Efficacy of First-Line Chemotherapy in Patients with Advanced Lung Sarcomatoid Carcinoma

Background:Sarcomatoid carcinomas (SCs) are rare tumors that may arise in the lung, accounting for 0.4% of non–small-cell lung cancers; the prognosis is poor. Only few retrospective small-size series have studied the efficacy of chemotherapy (CT) for metastatic SC.Methods:Multicenter study of patients with advanced or metastatic SC who received first-line CT. Clinical characteristics at baseline, response to first-line CT (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were retrospectively collected.Results:Ninety-seven patients were included. Median age was 62 (54–72) years. The majority of patients were men (70%), white (84%), and smokers (84%). Overall, 73% of patients received first-line platinum-based CT. At first tumor evaluation, 69% of patients experienced progression, 31% had disease control, and 16.5% had partial response. Partial response was observed in 20% of patients receiving platinum-based CT, and in none of those receiving non–platinum-based CT (p = 0.018). Median PFS was 2.0 months (confidence interval [CI] 95%: 1.8–2.3). PFS was not statistically different between patients receiving or not receiving a platinum-based CT. Median OS was 6.3 months (CI 95%: 4.7–7.8). There was a trend toward better OS for patients treated with platinum-based CT (7.0 months [CI 95%: 4.9–9.0] versus 5.3 months [CI 95%: 2.8–7.6]; p = 0.096). In multivariate analysis, disease control at first evaluation (hazard ratio = 0.38 [CI 95%: 0.21–0.59]) and at platinum-based CT (hazard ratio = 0.92 [CI 95%: 0.85–0.99]) was associated with better OS.Conclusion:SC is associated with poor prognosis and high rate of resistance to conventional first-line CT. New therapeutic strategies are needed, based on better knowledge of the carcinogenesis of SC

Prognostic Impact of Paraneoplastic Cushing’s Syndrome in Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Introduction:Paraneoplastic Cushing’s syndrome (CushingPS) in small-cell lung cancer is rare but severe.Methods:We studied 383 patients with small-cell lung cancer diagnosed between 1998 and 2012. Among them, 23 patients had CushingPS, 56 had other paraneoplastic syndrome (OtherPS), and 304 had no paraneoplastic syndrome (NoPS).Results:After comparison of the three groups, we observed that CushingPS patients had more extensive disease: 82.6% versus 67.8% versus 53.3% (p = 0.005), respectively, with more than two metastatic sites: 63.2% versus 15.8% and 24.1% (p ⩽ 0.001), a higher World Health Organization performance status (2–4): 73.9% versus 57.1% versus 43.7% (p = 0.006), greater weight loss (≥10%): 47.8% versus 33.9% versus 16.4% (p ⩽ 0.001), reduced objective response to first-line treatment: 47.6% versus 74.1% versus 71.1% (p = 0.04), and poorer sensitivity to first-line treatment: 19% versus 38.9% versus 48.6% (p = 0.01). NoPS patients, with World Health Organization performance status of 3–4, had extensive disease at diagnosis, with response, sensitivity to first-line treatment, and survival similar to the CushingPS group. At relapse, the CushingPS group had no objective response to second-line treatment versus 25% versus 42.8% in OtherPS and NoPS groups, respectively (p = 0.005). The median survival of CushingPS patients was 6.6 months versus 9.2 months for OtherPS and 13.1 months for NoPS patients (p ⩽ 0.001). CushingPS is a prognostic factor of death (hazard ratio, 2.31; p ⩽ 0.001).Conclusion:CushingPS is the worst form of the paraneoplastic syndromes with particularly extensive tumors. Reduced objective response and sensitivity to first-line treatment and no response to second-line treatment suggest starting palliative care early at first line and exclusively at relapse

How Can Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Cause Hyperprogression in Solid Tumors?

International audienc

Factors associated with early progression of non-small-cell lung cancer treated by epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine-kinase inhibitors

International audienceEpidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKI) are a therapeutic option as second-line therapy in non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), regardless of the EGFR gene status. Identifying patients with early progression during EGFR-TKI treatment will help clinicians to choose the best regimen, TKI or chemotherapy. From a prospective database, all patients treated with gefitinib or erlotinib between 2001 and 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were classified into two groups according to their tumor response by RECIST after 45 days of treatment, progressive disease (PD) or controlled disease (CD). Two hundred and sixty-eight patients were treated with EGFR-TKI, among whom 239 were classified as PD (n = 75) and CD (n = 164). Median overall survival was 77 days (95% CI 61–109) for PD and 385 days (95% CI 267–481) for CD. Patients with PD were of younger age (P = 0.004) and more frequently current smokers (P = 0.001) had more frequently a performance status ≥2 (P = 0.012), a weight loss ≥10% (P = 0.025), a shorter time since diagnosis (P < 0.0001), a pathological classification as non-otherwise-specified NSCLC (P = 0.01), and the presence of abdominal metasta-ses (P = 0.008). In multivariate analysis, abdominal metastases were the only factor associated with early progression (odds ratio (OR) 2.17, 95% CI [1.12– 4.19]; P = 0.021). Wild-type EGFR versus mutated EGFR was associated with early progression. The presence of abdominal metastasis was independently associated with early progression in metastatic NSCLC receiving EGFR-TKI

Tests immunohistochimiques PD-L1 dans les cancers du poumon non à petites cellules : recommandations par le groupe PATTERN de pathologistes thoraciques

International audienceLung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in France with low response rates to conventional chemotherapy. Nevertheless, new therapies have emerged recently, among which PD1 immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), such as nivolumab (OPDIVO®, Bristol-Myers Squibb) and pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA®, Merck & Co), or PD-L1 ICI, such as atezolizumab (TECENTRIQ®, Genentech), durvalumab (IMFINZI®, Astra-Zeneca), and avelumab (BAVENCIO®, EMD Serono). The prescription of pembrolizumab for advanced stage non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) patients requires the demonstration of PD-L1 expression by tumor cells by immunohistochemistry (IHC) (minimum of 50% of positive tumor cells is required for first-line setting, and of 1% for second-line and beyond) and PD-L1 assay is now considered as a companion diagnostic tool for this drug. Numerous standardized PD-L1 assays performed on dedicated platforms have been validated in clinical trials, each antibody being associated to one specific PD1 or PD-L1 inhibitor. However, not all pathologists have access to the dedicated platforms and the high cost of these assays is still a limitation to their implementation; in addition, the small size of the NSCLC tumor samples does not allow to perform at the same time multiple assays for multiple drugs. The use of laboratory-developed tests seems feasible but their validation must guarantee the same sensitivities and specificities as standardized tests. In this context, the French group of thoracic pathologists PATTERN has teamed up with thoracic oncologists to provide recommendations on the indication, the critical technical steps and the interpretation of the PD-L1 IHC test to help pathologists to implement quickly and in the best conditions this new theranostic test

Lorlatinib for advanced ALK and ROS1+non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): Efficacy and treatment sequences in the IFCT-1803 LORLATU expanded access program (EAP) cohort.

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Pooled analysis of CNS response to alectinib in two studies of pretreated patients with ALK-positive non-small-cell lung cancer

Purpose Alectinib has shown activity in the CNS in phase I and II studies. To further evaluate this activity, we pooled efficacy and safety data from two single-arm phase II studies (NP28761 and NP28673; ClinicalTrials.gov identifiers: NCT01871805 and NCT01801111, respectively) in patients with ALK-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients and Methods Both studies included patients with ALK-positive NSCLC who had previously received crizotinib; all patients received alectinib 600 mg twice per day. The primary end point in both studies was independent review committee (IRC)-assessed objective response rate (ORR; by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors [ RECIST] version 1.1). Additional end points (all by IRC) included CNS ORR (CORR), CNS disease control rate (CDCR), and CNS duration of response (CDOR). Results One hundred thirty-six patients had baseline CNS metastases (60% of the overall study populations); 50 patients (37%) had measurable CNS disease at baseline. Ninety-five patients (70%) had prior CNS radiotherapy; 55 patients completed the CNS radiotherapy more than 6 months before starting alectinib. Median follow-up time was 12.4 months (range, 0.9 to 19.7 months). For patients with baseline measurable CNS disease, IRC CORR was 64.0% (95% CI, 49.2% to 77.1%), CDCR was 90.0% (95% CI, 78.2% to 96.7%), and median CDOR was 10.8 months (95% CI, 7.6 to 14.1 months). For patients with measurable and/or nonmeasurable baseline CNS disease, IRC CORR was 42.6% (95% CI, 34.2% to 51.4%), CDCR was 85.3% (95% CI, 78.2% to 90.8%), and median CDOR was 11.1 months (95% CI, 10.3 months to not evaluable). CORR was 35.8% (95% CI, 26.2% to 46.3%) for patients with prior radiotherapy (n = 95) and 58.5% (95% CI, 42.1% to 73.7%) for patients without prior radiotherapy (n = 41). As previously reported, alectinib was well tolerated, regardless of baseline CNS disease. Conclusion Alectinib showed good efficacy against CNS metastases, in addition to systemic activity, in crizotinib-refractory ALK-positive NSCLC. (C) 2016 by American Society of Clinical Oncology

Selpercatinib in RET fusion-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (SIREN) : a retrospective analysis of patients treated through an access program

Introduction: Rearranged during transfection (RET) gene fusions are rare genetic drivers in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Selective RET-inhibitors such as selpercatinib have shown therapeutic activity in early clinical trials; however, their efficacy in the real-world setting is unknown. Methods: A retrospective efficacy and safety analysis was performed on data from RET fusion-positive NSCLC patients who participated in a selpercatinib access program (named patient protocol) between August 2019 and January 2021. Results: Data from 50 patients with RET fusion-positive advanced NSCLC treated with selpercatinib at 27 centers in 12 countries was analyzed. Most patients were Non-Asian (90%), female (60%), never-smokers (74%), with a median age of 65 years (range, 38-89). 32% of the patients had known brain metastasis at the time of selpercatinib treatment. Overall, 13 patients were treatment-naive, while 37 were pretreated with a median of three lines of therapy (range, 1-8). The objective response rate (ORR) was 68% [95% confidence interval (CI), 53-81] in the overall population. The disease control rate was 92%. The median progression-free survival was 15.6 months (95% CI, 8.8-22.4) after a median follow-up of 9 months. In patients with measurable brain metastases (n = 8) intracranial ORR reached 100%. In total, 88% of patients experienced treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs), a large majority of them being grade 1 or 2. The most common grade &gt; 3 TRAEs were increased liver enzyme levels (in 10% of patients), prolonged QTc time (4%), abdominal pain (4%), hypertension (4%), and fatigue/asthenia (4%). None of patients discontinued selpercatinib treatment for safety reasons. No new safety concerns were observed, nor where there any treatment-related death. Conclusions: In this real-world setting, the selective RET-inhibitor selpercatinib demonstrated durable systemic and intracranial antitumor activity in RET fusion-positive NSCLC and was well tolerated