bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Phase I study of SNK01 (autologous non-genetically modified natural killer cells with enhanced cytotoxicity) in refractory metastatic solid tumors.
Authors: Chawla Sant P. , Kim Katherine M , Chua Victoria S. , Jafari Omid , Song Paul Y. 
Published: May 2020

e15024 Background: Natural Killer (NK) cells possess the innate ability to detect transformed cancer cells and kill them, thus playing a key role in cancer immunosurveillance and antitumor immunity. In general, prior NK cell therapies have not shown efficacy in solid tumors and the expansion of NK cells in cancer patients to clinically therapeutic doses is quite challenging, making allogenic preferable to autologous treatment. SNK01 is a first-in-kind, autologous non-genetically modified NK cell therapy with enhanced cytotoxicity which can be consistently produced even from heavily pretreated cancer patients, and has been shown to have efficacy against numerous solid tumor types in preclinical studies. Methods: In this single-arm Phase I study (NCT03941262) to investigate the safety and efficacy of SNK01, patients with refractory metastatic solid tumors were treated in a 3 + 3 dose escalation study with five weekly infusions of SNK01 at 1, 2, or 4 x 109 cells per infusion. Primary endpoint is safety and quality of life (QoL), and secondary endpoint is objective response rate (ORR). Results: Seven of nine planned patients have been enrolled up to date and five have completed treatment. All patients have rapidly progressive metastatic disease and have received an average of five lines of prior therapy. Tumor types include one non-small lung cancer, one colorectal cancer, and five sarcomas. Median age is 52 (32-62). All patients have had successful expansion and cytotoxic enhancement of their NK cells. Three patients have completed 1 x 109 SNK01 and two patients have completed 2 x 109 SNK01. There have been no adverse events according to NCI-CTCAE v 5.0 or any cytokine release syndrome, and all patients have reported an overall improvement in QoL. At week 9, three of three patients at the 1 x 109 dose and one of two at the 2 x 109 achieved a best overall response of stable disease as per RECIST 1.1. Conclusions: Expanding and increasing the cytotoxicity of NK cells in our heavily pretreated patients has been consistently reliable. SNK01 monotherapy has been very safe and well tolerated in patients with rapidly progressive solid tumors. MTD has not been reached and dose escalation is ongoing. Evaluation of anti-tumor activity is ongoing, but at a minimum, SNK01 appears to slow and possibly halt progression in very aggressive disease and improve quality of life while improving the overall quality of life. The remaining two planned patients are currently being enrolled and a full update will be presented. Clinical trial information: NCT03941262 .
Results from Melanoma Antigen Redirected Vaccine Stimulated Autologous Lymphocytes (MARVSmALo): A pilot study.
Authors: Fulbright Joy M. , Doolittle Gary C. , Rooney Cliona M. , Ganguly Siddhartha , Abhyankar Sunil H. , Gilbert Margaret , Dakhova Olga , Al-Sabbagh Mina , Zhang Huimin , Myers G. Douglas , Lapteva Natalia 
Published: May 2020

e15026 Background: Despite improvements in treatment with targeted agents and immunotherapeutics metastatic melanoma still has a guarded prognosis. Many melanoma cells upregulate the disialoganglioside GD2. Early GD2 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell studies in neuroblastoma demonstrated no toxicity but limited ability to expand in vivo. Strategies to expand these GD2.CAR T cells might improve efficacy while retaining safety. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of first generation 14g2a.zeta chimeric antigen receptor ( GD2.CAR ) transduced, activated T cells enriched for vaccine specific cytotoxic T-Lymphocytes (tvs-CTL). Methods: Patients with metastatic melanoma in which standard therapy had failed were eligible if they had recovered from effects of prior therapy, did not have rapidly progressive disease, were free of melanoma involving the CNS and did not have a contraindication to receiving Hepatitis B, Polio or DTAP vaccine. Patients received each of these vaccines prior to cell harvest, 4 days before and 28 days after autologous T cell infusion. Patient 1 was treated with 2 x 108 cell dose and patients 2 and 3 were treated with 4x108 cell dose. We used QPCR to measure transgene copy number in patients before and after infusion. Interferon-gamma enzyme linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay was used to measure the frequencies of tetanus, pertussis, diphtheria, poliovirus and tumor antigens-specific T cells in peripheral blood. Results: GD2.CAR-tvs-CTL were manufactured and infused in 3 patients. Overall the infusions were safe. Seven low grade adverse events possibly related to study participation were reported. The first 2 patients did not demonstrate robust in vivo expansion of GD2.CAR-tvs-CTLs by QPCR and had rapid disease progression. In patient 3 a significant expansion of GD2.CAR-tvs-CTLs, i.e. 18,250 copies/ug genomic DNA was observed on day 7 and cells persisted at 159 copies/ug DNA for up to 12 months (latest measured time point). High pertussis-specific responses were also observed by INF-gamma ELISPOT in this patient starting from day 14 after the vaccination through month 12. Conclusions: We have demonstrated that GD2.CAR T cells expanded and persisted in melanoma patient for up to 12 months. The use of vaccination before blood procurement for T cell manufacture and boosting virus-specific T cell after CAR T cell infusion is a safe strategy and may have helped induced higher transgene levels in one of three patients. Clinical trial information: NCT02482532 .
Device for the enumeration and continuous removal of circulating tumor cells in improving overall survival of epithelial cancer patients.
Authors: Khandare Jayant , Arora Smriti , Singh Balram , D'Souza Alain , Singh Nitin , Kale Narendra , Bhide Shubham , Ashturkar Amrut , Vasudevan Aravindan , Aland Gourishankar 
Published: May 2020

e15043 Background: The presence of circulating tumor cells (CTC) in the vascular system is a tell-tale signature of metastasis in epithelial origin cancers including lung, breast, colorectal and head and neck cancers. Noteworthy, about 90% of cancer deaths are due to the progression of metastasis. Yet, cancer therapy is focussed on inhibiting tumour growth and there is a paucity of options that target metastasis. We demonstrate the POP ‘device’ that removes circulating tumour cells (CTC) from a patient’s blood to reduce the metastatic progression and improve overall survival. Methods: We designed, multi-component glass beads enriched antibody EpCAM conjugate substrates as POP blood fluidic device. We characterized the substrate and accounted for the biocompatibility using whole blood of healthy volunteers. We evaluated, the acute toxicity of substrates using rat (Wistar Albino) whole blood (CPCSEA registration number: 941/PO/Re/S/06/CPCSEA; 31/07/2019) and further studied major histopathological tissues for any toxicity. Finally, we evaluated 06 cancer patients whole blood (1.5 mL) for capturing and for the elimination of CTCs. The captured cells were immuno-stained, and the optimal fluorescence acquisition intensity was critically quantified in accounting CK18 protein over-expression. Results: The multi-component antibody EpCAM based substrate exhibited efficient CTC capture ability with a mean capture efficiency ranging from 40% to 100 % when compared to the OncoDiscover CTC test approved by CDSCO/ drug controller general of India (DCGI). Furthermore, the substrate indicated high biocompatibility primarily exhibited by the absence of haemolysis on whole human blood. Additionally, the preliminary animal experiments in rats showed a 100% survival rate and negligible toxicity to major organs. Conclusions: Removal of circulating tumor cells as a therapeutics is highly implicated in improving the overall survival of epithelial cancer patients.
DNA damage and repair gene panel as a biomarker of immune checkpoint inhibitor response.
Authors: Chen Ming Huang , Pan Yi-Ru , Wu Chiao-En , Yeh Yi Chen , Hung Yi-Ping , Chao Yee , Wang Yu-Chao , Lin Chien-Hsing , Hsieh Jason Chia-Hsun , Yeh Chun-Nan 
Published: May 2020

e15052 Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have become the standard of care in various cancers, although predictive biomarkers for efficacy still remain largely unknown. Methods: This study aims to develop a novel gene panel by selecting DNA damage and repair (DDR) genes from the Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (COSMIC) database and perform validation using publicly available cohorts. Association between the DDR gene panel and tumor mutation burden or microsatellite status were analyzed from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. To further improve the clinical accessibility of the DDR gene panel, we analyzed the feasibility of its predictive value using cell free DNA in from 64 patients receiving ICIs. Results: The 193 mutated DDR genes in various cancers were chosen from the COSMIC databank, and the DDR genes found to individually predict a response rate > 50% in publicly melanoma cohort (Van Allen, et al) were selected. Eighteen DDR genes were selected as the DDR gene panel. The prevalence of the DDR gene mutations and predicted response rate of ICIs were validated in other three publicly available cohorts (Hugo et al, Synder et al, and Rizvi et al.). Tumor mutational burden and high microsatellite instability were positively associated with mutations of the 18 DDR genes for most cancers. Further validation was performed using cell-free DNA from cancer patients receiving ICIs. This DDR gene panel was detected in approximately 30% of various cancers, achieving a predicted response rate of approximately 60% in patients receiving ICIs. Conclusions: Our developed DDR gene panel can serve as a novel and reliable biomarker that can provide critical information for predicting the response to ICIs in cancer patients and guide the appropriate administration of ICIs in clinical practice.
Treatment-related adverse events of combination immune checkpoint inhibitors: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Authors: Park Robin , Lopes da Silva Laércio , Riano Ivy , Cristancho Cagney , Saeed Anwaar 
Published: May 2020

e15060 Background: Despite increasing clinical experience with immune checkpoint inhibitors and the recent publication of clinical practice guidelines for managing treatment-related adverse events, precise and nuanced checkpoint inhibitor data in the setting of combination therapy is lacking. Herein we have conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of treatment-related adverse event data from clinical trials evaluating combination immune checkpoint inhibitors. Methods: Studies published in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Database from conception to September 28, 2019 were included in the meta-analysis. Studies were eligible for inclusion if combination immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy was evaluated in advanced unresectable cancer and treatment-related adverse event data were available. For comparison of severity of adverse events in combination versus monotherapy, only the studies containing monotherapy arms as a control population were included, while all were included for calculation of pooled incidence of selected adverse events. Pooled risk ratio (RR) was used for the comparison of combination versus monotherapy and the logit transformed proportion for calculation of pooled incidence. Between-study risk of bias was evaluated using the Begg's funnel plot and Egger's regression test. Subgroup analysis was conducted by combination regimen, cancer type, and dosing regimen. Results: A total of 18 studies comprising 2767 patients across 10 cancer types were included in the final analysis. Combination ICI was associated with a slightly higher risk of all-grade adverse events (RR 1.07 [95% CI 1.03-1.11]) and markedly greater risk of grade 3 or higher adverse events (RR 2.21 [95% CI 1.57-3.10]) compared to monotherapy ICI. Subgroup analyses showed significant differences in risk of grade 3 or higher adverse events between treatment type (PD-1+CTLA-4 and PD-L1+CTLA-4), among cancer types, and among dosing regimens (N1I3, N3I1 and D20T1). Incidence of all-grade adverse events was 0.905 [95% CI 0.842-0.945] and grade 3 or higher events/all-grade adverse events was 0.396 [95% CI 0.315-0.483]. The most common all-grade TRAEs were diarrhea/colitis, fatigue/asthenia, nausea/vomiting, rash, and pruritis. Conclusions: Combination ICI therapy has a significantly different treatment-related adverse event profile compared to monotherapy.
Assessing long-term survival improvement of immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) anticancer agents approved by the Food and Drug Administration: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
Authors: Everest Louis , Chan Kelvin K. , Saluja Ronak , Shah Monica , Nguyen Vivian 
Published: May 2020

e15062 Background: Conventional anticancer drugs have been developed to improve overall survival (OS) and/or progression-free survival (PFS) in the palliative intent setting. However, long-term survival is often limited by acquired biologic resistance. In contrast to conventional anticancer drugs, ICIs putatively preserve long-term survival in a small subset of patients. However, in the absence of a gold-standard definition, long-term survival improvement has not been adequately quantified. Long-term survival rate difference has been proposed as a method of quantifying long-term survival. However, there a paucity of literature demonstrating statistical improvements in survival rate. Therefore, the objective of the study was to quantify the improvement in long-term survival rate in OS and PFS improvement in ICIs compared with non-ICIs. Methods: The FDA Hematology/Oncology Approvals & Safety Notification web page was searched for RCTs cited in oncology drug approvals between 01-2011 and 06-2019. The most recent OS and PFS updates were used when available. OS and PFS curves were digitized to reconstruct pseudo individual patient data as per established methods. Survival rate improvement at 1, 2 and 3 years were calculated as differences between the experimental arm and control arm. Survival rate improvements across RCTs at 1, 2 and 3 years were pooled using a random-effects model and the results were compared between ICI and non-ICIs. Subgroup analyses were conducted for melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer. Results: We identified 130 RCTs (22 ICIs, 108 non-ICIs) for analysis. The absolute OS rate improvement was 9.5% in ICIs and 4.9% in non-ICIs at 1-year (difference = 4.6%, p < 0.001), 10.3% in ICIs and 4.9% in non-ICIs at 2-years (difference = 5.3%, p < 0.001), and 10.2% in ICIs and 5.1% in non-ICIs at 3-years (difference = 4.6% p 0.006). The absolute PFS rate improvement was 10.3% in ICIs and 17.7% in non-ICIs at 1-year (difference = -7.3% p < 0.001), and 8.9% in ICIs and 15.5% in non-ICIs at 2-years (difference = -6.6% p < 0.001). Conclusions: Long-term OS survival rate improvements, while statistically significant were only modestly higher in ICIs compared to non-ICIs. PFS survival rate differences were statistically lower in ICIs compared to non-ICIs. While ICIs represent an important shift towards long-term survival, greater emphasis should be placed on rigorously evaluating long-term survival rate improvement and reporting of future novel therapies.
Clinical response and biomarker analysis of a phase II basket trial of toripalimab, a PD-1 mAb in combination with standard chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for patients with solid tumors.
Authors: Ren Chao , Wei Xiao-Li , Xu Nong , Shen Lin , Dai Guanghai , Yuan Xianglin , Chen Ye , Yang Shujun , Shi Jianhua , Hu Xichun , Lin Xiaoyan , Zhang Qingyuan , Feng Jifeng , Ba Yi , Liu Yunpeng , Liu Wei , Shu Yongqian , Xu Rui-hua ,   Shanghai Junshi Biosciences
Published: May 2020

e15083 Background: Platinum based chemotherapy is the standard care for 1st line treatment of metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma (GC), esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESSC), nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Combinations of PD-1 blockade with chemotherapy have shown promising but mixed results in solid tumors. Predictive biomarkers for chemo-immunotherapy combination as 1st line treatment remain undefined. Methods: Patients (n = 60) included in this analysis were four complete cohorts from a multi-center, phase Ib/II trial (NCT02915432) evaluating the safety and activity of toripalimab, a humanized PD-1 antibody in combination with standard chemotherapy for the 1st line treatment of GC, EC, NPC and HNSCC (excluding NPC). Whole exome sequencing (WES), RNA sequencing and immunohistochemistry were performed on tumor biopsy samples. PD-L1 expression and tumor mutational burden (TMB) were evaluated for correlation with clinical efficacy. Results: From Oct 2016 to Feb 2019, 33 GC, 12 ESSC, 12 NPC and 3 HNSCC patients were enrolled and treated with 240mg or 360 mg toripalimab Q3W via IV infusion in combination with Oxaliplatin/Capecitabine (XELOX), Paclitaxel/Cisplatin (PP), Gemcitabine/Cisplatin (GP) and Docetaxel/Cisplatin/5-FU(TPF) respectively. By the data cutoff date of Nov 15, 2019, all patients experienced treatment related adverse event (TRAE). There was one TRAE (heart failure) leading to death. Grade 3-4 TRAEs occurred in 67% patients, mostly attributed to chemotherapy, including 27% neutropenia, 23% thrombocytopenia, 18% leukopenia and 12% anemia. As assessed by investigators according to RECIST v1.1, the ORR/DCR were 54.5%/84.8%, 66.7%/91.7%, 75.0%/83.3% and 33.3%/100% respectively for GC, EC, NPC and HSNCC cohorts. The median duration of response was 8.3, 6.8, 7.7 and 7.1 months respectively. WES showed distinctive patterns of genomic alterations among different cohorts. The clinical response was not correlated with either PD-L1 expression or tumor mutational burden. Conclusions: Toripalimab in combination with chemotherapy as first-line treatments showed promising results for metastatic GC, EC, NPC and HNSCC patients. Two randomized Phase III trials of toripalimab in combination with Paclitaxel/Cisplatin or Gemcitabine/Cisplatin versus chemotherapy alone are ongoing to further evaluate the combination as first-line treatments in metastatic EC and NPC patients. Clinical trial information: NCT02915432 .
Markers of immune checkpoint inhibitor efficacy in the AACR Project GENIE database.
Authors: Yang Yuanchu J , Rubinstein Sam , Warner Jeremy Lyle 
Published: May 2020

e15091 Background: Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been shown to be effective in many tumor types, some highly lethal cancers are not responsive to ICI. Potential biomarkers of ICI response include tumor mutational burden (TMB), which is thought to correlate with increased neoantigen production, and 9p24.1 copy number gain (CNG), which can result in over-expression of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1). 9p24.1 CNGs have been described in ICI-sensitive (ICI-S) hematologic malignancies (e.g., Hodgkin lymphoma), but are not well described in solid malignancy. We sought to investigate TMB and 9p24.1 CNG for ICI-S and ICI-resistant (ICI-R) tumor types in the publicly available AACR Project GENIE database, version 7.0. Methods: TMB was calculated by counting somatic mutations with tumor reference allele frequency ≥5% and sequencing depth ≥200X. Samples with < 0.5 MB sequenced were excluded. 9p24.1 CNG was extrapolated from gene-level data. Samples with two or more consecutive gene amplifications in the 9p24.1 region were determined to have 9p24.1 CNG. Samples whose sequencing assay did not include at least two genes in 9p24.1 were excluded. Using an overall response rate (ORR) of ≥10% to define ICI-S, we assessed three ICI-S cancers: hepatobiliary cancer (HBC), melanoma (MEL), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); and two ICI-R types: metastatic breast cancer (MBC) & pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Groupwise TMB was compared using Wilcoxon rank-sum and 9p24.1 CNG was compared using Chi-squared. Results: MEL had the highest median TMB but a low 9p24.1 CNG rate; NSCLC had the highest rate of 9p24.1 CNG (Table). PDAC had both the lowest median TMB and 9p24.1 CNG rate. As a group, the ICI-S cancers had higher median TMB (p < .001) and 9p24.1 CNG rate (p < .001). Conclusions: Although rates of 9p24.1 CNG were low across the database as a whole, the NSCLC finding replicates findings described in early stage resected NSCLC (Inoue et al. 2016). Relatively high median TMB in MEL may explain ICI-sensitivity in this cancer type. The combination of low median TMB and low rates of 9p24.1 CNG in PDAC may explain the general lack of efficacy of ICIs in this disease. These findings demonstrate the utility of GENIE as a clinico-genomic database, and also highlight the need to identify better markers of responsiveness to these potentially effective but toxic therapies. [Table: see text]
Long-lasting, irreversible and late-onset immune-related adverse events (irAEs) from immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs): A real-world data analysis.
Authors: Ghisoni Eleonora , Wicky Alexandre M , Latifyan Sofiya , Mederos Alfonso Nuria Neisy , Özdemir Berna C. , Cuendet Michel A , Imbimbo Martina , Marandino Laura , Delyon Julie , Gerard Camille Lea , Tavazzi Erica , Gatta Roberto , Valabrega Giorgio , Aglietta Massimo , Obeid Michel , Coukos George , Peters Solange , Di Maio Massimo , Bouchaab Hasna , Michielin Olivier 
Published: May 2020

e15095 Background: ICIs are effective in many tumors, but can cause severe irAEs, with potential long-term impact. Description of irAEs in literature is often insufficient, especially in terms of irAEs duration, and in terms of incidence of late-onset events. Namely, duration of irAEs and proportion of patients (pts) with toxicity still ongoing at data cut-off were not specified in 52 (89.6%) of 58 publications of trials leading to ICIs approval by US FDA and/or EMA up to August 2019. Real-world data are urgently needed to integrate this information. Methods: We retrieved the medical charts of all pts affected by lung cancer (LC) and melanoma (Mel) treated consecutively with approved ICIs at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudoise (CHUV) from Jan 2012 to Dec 2019. We collected the following data: treatment setting, ICIs received, duration of each treatment, incidence of any irAEs of grade (G) ≥ 2 (according to CTCAE v5.0), time to onset and duration of irAEs. Pts with follow-up (FU) ≤ 28 days were excluded. Results: 345 pts were included (166 LC, 179 Mel), for a total of 455 ICIs treatment lines. 33 pts (7%, all with Mel) were treated in the adjuvant setting, while all the others were treated for advanced disease. 228 pts (50%) received anti-PD1, 43 (9%) anti-PD-L1, 56 (12%) anti-CTLA-4, 100 (22%) ICI-ICI combinations and 28 (6%) ICI–chemotherapy combinations. Median FU was 369 days (range 29-2903). Median duration of treatment was 71 days (range 1-1625). 196 pts (57%) experienced at least 1 G≥2 irAE for a total of 277 irAEs (22% skin, 18% gastro-intentinal [GI], 13% pneumonitis, 12% thyroid disorders, 11% hyphophisitis and 8% hepatitis). With 122/277 (44%) irAEs still on-going at our data cut-off, median duration of irAEs was 98 days; 104/277 irAEs (37%) lasted more than 6 month, of them 89% were considered irreversible. Out of 76 pts still on ICIs treatment at 6 months, incidence of G≥2 irAE with onset after 6 months was 51% (26% pneumonitis, 26% endocrine disorders, 15% skin disorders, 8% hepatitis and GI). Out of 32 pts still on ICIs treatment at 12 months, incidence of G≥2 irAE with onset after 12 months was 41% (38% pneumonitis, 23% endocrine and 15% skin disorders, 8% hepatitis and GI). Conclusions: Our real-world analysis shows that long-lasting and late-onset irAEs represent an important issue during ICIs treatment. A better description of toxicities in clinical trials is needed to allow a proper evaluation of treatment value and the impact on patients' quality of life.