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Extra-osseous Ewing sarcoma (ES) is a rare and aggressive malignant tumor found in a variety of organs. Primary ES of the thyroid is exceedingly rare and few cases have been documented to date. We describe the case of a 54-year old woman with a history of breast carcinoma in whom a unique hypermetabolic left thyroid nodule was identified during a follow-up PET-CT scan. An ultrasound examination showed a hypoechogenic nodule of 3.7 cm. A cytological diagnosis of poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma was made, and a total thyroidectomy was performed. The surgical specimen revealed a poorly differentiated neoplasm composed of medium-sized cells with scant cytoplasm, expressing pancytokeratin, CD99 and NKX2.2 but lacking p63 and p40 expression. Molecular analysis revealed a EWSR1-FLI1 fusion transcript supporting the diagnosis of a primary extra-osseous ES of the thyroid. The patient received adjuvant chemotherapy and has no evidence of recurrent disease.

Purpose: The prognosis for patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC) is poor, and only a minority of patients benefit from checkpoint immunotherapy. Talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC), an oncolytic immunotherapy approved for advanced melanoma, in combination with pembrolizumab may yield enhanced antitumor activity over either agent alone. Patients and Methods: This was a phase Ib/III, multicenter trial testing intratumoral T-VEC combined with intravenous pembrolizumab in R/M HNSCC refractory to platinum-based chemotherapy. For phase Ib, primary endpoint was incidence of dose-limiting toxicity (DLT). Key secondary endpoints included objective response rate and progression-free survival per irRECIST, overall survival, and safety. Results: Thirty-six patients were enrolled into the phase Ib study. The data cut-off date was August 28, 2018. Median follow-up was 5.8 months (range, 0.3–24.2). One DLT of T-VEC–related fatal arterial hemorrhage was reported. Twenty (55.6%) and 21 (58.3%) patients experienced adverse events (AE) related to T-VEC and pembrolizumab, respectively. Besides the DLT, there were no treatment-related fatal AEs. A confirmed partial response was observed in 5 (13.9%) patients. Ten (27.8%) patients were unevaluable for response due to early death. Median PFS and OS were 3.0 months [95% confidence interval (Cl), 2.0–5.8] and 5.8 months (95% Cl, 2.9–11.4), respectively. Conclusions: The combination of T-VEC and pembrolizumab demonstrated a tolerable safety profile in R/M HNSCC. The efficacy with the combination was similar to that with pembrolizumab monotherapy in historical HNSCC studies. Phase III part of this study was not further pursued (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02626000).

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a worldwide pandemic with recurrences. Therefore, finding a vaccine for this virus became a priority for the scientific community. The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein has been described as the keystone for viral entry into cells and effective immune protection against SARS-CoV-2 is elicited by this protein. Consequently, many commercialized vaccines focus on the spike protein and require the use of an optimal adjuvant during vaccination. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) has demonstrated a powerful enhancement of acquired immunity against many pathogens when delivered in a sustained and local manner. In this context, we developed an encapsulated cell-based technology consisting of a biocompatible, semipermeable capsule for secretion of GM-CSF. In this study, we investigated whether murine GM-CSF (muGM-CSF) represents a suitable adjuvant for SARS-CoV-2 immunization, and which delivery strategy for muGM-CSF could be most beneficial. To test this, different groups of mice were immunized with intra-dermal (i.d.) electroporated spike DNA in the absence or presence of recombinant or secreted muGM-CSF. Results demonstrated that adjuvanting a spike DNA vaccine with secreted muGM-CSF resulted in enhancement of specific cellular and humoral immune responses against SARS-CoV-2. Our data also highlighted the importance of delivery strategies to the induction of cellular and humoral-mediated responses.

Background Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) affects health-related quality of life (HRQoL); few treatments have demonstrated clinically meaningful HRQoL benefit. KEYNOTE-040 evaluated pembrolizumab vs standard of care (SOC) in patients with recurrent and/or metastatic HNSCC whose disease recurred or progressed after platinum-containing regimen. Methods Patients received pembrolizumab 200 mg or SOC (methotrexate, docetaxel, or cetuximab). Exploratory HRQoL analyses used European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) 30 quality-of-life, EORTC 35-question quality-of-life head and neck cancer-specific module, and EuroQoL 5-dimensions questionnaires. Results The HRQoL population comprised 469 patients (pembrolizumab = 241, SOC = 228). HRQoL compliance for patients in the study at week 15 was 75.3% (116 of 154) for pembrolizumab and 74.6% (85 of 114) for SOC. The median time to deterioration in global health status (GHS) and QoL scores were 4.8 months with pembrolizumab and 2.8 months with SOC (hazard ratio = 0.79, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.59 to 1.05). At week 15, GHS / QoL scores were stable for pembrolizumab (least squares mean [LSM] = 0.39, 95% CI = –3.00 to 3.78) but worsened for SOC (LSM = −5.86, 95% CI = −9.68 to −2.04); the LSM between-group difference was 6.25 points (95% CI = 1.32 to 11.18; nominal 2-sided P = .01). A greater difference in the LSM for GHS / QoL score occurred with pembrolizumab vs docetaxel (10.23, 95% CI = 3.15 to 17.30) compared with pembrolizumab vs methotrexate (6.21, 95% CI = −4.57 to 16.99) or pembrolizumab vs cetuximab (−1.44, 95% CI = −11.43 to 8.56). Pembrolizumab-treated patients had stable functioning and symptoms at week 15, with no notable differences from SOC. Conclusions GHS / QoL scores were stable with pembrolizumab but declined with SOC in patients at week 15, supporting the clinically meaningful benefit of pembrolizumab in recurrent and/or metastatic HNSCC.

Patients with cancer experience a higher burden of SARS-CoV-2 infection, disease severity, complications, and mortality, than the general population. SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines are highly effective in the general population; however, few data are available on their efficacy in patients with cancer. Using a prospective cohort, we assessed the seroconversion rates and anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike protein antibody titers following the first and second dose of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in patients with cancer in US and Europe from January to April 2021. Among 131 patients, most (94%) achieved seroconversion after receipt of two vaccine doses. Seroconversion rates and antibody titers in patients with hematological malignancy were significantly lower than those with solid tumors. None of the patients with history of anti-CD-20 antibody in the 6 months before vaccination developed antibody response. Antibody titers were highest for clinical surveillance or endocrine therapy groups and lowest for cytotoxic chemotherapy or monoclonal antibody groups.

Recently an increasing number of new adenovirus types associated with type-dependent pathogenicity have been identified. However, identification of these clinical isolates represents the very first step to characterize novel pathogens. For deeper analyses, these adenoviruses need to be further characterized in basic virology experiments or they could be applied in translational research. To achieve this goal, it is essential to get genetic access and to enable genetic modification of these novel adenovirus genomes (deletion, insertion, and mutation). Here we demonstrate a high-throughput approach to get genetic access to new adenoviruses via homologous recombination. We first defined the cloning conditions regarding homology arm-length and input adenoviral genome amounts. Then we cloned four naturally occurring adenoviruses (Ad70, Ad73, Ad74, and Ad75) into easy-to-manipulate plasmids and genetically modified them by reporter gene insertion. Three recombinant adenoviruses (Ad70, Ad73, and Ad74) containing a reporter cassette were successfully reconstituted. These novel reporter-labeled adenoviruses were further characterized using the inserted luciferase reporter with respect to receptor usage, presence of anti-adenovirus antibodies, and tropism in vitro. The identified receptor usage, the relatively low prevalence of anti-adenovirus antibodies, and the various cancer cell line transduction pattern are important features of these new pathogens providing essential information for their therapeutic application.

Oncolytic adenoviruses (Ads) are promising tools for cancer therapeutics. However, most Ad-based therapies utilize Ad type 5 (Ad5), which displays unsatisfying efficiency in clinical trials, partly due to the low expression levels of its primary coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR) on tumor cells. Since the efficacy of virotherapy strongly relies on efficient transduction of targeted tumor cells, initial screening of a broad range of viral agents to identify the most effective vehicles is essential. Using a novel Ad library consisting of numerous human Ads representing known Ad species, we evaluated the transduction efficiencies in four breast cancer (BC) cell lines. For each cell line over 20 Ad types were screened in a high-throughput manner based on reporter assays. Ad types featuring high transduction efficiencies were further investigated with respect to the percentage of transgene-positive cells and efficiencies of cellular entry in individual cell lines. Additionally, oncolytic assay was performed to test tumor cell lysis efficacy of selected Ad types. We found that all analyzed BC cell lines show low expression levels of CAR, while alternative receptors such as CD46, DSG-2, and integrins were also detected. We identified Ad3, Ad35, Ad37, and Ad52 as potential candidates for BC virotherapy.

TO THE EDITOR: Treatment of proteasome inhibitor (PI)–refractory multiple myeloma (MM) is challenging, with response rates of only 15% to 35% being achieved with next-generation drugs such as pomalidomide, carfilzomib, and daratumumab, alone or in combination.[1][1][⇓][2]-[3][3] The oral HIV

Objective Platinum-based chemotherapy plus the anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody (mAb) cetuximab is used to treat recurrent/metastatic (RM) head-neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Recently, we defined Cluster3 gene-expression signature as a potential predictor of favorable progression-free survival (PFS) in cetuximab-treated RM-HNSCC patients and predictor of partial metabolic FDG-PET response in an afatinib window-of-opportunity trial. Another anti-EGFR-mAb (panitumumab) was used as the treatment agent in RM-HNSCC patients in the phase II PANI01trial. PANI01 tumor samples were analyzed using functional genomics to explore response predictors to anti-EGFR therapy. Materials and methods Whole-gene expression and real-time PCR analyses were applied to pre-treatment samples from 25 PANI01 patients. Three gene signatures (Cluster3 score, RAS onco-signature, microenvironment score) and seven selected miRNAs were separately analyzed for association with panitumumab efficacy. Results Cluster3 expression levels had a profile with a significant bimodal separation of samples (P = 3.08 E−13). Higher RAS activation, microenvironment score, and miRNA expression were associated with low-Cluster3 patients. The same biomarkers were separately associated with PFS. Patients with high-Cluster3 had significantly longer PFS than patients with low-Cluster3 (median PFS: 174 versus 51 days; log-rank P = 0.0021). ROC analysis demonstrated accuracy in predicting PFS (AUC = 0.877). Conclusions Despite differences in clinical settings and anti-EGFR inhibitors used for treatment, response prediction by the Cluster3 signature and selected miRNAs was essentially the same. Translation into a useful clinical assay requires validation in a broader setting.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a worldwide pandemic with at least 3.8 million deaths to date. For that reason, finding an efficient vaccine for this virus quickly became a global priority. The majority of vaccines now marketed are based on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that has been described as the keystone for optimal immunization. In order to monitor SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific humoral responses generated by immunization or infection, we have developed a robust and reproducible enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) protocol. This protocol describes a method for quantitative detection of IgG antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein using antigen-coated microtiter plates. Results showed that antibodies could be quantified between the range of 1.953 ng/mL to 500 ng/mL with limited inter- and intra-assay variability.

Summary Background There are few effective treatment options for patients with recurrent or metastatic head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma. Pembrolizumab showed antitumour activity and manageable toxicity in early-phase trials. We aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab versus standard-of-care therapy for the treatment of head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma. Methods We did a randomised, open-label, phase 3 study at 97 medical centres in 20 countries. Patients with head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma that progressed during or after platinum-containing treatment for recurrent or metastatic disease (or both), or whose disease recurred or progressed within 3–6 months of previous multimodal therapy containing platinum for locally advanced disease, were randomly assigned (1:1) in blocks of four per stratum with an interactive voice-response and integrated web-response system to receive pembrolizumab 200 mg every 3 weeks intravenously or investigator's choice of standard doses of methotrexate, docetaxel, or cetuximab intravenously (standard-of-care group). The primary endpoint was overall survival in the intention-to-treat population. Safety was analysed in the as-treated population. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02252042, and is no longer enrolling patients. Findings Between Dec 24, 2014, and May 13, 2016, 247 patients were randomly allocated to pembrolizumab and 248 were randomly allocated to standard of care. As of May 15, 2017, 181 (73%) of 247 patients in the pembrolizumab group and 207 (83%) of 248 patients in the standard-of-care group had died. Median overall survival in the intention-to-treat population was 8·4 months (95% CI 6·4–9·4) with pembrolizumab and 6·9 months (5·9–8·0) with standard of care (hazard ratio 0·80, 0·65–0·98; nominal p=0·0161). Fewer patients treated with pembrolizumab than with standard of care had grade 3 or worse treatment-related adverse events (33 [13%] of 246 vs 85 [36%] of 234). The most common treatment-related adverse event was hypothyroidism with pembrolizumab (in 33 [13%] patients) and fatigue with standard of care (in 43 [18%]). Treatment-related death occurred in four patients treated with pembrolizumab (unspecified cause, large intestine perforation, malignant neoplasm progression, and Stevens-Johnson syndrome) and two patients treated with standard of care (malignant neoplasm progression and pneumonia). Interpretation The clinically meaningful prolongation of overall survival and favourable safety profile of pembrolizumab in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma support the further evaluation of pembrolizumab as a monotherapy and as part of combination therapy in earlier stages of disease. Funding Merck Sharp & Dohme, a subsidiary of Merck & Co.

Background Modern techniques of radiotherapy are supposed to decrease the incidence of osteoradionecrosis of the mandible (ORNM). The purpose of this study was to compare the incidence of ORNM after intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in comparison to conventional 3D conformal radiotherapy techniques (conventional RT). Methods We conducted a retrospective study of consecutive unselected patients treated in a single institution between 2002 and 2012. To minimize confounding effects, only patients with oropharyngeal carcinoma without surgery of the primary site were included. Results The cohorts included 145 patients in the conventional RT group and 89 patients in the IMRT group. Total incidence rate of ORNM was similar for both groups with rates of 11% versus 10% (n = 16 for conventional RT and n = 9 for IMRT; p = 1.0). Subanalysis revealed more ORNM in T4 classified lesions with IMRT (p = .007). Analysis of different risk factors showed no statistically significant difference between ORNM and no-ORNM patients. Conclusion We found no reduction in ORNM with IMRT. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2016

An increasing number of older patients are suffering from aggressive lymphoma. Effective and more tolerable treatment regimens are urgently needed for this growing patient population. Patients with aggressive lymphoma not eligible for anthracycline-based first-line therapy or intensive salvage regimens were treated with the rituximab-bendamustine-lenalidomide (R-BL) regimen (rituximab 375 mg/m(2) day 1, bendamustine 70 mg/m(2) d 1, 2, lenalidomide 10 mg d 1-21) for six cycles every 4 weeks. Forty-one patients with a median age of 75 (range 40-94) years were enrolled: 33 patients had substantial co-morbidities. 13 patients were not eligible for anthracycline-based first-line chemotherapy, 28 patients had relapsed/refractory disease. The primary endpoint, overall response, was achieved by 25 (61%) patients (95% confidence interval 45-76%). Grade ≥ 3 toxicity comprised haematological (59%), skin (15%), constitutional (15%) and neurological (12%) events. 9 patients died during trial treatment: 5 from lymphoma progression, 2 from toxicity, 2 with sudden death. After a median follow-up of 25·9 (interquartile range 20·4-31·6) months, 13 patients were still alive. Median overall survival was 14·5 months. In conclusion, R-BL can be considered a treatment option for elderly patients with treatment naïve or relapsed/refractory aggressive lymphoma not eligible for standard aggressive regimens.

Denosumab has shown promising results in the management of giant cell tumor of bone, a primary bone tumor with locally aggressive behaviour. We report a case of premature denosumab interruption due to radiological and clinical tumor expansion of a giant cell tumor of the distal ulna. Although denosumab is known to induce tumor regression, with progressive ossification and loss of the characteristic morphology of giant cell tumor of bone, the ulnar tumor specimen showed a moderately to highly cellular proliferation of short spindle-shaped cells, and no osteoclast-like giant cells. There were no abnormal mitotic figures. We considered the surgical specimen as a giant cell tumor of bone with partial regression after prematurely interrupted denosumab treatment. This case illustrates the diagnostic issues of an initially unfavourable evolution raising concern for malignancy, and the difficulties in histological assessment of a partially treated giant cell tumor of bone, that may mimic osteosarcoma.

9016 Background: For patients (pts) with resectable stage IIIA(N2) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) neoadjuvant chemotherapy (chemo) with 3 cycles cisplatin (cis)/docetaxel (doc) followed by surgery is an accepted standard of care leading to a 1-year (yr) event-free survival (EFS) of 48% and a 5-yr overall survival (OS) of 37%. PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors have recently shown to lead to high response rates in resectable NSCLC. Methods: SAKK 16/14 is an open-label single-arm phase II study including 68 pts with resectable NSCLC stage IIIA(N2) (T1-3 N2 M0), irrespective of histological subtype, genomic aberrations or PD-L1 expression status. Neoadjuvant treatment consisted of 3 cycles of cis 100 mg/m2 and doc 85 mg/m2 q3w followed by 2 cycles of durvalumab 750 mg q2w. Durvalumab was continued after surgery q2w for 1 yr. The primary endpoint is EFS at 1 yr. The statistical hypothesis is to improve EFS at 1 yr from 48% based on the SAKK 16/00 study to 65%. Here, we report the primary endpoint and response data from 67 evaluable pts included in the study. Results: 68 pts were included from 06/16 to 01/19 and 67 pts (35 males, 32 females) were evaluable. Median age was 61 yrs (range, 41-74). 52 pts (77.6%) had a WHO PS of 0. 95.5% were current or former smokers. The majority of tumors were adenocarcinoma (55.2%) followed by squamous cell histology (32.8%). Clinical stage T1, T2 and T3 were present at diagnosis in 22.4%, 49.3% and 28.4%, respectively. 81.1% of pts underwent resection. The main reason for not undergoing surgery was disease progression (33.3%). Pneumonectomy was performed in 5 pts (9.1%), 43 pts underwent lobectomy and 7 pts bilobectomy. 30-day postoperative mortality was observed in one patient (1.8%). One patient died due to a bleeding complication after surgery most likely not related to neoadjuvant therapy. Radiographic response was 44.8% (95%CI: 32.6-57.4) after neoadjuvant chemo and 59.7% (95%CI: 46.4-71.9) after additional neoadjuvant immunotherapy. 1-yr EFS was 73.3% (90%CI: 62.5-81.4). Results for pathologic remission rate as well as correlation with PD-L1 status will be presented during the meeting. Conclusions: We report on treatment outcomes of the largest cohort of pts with resectable stage IIIA(N2) NSCLC receiving perioperative immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. The addition of perioperative durvalumab to standard of care cis/doc is safe and leads to a high response rate and a very encouraging 1-yr EFS rate that appears substantially higher than with chemo alone. Clinical trial information: NCT 02572843.

Background MBG453 and spartalizumab are humanized IgG4 mAbs that block binding of TIM-3 to PtdSer and PD-1 to PD-L1/2, respectively. In Ph I dose escalation, MBG453 + spartalizumab showed preliminary antitumor activity in advanced solid tumors. Here we report Ph II MBG453 + spartalizumab dose expansion in pts with NSCLC and melanoma (NCT02608268). Methods Pts with melanoma or NSCLC who had progressive disease (PD) on/after anti–PD-1/L1 therapy received MBG453 (800 mg, Q4W) + spartalizumab (400 mg, Q4W) until unacceptable toxicity, PD, or investigator/pt decision. On prior anti–PD-1/L1 therapy clinical benefit (CB) was defined as durable (DCB) if pts had a complete or partial response, or stable disease (SD) for ≥6 months, or non-durable (NDCB) if pts had SD for Results As of Feb 15, 2019, 33 pts received MBG453 + spartalizumab (melanoma: n = 16; NSCLC: n = 17); 5 (15.2%) pts were ongoing (melanoma: n = 3 [18.8%]; NSCLC: n = 2 [11.8%]); 28 (84.8%) pts discontinued, mainly due to PD (60.6%) and death due to underlying disease (12.1%). Anti–PD-1/L1 was the last therapy before enrollment in 21 (63.6%) pts (melanoma: n = 10 [62.5%]; NSCLC: n = 11 [64.7%]). On prior anti–PD-1/L1 therapy, 6 (37.5%) melanoma and 7 (41.2%) NSCLC pts had DCB and 10 (62.5%) melanoma and 9 (52.9%) NSCLC pts had NDCB; CB was unknown (UNK) in 1 NSCLC pt. On MBG453 + spartalizumab, 3/16 (18.8%) melanoma pts (prior anti-PD-1/L1: DCB n = 2; NDCB n = 1) and 7/17 (41.2%) NSCLC pts (prior anti-PD-1/L1: DCB n = 3; NDCB n = 3; UNK n = 1) had SD per RECIST 1.1. Baseline tumor PD-L1 appears higher in pts with SD vs PD. Data suggest a trend of inverse association between tumor reduction and CD163 tumor expression. Common treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were fatigue, nausea, and pruritus (n = 3 each [9.1%]); 0 melanoma and 2 (11.8%) NSCLC pts (pruritus, amylase, lipase, and increased ALT) had Grade 3/4 TRAEs. Conclusions MBG453 (800 mg, Q4W) + spartalizumab (400 mg, Q4W) was well tolerated but with limited efficacy in pts with melanoma and NSCLC who had PD on/after prior anti–PD-1/L1 therapy. Further evaluation of MBG453 in other indications/combinations is needed to assess the clinical relevance of TIM-3 inhibition. Editorial acknowledgement Jenny Winstanley, PhD, of Articulate Science Ltd. Legal entity responsible for the study Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Funding Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Disclosure G. Curigliano: Honoraria (self), Advisory Board: Novartis; Honoraria (self), Advisory Board: Roche; Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony, Expert talk: Pfizer; Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony, Expert talk: Eli Lilly; Advisory / Consultancy, Scientific consultation: Ellipsis. A. Santoro: Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: Takeda; Advisory / Consultancy, Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: BMS; Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: Roche; Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: AbbVie; Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: Amgen; Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: Celgene; Advisory / Consultancy, Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: Servier; Advisory / Consultancy, Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: Gilead; Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: AstraZencea; Advisory / Consultancy, Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: Pfizer; Advisory / Consultancy, Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: Arquile; Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: Lilly; Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: Sandoz; Advisory / Consultancy, Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: Eisai; Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: Novartis; Advisory / Consultancy, Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: Bayer; Advisory / Consultancy, Speaker Bureau / Expert testimony: MSD. D. Kim: Research grant / Funding (institution): Alpha Biopharm; Research grant / Funding (institution): AstraZeneca/MedImmune; Research grant / Funding (institution): Hanmi; Research grant / Funding (institution): Janssen; Research grant / Funding (institution): Merus; Research grant / Funding (institution): Mirati Therapeutics; Research grant / Funding (institution): MSD; Research grant / Funding (institution): Novartis; Research grant / Funding (institution): ONO Pharmaceutical; Research grant / Funding (institution): Pfizer; Research grant / Funding (institution): Roche/Genentech; Research grant / Funding (institution): Takeda; Research grant / Funding (institution): TP Therapeutics; Research grant / Funding (institution): Xcovery; Research grant / Funding (institution): Yuhan. S. Hodi: Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy, Research grant / Funding (institution): Bristol Mysers Squibb; Advisory / Consultancy: Merck; Advisory / Consultancy: EMD Serono; Advisory / Consultancy, Research grant / Funding (institution): Novartis; Advisory / Consultancy: Takeda; Advisory / Consultancy: Surface; Advisory / Consultancy: Genentech/Roche; Advisory / Consultancy: Compass Therapeutics; Advisory / Consultancy: Apricity; Advisory / Consultancy: Bayer; Advisory / Consultancy: Aduro; Advisory / Consultancy: Partners Therapeutics; Advisory / Consultancy: Sanofi; Advisory / Consultancy: Pfizer; Advisory / Consultancy: Pionyr; Advisory / Consultancy: 7 Hills Pharma; Advisory / Consultancy: Verastem; Advisory / Consultancy: Torque; Advisory / Consultancy: Rheos. T. Doi: Research grant / Funding (institution): Lilly ; Research grant / Funding (institution): Taiho; Research grant / Funding (institution): Novartis; Research grant / Funding (institution): Merck Serono; Research grant / Funding (institution): MSD; Research grant / Funding (institution): Boehringer Ingelheim ; Research grant / Funding (institution): Quintiles; Research grant / Funding (institution): Pfizer; Advisory / Consultancy, Research grant / Funding (institution): Dainippon Sumitomo; Research grant / Funding (institution): Kyowa Hakko Kirin; Advisory / Consultancy, Research grant / Funding (institution): Daiichi Sankyo; Research grant / Funding (institution): BMS; Advisory / Consultancy, Research grant / Funding (institution): AbbVie; Advisory / Consultancy, Research grant / Funding (institution): Takeda; Advisory / Consultancy: Otsuka. T. Longmire: Full / Part-time employment: Novartis. H. Sun: Full / Part-time employment: Novartis. A. Xyrafas: Full / Part-time employment: Novartis. S. Gutzwiller: Shareholder / Stockholder / Stock options, Full / Part-time employment: Novartis. L. Manenti: Shareholder / Stockholder / Stock options, Full / Part-time employment: Novartis. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Chordoma is a rare tumor of notochordal origin, currently principally treated by surgery and/or irradiation. Here, we describe the clinical outcome of 3 consecutive patients with metastatic and locally advanced chordoma, treated with different immunotherapeutic approaches. All patients presented fast growing tumors and failure of standard therapies. One was treated with a tumor-based vaccine, the 2 others with anti-PD1 antibodies, all with impressive clinical and radiological responses. We therefore propose that chordoma is an immunogenic tumor and thus that translational and clinical research is necessary to develop rationally designed immunotherapy approaches.

Background Pemetrexed and bevacizumab as single agents have been approved for maintenance therapy after platinum-based induction in patients with advanced nonsquamous non–small-cell lung cancer. It is currently unknown whether bevacizumab plus pemetrexed is superior to pemetrexed alone. Patients and Methods We conducted a nonrandomized phase II trial with 2 sequential cohorts. In the first cohort, 77 patients were treated with 4 cycles of cisplatin, bevacizumab, and pemetrexed every 3 weeks, followed by bevacizumab plus pemetrexed maintenance until progression. In the second cohort, we treated 52 patients without bevacizumab, using maintenance with pemetrexed alone. Progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), overall response rate (ORR), adverse events, and the treatment costs of the 2 cohorts were compared. Results The median PFS from the time of registration was 6.9 months in cohort 1 and 5.6 months in cohort 2. The ORR was 62.3% in cohort 1% and 44.2% in cohort 2. The PFS (hazard ratio, 0.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.5-1.0; P = .041) and ORR (odds ratio, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.0-4.3; P = .049) were better in cohort 1 than in cohort 2. No OS difference was found (hazard ratio, 1.0; 95% CI, 0.7-1.6; P = .890) after a median follow-up period of 47 months for cohort 1 and 27 months for cohort 2. The rate of grade ≥ 3 adverse events was greater in cohort 1. The treatment costs per patient were on average 1.4 times greater for cohort 1. Conclusion The addition of bevacizumab increased the ORR and PFS, but not OS, in our nonrandomized trial. Furthermore, the addition of bevacizumab was associated with greater toxicity and higher costs.

PURPOSE Survivin is a member of the inhibitor-of-apoptosis family. Essential for tumor cell survival and overexpressed in most cancers, survivin is a promising target for anti-cancer immunotherapy. Immunogenicity has been demonstrated in multiple cancers. Nonetheless, few clinical trials have demonstrated survivin-vaccine-induced immune responses. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN This phase I trial was conducted to test whether vaccine EMD640744, a cocktail of five HLA class I-binding survivin peptides in Montanide(®) ISA 51 VG, promotes anti-survivin T-cell responses in patients with solid cancers. The primary objective was to compare immunologic efficacy of EMD640744 at doses of 30, 100, and 300 μg. Secondary objectives included safety, tolerability, and clinical efficacy. RESULTS In total, 49 patients who received ≥2 EMD640744 injections with available baseline- and ≥1 post-vaccination samples [immunologic-diagnostic (ID)-intention-to-treat] were analyzed by ELISpot- and peptide/MHC-multimer staining, revealing vaccine-activated peptide-specific T-cell responses in 31 patients (63 %). This cohort included the per study protocol relevant ID population for the primary objective, i.e., T-cell responses by ELISpot in 17 weeks following first vaccination, as well as subjects who discontinued the study before week 17 but showed responses to the treatment. No dose-dependent effects were observed. In the majority of patients (61 %), anti-survivin responses were detected only after vaccination, providing evidence for de novo induction. Best overall tumor response was stable disease (28 %). EMD640744 was well tolerated; local injection-site reactions constituted the most frequent adverse event. CONCLUSIONS Vaccination with EMD640744 elicited T-cell responses against survivin peptides in the majority of patients, demonstrating the immunologic efficacy of EMD640744.

Background: MBG453 and spartalizumab, humanized IgG4 mAbs, block binding of TIM-3 to PtdSer and PD-1 to PD-L1/2, respectively. Preclinical studies show synergistic anti-tumor activity of TIM-3 and PD-1 co-blockade. Here we report the dose escalation results from a Ph I-Ib/II study of MBG453 ± spartalizumab in metastatic solid tumors (NCT02608268). Methods: Metastatic cancer pts received intravenous MBG453 alone at 80-1200 mg Q2W or Q4W, or combination therapy (Q2W/Q4W) with MBG453 (20-800/80-1200 mg) + spartalizumab (80-240 mg/80-400 mg). The recommended Ph II dose (RP2D) was determined using an adaptive Bayesian logistic regression model guided by escalation with overdose control together with Ph I-Ib endpoints (dose-limiting toxicity [DLT] at 8 weeks). Results: As of July 26, 2018, 87 pts received MBG453 alone (14% were anti-PD-1/PD-L1 pre-treated; common tumors [≥9%]: pancreatic cancer [11%], sarcoma [10%], and colorectal cancer [CRC; 9%]) and 86 pts received MBG453 + spartalizumab (27% were anti-PD-1/PD-L1 pre-treated; common tumors [≥6%]: melanoma [8%], NSCLC [7%], CRC [7%], and ovarian cancer [6%]). One DLT (myasthenia gravis grade [G] 4) was reported in a pt with thymoma treated with MBG453 (240 mg Q4W) + spartalizumab (80 mg Q4W). Treatment-related adverse events (AEs) were reported in 40% and 59% of pts treated with MBG453 and MBG453 + spartalizumab, and G3/4 AEs in 0% and 11% of pts; the most common AE (≥10%) was fatigue in 10% and 15% of pts, respectively. MBG453 exposure generally increased in a dose-proportional manner. Maximum tolerated doses were not identified with the tested dose/schedule. MBG453 800 mg Q4W (n=9 pts treated) and MBG453 800 mg + spartalizumab 400 mg Q4W (n=6 pts treated) were declared as RP2Ds. Stable disease (SD) was seen in 25/87 (29%) pts treated with MBG453 alone (common tumors [≥2 pts]: sarcoma [n=5], and breast cancer, CRC, ovarian cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, and NSCLC [n=2 pts each]); 4 of 25 pts with SD were anti-PD-1/PD-L1 pre-treated. Of 86 MBG453 + spartalizumab pts, partial responses were seen in 4 pts (5%); 1 anti-PD-1/PD-L1 pre-treated pt (out of 6 with NSCLC; DOR: 392 d), 3 anti-PD-1/PD-L1 naïve pts (CRC [n=2 out of 6, DOR: 223 d, 109 d]; SCLC [n=1 out of 3; DOR: 112 d]). SD was seen in 34/86 (40%) MBG453 + spartalizumab pts (common tumors [≥3 pts]: melanoma [n=5; 2 cutaneous, 2 uveal, and 1 non-cutaneous], ovarian cancer [n=3], and urothelial carcinoma [n=3]); 10 of 34 pts with SD were anti-PD-1/PD-L1 pre-treated. RNAseq analysis of screening and on-treatment biopsies revealed a pharmacodynamic trend of increased IFN-γ-associated gene signatures following MBG453 + spartalizumab treatment. Conclusions: MBG453 + spartalizumab was well tolerated with preliminary signs of anti-tumor activity. MBG453 800 mg Q4W and MBG453 800 mg + spartalizumab 400 mg Q4W were selected as the RP2Ds; dose expansion is ongoing in pts with melanoma or NSCLC resistant to anti-PD-1/PD-L1. Citation Format: Giuseppe Curigliano, Hans Gelderblom, Nicolas Mach, Toshihiko Doi, Wai Meng David Tai, Patrick Forde, John Sarantopoulos, Philippe L. Bedard, Chia-Chi Lin, Stephen Hodi, Sofie Wilgenhof, Armando Santoro, Catherine Sabatos-Peyton, Tyler Longmire, Kitty Wan, Panagiotis Nikolopoulos, Luigi Manenti, Aung Naing. Phase (Ph) I/II study of MBG453± spartalizumab (PDR001) in patients (pts) with advanced malignancies [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr CT183.

e20661 Background: FGFR1 gene amplifications are observed in squamous (sq) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and may suggest tractable oncogenic dependency. However, their value in predicting clinical activity of FGFR inhibitors is unclear. We explored tumor FGFR1-3 mRNA expression levels to select patients (pts) for treatment with rogaratinib, an oral, potent, small-molecule inhibitor of FGFR1-4. The first-in-human study of rogaratinib included pts with all NSCLC histologies. Methods: Pts with refractory advanced NSCLC were screened for elevated FGFR1-3 mRNA levels by RNA in situ hybridization (RNAscope) and NanoString assay in fresh or archival tumor samples, and FGFR1-3 overexpression was defined by pre-specified cut-offs. Pts received rogaratinib 800 mg BID on a continuous 21-day cycle. Tumor response was assessed by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors v1.1 after cycles 2, 5, and 8. Results: 260 NSCLC biopsies were screened for FGFR1-3 tumor mRNA expression; 244 (93.8%) were evaluable. FGFR1-3 mRNA overexpression was found in 47% of sq NSCLC, and only 14% of non-sq NSCLC, with FGFR3 being the most commonly overexpressed subtype. 40 FGFR mRNA-positive pts were enrolled and treated. Rogaratinib was well tolerated; hyperphosphatemia (75%), diarrhea (53%), and decreased appetite (35%) were the most frequent treatment-emergent adverse events. Events were mostly mild or moderate. 36 treated pts were evaluable for response. The overall response rate was 5.6% (2 partial responses, 1 lasting for > 16 months). Disease control rate was 64%. Disease stabilization was seen in pts with mRNA overexpression across all FGFR subtypes and also in pts who failed prior lines of therapy, including anti-PD-L1. Molecular studies are ongoing to identify additional predictors of response to improve pt selection. Conclusions: Rogaratinib has a favorable safety and tolerability profile and clinical activity in pts with refractory FGFR1-3 tumor mRNA-positive NSCLC. It has potential for further exploration in combination with other agents. A clinical trial is currently enrolling FGFR mRNA-overexpressing pts with advanced and pre-treated sq NSCLC. Clinical trial information: NCT03762122.

6026 Background: The open-label, randomized, phase 3 KEYNOTE-040 study (NCT02252042) showed that pembro vs standard of care (SOC) chemotherapy prolonged survival in patients (pts) with recurrent and/or metastatic HNSCC whose disease progressed during/after platinum-based therapy. Post hoc analyses were conducted to evaluate pembro vs SOC by prior RT and disease state (metastatic, locoregionally recurrent [referred to as recurrent herein], or recurrent and metastatic [R/M]). Methods: Pts (N = 495) were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive pembro (200 mg Q3W) or investigator choice of methotrexate (40 mg/m2 QW), docetaxel (75 mg/m2 Q3W), or cetuximab (400 mg/m2 loading dose, then 250 mg/m2 QW). Primary end point was OS; PFS and ORR were secondary end points. Results: 175, 97, and 195 pts had metastatic, recurrent, and R/M disease, respectively (28 pts had unknown disease state); 64 pts had no prior RT; 431 pts had prior RT. As in the ITT population, prolonged survival benefit and trend toward improved PFS and ORR was observed with pembro vs SOC in pts with prior RT (Table), and prolonged survival benefit was observed with pembro vs SOC in pts with metastatic and R/M, but not recurrent, disease. Conclusions: In this post hoc analysis, patients with prior RT benefited from treatment with pembro vs SOC. For patients without RT, sample sizes are too small to draw any definitive conclusions. Survival benefit of pembro vs SOC was observed in pts with metastatic and R/M disease. Clinical trial information: NCT02252042. [Table: see text]

Background: It was known that survival data were outstanding on several patients (pts) when the final analysis of the multinational, open-label, phase 3 KEYNOTE-040 study (NCT02252042) of pembro vs SOC for recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC) was performed. This abstract presents OS and PFS data using the same data cutoff date but with full survival acquisition. Methods: 495 pts with SCC of the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, or larynx who had recurrence or PD after a platinum-containing regimen were randomized 1:1 to pembro 200 mg Q3W for 24 mo or investigator's choice of methotrexate, docetaxel, or cetuximab. Primary end point was OS in the ITT population. Key secondary end points included OS in the PD-L1 combined positive score (CPS) ≥1 population and PFS in the ITT and CPS ≥1 populations. OS and PFS in the PD-L1 tumor proportion score (TPS) ≥50% population were prespecified exploratory end points. Response was assessed per RECIST v1.1 by blinded, independent central review. Results: With full acquisition of survival data, HR was 0.80 (95% CI, 0.65-0.98) (nominal P = 0.0161) for OS and 0.96 (95% CI, 0.79-1.16) (nominal P = 0.33) for PFS in the ITT population. Median (95% CI) OS was 8.4 mo (6.4-9.4) for pembro vs 6.9 mo (5.9-8.0) for SOC; median PFS was 2.1 mo (2.1-2.3) vs 2.3 mo (2.1-2.8). Pembro benefit was greater in pts with PD-L1 CPS ≥1 and TPS ≥50% (Table). Conclusions: Pembro provided a clinically meaningful prolongation of OS compared with SOC in pts with R/M HNSCC. With full acquisition of survival data and compared with the previous analysis, the HR for OS decreased from 0.81 to 0.80, and the P value decreased from 0.0204 to 0.0161. There continued to be an enhanced benefit for pembro in pts with PD-L1–expressing tumors. Along with previously presented safety data, these results provide stronger support for the benefit of pembro in pts with R/M HNSCC. Table. OS and PFS in the PD-L1 CPS ≥1 and TPS ≥50% Populations CPS ≥1TPS ≥50%Pembron = 196SOCn = 191Pembro n = 64SOCn = 65OSMedian (95% CI), mo8.7 (6.9-11.4)7.1 (5.7-8.3)11.6(8.3-19.5)6.6(4.8-9.2)HR (95% CI)0.74 (0.58-0.93)0.53 (0.35-0.81)Pa0.00490.0014PFSMedian (95% CI), mo2.2 (2.1-3.0)2.3 (2.1-3.0)3.5(2.1-6.3)2.1(2.0-2.4)HR (95% CI)0.86 (0.69-1.06)0.58 (0.39-0.86)Pa0.080.003aNominal one-sided P value stratified by the randomization stratification factors. Citation Format: Denis Soulieres, Ezra Cohen, Christophe Le Tourneau, Jose Dinis, Lisa Licitra, Myung-Ju Ahn, Ainara Soria, Jean-Pascal Machiels, Nicolas Mach, Ranee Mehra, Barbara Burtness, Pingye Zhang, Jonathan Cheng, Ramona Swaby, Kevin J. Harrington. Updated survival results of the KEYNOTE-040 study of pembrolizumab vs standard-of-care chemotherapy for recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr CT115.

6036Background: We evaluated the safety and efficacy of the combo of T-VEC, the first FDA-approved oncolytic immunotherapy that enhances systemic antitumor immune responses, and Pembro, an immune c...

6013Background: In KEYNOTE-040 (NCT02252042) (N = 495), pembro 200 mg Q3W for 24 mo yielded a clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival over SOC choice of methotrexate (Mtx), docetaxel ...

Previous cancer vaccination trials often aimed to activate CD8+ cytotoxic T-cell (CTL) responses with short (8–10mer) peptides and targeted CD4+ helper T cells (TH) with HLA class II–binding longer peptides (12–16 mer) that were derived from tumor antigens. Accordingly, a study of immunomonitoring focused on the detection of CTL responses to the short, and TH responses to the long, peptides. The possible induction of concurrent TH responses to short peptides was widely neglected. In a recent phase I vaccination trial, 53 patients with different solid cancers were vaccinated with EMD640744, a cocktail of five survivin-derived short (9- or 10-mer) peptides in Montanide ISA 51VG. We monitored 49 patients and found strong CD8+ T-cell responses in 63% of the patients. In addition, we unexpectedly found CD4+ TH cell responses against at least two of the five short peptides in 61% (23/38) of the patients analyzed. The two peptides were recognized by HLA-DP4– and HLA-DR–restricted TH1 cells. Some short peptide–reactive (sp)CD4 T cells showed high functional avidity. Here, we show that a short peptide vaccine is able to activate a specific CD4+ T-cell repertoire in many patients, facilitating a strong combined CD4+/CD8+ T-cell response. Cancer Immunol Res; 4(1); 18–25. ©2015 AACR.

Lessons Learned Panitumumab shows activity in terms of disease control rate and preventing disease progression but not for tumor shrinkage in head and neck squamous cell cancer for second-line treatment. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) copy number gain, a property of tumor cells that theoretically could identify patients more likely to experience disease response, was common among patients having disease control. Our trial, given the lower toxicity with an every-2-week schedule, provides guidance for future trials, for example, in combinations of immune therapies and anti-EGFR-antibodies. Background The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of panitumumab (anti-epidermal growth factor receptor [EGFR] antibody) given as a single agent in platinum-pretreated head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC). Methods Patients with advanced HNSCC previously treated with platinum-containing therapy were included. Panitumumab was administered intravenously every 2 weeks at a dose of 6 mg/kg. Primary endpoint was overall response rate (ORR) according to Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (RECIST) version 1.1; secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and safety. A Simon's two-step design was chosen; 4 partial remissions (PR) in the first 32 patients were required for continuing to step two. An exploratory biomarker analysis was performed. Results Thirty-three patients were enrolled. Two patients obtained a PR for an ORR of 6%, and 15 (45%) showed stable disease (SD) for at least 2 months, resulting in a 51% disease control rate. Median PFS was 2.6 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.7–3.7), while median OS was 9.7 months (95% CI: 6.3–17.2). The most frequent adverse drug reactions were cutaneous rash (64%) and hypomagnesemia (55%). Overall, 30% of patients experienced grade 3/4 adverse events. No infusion-related reactions occurred. EGFR copy number gain (CNG) was more frequent in patients who benefitted from panitumumab. Two uncommon KRAS mutations (G48E, T50I) and 3 canonical PIK3CA mutations (all E545K) were detected. High-risk HPV16 was found in 10 patients and EGFR CNG in 13 treated patients. EGFR CNG seems to be more frequent in individuals with at least SD compared with patients with progressive disease (59% vs. 30%). PFS for patients with EGFR CNG was 4.6 months (95% CI: 1.0–9.2 months) and 1.9 months (95% CI: 1.0–3.2 months) for patients without CNG (p = .02). Conclusion Panitumumab monotherapy in pretreated HNSCC patients was well tolerated but moderately active. We observed a considerable disease control rate. Future strategies with this agent comprise right patient selection through the identification of reliable biomarkers and gene signatures predicting response and, considering good tolerability and convenience, combination strategies with novel agents and immune therapeutic agents.

Rationale: Proteasome inhibitor-refractory multiple myeloma (MM) patients are a difficult to treat population with a very poor prognosis. The activity of registered, current or next generation MM drugs (pomalidomide, carfilzomib, daratumumab) in heavily pretreated, proteasome inhibitor-refractory MM is in the range of 30%. The biology of proteasome inhibitor resistance is driven by adaptive downregulation of the unfolded protein response (UPR), which regulates plasma cell maturation and sensitivity to proteasome inhibitor treatment (Leung-HagesteijnC. et al., Cancer Cell 2013 Sep 9;24(3):289-304). The oral HIV protease inhibitor nelfinavir (NFV) has anti-MM activity in vivo, triggers UPR activation, sensitizes MM to proteasome inhibitors and overcomes proteasome inhibitor resistance in vitro. Combination therapy with NFV and bortezomib (BTZ) showed UPR activation in vivo and strong signals of activity in bortezomib-refractory MM in the SAKK 65/08 phase I trial (Driessen C. et al.,Haematologica 2016 Mar;101(3):346-55). Objective: We performed a prospective, multicenter phase II trial to assess the activity ofnelfinavir,bortezomiband dexamethasone (NVd) in proteasome inhibitor-refractory MM. Methods: Patients with progressing, measurable, proteasome inhibitor-refractory MM (IMWG criteria) were included in this multicenter phase II trial. Further selection criteria included WHO performance status ≤ 3, platelets ≥ 50 x 109/L, hemoglobin ≥ 80 g/L (both may be achieved by transfusion) and adequate hepatic function. Concomitant use of other anti-cancer medication or radiotherapy, except for local pain control, was excluded. Patient age or prior number or types of therapy were not limited. Simon's two stage design was used to differentiate a promising activity (best response at any time point, partial response (PR) or better, ≥ 35 %) from an uninteresting activity (≤ 15% PR; power 80%, alpha 5%). Results: 34 patients were treated with oral nelfinavir 2500 mg days 1-14 b.i.d. in combination with bortezomib + dexamethasone (BTZ 1.3 mg/m2 days 1, 4, 8, 11, dexamethasone 20 mg p.o. days 1-2, 4-5, 8-9, 11-12) for a maximum of 6 21-day cycles at 9 SAKK trial sites throughout Switzerland. Patients (median age 67.5 years, range 42-82 years) had a median of 5 (range 2-12) prior therapy lines, 26 (76%) patients had prior high dose chemotherapy, and 13 (39%) had known poor prognosis cytogenetic abnormalities. All treated patients had proteasome inhibitor refractory MM according to IMWG criteria, i.e. they had progressed during or within 60 days after adequately dosed proteasome inhibitor-containing therapy. Moreover, 26 (76%) patients werelenalidomide-refractory by IMWG criteria (double refractory). Trial therapy is still ongoing in 2 patients. The median number of treatment cycles delivered per patient is 4. 22 patients achieved an objective response with a PR or better, resulting in an overall response rate (OR) of 65% (90% CI 49.2%-75.7%) to date. VGPR was reached in 5 patients, PR in 17 patients, MR in 3 patients, SD in 4 patients and PD in 3. Inpatients double-refractory for proteasome inhibitors andlenalidomide, the OR was 69%, in patients with poor prognosis cytogenetic abnormalities it was 77%. The OR was independent from the number of prior therapy lines (OR rate 69% with < 5 prior therapy lines, OR rate 61% with ≥ 5 prior lines). Most frequent > grade (G) 2 adverse events to date were anemia (G3 29%), thrombocytopenia (G3 24%, G4 18%), infections (G3 24%, G4 9%, G5 3%), hyperglycemia (G3 18%, G4 3%) and fatigue (G3 12%). Six patients maintained their PR or better for the full 6 cycles per protocol while on study. Four patients continuedNVd therapy on a compassionate use basis after completing the study. Updated final data will be provided at the meeting. Conclusion: Nelfinavir in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone (NVd) is a reasonable, active, safe and widely available treatment option for patients with proteasome inhibitor-refractory multiple myeloma. The objective response rate of 65% observed in this very advanced, heavily pretreated, mostly dual-refractory patient population is exceptional. Our results warrant further development of nelfinavir as a sensitizing drug for proteasome inhibitor-based treatments and promising new agent for MM therapy. Figure Maximum relative change in serum M-protein or serum free light chain concentration in individual evaluable patients. Figure. Maximum relative change in serum M-protein or serum free light chain concentration in individual evaluable patients. Disclosures Driessen: Mundipharma-EDO: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; celgene: Consultancy; janssen: Consultancy. Samaras:Celgene (Adboard, educational talk), Amgen (adboard), Takeda (Adboard), Roche (Adboard), Sanofi (Adboard), Novartis (Adboard): Consultancy, Honoraria. Zander:Bristol Myers, Celgene, Amgen, Mundipharma, Janssen-Cilag, Takeda Pharma: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

Small intestine plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) are poorly characterized. Here, we demonstrate that intestinal pDC show the characteristic plasma cell-like morphology, and are recognized by antibodies against B220, Ly6c, 120G8, and PDCA-1, markers that are typically expressed by pDC. Furthermore, intestinal pDC carry high levels of CCR9 and are largely absent in the intestine, but not in lung, liver, or secondary lymphoid organs of CCR9-deficient animals. Competitive adoptive transfers reveal that CCR9-deficient pDC are impaired in homing to the small intestine after i.v. transfer. In a model of cholera toxin-induced gut inflammation, pDC are recruited to the intestine in WT but not CCR9-deficient animals. Furthermore, after oral application of a Toll-like receptor (TLR) 7/8 ligand, myeloid DC of the lamina propria are rapidly mobilized in WT but not in CCR9-deficient animals. Mobilization of myeloid DC can be completely rescued by adoptively transferred WT pDC to CCR9-deficient mice before oral challenge. Together, our data reveal an essential role for CCR9 in the homing of pDC to the intestine under homeostatic and inflammatory conditions and demonstrate an important role for intestinal pDC for the rapid mobilization of lamina propria DC.