Transmembrane TNF-TNFR2 signaling as a critical immunoregulatory node in pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is characterized by extreme therapeutic resistance. In pancreatic cancers harboring high-risk genomes, we describe that cancer cell-neutrophil signaling circuitry provokes neutrophil-derived transmembrane (tm)TNF-TNFR2 interactions that dictate inflammatory polarization in cancer-associated fibroblasts and T-cell dysfunction - two hallmarks of therapeutic resistance. Targeting tmTNF-TNFR2 signaling may sensitize pancreatic cancer to chemo±immunotherapy.

Detection and therapeutic implications of homologous recombination repair deficiency in pancreatic cancer: a narrative review.

Background and Objective: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains one of the most lethal cancers. A major recent advance has been the identification of a subset of patients with PDAC who harbor inherited or somatic genetic alterations that result in homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) in tumor cells. These patients often respond favorably to drugs that can exploit this vulnerability. This review outlines the biomarkers that have been developed to predict HRD and their performance related specifically to PDAC, as well as novel HRD-targeted therapies for PDAC. Methods: We conducted a narrative review of the HRD in PDAC based on PubMed, Google Scholar, website and citation searches. Key Content and Findings: Germline mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 remains the only validated biomarker for the HRD state but various platforms are now available to define HRD beyond BRCA1/2 alterations. Currently, the available evidence supports the use of platinum-based chemotherapy as well as PARP inhibitors, and there is also emerging data that immune checkpoint inhibitors can produce some durable responses in these patients. Conclusions: Consistently detecting clinically significant the HRD status in PDAC has remained challenging with current commercially available platforms. Multiple novel HRD-targeted therapies for PDAC are currently in development and clinical trials, offering new opportunities for these patients.

Multiomic Characterization Reveals a Distinct Molecular Landscape in Young-Onset Pancreatic Cancer.

PURPOSE: Using a real-world database with matched genomic-transcriptomic molecular data, we sought to characterize the distinct molecular correlates underlying clinical differences between patients with young-onset pancreatic cancer (YOPC; younger than 50 years) and patients with average-onset pancreatic cancer (AOPC; 70 years and older). METHODS: We analyzed matched whole-transcriptome and DNA sequencing data from 2,430 patient samples (YOPC, n = 292; AOPC, n = 2,138) from the Caris Life Sciences database (Phoenix, AZ). Immune deconvolution was performed using the quanTIseq pipeline. Overall survival (OS) data were obtained from insurance claims (n = 4,928); Kaplan-Meier estimates were calculated for age- and molecularly defined cohorts. Significance was determined as FDR-corrected P values (Q) < .05. RESULTS: Patients with YOPC had higher proportions of mismatch repair-deficient/microsatellite instability-high, BRCA2-mutant, and PALB2-mutant tumors compared with patients with AOPC, but fewer SMAD4-, RNF43-, CDKN2A-, and SF3B1-mutant tumors. Notably, patients with YOPC demonstrated significantly lower incidence of KRAS mutations compared with patients with AOPC (81.3% v 90.9%; Q = .004). In the KRAS wild-type subset (n = 227), YOPC tumors demonstrated fewer TP53 mutations and were more likely driven by NRG1 and MET fusions, whereas BRAF fusions were exclusively observed in patients with AOPC. Immune deconvolution revealed significant enrichment of natural killer cells, CD8+ T cells, monocytes, and M2 macrophages in patients with YOPC relative to patients with AOPC, which corresponded with lower rates of HLA-DPA1 homozygosity. There was an association with improved OS in patients with YOPC compared with patients with AOPC with KRAS wild-type tumors (median, 16.2 [YOPC-KRASWT] v 10.6 [AOPC-KRASWT] months; P = .008) but not KRAS-mutant tumors (P = .084). CONCLUSION: In this large, real-world multiomic characterization of age-stratified molecular differences in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, YOPC is associated with a distinct molecular landscape that has prognostic and therapeutic implications.

Smoking induces WEE1 expression to promote docetaxel resistance in esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) patients have poor clinical outcomes, with an overall 5-year survival rate of 20%. Smoking is a significant risk factor for EAC. The role of WEE1, a nuclear kinase that negatively regulates the cell cycle in normal conditions, in EAC tumorigenesis and drug resistance is not fully understood. Immunohistochemistry staining shows significant WEE1 overexpression in human EAC tissues. Nicotine, nicotine-derived nitrosamine ketone, or 2% cigarette smoke extract treatment induces WEE1 protein expression in EAC, detected by western blot and immunofluorescence staining. qRT-PCR and reporter assay indicates that smoking induces WEE1 expression through miR-195-5p downregulation in EAC. ATP-Glo cell viability and clonogenic assay confirmed that WEE1 inhibition sensitizes EAC cells to docetaxel treatment in vitro. A TE-10 smoking machine with EAC patient-derived xenograft mouse model demonstrated that smoking induces WEE1 protein expression and resistance to docetaxel in vivo. MK-1775 and docetaxel combined treatment improves EAC patient-derived xenograft mouse survival in vivo. Our findings demonstrate, for the first time, that smoking-induced WEE1 overexpression through miRNA dysregulation in EAC plays an essential role in EAC drug resistance. WEE1 inhibition is a promising therapeutic method to overcome drug resistance and target treatment refractory cancer cells.

Comparative Genomic Analysis of Pancreatic Acinar Cell Carcinoma (PACC) and Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) Unveils New Actionable Genomic Aberrations in PACC.

PURPOSE: Pure pancreatic acinar cell carcinomas (PACC) are rare malignancies with no established treatment. PACC demonstrates significant genetic intertumoral heterogeneity with multiple pathways involved, suggesting using targeted cancer therapeutics to treat this disease. We aggregated one of the largest datasets of pure PACC to examine the genomic variability and explore patient-specific therapeutic targets. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: PACC specimens (n = 51) underwent next-generation sequencing of DNA (n = 29) or whole exome (n = 22) and RNA (whole transcriptome, n = 29) at a commercial laboratory. We performed comparative analyses of a genomic cohort of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC; n = 4,205). In parallel, we conducted a retrospective review of patients with PACC treated at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI). RESULTS: The real-world dataset included samples from 51 patients with PACC. We found key molecular differences between pure PACC and PDAC, highlighting the unique characteristics of pure PACC. Major differences in PACC include lower MAPK signaling and less stromal cell abundance compared with PDAC. Pure PACC showed genomic loss-of-heterozygosity to largely coincide with mutations in BRCA1, BRCA2, and PALB2. Of the 7 patients treated at HCI, one had a tumor that harbored a BRAF-V600E mutation. Leveraging precision oncology, this patient is being treated with encorafenib plus binimetinib, achieving an exceptionally durable and ongoing complete response of more than 3 years. CONCLUSIONS: There are major differences between PACC and PDAC, including downregulation of the MAPK signaling pathway, and less stromal cell abundance. In addition, genomic characterization of pure PACC revealed frequent targetable alterations, which can guide patient treatment.

Multi-omic characterization reveals a distinct molecular landscape in young-onset pancreatic cancer.

Purpose: Using a real-world database with matched genomic-transcriptomic molecular data, we sought to characterize the distinct molecular correlates underlying clinical differences between young-onset pancreatic cancer (YOPC; <50-yrs.) and average-onset pancreatic cancer (AOPC; ≥70-yrs.) patients. Methods: We analyzed matched whole-transcriptome and DNA sequencing data from 2430 patient samples (YOPC, n=292; AOPC, n=2138) from the Caris Life Sciences database (Phoenix, AZ). Immune deconvolution was performed using the quanTIseq pipeline. Overall survival (OS) data was obtained from insurance claims (n=4928); Kaplan-Meier estimates were calculated for age-and molecularly-defined cohorts. Significance was determined as FDR-corrected P -values ( Q )<0.05. Results: YOPC patients had higher proportions of mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR)/microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H), BRCA2 -mutant, and PALB2 -mutant tumors compared with AOPC patients, but fewer SMAD4-, RNF43-, CDKN2A- , and SF3B1- mutant tumors. Notably, YOPC patients demonstrated significantly lower incidence of KRAS mutations compared with AOPC patients (81.3% vs. 90.9%; Q =0.004). In the KRAS- wildtype subset (n=227), YOPC tumors demonstrated fewer TP53 mutations and were more likely driven by NRG1 and MET fusions, while BRAF fusions were exclusively observed in AOPC patients. Immune deconvolution revealed significant enrichment of natural killer (NK) cells, CD8 + T cells, monocytes, and M2 macrophages in YOPC patients relative to AOPC patients, which corresponded with lower rates of HLA-DPA1 homozygosity. There was an association with improved OS in YOPC patients compared with AOPC patients with KRAS -wildtype tumors (median 16.2 [YOPC- KRAS WT ] vs. 10.6 [AOPC- KRAS WT ] months; P =0.008) but not KRAS -mutant tumors ( P =0.084). Conclusion: In this large, real-world multi-omic characterization of age-stratified molecular differences in PDAC, YOPC is associated with a distinct molecular landscape that has prognostic and therapeutic implications.

Combined MEK and STAT3 Inhibition Uncovers Stromal Plasticity by Enriching for Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts With Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Like Features to Overcome Immunotherapy Resistance in Pancreatic Cancer.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: We have shown that reciprocally activated rat sarcoma (RAS)/mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MEK) and Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathways mediate therapeutic resistance in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), while combined MEK and STAT3 inhibition (MEKi+STAT3i) overcomes such resistance and alters stromal architecture. We now determine whether MEKi+STAT3i reprograms the cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) and immune microenvironment to overcome resistance to immune checkpoint inhibition in PDAC. METHODS: CAF and immune cell transcriptomes in MEKi (trametinib)+STAT3i (ruxolitinib)-treated vs vehicle-treated Ptf1aCre/+;LSL-KrasG12D/+;Tgfbr2flox/flox (PKT) tumors were examined via single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq). Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats associated protein 9 silencing of CAF-restricted Map2k1/Mek1 or Stat3, or both, enabled interrogation of CAF-dependent effects on immunologic remodeling in orthotopic models. Tumor growth, survival, and immune profiling via mass cytometry by time-of-flight were examined in PKT mice treated with vehicle, anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) monotherapy, and MEKi+STAT3i combined with anti-PD1. RESULTS: MEKi+STAT3i attenuates Il6/Cxcl1-expressing proinflammatory and Lrrc15-expressing myofibroblastic CAF phenotypes while enriching for Ly6a/Cd34-expressing CAFs exhibiting mesenchymal stem cell-like features via scRNAseq in PKT mice. This CAF plasticity is associated with M2-to-M1 reprogramming of tumor-associated macrophages, and enhanced trafficking of cluster of differentiation 8+ T cells, which exhibit distinct effector transcriptional programs. These MEKi+STAT3i-induced effects appear CAF-dependent, because CAF-restricted Mek1/Stat3 silencing mitigates inflammatory-CAF polarization and myeloid infiltration in vivo. Addition of MEKi+STAT3i to PD-1 blockade not only dramatically improves antitumor responses and survival in PKT mice but also augments recruitment of activated/memory T cells while improving their degranulating and cytotoxic capacity compared with anti-PD-1 monotherapy. Importantly, treatment of a patient who has chemotherapy-refractory metastatic PDAC with MEKi (trametinib), STAT3i (ruxolitinib), and PD-1 inhibitor (nivolumab) yielded clinical benefit. CONCLUSIONS: Combined MEKi+STAT3i mitigates stromal inflammation and enriches for CAF phenotypes with mesenchymal stem cell-like properties to overcome immunotherapy resistance in PDAC.

Distinct mechanisms of innate and adaptive immune regulation underlie poor oncologic outcomes associated with KRAS-TP53 co-alteration in pancreatic cancer.

Co-occurrent KRAS and TP53 mutations define a majority of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and define its pro-metastatic proclivity. Here, we demonstrate that KRAS-TP53 co-alteration is associated with worse survival compared with either KRAS-alone or TP53-alone altered PDAC in 245 patients with metastatic disease treated at a tertiary referral cancer center, and validate this observation in two independent molecularly annotated datasets. Compared with non-TP53 mutated KRAS-altered tumors, KRAS-TP53 co-alteration engenders disproportionately innate immune-enriched and CD8+ T-cell-excluded immune signatures. Leveraging in silico, in vitro, and in vivo models of human and murine PDAC, we discover a novel intersection between KRAS-TP53 co-altered transcriptomes, TP63-defined squamous trans-differentiation, and myeloid-cell migration into the tumor microenvironment. Comparison of single-cell transcriptomes between KRAS-TP53 co-altered and KRAS-altered/TP53WT tumors revealed cancer cell-autonomous transcriptional programs that orchestrate innate immune trafficking and function. Moreover, we uncover granulocyte-derived inflammasome activation and TNF signaling as putative paracrine mediators of innate immunoregulatory transcriptional programs in KRAS-TP53 co-altered PDAC. Immune subtyping of KRAS-TP53 co-altered PDAC reveals conflation of intratumor heterogeneity with progenitor-like stemness properties. Coalescing these distinct molecular characteristics into a KRAS-TP53 co-altered "immunoregulatory program" predicts chemoresistance in metastatic PDAC patients enrolled in the COMPASS trial, as well as worse overall survival.

Intestinal Autotransplantation and In-Situ Resection of Recurrent Pancreatic Head Intraductal Tubulopapillary Neoplasm with Portal Cavernoma: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND: Intraductal tubulopapillary neoplasm (ITPN) is a new entity of a rare premalignant pancreatic neoplasia, and a radical curative resection is indicated. As with other tumors of the root of the mesentery, the proximity of the lesion to large splanchnic vessels, abdominal aorta, and inferior vena cava poses major risks of a massive hemorrhage and visceral ischemia using conventional surgical techniques. At times, these lesions are amenable for resection using novel techniques developed from organ transplantation. Multivisceral (allo-) transplantation should be considered when radical resection of a benign tumor is likely to compromise portal flow and possibly precipitate acute liver failure, but it may be associated with a long waitlist time and tumor progression. Autotransplantation offers a safe and curative resection of otherwise inoperable tumors in a bloodless field, an excellent exposure, and prevention of warm ischemic injury to the affected viscera, which are then autotransplanted. METHODS: We describe the en bloc resection of a large and recurrent ITPN of the pancreas, distal stomach, proximal duodenum, transverse colon, superior mesenteric vein, and portal cavernoma, followed by intestinal autotransplantation. RESULTS: A complete tumor resection was achieved with negative margins, adequate cold preservation of the reimplanted intestine, and without significant hemorrhage. The patient was discharged from the hospital 10 days later. The histopathologic examination revealed free-margin resection of ITPN with an associated invasive carcinoma. The patient received adjuvant chemotherapy with folinic acid, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin and remains disease-free 20 months after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Autotransplantation offers curative resection of otherwise unresectable lesions of the root of the mesentery.

Multicenter randomized controlled trial and registry study to assess the safety and efficacy of the NanoKnife® system for the ablation of stage 3 pancreatic adenocarcinoma: overview of study protocols.

BACKGROUND: Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a local ablation technique utilizing high voltage, low energy direct current to create nanopores in cell membrane which disrupt homeostasis and leads to cell death. Previous reports have suggested IRE may have a role in treating borderline resectable and unresectable Stage 3 pancreatic tumors. METHODS: Patients with Stage 3 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) will be enrolled in either a randomized, controlled, multicenter trial (RCT) or a multicenter registry study. Subjects enrolled in the RCT must have no evidence of disease progression after 3 months of modified FOLFIRINOX (mFOLFIRINOX) treatment prior to being randomization to either a control or IRE arm. Post-induction and post-IRE treatment for the control and IRE arms, respectively, will be left to the discretion of the treating physician. The RCT will enroll 528 subjects with 264 per arm and include up to 15 sites. All subjects will be followed for at least 24 months or until death. The registry study will include two cohorts of patients with Stage 3 PDAC, patients who received institutional standard of care (SOC) alone and those treated with IRE in addition to SOC. Both cohorts will be required to have undergone at least 3 months of SOC without progression prior to enrollment. The registry study will enroll 532 patients with 266 patients in each arm. All patients will be followed for at least 24 months or until death. The primary efficacy endpoint for both studies will be overall survival (OS). Co-primary safety endpoints will be 1) time from randomization or enrollment in the registry to death or new onset of Grade 4 adverse event (AE), and (2 high-grade complications defined as any AE or serious AE (SAE) with a CTCAE v5.0 grade of 3 or higher. Secondary endpoints will include progression-free survival, cancer-related pain, quality of life, and procedure-related pain for the IRE arm only. DISCUSSION: These studies are intended to provide Level 1 clinical evidence and real-world data demonstrating the clinical utility and safety of the use of IRE in combination with chemotherapy in patients with Stage 3 PDAC. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT03899636 and NCT03899649. Registered April 2, 2019. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) trial G180278 approved on May 3, 2019.

Does Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Change the Role of Regional Lymphadenectomy in Pancreatic Cancer Survival?

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of lymph node (LN) dissection and staging in outcomes of patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). METHODS: National Cancer Database was queried for patients with stages I to III PDAC diagnosed between 2004 and 2014. Overall survival (OS) was derived from Kaplan-Meier methods, and Cox-regression model was used to evaluate associations between the number of LN examined, number of positive nodes, and LN ratio with OS. RESULTS: A total 35,599 patients were included, 3395 (9%) underwent NAC, 19,865 (56%) received adjuvant chemotherapy (AC), and 12,299 (35%) underwent surgery alone. Cox-regression showed superior OS in NAC compared with AC and surgery alone (26 vs 23 vs 14 months, P < 0.001). Minimum number of LN examined affecting OS was 8 LNs in NAC (23.8 vs 26.6 months, P = 0.029), and 12 LNs in AC group (22 vs 23.1 months, P = 0.028). Lymph node ratio cutoff of greater than 0.2 was associated with decreased OS (19.4 vs 24.4 months, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is associated with improved survival in PDAC. Lymph node yield remains a significant prognostic factor after NAC, whereas the minimum number of harvested LNs associated with sufficient staging and survival is decreased.

Phase 2 study of pembrolizumab and circulating biomarkers to predict anticancer response in advanced, unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Checkpoint inhibitors have shown modest activity in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Herein, the authors report a prospective single-institution clinical/translational phase 2 study of pembrolizumab in patients with advanced HCC and circulating biomarkers closely related to response. METHODS: Pembrolizumab was administered at a dose of 200 mg intravenously every 3 weeks among patients who may have developed disease progression while receiving, were intolerant of, or refused sorafenib. The circulating levels of cytokines, chemokines, programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), and PD-L2 were correlated with response, tumor PD-L1 expression, and other clinicopathological features. RESULTS: A total of 29 patients were treated and 28 patients were evaluable for response. The most common laboratory grade 3/4 adverse events were increases in aspartate aminotransferase and/or alanine aminotransferase and serum bilirubin, which for the most part were reversible. In terms of efficacy, one patient achieved a complete response and 8 patients achieved partial responses for an overall response rate of 32%. Four other patients had stable disease. The median progression-free survival was 4.5 months and the median overall survival was 13 months. Response did not correlate with prior sorafenib therapy, PD-L1 tumor staining, or a prior history of hepatitis. Correlative studies revealed that high baseline plasma TGF-ß levels (≥200 pg/mL) significantly correlated with poor treatment outcomes after pembrolizumab. Tumor PD-L1 and plasma PD-L1/PD-1 levels were associated with plasma IFN-γ or IL-10. CONCLUSIONS: Pembrolizumab was found to demonstrate activity in patients with advanced HCC. Toxicity generally was tolerable and reversible. A set of immunological markers in blood plasma as well as PD-L1 staining indicated that baseline TGF-ß could be a predictive biomarker for response to pembrolizumab.

Neoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX in Patients With Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Cancer: A Systematic Review and Patient-Level Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: FOLFIRINOX is a standard treatment for metastatic pancreatic cancer patients. The effectiveness of neoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX in patients with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer (BRPC) remains debated. METHODS: We performed a systematic review and patient-level meta-analysis on neoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX in patients with BRPC. Studies with BRPC patients who received FOLFIRINOX as first-line neoadjuvant treatment were included. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), and secondary endpoints were progression-free survival, resection rate, R0 resection rate, and grade III-IV adverse events. Patient-level survival outcomes were obtained from authors of the included studies and analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: We included 24 studies (8 prospective, 16 retrospective), comprising 313 (38.1%) BRPC patients treated with FOLFIRINOX. Most studies (n = 20) presented intention-to-treat results. The median number of administered neoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX cycles ranged from 4 to 9. The resection rate was 67.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 60.1% to 74.6%), and the R0-resection rate was 83.9% (95% CI = 76.8% to 89.1%). The median OS varied from 11.0 to 34.2 months across studies. Patient-level survival data were obtained for 20 studies representing 283 BRPC patients. The patient-level median OS was 22.2 months (95% CI = 18.8 to 25.6 months), and patient-level median progression-free survival was 18.0 months (95% CI = 14.5 to 21.5 months). Pooled event rates for grade III-IV adverse events were highest for neutropenia (17.5 per 100 patients, 95% CI = 10.3% to 28.3%), diarrhea (11.1 per 100 patients, 95% CI = 8.6 to 14.3), and fatigue (10.8 per 100 patients, 95% CI = 8.1 to 14.2). No deaths were attributed to FOLFIRINOX. CONCLUSIONS: This patient-level meta-analysis of BRPC patients treated with neoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX showed a favorable median OS, resection rate, and R0-resection rate. These results need to be assessed in a randomized trial.

DNA damage repair deficiency as a predictive biomarker for FOLFIRINOX efficacy in metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Patients with pathogenic germline and somatic variants in DNA damage repair (DDR) genes may derive greater benefit with platinum-based chemotherapy in metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). This study investigates the role of DDR genes as a predictive biomarker for response to first-line platinum chemotherapy with FOLFIRINOX in metastatic PDAC patients. Demographic, clinical, and pathologic variables were collected for patients with metastatic PDAC who received FOLFIRINOX as frontline treatment and who had germline and somatic genetic testing. Kaplan-Meier analysis of overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) were correlated to the presence of DDR pathogenic variants. Forty patients with metastatic PDAC met inclusion criteria. Germline genetic testing revealed germline pathogenic variants in DDR genes in 5 patients (12%), and somatic pathogenic variants in DDR genes in 4 patients (10%). Median PFS was significantly longer in patients with any (germline or somatic) pathogenic variant in DDR genes than in those without alterations 18.5 vs. 6.9 months (log-rank P=0.003). When restricted to the presence or absence of germline pathogenic variants in DDR genes, the median PFS was 18.5 vs. 7.4 months (log-rank P=0.005). The median OS for the entire cohort was 11.5 months was not statistically different between the two groups, however there were no deaths in the subgroup with germline pathogenic variants in DDR genes treated with frontline FOLFIRINOX. A subset of patients with metastatic PDAC and germline or somatic pathogenic variants in DDR genes have a statistically superior PFS when treated with the platinum containing regimen FOLFIRINOX. The role of DDR gene alterations as a predictive biomarker for FOLFIRINOX benefit should be further evaluated in prospective trials.

Exceptional response to FOLFIRINOX in a patient with pancreatic cancer and a germline RAD51C mutation.

Pancreatic cancer is projected to become the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States by 2030. Deleterious germline mutations can contribute to pancreatic cancer susceptibility. Herein we report a case of a patient with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma to the lung and liver who was found to have a deleterious germline mutation in RAD51C who had a remarkable response to chemotherapy with FOLFIRINOX, a platinum-containing regimen.

Complete response to ipilimumab and nivolumab therapy in a patient with extensive extrapulmonary high-grade small cell carcinoma of the pancreas and HIV infection.

BACKGROUND: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) have shown promising results in many solid tumors. There are limited data on the safety and efficacy of these drugs in HIV infected patients as they have traditionally been excluded from CPIs clinical trials. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case of an HIV-positive patient with extensive extrapulmonary high-grade small cell carcinoma who was treated with dual CPIs (nivolumab and ipilimumab) with a complete response to therapy and with a manageable safety profile. We performed a comprehensive literature review identifying 62 total HIV positive cases treated with CPIs showing this to be a potentially safe option in HIV-positive patients. CONCLUSION: HIV infection is not an absolute contraindication to CPI therapy. Our case and others provide justification for ongoing trials of CPI therapy in patients with HIV infection, a group that has traditionally been excluded from clinical trials.

Neoadjuvant Nab-paclitaxel and Gemcitabine in Borderline Resectable or Locally Advanced Unresectable Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma in Patients Who Are Ineligible for FOLFIRINOX.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Combination nab-paclitaxel/gemcitabine (AG) is superior to gemcitabine in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer (PC). There are limited data for AG in borderline resectable (BR) or locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC). Herein, we report our experience with neoadjuvant AG for BR/LAPC in patients ineligible for FOLFIRINOX. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective series, included patients with BR/LAPC who received AG as neoadjuvant therapy for 3-4 months followed by radiation, then re-evaluation for surgery. RESULTS: Between 10/2013-2/2018, 32 patients (22 BR, 10 LAPC) were treated with this approach. Median age was 70 years. Nine patients were converted to resectability by imaging; six had R0 resections (19%), five (16%) achieved a partial response and 24 (75%) had stable disease. CONCLUSION: In this small series, the R0 resection rate and response rate were 19% and 16% respectively. These data suggest that neoadjuvant AG may be an alternate option for patients ineligible for FOLFIRINOX.