Durvalumab, with or without tremelimumab, plus platinum-etoposide in first-line treatment of extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer: 3-year overall survival update from CASPIAN.

BACKGROUND: In the phase III CASPIAN study, first-line durvalumab in combination with etoposide plus either cisplatin or carboplatin (EP) significantly improved overall survival (OS) versus EP alone in extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC). Durvalumab plus tremelimumab plus EP numerically improved OS versus EP, but did not reach statistical significance. Here we report updated OS in censored patients after median follow-up of >3 years. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 805 patients with treatment-naïve ES-SCLC were randomized 1 : 1 : 1 to durvalumab plus EP, durvalumab plus tremelimumab plus EP, or EP. The two primary endpoints were OS for durvalumab plus EP versus EP and for durvalumab plus tremelimumab plus EP versus EP. RESULTS: As of 22 March 2021 (median follow-up 39.4 months, 86% maturity), durvalumab plus EP continued to demonstrate improved OS versus EP: hazard ratio (HR) 0.71 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.60-0.86; nominal P = 0.0003]; median OS was 12.9 versus 10.5 months, and 36-month OS rate was 17.6% versus 5.8%. Durvalumab plus tremelimumab plus EP continued to numerically improve OS versus EP: HR 0.81 (95% CI: 0.67-0.97; nominal P = 0.0200); median OS was 10.4 months, and 36-month OS rate was 15.3%. Twenty-seven and nineteen patients in the durvalumab plus EP and durvalumab plus tremelimumab plus EP arms, respectively, remained on durvalumab treatment at data cut-off. CONCLUSIONS: Three times more patients were estimated to be alive at 3 years when treated with durvalumab plus EP versus EP, with the majority still receiving durvalumab at data cut-off, further establishing durvalumab plus EP as first-line standard of care for ES-SCLC.

U.S. prevalence of endocrine therapy-naïve locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer.

Background: Variations in treatment choice, or late stage at first diagnosis, mean that, despite guideline recommendations, not all patients with hormone receptor (hr)-positive locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer (la/mbca) will have received endocrine therapy before disease progression. In the present study, we aimed to estimate the proportion of women with postmenopausal hr-positive la/mbca in the United States who are endocrine therapy-naïve. Methods: Women in the Optum Electronic Health Record (ehr) database with a breast cancer (bca) diagnosis (January 2008-March 2015) were included. Patient and malignancy characteristics were identified using structured data fields and natural-language processing of free-text clinical notes. The proportion of women with postmenopausal hr-positive, human epidermal growth factor 2 (her2)-negative (or unknown) la/mbca who had not received prior endocrine therapy was determined. Results were extrapolated to the entire U.S. population using the U.S. National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Results are presented descriptively. Results: In the ehr database, 11,831 women with bca had discernible information on postmenopausal status, hr status, and disease stage. Of those women, 1923 (16.3%) had postmenopausal hr-positive, her2-negative (or unknown) la/mbca, and 70.7% of those 1923 patients (n = 1360) had not received prior endocrine therapy, accounting for 11.5% of the overall population. Extrapolating those estimates nationally suggests an annual incidence of 14,784 cases, and a 5-year limited duration prevalence of 50,638 cases. Conclusions: A substantial proportion of women with postmenopausal hr-positive la/mbca in the United States could be endocrine therapy-naïve.

DiOC6(3): a useful dye for staining the endoplasmic reticulum.

The present review discusses the fluorescent organelle probe, DiOC6(3), with reference to its structure, chemistry, availability, spectral properties, labeling procedures, vital staining characteristics, and major applications in cellular and molecular biology. The specificity of dye for endoplasmic reticulum is summarized. We examine the simplicity and advantages of the fluorescent dye system for evaluating structure and function of endoplasmic reticulum. Other significant uses of the dye are also discussed.