Search

A subset of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) follow an indolent disease course and may benefit from initial active surveillance (AS). However, selecting patients suitable for this approach is challenging. To investigate this we sought to define outcomes of patients with mRCC suitable for initial AS. All patients with mRCC clinically selected for initial AS at the Edinburgh Cancer Centre between January 2010 and December 2020 were identified. Key inflammatory biomarkers (haemoglobin, white cell count, neutrophil count, platelets, C-reactive protein [CRP], albumin, corrected calcium) and the International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium (IMDC) risk score were measured. The relationship between these and time to systemic anticancer therapy (tSACT) and overall survival (OS) was analysed. Data were available for 160 patients. Estimated median overall survival was 88.0 (interquartile range [IQR] 34.0-127.0) months. Median tSACT was 31.8 (IQR 12.0-76.3) months. On multivariate analysis, only CRP was predictive of tSACT (HR 2.47 [95% CI:1.59-3.85] p 0.001) and OS (HR 3.89 [95% CI:2.15-6.83] p 0.001). Patients with CRP 10 mg/L were more likely to commence SACT within 1 year than those with CRP≤10 mg/L (41% vs. 18%, Relative Risk 2.16 (95% CI:1.18-3.96) (p = 0.012)). IMDC risk score was not predictive of tSACT or OS. Active surveillance is an appropriate initial management option for selected patients with mRCC. CRP, a biomarker of systemic inflammation, may provide additional objective information to assist clinical decision-making in patients with mRCC being considered for initial AS. Although this is a retrospective observational study, the cohort is well defined and includes all patients managed with initial AS in an inclusive real-world setting.

Testicular cancer is the most common malignancy in young men. We discuss four cases of germ cell tumours (GCTs) presenting to general practitioners and physicians where there were notable preventable delays in the diagnosis and management. This diagnostic delay is associated with a more advanced stage of disease, and subsequent increased treatment-related morbidity and decreased survival. Our series highlights the variety of ways in which GCTs may present and we discuss the importance of prompt diagnosis through a thorough history and examination, early measurement of serum tumour markers and appropriate multidisciplinary team discussion. GCTs are highly curable cancers in the majority of patients and delays in management can, therefore, have devastating consequences.

Surgery for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with venous tumour thrombus (VTT) extension into the renal vein (RV) and/or inferior vena cava (IVC) has high peri-surgical morbidity/mortality. NAXIVA assessed the response of VTT to axitinib, a potent tyrosine kinase inhibitor.NAXIVA was a single-arm, multi-centre, Phase 2 study. In total, 20 patients with resectable clear cell RCC and VTT received upto 8 weeks of pre-surgical axitinib. The primary endpoint was percentage of evaluable patients with VTT improvement by Mayo level on MRI. Secondary endpoints were percentage change in surgical approach and VTT length, response rate (RECISTv1.1) and surgical morbidity.In all, 35% (7/20) patients with VTT had a reduction in Mayo level with axitinib: 37.5% (6/16) with IVC VTT and 25% (1/4) with RV-only VTT. No patients had an increase in Mayo level. In total, 75% (15/20) of patients had a reduction in VTT length. Overall, 41.2% (7/17) of patients who underwent surgery had less invasive surgery than originally planned. Non-responders exhibited lower baseline microvessel density (CD31), higher Ki67 and exhausted or regulatory T-cell phenotype.NAXIVA provides the first Level II evidence that axitinib downstages VTT in a significant proportion of patients leading to reduction in the extent of surgery.NCT03494816.

PURPOSE Pembrolizumab, a programmed death 1 inhibitor, demonstrated promising single-agent activity in untreated patients with various cancer types. The phase II KEYNOTE-427 study evaluated efficacy and safety of single-agent pembrolizumab in treatment-naive patients with advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC; cohort A) and advanced non-ccRCC (cohort B). Results of cohort A are reported. METHODS In this open-label, single-arm phase II study, patients with advanced ccRCC received pembrolizumab 200 mg every 3 weeks for ≤ 24 months. The primary end point was objective response rate by RECIST, version 1.1. RESULTS In the total population (N = 110), median time from enrollment to data cutoff was 35.9 (range, 29.5-40.3) months. Objective response rate was 36.4% with four (3.6%) complete responses and 36 (32.7%) partial responses; disease control rate was 58.2% (95% CI, 48.4 to 67.5). Most patients (68.2%) had a decrease in target lesions, including 30.9% with a reduction ≥ 60%. Median duration of response was 18.9 (range, 2.3-37.6+) months; 64.1% of responders had a response ≥ 12 months (Kaplan-Meier). Median progression-free survival was 7.1 months (95% CI, 5.6 to 11.0). Median overall survival was not reached; 12-month and 24-month overall survival rates were 88.2% and 70.8%, respectively. Durable responses were observed across all International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium categories. Grade 3-5 treatment-related adverse events were reported in 30.0% of patients, of which colitis and diarrhea were most frequent. CONCLUSION Single-agent pembrolizumab showed promising antitumor activity as a first-line treatment in patients with advanced ccRCC, with durable responses across International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium categories. Safety and tolerability profile of pembrolizumab monotherapy was comparable to what has been previously described in other tumor types.

5069 Background: KEYNOTE-427 (NCT02853344), an open-label, single-arm, phase 2 study, showed clinical activity of first-line pembro monotherapy in patients (pts) with ccRCC (cohort A). Previous studies in RCC and immune-oncology suggest depth of response may correlate with long-term benefit. Association between depth of response and OS, along with updated efficacy and safety for cohort A of KEYNOTE-427, are presented. Methods: Pts with histologically confirmed ccRCC, measurable disease (RECIST v1.1), and no prior systemic therapy received pembro 200 mg IV Q3W for 2 y or until progressive disease, unacceptable toxicity, or withdrawal. End points: ORR (primary), DOR, and PFS (RECIST v1.1); OS, and safety. Association between depth of response (maximum reduction from baseline in the sum of target lesions) and OS was evaluated using Cox proportional hazards model with target lesion reduction group as time-varying covariate. Results: 110 pts enrolled; median time from enrollment to data cutoff was 23.1 (range, 16.7-27.5) mo. Overall, 38.2% of pts had favorable and 61.2% had intermediate/poor IMDC risk. ORR was 36.4% (95% CI, 27.4-46.1; 3 CRs, 37 PRs); median (range) DOR was not reached (2.3-23.5+ mo); 64.0% had a DOR ≥12 mo. Median PFS was 7.1 mo (95% CI, 5.6-11.0) and median OS was not reached; 18-mo PFS and OS rates were 26.6% and 80.0%, respectively. 69.1% had some reduction in target lesions. Pts with > 60% reduction in target lesions had a greater probability of survival than pts with a ≤60% reduction (Table). ORR observed in IMDC favorable and intermediate/poor risk was 31.0% and 39.7%, respectively; 18-mo OS rate was 95.2% for favorable and 70.5% for intermediate/poor IMDC risk. Treatment-related AEs (TRAEs) occurred in 81.8% of pts, primarily fatigue (29.1%) and pruritus (28.2%). Grade ≥3 TRAEs occurred in 29.1% of pts; 1 pt died of treatment-related pneumonitis. Conclusions: First-line pembro monotherapy was tolerable and showed promising antitumor activity in advanced ccRCC. In general, pts who had greater reductions in target lesions demonstrated a trend toward improved OS; pts with reduction of tumor burden ≥80% had comparable long term outcomes to those who achieved a RECIST 1.1 defined CR. Clinical trial information: NCT02853344 . [Table: see text]

Testicular cancer is the most common malignancy in young adult men. The prognosis is excellent in limited disease and cure is possible even in advanced disease. Quality performance indicators (QPI) are used in many developed countries as a measure of healthcare performance. We report and discuss the development of a national set of QPIs in Scotland for testicular cancer as a method of gathering demographic data and driving improvement in nationwide testicular cancer outcomes.

Background KEYNOTE-427 (NCT02853344) is a single-arm, open-label, phase 2 study of pembro monotherapy in patients (pts) with advanced clear cell RCC (cohort A) and nccRCC (cohort B). Updated cohort B results with additional follow-up are presented. Methods 165 pts with histologically confirmed nccRCC, no prior systemic therapy, and measurable disease (RECIST v1.1) enrolled. Pts received pembro 200 mg IV Q3W for 35 cycles (∼2 y) or until progressive disease, unacceptable toxicity, or withdrawal. Primary end point: objective response rate (ORR, RECIST v1.1 by blinded independent central review). Additional end points: duration of response (DOR), PFS, OS, data by sarcomatoid differentiation, histology, and PD-L1 expression (combined positive score [CPS] ≥1 for PD-L1+). Results Histology by central pathology review: papillary 72% (n = 118), chromophobe 13% (n = 21), unclassified 16% (n = 26); 62% were PD-L1+. Median follow-up: 15.0 mo (range, 0.9-25.4). Overall ORR was 26.1% (95% CI, 19.5-33.5; 10 [6.1%] CR, 33 [20.0%] PR) and median (range) DOR was 15.3 mo (2.8-21.0+). For responders, 57.3% had a response ≥12 mo. 12-mo PFS and OS rates were 24.7% and 73.7%, respectively. ORR (95% CI) was 28.0% (20.1-37.0) in papillary, 9.5% (1.2-30.4) in chromophobe, and 30.8% (14.3-51.8) in unclassified nccRCC; for responders, 55.4%, 50.0%, and 71.4% in the papillary, chromophobe and unclassified groups had a response ≥12 mo. Median (range) DOR was not reached in the unclassified and was 15.3 mo (2.8-21.0+) for the papillary group. ORR (95% CI) was 42.1% (26.3-59.2) for pts with sarcomatoid differentiation (n = 38). ORR (95% CI) in pts with CPS≥1 and CPS Conclusions Single-agent pembro continued to show encouraging antitumor activity in nccRCC, especially with papillary or unclassified histology and CPS≥1. Safety profile of pembro was as expected. Clinical trial identification NCT02853344, August 2, 2016. Editorial acknowledgement Matthew Grzywacz, PhD, of the ApotheCom pembrolizumab team (Yardley, PA, USA), funded by Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA. Legal entity responsible for the study Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA. Funding Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA. Disclosure C. Suarez: Advisory / Consultancy: Astellas, BMS, Eusa, Ipsen, Novartis, Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis; Research grant / Funding (self): Ipsen; Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: AstraZeneca, BMS, Ipsen, Pfizer; Travel / Accommodation / Expenses: Roche, Pfizer, Ipsen; Research grant / Funding (institution): AB Science, Aragon Pharmaceuticals, Arog Pharmaceuticals, INC, Astellas Pharma., AstraZeneca AB, Aveo Pharmaceuticals INC, Bayer AG, Blueprint Medicines Corporation, BN Immunotherapeutics INC, Boehringer Ingelheim Espana, S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Intern; Non-remunerated activity/ies: Roche Steering Committee. J. Lee: Honoraria (self): Novartis Korea, BMS Korea; Advisory / Consultancy: Pfizer Korea, Janssen, Sanofi Aventis, Astellas Korea, BMS Korea, Ipsen Korea; Leadership role: Korea Cancer Study Group. M. Ziobro: Advisory / Consultancy, Travel / Accommodation / Expenses: Bristol-Myers Squibb; Advisory / Consultancy: MSD; Advisory / Consultancy, Travel / Accommodation / Expenses: Roche; Advisory / Consultancy: Novartis. V.B. Matveev: Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy: Bayer; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy: Bristol-Myers Squibb; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy: Janssen; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy: Astellas. F. Donskov: Honoraria (institution): Pfizer; Honoraria (institution): Ipsen. F. Pouliot: Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy, Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: Amgen; Honoraria (self), Honoraria (institution), Advisory / Consultancy, Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony, Research grant / Funding (institution): Astellas; Honoraria (self), Honoraria (institution), Advisory / Consultancy: Janssen; Honoraria (self), Honoraria (institution), Advisory / Consultancy, Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony, Research grant / Funding (institution), Travel / Accommodation / Expenses: Sanofi; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy, Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony, Research grant / Funding (institution), Travel / Accommodation / Expenses: Bayer; Advisory / Consultancy: Progenics. B.Y. Alekseev: Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy, Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony, Research grant / Funding (self), Research grant / Funding (institution), Travel / Accommodation / Expenses: Astellas; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy, Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony, Research grant / Funding (self), Research grant / Funding (institution), Travel / Accommodation / Expenses: AstraZeneca; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy, Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony, Research grant / Funding (self), Research grant / Funding (institution), Travel / Accommodation / Expenses: Bayer; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy, Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony, Research grant / Funding (self), Research grant / Funding (institution), Travel / Accommodation / Expenses: BMS; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy, Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony, Research grant / Funding (self), Research grant / Funding (institution), Travel / Accommodation / Expenses: Ferring; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy, Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony, Research grant / Funding (self), Research grant / Funding (institution), Travel / Accommodation / Expenses: Janssen; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy, Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony, Research grant / Funding (self), Research grant / Funding (institution), Travel / Accommodation / Expenses: MSD; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy, Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony, Research grant / Funding (self), Research grant / Funding (institution), Travel / Accommodation / Expenses: Pfizer; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy, Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony, Research grant / Funding (self), Research grant / Funding (institution), Travel / Accommodation / Expenses: Roche; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy, Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony, Research grant / Funding (self), Research grant / Funding (institution), Travel / Accommodation / Expenses: Sanofi. P.J. Wiechno: Honoraria (self): Bayer; Honoraria (self): BMS; Honoraria (self), Travel / Accommodation / Expenses: Pfizer; Honoraria (self): Astellas; Honoraria (self): Ipsen; Honoraria (self): Janssen-Cilag; Honoraria (self): Novartis. M.A. Climent: Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy, Travel / Accommodation / Expenses: MSD; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy: BMS; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy: Roche; Advisory / Consultancy: Pierre Fabre; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy: Pfizer. R. Kloss Silverman: Full / Part-time employment: Merck & Co., Inc. R.F. Perini: Shareholder / Stockholder / Stock options, Full / Part-time employment: Merck & Co., Inc. C. Schloss: Shareholder / Stockholder / Stock options, Full / Part-time employment: Merck & Co., Inc. D.F. McDermott: Honoraria (self), Research grant / Funding (self): BMS; Honoraria (self), Research grant / Funding (self): Pfizer; Honoraria (self), Research grant / Funding (self): Merck; Honoraria (self), Research grant / Funding (self): Novartis; Honoraria (self), Research grant / Funding (self): Exelixis; Honoraria (self): Array BioPharm; Honoraria (self), Research grant / Funding (self): Genentech BioOncology; Honoraria (self), Research grant / Funding (self): Alkermes, Inc.; Honoraria (self): Jounce Therapeutics; Honoraria (self), Research grant / Funding (self): X4 Pharma; Honoraria (self), Research grant / Funding (self): Peloton Therapeutics; Honoraria (self): EMD Serono; Honoraria (self): Eli Lilly and Company; Research grant / Funding (self): Prometheus Laboratories. M.B. Atkins: Advisory / Consultancy, Research grant / Funding (self): Merck; Advisory / Consultancy, Research grant / Funding (self): Novartis; Advisory / Consultancy, Research grant / Funding (self): Genentech/Roche; Advisory / Consultancy: Pfizer; Advisory / Consultancy: Exelixis; Advisory / Consultancy: Eisai; Advisory / Consultancy: AstraZeneca; Advisory / Consultancy: Array; Advisory / Consultancy, Research grant / Funding (self): BMS. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Introduction: This Centre has previously reported outcomes for patients treated with neoadjuvant hormone therapy (NAHT) and 52.5Gy in 20 fractions. We now present the outcome data for patients treated with 55Gy in 20 fractions and NAHT. Methods and Materials: 584 patients were treated for T1-T3 node negative prostate cancer. The median age was 67.2 years (range 49-80). All patients received 3 months of NAHT followed by CT planned conformal radiotherapy to the prostate using 55Gy in 20 fractions. 147 patients considered at particularly high risk of relapse also received 2 years of adjuvant androgen deprivation. Outcomes were obtained through serial PSA measurement. Patients were classified into prognostic groups according to Zelefsky criteria. PSA relapse was defined according to Houston criteria. The outcomes with 55Gy were compared with the 52.5Gy cohort. Results: The 10 year cause specific survival increased from 67.3% with 52.5Gy to 92.9% in the 55Gy group. Patients receiving 55Gy had better outcomes than those receiving 52.5Gy in all prognostic groups with or without adjuvant hormone use. PSA relapse free survival at five years in the patients who did not receive adjuvant hormones are:- 80.2 v 63.6% in the ‘Good’, 69.5 v 43.7% in the ‘Intermediate’ and 40.3 v 15.3% in the ‘Poor’ prognostic groups (p

Kilovoltage cone-beam CT (kV CBCT) can be acquired during the delivery of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), in order to obtain an image of the patient during treatment. However, the quality of such CBCTs is degraded by megavoltage (MV) scatter from the treatment beam onto the imaging panel. The objective of this paper is to introduce a novel MV scatter correction method for simultaneous CBCT during VMAT, and to investigate its effectiveness when compared to other techniques. The correction requires the acquisition of a separate set of images taken during VMAT delivery, while the kV beam is off. These images - which contain only the MV scatter contribution on the imaging panel - are then used to correct the corresponding kV/MV projections. To test this method, CBCTs were taken of an image quality phantom during VMAT delivery and measurements of contrast to noise ratio were made. Additionally, the correction was applied to the datasets of three VMAT prostate patients, who also received simultaneous CBCTs. The clinical image quality was assessed using a validated scoring system, comparing standard CBCTs to the uncorrected simultaneous CBCTs and a variety of correction methods. Results show that the correction is able to recover some of the low and high-contrast signal to noise ratio lost due to MV scatter. From the patient study, the corrected CBCT scored significantly higher than the uncorrected images in terms of the ability to identify the boundary between the prostate and surrounding soft tissue. In summary, a simple MV scatter correction method has been developed and, using both phantom and patient data, is shown to improve the image quality of simultaneous CBCTs taken during VMAT delivery. © 2012 Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine.