A defect of amphiregulin release predicted longer survival independently of YAP expression in patients with pleural mesothelioma in the IFCT-0701 MAPS phase 3 trial.

The Hippo pathway effector YAP is dysregulated in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). YAP's target genes include the secreted growth factor amphiregulin (AREG), which is overexpressed in a wide range of epithelial cancers and plays an elusive role in MPM. We assayed the expression of YAP and AREG in MPM pathology samples and that of AREG additionally in plasma samples of patients from the randomized phase 3 IFCT-0701 Mesothelioma Avastin Cisplatin Pemetrexed Study (MAPS) using immunohistochemistry and ELISA assays, respectively. MPM patients frequently presented high levels of tumor AREG (64.3%), a high cytosolic AREG expression being predictive of a better prognosis with longer median overall and progression-free survival. Surprisingly, tumor AREG cytosolic expression was not correlated with secreted plasma AREG. By investigating the AREG metabolism and function in MPM cell lines H2452, H2052, MSTO-211H and H28, in comparison with the T47D ER+ breast cancer cell line used as a positive control, we confirm that AREG is important for cell invasion, growth without anchorage, proliferation and apoptosis in mesothelioma cells. Yet, most of these MPM cell lines failed to correctly execute AREG posttranslational processing by metalloprotease ADAM17/tumor necrosis factor-alpha-converting enzyme (TACE) and extracell secretion. The favorable prognostic value of high cytosolic AREG expression in MPM patients could therefore be sustained by default AREG posttranslational processing and release. Thus, the determination of mesothelioma cell AREG content could be further investigated as a prognostic marker for MPM patients and used as a stratification factor in future clinical trials.

MST1/Hippo promoter gene methylation predicts poor survival in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma in the IFCT-GFPC-0701 MAPS Phase 3 trial.

BACKGROUND: The Mesothelioma Avastin Cisplatin Pemetrexed Study (MAPS/NCT00651456) phase 3 trial demonstrated the superiority of bevacizumab plus pemetrexed-cisplatin triplet over chemotherapy alone in 448 malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) patients. Here, we evaluated the prognostic role of Hippo pathway gene promoter methylation. METHODS: Promoter methylations were assayed using methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction in samples from 223 MAPS patients, evaluating their prognostic value for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival in univariate and multivariate analyses. MST1 inactivation effects on invasion, soft agar growth, apoptosis, proliferation, and YAP/TAZ activation were investigated in human mesothelial cell lines. RESULTS: STK4 (MST1) gene promoter methylation was detected in 19/223 patients tested (8.5%), predicting poorer OS in univariate and multivariate analyses (adjusted HR: 1.78, 95% CI (1.09-2.93), p = 0.022). Internal validation by bootstrap resampling supported this prognostic impact. MST1 inactivation reduced cellular basal apoptotic activity while increasing proliferation, invasion, and soft agar or in suspension growth, resulting in nuclear YAP accumulation, yet TAZ cytoplasmic retention in mesothelial cell lines. YAP silencing decreased invasion of MST1-depleted mesothelial cell lines. CONCLUSIONS: MST1/hippo kinase expression loss is predictive of poor prognosis in MPM patients, leading to nuclear YAP accumulation and electing YAP as a putative target for therapeutic intervention in human MPM.

Bevacizumab for newly diagnosed pleural mesothelioma in the Mesothelioma Avastin Cisplatin Pemetrexed Study (MAPS): a randomised, controlled, open-label, phase 3 trial.

BACKGROUND: Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer with poor prognosis, linked to occupational asbestos exposure. Vascular endothelial growth factor is a key mitogen for malignant pleural mesothelioma cells, therefore targeting of vascular endothelial growth factor might prove effective. We aimed to assess the effect on survival of bevacizumab when added to the present standard of care, cisplatin plus pemetrexed, as first-line treatment of advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma. METHODS: In this randomised, controlled, open-label, phase 3 trial, we recruited patients aged 18-75 years with unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma who had not received previous chemotherapy, had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0-2, had no substantial cardiovascular comorbidity, were not amenable to curative surgery, had at least one evaluable (pleural effusion) or measurable (pleural tumour solid thickening) lesion with CT, and a life expectancy of >12 weeks from 73 hospitals in France. Exclusion criteria were presence of central nervous system metastases, use of antiaggregant treatments (aspirin ≥325 mg per day, clopidogrel, ticlopidine, or dipyridamole), anti-vitamin K drugs at a curative dose, treatment with low-molecular-weight heparin at a curative dose, and treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. We randomly allocated patients (1:1; minimisation method used [random factor of 0·8]; patients stratified by histology [epithelioid vs sarcomatoid or mixed histology subtypes], performance status score [0-1 vs 2], study centre, or smoking status [never smokers vs smokers]) to receive intravenously 500 mg/m(2) pemetrexed plus 75 mg/m(2) cisplatin with (PCB) or without (PC) 15 mg/kg bevacizumab in 21 day cycles for up to six cycles, until progression or toxic effects. The primary outcome was overall survival (OS) in the intention-to treat population. Treatment was open label. This IFCT-GFPC-0701 trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00651456. FINDINGS: From Feb 13, 2008, to Jan 5, 2014, we randomly assigned 448 patients to treatment (223 [50%] to PCB and 225 [50%] to PC). OS was significantly longer with PCB (median 18·8 months [95% CI 15·9-22·6]) than with PC (16·1 months [14·0-17·9]; hazard ratio 0·77 [0·62-0·95]; p=0·0167). Overall, 158 (71%) of 222 patients given PCB and 139 (62%) of 224 patients given PC had grade 3-4 adverse events. We noted more grade 3 or higher hypertension (51 [23%] of 222 vs 0) and thrombotic events (13 [6%] of 222 vs 2 [1%] of 224) with PCB than with PC. INTERPRETATION: Addition of bevacizumab to pemetrexed plus cisplatin significantly improved OS in malignant pleural mesothelioma at the cost of expected manageable toxic effects, therefore it should be considered as a suitable treatment for the disease. FUNDING: Intergroupe Francophone de Cancérologie Thoracique (IFCT).

Medical follow-up of workers exposed to lung carcinogens: French evidence-based and pragmatic recommendations.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this work was to establish recommendations for the medical follow-up of workers currently or previously exposed to lung carcinogens. METHODS: A critical synthesis of the literature was conducted. Occupational lung carcinogenic substances were listed and classified according to their level of lung cancer risk. A targeted screening protocol was defined. RESULTS: A clinical trial, National Lung Screnning Trial (NLST), showed the efficacy of chest CAT scan (CT) screening for populations of smokers aged 55-74 years with over 30 pack-years of exposure who had stopped smoking for less than 15 years. To propose screening in accordance with NLST criteria, and to account for occupational risk factors, screening among smokers and former smokers needs to consider the types of occupational exposure for which the risk level is at least equivalent to the risk of the subjects included in the NLST. The working group proposes an algorithm that estimates the relative risk of each occupational lung carcinogen, taking into account exposure to tobacco, based on available data from the literature. CONCLUSION: Given the lack of data on bronchopulmonary cancer (BPC) screening in occupationally exposed workers, the working group proposed implementing a screening experiment for bronchopulmonary cancer in subjects occupationally exposed or having been occupationally exposed to lung carcinogens who are confirmed as having high risk factors for BPC. A specific algorithm is proposed to determine the level of risk of BPC, taking into account the different occupational lung carcinogens and tobacco smoking at the individual level.

No impact of passive smoke on the somatic profile of lung cancers in never-smokers.

EGFR and HER2 mutations and ALK rearrangement are known to be related to lung cancer in never-smokers, while KRAS, BRAF and PIK3CA mutations are typically observed among smokers. There is still debate surrounding whether never-smokers exposed to passive smoke exhibit a "smoker-like" somatic profile compared with unexposed never-smokers. Passive smoke exposure was assessed in the French BioCAST/IFCT-1002 never-smoker lung cancer cohort and routine molecular profiles analyses were compiled. Of the 384 patients recruited into BioCAST, 319 were tested for at least one biomarker and provided data relating to passive smoking. Overall, 219 (66%) reported having been exposed to passive smoking. No significant difference was observed between mutation frequency and passive smoke exposure (EGFR mutation: 46% in never exposed versus 41% in ever exposed; KRAS: 7% versus 7%; ALK: 13% versus 11%; HER2: 4% versus 5%; BRAF: 6% versus 5%; PIK3CA: 4% versus 2%). We observed a nonsignificant trend for a negative association between EGFR mutation and cumulative duration of passive smoke exposure. No association was found for other biomarkers. There is no clear association between passive smoke exposure and somatic profile in lifelong, never-smoker lung cancer.

[The non-surgical treatment of lung cancer]. / Le traitement non chirurgical du cancer du poumon.

Advances in the treatment of lung cancer concern mainly non-small cell cancers. Surgery, radiotherapy or drugs are offered alone or in combination depending on the patient and the extent of the disease. Involved in their implementation, the oncology nurse supports the patient throughout his or her treatment pathway.

Single-centre experience of transbronchial cryobiopsy as a first choice method for the diagnosis of interstitial lung disease.

OBJECTIVES: The diagnosis of interstitial lung disease is based on clinical and biological analysis associated with computed tomography (CT) pattern after discussion in multidisciplinary discussion. Lung transbronchial cryobiopsy has emerged with acceptable diagnostic reliability and low morbidity and mortality. The goal of our work is to describe our experience with lung cryobiopsy. METHODS: This is monocentric and retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data on epidemiological, clinical, biological, CT, respiratory and histological features of patients with lung transbronchial cryobiopsy between January 1st, 2017, and July 1st, 2020. RESULTS: Lung transbronchial cryobiopsy has been done for 23 patients with sex ratio M/F of 1.1, majority of smoker/former smoker. Thirty-nine percent of procedures were complicated by pneumothorax. On the haemorrhagic level, we reported 1 grade 2 bleeding (no serious bleeding). An histological diagnosis was obtained for 19 patients (82%). Only 4 patients needed to discuss surgical lung biopsy: 2 (8.6%) surgical lung biopsy, 1 refused surgical lung biopsy and 1 patient lost to follow-up. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that transbronchial lung cryobiopsy may be considered the first diagnostic modality instead of surgical lung biopsy for interstitial lung disease in appropriate patients. Larger studies are, however, needed to confirm our observations.

Tailoring maintenance chemotherapy upon response to induction chemotherapy as compared with pemetrexed continuation maintenance in advanced non-squamous NSCLC patients: Results of the IFCT-GFPC-1101 multicenter randomized phase III trial.

BACKGROUND: Benefit from maintenance in advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NS-NSCLC) might favor switch maintenance after disease stabilization (SD) and continuation after objective response (OR). This trial assessed a maintenance strategy conditioned by response to cisplatin-gemcitabine (CG) with G continuation for patients with OR or switch to pemetrexed (P) for patients with SD as compared with a control arm based on the Paramount regimen. METHODS: Eligibility criteria: age 18-70 years, ECOG PS 0-1, untreated stage IV NS-NSCLC without EGFR or ALK alteration, ineligibility to bevacizumab. Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive either CG (4 cycles) followed by G maintenance in case of OR followed by P at progression, or switch to P for patients with SD, or 4 cycles of CP followed by P (control arm). Primary endpoint: overall Survival. RESULTS: Between 2012 and 2016, 932 patients were randomized (CG: 467, CP: 465) with well-balanced characteristics. 257 patients (56.7%) in the CG arm received maintenance (G: 142, P: 113) versus 277 patients (59.7%) in the CP arm. Median number of maintenance cycles was 5 for G and P (CG induction) and 4 for P (CP induction). OS adjusted HR was 0.97 (95% CI 0.84, 1.13; p = 0.71) with a median of 10.9 months (CG) versus 10.4 (CP). HR for PFS was 0.95 (95% CI 0.83, 1.09; p = 0.45) with a median of 4.8 months for CG versus 4.5 for CP. Safety profile was as expected. CONCLUSIONS: Adapting maintenance strategy according to response to induction chemotherapy does not improve patient outcome. CLINICAL TRIAL INFORMATION: NCT01631136.

Isolation of Nocardia beijingensis from a pulmonary abscess reveals human immunodeficiency virus infection.

A strain of Nocardia was isolated from a pulmonary abscess of a human immunodeficiency virus-infected patient in France. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that the isolate represented a strain of Nocardia beijingensis. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was essential to guide the clinicians to successfully treat this infection.

Factors Associated With Aggressiveness of End-of-Life Care for Lung Cancer Patients and Associated Costs of Care.

BACKGROUND: Results of previous studies demonstrated that high-intensity end-of-life (EOL) care improves neither cancer patients' survival nor quality of life. Our objective was to assess the incidence of and factors associated with aggressiveness of care during the last 30 days of life (DOL) of lung cancer (LC) patients and the impacts of aggressiveness of care in EOL-care costs. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Using French national hospital database, all patients with LC who died between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2011, or between January 1, 2015, and January 31, 2016, were included. EOL-care aggressiveness was assessed using the following criteria: chemotherapy administered within the last 14 DOL; more than one hospitalization within the last 30 DOL; admission to the intensive care unit within the last 30 DOL; and palliative care initiated < 3 days before death. Expenditures were limited to direct costs, from a health care payer's perspective. RESULTS: Among 79,746 adult LC patients identified; 57% had at least one indicator of EOL-care aggressiveness (49% repeated hospitalizations, 12% intensive care unit admissions, 9% chemotherapy, 5% palliative care). It increased significantly between the 2 periods (56% vs. 58%, P < .001). Young age, male sex, shorter time since diagnosis, comorbidities, no malnutrition, type of care facility other than general hospital, social deprivation, and low-density population were independently associated with having one or more indicator of aggressive EOL care. The mean EOL cost was €8152 ± 5117 per patient, but the cost was significantly higher for patients with at least one EOL-care aggressiveness criterion (€9480 vs. €6376, P < .001). CONCLUSION: In France, a majority of LC patients had at least one criterion of aggressive EOL care that had a major economic impact on the health care system.

Assessment of preoperative noninvasive ventilation before lung cancer surgery: The preOVNI randomized controlled study.

OBJECTIVES: The preOVNI study was a randomized, controlled, open-label study that investigated whether preoperative noninvasive ventilation (NIV) could reduce postoperative complications after lung cancer surgery. METHODS: Adult patients with planned lung cancer resection and with at least 1 cardiac or respiratory comorbidity were included and randomly assigned to preoperative NIV (at least 7 days and 4 h/day) or no NIV. The primary endpoint was the rate of postoperative protocol-defined complications. RESULTS: Three hundred patients were included. In the NIV group, the median NIV duration was 8 days. No difference of postoperative complication rates was evidenced: 42.6% in NIV group and 44.8% in no-NIV group (P = .75). The rate of pneumonia was greater in no-NIV group compared with the NIV group, but statistical significance was not achieved (28.0 vs 37.7%, respectively; P = .08). The type of surgery (open or minimally invasive) did not impact these results after multivariable analysis. CONCLUSIONS: No benefit was evidenced for preoperative NIV before lung cancer surgery. Further studies should determine the optimal perioperative management to decrease the rate of postoperative complications.

Switch maintenance chemotherapy versus observation after carboplatin and weekly paclitaxel doublet chemotherapy in elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer: IFCT-1201 MODEL trial.

PURPOSE: Maintenance chemotherapy is a reasonable choice for patients with metastatic non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) not progressing after induction therapy with a platinum-based doublet. Nevertheless, there have been no studies dedicated to elderly patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a randomised trial in patients aged 70-89 years, with advanced NSCLC (with neither EGFR mutation nor ALK rearrangement), who had not progressed after four cycles of monthly carboplatin and weekly paclitaxel in order to compare maintenance with either pemetrexed (500 mg/m2 d1, 22) in patients with non-squamous cell carcinoma or gemcitabine (1,150 mg/m2 d1, 8, 22) in squamous cell carcinoma to simple observation. The patients were required to have a performance status (PS) 0-2, mini-mental score >23, and creatinine clearance ≥45 mL/min. The primary end-point was overall survival (OS). RESULTS: 632 patients were enrolled from May 2013 to October 2016. Of the 328 (52.3%) patients randomised after induction therapy, 166 patients were assigned to the observation arm, versus 162 to the switch maintenance arm, 119 of whom received pemetrexed and 43 gemcitabine. The median OS from randomisation was 14.1 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 12.0-17.0) in the observation arm and 14 months (95% CI: 10.9-16.9) in the maintenance arm (p = 0.72). The median progression-free survival (PFS) from randomisation was 2.7 months (95% CI: 2.6-3.1) in the observation arm versus 5.7 months (95% CI: 4.8-7.1) in the maintenance arm (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Switch maintenance therapy significantly prolonged PFS but not OS and, thus, should not be proposed to elderly patients with advanced NSCLC.

First-Line Treatment of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.

Treatment of advanced-stage or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) without EGFR mutations or ALK rearrangements, which can now be treated with molecularly targeted therapies, had been based on cytotoxic chemotherapy for a long time. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), notably antibodies directed against programmed cell-death protein-1 (PD-1) and its ligand (PD-L1) have transformed therapeutic standards in thoracic oncology. These ICIs are now the reference second-line treatment and numerous phase III trials have examined their efficacy in treatment-naïve patients. First-line pembrolizumab monotherapy was validated for patients with ≥ 50% of tumor cells expressing PD-L1; pembrolizumab, atezolizumab, and nivolumab have obtained good outcomes in combination with chemotherapy or another immunotherapy. However, in this context, other phase III trials yielded negative findings for nivolumab alone (CheckMate-026) or in combination (MYSTIC trial). Biomarkers, such as PD-L1 and the tumor mutation burden (TMB), enable better selection of patients who should benefit the most from first-line ICI use.

Lung cancer and end-of-life care: a systematic review and thematic synthesis of aggressive inpatient care.

OBJECTIVES: Despite recent advances in thoracic oncology, most patients with metastatic lung cancer die within months of diagnosis. Aggressiveness of their end-of-life (EOL) care has been the subject of numerous studies. This study was undertaken to evaluate the literature on aggressive inpatient EOL care for lung cancer and analyse the evolution of its aggressiveness over time. METHODS: A systematic international literature search restricted to English-language publications used terms associated with aggressiveness of care, EOL and their synonyms. Two independent researchers screened for eligibility and extracted all data and another a random 10% sample of the abstracts. Electronic Medline and Embase databases were searched (2000-20 September 2018). EOL-care aggressiveness was defined as follows: 1) chemotherapy administered during the last 14 days of life (DOL) or new chemotherapy regimen during the last 30 DOL; 2) >2 emergency department visits; 3) >1 hospitalisation during the last 30 DOL; 4) ICU admission during the last 30 DOL and 5) palliative care started <3 days before death. RESULTS: Among the 150 articles identified, 42 were retained for review: 1 clinical trial, 3 observational cohorts, 21 retrospective analyses and 17 administrative data-based studies. The percentage of patients subjected to aggressive therapy seems to have increased over time. Early management by palliative care teams seems to limit aggressive care. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis indicated very frequent aggressive EOL care for patients with lung cancer, regardless of the definition used. The extent of that aggressiveness and its impact on healthcare costs warrant further studies.

LUCSO-1-French pilot study of LUng Cancer Screening with low-dose computed tomography in a smokers population exposed to Occupational lung carcinogens: study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Guidelines concerning the follow-up of subjects occupationally exposed to lung carcinogens, published in France in 2015, recommended the setting up of a trial of low-dose chest CT lung cancer screening in subjects at high risk of lung cancer. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the organisation of low-dose chest CT lung cancer screening in subjects occupationally exposed to lung carcinogens and at high risk of lung cancer. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This trial will be conducted in eight French departments by six specialised reference centres (SRCs) in occupational health. In view of the exploratory nature of this trial, it is proposed to test initially the feasibility and acceptability over the first 2 years in only two SRCs then in four other SRCs to evaluate the organisation. The target population is current or former smokers with more than 30 pack-years (who have quit smoking for less than 15 years), currently or previously exposed to International Agency for Research on Cancer group 1 lung carcinogens, and between the ages of 55 and 74 years. The trial will be conducted in the following steps: (1) identification of subjects by a screening invitation letter; (2) evaluation of occupational exposure to lung carcinogens; (3) evaluation of the lung cancer risk level and verification of eligibility; (4) screening procedure: annual chest CT scans performed by specialised centres and (5) follow-up of CT scan abnormalities. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This protocol study has been approved by the French Committee for the Protection of Persons. The results from this study will be submitted to peer-reviewed journals and reported at suitable national and international meetings. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03562052; Pre-results.

Shorter Survival in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Patients With High PD-L1 Expression Associated With Sarcomatoid or Biphasic Histology Subtype: A Series of 214 Cases From the Bio-MAPS Cohort.

BACKGROUND: Anticancer immune responses are negatively regulated by programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) T-cell membrane protein interaction with its ligand, programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1), on cancer cells. We sought to assess the prognostic role of PD-L1 expression in tumor samples from patients enrolled onto the IFCT-0701 MAPS randomized phase 3 trial (NCT00651456). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Tumor samples were analyzed by immunohistochemistry for percentages of PD-L1 membrane-stained tumor cells using the E1L3N clone, and data were correlated to survival by multivariate Cox models including stratification variables. RESULTS: PD-L1 staining was assessed in 214 (47.75%) of 448 patients. Epithelioid subtype represented 83.7% (179/214). Absence of PD-L1 staining occurred in 137 (64.1%) of 214 malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) samples, while 77 (35.9%) of 214 were PD-L1 positive, with 50 (64.9%) of 77 showing < 50% PD-L1-expressing tumor cells. Sarcomatoid/biphasic subtypes were more commonly PD-L1 positive than epithelioid subtype (P < .001). In patients with 1% or more PD-L1-stained tumor cells, median overall survival (OS) was 12.3 months versus 22.2 months for other patients (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.93-1.67; P = .14). OS did not differ according to PD-L1 positivity in multivariate analyses (adjusted HR = 1.10; 95% CI, 0.81-1.49; P = .55). With a 50% cutoff, PD-L1-positive patients displayed a 10.5 months median OS versus 19.3 months for patients with lower PD-L1 expression (HR = 1.93; 95% CI, 1.27-2.93; P = .002). OS did not significantly differ in adjusted Cox models (adjusted HR = 1.20; 95% CI, 0.74-1.94; P = .47). In the 179 epithelioid MPM patients, high PD-L1 staining (≥ 50% of tumor cells) negatively affected OS, although not significantly, showing a 12.3-month median OS (95% CI, 4.3-21.6) versus 23-month (95% CI, 18.5-25.2) for patients with tumor PD-L1 staining in < 50% cells (P = .071). The progression-free survival (PFS) differences were statistically significant, with a longer 9.9-month median PFS in patients with low PD-L1 staining (< 50% cells) compared to 6.7 months of median PFS in patients with high PD-L1 expression (≥ 50% cells) (P = .0047). CONCLUSION: Although high PD-L1 tumor cell expression was associated with poorer OS in MPM patients from the MAPS trial, its prognostic influence was lost in multivariate analyses in the whole cohort, while PD-L1 expression was strongly associated with the sarcomatoid/biphasic subtypes. In the epithelioid MPM subset of patients, high PD-L1 tumor expression (≥ 50%) negatively affected OS and PFS, with this prognostic influence remaining statistically significant for PFS after adjustment in multivariate Cox model.

Health-Related Quality of Life Impact from Adding Bevacizumab to Cisplatin-Pemetrexed in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma in the MAPS IFCT-GFPC-0701 Phase III Trial.

PURPOSE: The IFCT-GFPC-0701 MAPS phase III trial highlighted significant improvement in overall survival from adding bevacizumab to the standard first-line chemotherapy regimen [cisplatin plus pemetrexed (PC)] in advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). We present the results of health-related quality of life (HRQoL), a secondary endpoint of MAPS. PATIENTS AND METHODS: HRQoL was assessed using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire QLQ-C30 and the lung cancer-specific module QLQ-LC13 at randomization and then every 9 weeks until disease progression.HRQoL deterioration-free survival (QFS), used to analyze longitudinal HRQoL data, was defined as the interval between randomization and the occurrence of the first clinically relevant definitive deterioration compared with the HRQoL score at baseline, or death. RESULTS: A total of 448 patients were included in the MAPS trial between 2008 and 2014. At baseline, 425 patients (94.8%) completed the HRQoL questionnaire. We report that adding bevacizumab to cisplatin and pemetrexed (PCB) significantly improved QFS for the peripheral neuropathy dimension, with a median QFS of 12.09 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 9.59-13.67] in the PCB arm versus 7.59 months (95% CI, 6.57-8.61) in the PC arm [HR (PCB vs. PC) = 0.74; 95% CI, 0.61-0.91; P = 0.004]. QFS was also longer in the PCB arm for the pain dimension (HR = 0.84; 95% CI, 0.69-1.02; P = 0.08). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that adding bevacizumab to standard chemotherapy in patients with advanced MPM had no negative impact on HRQoL. A significant improvement in the peripheral neuropathy and pain HRQoL dimensions was even observed.

Multimodal treatment of thymic carcinoma: Report of nine cases.

Thymic carcinoma (TC) is thymic epithelial tumor which differs from thymoma because of its rarity, agressiveness and poor prognosis. We studied nine patients with TC according to the WHO (World Health Organization) criteria. Three of these nine patients had stage III disease and six patients had stage IV disease with the classification of Masaoka. Epidermoid TC was the most common subtype. Six patients received VIP chemotherapy comprising cisplatin, ifosfamide, uromitexan and etoposide. Five patients underwent surgical resection, preceded by neoadjuvant chemotherapy for four patients. After surgery, one patient received adjuvant radiotherapy and two patients received adjuvant radiochemotherapy. Six deaths were related to TC progression. The survival time ranged from 1 to 54 months with a median survival of 20 months for the group as a whole. Our descriptive study, based on nine stages III and IV TC, shows a documented efficacy of multimodal treatment (neoadjuvant chemotherapy, surgery and adjuvant treatment). VIP protocol was used for neoadjuvant chemotherapy. High-dose cisplatin (120mg/m(2)cycle), ifosfamide (6g/m(2)cycle) and etoposide (450mg/m(2)cycle) achieved better results than VIP (cisplatin 80mg/m(2)cycle), ifosfamide (4.8g/m(2)cycle) and etoposide (300mg/m(2)cycle). Surgical resection remains the main step in the treatment of TC and the modalities of adjuvant treatment must be defined in further studies.

Targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 Immune Checkpoint in EGFR-Mutated or ALK-Translocated Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors, notably antibodies targeting programmed death-1 (PD-1) and programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1), have modified the management of patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Several PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors have been approved by health authorities for this indication and others are in clinical development. However, only a subset of patients truly benefits from these agents. For patients with mutated EGFR or translocated ALK NSCLC, for whom an immune checkpoint inhibitor can be prescribed after progression on tyrosine kinase inhibitors and chemotherapy, information is scarce and sometimes contradictory. Phase III randomized clinical trials have evaluated different immune checkpoint inhibitors (nivolumab, pembrolizumab, atezolizumab) vs. chemotherapy as second- or subsequent-line therapy in NSCLC, but included very few patients with EGFR/ALK-positive disease. Subgroup analyses found that these patients did not benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitors. Retrospective data show progression-free survival lasting only 1.2-2.1 months. Preclinical data suggested a lower expression of PD-L1 in EGFR/ALK-positive patients compared to EGFR/ALK-negative patients. Our objective herein is to provide an up-to-date review of available data from the various publications on the impact of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with EGFR/ALK-positive NSCLC.

Assessing the multimodal management of advanced solitary fibrous tumors of the pleura in a routine practice setting.

BACKGROUND: Solitary fibrous tumors of the pleura (SFTP) refer as to a heterogeneous group of mesenchymal malignancies with various anatomic and histology features. Upfront surgical resection is the standard approach, but recurrences may be aggressive and difficult to treat. The most widely accepted staging system has been proposed by De Perrot et al. Because SFTPs are rare, evidence to support a role for perioperative chemotherapy is scarce. Likewise, the predictive or prognostic relevance of the De Perrot system may be questioned. METHODS: Multicenter retrospective study of patients with histologically proven SFTP with complete follow-up from surgical diagnostic to tumor recurrence and death. RESULTS: Sixty-eight patients were included. Tumor stage was 0/I for 29 (43%) patients, II for 23 (34%) patients, III for seven (10%) patients, and IV for nine (13%) patients. Postoperative chemotherapy was given to seven patients, mostly with stage III/IV SFTP, mostly consisting of doxorubicin-based regimen. Recurrence rate and median relapse-free survival after surgery were 3%, 52%, 71%, and 80% (p < 0.001), and 107, 70, 29, 11 months (p < 0.001) for stage 0/I, II, III, and IV tumors, respectively. At time of tumor recurrence, 14 patients received exclusive chemotherapy. Highest disease control rates were observed with trabectedin, and gemcitabine-dacarbazine combination. CONCLUSION: Our study confirms the prognostic value of the De Perrot staging system, as well as its possible predictive value for perioperative chemotherapy decision-making, whereas the efficacy of currently available regimens to significantly reduce the risk of tumor recurrence remains questionable. Trabectedin may be of interest for recurrent tumors.