tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Peak study: A phase 3, randomized, open-label multicenter clinical study of bezuclastinib (CGT9486) and sunitinib in combination versus sunitinib in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST).
Authors: Michael C. Heinrich, Neeta Somaiah, Jonathan C. Trent, Breelyn A. Wilky, Melissa Amber Burgess, Arun S. Singh, Steven Attia, Mark Agulnik, William D. Tap, Sebastian Bauer, Robin Lewis Jones, Cesar Serrano, Liangxing Zou, Kevin Moynihan, Julia Lawrence, Andrew J. Wagner
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2024)

TPS766 Background: Imatinib is the worldwide standard for first-line therapy of advanced KIT-mutant GIST. However, secondary resistance mutations in the KIT ATP-binding domain (exons 13, 14), activation loop (exons 17, 18), or both develop and result in loss of imatinib-sensitivity. While no single tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) inhibits all KIT mutations, the combination of bezuclastinib + sunitinib targets commonly occurring primary (exons 9, 11) and secondary (exons 13, 14, 17, and 18) KIT mutations. In a Phase 1/2 clinical study, pts with relapsed and/or refractory GIST and a median of 3 prior lines of therapy treated with bezuclastinib + sunitinib (n=15) experienced clinical benefit and an acceptable safety profile, warranting further evaluation in a randomized trial. Methods: Peak (NCT05208047) is a global, randomized, open-label, multi-part Phase 3 study evaluating the efficacy and safety of bezuclastinib + sunitinib versus sunitinib as second-line treatment in adult pts who were intolerant to imatinib or whose tumors had imatinib-resistance. The lead-in portion, to test a new formulation of bezuclastinib, (Part 1) has completed enrollment. Based upon PK and safety, a dose of bezuclastinib 600 mg QD + sunitinib 37.5 mg QD has been determined for Part 2 of the Peak study. Part 2 will enroll ~388 pts to be randomized (1:1) to bezuclastinib 600 mg QD + sunitinib 37.5 mg QD or sunitinib 37.5 mg QD alone. Key inclusion: &gt;1 measurable lesion per modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST) v1.1, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status 0-2, adequate organ function, and prior imatinib therapy (no other prior therapy). Key exclusion: PDGFR mutations or succinate dehydrogenase deficiency, clinically significant cardiac disease, and use of strong CYP3A4 inhibitors or inducers. The primary endpoint is progression-free survival (PFS) confirmed by blinded independent central review per mRECIST v1.1. Additional efficacy (including overall survival and objective response rate) and safety endpoints will be evaluated. Clinical trial information: NCT05208047 .
Role of immunotherapy in gastroesophageal cancer with liver metastasis: A meta-analysis of phase III randomized clinical trials.
Authors: Sawyer Bawek, Sayuri Gurusinghe, Ali Aijaz, Kristopher Attwood, Sarbajit Mukherjee
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2024)

319 Background: Recent studies have demonstrated a poor response to immunotherapy in patients with colorectal cancer with liver metastasis. The role of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for patients with gastroesophageal (GE) cancer with liver metastasis remains unclear. Our objective was to investigate if ICIs are beneficial in patients with GE cancer with liver metastasis. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, ESMO, and ASCO Meeting Abstracts for phase III randomized clinical trials (RCTs) testing ICIs in metastatic/advanced GE cancer from 2017 to 2023. All phase III RCTs of metastatic GE cancer treated with ICIs that had available data on liver metastasis were analyzed. A meta-analysis was conducted on the survival outcomes (overall and progression-free survival), where hazard ratios were obtained, with 95% confidence intervals, using the standard random effects model. To assess the heterogeneity of the study outcomes, the I2 statistic was obtained. The I2 statistic represented the variability in the meta-analysis attributed to study heterogeneity. These analyses were applied to the overall cohort of studies, as well as within the liver metastasis (yes or no) sub-cohorts. All analyses were conducted in SAS v9.4 (Cary, NC) at a significance level of 0.05. Results: Seven Phase III RCTs were includedthat had available data on overall survival and/or progressive free survival in patients with liver metastasis. Of these, six were in the frontline setting and one in the later line. Overall, 6,109 patients were included. Overall survival was similar among all patients (HR 0.72 [0.67,0.77], p&lt;0.001, I2=0.0%), patients with no liver metastasis (HR 0.73 [0.67,0.81], p&lt;0.001, I2=0.0%), and patients with liver metastasis (HR 0.74 [0.67,0.81], p&lt;0.001, I2=0.0%), indicating that ICIs’ benefit on OS is consistent. Progression-free survival (PFS) was also similar among all patients (HR 0.63 [0.57,0.70], p&lt;0.001, I2=54.7%); those with no liver metastasis (HR 0.62 [0.51,0.76], p&lt;0.001, I2=62.3%), and with liver metastasis (HR 0.66 [0.57,0.76], p&lt;0.001, I2-0.0%). Funnel plots were used to identify a potential bias for studies included in the analysis and showed no significant sources of bias for OS and PFS. Conclusions: In this meta-analysis, ICIs were beneficial in patients with GE cancer with and without liver metastasis. However, the majority of the trials were in the frontline setting where ICIs were combined with chemotherapy. Further subgroup analyses should be performed with individual patient-level data to identify patients who respond best to ICIs.
Larynx-preserving treatment strategy for patients with resectable cervical esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
Authors: Yasuhiro Tsubosa, Masazumi Inoue, Kazunori Tokizawa, Shuhei Mayanagi
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2024)

311 Background: Preservation of the larynx is an important treatment strategy for cervical esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (CESCC), because surgery for CESCC often involves laryngectomy. At our hospital, we actively perform dCRT (cisplatin + 5-fluorouarcil + radiation 60Gy) to preserve laryngeal function. In this study, we compared the treatment results of esophagectomy and definitive chemoradiation (dCRT) for resectable CESCC and examined larynx-preserving treatment strategies. Methods: Patients who were treated for resectable CESCC at our hospital from January 2003 to March 2019 were divided into surgery group and dCRT group for the initial treatment. All patients were eligible for both treatments. The treatment results were compared retrospectively. Results: Of all 61 patients, 23 patients received surgery and 38 received dCRT. There was no significant difference in patients’ characteristics between 2 groups. In surgery group, 19 cases lost their laryngeal function by surgery (82.6%). Recurrence was observed in 7 cases, of which only 3 case was local. In CRT group, 33 cases (86.8%) achieved complete response, of which 16 cases relapsed. 8 cases (21.1%) lost their laryngeal function by additional surgery after dCRT. There was no significant difference in 5-year survival rate between two groups (surgery, 60.8%; dCRT, 70.1%; p = 0.750). In dCRT group, 5-year laryngeal-preserving survival rate was 64.8%, and esophageal stenosis before treatment was the independent risk factor for non-larynx preservation. 5-year laryngeal-preserving survival rate was 78.5%, and 5-year survival rate was 85.4% for non-stenotic cases in dCRT group, which were significantly higher than those for stenotic cases. 5-year laryngeal-preserving survival rate was also high in the patients with Ce localized tumor (72.6%). In those patients, non-stenotic patients and cT1-T3 patients had significantly high 5-year laryngeal-preserving survival rate (87.5% and 92.3%). Conclusions: dCRT for CESCC was comparable to surgery in terms of long-term prognosis, and the rate of larynx preservation was high. Among the cases where the tumor was localized to Ce, the laryngeal preservation rate was particularly high in non-stenotic cases and cases with cT1-T3, and dCRT should be actively indicated for these cases.
Gene Therapy Versus Common Care for Eligible Individuals With Sickle Cell Disease in the United States
Authors: Anirban Basu, Aaron N. Winn, Kate M. Johnson, Boshen Jiao, Beth Devine, Jane S. Hankins, Staci D. Arnold, M.A. Bender, Scott D. Ramsey
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2024)

Sickle cell disease (SCD) and its complications contribute to high rates of morbidity and early mortality and high cost in the United States and African heritage community.
Understanding the efficacy of frontline therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma through etiologic stratification.
Authors: Maksym Goryachok, Junxiao Hu, Robert William Lentz, Wells A. Messersmith, Alexis Diane Leal, Sunnie S. Kim, Emily Baiyee Toegel, Christopher Hanyoung Lieu, S. Lindsey Davis
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2024)

491 Background: Despite significant advancements in recent years, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment options remain limited for patients who progress on locoregional therapy. Given increasing interest in personalized cancer care for HCC, analysis was done to understand whether the etiology of HCC influenced the efficacy of four common first-line FDA approved systemic therapy regimens. Methods: This study used the nationwide Flatiron Health electronic health record (EHR)-derived de-identified database from 1/1/2003 to 8/1/2021 with 3519 HCC patients who have received either atezolizumab-bevacizumab (AB), nivolumab, sorafenib, or lenvatinib as a first-line systemic therapy. Information on demographics (age, gender, sex race, ethnicity, ECOG, SES Index), cancer stage, and treatment type was collected. In addition, comorbidities of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, alcohol use, diabetes, and obesity were collected as surrogates for disease etiology: viral hepatic disease, alcohol induced hepatic dysfunction or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Patients with missing data in any of the population stratifying variables were excluded. Overall survival (OS), Progression-free-survival (PFS) and time to treatment discontinuation (TTTD) were analyzed for each systemic therapy stratified by etiology as endpoints. Kaplan-Meier (KM) univariate analysis was performed along with the log-rank test for the primary outcome. Multivariate analysis (MVA) was conducted on all three endpoints via cox proportional hazard model to adjust for possible covariates in the patient population. Results: After exclusion criteria, 548 patients with complete data were included (AB N=124, Sorafenib N=324, Lenvatinib N=61, Nivolumab N=39) with variable etiologic presence (hepatitis B N=14, hepatitis C N=50, alcohol use N=41, diabetes N=50, Obesity N=44). When comparing patients across all recorded systemic therapies stratified by the etiologic variables, there was no statistically significant difference in OS, PFS, or TTTD. When stratified by presence of Hepatitis B, patients treated with atezolizumab-bevacizumab trended towards improved outcomes but did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.064). Other treatments showed mixed results in relation to specific etiologies, but no clear trend in efficacy emerged. Conclusions: This early retrospective study suggests that systemic therapy for HCC is not significantly impacted by factors associated with the etiology of disease, such as hepatitis C, alcohol use, and obesity. However, small population sizes and potential nonrandom covariate missingness in this study may obscure effects. Future studies are needed to further elucidate this trend along with subpopulation effects of other systemic therapies.
Safety and efficacy of zolbetuximab for CLDN18.2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Authors: Davi Said Gonçalves Celso, Pedro Cotta Abrahão Reis, Lorena Escalante-Romero, Maria Inez Dacoregio, Israel Gomy, Ana Carolina Marin Comini, Marcos Pedro Guedes Camandaroba
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2024)

370 Background: Monoclonal antibody (Nivolumab, Trastuzumab, Bemarituzumab) with chemotherapy has shown benefit for patients with metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma. Zolbetuximab, a new monoclonal antibody against Claudin (CDLN) 18.2 has demonstrated interesting results in clinical trials, however, there is still a need to find a safe and effective first-line treatment, especially for epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) 2-negative patients. Therefore, we aimed to perform a meta-analysis exploring the use of combined immunotherapy (Zolbetuximab) and standard chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Central for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing Zolbetuximab to chemotherapy alone in patients with CLDN18.2-positive gastric or GEJ adenocarcinoma. The outcomes evaluated were Overall Survival (OS), Progression Free-Survival (PFS), Objective Response Rate (ORR) and Treatment-Emergent Adverse Events (TEAE). We pooled hazard ratio (HR) for PFS and OS endpoints and risk ratio (RR) for ORR and TEAE, with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Statistical analyses were performed using R software version 4.3.1 with a random-effects model. I² analysis was used to assess heterogeneity. Adverse Events (AE) were graded according to the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for AE. Results: From sixty-six studies, three were included, with a total of 1349 patients. 671 (49.7%) were part of the intervention group, 769 (57.0%) were male, 360 (26.7%) underwent prior gastrectomy and 1304 (96.7%) had a more than 70% CLDN18.2 cellular staining rate. Age range was 21-83 years. Treatment with Zolbetuximab was associated with significantly higher PFS (HR 0.64; CI 0.49-0.84; p = 0.0011; I² = 59.6%) and OS (HR 0.70; CI 0.59-0.84; p&lt;0.0001; I² = 40.0%). TEAEs grade ≥ 3 (RR 1.09; CI 1.03-1.16; p = 0.0051; I² =0.0%) were greater for the intervention group. ORR and serious TEAE had no difference when compared with the control group. Most frequent AEs were nausea (34.6%), vomiting (30.2%) and decreased appetite (18.6%). Conclusions: In summary, the use of Zolbetuximab alongside standard chemotherapy reduces mortality and disease progression, although it might increase the risk for grade ≥ 3 treatment-emergent AEs.
Effect of laparoscopy-assisted vs open surgery on 3-year disease-free survival in patients with low rectal cancer: The LASRE randomized clinical trial.
Authors: Pan Chi, Xiangqian Su, Jianmin Xu, Huizhong Qiu, Ziqiang Wang, Liang Kang, Haijun Deng, Weiping Chen, Qingtong Zhang, Xiaohui Du, Chunkang Yang, Yincong Guo, Ming Zhong, Kai Ye, Jun You, Dongbo Xu, Xinxiang Li, Zhiguo Xiong, Kaixiong Tao, Ke-Feng Ding
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2024)

8 Background: Laparoscopic surgery has been increasingly used for low rectal cancer due to short-term benefits versus open surgery, but the long-term oncologic outcomes have not been fully established. Methods: This is a multicenter, noninferiority trial. Surgeons who had completed ≥100 laparoscopic TME surgeries from 22 high-volume centers in China participated in this trial. A total of 1070 patients scheduled for curative-intent resection of low rectal cancer (lower margin &lt;5.0 cm dentate line) were randomized at a 2:1 ratio to undergo laparoscopic or open surgery from November 2013 to June 2018.The primary outcome was 3-year DFS; the noninferiority margin was 10% in the modified intent-to-treat population. Secondary outcomes included 3-year overall survival (OS) and locoregional recurrence. Results: The final analysis included 1039 patients (median age: 57 years, 620 men; 685 and 354 in laparoscopic and open groups, respectively). Clinical TNM stage was II/III in 659 patients, and I in the remaining 380 patients. The 3-year DFS rate was 81.4% in the laparoscopic group versus 79.8% in the open group (HR, 0.9 [95% CI, 0.7 to 1.2]; log-rank P = .558). The absolute difference was 1.6% (1-sided 97.5% CI, -3.34% to ∞), not exceeding the noninferiority . The 3-year OS rate was 91.7% in the laparoscopic group versus 93.7% in the open group (95% CI, -5.12% to1.54%, log-rank P = .243). The 3-year locoregional recurrence rate was 3.8% and 2.4%, respectively (95% CI, -1.07% to 3.45%, log-rank P = .209). Results of the per-protocol and as-treated analysis were consistent with the main analysis. Conclusions: Among patients with low rectal cancer, laparoscopic surgery performed by experienced surgeons is not inferior to open surgery concerning 3-year disease-free survival. These results support laparoscopic surgery as a safe, minimally invasive approach for low rectal cancer. Clinical trial information: NCT01899547 .
Comprehensive genomic profiling of advanced anal adenocarcinoma.
Authors: Nozomu Ogura, Hidekazu Hirano, Kouya Shiraishi, Hiroyuki Fujii, Toshiharu Hirose, Hirokazu Shoji, Natsuko Tsuda Okita, Atsuo Takashima, Takafumi Koyama, Ken Kato
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2024)

4 Background: Anal adenocarcinoma (anal AD) is a rare and aggressive gastrointestinal malignancy. Because of its rarity, no standard therapy is established and treatment strategy for advanced rectal adenocarcinoma (rectal AD) is extrapolated. Little is known for genetic alterations (GAs) and their therapeutic implications in advanced anal AD. We aim to investigate to clarify genomic profiles of advanced anal AD in comparison of advanced rectal AD. Methods: We retrospectively extracted data on patients with advanced anal AD and advanced rectal AD who underwent comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) tests and were registered for the Center for Cancer Genomics and Advanced Therapeutics (C-CAT) in Japan. CGP tests were performed by NCC Oncopanel or FoundationOne CDx. We examined somatic GAs, microsatellite instability (MSI) status, and tumor mutation burden (TMB). TMB-high was defined as ≥10 mutations/Mb. Actionable GAs were counted if they were classified as “pathogenic/oncogenic” or “likely pathogenic/likely oncogenic” variants. Druggable GAs are actionable GAs with approved drugs for anal AD or other types of cancer or clinical trials showing efficacy for either anal AD or different types of cancer. Results: From June 2019 to April 2023, 45 patients with anal AD and 1915 patients with rectal AD were enrolled into the C-CAT database. In the anal AD group, most common actionable GAs were TP53 (89%), KRAS (51%), ERBB3 (22%), MYC (20%), SMAD4 (20%), and ERBB2 (11%). Compared with the rectal AD group, the anal AD group had a significantly higher frequency of actionable GAs in ERBB3 (22% vs. 2%, p &lt; 0.01), MYC (20% vs. 8%, p &lt; 0.01), and BRCA2 (7% vs. 1%, p &lt; 0.01), and a significantly lower frequency of actionable GAs in APC (7% vs. 85%, p &lt; 0.01). The proportion of MSI-high and TMB-high in the anal AD group and the rectal AD group were 0% vs. 0.2% (p = 0.79), and 7% vs. 5% (p = 0.54). Common druggable GAs in anal ADs included KRAS G12D mutation (22%), ERBB2 amplification (7%), BRCA2 mutation (7%), BRAF V600E mutation (2%). Compared with the rectal AD group, the anal AD group had a significantly higher frequency of druggable GAs in BRCA2 mutation (7% vs. 1%, p &lt; 0.01). Conclusions: The present study showed that anal AD had a different profile of GAs compared with advanced rectal AD. CGP tests are useful tool for identifying druggable GAs in advanced anal AD for expanding therapeutic opportunities.
Agrin as a prognostic biomarker in hepatocellular carcinoma.
Authors: Ankita Kapoor, Sahithi Sonti, Riya Jayesh Patel, Anthony George, Kristopher Attwood, Kannan Thanikachalam, Renuka V. Iyer, Sayan Chakraborty
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2024)

559 Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the predominant form of hepatic cancer is associated with high mortality rates, both in the United States &amp; globally. Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) &amp; Glypican-3 have been proposed as biomarkers for HCC, although they do not offer any prognostic benefit to model disease progression. Immunotherapy combinations increase patient survival to ~18 months but are not selected based on biomarkers. Agrin, a secreted proteoglycan is frequently overexpressed &amp; secreted in HCC &amp; plays a prominent role in liver tumor microenvironment to promote hepatocarcinogenesis. In this single center, retrospective study using banked materials, we assessed the role of agrin as a prognostic biomarker in HCC. Methods: With IRB approval, we studied 90 newly diagnosed unresectable hepatobiliary cancer patients, &amp; compared them to healthy controls matched for age, gender, &amp; BMI between February 2006 &amp; September 2013. Serum concentration (conc.) of agrin was assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We correlated the level of agrin with AFP, a known biomarker in hepatocellular cancer. Comparisons between groups were made using Mann-Whitney U &amp; Kruskal Wallis tests. Survival analysis used both univariate &amp; multivariate Cox regression models to investigate the relationship between survival outcomes &amp; agrin concentration, in comparison to AFP. Results: Mean circulatory plasma agrin levels were higher in HCC patients (n=79) (7.97 ng/ml, SD 5.8) when compared to controls (4.27 ng/ml, SD 1.03). ECOG PS &gt; 2 was linked to higher agrin conc. (mean: 10.5 ng/ml, p 0.007). While agrin levels in healthy individuals did not change with smoking history, the mean agrin levels were significantly higher in smokers (9.49 ng/ml) vs non-smokers (6.84 ng/ml) (p 0.0001) amongst HCC patients. Agrin displayed a strong positive correlation with AFP (correlation coefficient (r) 0.31944, p 0.0137). Multivariate cox regression models indicated that agrin conc. of &gt; 9.3 ng/ml had greater predictable survival outcomes (Hazard ratio (HR) 8.51, p &lt;0.001) when compared to elevated AFP levels (HR 1.55, p 0.25) (Table). HCC patients with lower agrin conc. (4.9 to 6.3 ng/ml) exhibited a one-year survival rate of 63% &amp; a median survival time of 16 months, while those with higher agrin conc. exceeding 9.3 ng/ml had significantly lower one-year survival rate of 14% &amp; significantly shorter median survival time of 3 months (p 0.002). Conclusions: Our results suggest that agrin levels as a prognostic indicator fare better than AFP levels. Thus, further studies should be done to explore this as a therapeutic target and as a biomarker of response to targeted therapies. [Table: see text]