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BackgroundThe landmark study of durvalumab as consolidation therapy in NSCLC patients (PACIFIC trial) demonstrated significantly longer progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with locally advanced, unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with durvalumab (immunotherapy, IO) therapy after chemoradiotherapy (CRT). In clinical practice in the USA, durvalumab continues to be used in patients across all levels of programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) expression. While immune therapies have shown promise in several cancers, some patients either do not respond to the therapy or have cancer recurrence after an initial response. It is not clear so far who will benefit of this therapy or what the mechanisms behind treatment failure are.MethodsA total of 133 patients with unresectable stage III NSCLC who underwent durvalumab after CRT or CRT alone were included. Patients treated with durvalumab IO after CRT were randomly split into training (D1=59) and test (D2=59) sets and the remaining 15 patients treated with CRT alone were grouped in D3. Radiomic textural patterns from within and around the target nodules were extracted. A radiomic risk score (RRS) was built and was used to predict PFS and overall survival (OS). Patients were divided into high-risk and low-risk groups based on median RRS.ResultsRRS was found to be significantly associated with PFS in D1 (HR=2.67, 95% CI 1.85 to 4.13, pConclusionsTumor radiomics of pretreatment CT images from patients with stage III unresectable NSCLC were prognostic of PFS and OS to CRT followed by durvalumab IO and CRT alone.

PURPOSE State and national cancer registries do not systematically include Veteran data, which hinders analysis of the diagnosis patterns, treatment trajectories, and clinical outcomes of Veterans compared with non-Veteran populations. This study used data matching approaches to compare cases included in the Oncology Domain of the Veterans Affairs (VA) Corporate Data Warehouse and the Ohio Cancer Incidence Surveillance System, using brain tumors as an exemplar. METHODS We used direct data matching, on the basis of protected health information (PHI) common to both databases, to compare primary brain tumors from Veterans and non-Veterans diagnosed from 2000 to 2016. Working with this matched data set, we used six data elements that did not contain PHI, to assess the feasibility of using deterministic data matching to compare Veterans and non-Veterans. RESULTS Between 2000 and 2016, 223 Veterans from Ohio had a primary brain tumor; of those, 55 (25%) were not included in Ohio Cancer Incidence Surveillance System. Direct data matching showed that Veterans experienced a greater proportion of glioblastomas (41%) compared with non-Veterans (21%). Sex did not account for this difference. Deterministic data matching within the matched data set found that 75% (126 of 168) of Veterans had exact matches for at least five of six non-PHI variables common to both databases. CONCLUSION This study indicated that direct and deterministic data matching approaches to compare brain tumors in Veterans and in non-Veterans is feasible. This approach has the potential to promote comparisons of the distribution of tumors, the impact of chemical and environmental exposures, treatment trajectories, and clinical outcomes among Veteran and non-Veteran populations with brain tumors as well as other cancers and rare diseases.

Background Metabolic syndrome is identified as a risk factor for the development of several systemic cancers, but its frequency among patients with glioblastoma and its association with clinical outcomes have yet to be determined. The aim of this study was to investigate metabolic syndrome as a risk factor for and affecting survival in glioblastoma patients. Methods A retrospective cohort study, consisting of patients with diagnoses at a single institution between 2007 and 2013, was conducted. Clinical records were reviewed, and clinical and laboratory data pertaining to 5 metabolic criteria were extrapolated. Overall survival was determined by time from initial surgical diagnosis to date of death or last follow-up. Results The frequency of metabolic syndrome among patients diagnosed with glioblastoma was slightly greater than the frequency of metabolic syndrome among the general population. Within a subset of patients (n = 91) receiving the full schedule of concurrent radiation and temozolomide and adjuvant temozolomide, median overall survival was significantly shorter for patients with metabolic syndrome compared with those without. In addition, the presence of all 5 elements of the metabolic syndrome resulted in significantly decreased median survival in these patients. Conclusions We identified the metabolic syndrome at a slightly higher frequency in patients with diagnosed glioblastoma compared with the general population. In addition, metabolic syndrome with each of its individual components is associated with an overall worse prognosis in patients receiving the standard schedule of radiation and temozolomide after adjustment for age.

Rebeccamycin analog (RA) is an antitumor antibiotic with both topoisomerase I and II inhibiting activity. Topoisomerase inhibitors have demonstrated synergy with platinum agents. We performed a phase I trial of combination RA with oxaliplatin in patients with refractory solid tumors. RA was administered as a 1-hour infusion daily on days 1-5 with oxaliplatin administered on day 5. Cycles were repeated every 21 days. A total of 17 patients were enrolled. The MTD for RA was 80 mg/m(2)/d for five days along with oxaliplatin 130 mg/m(2) on day 5. Myelosuppression was a common occurrence but was mild except in one instance. Dose limiting toxicities included atrial fibrillation and hypophosphatemia. There was evidence of antitumor activity including 3 partial responses in patients with esophageal, gallbladder and hepato-cellular carcinoma; 5 additional patients had stable disease. Thus, the combination of RA and oxaliplatin is both tolerable and has evidence of clinical activity, but given the lack of significant activity for single agent RA across a variety of disease sites, it is unlikely to proceed to phase II development.

Background Brain metastasis is common in patients with malignant mela-noma and represents a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Nearly 37% of patients with malignant mela-noma eventually develop brain metastasis, and autopsy reports show that 75% of those who died of this disease developed brain metastasis. Methods We review the level I and level II evidence that guides indications for treatment with surgery, stereotactic radiosurgery, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy for patients with mela-noma brain metastasis. Results Level I evidence supports the role of whole brain radiotherapy, microsurgery, and radiosurgery alone or in combination for the treatment of patients with mela-noma brain metastasis. Chemotherapy has been ineffective. Ongoing studies continue to assess the effects of immunotherapy and agents in development. Conclusions Brain metastasis is a common and formidable challenge in patients with malignant melanoma. Although there have been no randomized controlled trials exclusively in patients with mela-noma brain metastasis, care can be guided by the application of level I evidence for the treatment of brain metastasis in general and phase II studies focusing specifically on mela-noma brain metastasis. Promising new agents and approaches are needed and will hopefully be identified in the near future.

Purpose: Pre-clinical models have demonstrated the benefit of metronomic schedules of cytotoxic chemotherapy combined with anti-angiogenic compounds. This trial was undertaken to determine the toxicity of a low dose regimen using docetaxel and thalidomide. Patients and Methods: Patients with advanced solid tumors were enrolled. Thalidomide 100mg twice daily was given with escalating doses of docetaxel from 10 to 30mg/m2/week. One cycle consisted of 12 consecutive weeks of therapy. The maximal tolerated dose (MTD) was defined as the dose of thalidomide along with docetaxel that caused ≤grade 1 non-hematologic or ≤grade 2 hematologic toxicity for cycle one. Results: Twenty-six patients were enrolled. Dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) were bradycardia, fatigue, fever, hyperbilirubinemia, leukopenia, myocardial infarction, and neutropenia. Prolonged freedom from disease progression was observed in 44.4% of the evaluable patients. Conclusions: This anti-angiogenic regimen was well tolerated and demonstrated clinical benefit. The recommended phase II dosing schedule is thalidomide 100mg twice daily with docetaxel 25mg/m2/week.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and the most malignant primary brain tumor in adults, accounting for ~12–15% of all intracranial neoplasms. Despite advances in surgical, medical and radiation therapies, the mortality of GBM remains high, with a median survival ranging between 40 and 70 weeks. Similar to other primary brain tumors, the extracranial metastasis of GBM is extremely rare, occurring in

Background. Src, EphA2, and platelet-derived growth factor receptors α and β are dysregulated in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Dasatinib is an oral multitarget tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets BCR-ABL, c-Src, c-KIT, platelet-derived growth factor receptor β, and EphA2. We conducted a phase II, single-arm study of dasatinib as first-line therapy in patients with metastatic PDAC. Methods. Dasatinib (100 mg twice a day, later reduced to 70 mg twice a day because of toxicities) was orally administered continuously on a 28-day cycle. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). Response was measured using the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) were also collected. Results. Fifty-one patients enrolled in this study. The median OS was 4.7 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.8–6.9 months). Median progression-free survival was 2.1 months (95% CI: 1.6–3.2 months). In 34 evaluable patients, the best response achieved was stable disease in 10 patients (29.4%). One patient had stable disease while on treatment for 20 months. The most common nonhematologic toxicities were fatigue and nausea. Edema and pleural effusions occurred in 29% and 6% of patients, respectively. The number of CTCs did not correlate with survival. Conclusion. Single-agent dasatinib does not have clinical activity in metastatic PDAC.