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Purpose: To investigate the efficacy of metastasis-directed therapy (MDT) when added to camrelizumab (Cam) in patients with recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (R/M-NPC)., Methods: We conducted a randomised, controlled, multicentre, phase II trial in 3 centres from China (NCT04830267). Patients with R/M-NPC, without prior exposure to immunotherapy, who presented with ≥2 lesions, and at least 1 measurable lesion were randomised 1:1 to either Cam alone or Cam plus MDT (Cam+MDT). Patients randomised to the MDT group must have 1 lesion that is amendable to stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) prescribed to 27Gy in 3 fractions every other day. Primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR) of unirradiated lesions by RECIST v1.1., Results: Between April 2021 and August 2023, 39 patients were randomly assigned to receive either Cam (n=20) or Cam+MDT (n=19). 17/39 (43.6%) patients had oligometastatic disease (≤3 lesions); 18/39 (46.2%) had liver involvement; 3/39 (7.7%) had locoregional recurrent disease. ORR of unirradiated lesions did not differ between the treatment groups (26.3% [Cam+MDT] vs 30.0% [Cam], P=1.0). DCR of unirradiated lesions was 73.7% in the Cam+MDT group compared with 60.0% in the Cam group (P=0.571). After a median follow-up of 25.8 months, median progression-free survival was 9.3 (95% CI: 6.2-NR) months in the Cam+MDT group and 8.8 (95% CI: 3.3-NR) months in the Cam group (P=0.750). Exploratory analyses suggested a longer overall survival (OS) with Cam+MDT for patients with >3 lesions (HR 0.23 [95% CI: 0.07-0.77], P=0.009). G3 and above adverse events were comparable between the treatment groups (15.8% [Cam+MDT] vs 20.0% [Cam]). Overall rate of capillary proliferation was 17.9% (7/39) on the trial., Conclusions: Our study did not meet its primary endpoint of superior ORR of unirradiated lesions with the addition of MDT to Cam in patients with R/M-NPC., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Melvin L.K. Chua reports personal fees from Astellas, Pfizer, MSD, AstraZeneca, Varian, Janssen, IQVIA, Telix Pharmaceuticals; non-financial support from AstraZeneca; non-financial support from Veracyte Inc; grants from Ferring; personal fees and grants from Bayer; personal fees and grants from BeiGene; consults for immunoSCAPE Inc.; and is a co-inventor of the patent of a High Sensitivity Lateral Flow Immunoassay For Detection of Analyte in Sample (10202107837T), Singapore, and serves on the Board of Directors of Digital Life Line Pte Ltd that owns the licensing agreement of the patent, outside the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objectives: First-line pemetrexed-platinum chemotherapy + osimertinib(Pem-Plat-Osi) improves progression-free survival as compared to osimertinib alone in advanced epidermal growth factor (EGFR)-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, many patients are hesitant to commence chemotherapy upfront. We describe outcomes to Pem-Plat-Osi after first-line osimertinib failure., Materials and Methods: Patients with advanced EGFR-mutated (ex19del/L858R) NSCLC who had Pem-Plat-Osi between 1/7/2018-30/9/2023 after progression on first-line osimertinib at National Cancer Centre Singapore, Prince of Wales Hospital and Chinese University of Hong Kong were identified. Key endpoints were time to treatment failure (TTF) and overall survival (OS)., Results: A total of 60 patients were included. Median age at diagnosis was 62, 53.3 % (32/60) were male and 76.7 % (46/60) were never smokers. Ex19del comprised 56.7 % (34/60) and L858R 43.3 % (26/60). Baseline central nervous system (CNS) metastases were present in 66.7 % (40/60). Median TTF on osimertinib (TTF1) was 14.4 months(m) and median time to initiation of Pem-Plat-Osi was 41 days(d) (range 0-652) after progression on osimertinib. Partial response (PR) or stable disease to Pem-Plat-Osi was achieved in 81.7 %(49/60). Intracranial disease control was achieved in 90.6 % (29/32) of patients with measurable CNS metastases, including those who did not undergo brain radiotherapy. At median follow up of 31.2 m, median TTF on Pem-Plat-Osi (TTF2) was 6.6 m. Median TTF1 + TTF2 was 23.4 m and median OS was 34.2 m. Survival outcomes were similar comparing ex19del and L858R (median TTF1 + TTF2 21.8 m vs 23.5 m, p = 0.90; median OS 34.2 m vs 36.8 m, p = 0.37) and in patients without/with baseline CNS metastases (median TTF1 + TTF2 21.8 m vs 23.4 m, p = 0.44; median OS 36.2 m vs 31.9 m, p = 0.65). TTF1 duration was not significantly associated with TTF2 (p = 0.76). Patients who started Pem-Plat-Osi within 20d of progression on osimertinib had significantly longer TTF2 as compared to patients who started after 20d (median 8.4 m versus 6.0 months, p = 0.03), which remained statistically significant on multivariable analysis., Conclusions: Our real-world data supports the efficacy of Pem-Plat-Osi after progression on first-line osimertinib, including L858R and baseline CNS metastases. Chemotherapy initiation within 20d of Osi progression was predictive of superior TTF2., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: [Dr Saw reports grants from Astra Zeneca, consulting fees from Pfizer, Bayer, Astra Zeneca and Daiichi Sankyo, honoraria from Astra Zeneca, MSD, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Daiichi Sankyo, Roche and Takeda, meeting support from MSD and Astra Zeneca from Pfizer, advisory board participation from Astra Zeneca, Daiichi Sankyo and Pfizer, outside the submitted work. Dr Lai reports grants from Astra Zeneca, Roche and Amgen and meeting support from Astra Zeneca, outside the submitted work. Dr Chan reports meeting support from Roche, Astra Zeneca and Ipsen, outside the submitted work. Dr W.C. Tan reports grants from Singhealth, honoraria from Merck & Co, MSD and Astra Zeneca, meeting support from Ipsen Pharmaceuticals and Merck & Co, outside the submitted work. Dr A. Tan reports consulting fees from Amgen, Bayer and Pfizer, honoraria from Amgen, Guardant Health, Takeda, Juniper Biologics and Astra Zeneca, outside the submitted work. Dr W.L. Tan reports grants from Astra Zeneca, honoraria from Novartis and Merck, meeting support from Astra Zeneca, MSD, Boehringer Ingelheim and Ipsen, outside the submitted work. Dr Kanesvaran reports honoraria from Astellas, MSD and Ipsen, leadership roles in ESMO and SIOG, outside the submitted work. Dr Lim reports grants from Taiho Pharmaceuticals, consulting fees from Daiichi Sankyo, Amgen, Janssen and Alentis Therapeutics, honoraria from MSD and Takeda, meeting support from Astra Zeneca and Alentis Therapeutics, outside the submitted work. Dr. Tan reports grants from ACM Biolabs, Amgen, Astra Zeneca, Bayer and Pfizer, consulting fees from Amgen, Astra Zeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, DKSH, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche and Takeda, honoraria from Amgen, Bayer, Merck, Pfizer, Novartis, Boehringer Ingelheim, Roche, Takeda, Beigene, Regeneron, Zymeworks, meeting support from Bayer, Merck, Pfizer, Regeneron and Zymeworks, outside the submitted work. Dr Mok reportsgrantsfrom AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, G1 Therapeutics, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Merck Serono, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, SFJ, Takeda, XCovery, consulting fees from Abbvie Inc, ACEA Pharma, Adagene, Alentis Therapeutics AG, Alpha Biopharma Co., Ltd, Amgen, Amoy Diagnostics Co,AnHeart Therapeutics Inc,AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc,Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Ltd,BeiGene,BerGenBio ASA,Berry Oncology,Boehringer Ingelheim,Blueprint Medicines Corporation,Bristol Myers Squibb,Bowtie Life Insurance Company Limited,Bridge Biotherapeutics Inc,Covidien LP,C4 Therapeutics Inc,Cirina Ltd,CStone Pharmaceuticals,Curio Science,D3 Bio Ltd,Da Volterra,Daiichi Sankyo,Eisai,Elevation Oncology,F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd./ Genentech,Fishawack Facilitate Ltd,G1 Therapeutics Inc,geneDecode Co., Ltd,Gilead Sciences, Inc,GLG’s Healthcare,Gritstone Oncology, Inc,Guardant Health,Hengrui Therapeutics Inc,HiberCell, Inc.,HutchMed,Ignyta Inc.,Illumina Inc.,IncyteCorporation,Inivata,IQVIA,Janssen,Lakeshore Biotech Ltd,Lilly,Lunit USA, Inc,Loxo-Oncology,Lucence Health Inc,Medscape LLC/ WebMD,Medtronic,Merck Serono,MSD,Mirati Therapeutics Inc,MiRXES,MoreHealth,Novartis,Novocure GmbH,Omega Therapeutics Inc,OrigiMed,OSE Immunotherapeutics,PeerVoice,Pfizer,PrIME Oncology,Prenetics Global Limited,Puma Biotechnology Inc,Qiming Development (HK) Ltd,Regen Medtech Holdings Limited,Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.,Roche Pharmaceuticals/ Diagnostics/ Foundation One,Sanofi-Aventis,SFJ Pharmaceutical Ltd,Simcere of America Inc,Synergy Research,Summit Therapeutics Sub, Inc,Takeda Pharmaceuticals HK Ltd,Tigermed,Vertex Pharmaceuticals,Virtus Medical Group,XENCOR, Inc,Yuhan Corporation,honorariafromACEA Pharma,Alpha Biopharma Co.Ltd,Amgen,Amoy Diagnostics Co. Ltd,AstraZeneca (before 1/1/19),BeiGene,BI,BMS,Daiichi Sankyo,Daz Group,Fishawack Facilitate Ltd.,InMed Medical Communication,Janssen Pharmaceutica NV,Jiahui Holdings Co. Limited,LiangYiHui Healthcare,Lilly,Lucence Health Inc.,MD Health Brazil,Medscape LLC,Merck Pharmaceuticals HK Ltd.,Merck Sharp & Dohme,MiRXES,Novartis,OrigiMed Co. Ltd.,P. Permanyer SL,PeerVoice, Physicians’ Education Resource,Pfizer,PrIME Oncology,Research to Practice,Roche Pharmaceuticals/ Diagnostics/ Foundation One,Sanofi-Aventis,Shanghai BeBirds Translation & Consulting Co. Ltd,Taiho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd,Takeda Oncology,Touch Independent Medical Education Ltd,meeting support fromNovartis,Roche,Pfizer, AstraZeneca,Daiichi Sankyo,BI,MiRXES,BMS,MSD,Abbvie,Zai Lab,Liangyihui,advisory boardforAbbVie Inc.,ACEA Pharma,Amgen,AstraZeneca,Alentis Therapeutics AG,BerGenBio ASA,Berry Oncology,Blueprint Medicines Corporation,Boehringer Ingelheim,Bowtie Life Insurance Co Ltd,Bristol Myers Squibb,C4 Therapeutics Inc,Covidien LP,CStone Pharmaceuticals,Curio Science,D3 Bio Ltd.,Daiichi Sankyo Inc.,Eisai,Fishawack Facilitate Ltd.,G1 Therapeutics Inc.,Gilead Sciences Inc.,Gritstone Oncology Inc,Guardant Health,geneDecode Co. Ltd. (uncompensated),Hengrui Therapeutics Inc.,HutchMed,Ignyta Inc.,Incyte Corporation,Imagene AI Ltd.,Inivata,IQVIA,Janssen,Lakeshore Biotech,Lily,Loxo-Oncology Inc.,Lunit Inc,Merck Serono,Merck Sharp & Dohme,Mirati Therapeutics Inc.,MiRXES Group,Novartis,OrigiMed,Pfizer,Prenetics Global Limited,Puma Biotechnology Inc.,Roche/Genentech,Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc,Sanofi-Aventis R&D,SFJ Pharmaceutical,Simcere of America Inc.,Simcere Zaiming, Inc.,Takeda,Vertex Pharmaceuticals,Virtus Medical Group,XENCOR, Inc,Yuhan Corporation,being member in the Board of DirectorsforAstraZeneca PLC,HutchMed,Aurora,Insighta,holding stock / stock optionofAstraZeneca,Aurora Tele-Oncology Ltd.,Biolidics Ltd.,HutchMed,Prenetics Global Limited,D3 Bio,Lunit,Bowtie Life Insurance, Lakeshore Biotech Ltd,Loxo-oncology,Virtus Medical Group,Yinson Capital Pte. Ltd.,Phanes Therapeutics, Inc.,Insighta,Alentis Therapeutics AG, outside the submitted work. Dr Li reports grants from Gilead, MSD and Astra Zeneca, honoraria from Astra Zeneca, Novartis, Amgen, Pfizer. Takeda, ACE Oncology, Merck, Guardant Health, Gilead, Janssen and MSD, meeting support from Astra Zeneca, Pfizer, Daiichi Sankyo, MSD, Amgen, advisory board for Astra Zeneca, Pfizer, AnHeart Therapeutics, Amgen, Takeda, Yuhan and Blossomhill therapeutics, outside the submitted work. No other conflicts of interest were declared.]., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The year 2024 is the 20 th anniversary of the discovery of activating epidermal growth factor receptor ( EGFR ) mutations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Since then, tremendous advances have been made in the treatment of NSCLC based on this discovery. Some of these studies have led to seismic changes in the concept of oncology research and spurred treatment advances beyond NSCLC, leading to a current true era of precision oncology for all solid tumors. We now routinely molecularly profile all tumor types and even plasma samples of patients with NSCLC for multiple actionable driver mutations, independent of patient clinical characteristics nor is profiling limited to the advanced incurable stage. We are increasingly monitoring treatment responses and detecting resistance to targeted therapy by using plasma genotyping. Furthermore, we are now profiling early-stage NSCLC for appropriate adjuvant targeted treatment leading to an eventual potential "cure" in early-stage EGFR+ NSCLC which have societal implication on implementing lung cancer screening in never-smokers as most EGFR+ NSCLC patients are never-smokers. All these advances were unfathomable in 2004 when the five papers that described "discoveries" of activating EGFR mutations (del19, L858R, exon 20 insertions, and "uncommon" mutations) were published. To commemorate this 20 th anniversary, we assembled a global panel of thoracic medical oncology experts to select the top 20 papers (publications or congress presentation) from the 20 years since this seminal discovery with December 31, 2023 as the cutoff date for inclusion of papers to be voted on. Papers ranked 21 to 30 were considered "honorable mention" and also annotated. Our objective is that these 30 papers with their annotations about their impact and even all the ranked papers will serve as "syllabus" for the education of future thoracic oncology trainees. Finally, we mentioned potential practice-changing clinical trials to be reported. One of them, LAURA was published online on June 2, 2024 was not included in the list of papers to be voted on but will surely be highly ranked if this consensus survery is performed again on the 25 th anniversay of the discovery EGFR mutations (i.e. top 25 papers on the 25 years since the discovery of activating EGFR mutations)., Competing Interests: Dr Sai-Hong Ou reports grants, personal fees from Pfizer, Jansen, Daiichi Sankyo; personal fees from Anheart Therapeutics, Bayer, Dava Oncology LLP, OncLive, BMS; grants from Revolution Medicines, Mirati, Merus; grants and/or stock ownership from Nuvalent, MBrace Therapeutics, BlossomHill Therapeutics, Turning Point Therapeutics, Elevation Oncology, and Lilly, outside the submitted work. Dr Xiuning Le reports personal fees from AstraZeneca, EMD Serono, Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim, Regeneron, Bayer, Teligene, SystImmune, Janssen, Daiichi, AbbVie, ArriVent, and Abion, outside the submitted work. Dr Misako Nagasaka reports personal fees from AstraZeneca, Daiichi Sankyo, Novartis, EMD Serono, Pfizer, Lilly, Genentech, Regeneron, BMS, Caris Life Sciences, Mirati, Takeda, Janssen, Blueprint Medicine; non-financial support from AnHeart Therapeutics, outside the submitted work. Dr Thanyanan Reungwetwattana reports grants, personal fees from AstraZeneca, Roche, Novartis, MSD, Yuhan; personal fees from Pfizer, J&J, BMS, and Amgen, outside the submitted work. Prof. Dr. Myung-Ju Ahn reports personal fees from AstraZeneca, Yuhan, TAKEDA, Daiichi Sankyo, Alpha pharmaceuticals, Merck, Amgen, MSD, Roche, and voronoi, outside the submitted work. Dr Edgardo Santos reports personal fees from AstraZeneca, Genentech, Sanofi, Regeneron, AbbVie, Novartis, Amgen, Boehringer-Ingelheim, BMS, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, G1 Therapeutics, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Merck, Mirati, Pfizer, Coherus, Sobi, Takeda, and Johnson and Johnson, during the conduct of the study. Dr Elaine Shum reports personal fees from AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Genentech, Regeneron, Gilead, Bristol Meyers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim; grants from Delfi Diagnostics, outside the submitted work. Dr Antonio Calles reports personal fees, grants and/or non-financial support from AstraZeneca, Amgen, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bayer, Pfizer, Roche, MSD, BMS, Novartis, Lilly, Takeda, and PharmaMar. Dr Gilberto Lopes reports stock ownership from Lucence Diagnostics, Xilis, Biomab, Morphometrix, and CDR-Life; honoraria from Boehringer Ingelheim, Blueprint Medicines, AstraZeneca, Merck, and Janssen; consulting or advisory role for Pfizer and AstraZeneca; research funding from AstraZeneca, Lucence, Xilis, E.R. Squibb Sons, LLC; research funding to his institution from Merck Sharp & Dohme, EMD Serono, AstraZeneca, Blueprint Medicines, Tesaro, Bavarian Nordic, NOVARTIS, G1 Therapeutics, adaptimmune, BMS, GSK, AbbVie, Rgenix, Pfizer, Roche, Genentech, Lilly, Janssen; travel, accommodations and expenses from Boehringer Ingelheim, Pfizer, E.R. Squibb Sons, LLC, Janssen, Seattle Genetics, Celgene, Ibsen, Pharmacyclics, Merck, AstraZeneca, Seagen; and Mirati Therapeutics. Dr Junko Tanizaki reports personal fees from AstraZeneca K.K., Boehringer-Ingelheim Japan Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. Ltd., Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Daiichi sankyo Co., Ltd, Eli Lilly Japan K.K., Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K., MSD K.K., Nihon Medi-Physics Co., Ltd, Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd., Taiho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. K., Ono pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., and Pfizer Japan Inc., outside the submitted work. Dr Hidehito Horinouchi reports grants and/or personal fees from Roche/Chugai, AstraZeneca, BMS/ONO, AbbVie, Daiichi-Sankyo, Kyowa-Kirin, Taiho, and Guardant, outside the submitted work. Dr Marina Garassino reports personal fees from AstraZeneca, during the conduct of the study. Professor Sanjay Popat reports personal fees from Ahneart, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Blueprint, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Daiichi Sankyo, Ellipses, EQRx, GlaxoSmithKline, Guardant Health, Janssen, Lilly, Merck KGaA, Mirati, MSD, Novocure, Novartis, Pfizer, PharmaMar, Pierre Fabre, Roche, Sanofi, Takeda, and Turning Point Therapeutics, during the conduct of the study. Professor Benjamin Besse is advisory board of Daiichi Sankyo, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, steering committee of and counsel for Janssen, Taiho, AstraZeneca, and Takeda, during the conduct of the study. Dr Ross Soo reports grants and/or personal fees from Bayer, AbbVie, Amgen, Astra-Zeneca, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Daiichi Sankyo, J INTS BIO, Janssen, Lily, Merck, Merck Serono, Novartis, Pfizer, Puma, Roche, Sanofi, Taiho, Takeda, ThermoFisher, and Yuhan, outside the submitted work. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work., (© 2024 Ou et al.)

Objectives: To characterize longitudinal changes in Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA post-radiotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients, and investigate whether an early (0-2 weeks) or delayed (8-12 weeks) EBV DNA result better predicts for disease-free survival (DFS)., Materials and Methods: Histologically-confirmed NPC patients with ≥1 EBV DNA test quantified using the harmonized BamHI-W polymerase chain reaction-based assay at 0-2 and 8-12 weeks post-radiotherapy were included., Results: We identified 302 patients with EBV DNA measured at 0-2 weeks post-radiotherapy; of which, 110 (36.4 %) underwent a repeat test at 8-12 weeks post-treatment. Patients harboring a detectable EBV DNA at 0-2 weeks experienced an inferior DFS (adjusted HR 1-264 copies 1.72 [95 %CI: 1.05-2.83], P = 0.031; AHR ≥265 copies 4.39 [95 %CI: 1.68-11.44], P = 0.002 relative to 0 copies/mL). At 8-12 weeks, we observed substantial shifts in EBV DNA readings from 0 to 2 weeks; 76/110 (69.1 %) and 34/110 (30.9 %) patients at 0-2 weeks versus 90/110 (81.8 %) and 20/110 (18.2 %) at 8-12 weeks recorded undetectable and detectable EBV DNA, respectively. Positive EBV DNA at 8-12 weeks was strongly associated with relapse (73.3 % [11/15] for 1-264; 80.0 % [4/5] for ≥265 subgroups had relapses versus 15.6 % [14/90] for 0 copies/mL). Area under receiver operating curve values for 2-year relapse rates were 0.817 (95 %CI: 0.725-0.909) for stage + EBV DNA 8-12w versus 0.654 (95 %CI: 0.542-0.765) for stage + EBV DNA 0-2w. CONCLUSION: EBV DNA is dynamic post-radiotherapy, and delayed EBV DNA testing better enriched for higher-risk NPC patients. This implicates trials investigating adjuvant chemotherapy intensification based on early EBV DNA testing., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: To compare the performance of droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) and plasma next-generation sequencing (NGS) in detecting clearance of plasma EGFR (pEGFR) mutations., Methods: Patients with treatment-naive advanced EGFR-mutated lung cancer treated with first-line tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) were included. pEGFR were measured at baseline and first response assessment using ddPCR and NGS. Clearance of pEGFR was defined as undetectable levels after a positive baseline result. Results were correlated with time-to-treatment failure (TTF). In exploratory analysis, corresponding change in carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels was evaluated., Results: Between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2021, 27 patients were recruited. Ex19del comprised 74% (20 of 27) and L858R 26% (seven of 27). Osimertinib was used in 59% (16 of 27), dacomitinib 4% (one of 27), and gefitinib/erlotinib 37% (10 of 27). Sensitivity of ddPCR and NGS in detecting pEGFR mutation at baseline was 70% (19 of 27) and 78% (21 of 27), respectively ( p  = 0.16). All patients with detectable pEGFR by ddPCR were detected by NGS.At a median of 8 (range 3-24) weeks post-TKI initiation, clearance of pEGFR was achieved in 68% (13 of 19) and 71% (15 of 21) using ddPCR and NGS, respectively. Concordance between ddPCR and NGS was 79% (kappa = 0.513, p  = 0.013). Clearance of pEGFR was associated with longer median TTF (not reached versus 6 months, p  = 0.03) and median decrease in CEA levels by 70% from baseline.In another cohort of 124 patients, decrease in CEA levels by greater than 70% within 90 days of TKI initiation was associated with doubling of both TTF and overall survival., Conclusions: Plasma NGS trended toward higher sensitivity than ddPCR in detecting pEGFR, although both had similar concordance in detecting pEGFR clearance. Our results support using NGS at diagnosis and interchangeability of NGS and ddPCR for monitoring, whereas CEA could be explored as a surrogate for pEGFR clearance., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Introduction: Lung cancer remains an important cause of cancer-related mortality in Singapore, with a greater proportion of non-smokers diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the past 2 decades. The higher prevalence of targetable genomic alterations in lung cancer diagnosed in Singapore compared with countries in the West, as well as the expanding therapeutic landscape for NSCLC in the era of precision medicine, are both factors that underscore the importance of efficient and effective molecular profiling., Method: This article provides consensus recommendations for biomarker testing for early-stage to advanced NSCLC. These recommendations are made from a multidisciplinary group of lung cancer experts in Singapore with the aim of improving patient care and long-term outcomes., Results: The recommendations address the considerations in both the advanced and early-stage settings, and take into account challenges in the implementation of biomarker testing as well as the limitations of available data. Biomarker testing for both tumour tissue and liquid biopsy are discussed., Conclusion: This consensus statement discusses the approaches and challenges of integrating molecular testing into clinical practice for patients with early- to late-stage NSCLC, and provides practical recommendations for biomarker testing for NSCLC patients in Singapore.

Objectives: Anti-PD1 antibody has emerged as a promising immunotherapeutic option in patients with recurrent and/or metastatic nasopharyngeal cancers (RM-NPC). We aim to summarise existing evidence on the use of anti-PD1 antibodies in the treatment of these patients and compare its effectiveness with standard-of-care palliative chemotherapy. Our secondary aim is to explore potential combination therapies with anti-PD1 antibodies., Materials and Methods: PubMed, Embase and Cochrane databases were systematically searched for studies comparing the efficacy of various anti-PD1 antibodies in the treatment of RM-NPC (either as first or second line treatment) from inception to 2 September 2022. Meta-analyses were performed to correlate the various anti-PD1 antibodies with primary endpoints including overall response rate disease control rate (DCR), progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS)., Results: Eighteen studies with 1,887 patients met the inclusion criteria. The use of anti-PD1 antibody monotherapy as second-line treatment of RM-NPC revealed an ORR of 23 % (95 % CI = 19 %-28 %) and DCR of 51 % (95 % CI = 42 %-60 %). The ORRs for first-line as well as a combination of first and second-line treatments were 21 % (95 % CI = 15 % - 30 %) and 22 % (95 % CI = 6 % - 56 %, I 2  = 75 %) respectively. The 12-month PFS and 12-month OS was also 27 % (95 % CI = 21 %-33 %) and 63 % (95 % CI = 53 %-72 %) respectively. ORR was much higher at 73 % (95 % CI = 32 %-94 %) when anti-PD1 antibodies were combined with Gemcitabine plus Cisplatin., Conclusion: Anti-PD1 antibody demonstrate considerable activity in previously treated RM-NPC patients. Combining anti-PD1 antibodies with gemcitabine and cisplatin chemotherapy enhanced the efficacy of treatment., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Despite the conventional view that a truly random V(D)J recombination process should generate a highly diverse immune repertoire, emerging reports suggest that there is a certain bias toward the generation of shared/public immune receptor chains. These studies were performed in viral diseases where public T cell receptors (TCR) appear to confer better protective responses. Selective pressures generating common TCR clonotypes are currently not well understood, but it is believed that they confer a growth advantage. As very little is known about public TCR clonotypes in cancer, here we set out to determine the extent of shared TCR clonotypes in the intra-tumor microenvironments of virus- and non-virus-driven head and neck cancers using TCR sequencing. We report that tumor-infiltrating T cell clonotypes were indeed shared across individuals with the same cancer type, where the majority of shared sequences were specific to the cancer type (i.e., viral versus non-viral). These shared clonotypes were not particularly enriched in EBV-associated nasopharynx cancer but, in both cancers, exhibited distinct characteristics, namely shorter CDR3 lengths, restricted V- and J-gene usages, and also demonstrated convergent V(D)J recombination. Many of these shared TCRs were expressed in patients with a shared HLA background. Pattern recognition of CDR3 amino acid sequences revealed strong convergence to specific pattern motifs, and these motifs were uniquely found to each cancer type. This suggests that they may be enriched for specificity to common antigens found in the tumor microenvironment of different cancers. The identification of shared TCRs in infiltrating tumor T cells not only adds to our understanding of the tumor-adaptive immune recognition but could also serve as disease-specific biomarkers and guide the development of future immunotherapies., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Importance: The recently published ADAURA study has posed a significant dilemma for clinicians in selecting patients for adjuvant osimertinib. Risk factors for recurrence in early-stage epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) also remain undefined., Objective: To determine clinicopathologic characteristics and recurrence patterns of resected early-stage EGFR-positive NSCLC, using wildtype EGFR as a comparator cohort, and identify features associated with recurrence., Design, Setting, and Participants: This is a cohort study including patients diagnosed with AJCC7 Stage IA to IIIA NSCLC between January 1, 2010, and June 30, 2018, who underwent curative surgical procedures at a specialist cancer center in Singapore. The cutoff for data analysis was October 15, 2020. Patient demographic characteristics, treatment history, and survival data were collated. In exploratory analysis, whole-exome sequencing was performed in a subset of 86 patients. Data were analyzed from September 3, 2020, to June 6, 2021., Exposures: Adjuvant treatment was administered per investigator's discretion., Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcome was 2-year disease-free survival (DFS)., Results: A total of 723 patients were included (389 patients with EGFR-positive NSCLC; 334 patients with wildtype EGFR NSCLC). There were 366 women (50.6%) and 357 men (49.4%), and the median (range) age was 64 (22-88) years. A total of 299 patients (41.4%) had stage IA NSCLC, 155 patients (21.4%) had stage IB NSCLC, 141 patients (19.5%) had stage II NSCLC, and 125 patients (17.3%) had stage IIIA NSCLC. Compared with patients with wildtype EGFR NSCLC, patients with EGFR-positive NSCLC were more likely to be women (106 women [31.7%] vs 251 women [64.5%]) and never smokers (121 never smokers [36.2%] vs 317 never smokers [81.5%]). At median (range) follow up of 46 (0-123) months, 299 patients (41.4%) had cancer recurrence. There was no statistically significant difference in 2-year DFS for EGFR-positive and wildtype EGFR NSCLC (70.2% [95% CI, 65.3%-74.5%] vs 67.6% [95% CI, 62.2%-72.4%]; P = .70), although patients with EGFR-positive NSCLC had significantly better 5-year overall survival (77.7% [95% CI, 72.4%-82.1%] vs 66.6% [95% CI, 60.5%-72.0%]; P = .004). Among patients with EGFR-positive NSCLC, 2-year DFS was 81.0% (95% CI, 74.0%-86.3%) for stage IA, 78.4% (95% CI, 68.2%-85.6%) for stage IB, 57.1% (95% CI, 43.7%-68.4%) for stage II, and 46.6% (95% CI, 34.7%-57.7%) for stage IIIA. Overall, 5-year DFS among patients with stage IB through IIIA was 37.2% (95% CI, 30.1%-44.3%). Sites of disease at recurrence were similar between EGFR-positive and wildtype EGFR NSCLC, with locoregional (64 patients [16.5%] vs 56 patients [16.8%]), lung (41 patients [10.5%] vs 40 patients [12.0%]), and intracranial (37 patients [9.5%] vs 22 patients [6.6%]) metastases being the most common. A risk estimation model incorporating genomic data and an individual patient nomogram using clinicopathologic features for stage I EGFR-positive NSCLC was developed to improve risk stratification., Conclusions and Relevance: This cohort study found that recurrence rates were high in early-stage EGFR-positive NSCLC including stage IA, yet 37.2% of patients with stage IB through IIIA were cured without adjuvant osimertinib. Further studies are needed to elucidate individualized surveillance and adjuvant treatment strategies for early-stage EGFR-positive NSCLC.

Background: There is no standard-of-care for recurrent, metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (rmNPC) after first-line chemotherapy. Here, we report the efficacy and safety data of apatinib in rmNPC patients., Methods: Thirty-five biopsy-proven rmNPC patients received apatinib at 500 mg/day under a compassionate access programme. Primary end-point was objective response rate (ORR; RECIST v1.1). Kaplan-meier method was used to estimate progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Toxicity was assessed by CTCAE v4.0., Results: 82.9% (29 of 35) of patients had poly-metastatic rmNPC. All patients, except five, were platinum-refractory; 37.1% (13 of 35) received ≥ 2 lines. Median number of apatinib cycles was 4.0 (IQR: 2.0-8.0). ORR was 31.4% (11 of 35 [95% CI: 16.9-49.3]) and disease control rate was 74.3% (26 of 35 [95% CI: 56.7-87.5]); 11 (31.4%) and 4 (11.4%) patients demonstrated response for ≥ 6 and ≥ 12 months, respectively. Median PFS and OS was 3.9 (95% CI: 3.1-5.5) months and 5.8 (95% CI: 4.5-8.0) months, respectively. Among the ≥ 12-month responders, all patients had pre-apatinib EBV DNA titer of <700 (range: 353-622) copies/ml; this was consistent with the association of PFS with pre-apatinib EBV DNA titer (adjusted HR 3.364 [95% CI: 1.428-7.923] for ≥ 4000 copies/ml, P = 0.006). 42.9% (15 of 35) of patients required dose reduction. Nonetheless, only five (14.3%) patients suffered from G3 toxicities (two haematological, one hypertension, one hand-foot syndrome and one elevated aminotransferases)., Conclusion: Our data suggests potential efficacy of apatinib in rmNPC patients. Although incidence of severe toxicities was low, dose modification was required in 42.9% of patients., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Aim: Treatment strategies in laryngeal squamous cell cancer (LSCC) straddle the need for long term survival and tumor control as well as preservation of laryngeal function as far as possible. We sought to identify prognostic factors affecting LSCC outcomes in our population., Methods: Clinical characteristics, treatments and survival outcomes of patients with LSCC were analysed. Baseline comorbidity data was collected and age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index (aCCI) was calculated. Outcomes of overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and laryngectomy-free survival (LFS) were evaluated., Results: Two hundred and fifteen patients were included, 170 (79%) underwent primary radiation/ chemoradiation and the remainder upfront surgery with adjuvant therapy where indicated. The majority of patients were male, Chinese and current/ex-smokers. Presence of comorbidity was common with median aCCI of 3. Median OS was 5.8 years. On multivariable analyses, high aCCI and advanced nodal status were associated with inferior OS (HR 1.24 per one point increase in aCCI, P<0.001 and HR 3.52; p<0.001 respectively), inferior PFS (HR 1.14; p = 0.007 and HR 3.23; p<0.001 respectively) and poorer LFS (HR 1.19; p = 0.001 and HR 2.95; p<0.001 respectively). Higher tumor (T) stage was associated with inferior OS and LFS (HR 1.61; p = 0.02 and HR 1.91; p = 0.01 respectively)., Conclusion: In our Asian population, the presence of comorbidities and high nodal status were associated with inferior OS, PFS and LFS whilst high T stage was associated with inferior LFS and OS., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.