Summary Background FIRE-3 compared first-line 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, and irinotecan (FOLFIRI) plus cetuximab with FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab in patients with KRAS exon 2 wild-type metastatic ...colorectal cancer. The same study also reported an exploratory analysis of a subgroup of patients with tumours that were wild-type at other RAS genes ( KRAS and NRAS exons 2–4). We report here efficacy results for the FIRE-3 final RAS ( KRAS/NRAS , exons 2–4) wild-type subgroup. Moreover, new metrics of tumour dynamics were explored during a centralised radiological review to investigate how FOLFIRI plus cetuximab conferred overall survival benefit in the absence of differences in investigator-assessed objective responses and progression-free survival. Methods FIRE-3 was a randomised phase 3 trial comparing FOLFIRI plus cetuximab with FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab in the first-line treatment of patients with KRAS exon 2 wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer. The primary endpoint of the FIRE-3 study was the proportion of patients achieving an objective response according to Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.0 in the intention-to-treat population. A centralised radiological review of CT scans was done in a post-hoc analysis to assess objective response according to RECIST 1.1, early tumour shrinkage, depth of response, duration of response, and time to response in the final RAS wild-type subgroup. Comparisons between treatment groups with respect to objective response rate and early tumour shrinkage were made using Fisher's exact test (two-sided), while differences in depth of response were investigated with a two-sided Wilcoxon test. This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov , number NCT00433927. Findings In the final RAS wild-type population (n=400), median overall survival was better in the FOLFIRI plus cetuximab group than the FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab group (33·1 months 95% CI 24·5–39·4 vs 25·0 months 23·0–28·1; hazard ratio 0·70 0·54–0·90; p=0·0059), although investigator-assessed objective response and progression-free survival were comparable between treatment groups. Centralised radiological review of CT-assessable patients (n=330) showed that the proportion of patients achieving an objective response (113 of 157, 72·0% 95% CI 64·3–78·8 vs 97 of 173, 56·1% 48·3–63·6; p=0·0029), frequency of early tumour shrinkage (107 of 157, 68·2% 60·3–75·4 vs 85 of 173, 49·1% 41·5–56·8; p=0·0005), and median depth of response (–48·9% –54·3 to −42·0 vs −32·3% –38·2 to −29·2; p<0·0001) were significantly better in extended RAS wild-type patients receiving FOLFIRI plus cetuximab versus those receiving FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab. No differences in duration of response and time to response were observed between treatment groups. Interpretation This analysis provides a new framework that connects alternative metrics of response to overall survival. Superior response-related outcome parameters, such as early tumour shrinkage and depth of response, obtained by centralised radiological review correlated with the overall survival benefit conferred by FOLFIRI plus cetuximab compared with FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab in the extended RAS wild-type subgroup. Funding Merck KGaA and Pfizer.
Purpose
CA 19-9 is the only established tumor marker in pancreatic cancer (PC); the prognostic role of other serum markers like CEA, CRP, LDH or bilirubin has not yet been defined.
Methods
We pooled ...pre-treatment data on CA 19-9, CEA, CRP, LDH and bilirubin levels from two German multicenter randomized phase II trials together with prospective patient data from one high-volume German Cancer Center. Marker levels were assessed locally before the start of palliative first-line therapy for advanced PC and serially during treatment (for CA 19-9 only). Clinical and biomarker data (overall 12 variables) were correlated with the efficacy endpoints time-to-progression (TTP) and overall survival (OS) by using uni- and multivariate Cox models.
Results
Data from 291 patients were included in this pooled analysis; 253 patients (87 %) received treatment within prospective clinical trials. Median TTP in the study cohort was 5.1 months and median OS 9.0 months. In univariate analysis, pre-treatment CA 19-9 (HR 1.55), LDH (HR 2.04) and CEA (HR 1.89) levels were significantly associated with TTP. Regarding OS, baseline CA 19-9 (HR 1.46), LDH (HR 2.07), CRP (HR 1.69) and bilirubin (HR 1.62) were significant prognostic factors. Within multivariate analyses, pre-treatment log CA 19-9 (as continuous variable for TTP) and log bilirubin as well as log CRP (for OS) had an independent prognostic value. A CA 19-9 decline of ≥25 % during the first two chemotherapy cycles was predictive for TTP and OS, independent of the applied CA 19-9 assay.
Conclusion
Baseline CA 19-9 and CA 19-9 kinetics during first-line chemotherapy are prognostic in advanced PC. Besides that finding other serum markers like CRP, LDH and bilirubin can also provide prognostic information on TTP and OS.
We explored the association of early tumor shrinkage (ETS) and non‐ETS with efficacy of first‐line and consecutive second‐line treatment in patients with KRAS wild‐type metastatic colorectal cancer ...treated in FIRE‐3. Assessment of tumor shrinkage was based on the sum of longest diameters of target lesions, evaluated after 6 weeks of treatment. Shrinkage was classified as ETS (shrinkage by ≥ 20%), mETS (shrinkage by 0 to <20%), mPD (minor progression >0 to <20%) and PD (progression ≥20%). Overall survival (OS) was 33.2 (95% CI 28.0–38.4) months in ETS patients, while non‐ETS was associated with less favorable outcome (mETS 24.0 (95% CI 21.2–26.9) months, mPD 19.0 (95% CI 13.0–25.0) months, PD 12.8 (95% CI 11.1–14.5) months). Differences in PFS of first‐line therapy were less pronounced. ETS subgroups defined in first‐line therapy also correlated with efficacy of second‐line therapy. Progression‐free survival in second‐line (PFS2nd) was 6.5 months (5.8–7.2) for ETS, and was 5.6 (95% CI 4.7–6.5) months for mETS, 4.9 (95% CI 3.7–6.1) months for mPD and 3.3 (95% CI 2.3–4.3) months for PD. PFS of first‐line and PFS2nd showed a linear correlation (Bravais–Pearson coefficient: 0.16, p = 0.006). While ETS is associated with the most favorable outcome, non‐ETS represents a heterogeneous subgroup with distinct characteristics of less favorable initial tumor response to treatment. This is the first analysis to demonstrate that early tumor response observed during first‐line FOLFIRI‐based therapy may also relate to efficacy of second‐line treatment. Early response parameters may serve as stratification factors in trials recruiting pretreated patients.
What's new?
Early tumor shrinkage (ETS) is linked to favorable survival in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). However, ETS occurs in only some patients, for reasons that remain unknown while non‐ETS patients represent a heterogeneous subgroup. Here, ETS and non‐ETS subgroups were examined in KRAS wild‐type mCRC patients enrolled in FIRE‐3, a trial comparing first‐line FOLFIRI (5‐fluorouracil, leucovorin, and irinotecan) plus cetuximab with FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab. Efficacy of first‐line FOLFIRI‐based therapy differed in ETS and non‐ETS subgroups, with the latter generally experiencing less‐favorable initial tumor responses. Patients who benefited from first‐line therapy tended to also benefit from second‐line therapy, supporting a role for efficacy parameters in mCRC patient stratification.
This analysis of the RASH trial (NCT01729481) aimed at gaining a better understanding of the "Burden of Therapy" (BOTh
) in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). In the RASH study, 150 patients ...with newly diagnosed metastatic PDAC were treated with gemcitabine plus erlotinib (gem/erlotinib) for four weeks. Patients who developed a skin rash during this four-week run-in phase continued with the gem/erlotinib treatment, while rash-negative patients were switched to FOLFIRINOX. The study demonstrated a 1-year survival rate of rash-positive patients who received gem/erlotinib as first-line treatment that was comparable to previous reports of patients receiving FOLFIRINOX. To understand whether these comparable survival rates may be accompanied by better tolerability of the gem/erlotinib treatment compared to FOLFIRINOX, the BOTh
methodology was used to continuously quantify and depict the burden of therapy generated by treatment emergent events (TEAEs). Sensory neuropathy was significantly more common in the FOLFIRINOX arm, and prevalence as well as severity increased over time. In both arms, the BOTh
associated with diarrhea decreased over the course of treatment. The BOTh
caused by neutropenia was comparable in both arms but decreased in the FOLFIRINOX arm over time, possibly due to chemotherapy dose reductions. Overall, gem/erlotinib was associated with a slightly higher overall BOTh
, but the difference was not statistically significant (
= 0.6735). In summary, the BOTh
analysis facilitates the evaluation of TEAEs. In patients fit for intense chemotherapeutic regimens, FOLFIRINOX is associated with a lower BOTh
than gem/erlotinib.
Resection of colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) is a potential curative treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) with liver-limited disease (LLD). Although long-term survival ...improved considerably within the last decades, high recurrence rates of 50-75% after resection remain a major challenge.Tecemotide (L-BLP25) is an antigen-specific cancer vaccine inducing immunity against mucin-1 (MUC1). The LICC trial aimed to improve survival in patients with mCRC after R0/R1 resection of CRLM. LICC was a binational, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter phase 2 study including patients with R0/R1 resected CRLM without evidence of metastatic disease outside the liver. Co-primary endpoints were recurrence-free survival (RFS) and 3-year overall survival (OS) rate, secondary endpoints were RFS and OS in subgroups with different MUC1 expression and safety. In total, 121 patients were 2:1 randomized between Oct 2011 and Dec 2014to receive tecemotide (N=79) or placebo (N=42). Baseline characteristics were well balanced. Median RFS was 6.1 months (95% CI 4.5-8.9) and 11.4 months (95% CI 3.7-21.2) (P = .1754), 3-year OS rate 69.1% and 79.1%, median OS 62.8 months and not reached in the tecemotide vs. placebo arm (P = .2141), respectively. Cox regression models revealed no dependence of RFS or OS on MUC1 expression. The most common tecemotide-related grade 3/4 adverse events were diarrhea, injection site reaction, intestinal perforation, peritonitis and tinnitus (1.3% each). The LICC trial failed to meet its primary endpoints of significantly improving RFS and OS with tecemotide. However, both arms showed unexpectedly long OS. MUC1 expression was not associated with outcome.
EudraCT No: 2011-000218-20
Clinical Trial Information: NCT01462513
Financial Support: Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
Abbreviations: AE: adverse event; CP: cyclophosphamide; CRC: colorectal cancer; CT: computed tomography; ECOG: Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group; FU: follow-up; HR: hazard ratio; IHC: immunohistochemical staining; ITT: intention-to-treat; DSMB: Data Safety Monitoring Board; LLD: liver-limited disease; mCRC: metastatic colorectal cancer; MPLA: monophosphoryl lipid; AMRI: magnetic resonance imaging; MUC1: mucin 1; NA: not applicable; NCI-CTCAE: National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events; NS: normal saline; NSCLC: non-small-cell lung carcinoma; OS: overall surviva; lPP: per protocol; RAS: Rat sarcoma; RFS: recurrence-free survival; TEAE: treatment-emergent adverse event; UICC: Union for International Cancer Control; US: ultrasound; vs.: versus.
Small bowel MR enteroclysis and wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) are new diagnostic tools for the investigation of the small bowel. The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic yield of WCE ...with MR enteroclysis in the detection of small bowel pathologies.
A total of 36 patients were included in the study. Indications for imaging of the small bowel were proven or suspected small bowel Crohn's disease (CD; n=18), obscure gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding (n=14) and tumour surveillance (n=4).
In patients with Crohn's disease WCE detected significantly more inflammatory lesions in the first two segments of the small bowel compared with MR enteroclysis (12 patients vs. 1 patient, p=0.016). In 5 out of 14 (36%) patients with GI bleeding, angiodysplasia was detected as a possible bleeding source. Three of these patients had active bleeding sites detected by WCE. One patient had scattered inflammation of the mucosa. MR enteroclysis did not reveal any intestinal abnormalities in this patient group. MR enteroclysis provided extraintestinal pathologies in 10 out of 36 (28%) patients.
In patients with Crohn's disease WCE revealed significantly more inflammatory lesions in the proximal and middle part of the small bowel in comparison to MR enteroclysis, whereas in patients with obscure GI bleeding WCE was superior to MR enteroclysis.
Background
Infection with SARS‐CoV‐2 leads to COVID‐19, the course of which is highly variable and depends on numerous patient‐specific risk factors. Patients with tumor diseases are considered to be ...more susceptible to severe COVID‐19; however, they also represent a heterogeneous group of individuals with variable risk. Identifying specific risk factors for a severe course of COVID‐19 in patients with cancer is of great importance.
Methods
Patients diagnosed with solid tumors or hematological malignancies and PCR‐confirmed SARS‐CoV‐2 infection were included into the multicentric ADHOK (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Hämatologen und Onkologen im Krankenhaus e.V.) coronavirus tumor registry. Detailed information about the patients’ cancer disease, treatment, and laboratory parameters prior to infection, was collected retrospectively. The outcome of the SARS‐CoV‐2 infection was graded according to the WHO.
Results
A total of 195 patients (68% with solid neoplasms and 32% with hematological malignancies) were included in the registry. Overall, the course of the SARS‐CoV‐2 infection varied greatly, as 69% of all patients were either asymptomatic or encountered a mild to moderate course, while 23% of the cohort died from COVID‐19. In multivariable analysis, preinfection laboratory parameters (determined at least 10 days and a median of 21 days before the first documentation of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection) significantly correlated with severe course of the disease. Out of these, the absolute neutrophil count prior to infection showed the strongest association with COVID‐19‐related death.
Conclusion
The course of COVID‐19 in patients with tumor diseases is highly variable. Preinfection laboratory parameters may aid to identify patients at risk for severe COVID‐19 at an early stage prior to infection with the virus.
German Clinical Trials Register identification: DRKS00023012.
The course of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection in tumor patients is highly variable. Subgroups at risk for severe COVID‐19 are yet imprecisely defined. Laboratory parameters prior to infection, particularly pre‐infection neutrophils, may identify patients at risk for death.
Purpose: The clinical relevance of CA 19-9 as surrogate biomarker in advanced pancreatic cancer is a matter of debate.
Experimental Design: This retrospective multicenter study included patients with ...histologically confirmed advanced pancreatic cancer treated with
first-line therapy. Analysis of CA 19-9 was done using the Elecsys assay (Roche Diagnostics). For an analysis of CA 19-9 kinetics,
at least three measurements during first-line chemotherapy had to be available. The effect of pretreatment CA 19-9 levels
on time-to-progression (TTP) and overall survival (OS) was modeled by Cox proportional hazards regression. The effect of CA
19-9 kinetics was also modeled by Cox proportional hazards regression where CA 19-9 was treated as a time-varying covariate.
Results: One hundred and fifteen patients from five German centers were included; 73% of them were treated within prospective clinical
trials. Median TTP was 4.4 months and median OS was 9.4 months; univariate analysis indicated that pretreatment CA 19-9 as
continuous variable, log (CA 19-9) was significantly associated with TTP hazard ratio (HR), 1.24; P < 0.001 and OS (HR, 1.16; P = 0.002). These associations remained significant within multivariate analysis. For CA 19-9 kinetics during chemotherapy,
data from 69 patients (TTP) and 84 patients (OS) were available, respectively; log (CA 19-9) kinetics after start of treatment
were found to be a significant predictor for TTP in univariate (HR, 1.48; P < 0.001) and multivariate (HR, 1.45; P < 0.001) analyses, and also for OS (univariate: HR, 1.34; P < 0.001; multivariate: HR, 1.38; P < 0.001).
Conclusion: Pretreatment CA 19-9 and CA 19-9 kinetics may serve as a useful serum biomarker in advanced pancreatic cancer. Clin Cancer
Res; 16(3); 986–94
Docetaxel-based chemotherapy is effective in metastatic gastric and gastro-oesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. This study reports on the safety and efficacy of the docetaxel-based triplet FLOT ...(fluorouracil plus leucovorin, oxaliplatin and docetaxel) as a perioperative therapy for patients with locally advanced, resectable tumours.
In this controlled, open-label, phase 2/3 trial, we randomly assigned 716 patients with histologically-confirmed advanced clinical stage cT2 or higher or nodal positive stage (cN+), or both, resectable tumours, with no evidence of distant metastases, via central interactive web-based-response system, to receive either three pre-operative and three postoperative 3-week cycles of 50 mg/m2 epirubicin and 60 mg/m2 cisplatin on day 1 plus either 200 mg/m2 fluorouracil as continuous intravenous infusion or 1250 mg/m2 capecitabine orally on days 1 to 21 (ECF/ECX; control group) or four preoperative and four postoperative 2-week cycles of 50 mg/m2 docetaxel, 85 mg/m2 oxaliplatin, 200 mg/m2 leucovorin and 2600 mg/m2 fluorouracil as 24-h infusion on day 1 (FLOT; experimental group). The primary outcome of the trial was overall survival (superiority) analysed in the intention-to-treat population. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01216644.
Between Aug 8, 2010, and Feb 10, 2015, 716 patients were randomly assigned to treatment in 38 German hospitals or with practice-based oncologists. 360 patients were assigned to ECF/ECX and 356 patients to FLOT. Overall survival was increased in the FLOT group compared with the ECF/ECX group (hazard ratio HR 0·77; 95% confidence interval CI; 0.63 to 0·94; median overall survival, 50 months 38·33 to not reached vs 35 months 27·35 to 46·26). The number of patients with related serious adverse events (including those occurring during hospital stay for surgery) was similar in the two groups (96 27% in the ECF/ECX group vs 97 27% in the FLOT group), as was the number of toxic deaths (two <1% in both groups). Hospitalisation for toxicity occurred in 94 patients (26%) in the ECF/ECX group and 89 patients (25%) in the FLOT group.
In locally advanced, resectable gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, perioperative FLOT improved overall survival compared with perioperative ECF/ECX.
The German Cancer Aid (Deutsche Krebshilfe), Sanofi-Aventis, Chugai, and Stiftung Leben mit Krebs Foundation.
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