Validation was conducted in both cohorts. A receiver operating characteristic curve was used to determine the optional cutoff values of the scores calculated from the nomogram. Patients were then divided into low- and high-risk groups. Survival was performed to determine if the nomogram could guide the operation method. RESULTS: A total of 543 patients were included in this study. Gender, albumin level, carcinoembryonic antigen level and cytokeratin-19-fragment level were included in the nomogram. In both cohorts, the nomogram stratified the patients into high- and low-risk groups in terms of RFS. In particular, there was a significant difference in RFS between lobectomy and sublobar resection in the high-risk group. CONCLUSIONS: Gender, albumin level, carcinoembryonic antigen level and cytokeratin-19-fragment level are valuable markers in predicting recurrence and can guide surgical practice in patients with stage IA LUAD.

Ablation of ERO1A induces lethal endoplasmic reticulum stress responses and immunogenic cell death to activate anti-tumor immunity.

Immunophenotyping of the tumor microenvironment (TME) is essential for enhancing immunotherapy efficacy. However, strategies for characterizing the TME exhibit significant heterogeneity. Here, we show that endoplasmic reticular oxidoreductase-1α (ERO1A) mediates an immune-suppressive TME and attenuates the response to PD-1 blockade. Ablation of ERO1A in tumor cells substantially incites anti-tumor T cell immunity and promotes the efficacy of aPD-1 in therapeutic models. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analyses confirm that ERO1A correlates with immunosuppression and dysfunction of CD8+ T cells along anti-PD-1 treatment. In human lung cancer, high ERO1A expression is associated with a higher risk of recurrence following neoadjuvant immunotherapy. Mechanistically, ERO1A ablation impairs the balance between IRE1α and PERK signaling activities and induces lethal unfolded protein responses in tumor cells undergoing endoplasmic reticulum stress, thereby enhancing anti-tumor immunity via immunogenic cell death. These findings reveal how tumor ERO1A induces immunosuppression, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target for cancer immunotherapy.

Multi-omics indicators of long-term survival benefits after immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy.

Molecular indicators of long-term survival (LTS) in response to immune-checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment have the potential to provide both mechanistic and therapeutic insights. In this study, we construct predictive models of LTS following ICI therapy based on data from 158 clinical trials involving 21,023 patients of 25 cancer types with available 1-year overall survival (OS) rates. We present evidence for the use of 1-year OS rate as a surrogate for LTS. Based on these and corresponding TCGA multi-omics data, total neoantigen, metabolism score, CD8+ T cell, and MHC_score were identified as predictive biomarkers. These were integrated into a Gaussian process regression model that estimates "long-term survival predictive score of immunotherapy" (iLSPS). We found that iLSPS outperformed the predictive capabilities of individual biomarkers and successfully predicted LTS of patient groups with melanoma and lung cancer. Our study explores the feasibility of modeling LTS based on multi-omics indicators and machine-learning methods.

Abnormal activation of NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways affect osimertinib resistance and influence the recruitment of myeloid-derived suppressor cells to shape the immunosuppressive tumor immune microenvironment.

BACKGROUND: Osimertinib is the first-line treatment for patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations, but the treatment options after drug resistance are limited. Previous studies have suggested that EGFR is in an immunosuppressive tumor immune microenvironment (TIME). However, the evolution of TIME after osimertinib resistance and whether this resistance can be overcome by targeting TIME needs to be further investigated. METHODS: The remodeling process and mechanism of TIME during the treatment with osimertinib were studied. RESULTS: The proportion of EGFRL858R+T790M mutant tumor immune infiltrating cells was extremely low. Osimertinib treatment transiently triggered inflammatory cells, but several immunosuppressive cells infiltrated after drug resistance and formed a myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC)-enriched TIME. The programmed cell death protein-1 monoclonal antibody was not able to reverse the MDSC-enriched TIME. Further analysis revealed that the activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways recruited a large number of MDSCs via cytokines. Finally, MDSC secreted high levels of interleukin-10 and arginase-1 and created an immunosuppressive TIME. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, our findings lay the foundation for the evolution of TIME in osimertinib treatment, establish the mechanism of immunosuppressive TIME after osimertinib resistance, and propose potential solutions.

A prognostic and immunotherapeutic predictive model based on the cell-originated characterization of tumor microenvironment in lung adenocarcinoma.

Tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a crucial role in predicting prognosis and response to therapy in lung cancer. Our study established a prognostic and immunotherapeutic predictive model, the tumor immune cell score (TICS), by differentiating cell origins in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) based on the transcriptomic data of 2,510 patients in 14 independent cohorts, including 12 public datasets and two in-house cohorts. The high TICS was associated with prolonged overall survival (OS), especially in the early-stage LUAD. For the advanced-stage LUAD, high TICS predicted a superior OS in patients who were treated with immunotherapy instead of chemotherapy or TKI. The result suggested that TICS could serve as an indicator for the prognostic stratification management of patients in the early-stage LUAD, and as a potential guide for therapeutic decision-marking in the advanced-stage LUAD. Our findings provided an insight into prognosis stratification and potential guidance for treatment strategy selection.

Effectiveness of neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy compared to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer patients: Real-world data of a retrospective, dual-center study.

Background: Studying the application of neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy (NICT) in the real world and evaluating its effectiveness and safety in comparison with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT) are critically important. Methods: This study included the II-IIIB stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients receiving NCT with or without PD-1 inhibitors and undergoing surgery after neoadjuvant treatments between January 2019 to August 2022. The clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed. Results: A total of 66 patients receiving NICT and 101 patients receiving NCT were included in this study. As compared to NCT, NICT showed similar safety while not increasing the surgical difficulty. The ORR in the NICT and NCT groups was 74.2% and 53.5%, respectively, P = 0.009. A total of 44 patients (66.7%) in the NICT group and 21 patients (20.8%) in the NCT group showed major pathology response (MPR) (P <0.001). The pathology complete response (pCR) rate was also significantly higher in NICT group than that in NCT group (45.5% vs. 10.9%, P <0.001). After Propensity Score Matching (PSM), 42 pairs of patients were included in the analysis. The results showed no significant difference in the ORR between the two groups (52.3% vs. 43.2%, P = 0.118), and the proportions of MPR (76.2%) and pCR (50.0%) in NICT group were significantly higher than those of MPR (11.9%) and pCR (4.7%) in the NCT group (P <0.001). The patients with driver mutations might also benefit from NICT. Conclusions: As compared to NCT, the NICT could significantly increase the proportions of patients with pCR and MPR without increasing the operation-related bleeding and operation time.

Treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer with driver mutations: current applications and future directions.

With the improved understanding of driver mutations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), expanding the targeted therapeutic options improved the survival and safety. However, responses to these agents are commonly temporary and incomplete. Moreover, even patients with the same oncogenic driver gene can respond diversely to the same agent. Furthermore, the therapeutic role of immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in oncogene-driven NSCLC remains unclear. Therefore, this review aimed to classify the management of NSCLC with driver mutations based on the gene subtype, concomitant mutation, and dynamic alternation. Then, we provide an overview of the resistant mechanism of target therapy occurring in targeted alternations ("target-dependent resistance") and in the parallel and downstream pathways ("target-independent resistance"). Thirdly, we discuss the effectiveness of ICIs for NSCLC with driver mutations and the combined therapeutic approaches that might reverse the immunosuppressive tumor immune microenvironment. Finally, we listed the emerging treatment strategies for the new oncogenic alternations, and proposed the perspective of NSCLC with driver mutations. This review will guide clinicians to design tailored treatments for NSCLC with driver mutations.

Optimized dose selective HDAC inhibitor tucidinostat overcomes anti-PD-L1 antibody resistance in experimental solid tumors.

BACKGROUND: Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have influenced the treatment paradigm for multiple solid tumors, increasing evidence suggests that primary and adaptive resistance may limit the long-term efficacy of ICIs. New therapeutic strategies with other drug combinations are hence warranted to enhance the antitumor efficacy of ICIs. As a novel tumor suppressor, histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor tucidinostat has been successfully confirmed to act against hematological malignancies. However, the underlying mechanisms of action for tucidinostat and whether it can manipulate the tumor microenvironment (TME) in solid tumors remain unclear. METHODS: Three murine tumor models (4T1, LLC, and CT26) were developed to define the significant role of different doses of tucidinostat in TME. The immunotherapeutic effect of tucidinostat combined with anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 antibody (aPD-L1) was demonstrated. Furthermore, the effect of tucidinostat on phenotypic characteristics of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from lung cancer patients was investigated. RESULTS: With an optimized dose, tucidinostat could alter TME and promote the migration and infiltration of CD8+ T cells into tumors, partially by increasing the activity of C-C motif chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5) via NF-κB signaling. Moreover, tucidinostat significantly promoted M1 polarization of macrophages and increased the in vivo antitumor efficacy of aPD-L1. Tucidinostat also enhanced the expression of the costimulatory molecules on human monocytes, suggesting a novel and improved antigen-presenting function. CONCLUSIONS: A combination regimen of tucidinostat and aPD-L1 may work synergistically to reduce tumor burden in patients with cancer by enhancing the immune function and provided a promising treatment strategy to overcome ICI treatment resistance.

Effect of dexmedetomidine on postoperative systemic inflammation and recovery in patients undergoing digest tract cancer surgery: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Perioperative immune function, postoperative cognitive function and prognosis are momentous issues for patients undergoing digestive tract cancer surgery. Studies have investigated the efficacy of dexmedetomidine (DEX) administration on these issues, but the results are inconsistent. Therefore, this meta-analysis aimed to summarize all the existing evidence and draw a conclusion more accurately on these associations. Trials were located through electronic searches of the PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library and Web of Science databases sources (from the establishment date of databases to April 2022). Bibliographies of the retrieved articles were checked. A total of 17 RCTs involving 1619 patients were included. The results showed that DEX decreased the level of C-reactive protein (SMD = -4.26, 95%CI: -6.16, -2.36), TNF-α (SMD = -4.22, 95%CI: -5.91, -2.54) and IL-6 (SMD = -2.71, 95%CI: -4.46, -0.97), and increased the level of IL-10 (SMD = 1.74, 95%CI: 0.25, 3.24). DEX also increased CD4+ T cells (SMD = 0.55, 95%CI: 0.29, 0.82) and CD4+/CD8+ ratio (SMD = 0.62, 95%CI: 0.24, 1.01). Thus, DEX was associated with alleviation of postoperative systemic inflammatory response and immune dysfunction. Furthermore, DEX increased mini-mental state examination scores at 12h (SMD = 1.10, 95%CI: 0.74,1.45), 24h (SMD = 0.85, 95%CI: 0.59, 1.11), 48h (SMD = 0.89, 95%CI: 0.50, 1.28) and 72h (SMD = 0.75, 95%CI: 0.38, 1.11) after surgery. DEX decreased the occurrence of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) at 24h (OR = 0.22, 95%CI: 0.11, 0.46) and 72h (OR = 0.39, 95%CI: 0.22, 0.68) after surgery. DEX decreased first flatus time (SMD = -1.55, 95%CI: -2.82, -0.27) and hospital stay (SMD = -1.23, 95%CI: -1.88, -0.59). Therefore, based on perioperative immune dysfunction alleviation, DEX attenuated POCD and potential neuroinflammation, improved postoperative recovery and clinical prognosis of patients undergoing digest tract cancer surgery. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the clinical application of DEX from an immunological perspective.

Single-cell transcriptomic profiling reveals the tumor heterogeneity of small-cell lung cancer.

Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is the most aggressive and lethal subtype of lung cancer, for which, better understandings of its biology are urgently needed. Single-cell sequencing technologies provide an opportunity to profile individual cells within the tumor microenvironment (TME) and investigate their roles in tumorigenic processes. Here, we performed high-precision single-cell transcriptomic analysis of ~5000 individual cells from primary tumors (PTs) and matched normal adjacent tissues (NATs) from 11 SCLC patients, including one patient with both PT and relapsed tumor (RT). The comparison revealed an immunosuppressive landscape of human SCLC. Malignant cells in SCLC tumors exhibited diverse states mainly related to the cell cycle, immune, and hypoxic properties. Our data also revealed the intratumor heterogeneity (ITH) of key transcription factors (TFs) in SCLC and related gene expression patterns and functions. The non-neuroendocrine (non-NE) tumors were correlated with increased inflammatory gene signatures and immune cell infiltrates in SCLC, which contributed to better responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors. These findings indicate a significant heterogeneity of human SCLC, and intensive crosstalk between cancer cells and the TME at single-cell resolution, and thus, set the stage for a better understanding of the biology of SCLC as well as for developing new therapeutics for SCLC.

Genomic and epigenomic profiles distinguish pulmonary enteric adenocarcinoma from lung metastatic colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: As a rare subtype of lung adenocarcinoma, the diagnosis of pulmonary enteric adenocarcinoma (PEAC) remains challenging due to overlapping morphologic spectrum with lung metastatic colorectal cancer (lmCRC). However, the molecular features of PEAC as a separate lung cancer entity are poorly understood. METHODS: We performed whole-exome sequencing and targeted bisulfite sequencing of 32 PEAC and 30 lmCRC to improve differential molecular characterization of the two diseases. We used machine learning methods to select key markers and developed a diagnostic classifier. In addition, we validated the classifier in the internal test cohort and an independently recruited external validation cohort with 17 PEAC and 7 lmCRC. FINDINGS: Our results showed that EGFR was the key driver mutation in PEAC but at a lower prevalence compared to typical lung adenocarcinomas, whereas ERBB2 and KRAS were more frequently observed in PEAC. By contrast, we observed significant enrichment of KRAS and APC mutations in lmCRC compared with PEAC. At the chromosome arm level, copy number variations in 13q, 14q, and 18p were the major chromosomal differences observed between PEAC and lmCRC. Furthermore, by comparing differentially methylated regions (DMRs), we established a neat DNA methylation-based classifier consisting of eight DMRs. This classifier correctly classified all samples in the training cohort and 95% of the samples in the internal test cohort. An external validation cohort of 24 cases recruited from multiple centers in China also reliably agreed with pathological diagnosis. INTERPRETATION: These results provide solid evidence of PEAC-specific genomic characteristics and demonstrate the potential utility of DNA methylation markers for auxiliary diagnosis of PEAC and lmCRC. FUNDING: This work was supported by National key research and development project 2019YFC1315700, CAMS Key Laboratory of Translational Research on Lung Cancer (2018PT31035), and Beijing Natural Science Foundation (7222144).

Treatment-related adverse events of PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitor-based combination therapies in clinical trials: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Numerous ongoing trials are testing anti-PD-1-based or anti-PD-L1-based cancer treatment combinations. Understanding the toxicity profiles of treatment-related adverse events is essential. The aim of this study was to comprehensively investigate the incidences and profiles of treatment-related adverse events across different combination therapies. METHODS: We did a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing different chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy combinations with PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitors. We searched Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane databases for articles published in English between Jan 1, 2000, and May 21, 2020, investigating globally approved PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor-based combination therapies. Only prospective trials reporting overall incidence or tabulated data of treatment-related adverse events were included. Trials investigating sequential therapies, comprising three or more classes of therapies, and enrolling less than ten patients were excluded. The primary outcomes were overall incidences and profiles for all-grade and grade 3 or higher treatment-related adverse events by random-effect models. Heterogeneity between studies was assessed with I2 statistics. The summary measures for main outcomes are incidences (95% CI). The 95% CI were calculated together with the incidence through a random-effects model with a logit transformation. The protocol is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020189617). FINDINGS: We identified 2540 records, of which 161 studies (17 197 patients) met the inclusion criteria. The overall incidence of treatment-related adverse events in the chemotherapy combination was 97·7% (95% CI 96·4-98·5; I2=75%) for all-grade adverse events and 68·3% (60·7-75·0; I2=93%) for grade 3 or higher adverse events; in the targeted therapy combination was 94·5% (90·7-96·8; I2=86%) for all-grade adverse events and 47·3% (37·3-57·5; I2=93%) for grade 3 or higher adverse events; in the immunotherapy combination was 86·8% (80·9-91·1; I2=94%) for all-grade adverse events and 35·9% (29·5-42·9; I2=92%) for grade 3 or higher adverse events; and in the radiotherapy combination was 89·4% (69·0-96·9; I2=74%) for all-grade adverse events and 12·4% (4·4-30·6; I2=73%) for grade 3 or higher adverse events. For these four combination therapies, the most common all-grade adverse events were anaemia (45.4% [95% CI 32·4-59·1]), fatigue (34·3% [27·5-41·9]), fatigue (26·4% [19·2-35·2]), and dysphagia (30·0% [18·7-44·5]), respectively, and the most common grade 3 or higher adverse events were neutropenia (19·6% [13·5-27·7]), hypertension (9·3% [5·7-14·9]), lipase increased (7·2% [5·2-9·9]), and lymphopenia (10·3% [4·5-21·8]). All included randomised controlled trials had a low risk of bias. INTERPRETATION: Our study provides comprehensive data on treatment-related adverse events of different PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor-based combination therapies. Our results provide an essential reference of toxicity profiles of PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor-based combination therapies for clinicians in routine practice of cancer care. FUNDING: National Key Research and Development Programme, National Natural Science Foundation of China key program, National Natural Science Foundation of China general program, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Initiative for Innovative Medicine, Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission, Non-profit Central Research Institute Fund.

Weighting tumor-specific TCR repertoires as a classifier to stratify the immunotherapy delivery in non-small cell lung cancers.

Analysis of T cell receptor (TCR) repertoires may contribute to better understanding of the response to immunotherapy. By deep sequencing of the TCR ß chain complementarity-determining regions in the paired biopsies and peripheral blood specimens of 31 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with anti-programmed death 1 (PD-1) or PD-ligand 1 (PD-L1) therapy, we developed a previously unidentified index, the TCR-based immunotherapy response index (TIR index), that estimated the degree of overlap of the TCR repertoire between tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and circulating PD-1+CD8+T cells (shared TCR clones). This index correlated with response and survival outcomes of anti-PD-(L)1 treatment. All the TCR sequences of neoantigen-stimulated T cells were included in the shared TCR clones, indicating that TCR clones involved in TIR index estimation represented tumor-specific T cells. Therefore, the TIR index is a feasible approach for assessing tumor-specific TCR and stratifying patients with NSCLC for anti-PD-(L)1 therapy.

TP53 mutations in circulating tumor DNA in advanced epidermal growth factor receptor-mutant lung adenocarcinoma patients treated with gefitinib.

Tumor protein p53 (TP53) is a tumor suppressor gene and TP53 mutations are associated with poor prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer. However, the in-depth classification of TP53 and its relationship with treatment response and prognosis in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant tumors treated with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors are unclear. Circulating tumor DNA was prospectively collected at baseline in advanced treatment-naïve EGFR-mutant lung adenocarcinoma patients treated with gefitinib in an open-label, single-arm, prospective, multicenter, phase 2 clinical trial (BENEFIT trial) and analyzed using next-generation sequencing. Survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Of the 180 enrolled patients, 115 (63.9%) harbored TP53 mutations. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of patients with TP53-wild type tumors were significantly longer than those of patients with TP53-mutant tumors. Mutations in exons 5-8 accounted for 80.9% of TP53 mutations. Mutations in TP53 exons 6 and 7 were significantly associated with inferior PFS and OS compared to wild-type TP53. TP53 mutation also influenced the prognosis of patients with different EGFR mutations. Patients with TP53 and EGFR exon 19 mutations had significantly longer PFS and OS than patients with TP53 and EGFR L858R mutations, and both groups had worse survival than patients with only EGFR mutations. Patients with TP53 mutations, especially in exons 6 and 7, had a lower response rate and shorter PFS and OS when treated with gefitinib. Moreover, TP53 exon 5 mutation divided TP53 mutations in disruptive and non-disruptive types.

Influence of adjuvant chemotherapy on survival for patients with stage IB and IIA non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: The role of adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) for patients with stage IB-IIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) according to the eighth edition of the AJCC TNM staging system remains controversial. METHODS: Data were collected from patients with NSCLC stage IB-IIA according to the eighth edition of the AJCC TNM staging system who underwent surgical resection from 2008 to 2015. The relationship between ACT and overall survival (OS) or disease-free survival (DFS) was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: The study included 648 patients with completely resected NSCLC stage IB-IIA; 312 underwent ACT after surgical resection and 336 were placed under observation. After propensity score matching, 247 pairs of patients were matched and the five-year OS was 88.08% and 83.12% (P = 0.13) in ACT and non-ACT settings, respectively. Subgroup analyses demonstrated that ACT treatment was correlated with an improved five-year OS in patients with visceral pleural invasion (VPI) in the 3 < tumor ≤ 4 cm subgroup (93.98% and 68.93%, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: ACT was not significantly associated with improved five-year OS in stage IB-IIA NSCLC patients. However, further subgroup analysis showed that patients with VPI in the 3 < tumor ≤ 4 cm (T2aN0M0, stage IB) subgroup might benefit more from ACT. Further studies are required to validate the findings and better systemic strategies need to be developed in these patients. KEY POINTS: SIGNIFICANT FINDINGS OF THE STUDY: For patients with stage IB-IIA NSCLC according to the eighth edition of the AJCC TNM staging system, the effect of ACT remains unclear. ACT was not significantly associated with improved five-year OS in stage IB-IIA NSCLC patients. However, it was correlated with better DFS before or after PSM. Patients with VPI in the 3 < tumor ≤ 4 cm subgroup may benefit from ACT. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS: ACT was not significantly associated with improved five-year OS in stage IB-IIA NSCLC patients. However, it was correlated with better DFS before or after PSM. Patients with VPI in the 3 < tumor ≤ 4 cm subgroup may benefit from ACT.

Metagenome association study of the gut microbiome revealed biomarkers linked to chemotherapy outcomes in locally advanced and advanced lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: The gut microbiome is important in the development and immunotherapy efficacy of lung cancer. However, the relationship between the intestinal flora and chemotherapy outcomes remains unclear and was investigated in this study. METHODS: We analyzed baseline stool samples from patients with locally advanced and advanced lung cancer before chemotherapy treatment, through metagenomics of the gut microbiota. The composition, diversity, function, and metabolic pathway analysis were compared among patients with different clinical outcomes. RESULTS: From 64 patients, 33 responded to treatment (responders) and 31 did not (nonresponders). Streptococcus mutans and Enterococcus casseliflavus were enriched in responders (P < 0.05), while 11 bacteria including Leuconostoc lactis and Eubacterium siraeum were enriched in nonresponders (P < 0.05) by variance analysis. Responders were associated with significantly higher Acidobacteria and Granulicella, while Streptococcus oligofermentans, Megasphaera micronuciformis, and Eubacterium siraeum were more abundant in nonresponders by Lefse analysis. Streptococcus mutans and Enterococcus casseliflavus were further identified as bacterial markers relevant to responders using unsupervised clustering, and Leuconostoc lactis and Eubacterium siraeum were related to nonresponders. The L-glutamate degradation VIII pathway was enriched in responders (P = 0.014), and the C4 photosynthetic carbon assimilation cycle, reductive TCA cycle I, and hexitol fermentation to lactate, formate, ethanol, and acetate were enriched in nonresponders (P < 0.05). Additionally, significant associations of bacterial species with clinical phenotypes were observed by Spearman correlation analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The specific gut microbiome of patients with lung cancer might be connected to the clinical outcomes of chemotherapy. KEY POINTS: Significant findings of the study Lung cancer patients with different gut microbiome compositions and microbiome metabolic pathways have different responses to chemotherapy. Microbiome species are also associated with different lung cancer clinical phenotypes. What this study adds We have identified specific gut microbiome species that can be used as relevant biomarkers for chemotherapy outcomes. This can potentially be used to guide clinical treatment decisions.

EPHA mutation as a predictor of immunotherapeutic efficacy in lung adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Ephrin type-A receptors (EPHA) are members of family of receptor tyrosine kinases and are related to tumor immunogenicity and immune microenvironment, however, the association between EPHA mutation (EPHAmut ) and efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has not been investigated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: Multiple cohorts were used to assess the immunotherapeutic predictive performance of EPHAmut , including one discovery cohort (n=79) and two public validation cohort (cohort 1: NSCLC, n=165; cohort 2: pan-cancer, n=1662). The Cancer Genome Atlas cohort was used for prognostic analysis and mechanism exploration. RESULTS: In the discovery cohort, patients with EPHAmut had superior disease control rate (72.2% vs 36.1%, p=0.01) and progression-free survival (PFS) (HR 0.38; 95% CI 0.21 to 0.68; p<0.001) compared with those with wide-type EPHA (EPHAwt ) in NSCLC. The association between EPHAmut and immunotherapy outcomes in NSCLC was consistently observed in the validation cohorts by multivariable models (cohort 1, PFS HR 0.59; 95% CI 0.37 to 0.96; p=0.03; cohort 2, overall survival (OS) HR 0.63; 95% CI 0.41 to 0.98; p=0.04). Further pooled estimates of the discovery and validation cohorts showed that patients with EPHAmut exhibited a significantly longer PFS and OS in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) while not squamous cell lung cancer (LUSC). Consistently, mechanism analysis revealed that patients with EPHAmut was associated with increased T cell signatures and downregulated transforming growth factor-ß signaling compared with patients with EPHAwt in LUAD while not LUSC. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated that EPHAmut is an independent classifier that could stratify patients with LUAD for ICIs therapy. Further prospective studies are warranted. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCC2016JZ-03, NCC2018-092.

Upfront dose-reduced chemotherapy synergizes with immunotherapy to optimize chemoimmunotherapy in squamous cell lung carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The survival benefits of combining chemotherapy (at the maximum tolerated dose, MTD) with concurrent immunotherapy, collectively referred to as chemoimmunotherapy, for the treatment of squamous cell lung carcinoma (SQCLC) have been confirmed in recent clinical trials. Nevertheless, optimization of chemoimmunotherapy in order to enhance the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in SQCLC remains to be explored. METHODS: Cell lines, syngeneic immunocompetent mouse models, and patients' peripheral blood mononuclear cells were used in order to comprehensively explore how to enhance ectopic lymphoid-like structures (ELSs) and upregulate the therapeutic targets of anti-programmed death 1 (PD-1)/anti-PD-1 ligand (PD-L1) monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), thus rendering SQCLC more sensitive to ICIs. In addition, molecular mechanisms underlying optimization were characterized. RESULTS: Low-dose chemotherapy contributed to an enhanced antigen exposure via the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt/transcription factor nuclear factor kappa B signaling pathway. Improved antigen uptake and presentation by activated dendritic cells (DCs) was observed, thus invoking specific T cell responses leading to systemic immune responses and immunological memory. In turn, enhanced antitumor ELSs and PD-1/PD-L1 expression was observed in vivo. Moreover, upfront metronomic (low-dose and frequent administration) chemotherapy extended the time window of the immunostimulatory effect and effectively synergized with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 mAbs. A possible mechanism underlying this synergy is the increase of activated type I macrophages, DCs, and cytotoxic CD8+ T cells, as well as the maintenance of intestinal gut microbiota diversity and composition. In contrast, when combining routine MTD chemotherapy with ICIs, the effects appeared to be additive rather than synergistic. CONCLUSIONS: We first attempted to optimize chemoimmunotherapy for SQCLC by investigating different combinatorial modes. Compared with the MTD chemotherapy used in current clinical practice, upfront metronomic chemotherapy performed better with subsequent anti-PD-1/PD-L1 mAb treatment. This combination approach is worth investigating in other types of tumors, followed by translation into the clinic in the future.

Safety, Antitumor Activity, and Pharmacokinetics of Toripalimab, a Programmed Cell Death 1 Inhibitor, in Patients With Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Phase 1 Trial.

Importance: Programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) antibodies have shown substantial survival benefit in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Toripalimab is a promising and practicable PD-1 antibody; however, its performance in NSCLC has not been established. Objectives: To assess the safety, antitumor activity, and pharmacokinetics of toripalimab in patients with advanced NSCLC and to evaluate the utility of JS311, a novel PD ligand 1 (PD-L1) immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay. Design, Setting, and Participants: This single-arm open-label phase 1 trial enrolled 41 patients with advanced NSCLC that had progressed after at least 3 lines of therapy between September 21, 2017, and June 5, 2018, with a median (interquartile range) follow-up of 14.9 (3.2-22.5) months and included a cohort study comparing JS311 with other PD-L1 IHC assays that included 280 NSCLC specimens collected from January 1, 2016, to May 21, 2018. Data collection was conducted from September 21, 2017, to September 27, 2019, and analysis was conducted from September 27, 2019, to December 30, 2019. Exposure: Enrolled patients were administered a single dose of toripalimab, under 2 manufacturing processes and scales (200 L and 500 L), for safety and pharmacokinetic analysis within 28 days, followed by subsequent multidose infusions every 2 weeks. PD-L1 expression was determined by IHC with JS311, comparing its results with results from 22C3, 28-8, and SP263 simultaneously. Main Outcomes and Measures: Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), estimated by Kaplan-Meier curves, and continuous variables compared by t test or Mann-Whitney test. Correlations between PD-L1 IHC antibodies were evaluated by Spearman correlation test. Results: A total of 41 patients (29 [70.7%] men) with a median (interquartile range) age of 59 (53 to 63) years who experienced disease progression following chemotherapy were included. The most common treatment-related adverse events were rash (6 [14.6%]), increased amylase level (5 [12.2%]), and increased aspartate aminotransferase level (5 [12.2%]). In 35 patients included in the pharmacokinetic analysis, drug exposure and area under curve after 1 dose was similar under both manufacturing processes and scales (mean [SD] for 200-L group: 12 465.28 [4128.17] hour × µg/mL; for 500-L group: 12 331.42 [2472.58] hour × µg/ml). In 28 patients included in the response and survival analysis, the median PFS and OS were 2.8 (95% CI, 2.7 to 4.6) months and 13.8 months (95% CI, 10.0 months to not reached), respectively. Stratified by PD-L1 tumor proportion score of at least 50%, 1% to 49%, and less 1%, median PFS rates were 11.2 months (95% CI, 2.3 months to not evaluable), 2.3 (95% CI, 1.7 to 2.7) months, and 2.8 (95% CI, 2.7 to 4.6) months, respectively. A total of 4 anti-PD-L1 IHC antibodies were compared during PD-L1 staining, using 280 NSCLC specimens. The consistency rates between the 4 antibodies were 80.8% to 89.5% (ρ, 0.619 to 0.790) and 93.3% to 95.5% (ρ, 0.691 to 0.773), with PD-L1 tumor proportion scores of 1% and 50% as cut points, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: In this study, toripalimab exhibited encouraging antitumor activity and manageable safety profiles among patients with heavily treated NSCLC. The novel PD-L1 IHC antibody JS311 was highly consistent with previously verified PD-L1 IHC assays.