Estimating the Optimal Personalized Treatment Strategy Based on Selected Variables to Prolong Survival via Random Survival Forest with Weighted Bootstrap.

A personalized treatment policy requires defining the optimal treatment for each patient based on their clinical and other characteristics. Here we consider a commonly encountered situation in practice, when analyzing data from observational cohorts, that there are auxiliary variables which affect both the treatment and the outcome, yet these variables are not of primary interest to be included in a generalizable treatment strategy. Furthermore, there is not enough prior knowledge of the effect of the treatments or of the importance of the covariates for us to explicitly specify the dependency between the outcome and different covariates, thus we choose a model that is flexible enough to accommodate the possibly complex association of the outcome on the covariates. We consider observational studies with a survival outcome and propose to use Random Survival Forest with Weighted Bootstrap (RSFWB) to model the counterfactual outcomes while marginalizing over the auxiliary covariates. By maximizing the restricted mean survival time, we estimate the optimal regime for a target population based on a selected set of covariates. Simulation studies illustrate that the proposed method performs reliably across a range of different scenarios. We further apply RSFWB to a prostate cancer study.

Clinical Correlates of Benefit From Radium-223 Therapy in Metastatic Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer.

BACKGROUND: We sought to identify potential clinical variables associated with outcomes after radium-223 therapy in routine practice. METHODS: Consecutive non-trial mCRPC patients who received ≥1 dose of radium dichloride-223 at four academic and one community urology-specific cancer centers from May 2013 to June 2014 were retrospectively identified. Association of baseline and on-therapy clinical variables with number of radium doses received and clinical outcomes including overall survival were analyzed using chi-square statistics, cox proportional hazards, and Kaplan-Meier methods. Bone Scan Index (BSI) was derived from available bone scans using EXINI software. RESULTS: One hundred and forty-five patients were included. Radium-223 was administered for six cycles in 74 patients (51%). One-year survival in this heavily pre-treated population was 64% (95%CI: 54-73%). In univariate and multivariate analysis, survival was highly associated with receiving all six doses of Radium-223. Receipt of six doses was associated with ECOG PS of 0-1, lower baseline PSA & pain level, no prior abiraterone/enzalutamide, <5 BSI value, and normal alkaline phosphatase. In patients who reported baseline pain (n = 72), pain declined in 51% after one dose and increased in 7%. PSA declined ≥50% in 16% (18/110). Alkaline phosphatase declined ≥25% in 48% (33/69) and ≥50% in 16/69 patients. BSI declined in 17 (68%) of the 25 patients who had bone scan available at treatment follow-up. Grade ≥3 neutropenia, anemia, and thrombocytopenia occurred in 4% (n = 114), 4% (n = 125), and 5% (n = 123), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Patients earlier in their disease course with <5 BSI, low pain score, and good ECOG performance status are optimal candidates for radium-223. Radium-223 therapy is well tolerated with most patients reporting declines in pain scores and BSI. Prostate 77:479-488, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Comparison of joint modeling and landmarking for dynamic prediction under an illness-death model.

Dynamic prediction incorporates time-dependent marker information accrued during follow-up to improve personalized survival prediction probabilities. At any follow-up, or "landmark", time, the residual time distribution for an individual, conditional on their updated marker values, can be used to produce a dynamic prediction. To satisfy a consistency condition that links dynamic predictions at different time points, the residual time distribution must follow from a prediction function that models the joint distribution of the marker process and time to failure, such as a joint model. To circumvent the assumptions and computational burden associated with a joint model, approximate methods for dynamic prediction have been proposed. One such method is landmarking, which fits a Cox model at a sequence of landmark times, and thus is not a comprehensive probability model of the marker process and the event time. Considering an illness-death model, we derive the residual time distribution and demonstrate that the structure of the Cox model baseline hazard and covariate effects under the landmarking approach do not have simple form. We suggest some extensions of the landmark Cox model that should provide a better approximation. We compare the performance of the landmark models with joint models using simulation studies and cognitive aging data from the PAQUID study. We examine the predicted probabilities produced under both methods using data from a prostate cancer study, where metastatic clinical failure is a time-dependent covariate for predicting death following radiation therapy.

Extension of overall survival beyond objective responses in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated with high-dose interleukin-2.

PURPOSE: In metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), survival benefit associated with objective response rates of 16-20 % with high-dose interleukin-2 (HDIL-2) is well established and discussed. Based on recently emerged data on efficacy of cancer immunotherapy, we hypothesized that the survival benefit with HDIL-2 extends beyond those achieving objective responses, i.e., to those who achieve stable disease as the best response to treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All sequential treatment naïve mRCC patients treated with HDIL-2 at the University of Utah (1988-2013) and University of Michigan (1997-2013) were included. Best responses on treatment were associated with survival outcomes using log-rank and COX regression with a landmark analysis at 2 months. RESULTS: 391 patients (75 % male; median age 55 years) were included and belonged to the following prognostic risk categories: 20 % good, 64 % intermediate, and 15 % poor. Best responses on treatment were complete response (9 %), partial response (10 %), stable disease (32 %), progressive disease (42 %), and not evaluable for response (7 %). No significant differences in progression-free survival (HR 0.74, 95 % CI 0.48-1.1, p = 0.14) or overall survival (HR 0.66, 95 % CI 0.39-1.09, p = 0.11) were observed between patients achieving partial response versus stable disease. Significant differences in progression-free survival (HR 0.13, 95 % CI 0.09-0.22, p < 0.0001) and overall survival (HR 0.33, 95 % CI 0.23-0.48, p < 0.0001) were observed between patients achieving stable disease compared to those with progressive disease and who were not evaluable. CONCLUSIONS: Survival benefit with HDIL-2 is achieved in ~50 % patients and extends beyond those achieving objective responses.

Prostate capsule sparing versus nerve sparing radical cystectomy for bladder cancer: results of a randomized, controlled trial.

PURPOSE: Prostate capsule sparing and nerve sparing cystectomies are alternative procedures for bladder cancer that may decrease morbidity while achieving cancer control. However, to our knowledge the comparative effectiveness of these approaches has not been established. We evaluated functional and oncologic outcomes in patients undergoing these procedures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a single institution trial in patients with bladder cancer in whom transurethral prostatic urethral biopsy and transrectal prostate biopsy were negative. Men were randomized to prostate capsule sparing or nerve sparing cystectomy with neobladder creation and stratified by Sexual Health Inventory for Men score (greater than 21 vs 21 or less). Our primary end point was 12-month overall urinary function as measured by Bladder Cancer Index. Secondary end points included sexual function, cancer control and complications. RESULTS: A total of 40 patients were enrolled in the study with 20 patients in each arm. Urinary function at 12 months decreased by 13 and 28 points in the prostate capsule and nerve sparing groups, respectively (p = 0.10). Sexual function followed a similar pattern (p = 0.06). There was no difference in recurrence-free, metastasis-free or overall survival (each p >0.05). The rate of incidentally detected prostate cancer was similar (p = 0.15). CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides a randomized comparison of prostate capsule sparing and nerve sparing cystectomy techniques. We found no difference in functional or oncologic outcomes between the 2 approaches, although our study was underpowered due to a lack of patient accrual.

Circulating Tumor Cells as Potential Biomarkers in Bladder Cancer.

PURPOSE: We explored the diagnostic use of circulating tumor cells in patients with neoadjuvant bladder cancer using enumeration and next generation sequencing. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 20 patients with bladder cancer who were eligible for cisplatin based neoadjuvant chemotherapy were enrolled in an institutional review board approved study. Subjects underwent blood draws at baseline and after 1 cycle of chemotherapy. A total of 11 patients with metastatic bladder cancer and 13 healthy donors were analyzed for comparison. Samples were enriched for circulating tumor cells using the novel IsoFlux™ System microfluidic collection device. Circulating tumor cell counts were analyzed for repeatability and compared with Food and Drug Administration cleared circulating tumor cells. Circulating tumor cells were also analyzed for mutational status using next generation sequencing. RESULTS: Median circulating tumor cell counts were 13 at baseline and 5 at followup in the neoadjuvant group, 29 in the metastatic group and 2 in the healthy group. The concordance of circulating tumor cell levels, defined as low-fewer than 10, medium-11 to 30 and high-greater than 30, across replicate tubes was 100% in 15 preparations. In matched samples the IsoFlux test showed 10 or more circulating tumor cells in 4 of 9 samples (44%) while CellSearch® showed 0 of 9 (0%). At cystectomy 4 months after baseline all 3 patients (100%) with medium/high circulating tumor cell levels at baseline and followup had unfavorable pathological stage disease (T1-T4 or N+). Next generation sequencing analysis showed somatic variant detection in 4 of 8 patients using a targeted cancer panel. All 8 cases (100%) had a medium/high circulating tumor cell level with a circulating tumor cell fraction of greater than 5% purity. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates a potential role for circulating tumor cell assays in the management of bladder cancer. The IsoFlux method of circulating tumor cell detection shows increased sensitivity compared with CellSearch. A next generation sequencing assay is presented with sufficient sensitivity to detect genomic alterations in circulating tumor cells.

Double-blind, randomized, phase 2 trial of maintenance sunitinib versus placebo after response to chemotherapy in patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Angiogenesis contributes to the progression of urothelial carcinoma (UC). In the current study, the authors investigated the role of maintenance sunitinib in patients with advanced UC. METHODS: Patients with locally recurrent/metastatic UC and adequate organ function who achieved stable disease or a partial or complete response after 4 to 6 chemotherapy cycles were randomized to sunitinib at a dose of 50 mg/day (28 days on and 14 days off) or placebo. The primary endpoint was the 6-month progression rate. Secondary endpoints were safety, survival, change in serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)/soluble VEGF receptor-2 (sVEGFR2), and the activity of sunitinib in patients who developed disease progression while receiving placebo. A total of 38 eligible patients per treatment arm were required to select better therapy with 90% probability (α = .05). RESULTS: A total of 54 eligible patients were randomized to either the sunitinib arm (26 patients) or the placebo arm (28 patients). The median number of cycles received was 2 cycles per treatment arm. The most common grade 3 to 4 adverse events (graded according to version 3.0 of the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events) among patients receiving sunitinib were thrombocytopenia, diarrhea, mucositis, fatigue, and hypertension. There were no grade 3 or 4 adverse events noted among > 5% of patients receiving placebo. The 6-month progression rate was 72% versus 64%. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 2.9 months (range, 0.5 months-32.5 months) versus 2.7 months (range, 0.8 months -65 months) for the sunitinib versus placebo arms, respectively. Patients receiving placebo were found to have no changes in their serum VEGF/sVEGFR2 levels over time. Patients treated with sunitinib had no significant change in their VEGF level, but the sVEGFR2 level significantly decreased after cycles 1 and 2 (P < .0001) and at the time of disease progression (P = .0002). A baseline VEGF level that was at or greater than the median was found to be correlated with a longer PFS. Sixteen patients who were receiving placebo received sunitinib at the time of disease progression, with the best responses being 1 partial response (6.3%), 6 cases of stable disease (37.5%), and 5 cases of progressive disease (31.3%); 4 patients were not evaluable for response. The median PFS was 3.7 months (range, 0.1 months-22 months). CONCLUSIONS: The current multicenter study was limited by premature closure and a small sample size. Maintenance sunitinib did not appear to improve the 6-month progression rate. Open-label sunitinib was found to have only modest activity. The sVEGFR2 level decreased among patients receiving sunitinib.

A randomized phase 2 trial of gemcitabine/cisplatin with or without cetuximab in patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Epidermal growth factor receptor overexpression is associated with poor outcomes in urothelial carcinoma (UC). Cetuximab (CTX) exhibited an antitumor effect in in vivo UC models. The efficacy of gemcitabine/cisplatin (GC) with or without CTX in patients with advanced UC was evaluated. METHODS: Patients with advanced UC, measurable disease, and adequate organ function were randomized 1:2 to cisplatin (70 mg/m(2) ) on day 1 plus gemcitabine (1000 mg/m(2) ) on days 1, 8, and 15 (arm A) or GC plus CTX (500 mg/m(2) ) on days 1 and 15 (arm B). The primary endpoint was the overall response rate. The secondary endpoints were the response duration, safety, progression-free survival, overall survival, determination of whether or not CTX sensitized nonresponders to GC, and exploratory biomarker analysis. The accrual targets were 27 and 54 patients for the 2 arms, respectively. The overall response rate was reported by arm with binomial confidence intervals (CIs). Kaplan-Meier methods were used for time-to-event endpoints. RESULTS: Eighty-eight eligible patients were randomized; 87 were toxicity-evaluable, and 85 were response-evaluable. The overall response rates were 57.1% for arm A (95% CI = 37%-76%) and 61.4% for arm B (95% CI = 48%-74%). The median progression-free survival times were 8.5 months for arm A (95% CI = 5.7-10.4 months) and 7.6 months for arm B (95% CI = 6.1-8.7 months). The median overall survival times were 17.4 months for arm A (95% CI = 12.8 months to unreached) and 14.3 months for arm B (95% CI = 11.6-22.2 months). The most common grade 3/grade 4 adverse events in both arms were myelosuppression and nausea. Thromboembolism, acneiform rash, fatigue, pain, hypersensitivity reactions, elevated transaminases, hyponatremia, and hypomagnesemia were more common in arm B; 3 grade 5 adverse events occurred in arm B. The presence of primary disease significantly correlated with thromboembolism. An increased soluble E-cadherin level after cycle 2 correlated with a higher risk of death. CONCLUSIONS: GC plus CTX was feasible but was associated with more adverse events and no improvements in outcomes.

Phase II trial of combination nab-paclitaxel, carboplatin and gemcitabine in first line therapy of advanced urothelial carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Paclitaxel has significant single agent activity in urothelial cancer. The 130 nm albumin bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel, ABI-007) delivers more paclitaxel to tumor than conventional paclitaxel without cremophor related toxicities. We assessed the efficacy of nab-paclitaxel in combination with carboplatin and gemcitabine as first line therapy in advanced urothelial cancer. METHODS: Eligible patients had histologically confirmed metastatic, locally recurrent or advanced pure or mixed urothelial cancer, ECOG performance status of 0-2, no prior chemotherapy for current disease stage and no taxane for ≥ 1 year. Therapy consisted of nab-paclitaxel at 220 mg/m2 intravenously with optional dose escalation to 260 mg/m2 for subsequent cycles, with carboplatin AUC 5 on day 1 and gemcitabine at 800 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 in 21-day cycles. Dose modifications in all three drugs to -1 and -2 levels were allowed for toxicity. Primary endpoint was overall response rate by RECIST 1.0. Secondary endpoints were safety, progression free and overall survival. Using a two-stage design, 32 patients were planned to be enrolled. RESULTS: Due to poor accrual only 16 patients were enrolled. Thirteen patients had metastatic disease, 3 were women, and median age was 73.9 years (range 51.3-83). ECOG PS was 0 in 4 (25.0 %) and 1 in 11 (68.8 %) patients. Creatinine clearance by Cockroft-Gault formula was less than 60 in 43 % of patients and 50 % of patients had visceral disease at baseline. The regimen was associated with severe toxicity, mainly cytopenias. Adverse events required removal of 11 patients (68.8 %) from study. Seven patients (43.7 %) missed ≥ 1 dose due to toxicity and 7 patients were reduced to -2 dose level. Nine (56.4 %) grade ≥ 3 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia each but only 1 episode of febrile neutropenia (6.3 %) was reported. Grade ≥ 3 anemia was noted in 6 patients (37.5 %). Grade 2 neuropathy was seen in 12.5 % but no grade ≥ 3 neuropathy was observed. One patient had confirmed PR (6.7 %; 95 % CI, 0-32 %) and 2 (13.3 %) had unconfirmed PR. Six other patients (40 %) had SD. Due to censoring at study exit due to adverse events before true progression, median PFS was 11.2 months (95 % CI,2.0-11.2 m). Median overall survival was 13.1 months (95 % CI, 9.8-19.6 m). CONCLUSIONS: The combination of nab-paclitaxel, carboplatin and gemcitabine was poorly tolerated in this high risk patient population at these doses and schedule. Other nab-paclitaxel based combinations should be explored in first line therapy of advanced urothelial cancer.

The E2F1/DNMT1 axis is associated with the development of AR negative castration resistant prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: Research on castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) has focused primarily on functional alterations of the androgen receptor (AR). However, little is known about the loss of AR gene expression itself and the possible contribution of AR negative cells to CRPC. METHODS: Human and murine prostate cancer tissue microarrays (TMAs) were evaluated with antibodies specific for E2F1, DNA methyltransferase 1 or AR. The human prostate cancer TMA consisted of clinical samples ranging from normal tissue to samples of metastatic disease. The murine TMA was comprised of benign, localized or metastatic prostate cancer acquired from TRAMP mice treated with castration and/or 5'-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5Aza). RESULTS: Immunohistochemical analysis revealed increased nuclear DNMT1 staining in localized PCa (P < 0.0001) and metastatic PCa (P < 0.0001) compared to normal tissue. Examination of specific diagnoses revealed that Gleason seven tumors exhibited greater nuclear DNMT1 staining than Gleason six tumors (P < 0.05) and that metastatic tissue exhibited greater levels of nuclear DNMT1 than Gleason seven tumors (P < 0.01). Evaluation of the murine tissue cores revealed that 8.2% and 8.1% of benign tissue cores stained positive for E2F1 and DNMT1 respectively, while 97.0% were AR positive. Conversely, 81% and 100% of tumors were positive for E2F1 and DNMT1 respectively. This was in stark contrast to only 18% of tumors positive for AR. Treatment of mice with 5Aza reduced DNMT1 staining by 30%, while AR increased by 27%. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that the E2F1/DNMT1 inhibitory axis of AR transcription is activated during the emergence of CRPC.

Cigarette smoking and gemcitabine-induced neutropenia in advanced solid tumors.

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy-associated neutropenia has been reported to be a pharmacodynamic marker of response in some advanced solid tumors. Factors that accelerate drug clearance lead to lower plasma concentrations and toxicity, including neutropenia. Smoking accelerates the metabolism of several drugs, including chemotherapy. We sought to study the effects of smoking on gemcitabine-induced neutropenia in this retrospective study. METHODS: Smoking status and neutropenia along with other clinical parameters were recorded in 151 patients receiving first-line gemcitabine-based chemotherapy for advanced solid tumors. RESULTS: Tumor types included breast (9.3%), lung (4.6%), pancreatobiliary (70.9%), or other/unknown primary cancer (15.2%). Logistic regression showed that never smokers had increased neutropenia versus current smokers (odds ratio: 3.5; 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.1-11.4). A 5-unit increase in pack-years reduced the odds of having higher neutropenia toxicity by 6.3% (95% CI 12 to 1%; p = 0.036). CONCLUSION: Smokers had less neutropenia than nonsmokers, a finding that was more pronounced with increasing pack-years. This pharmacodynamic marker of gemcitabine-induced neutropenia may result in less efficacy of gemcitabine. Future prospective trials should correlate smoking, metabolizing phenotype, neutropenia, and response to gemcitabine therapy.

Angiotensin converting enzyme-inhibitor reduces colitis severity in an IL-10 knockout model.

BACKGROUND: We previously demonstrated angiotensin converting enzymes (ACE) over-expression in a dextran-sodium sulfate colitis model; ACE inhibitor (ACE-I) treatment reduced colitis severity in this model. However, ACE-I has not been tested in more immunologically relevant colitis models. AIM: We hypothesized that ACE-I would decrease disease severity in an IL-10 knockout (-/-) colitis model. METHODS: Colitis was induced by giving 10-week old IL-10-/- mice piroxicam (P.O.) for 14 days. The ACE-I enalaprilat was given transanally at a dose of 6.25 mg/kg for 21 days. Prednisolone (PSL) with or without enalaprilat were used as therapeutic, comparative groups. All groups were compared to a placebo treated group. Outcome measures were clinical course, histology, abundance of pro-inflammatory cytokines/chemokines, and epithelial barrier function. RESULTS: Enalaprilat exhibited better survival (91 %) versus other treatment groups (PSL: 85.7 %, PSL + ACE-I: 71.4 %, placebo: 66.6 %). The ACE-I and PSL + ACE-I groups showed significantly better histological scores versus placebo mice. ACE-I and the PSL groups significantly reduced several pro-inflammatory cytokines versus placebo mice. FITC-dextran permeability was reduced in the ACE-I and PSL + ACE-I groups. Blood pressure was not affected in ACE-I treated mice compared to placebo mice. CONCLUSIONS: ACE-I was effective in reducing severity of colitis in an IL-10-/- model. The addition of prednisolone minimally augmented this effect. The findings suggest that appropriately dosed ACE-I with or without steroids may be a new therapeutic agent for colitis.

IL-4 induces proliferation in prostate cancer PC3 cells under nutrient-depletion stress through the activation of the JNK-pathway and survivin up-regulation.

Interleukin (IL)-4 plays a critical role in the regulation of immune responses and has been detected at high levels in the tumor microenvironment of cancer patients where it correlates with the grade of malignancy. The direct effect of IL-4 on cancer cells has been associated with increased cell survival; however, its role in cancer cell proliferation and related mechanisms is still unclear. Here it was shown that in a nutrient-depleted environment, IL-4 induces proliferation in prostate cancer PC3 cells. In these cells, under nutrient-depletion stress, IL-4 activates mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), including Erk, p38, and JNK. Using MAP-signaling-specific inhibitors, it was shown that IL-4-induced proliferation is mediated by JNK activation. In fact, JNK-inhibitor-V (JNKi-V) stunted IL-4-mediated cell proliferation. Furthermore, it was found that IL-4 induces survivin up-regulation in nutrient-depleted cancer cells. Using survivin-short-hairpin-RNAs (shRNAs), it was demonstrated that in this milieu survivin expression above a threshold limit is critical to the mechanism of IL-4-mediated proliferation. In addition, the significance of survivin up-regulation in a stressed environment was assessed in prostate cancer mouse xenografts. It was found that survivin knockdown decreases tumor progression in correlation with cancer cell proliferation. Furthermore, under nutrient depletion stress, IL -4 could induce proliferation in cancer cells from multiple origins: MDA-MB-231 (breast), A253 (head and neck), and SKOV-3 (ovarian). Overall, these findings suggest that in a tumor microenvironment under stress conditions, IL-4 triggers a simultaneous activation of the JNK-pathway and the up-regulation of survivin turning on a cancer proliferation mechanism.

Phase II study of cilengitide (EMD 121974, NSC 707544) in patients with non-metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer, NCI-6735. A study by the DOD/PCF prostate cancer clinical trials consortium.

BACKGROUND: Integrins mediate invasion and angiogenesis in prostate cancer bone metastases. We conducted a phase II study of cilengitide, a selective antagonist of α(v)ß(3) and α(v)ß(5) integrins, in non-metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer with rising PSA. METHODS: Patients were observed for 4 weeks with PSA monitoring, and then treated with 2,000 mg IV of cilengitide twice weekly until toxicity/progression. PSA, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and circulating endothelial cells (CECs) were monitored each cycle with imaging performed every three cycles. Primary end point was PSA decline by ≥ 50%. Secondary endpoints were safety, PSA slope, time to progression (TTP), overall survival (OS), CTCs, CECs and gene expression. RESULTS: 16 pts were enrolled; 13 were eligible with median age 65.5 years, baseline PSA 8.4 ng/mL and median Gleason sum 7. Median of three cycles was administered. Treatment was well tolerated with two grade three toxicities and no grade four toxicities. There were no PSA responses; 11 patients progressed by PSA after three cycles. Median TTP was 1.8 months and median OS has not been reached. Median pre- and on-treatment PSA slopes were 1.1 and 1.8 ng/mL/month. Baseline CTCs were detected in 1/9 patients. CTC increased (0 to 1; 2 pts), remained at 0 (2 pts) or decreased (23 to 0; 1 patient) at progression. Baseline median CEC was 26 (0-61) and at progression, 47 (15-148). Low cell counts precluded gene expression studies. CONCLUSIONS: Cilengitide was well tolerated but had no detectable clinical activity. CTCs are of questionable utility in non-metastatic prostate cancer.

Phase I study of vorinostat (suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid, NSC 701852) in combination with docetaxel in patients with advanced and relapsed solid malignancies.

INTRODUCTION: Vorinostat is an inhibitor of histone deacetylase 6, which acetylates tubulin and stabilizes microtubules. Since taxanes also stabilize microtubules, we hypothesized that the administration of vorinostat followed by docetaxel should result in synergistic cytotoxicity. We conducted a phase I trial to determine the dose level of vorinostat plus docetaxel that would result in dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) in ≤30% of patients. METHODS: Eligible patients had castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) or relapsed urothelial or non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after ≥1 prior chemotherapy regimen not containing docetaxel, performance status of 0-2, and adequate organ function. Vorinostat was given orally for 14 days beginning on day 1 of a 21-day cycle, with docetaxel given intravenously over 1 h on day 4. The time-to-event continuous reassessment method (TITE-CRM) guided dose escalation. Dose levels (DL) -1, 0, 1 and 2 corresponded to vorinostat 100, 100, 200 and 200 mg plus docetaxel 50, 60, 60, and 75 mg/m(2), respectively. Pharmacokinetic studies were performed on days 1 and 4 of cycle 1. RESULTS: Twelve patients were enrolled: median age 65 years (range 49-74); 9 male, 3 female; 4 CRPC, 5 urothelial, 3 NSCLC. The median number of cycles administered was 2. Two patients were treated at DL -1, 4 at DL 0, 5 at DL 1 and 1 at DL 2. Five DLTs occurred in 5 patients: neutropenic fever/sepsis (2), anaphylactic reaction (1), myocardial infarction (1) and gastrointestinal bleed (1). Other toxicities included grade 3/4 neutropenia (4), peripheral neuropathy (1), and gastrointestinal bleed (n = 1). The estimated probability of DLT for DL -1 was 0.32 (90% posterior probability interval [PI], 0.11 to 0.53) for DL 0, 0.38 (90% PI, 0.16 to 0.58) and for DL 1, 0.43 (90% PI, 0.23 to 0.64). The trial was stopped due to excessive toxicity. No responses were noted. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of vorinostat and docetaxel was poorly tolerated with excessive DLTs that required early study termination. No responses were identified. Vorinostat and docetaxel pharmacokinetics were comparable to previous reports in the literature, without obvious drug-drug interactions.

Worsening central sarcopenia and increasing intra-abdominal fat correlate with decreased survival in patients with adrenocortical carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Accurate prediction of survival from adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is difficult and current staging models are unreliable. Central sarcopenia as part of the cachexia syndrome is a marker of frailty and predicts mortality. This study seeks to confirm that psoas muscle density (PMD), lean psoas muscle area (LPMA), lumbar skeletal muscle index (LSMI), and intra-abdominal (IA) or subcutaneous fat (SC) can be used in combination to more accurately predict survival in ACC patients. METHODS: PMD, LPMA, IA, and SC fat were measured on serial CT scans of patients with ACC. Clinical outcome was correlated with quantitative data from patients with ACC and analyzed. A linear regression model was used to describe the relationship between PMD, LPMA, LSMI, IA, and SC fat, time to recurrence, and length of survival according to tumor stage. RESULTS: One hundred twenty-five ACC patients (94 females) were treated from 2005 to 2011. Significant morphometric predictors of survival include PMD, LPMA, and IA fat (p ≤ 0.0001, ≤ 0.0024, <0.0001, respectively) and improve prediction of survival compared to using stage alone. A 100-mm(2) increase in LPMA confers an 8 % lower hazard of death. LSMI does not change significantly between stages (p = 0.3196). CONCLUSION: Decreased PMD, LPMA, and increased IA fat suggest decreased survival in ACC patients and correlate with traditional staging systems. A more precise prediction of survival may be achieved when staging systems and morphometric measures are used in combination. Serial measurements of morphometric data are possible. The rate of change of these variables over time may be more important than the absolute value.

Cilengitide (EMD 121974, NSC 707544) in asymptomatic metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer patients: a randomized phase II trial by the prostate cancer clinical trials consortium.

BACKGROUND: Integrins are involved in prostate cancer metastasis by regulating cell adhesion, migration, invasion, motility, angiogenesis and bone metabolism. We evaluated the efficacy of two dose levels of cilengitide in patients (pts) with castrate resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). METHODS: Chemotherapy-naïve, asymptomatic metastatic CRPC pts were randomized to cilengitide 500 mg or 2,000 mg IV twice weekly using parallel 2-stage design. The primary endpoint was rate of objective clinical progression at 6-months. Secondary endpoints included clinical and PSA response rates, safety and effects of cilengitide treatment on circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and bone remodeling markers. RESULTS: Forty-four pts were accrued to first stage (22/arm). Median number of cycles was three in both arms (500 mg arm: 1-8; 2,000 mg arm: 1-15). At 6 months, two pts (9%) on the 500 mg arm and five pts (23%) on the 2,000 mg arm had not progressed. Best objective response was stable disease (SD) in seven pts for 9.9[8.1,20.9] months. There were three grade 3 and no grade 4 toxicities. At 12 weeks, analysis of bone markers did not reveal significant trends. At progression, bone specific alkaline phosphatase and N-telopeptide increased in all pts, less so in pts on the 2,000 mg arm and in pts on both arms who obtained SD at 6 months. CTCs increased over time in both arms. CONCLUSION: Cilengitide was well tolerated with modest clinical effect in favor of the higher dose. The unique trial design including a shift from response rate to objective progression as the endpoint, and not acting on PSA increases was feasible.

Cross-tolerization between Nod1 and Nod2 signaling results in reduced refractoriness to bacterial infection in Nod2-deficient macrophages.

Nod2 is an intracellular innate immune receptor that plays a role in host defense and susceptibility to inflammatory disease. We show in this study that macrophages rendered refractory to TLR4 and Nod2 signaling by exposure to LPS and muramyl dipeptide (MDP) exhibit impaired TNF-alpha and IL-6 production in response to pathogenic Listeria monocytogenes and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis as well as commensal bacteria including Escherichia coli and Bacteroides fragilis. Surprisingly, Nod2 deficiency was associated with impaired tolerization in response to pathogenic and commensal bacteria. Mechanistically, reduced tolerization of Nod2-null macrophages was mediated by recognition of bacteria through Nod1 because it was abolished in macrophages deficient in Nod1 and Nod2. Consistently, Nod2-null macrophages tolerant to LPS and MDP showed enhanced production of TNF-alpha and IL-6 as well as increased NF-kappaB and MAPK activation in response to the dipeptide KF1B, the Nod1 agonist. Furthermore, reduced tolerization of Nod2-deficient macrophages in response to bacteria was abolished when mutant macrophages were also rendered tolerant to the Nod1 ligand. Finally, MDP stimulation induced refractoriness not only to MDP, but also to iE-DAP stimulation, providing a mechanism to explain the reduced tolerization of Nod2-deficient macrophages infected with bacteria. These results demonstrate that cross-tolerization between Nod1 and Nod2 leads to increase recognition of both pathogenic and commensal bacteria in Nod2-deficient macrophages pre-exposed to microbial ligands.

Differences in initial benign prostatic hyperplasia management between primary care physicians and urologists.

PURPOSE: The introduction of efficacious pharmacotherapies has effectively transformed benign prostatic hyperplasia into a chronic disease that requires ongoing medical care. With this transformation primary care physicians have become more involved in the management of benign prostatic hyperplasia. The impact of the increasing role of the primary care physician on the use of benign prostatic hyperplasia related health services remains unknown. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study using medical claims from a nonprofit managed care organization. Between 1997 and 2005 we identified incident cases of benign prostatic hyperplasia and the provider responsible for the initial care. We fitted logistic regression models to measure the association between subject receipt of an evaluative process and the treating physician specialty. Furthermore, we examined differences between primary care physicians and urologists with respect to the use of medical therapy. RESULTS: Less than a third of incident cases received initial care from a urologist. Use of office based procedures and urodynamic tests was exclusive to urology. Urologists performed urinalysis testing and transrectal ultrasonography more frequently than primary care physicians (p <0.001). The odds of having a laboratory study doubled with treatment by a urologist (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.51-2.74). Men seen by a urologist were also more likely to be prescribed a benign prostatic hyperplasia medication (p <0.001). Among those who received medical therapy, prescription of selective alpha-adrenergic blockers, 5alpha-reductase inhibitors and combination therapy was higher among urologists (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: On average, urologists had a higher intensity practice style for benign prostatic hyperplasia than primary care physicians. Further studies are needed to determine how these practice style differences relate to patient clinical outcomes.

Multiple adverse histological features increase the odds of under staging T1 bladder cancer.

PURPOSE: The clinical under staging of T1 bladder cancer potentially delays therapy and undermines survival. In this study we evaluated clinicopathological features to aid in the identification of patients with clinical T1 bladder cancer at risk for under staging. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We identified patients diagnosed with clinical T1 bladder cancer who underwent cystectomy within 4 months. Muscularis propria was present and uninvolved in initial biopsies or patients had a re-staging biopsy with muscle [corrected] present. Under staging was defined as pT2 or greater, N+ or M+ disease at radical cystectomy. A logistic regression multivariable model was used for the risk of under staging. Overall survival was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: Of 95 patients 26 (27%) had under staged disease. Median followup was 24 months. Compared to accurately staged cases under staged cases were more likely to have muscularis mucosae invasion (54% vs 19%, p = 0.001), mixed histology (42% vs 17%, p = 0.02) and urethral involvement (31% vs 10%, p = 0.03). In a multivariable model muscularis mucosae invasion increased the odds of under staging 9-fold (95% CI 1.5-54.5, p = 0.01). The cumulative association of these risk factors increased the odds of under staging 20-fold (95% CI 1.8-217, p = 0.0029). Median overall survival (years) was lower in patients with under staged disease (1.4 vs 10.6, p <0.001), those with muscularis mucosae invasion (2.2 vs 6.5, p = 0.04) and those with urethral involvement (25th percentile 0.8 vs 2.0, p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Under staging adversely impacts survival. Muscularis mucosae invasion, urethral involvement and mixed histology cumulatively increase the risk of under staging, and may be valuable in counseling patients regarding early, aggressive intervention.