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PURPOSE The recommended duration of adjuvant fluoropyrimidine and oxaliplatin chemotherapy for patients with stage III colon cancer is based on tumor classification into clinically low-risk (T1-3 N1) and high-risk (T4 or N2) groups. We determined whether Immunoscore can enhance prognostication within these risk groups. MATERIALS AND METHODS Patients with stage III colon carcinomas (N = 600) were randomly selected from the infusional fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin arm of adjuvant trial NCCTG N0147 (Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology). Tumors were evaluated for Immunoscore that quantifies CD3+ and CD8+ T-cell densities in the tumor center and invasive margin by digital image analysis. Disease-free survival (DFS) by Immunoscore was analyzed using a multivariable Cox regression model in each risk group with adjustment for covariates including KRAS, BRAF V600E, and mismatch repair status. RESULTS Of 559 cancers with Immunoscore data, 299 (53.5%) were classified as clinically low-risk (T1-3 N1) and 260 (46.5%) as clinically high-risk (T4 and/or N2). Among patients with low-risk tumors, those with Immunoscore-Low versus Immunoscore-High tumors had significantly worse 5-year DFS rates (77.5% v 91.8%; hazard ratio, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.03 to 2.79; P = .037). Among patients with high-risk tumors, those with Immunoscore-Low versus Immunoscore-High tumors also had significantly worse DFS (55.3% v 70.3%; hazard ratio, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.11 to 2.47; P = .013). Tumors that were low-risk/Immunoscore-Low had similar outcomes as did tumors that were high-risk/Immunoscore-High ( P = .174). Prognostication was significantly improved in multivariable models where Immunoscore was added to clinical risk parameters and limited biomarkers (likelihood ratio test P = .0003). CONCLUSION Immunoscore can refine patient prognosis beyond clinical risk group classification, suggesting its potential utility for adjuvant decision making.

Adjunction of immune response into the TNM classification system improves the prediction of colon cancer (CC) prognosis. However, immune response measurements have not been used as robust biomarkers of pathology in clinical practice until the introduction of Immunoscore (IS), a standardized assay based on automated artificial intelligence assisted digital pathology. The strong prognostic impact of the immune response, as assessed by IS, has been widely validated and IS can help to refine treatment decision making in early CC. In this study, we compared pathologist visual scoring to IS. Four pathologists evaluated tumor specimens from 50 early-stage CC patients and classified the CD3+ and CD8+ T-cell densities at the tumor site (T-score) into 2 (High/Low) categories. Individual and overall pathologist scoring of immune response (before and after training for immune response assessment) were compared to the reference IS (High/Low). Pathologists’ disagreement with the reference IS was observed in almost half of the cases (48%) and training only slightly improved the accuracy of pathologists’ classification. Agreement among pathologists was minimal with a Kappa of 0.34 and 0.57 before and after training, respectively. The standardized IS assay outperformed expert pathologist assessment in the clinical setting.

Simple Summary Selection of appropriate stage II colon cancer patients for adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) is controversial. A novel immune response classifier has previously been validated to refine patient selection, but its impact on oncologist treatment planning had yet to be described. In this survey, all but one oncologist altered clinical practice recommendations, and recommendations for AC prescriptions were reduced by half (among the Immunoscore-high cases (low recurrence risk)). This study revealed that the Immunoscore results could significantly decrease AC use in patients with stage II colon cancer who may not benefit from it, thereby reducing the administration of nonvalue care. Abstract Background: Adjuvant chemotherapy use in stage II colon cancer is controversial. Current prognostic risk factors do not take the tumor immune microenvironment into account. Consideration of the Immunoscore, which measures the host immune response at the tumor site, may assist clinicians in reducing adjuvant chemotherapy use in patients who are unlikely to benefit from it. This study sought to determine the potential clinical utility of the Immunoscore, via its effect on medical oncologists’ recommendations for management of patients with stage II colon cancer. Methods: De-identified vignettes of 10 patients with stage II colon cancer were presented to 25 practicing medical oncologists. Each participant completed surveys indicating recommendations for adjuvant chemotherapy and surveillance strategies. An educational session was subsequently conducted, and the same patient profiles were re-presented but included immunoscore results. Participants were again asked to provide their recommendations. A participant was counted as influenced if their responses were altered after immunoscore test results were provided. Results: All but one participant (96%) altered a management recommendation for ≥1 case. For individual cases, a mean of 55% (range, 40–80%) of participants altered their recommendations for adjuvant chemotherapy and/or surveillance. For the immunoscore-high cases (low-risk of recurrence), recommendations for adjuvant chemotherapy use decreased from 60% to 31%. Conclusions: These results indicate a willingness by oncologists to integrate immunoscore information into clinical practice recommendations. Incorporation of immunoscore data resulted in the reduction of nonvalue care in the simulated population. Confirmation in prospective studies is planned.

2509 Background: Anti-PD1 and PD-L1 antibodies (mAb) are immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) to treat patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Unfortunately, only a handful of patients respond to ICIs. Methods: A cohort of patients with metastatic NSCLC (n=133) treated with anti-PD1 or anti-PD-L1 mAb in two independent care centers was evaluated. An independent cohort of 132 patients from another hospital was used as a validation. Immunoscore IC, an in vitro diagnostic test (CE-IVD), was used on a routine single FFPE slide, and duplex immunohistochemistry CD8 and PD-L1 staining was quantified using digital pathology. Quantitative and spatial parameters related to cell location, number, proximity, and clustering were analyzed. An Immunoscore IC–based model discriminated patients into 2 categories or 3 categories. Results: Anti–PD-L1 clone (HDX3) had similar characteristics as other anti–PD-L1 clones (22C3, SP263) with a mean overall agreement above 95%. Intra- and inter-laboratory concordances for classifying patients at 1% cut-off according to digital anti–PD-L1 (HDX3) were 100% and 94%, respectively. Routine laboratory evaluation of PD-L1 expression showed an agreement with digital anti–PD-L1 quantification of 92% and 97% at 1% and 50% cut-offs, respectively. Using univariate Cox model after FDR correction, 5 pathological dichotomized variables were significantly associated with PFS (all p < 0.0001). These variables included: CD8 free of PD-L1, CD8 clusters, CD8 cells in proximity of PD-L1 cells, CD8 number, PD-L1 cells in proximity of CD8 cells. Similar results were found using univariate Cox analysis on continuous variables (all p < 0.003) in two independent cohorts of patients. Using multivariate Cox model Immunoscore IC classification improved the discriminating power of prognostic model, which included clinical variables and pathologist PD-L1 assessment. In two categories, the Immunoscore IC risk score was significantly associated with both patients’ PFS (p < 0.0001) and OS (p < 0.0001) in the training cohort and in the validation cohort (PFS: p = 0.0047, OS: p < 0.0001). Further increased hazard ratios were found when stratifying patients into 3 categories of Immunoscore IC. At 6 months, PFS rates were 10% versus 60% in the training cohort and 20% versus 62% in the validation cohort for high-risk and low-risk Immunoscore IC score, respectively. All patients (100%) with high-risk Immunoscore IC score relapsed in less than 18 months, in contrast to 34% and 33% of low-risk Immunoscore IC patients who did not relapse for more than 36 months in the training and validation cohorts, respectively. Conclusions: These data underline that Immunoscore IC is a potent tool to predict the efficacy of ICIs in patients with NSCLC. Immunoscore IC characterized patients who are resistant to ICIs.

(1) Background&mdash, The five-year overall survival (OS) of muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and cystectomy is around 50%. There is no validated biomarker to guide the treatment decision. We investigated whether the Immunoscore (IS) could predict the pathologic response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and survival outcomes. (2) Methods&mdash, This retrospective study evaluated the IS in 117 patients treated using neoadjuvant chemotherapy for localized MIBC from six centers (France and Greece). Pre-treatment tumor samples were immunostained for CD3+ and CD8+ T cells and quantified to determine the IS. The results were associated with the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, time to recurrence (TTR), and OS. (3) Results&mdash, Low (IS-0), intermediate (IS-1&ndash, 2), and high (IS-3&ndash, 4) ISs were observed in 36.5, 43.7, and 19.8% of the cohort, respectively. IS was positively associated with a pathologic complete response (pCR, p-value = 0.0096). A high IS was found in 35.7% of patients with a pCR, whereas it was found in 11.3% of patients without a pCR. A low IS was observed in 48.4% of patients with no pCR and in 21.4% of patients with a pCR. Low-, intermediate-, and high-IS patients had five-year recurrence-free rates of 37.2%, 36.5%, and 72.6%, respectively. In the multivariable analysis, a high IS was associated with a prolonged TTR (high vs. low: p = 0.0134) and OS (high vs. low: p = 0.011). (4) Conclusions&mdash, This study showed the significant prognostic and predictive roles of IS regarding localized MIBC.

196 Background: The ESMO clinical practice guidelines recommend consideration of Immunoscore (IS) for risk assessment of early colon cancer patients. IS clinical performance was assessed in the SCOT and IDEA-HORG trials evaluating 3 vs. 6 months (3m vs. 6m) of mFOLFOX6 adjuvant chemotherapy in stage III colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods: 1,002 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor samples (762 from SCOT;240 from HORG) were collected, of which 851 were eligible for biomarker analysis. Eligible samples were classified into 2 groups using pre-defined cut-offs (IS-Low, IS- High) and the performance of IS to predict 3 year disease-free survival (3y-DFS) was evaluated. Results: IS was successfully assessed in 846 cases (99%). 615 (72.7%) samples were classified as IS-High (311 and 304 in 3m and 6m arm, respectively). No significant association between IS and patients’ gender, age, PS, BMI or primary tumour location was observed. However, a significant difference between IS-High (43.7%) and IS Low (57.1%) was observed in the proportion of high risk (T4 and/or N2) tumours (p=0.001). Patients with IS-High tumors had significantly longer 3y-DFS (79.4%, 95%CI: 75.9%-82.4%) compared to those with IS-Low tumors (65.0%, 95%CI: 58.3%-70.9%); adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 1.9 (95%CI: 1.46-2.46; p

International audience; Background: The Immunoscore (IS), which prognostically classifies stage I–III colon cancer (CC) patients, was evaluated in the International Duration Evaluation of Adjuvant Therapy (IDEA) France cohort study investigating 3 versus 6 months of oxaliplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy in stage III CC patients.Patients and methods: Densities of CD3+ and CD8+ T cells in the tumor and invasive margin were determined by immunohistochemistry, quantified by digital pathology, and converted to IS. Mismatch repair status was determined by immunohistochemistry or by pentaplex PCR. Prediction of disease-free survival (DFS) by IS was analyzed by a multivariable Cox regression model in each study arm. Harrell's C-statistics were used to investigate the IS performance.Results: Samples of 1322 patients were available. IS Low, Intermediate (Int), and High were observed in 43.6%, 47.0%, and 9.4% of patients, respectively. IS Low identified patients at higher risk of relapse or death compared with Int + High [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.54; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.24–1.93, P = 0.0001]. The 3-year DFS was 66.80% (95% CI 62.23–70.94) for IS Low and 77.14% (95% CI 73.50–80.35) for IS Int + High. In multivariable analysis, IS remained significantly independently associated with DFS (P = 0.003) when adjusted for sex, histological grade, T/N stage, and microsatellite instability. For mFOLFOX6-treated patients (91.6% of the cohort), a statistical significant interaction was observed for the predictive value of IS for treatment duration (3 versus 6 months) in terms of DFS (P = 0.057). IS Int + High significantly predicted benefit of 6 months of treatment (HR = 0.53; 95% CI 0.37–0.75; P = 0.0004), including clinically low- and high-risk stage III CC (all P < 0.001). Conversely, patients with IS Low (46.4%) did not significantly benefit from the 6-month mFOLFOX6 versus the 3-month mFOLFOX6.Conclusions: The prognostic value of IS for DFS was confirmed in patients with stage III CC treated with oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy. Its predictive value for DFS benefit of longer duration of mFOLFOX6 adjuvant treatment was found in IS Int + High. These results will be validated in an external independent cohort. ClinicalTrials.gov registration: NCT03422601; EudraCT Number: 2009-010384-16.

295 Background: Approximately 25% of patients with colon cancer are diagnosed at stage II. Recommendations for adjuvant chemotherapy and follow-up for these patients are risk-based, however the benefit of therapy is not supported by consistent, robust evidence and there are physical and financial harms associated with adjuvant treatments. Immunoscore is a novel paradigm for risk refinement through measurement of the immune response to the tumor. However, the impact of this tool on physician recommendations for clinical management has yet to be defined. Methods: Medical oncologists were presented with 10 patient profiles (real-life, de-identified stage II cases submitted for clinical Immunoscore testing) and queried for their recommendations (adjuvant chemotherapy and frequency of surveillance) via an online survey. Next, they took part in a live meeting where the Immunoscore data were introduced and completed the same patient survey, but this time with the Immunoscore classification (High or Low) assigned. A physician was counted as influenced by immune response assessment when there was at least one therapeutic modification (chemotherapy decision or surveillance de-intensification) after an Immunoscore test result was provided. We hypothesized that a rate of practice change of 30% (H1) would be considered an impactful result, while 10% would not be impactful (H0). According to A’Hern’s design with a one-sided alpha of 5% and 80% power, 25 physicians needed to be included to test the hypothesis. If 6 or more practice changes (≥ 24%) were observed, the study would be considered positive. Results: Twenty-five physicians were enrolled, representing a range of practice settings from academic medical centers, to high-volume hospital networks, to private community practices; all physicians had experience in treating stage II colon cancer. On average, physicians elected to change their chemotherapy and/or surveillance recommendations 56% of the time, therefore the objective of the study was reached. All but one physician (96%) changed their recommendations for at least one case, while 92% (23/25) changed their preference for chemotherapy in at least 1 case. The rate of change for chemotherapy prescription was 36% per patient case (range: 7-13 changes). Altered surveillance strategies were infrequently observed when chemotherapy recommendations changed. Conclusions: In this physician survey of real-world stage II colon cancer cases, Immunoscore classification significantly impacted decision-making. This impact can translate into a significant reduction in non-value care.

10 Background: In stage III colon cancer patients treated with CAPOX, 3 months of therapy was as effective as 6 months. It was not the case for those receiving mFOLFOX6. We assessed the prognostic and predictive value of the Immunoscore (IS) in the mFOLFOX6 subgroup (90% of patients enrolled) of the IDEA France cohort study. Methods: 1200 patients randomly assigned to 3 months (n = 593) or 6 months (n = 607) of mFOLFOX6, with available tumor sample, were included. Densities of CD3+ and cytotoxic CD8+ T-cells in the tumor and invasive margin were determined by immunohistochemistry, quantified by digital pathology, and converted to IS using the pre-defined cut-off. The IS performance to predict disease-free survival (DFS) was assessed in each arm and adjusted in multivariate Cox models. Results: In a two-category IS analysis, Low and (Int+High) IS were observed in 423 (43.5%) and 550 (56.5%) patients, respectively. Low IS identified patients with higher-risk of relapse or death (HR = 1.60; 95% CI 1.27-2.01, P < 0.0001). The 3-year DFS was 66.34% (95% CI 61.54-70.69) and 77.66% (95% CI 73.86-80.97) for Low and (Int+High) IS, respectively. In multivariate analysis, IS remained independently associated with DFS (P = 0.0007) when combined with T/N stage. A statistically significant interaction was observed for the IS predictive value for treatment duration (3 vs 6 months) in term of DFS in the whole population (P = 0.0566) and TN subgroups (Low-risk T1-3, N1 vs High-risk T4 and/or N2; P = 0.0015). The 3-year DFS of patients with (Int+High) IS in the 3-month arm was 71.5% (95% CI 65.7-76.6) versus 83.8% (95% CI, 78.8-87.8) in the 6-month arm (HR = 0.528; 95% CI 0.372-0.750; log-rank P = 0.0004); the benefit retained in low-risk and high-risk patients (all P≤0.010). 6-month mFOLFOX6 showed no significant benefit for patients with Low IS (HR = 0.836, log-rank P = 0.269). Conclusions: The IS prognostic value in patients treated with mFOLFOX6 was confirmed. Its predictive value for benefit of longer duration treatment, despite a strong statistical signal, needs to be confirmed in an external validation cohort. Clinical trial information: NCT03422601.

3513 Background: The Immunoscore (IS), which has been shown to prognostically classify Stage I-III colon cancer (CC) patients, was assessed in the IDEA France cohort study evaluating 3 versus 6 months of oxaliplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy in Stage III CC patients. Methods: Densities of CD3+ and cytotoxic CD8+ T cells in the tumor and invasive margin of each patient were quantified by digital pathology and converted to IS using pre-defined published cut-off. The performance of IS to predict disease-free survival (DFS) was assessed in the modified intention-to-treat population, in each study arm, and was adjusted with relevant clinical features in multivariable Cox models. Harrell’s C-statistics was used to investigate the IS performance. Results: 1322 patients were included; 82 were excluded due to pre-analytical non-conformity. IS was successfully analyzed in 1062 (85.6%) eligible patients. In a 2-category IS analysis, Low and (Int+High) IS were observed in n=599 (43.6%) and n=463 (56.4%) patients, respectively. IS was significantly correlated with T stage, T/N stage (T1-3 and N1 versus T4 and/or N2), and microsatellite instability status. The study met its primary objective of validating that Low IS identifies patients with higher-risk of relapse or death [HR=1.54; 95%CI 1.24-1.93, p=0.0001]. The 3-year DFS rates were 66.80% [95%CI 62.23-70.95] and 77.14% [95%CI 73.50-80.35] for Low IS and (Int+High) IS, respectively. In multivariable analysis, IS remained independently associated with DFS (p