Addressing disparities in cancer clinical trials: a roadmap to more equitable accrual

The Georgia Center for Oncology Research and Education (Georgia CORE) and the Georgia Society of Clinical Oncology (GASCO) held a one-day summit exploring opportunities and evidence-based interventions to address disparities in cancer clinical trials. The purpose of the summit was to identify clear and concise recommendations aimed at decreasing clinical trial accrual disparities in Georgia for rural and minority populations. The summit included expert presentations, panel discussions with leaders from provider organizations throughout Georgia, and breakout sessions to allow participants to critically discuss the information presented. Over 120 participants attended the summit. Recognizing the need for evidence-based interventions to improve clinical trial accrual among rural Georgians and persons of color, summit participants identified four key areas of focus that included: improving clinical trial design, providing navigation for all, enhancing public education and awareness of cancer clinical trials, and identifying potential policy and other opportunities. A comprehensive list of takeaways and action plans was developed in the four key areas of focus with the expectation that implementation of the strategies that emerged from the summit will enhance cancer clinical trial accrual for all Georgians

Evolution of Disparities in Prostate Cancer Treatment: Is This a New Normal?

Despite notable screening, diagnostic, and therapeutic advances, disparities in prostate cancer incidence and outcomes remain prevalent. Although commonly discussed in the context of men of African descent, disparities also exist based on socioeconomic level, education level, and geographic location. The factors in these disparities span systemic access issues affecting availability of care, provider awareness, and personal patient views and mistrust. In this review, we will discuss common themes that patients have noted as impediments to care. We will review how equitable access to care has helped improve outcomes among many different groups of patients, including those with local disease and those with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Even with more advanced presentation, challenges with recommended screening, and lower rates of genomic testing and trial inclusion, Black populations have benefited greatly from various modalities of therapy, achieving comparable and at times superior outcomes with certain types of immunotherapy, chemotherapy, androgen receptor–based inhibitors, and radiopharmaceuticals in advanced disease. We will also briefly discuss access to genomic testing and differences in patterns of gene expression among Black patients and other groups that are traditionally underrepresented in trials and genomic cohort studies. We propose several strategies on behalf of providers and institutions to help promote more equitable care access environments and continued decreases in prostate cancer disparities across many subgroups

Genetic Replacement of Cyclin D1 Function in Mouse Development by Cyclin D2

D cyclins (D1, D2, and D3) are components of the core cell cycle machinery in mammalian cells. It is unclear whether each of the D cyclins performs unique, tissue-specific functions or the three proteins have virtually identical functions and differ mainly in their pattern of expression. We previously generated mice lacking cyclin D1, and we observed that these animals displayed hypoplastic retinas and underdeveloped mammary glands and a presented developmental neurological abnormality. We now asked whether the specific requirement for cyclin D1 in these tissues reflected a unique pattern of D cyclin expression or the presence of specialized functions for cyclin D1 in cyclin D1-dependent compartments. We generated a knock-in strain of mice expressing cyclin D2 in place of D1. Cyclin D2 was able to drive nearly normal development of retinas and mammary glands, and it partially replaced cyclin D1's function in neurological development. We conclude that the differences between these two D cyclins lie mostly in the tissue-specific pattern of their expression. However, we propose that subtle differences between the two D cyclins do exist and they may allow D cyclins to function in a highly optimized fashion. We reason that the acquisition of multiple D cyclins may allow mammalian cells to drive optimal proliferation of a diverse array of cell types

Prognostic Evaluation of Metastatic Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer and Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer with [⁶⁸Ga]Ga DOTATATE PET-CT

Objectives: Prostate cancer is well known to express high levels of somatostatin receptors and preliminary data suggests that PET imaging with the somatostatin analog, [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE, may allow for whole body staging of patients with metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NePC). This study explores the utility of [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE PET-CT to identify metastatic deposits in men with mCRPC and NePC and prognosticate disease progression. Methods: [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE PET-CT was performed in 17 patients with mCRPC and of those, 2/17 had NePC. A semiquantitative analysis with standardized uptake values (SUV) (e.g., SUVmax, SUVmean) was performed for each metastatic lesion and reference background tissues. [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE uptake in metastatic deposits was further classified as: mild (less than liver), moderate (up to liver average), or marked (greater than liver). Serial prostate-specific antigen measurements and patient survival were followed up to 3 years after PET imaging to assess response to standard of care treatment. Results: All patients had at least one metastatic lesion with identifiable [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE uptake. Marked [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE uptake was found in 7/17 patients, including both NePC patients, and all were non-responders to systemic therapy and died within the follow up period, with a mean time to death of 8.1 months. Three patients had mild [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE uptake, and all were responders to systemic therapy and were alive 36 months after [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE imaging. Conclusions: [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE is able to identify mCRPC and NePC metastatic deposits, and lesions with [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE uptake > liver may portend poor outcomes in patients with mCRPC

Metastatic Clear-Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma in the Era of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: Therapies and Ongoing Trials

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are now the bedrock for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Clear cell RCC (ccRCC) represents the most common subtype of this malignancy. Herein, we explore the therapeutic landscape of ccRCC by discussing the standard of care whose backbone consists of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) and vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors (VEGF). For ccRCC, pembrolizumab-axitinib, pembrolizumab-lenvatinib, and avelumab-axitinib or nivolumab-cabozantinib are now FDA-approved frontline options for all risk groups while nivolumab-ipilimumab is reserved for intermediate- and poor-risk groups. Monotherapy with pembrolizumab or nivolumab is a potential option for patients who are unable to take VEGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors. While outcomes have improved with the adoption of ICI therapies, many patients develop therapy-resistant disease, creating an unmet need for further investigation. The efficacy of novel therapies as well as novel combinations in the post-ICI era is unclear. This review summarizes the most significant clinical trials involving dual ICI/ICI and ICI/VEGFR therapies, in addition to other selected combination therapies that are likely to inform management in the near future

Adenosine receptor blockade with ciforadenant +/- atezolizumab in advanced metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC)

129 Background: Adenosine, generated by the ectonucleotidase CD73, mediates immunosuppression within the tumor microenvironment by triggering adenosine 2A receptors (A2AR) on immune cells. Tumor CD73 expression may be prognostic in prostate cancer. We evaluated the clinical activity of adenosine blockade using A2AR antagonist, ciforadenant, with or without the anti-PDL-1 antibody, atezolizumab (atezo), in advanced mCRPC patients (pts) in an ongoing phase 1 trial. Methods: Eligibility required measurable disease and up to 5 prior systemic therapies. Prior anti- PD-(L)1 was allowed. Ciforadenant was administered orally BID as monotherapy at 50-200mg or 100mg in combination with atezo 840mg IV Q 2 weeks (wks). Safety and efficacy were evaluated by CTCAE4, RECIST1.1 and PCWG2. Serum was obtained for measurement of cytokines. Results: Of 33 enrolled pts, 10 received ciforadenant monotherapy and 23 in combination with atezo. As of 10/21/19, 14 pts are evaluable for response and described further. Median prior therapies is 3 (range 2-6) with median follow-up 10.8 (4-33) wks. Metastatic burden included 4 node only, 2 bone plus node, and 8 visceral metastases. Five pts experienced tumor regression: 2 ciforadenant monotherapy (tumor reductions 12%, 17%); and 3 combination (tumor reductions 4%, 27%, 42%). The pt with a partial response had PSA decline from 98 ng/mL to <1. Eight pts had stable disease (SD) for a clinical benefit rate (SD + PR) of 8/14 (57%). Median duration of disease control was 24 wks. Study treatment was well tolerated with two Gr3/4 adverse events (AEs) of fatigue (1) and anorexia (1). The most common Gr1/2 AEs were fatigue and nausea. Serum TNFα levels increased by 4-8 wks on therapy in 12/13 pts. Baseline levels of soluble VCAM-1, which has been implicated in metastatic spread/more aggressive disease, were higher in pts with tumor regression (771 ± 109 ng/mL, n=4) than pts with tumor growth (544 ± 62 ng/mL, n=5, p<0.05). Conclusions: Results from this phase 1 study show mCRPC can be sensitive to A2AR blockade with ciforadenant. Cytokine changes provide evidence of treatment-induced inflammatory response, which may predict efficacy. Data on all 33 enrolled pts will be presented. Clinical trial information: NCT02655822