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Background Pre-clinical data suggest that docetaxel and enzalutamide interfere with androgen receptor translocation and signalling. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of their concurrent administration in the first-line treatment for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Methods In this open-label, randomised, phase II trial, previously untreated mCRPC patients were randomised 1:1 to receive eight 21-d courses of docetaxel 75 mg/m2, oral prednisone 5 mg twice daily and oral enzalutamide 160 mg/d (arm DE), or the same treatment without enzalutamide (arm D). The primary end-point was the percentage of patients without investigator-assessed disease progression 6 months after the first docetaxel administration. Results The 246 eligible patients were randomly assigned to receive docetaxel, prednisone and enzalutamide (n = 120) or docetaxel and prednisone (n = 126). The 6-month progression rate was 12.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 8.1–20.6) in arm DE and 27.8% (95% CI 22.8–39.4) in arm D (chi-squared test 10.01; P = 0.002). The most frequent grade III–IV adverse events were fatigue (12.5% in arm DE versus 5.6% in arm D), febrile neutropenia (9.3% versus 4.0%) and neutropenia (7.6% versus 5.6%). Conclusions The combination of enzalutamide and docetaxel appears to be more clinically beneficial than docetaxel alone in previously untreated mCRPC patients, although serious adverse events were more frequent. Our findings suggest that first-line treatment with this combination could lead to an additional clinical benefit when prompt and prolonged disease control is simultaneously required. Clearly, these results should be considered cautiously because of the study’s phase II design and the absence of an overall survival benefit. Trial registration numbers EudraCT 2014-000175-43 – NCT02453009.

Background: Plasma AR status has been identified as a potential biomarker of response in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients receiving docetaxel or AR-targeted therapies. However, the relevance of plasma AR in the overall management of CRPC patients receiving different docetaxel doses is unknown. Patients and methods: This was a multi-institution study of associations between baseline plasma AR copy number status, assessed by droplet digital PCR, and outcome in 325 mCRPC patients receiving docetaxel at standard or adapted regimen at the discretion of the treating physician. Upon analysis, patients were assigned randomly to either a training (n = 217) or validation (n = 108) cohort. Results: In the training cohort, AR-gained patients treated with adapted docetaxel regimen had a significantly worse median progression-free survival (PFS) (3.8 vs 6.3 months, hazard ratio [HR] 2.58, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.34–4.95, p < 0.0001), median overall survival (10.8 vs 20.6 months, HR 1.98, 95% CI 1.09–3.62, p = 0.0064) and PSA response (PSA > −50%: odds ratio 4.88 95%CI 1.55–14.32, p = 0.013) as compared to plasma AR normal patients. These findings were all confirmed in the validation cohort. However, in patients treated with standard docetaxel regimen, these differences were not seen. The interaction between AR CN status and dose reduction of docetaxel was considered as independent factor for PFS in both the training and validation cohort (HR 2.84, 95% CI 1.41–5.73, p = 0.003, and HR 4.79, 95% CI 1.79–12.82, p = 0.002). Conclusion: Despite the retrospective non-randomised design of this study, our hypothesis-generating findings could suggest plasma AR as a potential biomarker for optimal docetaxel timing and dose in mCRPC patients. Prospective trials are warranted.

Breast cancer represents one of the most common tumor histologies. To date, based on the specific histotype, different therapeutic strategies, including immunotherapies, capable of prolonging survival are used. More recently, the astonishing results that were obtained from CAR-T cell therapy in haematological neoplasms led to the application of this new therapeutic strategy in solid tumors as well. Our article will deal with chimeric antigen receptor-based immunotherapy (CAR-T cell and CAR-M therapy) in breast cancer.

Background Androgen receptor (AR) signaling inhibitors represent the standard treatment in metastatic castration resistance prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients. However, some patients display a primary resistance, and several studies investigated the role of the AR as a predictive biomarker of response to treatment. This study is aimed to evaluate the role of AR in liquid biopsy to predict clinical outcome to AR signaling inhibitors in mCRPC patients. Methods Six milliliters of plasma samples were collected before first-line treatment with abiraterone or enzalutamide. Circulating free DNA (cfDNA) and exosome-RNA were isolated for analysis of AR gain and AR splice variant 7 (AR-V7), respectively, by digital droplet PCR. Results Eighty-four mCRPC patients received abiraterone (n = 40) or enzalutamide (n = 44) as first-line therapy. Twelve patients (14.3%) presented AR gain and 30 (35.7%) AR-V7+ at baseline. Median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were significantly longer in AR-V7− vs AR-V7+ patients (24.3 vs 5.4 months, p p = 0.0001, respectively). Patients carrying the AR gain had a median PFS of 4.8 vs 24.3 months for AR normal patients (p AR normal vs patients with AR gain (not reached vs 8.17 months, p AR gain was observed (r = 0.28; p = 0.01). The AR gain/AR-V7 combined analysis confirmed a strong predictive effect for biomarkers combination vs patients without any AR aberration (PFS 3.8 vs 28 month, respectively; OS 6.1 vs not reached, respectively; p Conclusions The present study demonstrates that cfDNA and exosome-RNA are both a reliable source of AR variants and their combined detection in liquid biopsy predicts resistance to AR signaling inhibitors.

Background: Baseline high circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) fraction in plasma and androgen receptor (AR) copy number (CN) gain identify mCRPC patients with worse outcomes. This study aimed to assess if ctDNA associates with PSA kinetics. Methods: In this prospective biomarker study, we evaluate ctDNA fraction and AR CN from plasma samples. We divided patients into high and low ctDNA level and in AR gain and AR normal. Results: 220 baseline samples were collected from mCRPC treated with abiraterone (n = 140) or enzalutamide (n = 80). A lower rate of PSA decline ≥ 50% was observed in patients with high ctDNA (p = 0.017) and AR gain (p = 0.0003). Combining ctDNA fraction and AR CN, we found a different median PSA progression-free survival (PFS) among four groups: (1) low ctDNA/AR normal, (2) high ctDNA/AR normal, (3) low ctDNA/AR gain, and (4) high ctDNA/AR gain (11.4 vs. 5.0 vs. 4.8 vs. 3.7 months, p < 0.0001). In a multivariable analysis, high ctDNA, AR gain, PSA DT, PSA DT velocity remained independent predictors of PSA PFS. Conclusions: Elevated ctDNA levels and AR gain are negatively and independently correlated with PSA kinetics in mCRPC men treated with abiraterone or enzalutamide.

PURPOSE Biomarkers for treatment personalization in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) could help improve patient outcomes. Multiple tests on blood have reported associations with poorer outcome, including serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), chromogranin A (CGA), neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and, recently, copy number (CN) of androgen receptor (AR) in plasma DNA. Biologic data suggest an association between choline uptake and AR signaling. We aimed to integrate 18F-fluorocholine (FCH) uptake on positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scanning with plasma AR CN and other routinely obtained circulating biomarkers to evaluate their association with outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS We determined plasma AR CN by digital droplet polymerase chain reaction from 105 mCRPC samples collected before abiraterone (n = 65) or enzalutamide (n = 40) therapy in the before (n = 26) and after (n = 79) chemotherapy settings. Pretreatment serum LDH, CGA, and NLR were also measured. FCH-PET/CT scan was performed at baseline, and maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), total lesion activity (TLA), and metabolic tumor volume (MTV) were calculated. Main end points were the correlation of FCH-PET/CT parameters with circulating biomarkers and their impact on outcome. RESULTS Plasma AR CN gain was observed in 27 patients (25.7%), and it correlated significantly with higher median SUVmax, TLA, and MTV values ( P < .001). Kaplan-Meier curves showed significantly worse progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with plasma AR gain and higher SUVmax, TLA, and MTV values ( P < .001 in each prognostic group). Conversely, no association was reported for prostate-specific antigen response. On multivariable analysis of overall survival, we showed as independent factors AR gain (hazard ratio [HR], 1.92; 95% CI, 1.07 to 3.47; P = .029), presence of visceral metastasis (HR, 3.04; 95% CI, 1.66 to 5.58; P = < .001), LDH (HR, 2.95; 95% CI, 1.72 to 5.05; P < .001), NLR (HR, 3.51; 95% CI, 2.14 to 5.74; P < .001), serum CGA (HR, 3.36; 95% CI, 1.99 to 5.67; P < .001), and MTV (HR, 2.09; 95% CI, 1.25 to 3.50; P = .005). CONCLUSION Our results indicate the potential usefulness of integrating functional imaging with plasma DNA analysis and other noninvasive biomarkers as a tool to improve treatment selection for CRPC. A larger prospective evaluation is warranted.

Plasma tumour DNA (ptDNA) is a potential early noninvasive biomarker of treatment outcome in metastatic castration‐resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Herein, we investigated whether pretreatment ptDNA levels reflect metabolic tumour burden in mCRPC and better predict treatment outcome in combination with functional imaging. Targeted next‐generation sequencing was performed to estimate the ptDNA fraction from 102 mCRPC patients receiving abiraterone or enzalutamide. The maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), total lesion activity (TLA) and metabolic tumour volume (MTV) were evaluated on 18F‐fluorocholine positron emission tomography/computed tomography. We assessed a Weibull multiple regression model to determine the combined impact of clinical, molecular and imaging characteristics on overall survival (OS) and progression‐free survival (PFS), and to obtain prognostic scores. A significant association was seen between ptDNA and SUVmax, MTV and TLA. For survival analysis, patients were randomly allocated into a training (n = 68) and a validation (n = 34) set. In the training set, multivariable analyses showed that ptDNA, MTV and serum lactate dehydrogenase together with visceral metastasis were independent predictors of both OS and PFS. Prognostic scores were generated, with the identification of three groups of patients with significantly different median OS (29.2, 15.9 and 8.7 months) and PFS (13.3, 7.7 and 3.2 months) probabilities. The differences in median survival between risk groups were confirmed in the validation cohort for both OS and PFS. In our study, we showed that integrating plasma DNA analysis with functional imaging may improve prognostic risk stratification and treatment selection in mCRPC., Plasma tumour DNA (ptDNA) has been recently demonstrated as a potential early noninvasive biomarker in patients affected with metastatic castration‐resistant prostate cancer receiving androgen receptor signalling inhibitors. In our study, we initially showed that ptDNA reflected tumour metabolic activity. Additionally, integrating ptDNA analysis with functional imaging and clinical features showed potential for an improved outcome prediction as well as for a better treatment selection in these patients.

48 Background: 68Ga prostate specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography/computed tomography (68Ga-PSMA PET/CT) is a highly sensitive diagnostic tool to detect prostate metastatic sites even at low levels of Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA). We evaluated the impact of 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT in patients treated with enzalutamide as first-line therapy for mCRPC. Methods: In an observational prospective study, 67 consecutive mCRPC patients were treated with enzalutamide 160 mg once daily in first-line for mCRPC. 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT was performed at baseline, after 3 months, during follow-up and at PSA/clinical progression. Patients were evaluated on a monthly basis for serological PSA response and safety. We measured at baseline the sum of metabolic total volume (SMTV), mean standardized uptake volume (SSUVmean), maximum standardized uptake volume (SSUVmax) and total lesion activity (STLA), which is the product of SMTV and SSUVmean, for a maximum of 20 lesions. These parameters together with baseline PSA level, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS), Gleason Score (GS) and age were analyzed by univariate and multivariate Cox regression models as potential predictors of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results: At the moment of the present analysis, 58 mCRPC patients were considered fully evaluable. The median age was 75 years (range, 47-91), ECOG PS was 0 in 47 cases (81%), 1-2 in 11 (19%), GS was 3, median SSUVmax of 44.85, median SSUVmean of 25.80 and median STLA of 59.66. At the median follow-up of 52 months, median PFS was 28.9 months (95% CI 16.3-43.6), median OS was not reached (95% CI 36.8-not reached). In univariate analysis, SSUVmax and STLA were significant for PFS (p=0.015 and p=0.001, respectively) and OS (p=0.026 and p=0.019, respectively), while SSUVmean was significant only for OS (p=0.028). On multivariate analysis, STLA only remained significant for PFS (p68Ga-PSMA PET/CT before starting enzalutamide was associated with longer median PFS and OS compared to prior studies using standard imaging only. STLA, expression of both volume and intensity of 68Ga-PSMA uptake, appeared the strongest parameter able to predict PFS and OS.

223 Background: The need for genetic prognostic and predictive markers is urgent in order to identify potential target therapies or personalized therapeutic sequences for men with metastatic prostate cancer (mPC). The prevalence of pathogenic germline mutations in DNA damage repair (gDDR) such as germline mutations in BRCA2 (gBRCA) is well established: in the Anglo-American population with mPC was 5.3%, while in the Chinese population was 4.3% and in Spanish population 3.3%. This prospective multicenter cohort study evaluated the prevalence of gDDR alterations in the Italian population affected by mPC. Methods: In an observational prospective trial, 300 consecutive Italian patients affected by mPC were recruited between 2015 and 2019 and were screened for gDDR mutations in 107 genes. The primary aim was to assess the frequency of ATM/BRCA1/BRCA2/PALB2 germline mutations in the Italian population of patients with mPC. Secondary aims included the association of gDDR subgroups with metastatic onset, Gleason Score ≥8, and time to castration resistance. Results: We analyzed 300 patients and we identified 297 valuable patients. 46 patients had a pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants (15.4%): the more frequent is gBRCA2 in ten cases, gATM in five (1.7%), gMUTYH in four cases (1.3%), gCHEK2 in three cases (1%) and one case in PALB2 (0.3%). No mutations in BRCA1 were identified. We also highlighted six patients (2%) with clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) interference in ATR (n=2), ATM (n=2), CHEK1 (n=1) and BRIP1 (n=1). Finally, we identified 117 alterations of variants of unknown significance (VUS) in 98 patients. In a univariate analysis, the median time to castration resistance in gBRCA2 patients was 11.6 months versus 22.3 months in patients with other mutation versus 23.4 months in no mutated patients. There were no associations of gDDR subgroups with metastatic onset and Gleason Score ≥8. Conclusions: The prevalence of gBRCA2 in the Italian population is 3%, which is similar to those of Spanish population, identifying interesting similarities between people of the Western Mediterranean area. The presence of gBRCA2 mutations correlates with lower time to the onset of castration resistant disease, according to a more aggressive phenotype.

Background Cabazitaxel improves overall survival (OS) in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients progressing after docetaxel. In this prospective study, we evaluated the prognostic role of CTC gene expression on cabazitaxel-treated patients and its association with plasma androgen receptor (AR) copy number (CN). Methods Patients receiving cabazitaxel 20 or 25 mg/sqm for mCRPC were enrolled. Digital PCR was performed to assess plasma AR CN status. CTC enrichment was assessed using the AdnaTest EMT-2/StemCell kit. CTC expression analyses were performed for 17 genes. Data are expressed as hazard ratio (HR) or odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI. Results Seventy-four patients were fully evaluable. CTC expression of AR-V7 (HR=2.52, 1.24–5.12, p=0.011), AKR1C3 (HR=2.01, 1.06–3.81, p=0.031), AR (HR=2.70, 1.46–5.01, p=0.002), EPCAM (HR=3.75, 2.10–6.71, pp=0.01), MDK (HR=3.35, 1.83–6.13, pp=0.0009) was significantly associated with OS. ALDH1 (OR=5.50, 0.97–31.22, p=0.05), AR (OR=8.71, 2.32–32.25, p=0.001), EPCAM (OR=7.26, 1.47–35.73, p=0.015), PSMA (OR=3.86, 1.10–13.50, p=0.035), MDK (OR=6.84, 1.87–24.98, p=0.004), and HPRT1 (OR=7.41, 1.82–30.19, p=0.005) expression was associated with early PD. AR CN status was significantly correlated with AR-V7 (p=0.05), EPCAM (p=0.02), and MDK (p=0.002) expression. In multivariable model, EPCAM and HPRT1 CTC expression, plasma AR CN gain, ECOG PS=2, and liver metastases and PSA were independently associated with poorer OS. In patients treated with cabazitaxel 20 mg/sqm, median OS was shorter in AR-V7 positive than negative patients (6.6 versus 14 months, HR=3.46, 1.47–8.17], p=0.004). Conclusions Baseline CTC biomarkers may be prognosticators for cabazitaxel-treated mCRPC patients. Cabazitaxel at lower (20 mg/sqm) dose was associated with poorer outcomes in AR-V7 positive patients compared to AR-V7 negative patients in a post hoc subgroup analysis. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.govNCT03381326. Retrospectively registered on 18 December 2017.

Simple Summary The germ cell tumors (GCTs) family is a heterogeneous group of neoplasms that includes tumors affecting testis (TGCTs) and rarer cases occurring in extragonadal sites. Mediastinal germ cell tumors (MGCTs) are more aggressive and have poorer prognosis. Due to their rarity of MGCTs, few molecular and clinical studies are reported. MGCTs share biological similarities with TGCT, and international guidelines recommend use of the same therapies validated for TGCT. However, while high response rate is achieved in TGCT, MGCT tend to be resistant to therapy. This review resumes all molecular findings reported in MGCTs, summarizing molecular characteristics common with TGCT and highlighting the different molecular alterations that characterize mediastinal tumors. A deeper understanding of the MGCT biology will help in clinical management of these patients. Abstract Mediastinal germ cell tumors (MGCTs) share histologic, molecular and biomarkers features with testicular GCTs; however, nonseminomatous MGCTs are usually more aggressive and have poorer prognosis than nonseminomatous TGCTs. Most nonseminomatous MGCT cases show early resistance to platinum-based therapies and seldom have been associated with the onset of one or more concomitant somatic malignancies, in particular myeloid neoplasms with recent findings supporting a common, shared genetic precursor with the primary MGCT. Genomic, transcriptomic and epigenetic features of testicular GCTs have been extensively studied, allowing for the understanding of GCT development and transformation of seminomatous and nonseminomatous histologies. However, MGCTs are still lacking proper multi-omics analysis and only few data are reported in the literature. Understanding of the mechanism involved in the development, in the progression and in their higher resistance to common therapies is still poorly understood. With this review, we aim to collect all molecular findings reported in this rare disease, resuming the similarities and disparities with the gonadal counterparts.

e17038 Background: Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) has been recently found in tumor-derived exosomes and associated with progressive disease (PD) ( Poggio, Cell 2019). In localized prostate cancer, PD-L1 tumor expression has been shown to be a biomarker for node-positive patients (pts) ( Petitprez, Eur Urol Focus 2019) but its role in mCRPC is largely unexplored. We aimed to determine the potential of PD-L1 exosomal expression to predict lymph nodal PD in mCRPC receiving abi or enza. Methods: In a biomarker prospective study (REC 2192/2013), exosomes were isolated from plasma samples collected before first-line therapy with abi/enza between December 2014 and October 2018. RNA was extracted for analysis of PD-L1 by digital droplet PCR ( Del Re, Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 2021). Results: In our cohort of 55 node-positive mCRPC pts (median age: 76 years, range 47-89), the amount of exosomal PD-L1 expression (pts dichotomized in “high” and “low” as below or above median PD-L1/ACTB ratio = 0.0052) was associated with radiographic response after the first 3 months abi/enza therapy [high PD-L1 vs low PD-L1: 8 (25.8%) vs 0 (0%) PD, 23 (74.2%) vs 18 (75%) stable disease, and 0 vs 6 (25%) partial/complete response] (p = 0.0009). We observed an overall median progression-free survival (PFS) of 14.3 months [95% confidence interval (CI) 8.6-not reached] shorter in high PD-L1 compared to low PD-L1 10.6 (6.5-23.4) vs not reached [hazard ratio (HR) 3.1 (95% CI 1.1-8.5), p = 0.023]. In multivariable analysis including exosomal PD-L1 and androgen receptor (AR) variant 7, AR copy number gain detected in plasma, neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR), lactate dehydrogenase, exosomal PD-L1; AR-V7 and AR gain were independent predictors of nodal PFS (HR 5.8, 95% CI 1.4-24.2, p = 0.01, HR 3.2, 95% CI 1.1-9.2, p = 0.03 and HR 12.9, 95% CI 2.3-73.2, p = 0.004), whereas AR-V7, AR gain, NLR > 3 were independent predictors of OS (HR 4.9, 95% CI 1.8-13.1, p = 0.001, HR 4.4, 95% CI 1.1-17, p = 0.02, and HR 3.2 95% CI 1.1-9.4, p = 0.03, respectively). Moreover, a trend of a worse OS was reported in high PD-L1 compared to low PD-L1 pts (HR 2.6, 95% CI 0.9-7.5, p = 0.07). Conclusions: In mCRPC pts treated with ARSI, exosomal PD-L1 expression may be considered as a predictive biomarker of lymph nodal response, playing a potential role in individualized disease monitoring and treatment combining between ARSI and immunotherapy. Larger evaluation of treatment decisions based on exosomal PD-L1 expression is now required.

Testicular cancer (TC) is the most frequent tumor in young males. In the vast majority of cases, it is a curable disease; therefore, very often patients experience a long survival, also due to their young age at diagnosis. In the last decades, the role of the vitamin D deficiency related to orchiectomy has become an increasingly debated topic. Indeed, vitamin D is essential in bone metabolism and many other metabolic pathways, so its deficiency could lead to various metabolic disorders especially in long-term TC survivors. In our article, we report data from studies that evaluated the incidence of hypovitaminosis D in TC survivors compared with cohorts of healthy peers and we discuss molecular mechanisms and clinical implications.

Cancer is a risk factor for venous thromboembolism (VTE). Plasma tumor DNA (ptDNA) is an independent predictor of outcome in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). We aimed to investigate the association between ptDNA and VTE in mCRPC. This prospective biomarker study included 180 mCRPC patients treated with abiraterone and enzalutamide from April 2013 to December 2018. We excluded patients with a previous VTE history and/or ongoing anticoagulation therapy. Targeted next-generation sequencing was performed to determine ptDNA fraction from pretreatment plasma samples. VTE risk based on survival analysis was performed using cumulative incidence function and estimating sub-distributional hazard ratio (SHR). At a median follow-up of 58 months (range 0.5-111.0), we observed 21 patients who experienced VTE with a cumulative incidence at 12 months of 17.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 10.3-23.9). Elevated ptDNA, visceral metastasis, prior chemotherapy and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were significantly associated with higher VTE incidence compared to patients with no thrombosis (12-month estimate, 18.6% vs 3.5%, P = .0003; 44.4% vs 14.8%, P = .015; 24.7% vs 4.5%, P = .006; and 30.0% vs 13.5%, P = .05, respectively). In the multivariate analysis including ptDNA level, visceral metastases, number of lesions and serum LDH, high ptDNA fraction was the only independent factor associated with the risk of thrombosis (HR 5.78, 95% CI 1.63-20.44, P = .006). These results first suggest that baseline ptDNA fraction in mCRPC patients treated with abiraterone or enzalutamide may be associated with increased VTE risk. These patients may be followed-up more closely for the VTE risk, and the need for a primary thromboprophylaxis should be taken into account in mCRPC with elevated ptDNA.

Testicular cancer (TC) is the most frequent solid tumor diagnosed in young adult males. Although it is a curable tumor, it is frequently associated with considerable short-term and long-term morbidity. Both biological and psychological stress experienced during cancer therapy may be responsible for stimulating molecular processes that induce premature aging and deterioration of immune system (immunosenescence) in TC survivors, leading to an increased susceptibility to infections, cancer, and autoimmune diseases. Immunosenescence is a remodeling of immune cell populations with inversion of the CD4:CD8 ratio, accumulation of highly differentiated memory cells, shrinkage of telomeres, shift of T-cell response to Th2 type, and release of pro-inflammatory signals. TC survivors exposed to chemotherapy show features of immunological aging, including an increase in memory T-cells (CD4+ and CD8+) and high expression of the senescence biomarker p16INK4a in CD3+ lymphocytes. However, the plethora of factors involved in the premature aging of TC survivors make the situation more complex if we also take into account the psychological stress and hormonal changes experienced by patients, as well as the high-dose chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation that some individuals may be required to undergo. The relatively young age and the long life expectancy of TC patients bear witness to the importance of improving quality of life and of alleviating long-term side-effects of cancer treatments. Within this context, the present review takes an in-depth look at the molecular mechanisms of immunosenescence, describing experimental evidence of cancer survivor aging and highlighting the interconnected relationship between the many factors modulating the aging of the immune system of TC survivors.

Treatment options for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) have been expanding in the last years, from the consolidation of several anti-angiogenic agents to the approval of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). The rationale for the use of immunomodulating agents derived from the observation that RCC usually shows a diffuse immune-cell infiltrate. ICIs target Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes Antigen 4 (CTLA-4), programmed death 1 (PD-1), or its ligand (PD-L1), showing promising therapeutic efficacy in RCC. PD-L1 expression is associated with poor prognosis; however, its predictive role remains debated. In fact, ICIs may be a valid option even for PD-L1 negative patients. The establishment of valid predictors of treatment response to available therapeutic options is advocated to identify those patients who could benefit from these agents. Both local and systemic inflammation contribute to tumorigenesis and development of cancer. The interplay of tumor-immune status and of cancer-related systemic inflammation is pivotal for ICI-treatment outcome, but there is an unmet need for a more precise characterization. To date, little is known on the role of inflammation markers on PD-1 blockade in RCC. In this paper, we review the current knowledge on the interplay between inflammation markers, PD-1 axis, and anti-angiogenic agents in RCC, focusing on biological rationale, implications for treatment, and possible future perspectives.

Introduction: Plasma androgen receptor (AR) copy number (CN) status identifies castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) patients with worse outcome on abiraterone/enzalutamide. However, the impact of AR CN changes on clinical outcome in CRPC is unknown. Materials and Methods: Plasma samples from 73 patients treated with abiraterone or enzalutamide were collected at baseline and at the time of progression disease (PD). Droplet digital polymerase chain reaction was used to assess AR CN status. Results: We showed that 11 patients (15.1%) changed AR CN status from baseline to PD (9 patients from normal to gain, 2 from gain to normal). Patients changing AR CN status from normal at baseline to gain at PD had intermediate median overall survival (OS) of 20.5 months (95% CI = 8.0–44.2) between those who remained AR CN normal from baseline to PD (27.3 months [95% CI = 21.9–34.4]) and those who remained AR CN gain from baseline to PD (9.1 months [95% CI = 3.8–14.5], p < 0.0001). Patients changing AR CN from normal at baseline to gain at PD had a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 9.2 months (95% CI = 2.0–14.7), patients who remained AR CN normal had a median PFS of 9.1 months (95% CI = 7.2–10.1), and patients who remained AR CN gain had a median PFS of 5.4 (95% CI = 3.6–6.5, p = 0.0005). Both OS and PFS were not significantly different between patients with AR CN that changes from normal to gain and patients with stable AR CN normal. Conclusions: We showed that CRPC patients changing AR CN status from baseline to progression time point had intermediate OS and we suggested that AR CN evaluation at baseline could be the most informative for clinical outcome of CRPC patients treated with abiraterone or enzalutamide. Larger prospective studies are warranted.

Currently, renal cell carcinoma is characterized by encouraging benefits from immunotherapy that have led to significant results in treatment outcome. The approval of nivolumab primarily as second-line monotherapy and, more recently, the approval of new combination therapies as first-line treatment have confirmed the importance of immunotherapy in this type of tumor. In this context, the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T represents a further step forward in the field of immunotherapy. Initially tested on hematological malignancies, this new therapeutic approach is also becoming a topic of great interest for solid tumors. Although the treatment has several advantages over previous T-cell receptor-dependent immunotherapy, it is facing some obstacles in solid tumors such as a hostile tumor microenvironment and on-tumor/off-tumor toxicities. Several strategies are under investigation to overcome these problems, but the approval of CAR-T cell therapy is still some way off. In renal cancer, the significant advantages obtained from immune checkpoint inhibitors represent a good starting point, but the potential nephrological toxicity of CAR-T cell therapy represents an important risk. In this review, we provide the rationale and preliminary results of CAR-T cell therapy in renal cell malignancies.

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is a cornerstone of treatment for prostate cancer and, in recent years, androgen receptor (AR)-targeted therapies (abiraterone and enzalutamide) have both been used for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). In our study, we sought to investigate the association between ADT and immune disorders, considering a potential role of androgens in the immune modulation. We retrospectively evaluated CRPC patients treated with abiraterone/enzalutamide between July 2011 and December 2018. We assessed the risk of developing immune alterations and their impact on outcome. We included 844 CRPC patients receiving AR-directed therapies, of whom 36 (4.3%) had autoimmune diseases and 47 (5.6%) second tumors as comorbidities. Median age was 70 years [interquartile range (IQR) = 63&ndash, 75)]. We showed higher significant incidence of autoimmune diseases during their hormone sensitive status (p = 0.021) and the presence of autoimmune comorbidities before starting treatment with abiraterone/enzalutamide was significantly associated with worse overall survival (OS) (10.1 vs. 13.7 months, HR = 1.59, 95% CI 1.03&ndash, 2.27, p = 0.038). In a multivariate analysis, the presence of autoimmune disorders was an independent predictor of OS (HR = 1.65, 95% CI 1.05&ndash, 2.60, p = 0.031). In conclusion, CRPC patients with autoimmune alterations before starting AR-directed therapies may have worse prognosis. Further prospective studies are warranted to assess the role of immune modulation in the management of prostate cancer patients.

To evaluate adherence to abiraterone or enzalutamide for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). In an observational prospective cohort study, we monitored patients with mCRPC for their adherence to abiraterone or enzalutamide in the pre- or post-chemotherapy setting. Fifty-eight patients with median age of 76 years (range 56–94), age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity score of 10 (range, 4–15), and geriatric G8 score of 14 (range, 6–17) were enrolled. Twenty-two (38%) patients were treated with abiraterone and 36 (62%) with enzalutamide, while forty-two (72%) were in the pre-chemotherapy setting. Forty-seven patients (81%) had a caregiver. Based on the pill counting, a non-adherence rate of 4.8% and 6.2% was observed for the whole period and the first 3 months, respectively, without a statistically significant difference between abiraterone and enzalutamide cohorts. A lower non-adherence rate (1.3%) was reported by patients during the whole period, mainly due to a misperception (77%) and forgetfulness (19%). Non-adherence rate to the fulfilling of the clinical diary was 38% for the whole period. Non-adherence in the whole period was related to the radiological response (p = 0.03) and geriatric G8 score (p = 0.005). By the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve based on the radiological response, non-adherence cut-off was 1.87% (p = 0.04). By this non-adherence cut-off, the G8 cut-off was 14.75 (p = 0.0003). Non-adherence to abiraterone or enzalutamide for mCRPC may have an impact on disease response and be related to patients’ frailty, suggesting their geriatric assessment and clinical interventions to monitor and increase their adherence.

Background Plasma tumour DNA (ptDNA) levels on treatment are associated with response in a variety of cancers. However, the role of ptDNA in prostate cancer monitoring remains largely unexplored. Here we characterised on-treatment ptDNA dynamics and evaluated its potential for early assessment of therapy efficacy for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Methods Between 2011 and 2016, 114 sequential plasma samples from 43 mCRPC abiraterone-treated patients were collected. Targeted next-generation sequencing was performed to determine ptDNA fraction. ptDNA progressive disease was defined as a rise in the fraction compared to the pre-treatment. Results A ptDNA rise in the first on-treatment sample (interquartile range (IQR) 2.6–3.7 months) was significantly associated with increased risk of early radiographic or any prostate-specific antigen (PSA) rise (odds ratio (OR) = 15.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.5–60.2, p = 0.0002 and OR = 6.0, 95% CI 1.6–20.0, p = 0.01, respectively). We also identified exemplar cases that had a rise in PSA or pseudoprogression secondary to bone flare but no rise in ptDNA. In an exploratory analysis, initial ptDNA change was found to associate with the duration of response to prior androgen deprivation therapy (p p = 0.32). Conclusions We found that ptDNA assessment for therapy monitoring in mCRPC is feasible and provides data relevant to the clinical setting. Prospective evaluation of these findings is now merited.

152 Background: Accurate monitoring response of bone mets to treatment is an active need for mCRPC patients (pts). Recently, ctDNA has been showed as an early biomarker efficacy of androgen receptor signaling inhibitor (ARSI) therapy for mCRPC ( Conteduca, Br J Cancer 2020). In this study, we aimed to reveal if ctDNA analysis can permit more reliable prediction of bone mets burden and radiographic progression disease (PD). Methods: In a biomarker study (REC 2192/2013), targeted next generation sequencing was performed to assess ctDNA fraction. Radiographic evidence of bone disease was documented by conventional imaging according to PCWG3 criteria ( Scher, J Clin Oncol 2018), and was classified on the basis of mets number (≤5, 6 -19, ≥20) in oligometastatic (O), diffuse (D), and widespread (W), respectively. Associations were explored both through uni/multivariate logistic regressions. Results: Serial plasma samples and radiographic scans on ARSI treatment were prospectively collected from 73 CRPC with bone mets. Median age was 74 years [interquartile range (IQR) 69-79]. Bone mets patterns were significantly associated with median baseline ctDNA level (O = 0.16, D = 0.33, and W = 0.46, p 0.0003). Similar results were reported on treatment and at PD (p 0.0003 and p 0.0007, respectively). In 24 pts with a progressive worsening of bone mets pattern (O→D→W) compared to pts with no change in bone mets pattern on ARSI, we observed an early meaningful ctDNA rise with a % ctDNA variation from baseline to 3 month therapy of 150.6% (IQR 104.9-210.7) vs 11.1% (IQR 0-36.6), p < 0.0001. Univariate analysis showed that early ctDNA rise was significantly associated with radiographic progression free/overall survival (rPFS/OS): hazard ratio (HR) 2.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.30-3.27, p 0.002, and HR 1.82, 95% CI 1.15-2.88, p 0.01, respectively]. In multivariable analyses including ctDNA variation, changing bone mets pattern, age, performance status, and presence of concomitant visceral mets, ctDNA change at 3 month ARSI resulted the only independent predictor of both rPFS/OS (HR 2.27, 95% CI 1.04-4.94, p 0.027 and HR 2.98, 95% CI 1.31-6.81, p 0.033, respectively). Visceral mets were associated with only OS (HR 3.87, 95% CI 1.76-8.51, p 0.0008). Conclusions: Early ctDNA variation may reflect changes in bone mets pattern on ARSI allowing to track pattern of bone progression and predict outcome. Further studies to validate these findings are warranted.

To date, results of combination therapy studies have shown no meaningful clinical benefit over monotherapy and an unacceptably high degree of toxicity in the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC), with the exception of a combination of immune-checkpoint inhibitors and the association of lenvatinib with everolimus. Lenvatinib is a potent multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets VEGFR pathways. Everolimus inhibits primarily mTORC1 complex, a downstream effecter of the intracellular PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. The association of these two drugs was demonstrated to enhance the inhibitory activity against VEGF and FGF-induced angiogenesis by a vertical inhibition of angiogenic signaling pathways, suggesting a synergistic activity. Areas covered: In this review we summarize the lenvatinib pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, characteristics and the main clinical trial that showed lenvatinib activity in advanced RCC. Expert opinion: Lenvatinib plus everolimus showed promising results in a phase II trial, leading to FDA approval of this combination. Their synergic action on inhibiting the VEGF/VEGFR, FGF (a compensatory mechanism to VEGFR inhibition) and mTOR pathway could be a potential mechanism to overcome treatment resistance. Given that the activity of lenvatinib as an immune-regulator in tumor microenvironment has been demonstrated in cell lines, novel combinations, in particular with immune-checkpoint inhibitors, are under development.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the main causes of cancer-related death in men. In the present immunotherapy era, several immunotherapeutic agents have been evaluated in PCa with poor results, possibly due to its low mutational burden. The recent development of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy redirected against cancer-specific antigens would seem to provide the means for bypassing immune tolerance mechanisms. CAR-T cell therapy has proven effective in eradicating hematologic malignancies and the challenge now is to obtain the same degree of in solid tumors, including PCa. In this study we review the principles that have guided the engineering of CAR-T cells and the specific prostatic antigens identified as possible targets for immunological and non-immunological therapies. We also provide a state-of-the-art overview of CAR-T cell therapy in PCa, defining the key obstacles to its development and underlining the mechanisms used to overcome these barriers. At present, although there are still many unanswered questions regarding CAR-T cell therapy, there is no doubt that it has the potential to become an important treatment option for urological malignancies.

Germ cell tumors represent 11% of the cancers diagnosed in adolescent males and are the most common solid tumors in adult men between the ages of 20 and 35. Pure seminoma accounts for around 50% of all testicular germ cell tumors. The prognostic classification of the International Germ Cell Cancer Collaborative Group for good-prognosis seminoma includes both nodal disease and pulmonary visceral metastases. In this article, we analyzed recent data on prognosis and outcome of good-prognosis seminoma to revise the traditional classification of the disease and improve tailored treatment.

Purpose Our study aims to investigate the association between copy number of the androgen receptor (AR) and testosterone levels in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) treated with second-generation antiandrogen therapies. Materials and methods We retrospectively collected data from mCRPC treated with abiraterone acetate and enzalutamide. Serum testosterone levels were collected at baseline, at 3 months since the start of therapy and at disease progression. A cohort of cases treated with docetaxel was also used to evaluate the impact of testosterone levels. Results Patients treated with abiraterone with AR copy number aberrations and basal testosterone levels below 0.09 nmol/L had worse progression-free survival (PFS) compared to patients with no AR copy number abnormalities (8.5 vs 2.9 months, P = 0.005). No relevant differences were observed in the enzalutamide group with a PFS of 3.9 months (no AR gain) vs 2.7 months ( AR gain, P = 0.004) for patients with below 0.09 nmol/L testosterone levels. Similar results are obtained for univariate analysis for overall survival (OS). The negative prognostic role of AR copy number gain in OS for both treatment groups (25.5 vs 10.6 months, P = 0.0002 for abiraterone and 14.1 vs 8.3 months, P = 0.031 for enzalutamide) was confirmed, and it was recognized the negative prognostic impact of testosteronemia below 0.09 only for patients treated with enzalutamide (8.8 vs 42.8 months, P = 0.016). On multivariate analysis for patients treated with abiraterone, low testosterone levels below 0.09 and plasma AR gain were significantly associated with worse PFS and OS. These data are confirmed in the enzalutamide group for PFS. Conclusions Testosterone levels and the AR copy number alterations were considered as independent prognostic factors. The results of this study show that serum testosteronemia associated with changes in copy number of AR gene could represent a noninvasive biomarker useful to identify a subgroup of patients with worse prognosis that can benefit less from second-generation antiandrogen therapies in the mCRPC setting.

Testicular cancer is the most frequent tumor in young males aged 15-39 years. As cure rates are currently around 90%, the prevalence of survivors is increasing. However, a disease-free condition does not necessarily correspond to a life free of physical and psychosocial health problems. The aim of this review was to explore psychosocial morbidity among testicular cancer survivors. A literature search was conducted in three electronic databases (PubMed, Medline, and Embase). The results of the search on cancer survivors were then combined with those of the search on psychosocial concerns and work performance. Eighty-four publications met the inclusion criteria. Physical, psychological, work-related problems and changing perspectives about work and life in general influenced life and career decisions among testicular cancer survivors. Individual health, sexual relationships and work problems, affect several important aspects of survival and significantly influence the QoL of long-term survivors.

Immunotherapy represents the new era of cancer treatment because of its promising results in various cancer types. In urological tumors, the use of the immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is increasingly spreading. Although not all patients and not all diseases respond equally well to immunotherapy, there is an increasing need to find predictive markers of response to ICIs. Patient- and tumor-related factors may be involved in primary and secondary resistance to immunotherapy: tumor-derived protein and cytokines, tumor mutational burden, and patient performance status and comorbidities can condition tumor response to ICIs. Recently, some of these factors have been evaluated as potential biomarkers of response, with conflicting results. To date, the expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and the presence of deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) in tumor tissue are the only biomarkers capable of guiding the clinician’s decision in urothelial cancer and prostate cancer, respectively. In this review, we performed a comprehensive search of the main publications on biomarkers that are predictive of response to ICIs in urological cancers. Our aim was to understand whether existing data have the potential to drive clinical decision-making in the near future.