Chung-Tsen Hsueh's research while affiliated with Loma Linda University and other places

11516 Background: Dual inhibition with Anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA4 checkpoint inhibitors is efficacious in many malignancies, but their potential role in numerous rare solid cancers is yet to be established. Desmoid tumors (DT; fibromatosis) are rare tumors of the soft tissue, and the mainstay of treatment is surgery (Richard Riedel, 2022). The utility of immunotherapy in this group of patients has not been explored. This study presents the first results of ipilimumab and nivolumab used in the DT cohort (#27) of the SWOG S1609 Dual Anti-CTLA-4 & Anti-PD-1 blockade in Rare Tumors (DART) trial. Methods: DART is a prospective, open-label, multicenter/multi-cohort phase 2 clinical trial of ipilimumab (1mg/kg intravenously every 6 weeks) plus nivolumab (240mg intravenously every 2 weeks). The primary endpoint includes objective response rate (ORR) (RECIST v1.1) (confirmed complete (CR) and partial responses (PR)). Secondary endpoints include progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), stable disease (SD) > 6 months, and toxicity. Results: Sixteen evaluable patients (median age 37) with desmoid tumors were analyzed. Location of the tumors are: 8, abdomen; 3, lower limb: 2, upper limb; 2, pelvis; and 1, neck. ORR was 18.8% with 3 patients attaining PR: 40% regression with ongoing duration of response (DoR) at over 30+ months; 83% regression (PFS 16 months); and 71% regression (PFS of 8.4 months). Of note, 3 patients had SD (3/16, 18.8%) with some shrinkage of the tumors and a durable response; 23% regression with PFS of 1820+ days; 6% regression with PFS of 902 days; 1% regression with PFS of 1147+ days. Overall clinical benefit rate (CBR; no progression > 6 months) was 62.5%. The median PFS was 17.9 months, 6-month PFS 69%, 1-year PFS 62%. All patients were alive at 1 years; median OS was not assessable as 14 patients are showing ongoing survival. The most common adverse events were fatigue (43.8%, n = 7), nausea (37.5%, n = 6), hypothyroidism (31.3%, n = 5), diarrhea, hyperthyroidism, headache, and adrenal insufficiency (25%, n = 4 each). There were 8 incidents (50%) of grade 3-4 adverse events. 7 adverse events led to discontinuation. There were no grade 5 adverse events. Conclusions: Ipilimumab plus nivolumab in treatment of desmoid tumors resulted in an ORR of 18.8% and CBR of 62.5% with durable responses seen. This is the first prospective study demonstrating efficacy of the combination in this rare disease. Correlative studies to determine response and resistance markers are ongoing. Expanded prospective studies in desmoid tumors are needed. Clinical trial information: NCT02834013 .

Background: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is overexpressed in pancreatic cancer. EGFR expression plays a potentially important role in modulation of tumor sensitivity to either chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Erlotinib is a receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor with specificity for EGFR/HER1. A phase II trial was conducted to explore the efficacy of a regimen utilizing erlotinib and proton therapy. Methods: Patients with unresectable or borderline resectable non-metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas were included. Patients received 8-week systemic treatment with gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m2 and erlotinib 100 mg (GE). If there was no evidence of metastatic disease after GE, then patients preceded with proton therapy to 50.4 Gy in 28 fractions with concurrent capecitabine 825 mg/m2 (CPT). This was followed with oxaliplatin 130 mg/m2 and capecitabine 1,000 mg/m2 (CapOx) for 4 cycles. The primary study objective was 1-year overall survival (OS). The benchmark was 43% 1-year survival as demonstrated in RTOG/NRG 98-12. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the one-year OS and the median OS and progression-free survival (PFS). Results: The study enrolled 9 patients ages 47-81 years old (median 62) between January 2013 and March 2016, when the trial was closed due to low patient accrual. The 1-year OS rate was 55.6% (95% CI: 31% to 99%). The median OS was 14.1 months (95% CI: 11.4-NE) and the median PFS was 10.8 months (95% CI: 7.44-NE). A majority of patients completed CPT and GE, but only 33.3% completed the four cycles of CapOx. A third of patients experienced grade 3 toxicities, which were all hepatic along with one patient who also had grade 3 diarrhea. There were no grade 4 or 5 toxicities. Four patients were enrolled with borderline resectable disease, three of which were eligible for pancreaticoduodenectomy after GE and CPT treatment. One of two patients who underwent resection had a negative margin. Conclusions: This regimen for locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) exceeded the pre-specified benchmark and was safe and well tolerated. Additional investigations utilizing more current systemic treatment regimens with proton therapy are warranted. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCTNCT01683422).

Purpose Angiosarcoma is a rare aggressive endothelial cell cancer with high mortality. Isolated reports suggest immune checkpoint inhibition efficacy in angiosarcoma, but no prospective studies have been published. We report results for angiosarcoma treated with ipilimumab and nivolumab as a cohort of an ongoing rare cancer study. Methods This is a prospective, open-label, multicenter phase II clinical trial of ipilimumab (1 mg/kg intravenously every 6 weeks) plus nivolumab (240 mg intravenously every 2 weeks) for metastatic or unresectable angiosarcoma. Primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR) per RECIST 1.1. Secondary endpoints include progression-free (PFS) and overall survival, and toxicity. A two-stage design was used. Results Overall, there were 16 evaluable patients. Median age was 68 years (range, 25–81); median number of prior lines of therapy, 2. Nine patients had cutaneous and seven non-cutaneous primary tumors. ORR was 25% (4/16). Sixty per cent of patients (3/5) with primary cutaneous scalp or face tumors attained a confirmed response. Six-month PFS was 38%. Altogether, 75% of patients experienced an adverse event (AE) (at least possibly related to drug) (25% grade 3–4 AE); 68.8%, an immune-related AE (irAE) (2 (12.5%), grade 3 or 4 irAEs (alanine aminotransferase/aspartate aminotransferase increase and diarrhea)). There were no grade 5 toxicities. One of seven patients in whom tumor mutation burden (TMB) was assessed showed a high TMB (24 mutations/mb); that patient achieved a partial response (PR). Two of three patients with PDL1 immunohistochemistry assessed had high PDL1 expression; one achieved a PR. Conclusion The combination of ipilimumab and nivolumab demonstrated an ORR of 25% in angiosarcoma, with three of five patients with cutaneous tumors of the scalp or face responding. Ipilimumab and nivolumab warrant further investigation in angiosarcoma. Trial registration number NCT02834013 .

Background: To report on our institutional experience using Proton stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for patients with liver metastases. Methods: All patients with liver metastases treated with Proton SBRT between September 2012 and December 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. Local control (LC) and overall survival (OS) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method calculated from the time of completion of Proton SBRT. LC was defined according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) guidelines (version 1.1). Toxicity was graded according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 4.0. Results: Forty-six patients with 81 lesions were treated with Proton SBRT. The median age was 65.5 years old (range, 33-86 years) and the median follow up was 15 months (range, 1-54 months). The median size of the gross tumor volume (GTV) was 2.5 cm (range, 0.7-8.9 cm). Two or more lesions were treated in 56.5% of patients, with one patient receiving treatment to a total of five lesions. There were 37 lesions treated with a biologically effective dose (BED) ≤60, 9 lesions with a BED of 61-80, 22 lesions with a BED of 81-100, and 13 lesions with a BED >100. The 1-year and 2-year LC for all lesions was 92.5% (95% CI, 82.7% to 96.8%). The grade 1 and grade 2 toxicity rates were 37% and 6.5%, respectively. There were no grade 3 or higher toxicities and no cases of radiation-induced liver disease (RILD). Conclusions: Proton SBRT for the treatment of liver metastases has promising LC rates with the ability to safely treat multiple liver metastases. Accrual continues for our phase II trial treating liver metastases with Proton SBRT to 60 GyE (Gray equivalent) in 3 fractions.

Background: Doxorubicin and other anthracycline derivatives inhibit topoisomerase II and is an important class of cytotoxic chemotherapy in cancer treatment. The use of anthracycline is limited by dose-dependent cardiotoxicity, which may manifest initially as asymptomatic cardiac dysfunction with subsequent progression to congestive heart failure. Despite baseline assessment and periodic monitoring of cardiac function for patients receiving anthracycline agents, there are unmet needs in prediction and prevention of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity (AIC). Case summary: A 35-year-old African American female was found to have a 9-cm high-grade osteosarcoma of right femur and normal baseline cardiac function with left ventricular ejection fraction of approximately 60%-70% determined by transthoracic and dobutamine stress echocardiogram. She underwent perioperative doxorubicin and cisplatin chemotherapy with 3 cycles before surgery and 3 cycles after surgery, and received a total of 450 mg/m2 doxorubicin at the end of her treatment course. She was evaluated regularly during chemotherapy without any cardiac or respiratory symptoms. Approximately two months after her last chemotherapy, the patient presented to the emergency department with dyspnea for one week and was intubated for acute hypoxic respiratory failure. Echocardiogram showed an ejection fraction of 5%-10% with severe biventricular failure. Despite attempts to optimize cardiac function, the patient's hemodynamic status continued to decline, and resuscitation was not successful on the seventh day of hospitalization. The autopsy showed no evidence of osteosarcoma, and the likely cause of death was cardiac failure with the evidence of pulmonary congestion, liver congestion, and multiple body cavity effusions. Conclusion: We present a case of 35-year-old African American female developing cardiogenic shock shortly after receiving a cumulative dose of 450 mg/m2 doxorubicin over 9 mo. Cardiac monitoring and management of patients receiving anthracycline chemotherapy have been an area of intense research since introduction of these agents in clinical practice. We have reviewed literature and recent advances in the prediction and prevention of AIC. Although risk factors currently identified can help stratify patients who need closer monitoring, there are limitations to our current understanding and further research is needed in this field.

Background Angiosarcoma is a rare cancer of endothelial cells that can be aggressive and carries a high mortality. A subset of angiosarcomas are characterized by high tumor mutational burden (TMB) and UV light exposure DNA mutational signature. Isolated case reports have suggested clinical efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade in angiosarcoma; no prospective studies of immune checkpoint inhibition in angiosarcoma have been reported. We report efficacy analysis results for patients with advanced or unresectable angiosarcoma treated with ipilimumab and nivolumab as a cohort of an ongoing phase II study for rare cancers ( NCT02834013 ). Methods This is a prospective, open-label, multicenter phase II clinical trial of ipilimumab (1mg/kg IV q6weeks) plus nivolumab (240mg IV q2weeks) for patients with metastatic or unresectable angiosarcoma. Primary endpoint is objective response rate as assessed by RECIST v1.1, including measurable cutaneous disease that can be followed by photography. Secondary endpoints include PFS, OS, stable disease at six months, and toxicity. A two-stage design is used with six patients in the first stage and an additional ten patients in the second stage. Results At data cutoff, 16 patients with angiosarcoma were enrolled. Median age was 68 years (25-81 years). Median number of prior lines of therapy was 2 (0-5). 9 patients had cutaneous primary tumors of any cutaneous site, 7 had non-cutaneous primary tumors. ORR for all patients was 25% (4/16, table 1, figure 1). Subgroup analysis revealed that 60% (3/5) of patients with primary cutaneous tumors of the scalp or face had a confirmed objective response. 6-month PFS was 38%. 75% of patients experienced an adverse event (AE), and 25% experienced a grade 3-4 AE. 68.8% experienced an immune related AE (irAE), and 2 (12.5%) developed grade 3 or 4 irAEs. Grade 3-4 irAEs were ALT and AST increase and diarrhea. There were no grade 5 toxicities. Conclusions The combination of ipilimumab and nivolumab was well tolerated and had an ORR of 25% in angiosarcoma regardless of primary site, with 3 of 5 patients with cutaneous tumors of the scalp or face responding. Ipilimumab and nivolumab warrant further investigation in angiosarcoma. Acknowledgements Funding: National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute grant awards CA180888, CA180819, CA180868; and in part by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Trial Registration NCT02834013 Ethics Approval This study was approved by the NCI CIRB.

Background Thyroid dysfunction has not been previously reported in clinical trials of selective fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) inhibitors including AZD4547. Herein, we report a case of worsening hypothyroidism in a patient with advanced urothelial cancer treated with AZD4547. Case presentation An 80-year-old Caucasian female with metastatic urothelial carcinoma failed first-line chemotherapy with gemcitabine and carboplatin and second-line treatment with atezolizumab, an inhibitor of programmed cell death ligand 1. She developed hypothyroidism at completion of atezolizumab treatment and responded to levothyroxine. Subsequently she was enrolled to a phase II study and received AZD4547 due to an actionable mutation at FGFR3 found in tumor biopsy. Two months later, she experienced recurrent hypothyroidism symptoms, and was hospitalized twice for small bowel obstruction. Her thyroid stimulating hormone level was significantly increased to 2957 uIU/mL (reference range 0.8–7.7 uIU/mL). Her levothyroxine dose was increased accordingly. Her thyroid function returned to normal 1 month afterwards, and small bowel obstruction did not recur. Conclusion Further reports and studies will be needed to confirm the relationship between AZD4547 and hypothyroidism. Based on this observation and possible mechanisms for thyroid dysfunction discussed in this paper, routine thyroid function monitoring in patients receiving FGFR inhibitor should be considered.

The systemic treatment options for advanced gastric cancer (GC) have evolved rapidly in recent years. We have reviewed the recent data of clinical trial incorporating targeted agents, including inhibitors of angiogenesis, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), mesenchymal–epithelial transition, epidermal growth factor receptor, mammalian target of rapamycin, claudin-18.2, programmed death-1 and DNA. Addition of trastuzumab to platinum-based chemotherapy has become standard of care as front-line therapy in advanced GC overexpressing HER2. In the second-line setting, ramucirumab with paclitaxel significantly improves overall survival compared to paclitaxel alone. For patients with refractory disease, apatinib, nivolumab, ramucirumab and TAS-102 have demonstrated single-agent activity with improved overall survival compared to placebo alone. Pembrolizumab has demonstrated more than 50% response rate in microsatellite instability-high tumors, 15% response rate in tumors expressing programmed death ligand 1, and non-inferior outcome in first-line treatment compared to chemotherapy. This review summarizes the current state and progress of research on targeted therapy for advanced GC.

BRAF and KRAS are two key oncogenes in the RAS/RAF/MEK/MAP-kinase signaling pathway. While previously considered mutually exclusive, concomitant mutations in both KRAS and BRAF genes have been identified in colorectal cancer (CRC). The clinical outcome of these patients remains undetermined. We present the clinical course of two patients with CRC harboring mutations at codon 12 of KRAS and BRAF non-V600E mutations. More research is needed to determine the clinical-pathological effect of these simultaneous mutations of KRAS and BRAF in CRC on disease course and treatment outcome.