Lessons Learned
Palbociclib demonstrated no detectable activity in molecularly unselected and heavily pretreated patients with advanced grade 1/2 pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.
Predictive ...biomarkers that improve patient selection should be investigated in future studies of palbociclib.
Background
Palbociclib, a CDK4/6 inhibitor, has shown in vitro activity in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (pNET) cell lines. Here we prospectively assessed the activity and safety of palbociclib in monotherapy in metastatic refractory pNETs.
Methods
This was a nonrandomized, open‐label, phase II study of patients with metastatic grade (G)1/2 pNETs recruited from 10 centers in Spain. Palbociclib 125 mg was orally administered once daily for 21 of 28 days until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
Results
Twenty‐one patients were included; 52.4% were men, and median age was 57.4 years (range, 37.4–73.4). Patients had previously received a median of three prior lines of systemic therapy (range, 1–10) for advanced disease (somatostatin analogues, 71.4%; sunitinib, 81.0%; everolimus, 47.6%; chemotherapy, 47.6%). Nineteen patients were evaluated for objective response rate (ORR), with a median follow‐up of 12.4 months (range, 7.53–19.33). No objective and confirmed responses were observed (0%); 11 (57.9%) patients had stable disease, and 6 of them lasted more than 6 months; 8 (42.1%) patients had disease progression as best response. Median progression‐free survival (PFS) was 2.6 months (95% confidence interval CI, 0–14.4) and median overall survival (OS) was 18.7 months (95% CI, 7.4–29.9; Fig. 1). Most frequent toxicities of any grade were asthenia (76.2%), neutropenia (42.9%), diarrhea (33.3%), and nausea (33.3%). Five (23.8%) patients developed G3–4 neutropenia and two (9.5%) patients developed G3–4 thrombocytopenia.
Conclusion
Lack of activity was observed with palbociclib as a single agent in molecularly unselected and heavily pretreated patients with advanced G1/2 pNETs.
Background:
Despite current interest, enthusiasm and progress in the development of therapies for gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), there are substantial gaps in the ...published literature regarding cost-of-illness analyses, economic evaluation and budget impact analyses. Compounding the issue is that data on resource utilization and cost-effectiveness of different diagnostic and therapeutic modalities for GEP-NETs are scarce.
Methods:
A systematic review on the economic impact of GEP-NETs was carried out using four databases: EMBASE, PubMed, the National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database and Cochrane review. Fully published articles from January 2000 to May 2017, in English and Spanish, were included. All articles that satisfied the inclusion criteria were included in the systematic review; summary descriptive statistics were used to describe the methodological characteristics.
Results:
The 14 studies selected included cost-of-illness analyses (n = 4), economic evaluations (n = 7) and budget impact analyses (n = 3). Almost all studies were performed in the United States. Healthcare costs for patients with NETs included medication, outpatient visits, hospitalizations, and check-ups/tests. Reducing adverse events is an area where cost savings could be achieved; however, there was not enough evidence on the cost impact of adverse events.
Conclusion:
There is a lack of data related to resource utilization in the field of GEP-NETs. Therefore, cost-effectiveness and budget impact studies of existing and emerging treatments are urgently needed to help the decision-making process for patients with NETs.
Purpose
The aim of this multicenter study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) who received sunitinib retreatment.
Methods
Clinical data from ...patients treated with sunitinib rechallenge in nine Spanish centers were retrospectively analyzed. All patients received first-line sunitinib until progression or intolerance, followed by one or more successive drugs and rechallenge with sunitinib thereafter.
Results
Thirty-seven patients were included. At first-line treatment, objective response rate (ORR) was 69.4% and median progression-free survival (PFS) was 19.4 months. At rechallenge, ORR was 27.2% and 39.4% of patients obtained stabilization of disease. Median PFS was 6.2 months. Clinical benefit was obtained by 21 patients (75%) with > 6-month interval between sunitinib treatments and by 1 patient (20%) among those with ≤ 6-month interval (
P
= 0.016). Hemoglobin levels ≥ lower level of normal were associated with clinical benefit (
P
= 0.019) and with PFS (
P
= 0.004). Median overall survival from start of first-line sunitinib was 52.7 months. No new adverse events were observed at rechallenge.
Conclusions
Sunitinib rechallenge is a feasible treatment option for selected patients with mRCC.
Sunitinib is the currently standard treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). Multiple candidate predictive biomarkers for sunitinib response have been evaluated but none of them has been ...implemented in the clinic yet. The aim of this study was to analyze single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes linked to mode of action of sunitinib and immune response as biomarkers for mRCC. This is a multicenter, prospective and observational study involving 20 hospitals. Seventy-five mRCC patients treated with sunitinib as first line were used to assess the impact of 63 SNPs in 31 candidate genes on clinical outcome. rs2243250 (IL4) and rs5275 (PTGS2) were found to be significantly associated with shorter cancer-specific survival (CSS). Moreover, allele C (rs5275) was associated with higher PTGS2 expression level confirming its functional role. Combination of rs5275 and rs7651265 or rs2243250 for progression free survival (PFS) or CSS, respectively, was a more valuable predictive biomarker remaining significant after correction for multiple testing. It is the first time that association of rs5275 with survival in mRCC patients is described. Two-SNP models containing this functional variant may serve as more predictive biomarkers for sunitinib and could suppose a clinically relevant tool to improve the mRCC patient management.
Melanoma of the anal region is a very uncommon disease, accounting for only 0.2-0.3% of all melanoma cases. Mutations of the BRAF gene are usually absent in melanomas occurring in this region as well ...as in other sun-protected regions. The development of a tumour in a longstanding perianal fistula is also extremely rare. More frequent is the case of a tumour presenting as a fistula, that is, the fistula being a consequence of the cancerous process, although we have found only two cases of fistula-generating melanomas reported in the literature.
Here we report the case of a 38-year-old male who presented with a perianal fistula of four years of evolution. Histopathological examination of the fistulous tract confirmed the presence of malignant melanoma. Due to the small size and the central location of the melanoma inside the fistulous tract, we believe the melanoma reported here developed in the epithelium of the fistula once the latter was already formed. Resected sentinel lymph nodes were negative and the patient, after going through a wide local excision, remains disease-free nine years after diagnosis. DNA obtained from melanoma tissue was analysed by automated direct sequencing and the V600E (T1799A) mutation was detected in exon 15 of the BRAF gene.
Since fistulae experience persistent inflammation, the fact that this melanoma harbours a BRAF mutation strengthens the view that oxidative stress caused by inflammatory processes plays an important role in the genesis of BRAF gene mutations.
Several agents have demonstrated an overall survival (OS) benefit in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC); however, optimal sequencing is unknown. Retrospective analysis of data ...from 574 mCRPC patients showed increasing OS with the number of therapies provided; a sequence including docetaxel, cabazitaxel (CABA), and an androgen receptor–targeted agent (ART) provided the greatest benefit. Prior administration of ART did not appear to influence CABA activity. These findings will help guide treatment decisions in daily practice.
Several agents have demonstrated an overall survival (OS) benefit in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC); however, the optimal sequencing of these therapies is unknown as a result of a lack of prospective randomized controlled trials. This retrospective study aimed to identify clinical factors influencing outcomes and to determine optimal treatment sequencing in patients with mCRPC treated with cabazitaxel (CABA) and/or androgen receptor–targeted agents (ART) after androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) and docetaxel (DOC).
Records of 574 consecutive patients treated (2012−2016) at 44 centers in 6 countries were retrospectively examined.
A total of 267 patients received ADT → DOC → CABA (group 1), 183 patients ADT → DOC → ART → CABA (group 2), and 124 patients ADT → DOC → CABA → ART (group 3), with respective median OS from diagnosis of mCRPC of 38.3, 44.45, and 53.9 months (P = .012 for group 3 vs. group 1). Multivariate analysis showed response to first ADT ≤ 12 months, Gleason score of 8 to 10, clinical progression, and high prostate-specific antigen levels at mCRPC diagnosis were associated with worse OS. Prior receipt of ART did not influence activity of CABA.
OS appeared to increase with the number of life-extending therapies, with a sequence including DOC, CABA, and an ART providing the greatest OS benefit.
Based on the mechanism of action, combining somatostatin analogues (SSAs) with mTOR inhibitors or antiangiogenic agents may provide synergistic effects for the treatment of patients with ...neuroendocrine tumours (NETs). Herein, we investigate the use of these treatment combinations in clinical practice.
This retrospective cross-sectional analysis of patients with NETs treated with the SSA lanreotide and targeted therapies at 35 Spanish hospitals evaluated the efficacy and safety of lanreotide treatment combinations in clinical practice. The data of 159 treatment combinations with lanreotide in 133 patients was retrospectively collected.
Of the 133 patients, with a median age of 59.4 (16-83) years, 70 (52.6%) patients were male, 64 (48.1%) had pancreatic NET, 23 (17.3%) had ECOG PS ≥ 2, 41 (30.8%) had functioning tumours, 63 (47.7%) underwent surgery of the primary tumour, 45 (33.8%) had received prior chemotherapy, and 115 (86.5%) had received prior SSAs. 115 patients received 1 lanreotide treatment combination and 18 patients received between 2 and 5 combinations. Lanreotide was mainly administered in combination with everolimus (73 combinations) or sunitinib (61 combinations). The probability of being progression-free was 78.5% (6 months), 68.6% (12 months) and 57.0% (18 months) for patients who only received everolimus plus lanreotide (n = 57) and 89.3% (6 months), 73.0% (12 months), and 67.4% (18 months) for patients who only received sunitinib and lanreotide (n = 50). In patients who only received everolimus plus lanreotide the median time-to-progression from the initiation of lanreotide combination treatment was 25.8 months (95% CI, 11.3, 40.3) and it had not yet been reached among the subgroup of patients only receiving sunitinib plus lanreotide. The safety profile of the combination treatment was comparable to that of the targeted agent alone.
The combination of lanreotide and targeted therapies, mainly everolimus and sunitinib, is widely used in clinical practice without unexpected toxicities and suggests efficacy that should be explored in randomized prospective clinical trials.
Abstract Background CYP2D6 is a key enzyme in tamoxifen metabolism, transforming it into its main active metabolite, endoxifen. Poor CYP2D6 metabolizers (PM) have lower endoxifen plasma ...concentrations and possibly benefit less from treatment with tamoxifen. We evaluated tamoxifen dose adjustment in CYP2D6 PM patients in order to obtain plasma concentrations of endoxifen comparable to patients with extensive CYP2D6 metabolism (EM). Patients and methods Comprehensive CYP2D6 genotyping and plasma tamoxifen metabolite concentrations were performed among 249 breast cancer patients in adjuvant treatment with tamoxifen. Tamoxifen dose was increased in PM patients to 40 mg and to 60 mg daily for a 4-month period each, repeating tamoxifen metabolite measurements on completion of each dose increase. We compared the endoxifen levels between EM and PM patients, and among the PM patients at each dose level of tamoxifen (20, 40 and 60 mg). Results Eleven PM patients (4.7%) were identified. The mean baseline endoxifen concentration in EM patients (11.30 ng/ml) was higher compared to the PM patients (2.33 ng/ml; p < 0.001). In relation to the 20 mg dose, increasing the tamoxifen dose to 40 and 60 mg in PM patients significantly raised the endoxifen concentration to 8.38 ng/ml (OR 3.59; p = 0.013) and to 9.30 ng/ml (OR 3.99; p = 0.007), respectively. These concentrations were comparable to those observed in EM patients receiving 20 mg of tamoxifen ( p = 0.13 and p = 0.64, respectively). Conclusion In CYP2D6 PM patients, increasing the standard tamoxifen dose two-fold or three-fold raises endoxifen concentrations to levels similar to those of patients with EM phenotype.
Several circulating biomarkers and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been correlated with efficacy and tolerability to antiangiogenic agents. These associations remain unexplored in ...well-differentiated, metastatic pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors treated with the multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor sunitinib. We have assessed the effect on tumor response at 6 months, overall survival, progression-free survival and safety of 14 SNPs, and 6 soluble proteins. Forty-three patients were recruited. Two SNPs in the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3 (VEGFR-3) gene predicted lower overall survival: rs307826 with hazard ratio (HR) 3.67 (confidence interval CI 95%, 1.35-10.00) and rs307821 with HR 3.84 (CI 95%, 1.47-10.0). Interleukin-6 was associated with increased mortality: HR 1.06 (CI 95%, 1.01-1.12), and osteopontin was associated with shorter PFS: HR 1.087 (1.01-1.16), independently of Ki-67. Furthermore, levels of osteopontin remained higher at the end of the study in patients considered non-responders: 38.5 ng/mL vs. responders: 18.7 ng/mL, p-value=0.039. Dynamic upward variations were also observed with respect to IL-8 levels in sunitinib-refractory individuals: 28.5 pg/mL at baseline vs. 38.3 pg/mL at 3 months, p-value=0.024. In conclusion, two VEGFR-3 SNPs as well as various serum biomarkers were associated with diverse clinical outcomes in patients with well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors treated with sunitinib.
Temsirolimus (TEM) is an mTOR inhibitor EMA approved for the treatment of patients (pts) with relapsed or refractory (R/R) mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). In a phase III trial TEM 175mg weekly for 3 ...weeks followed by 75mg weekly significantly improved PFS (4.8 months) and objective response rate (22%) compared with investigator's choice (1.8 months, 2% respectively). TEM has also been tested in combination with rituximab (RTX) in a phase II trial with encouraging efficacy results (ORR 59%, median time to progression 9.7 months) even in rituximab-refractory pts. However, few data have been reported on the use of TEM in everyday clinical practice.
Sixteen Spanish centres participated in this retrospective, observational and multicenter study: Inclusion criteria were as follows: pts ≥18 at the time of treatment, confirmed diagnosis of R/R MCL treated with TEM between January 1st 2010 and December 31st 2012. Endpoints were overall response (ORR), partial response (PR) and complete response (CR) rate, toxicity as CTCAE v3.0 of NCI scale and overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS).This study was approved by the Ethic Committee of all participant sites (PFI-TEM-2010-01).
A total of 24 patients were included, 15 pts treated with TEM in monotherapy (TEM 175mg weekly for 3 weeks followed by 75mg weekly) and 9 in combination with RTX (TEM 25mg/week plus RTX 375mg/m2 per week during the first cycle and a single dose of RTX every other 28-day cycle). 22 were male and the median age was 71 (range 53 to 84). Regarding histology grade, 17 (74%) pts had classic, 1 (4.3%) blastoid and 5 (21.7%) unknown. According to simplified MIPI prognostic score, 6 (26.1%) pts had low risk, 10 (43.5%) intermediate risk and 7 (30.4%) high risk. Five pts had 10-40% of Ki 67 index, 3 had >40% and 14 pts unknown. Median number of prior therapies in TEM monotherapy cohort was 2 (range 1 to 7) and 4 (range 2 to 8) in the combination cohort. Median duration of therapy was 3.07 months in the TEM monotherapy cohort and 2.03 months in the combination cohort. The overall response rate (ORR) with TEM in monotherapy was 60% (40% CR and 20% PR) and 6.7% of disease stabilization. For those patients treated with TEM plus RTX, the ORR was 78% (56% CR and 22% PR) and 20% of disease stabilization. Median PFS for patients who reached CR in TEM monotherapy cohort was 12.73 months (95%CI, 1.28 to 24.19) and 10.93 months (95%CI, 1.40 to 20.46) in the combination cohort. Overall the median PFS for all patients was 7.30 months (95%CI, 2.36 to 12.24). Two pts underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation after successful TEM monotherapy treatment. In terms of tolerability, 13 pts of 15 developed at least one adverse event (AE) in the TEM monotherapy cohort and 5 pts of 9 in the combination cohort. Most common AE (all grades) were thrombocitopenia (75%) in both cohorts, rash (37%), diarrhea (12%), hyperglucemia (12%), hyperlipemia (8%), mucositis (8%) and neumonitis (8%). Most common G3/4 adverse event was thrombocytopenia (33%).
Although this is a small sample size, TEM efficacy in this study seems to be higher compared to previous Phase II and III trials with an acceptable toxicity profile in pts with MCL. The median PFS in the combination therapy cohort was surprisingly lower than in the monotherapy cohort which may be explained by differences in clinical features between both groups.
Off Label Use: Use of temsirolimus in combination with rituximab. Morán:Pfizer: Employment. Viqueira:Pfizer: Employment.
PDF
