Search

Pre-clinically, the mTORC1/2 inhibitor sapanisertib restored sensitivity to platinums and enhanced paclitaxel-induced cancer cell killing. NCT03430882 enrolled patients with mTOR pathway aberrant tumors to receive sapanisertib, carboplatin and paclitaxel. Primary objective was safety and secondary objectives were clinical response and survival. One patient had a dose-limiting toxicity at dose level 4. There were no unanticipated toxicities. Grade 3-4 treatment-related adverse events included anemia (21%), neutropenia (21%), thrombocytopenia (10.5%), and transaminitis (5%). Of 17 patients evaluable for response, 2 and 11 patients achieved partial response and stable disease, respectively. Responders included a patient with unclassified renal cell carcinoma harboring EWSR1-POU5F1 fusion and a patient with castrate resistant prostate cancer harboring PTEN loss. Median progression free survival was 3.84 months. Sapanisertib in combination with carboplatin plus paclitaxel demonstrated a manageable safety profile, with preliminary antitumor activity observed in advanced malignancies harboring mTOR pathway alterations., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Over the past decade, multiple trials, including the precision medicine trial National Cancer Institute-Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice (NCI-MATCH, EAY131, NCT02465060) have sought to determine if treating cancer based on specific genomic alterations is effective, irrespective of the cancer histology. Although many therapies are now approved for the treatment of cancers harboring specific genomic alterations, most patients do not respond to therapies targeting a single alteration. Further, when antitumor responses do occur, they are often not durable due to the development of drug resistance. Therefore, there is a great need to identify rational combination therapies that may be more effective. To address this need, the NCI and National Clinical Trials Network have developed NCI-ComboMATCH, the successor to NCI-MATCH. Like the original trial, NCI-ComboMATCH is a signal-seeking study. The goal of ComboMATCH is to overcome drug resistance to single-agent therapy and/or utilize novel synergies to increase efficacy by developing genomically-directed combination therapies, supported by strong preclinical in vivo evidence. Although NCI-MATCH was mainly comprised of multiple single-arm studies, NCI-ComboMATCH tests combination therapy, evaluating both combination of targeted agents as well as combinations of targeted therapy with chemotherapy. Although NCI-MATCH was histology agnostic with selected tumor exclusions, ComboMATCH has histology-specific and histology-agnostic arms. Although NCI-MATCH consisted of single-arm studies, ComboMATCH utilizes single-arm as well as randomized designs. NCI-MATCH had a separate, parallel Pediatric MATCH trial, whereas ComboMATCH will include children within the same trial. We present rationale, scientific principles, study design, and logistics supporting the ComboMATCH study., (©2023 The Authors; Published by the American Association for Cancer Research.)

Detection of methylation patterns in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) can offer a novel approach for cancer diagnostics given the unique signature for each tumor type. We developed a next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based assay targeting 32 CpG sites to detect colorectal cancer-specific ctDNA. NGS was performed on bisulfite-converted libraries and status dichotomization was done using median methylation ratios at all targets. We included plasma samples from patients with metastatic colorectal (n = 20) and non-colorectal cancers (n = 8); and healthy volunteers (n = 4). Median methylation ratio was higher in colorectal cancer compared with non-colorectal cancers (P = .001) and normal donors (P = .005). The assay detected ctDNA in 85% of patients with colorectal cancer at a specificity of 92%. Notably, we were able to detect methylated ctDNA in 75% of patients in whom ctDNA was not detected by other methods. Detection of methylated ctDNA was associated with shorter median progression-free survival compared to non-detection (8 weeks versus 54 weeks; P = .027)., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press.)

Deficiency of MTAP (MTAP def ) mainly occurs because of homozygous loss of chromosome 9p21, which is the most common copy-number loss in metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC). We characterized the clinical and genomic features of MTAP def mUC in 193 patients treated at MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) and 298 patients from the phase 2 IMvigor210 trial, which investigated atezolizumab in cisplatin-ineligible and platinum-refractory disease. In the MDACC cohort, visceral metastases were significantly more common for MTAP def (n = 48) than for MTAP-proficient (MTAP prof ; n = 145) patients (75% vs 55.2%; p = 0.02). MTAP def was associated with poor prognosis (median overall survival [mOS] 12.3 vs 20.2 mo; p = 0.007) with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.93 (95% confidence interval 1.35-2.98). Similarly, IMvigor210 patients with MTAP lo (n = 29) had a higher incidence of visceral metastases than those with MTAP hi tumors (n = 269; 86.2% vs 72.5%; p = 0.021) and worse prognosis (mOS 8.0 vs 11.3 mo; p = 0.042). Hyperplasia-associated genes were more frequently mutated in MTAP def tumors (FGFR3: 31% vs 8%; PI3KCA: 31% vs 19%), while alterations in dysplasia-associated genes were less common in MTAP def tumors (TP53: 41% vs 67%; RB1: 0% vs 16%). Our findings support a distinct biology in MTAP def mUC that is associated with early visceral disease and worse prognosis. PATIENT SUMMARY: We investigated the outcomes for patients with the most common gene loss (MTAP gene) in metastatic cancer of the urinary tract. We found that this loss correlates with worse prognosis and a higher risk of metastasis in internal organs. There seems to be distinct tumor biology for urinary tract cancer with MTAP gene loss and this could be a potential target for treatment., (Copyright © 2021 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: The ACOSOG Z1031 trial addressed the ability of three neoadjuvant aromatase inhibitors (NAIs) to reduce residual disease (cohort A) and to assess whether switching to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT) after 4 weeks of receiving NAI with Ki67 greater than 10% increases pathologic complete response (pCR) in postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor-enriched (Allred score 6-8) breast cancer (BC)., Methods: The study enrolled 622 women with clinical stage 2 or 3 estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) BC. Cohort A comprised 377 patients, and cohort B had 245 patients. The analysis cohort consisted of 509 patients after exclusion of patients who did not meet the trial eligibility criteria, switched to NCT or surgery due to 4-week Ki67 greater than 10%, or withdrew before surgery. Distribution of time to local-regional recurrence (LRR) was estimated using the competing-risk approach, in which distant recurrence and second primaries were considered to be competing-risk events. Patients who died without LRR, distant recurrence, or a second primary were censored at the last evaluation., Results: Of the 509 patients, 342 (67.2%) had breast-conserving surgery (BCS). Of 221 patients thought to require mastectomy at presentation, 50% were able to have BCS. Five (1%) patients had no residual disease in the breast or nodes at surgery. Among 382 women alive at this writing, 90% have been followed longer than 5 years. The 5-year cumulative incidence rate for LRR is estimated to be 1.53% (95% confidence interval 0.7-3.0%)., Conclusions: Rarely does NAI result in pCR for patients with stage 2 or 3 ER+ BC. However, a significant proportion will have downstaged to allow for BCS. Local-regional recurrence after surgery is uncommon (1.5% at 5 years), supporting the use of BCS after NAI., (© 2023. Society of Surgical Oncology.)

Purpose: Preclinical cancer models harboring CCNE1 amplification were more sensitive to adavosertib treatment, a WEE1 kinase inhibitor, than models without amplification. Thus, we conducted this phase II study to assess the antitumor activity of adavosertib in patients with CCNE1 -amplified, advanced refractory solid tumors., Patients and Methods: Patients aged ≥ 18 years with measurable disease and refractory solid tumors harboring CCNE1 amplification, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0-1, and adequate organ function were studied. Patients received 300 mg of adavosertib once daily on days 1 through 5 and 8 through 12 of a 21-day cycle. The trial followed Bayesian optimal phase II design. The primary end point was objective response rate (ORR)., Results: Thirty patients were enrolled. The median follow-up duration was 9.9 months. Eight patients had partial responses (PRs), and three had stable disease (SD) ≥ 6 months, with an ORR of 27% (95% CI, 12 to 46), a SD ≥ 6 months/PR rate of 37% (95% CI, 20 to 56), a median progression-free survival duration of 4.1 months (95% CI, 1.8 to 6.4), and a median overall survival duration of 9.9 months (95% CI, 4.8 to 15). Fourteen patients with epithelial ovarian cancer showed an ORR of 36% (95% CI, 13 to 65) and SD ≥ 6 months/PR of 57% (95% CI, 29 to 82), a median progression-free survival duration of 6.3 months (95% CI, 2.4 to 10.2), and a median overall survival duration of 14.9 months (95% CI, 8.9 to 20.9). Common treatment-related toxicities were GI, hematologic toxicities, and fatigue., Conclusion: Adavosertib monotherapy demonstrates a manageable toxicity profile and promising clinical activity in refractory solid tumors harboring CCNE1 amplification, especially in epithelial ovarian cancer. Further study of adavosertib, alone or in combination with other therapeutic agents, in CCNE1 -amplified epithelial ovarian cancer is warranted.

Combined BRAF + MEK inhibition is FDA approved for BRAF V600E-mutant solid tumors except for colorectal cancer. However, beyond MAPK mediated resistance several other mechanisms of resistance such as activation of CRAF, ARAF, MET, P13K/AKT/mTOR pathway exist among other complex pathways. In the VEM-PLUS study, we performed a pooled analysis of four phase one studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of vemurafenib monotherapy and vemurafenib combined with targeted therapies (sorafenib, crizotinib, or everolimus) or carboplatin plus paclitaxel in advanced solid tumors harboring BRAF V600 mutations. When vemurafenib monotherapy was compared with the combination regimens, no significant differences in OS or PFS durations were noted, except for inferior OS in the vemurafenib and paclitaxel and carboplatin trial (P = 0.011; HR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.22-4.7) and in crossover patients (P = 0.0025; HR, 2.089; 95% CI, 1.2-3.4). Patients naïve to prior BRAF inhibitors had statistically significantly improved OS at 12.6 months compared to 10.4 months in the BRAF therapy refractory group (P = 0.024; HR, 1.69; 95% CI 1.07-2.68). The median PFS was statistically significant between both groups, with 7 months in the BRAF therapy naïve group compared to 4.7 months in the BRAF therapy refractory group (P = 0.016; HR, 1.80; 95% CI 1.11-2.91). The confirmed ORR in the vemurafenib monotherapy trial (28%) was higher than that in the combination trials. Our findings suggest that, compared with vemurafenib monotherapy, combinations of vemurafenib with cytotoxic chemotherapy or with RAF- or mTOR-targeting agents do not significantly extend the OS or PFS of patients who have solid tumors with BRAF V600E mutations. Gaining a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of BRAF inhibitor resistance, balancing toxicity and efficacy with novel trial designs are warranted., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

HER2 mutations are infrequent genomic events in biliary tract cancers (BTCs). Neratinib, an irreversible, pan-HER, oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor, interferes with constitutive receptor kinase activation and has activity in HER2-mutant tumours. SUMMIT is an open-label, single-arm, multi-cohort, phase 2, 'basket' trial of neratinib in patients with solid tumours harbouring oncogenic HER2 somatic mutations (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01953926). The primary objective of the BTC cohort, which is now complete, is first objective response rate (ORR) to neratinib 240 mg orally daily. Secondary objectives include confirmed ORR, clinical benefit rate, progression-free survival, duration of response, overall survival, safety and tolerability. Genomic analyses were exploratory. Among 25 treatment-refractory patients (11 cholangiocarcinoma, 10 gallbladder, 4 ampullary cancers), the ORR is 16% (95% CI 4.5-36.1%). The most common HER2 mutations are S310F (n = 11; 48%) and V777L (n = 4; 17%). Outcomes appear worse for ampullary tumours or those with co-occurring oncogenic TP53 and CDKN2A alterations. Loss of amplified HER2 S310F and acquisition of multiple previously undetected oncogenic co-mutations are identified at progression in one responder. Diarrhoea is the most common adverse event, with any-grade diarrhoea in 14 patients (56%). Although neratinib demonstrates antitumour activity in patients with refractory BTC harbouring HER2 mutations, the primary endpoint was not met and combinations may be explored., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Alterations in fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 ( FGFR2 ) have emerged as promising drug targets for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, a rare cancer with a poor prognosis. Futibatinib, a next-generation, covalently binding FGFR1-4 inhibitor, has been shown to have both antitumor activity in patients with FGFR -altered tumors and strong preclinical activity against acquired resistance mutations associated with ATP-competitive FGFR inhibitors., Methods: In this multinational, open-label, single-group, phase 2 study, we enrolled patients with unresectable or metastatic FGFR2 fusion-positive or FGFR2 rearrangement-positive intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and disease progression after one or more previous lines of systemic therapy (excluding FGFR inhibitors). The patients received oral futibatinib at a dose of 20 mg once daily in a continuous regimen. The primary end point was objective response (partial or complete response), as assessed by independent central review. Secondary end points included the response duration, progression-free and overall survival, safety, and patient-reported outcomes., Results: Between April 16, 2018, and November 29, 2019, a total of 103 patients were enrolled and received futibatinib. A total of 43 of 103 patients (42%; 95% confidence interval, 32 to 52) had a response, and the median duration of response was 9.7 months. Responses were consistent across patient subgroups, including patients with heavily pretreated disease, older adults, and patients who had co-occurring TP53 mutations. At a median follow-up of 17.1 months, the median progression-free survival was 9.0 months and overall survival was 21.7 months. Common treatment-related grade 3 adverse events were hyperphosphatemia (in 30% of the patients), an increased aspartate aminotransferase level (in 7%), stomatitis (in 6%), and fatigue (in 6%). Treatment-related adverse events led to permanent discontinuation of futibatinib in 2% of the patients. No treatment-related deaths occurred. Quality of life was maintained throughout treatment., Conclusions: In previously treated patients with FGFR2 fusion or rearrangement-positive intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, the use of futibatinib, a covalent FGFR inhibitor, led to measurable clinical benefit. (Funded by Taiho Oncology and Taiho Pharmaceutical; FOENIX-CCA2 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02052778.)., (Copyright © 2023 Massachusetts Medical Society.)

Purpose: Recently, the Connective Tissue Oncology Society published consensus guidelines for recognizing ultrarare sarcomas (URS), defined as sarcomas with an incidence ≤1 per 1,000,000. We assessed the outcomes of 56 patients with soft tissue, and 21 with bone sarcomas, enrolled in Phase 1 trials., Experimental Design: In this Sarcoma-Matched Biomarker Analysis (SAMBA-102 study), we reviewed records from patients on Phase 1 trials at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center between January 2013 and June 2021., Results: Among 587 sarcomas, 106 (18.1%) were classified as URS. Fifty (47%) were male, and the median age was 44.3 years (range, 19-82). The most common subtypes were alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS), chordoma, dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma, and sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma. Compared with common sarcomas, median OS was similar 16.1 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 13.6-17.5] versus 16.1 (95% CI, 8.2-24.0) in URS (P = 0.359). Objective response to treatment was higher in URS 13.2% (n = 14/106) compared with common sarcomas 6.9% (n = 33/481; P = 0.029). Median OS for those treated on matched trials was 27.3 months (95% CI, 1.9-52.7) compared with 13.4 months (95% CI, 6.3-20.6) for those not treated on matched trials (P = 0.291). Eight of 33 (24%) molecularly matched treatments resulted in an objective response, whereas 6 of 73 unmatched treatments (8.2%) resulted in an objective response (P = 0.024). Clinical benefit rate was 36.4% (12/33) in matched trials versus 26.0% (19/73) in unmatched trials (P = 0.279)., Conclusions: The results demonstrate the benefit of genomic selection in Phase 1 trials to help identify molecular subsets likely to benefit from targeted therapy., (©2022 The Authors; Published by the American Association for Cancer Research.)

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are one of fastest growing classes of oncology drugs in modern drug development. By harnessing the powers of both cytotoxic chemotherapy and targeted therapy, ADCs are unique in offering the potential to deliver highly potent cytotoxic agents to cancer cells which express a pre-defined cell surface target. In lung cancer, the treatment paradigm has shifted dramatically in recent years, and now ADCs are now joining the list as potential options for lung cancer patients. Since 2020, the first ADC for NSCLC patients has been FDA-approved (trastuzumab deruxtecan) and two ADCs have been granted FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation, currently under evaluation (patritumab deruxtecan, telisotuzumab vedotin). Furthermore, several early-phase trials are assessing various novel ADCs, either as monotherapy or in combinations with advanced lung cancer, and more selective and potent ADCs are expected to become therapeutic options in clinic soon. In this review, we discuss the structure and mechanism of action of ADCs, including insights from pre-clinical work; we summarize the ADCs' recent progress in lung cancer, describe toxicity profiles of ADCs, and explore strategies designed to enhance ADC potency and overcome resistance. In addition, we discuss novel ADC strategies of interest in lung cancer, including non-cytotoxic payloads, such as immunomodulatory and anti-apoptotic agents., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Introduction: We aimed to identify clinical, pathologic, and treatment factors that are predictive of response and survival in patients with cervical cancer referred to phase I clinical trials., Methods: Patients with cervical cancer who received at least one dose of a phase I investigational agent at our institution between 2014 and 2022 were included. The log-rank test was used to analyze differences in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), and multivariable regression analysis was performed., Results: We included 65 patients with a median age of 41 years (range, 20-74), 3 prior therapies (range, 1-7), and 67.7% squamous carcinoma. The rate of distant metastasis at trial entry was 84.6%. The most common molecular alterations included PIK3CA (46.5%), PD-L1+ (46.2%), EPH (30.0%), and CREBBP (23.1%); 23.1% had received a prior checkpoint inhibitor. Phase I trials were for immunotherapy (58.5%) or targeted therapy (41.5%). The rate of biomarker matching was 21.5%. For all patients, median PFS was 3.6 months (95% CI, 2.0-5.2) and OS was 9.3 months (95% CI, 7.0-10.6). Factors at study entry associated with worse survival were presence of bone metastasis (PFS 1.6 vs 4.4 months: hazard ratio [HR], 2.8; p = 0.001; OS 3.8 vs 10.0 months: HR, 3.9; p < 0.0001) and absolute lymphocyte count below 1000/μL (PFS 1.8 vs 5.2 months: HR, 2.9; p = 0.0004; OS 7.0 vs 10.6 months: HR, 3.2; p = 0.0009). Factors associated only with worse OS were absolute neutrophil count above 4700/μL, hemoglobin below 10.5 g/dL, and smoking status. Grade 3+ treatment-related adverse events were seen in 16.9% of cases., Conclusion: Bone metastasis and absolute lymphocyte count below normal range at phase I study entry portend poor survival in patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest directly relating to this study. Unelated conflicts of interest are listed in Supplemental Material (available online)., (© 2023.)

Purpose: The stimulator of IFN genes (STING) is a transmembrane protein that plays a role in the immune response to tumors. Single-agent STING agonist MIW815 (ADU-S100) has demonstrated immune activation but limited antitumor activity. This phase Ib, multicenter, dose-escalation study assessed the safety and tolerability of MIW815 plus spartalizumab (PDR001), a humanized IgG4 antibody against PD-1, in 106 patients with advanced solid tumors or lymphomas., Patients and Methods: Patients were treated with weekly intratumoral injections of MIW815 (50-3,200 μg) on a 3-weeks-on/1-week-off schedule or once every 4 weeks, plus a fixed dose of spartalizumab (400 mg) intravenously every 4 weeks., Results: Common adverse events were pyrexia (n = 23; 22%), injection site pain (n = 21; 20%), and diarrhea (n = 12; 11%). Overall response rate was 10.4%. The MTD was not reached. Pharmacodynamic biomarker analysis demonstrated on-target activity., Conclusions: The combination of MIW815 and spartalizumab was well tolerated in patients with advanced/metastatic cancers, including in patients with anti-PD-1 refractory disease. Minimal antitumor responses were seen., (©2022 American Association for Cancer Research.)

Although targeting oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) is a rational anticancer strategy, clinical benefit with OXPHOS inhibitors has yet to be achieved. Here we advanced IACS-010759, a highly potent and selective small-molecule complex I inhibitor, into two dose-escalation phase I trials in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (NCT02882321, n = 17) and advanced solid tumors (NCT03291938, n = 23). The primary endpoints were safety, tolerability, maximum tolerated dose and recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) of IACS-010759. The PK, PD, and preliminary antitumor activities of IACS-010759 in patients were also evaluated as secondary endpoints in both clinical trials. IACS-010759 had a narrow therapeutic index with emergent dose-limiting toxicities, including elevated blood lactate and neurotoxicity, which obstructed efforts to maintain target exposure. Consequently no RP2D was established, only modest target inhibition and limited antitumor activity were observed at tolerated doses, and both trials were discontinued. Reverse translational studies in mice demonstrated that IACS-010759 induced behavioral and physiological changes indicative of peripheral neuropathy, which were minimized with the coadministration of a histone deacetylase 6 inhibitor. Additional studies are needed to elucidate the association between OXPHOS inhibition and neurotoxicity, and caution is warranted in the continued development of complex I inhibitors as antitumor agents., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc.)

Objective: Selinexor is a first-in-class, oral selective inhibitor of nuclear export (SINE) compound which blocks Exportin-1 (XPO1). Our objective was to determine maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and recommended phase II dose (RP2D) of selinexor and weekly paclitaxel., Methods: This was an open label, single-center, multi-arm phase 1b study utilizing a "3 + 3" design and a "basket-type" expansion in recurrent solid tumors. Selinexor (60 mg or 80 mg twice weekly orally) and weekly paclitaxel (80 mg IV 2 week on, 1 week off) were one of 13 parallel arms. Efficacy was evaluated using RECIST version 1.1., Results: All 35 patients treated were evaluable for toxicity and 31 (88%) were evaluable for response. Patient diagnoses included platinum-resistant/refractory ovarian (n = 28), breast (n = 4), prostate (n = 2), and cervical (n = 1) cancer. Patients had a median of four prior therapies (range 1-10), and 47% had a prior taxane in the recurrent setting. There were no DLTs and 60 mg was chosen as the RP2D due to long-term tolerability. Ninety-seven percent of patients had at least one treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE), and the most common grade ≥ 3 TEAE were neutropenia (46%), anemia (31%), and nausea (21%). Among 24 evaluable patients with ovarian cancer, response rate was 17%, CBR was 58%, and median PFS was 6.8 months (95% CI 3.7, not reached (NR))., Conclusions: Oral selinexor in combination with weekly paclitaxel demonstrated promising clinical activity with manageable toxicity. This combination should be considered for further exploration in a randomized study, especially in ovarian malignancies., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Shannon N. Westin receives research support to institution from AstraZeneca, Bayer, Clovis Oncology, Cotinga Pharmaceuticals, GSK, Mereo, Novartis, OncXerna, Roche/Genentech, Zentalis and consulting fees from Agenus, AstraZeneca, Caris, Clovis Oncology, Eisai, EQRX, GSK, ImmunoGen, Lilly, Merck, Mereo, Mersana, Roche/Genentech, Vincerx, and Zentalis; Siqing Fu receives research support to the institution from Abbisko, BeiGene, BioAtla, LLC. Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly & Co., Exelisis, Green2Bio, Inc., Hookipa Biotech, IMV, Inc., Innovent Biologics, Co., Ltd., K-Group Beta, Lyvgen Biopharm, MacroGenics, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Nerviano Medical Sciences, NeuPharma, NextCure, Ningbo NewBay Technology Development, Novartis, NovoCure, Parexel International, LLC, PureTech Health, LLC, Sellas Life Sciences Group, Soricimed Biopharma, Inc., SQZ Biotechnologies, Sumitomo Dainippon, Taiho Oncology and NCCN, Treadwell Therapeutics, Turnstone Biologics, Tyligand Bioscience, Ltd., and Vaccibody AS. Apostolia Tsimberidou receives research support to the institution from BI Pharma, IMMATICS, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Agenus, Tempus, Tvardi, Boston Biomedical, Karus Therapeutics, Novacure, Ltd., and consulting fees from Vincerx and Diaccurate; Sarina Piha-Paul receives research support to the institution from AbbVie, Inc., ABM Therapeutics, Inc., Acepodia, Inc., Alkermes, Aminex Therapeutics, Amphivena Therapeutics, Inc., BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squib, Cerulean Pharma, Inc., Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Curis, Inc., Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Daiichi Sankyo, Eli Lilly, ENB Therapeutics, Five Prime Therapeutics, F-Star Beta Limited, F-Star Therapeutics, Gene Quantum, Genmab A/S, Gilead Sciences, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, Helix BioPharma Corp., HiberCell, Inc., Immunomedics, Inc., Incyte Corp., Jacobio Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., Lytix Biopharma AS, Medimmune, LLC., Medivation, Inc., Merck Sharp and Dohme Corp., Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Pfizer, Phanes Therapeutics, Principia Biopharma, Inc., Puma Biotechnology, Inc., Purinomia Biotech, Inc., Rapt Therapeutics, Inc., Seattle Genetics, Silverback Therapeutics, Synlogic Therapeutics, Taiho Oncology, Tesaro, Inc., TransThera Bio, ZielBio, Inc., and consulting fees from CRC Oncology; David S. Hong receives research support to the institution from AbbVie, Adaptimmune, Adlai-Nortye, Amgen, Astra-Zeneca, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Daiichi-Sankyo, Deciphera, Eisai, Endeavor, Erasca, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Fate Therapeutics, Genentech, Genmab, Ignyta, Infinity, Kite, Kyowa Kirin, Lilly, LOXO, Merck, Medimmune, Mirati, Mologen, Navier, NCI-CTEP, Novartis, Numab, Pfizer, Pyramid Bio, SeaGen, Takeda,TCR2, Teckro, Turning Point Therapeutics, Verstatem, VM Oncology, travel accommodations/expenses from Bayer, Genmab, AACR, ASCO, SITC, Telperian, consulting fees from Adaptimmune, Alpha Insights, Acuta, Alkermes, Amgen, Aumbiosciences, Axiom, Baxter, Bayer, Boxer Capital, BridgeBio, COR2ed, COG, Ecor1, Genentech, Gilead, GLG, Group H, Guidepoint, HCW Precision, Immunogen, Infinity, Janssen, Liberium, Medscape, Numab, Oncologia Brasil, Pfizer, Pharma Intelligence, POET Congress, Prime Oncology, Seattle Genetics, ST Cube, Takeda, Tavistock, Trieza Therapeutics, Turning Point, WebMD, Ziopharm and other ownership interests with Molecular Match (Advisor), OncoResponse (Founder, Advisor), Telperian (Founder,Advisor); Shubham Pant receives consulting fees from Merck, GSK, Kiyatec, and has stocks in Bio-Path; Amir Jazaeri receives research support to the institution from Iovance, BMS, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Ziopharm, AstraZeneca, Aravivie, Merck, Immatics USA, consulting fees from Aravive, Agenus, Macrogenics, BMS, Alkermes, Instill Bio, Immune-Onc, GSK, Obsedian, AvengeBio, NuProbe, EMD-Serono, Guidepoint, Gherson Lehrman Group, participation in a DSMB for Roche, and stock/stock options from AvengeBio. David Gershenson receives research support to the institution from NRG Oncology, Novartis, royalties/licenses from Elsevier, UpToDate, consulting fees from Genentech, payment for lectures from CFS PER Conference, participation in DSMB/advisory board for Onconova, Springworks, leadership role in International Consortium for Low-Grade Serous Cancer, and stock or stock options from Johnson & Johnson, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Procter and Gamble; Anil K. Sood receives research support to institution from M-Trap, royalties/licensure from BioPath, consulting fees from AstraZeneca, Merck, GSK, Kiyatec, and; Robert L. Coleman receives research support to institution from AstraZeneca, Clovis, Genelux, Genmab, Merck, Immunogen Janssen, Roche/Genentech, consulting fees from Agenus, Alkermes, AstraZeneca, Clovis, Deciphera, Genelux, Genmab, GSK, Immunogen Janssen, OncoQuest, Onxeo, Onxerna, Regeneron, Roche/Genentech, and participates in DSMB for VBL Therapeutics; Jatin Shah is employed and receives stock/stock options from Karyopharm; Funda Meric-Bernstam receives research support to the institution from Aileron Therapeutics, Inc. AstraZeneca, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceutical, Calithera Biosciences Inc., Curis Inc., CytomX Therapeutics Inc., Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd., Debiopharm International, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Genentech Inc., Guardant Health Inc., Klus Pharma, Takeda Pharmaceutical, Novartis, Puma Biotechnology Inc., Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., consulting fees from AbbVie, Aduro BioTech Inc., Alkermes, AstraZeneca, DebioPharm, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd., Genentech Inc., IBM Watson, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Jackson Laboratory, Kolon Life Science, Lengo Therapeutics, OrigiMed, PACT Pharma, Parexel International, Pfizer Inc., Samsung Bioepis, Seattle Genetics Inc., Tallac Therapeutics, Tyra Biosciences, Xencor, Zymeworks, payment for lecture from Chugai Biopharmaceuticals, and participation on DSMB/Advisory Board with Black Diamond, Biovica, Eisai, Immunomedics, Inflection Biosciences, Karyopharm Therapeutics, Loxo Oncology, Mersana Therapeutics, OnCusp Therapeutics, Puma Biotechnology Inc., Seattle Genetics, Silverback Therapeutics, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, and Zentalis; Aung Naing receives research support to institution from NCI, EMD Serono, MedImmune, Healios Onc. Nutrition, Atterocor/Millendo, Amplimmune, ARMO BioSciences, Karyopharm Therapeutics, Incyte, Novartis, Regeneron, Merck, Bristol- Myers Squibb, Pfizer, CytomX Therapeutics, Neon Therapeutics, Calithera Biosciences, TopAlliance Biosciences, Eli Lilly, Kymab, PsiOxus, Arcus Biosciences, NeoImmuneTech, ImmuneOncia, Surface Oncology, Monopteros Therapeutics, BioNTech SE, Seven & Eight Biopharma, SOTIO Biotech AG, Immune Deficiency Foundation, Jeffery Modell Foundation and Chao physician-scientist, Baxalta, consulting fees from ARMO BioSciences, CytomX Therapeutics, Novartis, Genome & Company, OncoSec KEYNOTE-695, Kymab, STCube Pharmaceuticals, Deka Biosciences, Takeda, CSL, Behring, Horizon, and Pharming. All other authors note no relevant conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

3D patient tumor avatars (3D-PTAs) hold promise for next-generation precision medicine. Here, we describe the benefits and challenges of 3D-PTA technologies and necessary future steps to realize their potential for clinical decision making. 3D-PTAs require standardization criteria and prospective trials to establish clinical benefits. Innovative trial designs that combine omics and 3D-PTA readouts may lead to more accurate clinical predictors, and an integrated platform that combines diagnostic and therapeutic development will accelerate new treatments for patients with refractory disease., Competing Interests: Declarations of interests S.B., M.B., H.M., Z.P., C.A.M., K.M.N., M.F.P., R.C.S., K.S. and J.H.C. have no competing interests to declare. S.E.K. is an advisor to Xilis, Inc. F.M.B. declares consulting/advisory fees from AbbVie, Aduro BioTech Inc., Alkermes, AstraZeneca, Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd., DebioPharm, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd., Genentech Inc., Harbinger Health, IBM Watson, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Jackson Laboratory, Kolon Life Science, Lengo Therapeutics, OrigiMed, PACT Pharma, Parexel International, Pfizer Inc., Protai Bio Ltd, Samsung Bioepis, Seattle Genetics Inc., Tallac Therapeutics, Tyra Biosciences, Xencor, Zymeworks, Black Diamond, Biovica, Eisai, FogPharma, Immunomedics, Inflection Biosciences, Karyopharm Therapeutics, Loxo Oncology, Mersana Therapeutics, OnCusp Therapeutics, Puma Biotechnology Inc., Seattle Genetics, Sanofi, Silverback Therapeutics, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, and Zentalis; sponsored research to her institution from Aileron Therapeutics, Inc., AstraZeneca, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceutical, Calithera Biosciences Inc., Curis Inc., CytomX Therapeutics Inc., Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd., Debiopharm International, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Genentech Inc., Guardant Health Inc., Klus Pharma, Takeda Pharmaceutical, Novartis, Puma Biotechnology Inc., and Taiho Pharmaceutical Co.; and honoraria for a speaking engagement from Chugai Biopharmaceuticals. S.K. is a consultant for FGH BioTech and has received research funding from FGH BioTech and Systems Oncology. K.A.P. is co-inventor on a patent for EGFRT790M mutation testing issued, licensed, and with royalties paid from Molecular Diagnostics/Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She reports research funding to the institution from AstraZeneca, Roche/Genentech, Boehringer Ingelheim, and D2G Oncology and consulting for AstraZeneca and Jannssen. M.G.C. reports grants from NeoImmuneTech, as well as other support from Orbus Therapeutics, Incyte, Merck, and UpToDate outside the submitted work; in addition, M.G.C. has a patent for Zika virus strains for the treatment of glioblastoma pending. E.E.’s full disclosures are given here: www.bit.ly/3xuWMer. J.T. reports personal financial interest in form of scientific consultancy role for Array Biopharma, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Chugai, Daiichi Sankyo, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Genentech Inc, HalioDX SAS, Hutchison MediPharma International, Ikena Oncology, Inspirna Inc, IQVIA, Lilly, Menarini, Merck Serono, Merus, MSD, Mirati, Neophore, Novartis, Ona Therapeutics, Orion Biotechnology, Peptomyc, Pfizer, Pierre Fabre, Samsung Bioepis, Sanofi, Scandion Oncology, Scorpion Therapeutics, Seattle Genetics, Servier, Sotio Biotech, Taiho, Tessa Therapeutics, and TheraMyc; and holds stocks in Oniria Therapeutics and also educational collaboration with Imedex/HMP, Medscape Education, MJH Life Sciences, PeerView Institute for Medical Education and Physicians Education Resource (PER). D.A.T. is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board and receives stock options from Leap Therapeutics, Surface Oncology, Cygnal Therapeutics, Mestag Therapeutics, and Xilis, Inc. outside the submitted work. D.A.T. is scientific co-founder of Mestag Therapeutics. D.A.T. has received research grant support from Fibrogen, Mestag, and ONO Therapeutics. D.A.T. receives grant funding from the Lustgarten Foundation, the NIH, and the Thompson Foundation. None of this work is related to the publication. No other disclosures were reported. C.D.W. is a part-time consultant for LifeNet Health and receives grant funding from AACR-Novocure and Varian Medical Systems. X.S. and H.C. are cofounders of Xilis, Inc. and inventors on patents related to organoid research and micro-organospheres. X.S. is CEO of Xilis, Inc. H.C.’s full disclosure is given here: www.uu.nl/staff/JCClevers/Additionalfunctions. M.S., B.J.R., P.R., X.L., B.E.W., and A.L.W. do not report any conflicts., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: HER2-targeted therapies have substantially improved outcomes for patients with HER2-positive breast and gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction cancers. Several other cancers exhibit HER2 expression or amplification, suggesting that HER2-targeted agents can have broader therapeutic impact. Zanidatamab is a humanised, bispecific monoclonal antibody directed against two non-overlapping domains of HER2. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and anti-tumour activity of zanidatamab across a range of solid tumours with HER2 expression or amplification., Methods: This first-in-human, multicentre, phase 1, dose-escalation and expansion trial included patients aged 18 years and older, with a life expectancy of at least 3 months, with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 or 1, and locally advanced or metastatic, HER2-expressing or HER2-amplified solid tumours of any kind who had received all available approved therapies. The primary objectives of part 1 were to identify the maximum tolerated dose, optimal biological dose, or recommended dose of zanidatamab; all patients were included in the primary analyses. Part 1 followed a 3 + 3 dose-escalation design, including different intravenous doses (from 5 mg/kg to 30 mg/kg) and intervals (every 1, 2, or 3 weeks). The primary objective of part 2 was to evaluate the safety and tolerability of zanidatamab monotherapy in solid tumours. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02892123), and parts 1 and 2 of the trial are complete. Part 3 of the study evaluates the use of zanidatamab in combination with chemotherapy and is ongoing., Findings: Recruitment took place between Sept 1, 2016, and March 13, 2021. In Part 1 (n=46), no dose-limiting toxicities were detected and the maximum tolerated dose was not reached. The recommended dose for part 2 (n=22 for biliary tract cancer; n=28 for colorectal cancer; and n=36 for other HER2-expressing or HER2-amplified cancers excluding breast or gastro-oesophageal cancers; total n=86) was 20 mg/kg every 2 weeks. The most frequent treatment-related adverse events in part 1 of the study were diarrhoea (24 [52%] of 46 patients; all grade 1-2) and infusion reactions (20 [43%] of 46 patients; all grade 1-2). The most frequent treatment-related adverse events in part 2 of the study were diarrhoea (37 [43%] of 86 patients; all grade 1-2 except for one patient) and infusion reactions (29 [34%] of 86 patients; all grade 1-2). A total of six grade 3 treatment-related adverse events were reported in four (3%) of 132 patients. In part 2, 31 (37%; 95% CI 27·0-48·7) of 83 evaluable patients had a confirmed objective response. There were no treatment-related deaths., Interpretation: These results support that HER2 is an actionable target in various cancer histologies, including biliary tract cancer and colorectal cancer. Evaluation of zanidatamab continues in ongoing studies., Funding: Zymeworks., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests FM-B reports consulting or personal fees from AbbVie, Aduro BioTech, Alkermes, AstraZeneca, DebioPharm, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, F Hoffman-La Roche, Genentech, IBM Watson, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Jackson Laboratory, Kolon Life Science, Lengo Therapeutics, OrigiMed, PACT Pharma, Parexel International, Pfizer, Samsung Bioepis, Seagen, Tallac Therapeutics, Tyra Biosciences, Xencor, Zymeworks, and Chugai; advisory board participation for Black Diamond, Biovica, Eisai, Immunomedics, Inflection Biosciences, Karyopharm Therapeutics, Loxo Oncology, Mersana Therapeutics, OnCusp Therapeutics, Puma Biotechnology, Seagen, Silverback Therapeutics, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, and Zentalis; and research support, unrelated to this work and paid to institution, from Aileron Therapeutics, AstraZeneca, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceutical, Calithera Biosciences, Curis, CytomX Therapeutics, Daiichi Sankyo, Debiopharm International, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Genentech, Guardant Health, Klus Pharma, Takeda Pharmaceutical, Novartis, Puma Biotechnology, and Taiho Pharmaceutical. EH reports consulting fees or research grants outside of the scope of this work and paid to the institution from AbbVie, Acerta Pharma, ADC Therapeutics, AKESOBIO Australia, Amgen, Aravive, Arcus, ArQule, Arvinas, AstraZeneca, AtlasMedx, Black Diamond, Boehringer Ingelheim, Clovis, Compugen, Curis, CytomX, Daiichi Sankyo, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Dantari, Deciphera, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Eisai, Ellipses Pharma, EMD Serono, Fochon, FujiFilm, G1 Therapeutics, Greenwich LifeSciences, H3 Biomedicine, Harpoon, Hutchinson MediPharma, Immunogen, Immunomedics, Incyte, InvestisBio, iTeos, Jacobio, Janssen, Karyopharm, Leap Therapeutics, Lilly, Loxo, Lycera, Mabspace Biosciences, Macrogenics, MedImmune, Merck, Mersana, Merus, Millennium, Molecular Templates, Myraid Genetic Laboratories, Novartis, Nucana, Olema, OncoMed, Onconova Therapeutics, ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Orinove, Orum Therapeutics, Pfizer, PharmaMar, Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Pionyr Immunotherapeutics, Plexxikon, Puma Biotechnology, Radius Health, Regeneron, Relay Therapeutics, Repertoire Immune Medicine, Rgenix, Roche/Genentech, Seagen, Sermonix Pharmaceuticals, Shattuck Labs, Silverback Therapeutics, StemCentRx, Sutro, Syndax, Syros, Taiho, TapImmune, Tesaro, Treadwell Therapeutics, Verastem, Vincerx Pharma, Zenith Epigenetics, and Zymeworks. D-YO reports consulting fees or Advisory Board participation for AstraZeneca, Novartis, Genentech/Roche, Merck Serono, Bayer, Taiho, ASLAN, Halozyme, Zymeworks, Bristol Myers Squibb/Celgene, BeiGene, Basilea, Turning Point, Yuhan, Arcus Biosciences, IQVIA, and research support outside the scope of this work from AstraZeneca, Novartis, Array, Eli Lilly, Servier, BeiGene, MSD, Handok. Y-KK reports consulting fees from ALX Oncology, Zymeworks, Amgen, Novartis, Macrogenics, Daehwa, Blueprint, Surface Oncology, Bristol Myers Squibb, MSD, and Roche. EE reports consulting fees from Bristol Myers Squibb, Zymeworks, Adaptimmune, BeiGene; research support outside the scope of this work from Bristol Myers Squibb, Zymeworks, and AstraZeneca; and a family member employedby Merck. RG reports consulting fees or advisory board participation for Pfizer, Apobiologix, Ipsen, Novartis, Eisai, Incyte, Bristol Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, Merck, Roche, and Advanced Accelerator Applications; and education grants from Pfizer, Apobiologix, and Ipsen. SP reports consulting fees or advisory board participation for Xencor, 4D Pharma, Zymeworks, Ipsen, Novartis, and Janssen; research support outside the scope of this work and paid to institution from Mirati Therapeutics, Pfizer, Lilly, Xencor, Novartis, Bristol Myers Squibb, Ipsen, Astellas Pharma, Purple Biotech, 4D Pharma, Boehringer Ingelheim, NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Janssen, Arcus Biosciences, Elicio Therapeutics, Zymeworks, and BioNtech. KR reports personal fees from AstraZeneca, Bayer, Daiichi-Sankyo, Eisai, and Seattle Genetics; and research support from Bayer, Daiichi-Sankyo, Genentech/Roche, Guardant Health, Janssen, Lilly, and Medimmune outside the submitted work. JWK reports consulting fees from AstraZeneca, BeiGene, Beyond Bio, Bristol Myers Squibb/Celgene, Eisai, GC Cell, MSD, ONO, Sanofi-Aventis, Servier, and TCUBEit. AP reports consulting or advisory fees from Genentech/Roche, Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, Bayer, Novartis, Seagen, Gilead Sciences, Silverback Therapeutics, Daiichi, and HalioDx. TG, RD, and MAO report employment by Zymeworks at the time of the study and ownership of Zymeworks stock. JW reports employment by Zymeworks at the time of the study and ownership of Seagen stock. K-WL reports consulting fees from ISU ABXIS, Bayer, Daiichi Sankyo, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Bristol Myers Squibb, Vifor Pharma, Ono Pharmaceutical, and Boryung; and research grants outside of the scope of this work from AstraZeneca, Ono Pharmaceutical, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Merck KGaA, Pfizer, BeiGene, Astellas Pharma, ALX Oncology, Macrogenetics, Five Prime Therapeutics, Seagen, Bolt Therapeutics, Trishula Therapeutics, Oncologie, Pharmacyclics, LSK BioPharma, MedPacto, Green Cross Corp, ABLBIO, Y-BIOLOGICS, Genexine, Daiichi Sankyo, Taiho Pharmaceutical, InventisBio, and Leap Therapeutics. All other authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Single-cell DNA sequencing (scDNA-seq) methods are powerful tools for profiling mutations in cancer cells; however, most genomic regions sequenced in single cells are non-informative. To overcome this issue, we developed a multi-patient-targeted (MPT) scDNA-seq method. MPT involves first performing bulk exome sequencing across a cohort of cancer patients to identify somatic mutations, which are then pooled together to develop a single custom targeted panel for high-throughput scDNA-seq using a microfluidics platform. We applied MPT to profile 330 mutations across 23,500 cells from 5 patients with triple negative-breast cancer (TNBC), which showed that 3 tumors were monoclonal and 2 tumors were polyclonal. From these data, we reconstructed mutational lineages and identified early mutational and copy-number events, including early TP53 mutations that occurred in all five patients. Collectively, our data suggest that MPT can overcome a major technical obstacle for studying tumor evolution using scDNA-seq by profiling information-rich mutation sites., (© 2022 The Author(s).)

The RxPONDER and TAILORx trials demonstrated benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy in patients age ≤ 50 with node-positive breast cancer and Recurrence Score (RS) 0-26, and in node-negative disease with RS 16-25, respectively, but no benefit in older women with the same clinical features. We analyzed transcriptomic and genomic data of ER+/HER2- breast cancers with in silico RS < 26 from TCGA (n = 530), two microarray cohorts (A: n = 865; B: n = 609), the METABRIC (n = 867), and the SCAN-B (n = 1636) datasets. There was no difference in proliferation-related gene expression between age groups. Older patients had higher mutation burden and more frequent ESR1 copy number gain, but lower frequency of GATA3 mutations. Younger patients had higher rate of ESR1 copy number loss. In all datasets, younger patients had significantly lower mRNA expression of ESR1 and ER-associated genes, and higher expression of immune-related genes. The ER- and immune-related gene signatures showed negative correlation and defined three subpopulations in younger women: immune-high/ER-low, immune-intermediate/ER-intermediate, and immune-low/ER-intermediate. We hypothesize that in immune-high cancers, the cytotoxic effect of chemotherapy may drive the benefit, whereas in immune-low/ER-intermediate cancers chemotherapy induced ovarian suppression may play important role., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Abstract: Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have joined the armamentarium against urothelial cancer (UC) as an effective therapy option. Since 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration has approved 2 ADCs for advanced previously treated UC: enfortumab vedotin, which targets nectin-4 and sacituzumab govitecan, which targets trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2. These ADCs are now being tested in earlier disease settings and in previously untreated patients. Furthermore, novel ADCs (e.g., anti-HER-2) are being tested in the clinic and show promising clinical benefit. The next frontier is to understand the mechanisms of resistance and response, gaining experience with ADC-related adverse events and learning the best strategy to sequence and combine these agents with existing therapies. Here, we highlight the recent advances in the development of ADCs for treating localized and metastatic UC., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding: O.A. reports scientific advisory board fees from Seagen and Silverback Therapeutics and research funding to MD Anderson Cancer Center from AstraZeneca, Ikena Oncology, and Arcus Biosciences. M.T.C. reports consulting/advisory roles in the following: Eisai, EMD Serono, Pfizer, Genentech, AstraZeneca, SeaGen, Exelixis, Astellas, and AXDev. He also reports research funding to the institution from Exelixis, Pfizer/EMD Serono, Janssen, ApricityHeath, Aravive, AstraZeneca, SeaGen, Genentech, and nonbranded education programs BMS, Roche, Merck, and Pfizer/EMD Serono. F.M.B. reports consulting roles in the following: Aduro BioTech Inc, DebioPharm, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd, Genentech Inc, IBM Watson, Jackson Laboratory, Kolon Life Science, OrigiMed, PACT Pharma, Parexel International, Pfizer Inc, Samsung Bioepis, Seattle Genetics Inc, Tyra Biosciences, Xencor, Zymeworks. She is also part of the advisory committee of the following: Immunomedics, Inflection Biosciences, Mersana Therapeutics, Puma Biotechnology Inc, Seattle Genetics, Silverback Therapeutics, and Spectrum Pharmaceuticals. She also had sponsored research from institutions listed as follows: Aileron Therapeutics, Inc, AstraZeneca, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceutical, Calithera Biosciences Inc, Curis Inc, CytomX Therapeutics Inc, Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd, Debiopharm International, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Genentech Inc, Guardant Health Inc, Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc, Novartis, Puma Biotechnology Inc, and Taiho Pharmaceutical Co. She received honoraria from the following: Chugai Biopharmaceuticals, Mayo Clinic, and Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. For L.A., none were declared., (Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

We investigated the challenges of conducting IMPACT2, an ongoing randomized study that evaluates molecular testing and targeted therapy (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02152254). Patients with metastatic cancer underwent tumor profiling and were randomized between the two arms when eligibility criteria were met (Part A). In Part B, patients who declined randomization could choose the study arm. In Part A, 69 (21.8%) of 317 patients were randomized; 78.2% were not randomized because of non-targetable alterations (39.8%), unavailability of clinical trial (21.8%), other reasons (12.6%), or availability of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs for the indication (4.1%). In Part B, 32 (20.4%) of 157 patients were offered randomization; 16 accepted and 16 selected their treatment arm; 79.0% were not randomized (patient's/physician's choice, 29.3%; treatment selection prior to genomic reports, 16.6%; worsening performance status/death, 12.7%; unavailability of clinical trials, 6.4%; other, 6.4%; non-targetable alterations, 5.7%; or availability of FDA-approved drugs for the indication, 1.9%). In conclusion, although randomized controlled trials have been considered the gold standard for drug development, the execution of randomized trials in precision oncology in the advanced metastatic setting is complicated. We encountered various challenges conducting the IMPACT2 study, a large precision oncology trial in patients with diverse solid tumor types. The adaptive design of IMPACT2 enables patient randomization despite the continual FDA approval of targeted therapies, the evolving tumor biomarker landscape, and the plethora of investigational drugs. Outcomes for randomized patients are awaited., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Importance: The potential relationship between obesity and colorectal cancer (CRC) outcome is poorly understood in patients with late-stage disease. Increased body mass index may negate aspirin use for cancer prevention, but its role as a factor on the effectiveness of postdiagnosis aspirin use is unclear., Objective: To evaluate how prediagnosis obesity and postdiagnosis aspirin use may be associated with overall survival in patients with late-stage colorectal cancer., Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study used self-reported data from patients with metastatic or treatment-refractory disease who consented to a clinical protocol at MD Anderson Cancer Center, a large US cancer treatment center. Patients were enrolled between 2010 and 2018 and followed up for mortality through July 2020. Analyses were conducted through March 2022., Exposures: Body mass index in the decade prior to initial diagnosis and regular aspirin use at survey completion., Main Outcomes and Measures: Overall survival was measured from stage IV diagnosis until death or last follow-up. Cox proportional hazards models were constructed to estimate associations of prediagnosis obesity and postdiagnosis aspirin use with overall survival., Results: Of 656 patients included in this analysis, 280 (42.7%) were women, 135 (20.6%) were diagnosed with CRC before age 45 years, 414 (63.1%) were diagnosed between ages 45 and 65 years, and 107 (16.3%) were diagnosed at 65 years or older; 105 patients (16.0%) were Black or Hispanic, and 501 (76.4%) were non-Hispanic White. Controlling for age, sex, race, stage at initial diagnosis, and weight change between prediagnosis and survey date, patients with obesity in the decade prior to CRC diagnosis had significantly higher likelihood of death (hazard ratio, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.11-1.91) compared with those with normal prediagnosis body mass index. Furthermore, only patients with normal prediagnosis body mass index experienced significant survival benefit with postdiagnosis aspirin use (hazard ratio, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.39-0.90)., Conclusions and Relevance: In this cross-sectional study, our findings suggest potentially differential tumor development in the long-term physiologic host environment of obesity. Confirmation and further evaluation are needed to determine whether prediagnosis body mass index may be used to estimate the benefit from postdiagnosis aspirin use.

Purpose: The TAPUR Study is a pragmatic phase II basket trial evaluating antitumor activity of commercially available targeted agents in patients with advanced cancers harboring potentially actionable genomic alterations. Data from two cohorts of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) with either ERBB2 amplifications or ERBB2 or ERBB3 (ERBB2/3) mutations treated with pertuzumab plus trastuzumab (P + T) are reported., Methods: Eligible patients with measurable CRC were selected for treatment with P + T according to protocol-specified genomic matching rules. Patients had no remaining standard treatment options, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0-2, and adequate organ function. Simon's two-stage design was used with a primary study end point of disease control (DC; objective response [OR] or stable disease of at least 16 weeks duration [SD16+]). Secondary end points include safety, response duration, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS)., Results: Thirty-eight patients with CRC with ERBB2 amplification (N = 28) or ERBB2 / 3 mutations (N = 10) were treated with P + T. For the ERBB2 amplification cohort, DC and OR were observed in 54% and 25% of patients, respectively; the median PFS and median OS (95% CIs) were 17.2 (11.1 to 27.4) weeks and 60.0 (32.1 to 102.3) weeks, respectively. For the ERBB2 / 3 mutation cohort, DC and OR were observed in 10% and 0% of patients, respectively; the median PFS and median OS were 9.6 (5.1 to 16.0) weeks and 28.8 (7.6 to 146.3) weeks, respectively. Four of 38 patients experienced grade 3 adverse events or serious adverse events including anemia, infusion reaction, diarrhea, left ventricular systolic dysfunction, and decreased lymphocyte count., Conclusion: Although P + T treatment does not appear to have antitumor activity in CRC with ERBB2/3 mutations, this combination has antitumor activity in patients with CRC with ERBB2 amplification and warrants further study.

Background: Advanced practice providers (APPs) play important roles in enrolling, educating, and caring for patients in clinical trials. However, much remains unknown about the role of APPs in managing adverse events (AEs) in early (phase I to II) clinical trials. In this study, we assessed the outpatient management of grade 3 to 4 AEs by APPs in early trials and characterized the workflow of our APP Phase I to II Fast Track (FT) Clinic., Patients and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed records of patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors enrolled in phase I to II clinical trials who were seen by APPs from September 2017 to August 2018 in the APP phase I to II FT clinic in the Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics., Results: A total of 808 patients enrolled in 159 clinical trials were seen in 2,697 visits (median 3 visits per patient; range 1-28) by 10 APPs. Treatment was interrupted in 6.9% of visits, and grade 3 to 4 AEs were seen in 5.4% of visits; however, patients from 1.4% of visits were sent to the emergency center (EC) and/or admitted. Patients referred to the EC and/or admitted were more likely to have baseline hypoalbuminemia, high lactate dehydrogenase, and poor Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (i.e., ECOG > 1; p < .001). There were no associations between EC referral and gender, APP years of experience, or type of treatment., Conclusions: The APP Phase I to II FT Clinic has an important role in the management of AEs by APPs in early clinical trials in the outpatient setting, potentially avoiding EC visits and admissions., Competing Interests: The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose. This work was partially supported by the National Institutes of Health through MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Support Grant (P30 CA016672) and the NCI K12 Paul Calabresi Award CA088084., (© 2022 Harborside™.)

Patients with rare solid tumors treated on early phase trials experience toxicities from their tumors and treatments. However, limited data exist to describe the detailed symptom burden suffered by these patients, particularly those with rare solid tumors treated with immunotherapy. We performed a prospective longitudinal study to capture patient-reported symptom burden. Patients completed the validated MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI)-Immunotherapy with 20 symptoms including 7 immunotherapy-specific items and 6 interference items at baseline and weekly thereafter for up to 9 weeks. Symptoms and interference were rated on 0-10 scales (0 = none or no interference, 10 = worst imaginable or complete interference). Group-based trajectory modelling determined higher and lower symptom groups. A total of 336 MDASI questionnaires were completed by 53 patients (mean age 55.4y, 53% male) with advanced rare cancers receiving pembrolizumab in a Phase II clinical trial. Symptoms reported as most severe over the course of the treatment over 9 weeks were fatigue [mean (M) = 3.8, SD = 2.3], pain (M = 3.7, SD = 2.9), disturbed sleep (M = 2.7, SD = 2.3), drowsiness (M = 2.6, SD = 2.0) and lack of appetite (M = 2.5, SD = 2.1). Pain in the abdomen (M = 2.2, SD = 2.4), rash (M = 1.1, SD = 1.8) and diarrhea (M = 0.9, SD = 1.5) were less severe. Interference with walking was rated the highest (M = 3.4, SD = 2.8) and relations with others was rated the lowest (M = 2.1, SD = 2.6). Using a composite score based on the five most severe symptoms (fatigue, pain, lack of appetite, feeling drowsy and sleep disturbance), 43% were classified into the high symptom burden group. Using a score based on immunotherapy-specific symptoms (e.g., rash, diarrhea) 33% of patients were included in the high symptom group. Symptom burden stayed relatively stable in the high- and low-symptom burden patient groups from baseline through 9 weeks. Some patients with rare malignancies experienced high symptom burden even at baseline. In patients with rare cancers, symptom trajectories stayed relatively stable over nine weeks of treatment with pembrolizumab.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02721732., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Anticancer combination therapy has been developed to increase efficacy by enhancing synergy. Patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) have emerged as reliable preclinical models to develop effective treatments in translational cancer research. However, most PDX combination study designs focus on single dose levels, and dose-response surface models are not appropriate for testing synergism. We propose a comprehensive statistical framework to assess joint action of drug combinations from PDX tumor growth curve data. We provide various metrics and robust statistical inference procedures that locally (at a fixed time) and globally (across time) access combination effects under classical drug interaction models. Integrating genomic and pharmacological profiles in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), we have shown the utilities of combPDX in discovering effective therapeutic combinations and relevant biological mechanisms. We provide an interactive web server, combPDX ( https://licaih.shinyapps.io/CombPDX/ ), to analyze PDX tumor growth curve data and perform power analyses., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Recurrent microsatellite stable (MSS) endometrial cancer has poor response to conventional therapy and limited efficacy with immune checkpoint monotherapy. We conducted a retrospective study of recurrent MSS endometrial cancer patients enrolled in immunotherapy-based clinical trials at MD Anderson Cancer Center between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2019. Patients were evaluated for radiologic response using RECIST 1.1 criteria, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Thirty-five patients were treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: 8 with monotherapy, 17 with immunotherapy (IO) in combination with another IO-only, and 10 with IO in combination with non-IO therapy. Among those treated with combination IO plus non-IO therapy, one had a partial response but 50% had clinical benefit. Patients who received combination IO plus non-IO therapy had improved PFS compared to those who received monotherapy (HR 0.56, 95% CI 0.33-0.97; p = 0.037) or combination IO-only therapy (HR 0.36, 95% CI 0.15-0.90; p = 0.028) and had improved OS when compared to monotherapy after adjusting for prior lines of therapy (HR 0.50, 95% CI 0.27-0.95; p = 0.036). The potential beneficial clinical outcomes of combination IO plus non-IO therapy in MSS endometrial cancer should be validated in a larger study.

Purpose: KRAS is the most mutated proto-oncogene that has been identified in cancer, and treatment of patients with KRAS mutations remains an arduous challenge. Recently, KRAS G12C mutation has attracted special interest because it is now considered potentially druggable with recently developed covalent small-molecule KRAS G12C inhibitors. Nevertheless, to date, there have been no large-scale analyses of liquid biopsy that include testing for KRAS G12C . Here, we performed a comprehensive analysis of KRAS G12C mutations in multiple cancer types, as detected by circulating tumor DNA., Methods: We conducted a 5-year retrospective review of KRAS G12C mutations in patients with cancer who had undergone Guardant360 testing between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2019; our study included treatment-naive and previously treated patients with metastatic solid tumors., Results: KRAS G12C mutations were identified in 2,985 of 80,911 patients (3.7%), across > 40 tumor types. KRAS G12C mutations were detected most frequently in patients with nonsquamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC; 7.5%), NSCLC of all subtypes (6.9%), cancer of unknown primary (4.1%), colorectal cancer (3.5%), squamous NSCLC (2.0%), pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors (1.9%), and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (1.2%) and cholangiocarcinoma (1.2%). KRAS G12C mutations were predominantly clonal (clonality > 0.9%) in patients with lung adenocarcinoma, non-NSCLC, cancer of unknown primary, NSCLC, and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, and patients with colorectal cancer and breast cancer had bimodal distribution of clonal and subclonal KRAS G12C mutations., Conclusion: Our study demonstrates the feasibility of using circulating tumor DNA to identify KRAS G12C mutations across solid tumors; the highest detection rate was in lung cancer, as previously reported in the literature.

Purpose: The response to cancer therapies is typically assessed with radiologic imaging 6-10 weeks after treatment initiation. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), however, has a short half-life, and dynamic changes in ctDNA quantity may allow for earlier assessment of the therapeutic response., Methods: Patients with advanced solid tumors referred to the Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center were invited to participate in a liquid biopsy protocol for which serial blood samples were collected before, during, and after systemic therapy. We isolated ctDNA from serially collected plasma samples at baseline, mid-treatment, and first restaging. Genomically informed droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) was performed, and ctDNA quantities were reported as aggregate variant allele frequencies for all detected molecular aberrations., Results: We included 204 patients receiving 260 systemic therapies. The ctDNA detection rate was higher in progressors (patients with progressive disease) compared with nonprogressors (patients with stable disease, partial responses, or complete responses) at all time points ( P < .009). Moreover, ctDNA detection was associated with a shorter median time-to-treatment failure ( P ≤ .001). Positive delta and slope values for changes in ctDNA quantity were more frequent in progressors ( P ≤ .03 and P < .001, respectively) and were associated with a shorter median time-to-treatment failure ( P ≤ .014 and P < .001, respectively). Increasing ctDNA quantity was predictive of clinical and/or radiologic progressive disease in 73% of patients (median lead time, 23 days)., Conclusion: Detection of ctDNA and early dynamic changes in its quantity can predict the clinical outcomes of systemic therapies in patients with advanced solid tumors.

Cyclin E is frequently encoded by CCNE1 gene amplification in various malignancies. We reviewed the medical records of patients with solid tumors displaying CCNE1 amplification to determine the effect of this amplification for future therapeutic development. We reviewed the medical records of patients with advanced solid tumors harboring CCNE1 amplification who were seen at the phase I clinic between September 1, 2012, and December 31, 2019. Among 79 patients with solid tumors harboring CCNE1 amplification, 56 (71%) received phase 1 clinical trial therapy, 39 (49%) had 3 or more concurrent genomic aberrances, and 52 (66%) had a concurrent TP53 mutation. The median overall survival (OS) after patients' initial phase I visit was 8.9 months and after their initial metastasis diagnosis was 41.4 months. We identified four factors associated with poor risk: age < 45 years, body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m 2 , presence of the TP53 mutation, and elevated LDH > upper limit of normal. In patients treated with gene aberration-related therapy, anti-angiogenic therapy led to significantly longer OS after their initial phase I trial therapy than those who did not: 26 months versus 7.4 months, respectively (P = 0.04). This study provided preliminary evidence that CCNE1 amplification was associated with frequent TP53 mutation and aggressive clinical outcomes. Survival benefit was observed in patients who received antiangiogenic therapy and gene aberration-related treatment, supporting the future development of a personalized approach to combine gene aberration-related therapy with antiangiogenesis for the treatment of advanced malignancies harboring CCNE1 amplification., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Purpose: We wanted to determine the prognosis and the phenotypic characteristics of hormone receptor-positive advanced breast cancer tumors harboring an ERBB2 mutation in the absence of a HER2 amplification., Experimental Design: We retrospectively collected information from the American Association of Cancer Research-Genomics Evidence Neoplasia Information Exchange registry database from patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative, ERBB2-mutated advanced breast cancer. Phenotypic and co-mutational features, as well as response to treatment and outcome were compared with matched control cases ERBB2 wild type., Results: A total of 45 ERBB2-mutant cases were identified for 90 matched controls. The presence of an ERBB2 mutation was not associated with worse outcome determined by overall survival (OS) from first metastatic relapse. No significant differences were observed in phenotypic characteristics apart from higher lobular infiltrating subtype in the ERBB2-mutated group. ERBB2 mutation did not seem to have an impact in response to treatment or time-to-progression (TTP) to endocrine therapy compared with ERBB2 wild type. In the co-mutational analyses, CDH1 mutation was more frequent in the ERBB2-mutated group (FDR < 1). Although not significant, fewer co-occurring ESR1 mutations and more KRAS mutations were identified in the ERBB2-mutated group., Conclusions: ERBB2-activating mutation was not associated with a worse OS from time of first metastatic relapse, or differences in TTP on treatment as compared with a series of matched controls. Although not significant, differences in coexisting mutations (CDH1, ESR1, and KRAS) were noted between the ERBB2-mutated and the control group., (©2022 American Association for Cancer Research.)

Purpose: Praluzatamab ravtansine (CX-2009) is a conditionally activated Probody drug conjugate (PDC) comprising an anti-CD166 mAb conjugated to DM4, with a protease-cleavable linker and a peptide mask that limits target engagement in normal tissue and circulation. The tumor microenvironment is enriched for proteases capable of cleaving the linker, thereby releasing the mask, allowing for localized binding of CX-2009 to CD166. CX-2009 was evaluated in a phase I/II clinical trial for patients with advanced solid tumors., Patients and Methods: Eligible patients had metastatic cancer receiving ≥2 prior treatments. CX-2009 was administered at escalating doses every 3 weeks (0.25-10 mg/kg) or every 2 weeks (4-6 mg/kg). Primary objective was to determine the safety profile and recommended phase II dose (RP2D)., Results: Of 99 patients enrolled, the most prevalent subtype was breast cancer (n = 45). Median number of prior therapies was 5 (range, 1-19). Dose-limiting toxicities were observed at 8 mg/kg every 3 weeks and 6 mg/kg every 2 weeks. On the basis of tolerability, the RP2D was 7 mg/kg every 3 weeks. Tumor regressions were observed at doses ≥4 mg/kg. In the hormone receptor-positive/HER2-nonamplified breast cancer subset (n = 22), 2 patients (9%) had confirmed partial responses, and 10 patients (45%) had stable disease. Imaging with zirconium-labeled CX-2009 confirmed uptake in tumor lesions and shielding of major organs. Activated, unmasked CX-2009 was measurable in 18 of 22 posttreatment biopsies., Conclusions: CD166 is a novel, ubiquitously expressed target. CX-2009 is the first conditionally activated antibody-drug conjugate to CD166 to demonstrate both translational and clinical activity in a variety of tumor types., (©2022 The Authors; Published by the American Association for Cancer Research.)

Importance: Germline testing guidelines are suggested for specific disease types or a family history of cancer, yet alterations are found in cancer types in which germline testing is not routinely indicated. The clinical role of identifying germline variants in these populations is valuable to patients and their at-risk relatives., Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of germline findings in patients undergoing tumor/normal matched sequencing among cancer types lacking guidelines., Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective cross-sectional study took place on August 18, 2021, and included data from deidentified records of patients tested, using the Tempus xT tumor/normal matched approach from November 2017 to August 2021. Records included in this study were from 34 642 patients treated in geographically diverse oncology practices in the US with a diagnosis of any of the following cancers: bladder, brain, lung, esophagus, cholangiocarcinoma, head and neck, breast, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, endometrial, and colorectal., Main Outcomes and Measures: The rate of germline findings (ie, single-nucleotide variants and small insertions or deletions) detected in 50 reportable hereditary cancer genes was calculated for cancer types lacking guidelines for germline testing (bladder, brain, lung, esophagus, cholangiocarcinoma, and head and neck) and cancer types for which germline testing is frequently performed (breast, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, endometrial, and colorectal). Same-gene second somatic hits were assessed to provide a comprehensive assessment on genomic drivers., Results: Of 34 642 patients, 18 888 were female (54.5%); of 27 498 patients whose age at diagnosis was known, mean (SD) age was 62.23 (3.36) years. A total of 2534 of 34 642 patients (7.3%) harbored pathogenic or likely pathogenic germline variants. Within the tumor types lacking testing guidelines, germline mutations were at 6.6% (79/1188) in bladder cancer and 5.8% (448/7668) in lung cancer., Conclusions and Relevance: This study may present the largest retrospective analysis to date of deidentified real-world data from patients diagnosed with advanced cancer with tumor/normal matched sequencing data and the prevalence of pathogenic or likely pathogenic germline variants in cancer types lacking hereditary cancer testing guidelines. The findings suggest there may be clinical implications for patients and their at-risk family members in cancers for which germline assessment primarily based on the cancer diagnosis is rarely obtained.

Background: Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) is an aggressive rare malignancy with limited treatment options. Data regarding clinical activity of immune checkpoint inhibitors in CUP is lacking. Therefore, we evaluated the efficacy of pembrolizumab, a programmed cell death-1 inhibitor, in patients with CUP., Methods: The study was designed as a phase 2 basket trial for independent rare tumor cohorts including CUP. Adult patients with CUP who had progressed on previous systemic therapy, performance status 0/1 and measurable disease per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST V.1.1) were eligible. Patients received pembrolizumab (200 mg) intravenously every 21 days. Twenty-nine patients were enrolled and treated between August 2016 and June 2020. The primary endpoint was non-progression rate (NPR) at 27 weeks (NPR-27) per immune-related RECIST. Key prespecified secondary endpoints were confirmed objective response rate (ORR), safety, duration of response (DoR), progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Pretreatment biopsies were examined for biomarkers of response (programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) expression and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs))., Results: Among 25 (of 29 enrolled) eligible and evaluable patients, 14 (56%) had poorly differentiated carcinoma. Patients received a median of two lines of therapy prior to enrollment. Median follow-up was 27.3 months. NPR-27 was observed in seven patients (28.0% (95% CI: 12.1 to 49.4)). ORR was 20.0% (95% CI: 6.8 to 40.7) with five patients achieving immune-related partial response with median DoR of 14.7 months (95% CI: 9.8 to 19.6). Median PFS and OS were 4.1 (95% CI: 3.1 to 5.1) and 11.3 (95% CI: 5.5 to 17.1) months, respectively. Treatment-related adverse events of any and grade ≥3 were seen in 19 (76%) and 4 (16%) patients, respectively. One (4%) patient had grade 3 immune-related acute kidney injury requiring treatment discontinuation. Neither PD-L1 nor TILs were associated with NPR-27. Both positive PD-L1 staining (44.4% vs 6.3%; p=0.040) and intense TIL infiltration (44.4% vs 6.3%; p=0.040) were associated with response., Conclusion: Pembrolizumab showed encouraging efficacy in patients with CUP with acceptable safety profile., Trial Registration Number: NCT02721732., Competing Interests: Competing interests: KPR reports research support from Bayer, AstraZeneca, and Daiichi outside the submitted work; SAP-P reports research support from AbbVie, ABM Therapeutics, Acepodia, Alkermes, Aminex Therapeutics, Amphivena Therapeutics, BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cerulean Pharma, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Curis, Daiichi Sankyo, Eli Lilly, ENB Therapeutics, Five Prime Therapeutics, Gene Quantum, Genmab A/S, GlaxoSmithKline, Helix BioPharma Corp., Incyte Corp., Jacobio Pharmaceuticals Co., Medimmune, LLC., Medivation, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer; Principia Biopharma, Puma Biotechnology, Rapt Therapeutics, Seattle Genetics, Silverback Therapeutics, Taiho Oncology, Tesaro, TransThera Bio, NCI/NIH, P30CA016672 – Core Grant (CCSG Shared Resources) outside the submitted work; DSH reports research support from AbbVie, Adaptimmune, Adlai Nortye, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Bristol Myers Squibb, Daichi-Sankyo, Eisai, Eli Lilly, EMD Sereno, Erasca, Fate Therapeutics, Genentech, Genmab, GlaxoSmithKline, Ignyta, Infinity, Kite, Kyowa, LOXO, Merck, MedImmune, Millenium, Mirati, miRNA, Molecular TeMpLaTeS, Mologen, NaVier, nci-cep, Novartis, Numab, Pfizer, Seattle Genetics, Takeda, Turning Point, Vernstam, VM Oncology, and other support from Adaptimmune, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Infinity, Numab, Pfizer, Seattle Genetics, Alpha Insights, Acuta, Axiom, Baxter, Boxer Capital, COG, Ecor1, GLG, Group H, Guidepoint, HCW Precision, Janssen, Merrimack, Medscape, Prime Oncology, STCube, Tavistock, Trieza Therapeutics, Molecular Match, Oncoresponse, Presagia, AACR, ASCO, Celgene, Eli Lilly, SITC, and Phillips, outside of the submitted work; MO reports research support from Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp, AbbVie, Agilvax, Takeda Pharmaceuticals (Japan), Acrotech Biopharma, Janssen Research & Development LLC, Pfizer outside the submitted work; FM-B reports research support from Aileron Therapeutics, AstraZeneca, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceutical, Calithera Biosciences, Curis, CytomX Therapeutics, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Debiopharm International, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Genentech, Guardant Health, Klus Pharma, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, Puma Biotechnology, Taiho Pharmaceutical Co.; consulting fees from Aduro BioTech, Alkermes, AstraZeneca, DebioPharm, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, F. Hoffman-La Roche, Genentech, IBM Watson, Jackson Laboratory, Kolon Life Science, OrigiMed, PACT Pharma, Parexel International, Pfizer, Samsung Bioepis, Seattle Genetics, Tyra Biosciences, Xencor, Zymeworks; has served on advisory committees for Immunomedics, Inflection Biosciences, Mersana Therapeutics, Puma Biotechnology, Seattle Genetics, Silverback Therapeutics, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Zentalis; receives honoraria from Chugai Biopharmaceuticals, Mayo Clinic, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey; and support for travel and accommodation from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center outside the submitted work; AN reports research support from NCI, EMD Serono, MedImmune, Healios Onc. Nutrition, Atterocor/Millendo, Amplimmune, ARMO BioSciences, Karyopharm Therapeutics, Incyte, Novartis, Regeneron, Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer, CytomX Therapeutics, Neon Therapeutics, Calithera BioSciences, TopAlliance BioSciences, Eli Lilly, Kymab, PsiOxus, Arcus Biosciences, NeoImmuneTech, ImmuneOncia, and Surface Oncology, non-financial support for travel and accommodation from ARMO BioSciences, has served as an advisory board member for Novartis, CytomX Therapeutics, Genome and Company, STCube Pharmaceuticals, OncoSec KEYNOTE-695, and Kymab, reports research funding for his spouse from Immune Deficiency Foundation, Jeffery Modell Foundation and chao physician-scientist, and Baxalta, and his spouse has served as an advisory board member for Takeda, CSL, Behring, Horizon, and Pharming outside the submitted work. BSt, DDK, DJ, DOCO, AA, AFW, BSm, RWH, GRV declare no competing interests., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

We created the PDX Network (PDXNet) portal (https://portal.pdxnetwork.org/) to centralize access to the National Cancer Institute-funded PDXNet consortium resources, to facilitate collaboration among researchers and to make these data easily available for research. The portal includes sections for resources, analysis results, metrics for PDXNet activities, data processing protocols and training materials for processing PDX data. Currently, the portal contains PDXNet model information and data resources from 334 new models across 33 cancer types. Tissue samples of these models were deposited in the NCI's Patient-Derived Model Repository (PDMR) for public access. These models have 2134 associated sequencing files from 873 samples across 308 patients, which are hosted on the Cancer Genomics Cloud powered by Seven Bridges and the NCI Cancer Data Service for long-term storage and access with dbGaP permissions. The portal includes results from freely available, robust, validated and standardized analysis workflows on PDXNet sequencing files and PDMR data (3857 samples from 629 patients across 85 disease types). The PDXNet portal is continuously updated with new data and is of significant utility to the cancer research community as it provides a centralized location for PDXNet resources, which support multi-agent treatment studies, determination of sensitivity and resistance mechanisms, and preclinical trials., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of NAR Cancer.)

Purpose: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to definitive surgery has been utilized widely for locally advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). We evaluated neoadjuvant erlotinib with platinum-docetaxel vs. placebo with platinum-docetaxel in stage III-IVB OSCC patients., Experimental Design: Patients with newly diagnosed stage III, IVA, IVB (AJCC 7th) OSCC amenable to surgical resection were included. Patients were randomized to receive up to 3 cycles of chemotherapy with concurrent erlotinib or placebo, followed by surgery. The primary endpoint was major pathologic response (MPR) rate, secondary endpoints included safety, overall (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS)., Results: Fifty-two patients received at least one cycle of treatment and 47 were evaluable with surgical resection. MPR rate was not different between erlotinib (30%, 7/23) and placebo arms (41.7%, 10/24) (p=0.55). At median follow up of 26.5 months, there was no difference on OS or PFS between groups. Patients who received erlotinib with chemotherapy and achieved MPR (n=7) had no recurrence. The treatment-related adverse event rates were not different between the two groups (96% vs. 96%). However, rash, mostly low grade, was more common in the erlotinib arm (79% vs. 50%). Transcriptomic analysis in the pre-treatment samples indicated that genes in protein glycosylation and Wnt signaling pathways were associated with benefit in those treated with erlotinib plus chemotherapy., Conclusions: The addition of erlotinib to platinum-taxane chemotherapy was well-tolerated but did not induce higher rates of MPR or PFS or OS survival benefit. Patients who received chemotherapy with erlotinib and achieved major pathological responses had excellent clinical outcome.

Purpose: Dual inhibition of glucose and glutamine metabolism results in synergistic anticancer effects in solid tumor models. Telaglenastat, an investigational, small-molecule, glutaminase inhibitor, exhibits modest single-agent activity in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients. This phase Ib trial evaluated telaglenastat plus cabozantinib or everolimus, agents known to impair glucose metabolism in patients with metastatic RCC (mRCC)., Patients and Methods: mRCC patients received escalating doses of telaglenastat [400-800 mg per os (p.o.) twice daily] in a 3 + 3 design, plus either everolimus (10 mg daily p.o.; TelaE) or cabozantinib (60 mg daily p.o.; TelaC). Tumor response (RECISTv1.1) was assessed every 8 weeks. Endpoints included safety (primary) and antitumor activity., Results: Twenty-seven patients received TelaE, 13 received TelaC, with median 2 and 3 prior therapies, respectively. Treatment-related adverse events were mostly grades 1 to 2, most common including decreased appetite, anemia, elevated transaminases, and diarrhea with TelaE, and diarrhea, decreased appetite, elevated transaminases, and fatigue with TelaC. One dose-limiting toxicity occurred per cohort: grade 3 pruritic rash with TelaE and thrombocytopenia with TelaC. No maximum tolerated dose (MTD) was reached for either combination, leading to a recommended phase II dose of 800-mg telaglenastat twice daily with standard doses of E or C. TelaE disease control rate (DCR; response rate + stable disease) was 95.2% [20/21, including 1 partial response (PR)] among 21 patients with clear cell histology and 66.7% (2/3) for papillary. TelaC DCR was 100% (12/12) for both histologies [5/10 PRs as best response (3 confirmed) in clear cell]., Conclusions: TelaE and TelaC showed encouraging clinical activity and tolerability in heavily pretreated mRCC patients., (©2022 American Association for Cancer Research.)

Purpose: An ASCO provisional clinical opinion offers timely clinical direction to ASCO's membership following publication or presentation of potentially practice-changing data from major studies. This provisional clinical opinion addresses the appropriate use of tumor genomic testing in patients with metastatic or advanced solid tumors., Clinical Context: An increasing number of therapies are approved to treat cancers harboring specific genomic biomarkers. However, there is a lack of clarity as to when tumor genomic sequencing should be ordered, what type of assays should be performed, and how to interpret the results for treatment selection., Provisional Clinical Opinion: Patients with metastatic or advanced cancer should undergo genomic sequencing in a certified laboratory if the presence of one or more specific genomic alterations has regulatory approval as biomarkers to guide the use of or exclusion from certain treatments for their disease. Multigene panel-based assays should be used if more than one biomarker-linked therapy is approved for the patient's disease. Site-agnostic approvals for any cancer with a high tumor mutation burden, mismatch repair deficiency, or neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase ( NTRK ) fusions provide a rationale for genomic testing for all solid tumors. Multigene testing may also assist in treatment selection by identifying additional targets when there are few or no genotype-based therapy approvals for the patient's disease. For treatment planning, the clinician should consider the functional impact of the targeted alteration and expected efficacy of genomic biomarker-linked options relative to other approved or investigational treatments.Additional information is available at www.asco.org/assays-and-predictive-markers-guidelines., Competing Interests: Debyani ChakravartyConsulting or Advisory Role: Medendi Medical Travel Jeffrey SklarStock and Other Ownership Interests: PrecipioResearch Funding: Jilin Zixin (Inst) Kathleen MooreHonoraria: Research To Practice, Prime Oncology, Physicans' Education Resource, Great Debates and UpdatesConsulting or Advisory Role: Genentech/Roche, Immunogen, AstraZeneca, TESARO (Inst), VBL Therapeutics, Merck, Aravive, Eisai, Vavotar Life Sciences, Mersana (Inst), Myriad Genetics, Alkemeres (Inst), Blueprint Pharmacetuicals (Inst), GlaxoSmithKline/Tesaro (Inst), I-Mab (Inst), InxMed (Inst), Mereo BioPharma (Inst)Research Funding: PTC Therapeutics (Inst), Lilly (Inst), Merck (Inst), Tesaro (Inst), Genentech (Inst), Clovis Oncology (Inst), Lilly Foundation (Inst), Regeneron (Inst), Advaxis (Inst), Bristol Myers Squibb (Inst), Verastem (Inst), Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Ltd (Inst), AstraZeneca (Inst), Agenus (Inst), Takeda (Inst), Forty Seven (Inst), Stem CentRx (Inst), Immunogen (Inst), Bayer (Inst), Novogen (Inst), AbbVie/Stemcentrx (Inst)Other Relationship: GOG Partners (Inst) Shridar GanesanEmployment: Merck (I)Stock and Other Ownership Interests: Ibris, Inspirata, Merck (I), SilageneConsulting or Advisory Role: Inspirata, Novartis, Roche, Foghorn Therapeutics, Foundation Medicine, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Silagene, EQRx, EMD Serono, KayoTheraResearch Funding: M2Gen (Inst)Patents, Royalties, Other Intellectual Property: I hold 2 patents for digital imaging that may be licensed to Ibris Inc and Inspirata IncOther Relationship: NIH/NCI Christine M. LovlyHonoraria: Takeda, Pfizer, Cepheid, Foundation Medicine, AstraZeneca, Blueprint Medicines, Lilly, Genentech, Syros Pharmaceuticals, Amgen, Roche, EMD Serono, Daiichi Sankyo/AstraZeneca, Puma BiotechnologyConsulting or Advisory Role: Novartis, Foundation Medicine, Pfizer, Takeda, Cepheid, AstraZeneca, Blueprint Medicines, Syros Pharmaceuticals, Genentech, Lilly, Amgen, EMD Serono, Daiichi Sankyo/AstraZeneca, Puma BiotechnologyResearch Funding: Novartis, Xcovery, AstraZeneca (Inst)Travel, Accommodations, Expenses: Pfizer, Takeda, Foundation Medicine, Novartis, Cepheid, Genentech Stacy W. GrayStock and Other Ownership Interests: Magenta Therapeutics (I)Honoraria: Triptych Health PartnersConsulting or Advisory Role: Magenta Therapeutics (I) Jimmy HwangConsulting or Advisory Role: Bayer, Bristol Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Caris Centers of Excellence, Pfizer, QED Therapeutics, Deciphera, IncyteSpeakers' Bureau: Bristol Myers Squibb, Deciphera, IncyteResearch Funding: Caris Centers of Excellence (Inst), Boehringer Ingelheim (Inst) Christopher LieuConsulting or Advisory Role: Ipsen (Inst), HalioDx (Inst), Pfizer (Inst)Research Funding: Merck (Inst) Fabrice AndréStock and Other Ownership Interests: PegacsyResearch Funding: AstraZeneca (Inst), Novartis (Inst), Pfizer (Inst), Lilly (Inst), Roche (Inst), Daiichi (Inst)Travel, Accommodations, Expenses: Novartis, Roche, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca Nilofer AzadConsulting or Advisory Role: AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Taiho Pharmaceutical, QED Therapeutics, Merck, Incyte, Helsinn Therapeutics/QED TherapeuticsResearch Funding: Celgene (Inst), Genentech (Inst), Astex Pharmaceuticals (Inst), Agios (Inst), Merck (Inst), Bristol Myers Squibb (Inst), Syndax (Inst), Array BioPharma (Inst), Intensity Therapeutics (Inst), Bayer (Inst), EMD Serono, Debiopharm Group (Inst), Incyte (Inst), Loxo/Lilly (Inst), AtlasMedx (Inst) Mitesh BoradStock and Other Ownership Interests: Gilead Sciences, AVEO, Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Spectrum PharmaceuticalsConsulting or Advisory Role: G1 Therapeutics, Fujifilm (Inst), Agios (Inst), Insys Therapeutics (Inst), Novartis (Inst), ArQule (Inst), Celgene (Inst), Inspyr Therapeutics, Halozyme (Inst), Pieris Pharmaceuticals (Inst), Taiho Pharmaceutical (Inst), Immunovative Therapies, Exelixis, Lynx Group, Genentech, Western Oncolytics, Klus Pharma, De Novo Pharmaceuticals, Merck, ImvaxResearch Funding: Boston Biomedical (Inst), miRNA Therapeutics (Inst), Senhwa Biosciences (Inst), MedImmune (Inst), BiolineRx (Inst), Agios (Inst), Halozyme (Inst), Celgene (Inst), Threshold Pharmaceuticals (Inst), Toray Industries (Inst), Dicerna (Inst), Sillajen (Inst), Eisai (Inst), Taiho Pharmaceutical (Inst), EMD Serono (Inst), Isis Pharmaceuticals (Inst), Incyte (Inst), Sun Biopharma (Inst), ARIAD (Inst), ImClone Systems (Inst), QED Therapeutics (Inst), Incyte (Inst), Puma Biotechnology (Inst), Adaptimmune (Inst), Merck Serono (Inst), RedHill Biopharma (Inst), Basilea (Inst), AstraZeneca (Inst)Travel, Accommodations, Expenses: ArQule, Celgene, AstraZeneca Laura TafeStock and Other Ownership Interests: Exact Sciences, GlaxoSmithKlineResearch Funding: Biocartis (Inst)Other Relationship: College of American Pathologists, Association for Molecular Pathology Mark RobsonConsulting or Advisory Role: Change HealthCareResearch Funding: AstraZeneca (Inst), Pfizer (Inst), Merck (Inst)Other Relationship: Research to Practice, Clinical Care Options, Physicans' Education Resource, Pfizer, MyMedEd, Clinical Education AllianceUncompensated Relationships: Merck, Pfizer, Daiichi Sankyo, Epic Sciences, Artios, Tempus, Zenith PharmaOpen Payments Link: https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/physician/612669/summary Funda Meric-BernstamEmployment: MD Anderson Cancer CenterHonoraria: Rutgers Cancer Institute of New JerseyConsulting or Advisory Role: Samsung Bioepis, Xencor, Debiopharm Group, Silverback Therapeutics, IBM Watson Health, Roche, PACT Pharma, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Kolon Life Sciences, Tyra Biosciences, Zymeworks, Puma Biotechnology, Zentalis, Alkermes, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, AbbVie, Black Diamond Therapeutics, Eisai, OnCusp Therapeutics, Lengo Therapeutics, Tallac Therapeutics, Karyopharm Therapeutics, BiovicaSpeakers' Bureau: Chugai PharmaResearch Funding: Novartis (Inst), AstraZeneca (Inst), Taiho Pharmaceutical (Inst), Genentech (Inst), Calithera Biosciences (Inst), Debiopharm Group (Inst), Bayer (Inst), Aileron Therapeutics (Inst), PUMA Biotechnology (Inst), CytomX Therapeutics (Inst), Jounce Therapeutics (Inst), Zymeworks (Inst), Curis (Inst), Pfizer (Inst), eFFECTOR Therapeutics (Inst), AbbVie (Inst), Boehringer Ingelheim (I), Guardant Health (Inst), Daiichi Sankyo (Inst), GlaxoSmithKline (Inst), Seattle Genetics (Inst), Taiho Pharmaceutical (Inst), Klus Pharma (Inst), Takeda (Inst)Travel, Accommodations, Expenses: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical CenterNo other potential conflicts of interest were reported.

Background: Carboplatin and paclitaxel (CT) is one of the standard chemotherapy regimens used in various tumor types. Preclinical models have suggested that selinexor, a first-in-class oral potent selective inhibitor of nuclear export Exportin-1, and CT exerts antitumor activity in multiple malignancies., Methods: This was a single-center, multi-arm phase Ib study utilizing a "basket type" expansion. CT and selinexor was employed as one of the 13 parallel arms. Advanced relapsed/refractory solid tumors following standard therapy or where the addition of selinexor to standard regimens deemed appropriate, were eligible., Results: Of 13 patients treated, 12 patients were evaluable for response. The most common cancers were breast (n = 4), esophageal (n = 2), ovarian (n = 2) and non-small cell lung cancers (n = 2). All 13 patients had at least one treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) and the most common were neutropenia (85%), leukopenia (85%), thrombocytopenia (85%), anemia (69%), nausea (54%), vomiting (46%), and fatigue (46%). One patient at 60 mg QW experienced DLT with grade 3 nausea and vomiting lasting 3 days. Unconfirmed partial response (uPR) was observed in 3 patients; one patient each with esophageal, breast, and ovarian cancer. One patient with esophageal adenocarcinoma had confirmed PR, however, was discontinued from the study due to clinical progression. Five patients achieved stable disease (SD). Disease control rate was 8%. Majority of patients (77%), including two patients who had uPR, had prior exposure to carboplatin and/or paclitaxel. Time-to-treatment failure (TTF) ranged from 1 to 153 weeks., Conclusion: The RP2D of selinexor was 60 mg QW in combination with CT. The combination conferred viable clinical activity with durable objective responses which should further be explored in tumor types for which CT is used as standard of care. Trial information., Clinicaltrials: gov Identifier: NCT02419495. Sponsor(s): Karyopharm Therapeutics. (Trial registration: NCT02419495. Registered 14 April 2015, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02419495 )., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

High tumor mutational burden (TMB-H) correlates with improved immunotherapy response. We assessed atezolizumab 1,200 mg every 3 weeks for TMB-H tumors from MyPathway (NCT02091141), a phase IIa multibasket study. One hundred twenty-one patients had advanced solid tumors with TMB ≥10 mut/Mb by any Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-certified assay. The preplanned primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR) in patients with TMB ≥16 mut/Mb tumors by FoundationOne TMB testing [F1(CDx)]. Patients with F1(CDx) TMB ≥10 and <16 mut/Mb were also evaluated. Ninety patients with 19 tumor types and F1(CDx) TMB ≥10 mut/Mb were efficacy evaluable. In 42 patients with F1(CDx) TMB ≥16 mut/Mb, confirmed ORR was 38.1% [16/42; 95% confidence interval (CI), 23.6-54.4], and disease control rate was 61.9% (26/42; 95% CI, 45.6-76.4) versus 2.1% (1/48; 95% CI, 0.1-11.1) and 22.9% (11/48; 95% CI, 12.0-37.3) for 48 patients with TMB ≥10 and <16 mut/Mb. Responses were observed in nine different tumor types (47%; 9/19)., Significance: Atezolizumab monotherapy had promising, durable clinical activity across a variety of advanced solid tumor types in patients with TMB ≥16 mut/Mb tumors lacking other suitable treatment options and who were immunotherapy-naïve at enrollment, regardless of microsatellite instability status. Limited activity was observed in tumors with TMB ≥10 and <16 mut/Mb. See related commentary by Maron and Klempner, p. 602. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 587., (©2021 The Authors; Published by the American Association for Cancer Research.)

Purpose: This phase I study assessed the safety, pharmacokinetics (PKs), and efficacy of MIW815 (ADU-S100), a novel synthetic cyclic dinucleotide that activates the stimulator of IFN genes (STING) pathway, in patients with advanced/metastatic cancers., Patients and Methods: Patients (n = 47) received weekly i.t. injections of MIW815, 50 to 6,400 μg, on a 3-weeks-on/1-week-off schedule., Results: A maximum tolerated dose was not reached. Most common treatment-related adverse events were pyrexia (17%), chills, and injection-site pain (each 15%). MIW815 was rapidly absorbed from the injection site with dose-proportional PK, a rapid terminal plasma half-life (approximately 24 minutes), and high interindividual variability. One patient had a partial response (PR; Merkel cell carcinoma); two patients had unconfirmed PR (parotid cancer, myxofibrosarcoma). Lesion size was stable or decreased in 94% of evaluable, injected lesions. RNA expression and immune infiltration assessments in paired tumor biopsies did not reveal significant on-treatment changes. However, increases in inflammatory cytokines and peripheral blood T-cell clonal expansion suggested systemic immune activation., Conclusions: MIW815 was well tolerated in patients with advanced/metastatic cancers. Clinical activity of single-agent MIW815 was limited in this first-in-human study; however, evidence of systemic immune activation was seen., (©2021 American Association for Cancer Research.)

Fusion genes represent a class of attractive therapeutic targets. Thousands of fusion genes have been identified in patients with cancer, but the functional consequences and therapeutic implications of most of these remain largely unknown. Here, we develop a functional genomic approach that consists of efficient fusion reconstruction and sensitive cell viability and drug response assays. Applying this approach, we characterize ~100 fusion genes detected in patient samples of The Cancer Genome Atlas, revealing a notable fraction of low-frequency fusions with activating effects on tumor growth. Focusing on those in the RTK-RAS pathway, we identify a number of activating fusions that can markedly affect sensitivity to relevant drugs. Last, we propose an integrated, level-of-evidence classification system to prioritize gene fusions systematically. Our study reiterates the urgent clinical need to incorporate similar functional genomic approaches to characterize gene fusions, thereby maximizing the utility of gene fusions for precision oncology.

Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: Aung Naing reports the following: research funding from NCI, EMD Serono, MedImmune, Healios Inc. Nutrition, Atterocor, Amplimmune, ARMO BioSciences, Eli Lilly, Karyopharm Therapeutics, Incyte, Novartis, Regeneron, Merck, BMS, Pfizer, CytomX Therapeutics, Neon Therapeutics, Calithera Biosciences, TopAlliance Biosciences, Kymab, PsiOxus, Arcus Biosciences, NeoimmuneTech, ImmuneOncia, Surface Oncology; on advisory boards of CytomX Therapeutics, Novartis, Genome & Company, OncoSec KEYNOTE-695, and STCube; travel and accommodation expense from ARMO BioSciences. Jatin Shah is an employee of and stockholder of Karyopharm Therapuetics. The remaining authors have declared that they have no conflicts of interest.

Epstein-Barr virus-positive (EBV-positive) B-cell lymphomas are common in immunocompromised patients and remain an unmet medical need. Here we report that MDM2 inhibitors (MDM2is) navtemadlin and idasanutlin have potent in vivo activity in EBV-positive B-cell lymphoma established in immunocompromised mice. Tumor regression was observed in all 5 EBV-positive xenograft-associated B-cell lymphomas treated with navtemadlin or idasanutlin. Molecular characterization showed that treatment with MDM2is resulted in activation of p53 pathways and downregulation of cell cycle effectors in human lymphoma cell lines that were either EBV-positive or had undetectable expression of BCL6, a transcriptional inhibitor of the TP53 gene. Moreover, treatment with navtemadlin resulted in tumor regression and prevented systemic dissemination of EBV-positive lymphoma derived from 2 juvenile patients with posttransplant lymphoproliferative diseases, including 1 whose tumor was resistant to virus-specific T-cell therapy. These results provide proof-of-concept for targeted therapy of EBV-positive lymphoma with MDM2is and the feasibility of using EBV infection or loss of BCL6 expression to identify responders to MDM2is., (© 2022 by The American Society of Hematology. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), permitting only noncommercial, nonderivative use with attribution. All other rights reserved.)

Background: Implementation of adjuvant therapies in non-metastatic melanoma improved treatment outcomes in some patients; however, adjuvant therapy can be associated with significant cost and risk of toxicity. Therefore, there is an unmet need to better identify patients at high risk of recurrence., Patients and Methods: We carried out an ultrasensitive droplet digital PCR (ddPCR)-based detection of BRAF V600E -mutated circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) from blood samples prospectively collected before surgery, 1 hour after surgery, and then serially during follow-up., Results: In 80 patients (stages ≤III), BRAF V600E mutations were detected in 47.2% of tissue, in 37.7% of ctDNA samples collected before surgery, and in 25.9% of ctDNA samples collected 1 hour after surgery. Patients with detected ctDNA in blood collected 1 hour after surgery compared to patients without detected ctDNA had higher likelihood of melanoma recurrence (P < 0.001) and shorter median disease-free survival (P = 0.001) and overall survival (P = 0.003)., Conclusions: Ultrasensitive ddPCR can detect ctDNA in pre- and post-surgical blood samples from patients with resectable melanoma. Detection of ctDNA in post-surgical samples is associated with inferior treatment outcomes., Competing Interests: Disclosure SGC is a current employee at Tempus Labs. FM-B has research support from Aileron Therapeutics, AstraZeneca, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceutical, Calithera Biosciences, Curis, CytomX Therapeutics, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Debiopharm International, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Genentech, Guardant Health, Klus Pharma, Takeda Pharmaceutical (formerly Millennium Pharmaceutical), Novartis, Puma Biotechnology, and Taiho Pharmaceutical; provided consulting role for AbbVie, Aduro BioTech, Alkermes, AstraZeneca, DebioPharm, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, F. Hoffman-La Roche, Genentech, IBM Watson, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Jackson Laboratory, Kolon Life Science, OrigiMed, PACT Pharma, Parexel International, Pfizer, Samsung Bioepis, Seattle Genetics, Tyra Biosciences, and Xencor, Zymeworks; is on the advisory committee of Black Diamond, Eisai, Immunomedics, Inflection Biosciences, Karyopharm Therapeutics, Mersana Therapeutics, Puma Biotechnology, Seattle Genetics, Silverback Therapeutics, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, and Zentalis; received honoraria from Chugai Biopharmaceuticals, Mayo Clinic, and Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey; and received travel-related support from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. FJ has research support from Astex, Novartis, BioMed Valley Discoveries, Fore Bio, Deciphera, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Asana, Ideaya Biosciences, Sanofi, Merck, F-star, JSI Innopharm, Bioxcel, Lilly, Bicara, PureTech Health, FujiFilm Pharmaceuticals, Sotio, Synlogic, NextCure, and Hutchinson Medipharma; is on the Scientific Advisory Boards of Ideaya Biosciences, Synlogic, Sotio, Puretech Health, Deciphera, Crown Bioscience, Asana, Fore Bio, Novartis, Bicara, and PegaOne; is a paid consultant for Mersana Therapeutics, Flame Bio, Cardiff Oncology, MedinCell, and Immunomet; has ownership interests in Cardiff Oncology and Monte Rosa Therapeutics; and has the leadership position in Monte Rosa Therapeutics. The remaining authors have declared no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) and adenocarcinoma, not otherwise specified (adeno-NOS), are rare salivary gland cancers. Data on the efficacy of systemic therapy for these diseases are limited., Methods: Data were retrospectively collected from patients seen at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center during 1990 to 2020. Objective response rate (ORR) was assessed per RECIST v1.1. Recurrence-free survival (RFS), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were assessed by Kaplan-Meier method. Cox regression model was performed to identify predictors of survival., Results: The analysis included 200 patients (110 with SDC and 90 with adeno-NOS); 77% had androgen-receptor-positive tumors and 47% had HER2-positive (2+-3+) tumors. Most patients without metastasis at diagnosis underwent surgery (98%) and postoperative radiotherapy (87%). Recurrence rate was 55%, and the median RFS was 2 years. Nodal involvement and positive surgical margins were associated with recurrence (P < .005). Among patients with stage IVA-B disease, addition of systemic therapy to local therapy increased OS (P = .049). The most-used palliative-systemic-therapy regimen was platinum doublet ± trastuzumab. For first-line therapy, the ORR and median PFS were 33% and 5.76 months, respectively, and for second-line therapy the ORR and median PFS were 25% and 5.3 months, respectively. ORR and PFS were higher with HER2-targeting agents. Median OS was 5 years overall and 2 years for metastatic disease. Older age and higher stage were associated with worse OS., Conclusion: Adding systemic therapy to local therapy may improve outcomes of patients with locoregionally advanced SDC or adeno-NOS. Except for HER2-targeted therapy, response to palliative systemic therapy is limited. These findings may be used as a benchmark for future drug development., (© 2021 American Cancer Society.)