Prognostic impact and the relevance of PTEN copy number alterations in patients with advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) receiving bevacizumab

Article first published online: 25 MAR 2013Loss of phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN) expression may be prognostic in colorectal cancer (CRC) and may have a correlation with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression via hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) alpha, and the PI3K/mTOR pathways. We therefore have explored the prognostic association of PTEN loss and the potential that PTEN loss may be predictive of outcome with bevacizumab. Patients enrolled in the AGITG MAX trial, a randomized Phase III trial of capecitabine (C) +/− bevacizumab (B) (+/− mitomycin C [M]) with available tissues were analyzed for PTEN expression (loss vs. no loss) as assessed using a Taqman® copy number assay (CNA). Of the original 471 patients enrolled, tissues from 302 (64.1%) patients were analyzed. PTEN loss was observed in 38.7% of patients. There was no relationship between PTEN loss and KRAS or BRAF mutation. PTEN status was not prognostic for progression-free survival (PFS) or overall survival (OS) in multivariate analyses adjusting for other baseline factors; loss versus no loss PFS hazard ratio (HR) 0.9 (0.7–1.16), OS HR 1.04 (0.79–1.38). PTEN was not prognostic when assessed by KRAS and BRAF status. By using the comparison of C versus CB+CBM, PTEN status was not significantly predictive of the effectiveness of B for PFS or OS. PTEN status was not prognostic for survival in advanced colorectal cancer, irrespective of KRAS or BRAF status. PTEN status did not significantly predict different benefit with bevacizumb therapy.Timothy J. Price, Jennifer E. Hardingham, Chee K. Lee, Amanda R. Townsend, Joseph W. Wrin, Kate Wilson, Andrew Weickhardt, Robert J. Simes, Carmel Murone & Niall C. Tebbut

Efficacy and safety of high-dose chemotherapy as the first or subsequent salvage treatment line in patients with relapsed or refractory germ cell cancer: an international multicentric analysis

\ua9 2024 The Author(s)Background: In relapsed or refractory (RR) metastatic germ cell cancer (GCC), high-dose (HD) chemotherapy (CTX) plus autologous stem cell transplantation is considered the standard of care. Limited data exist regarding the efficacy of HD-CTX following conventionally dosed salvage regimens (CDRs). This analysis explores and contrasts the efficacy of HD-CTX as the first or subsequent salvage regimen. Patients and methods: Data were retrospectively collected to explore the efficacy of HD-CTX administered as the first (group A) or subsequent salvage CTX (group B) after a CDR. The primary endpoint was OS from the time of HD-CTX. Associations of survival, overall response rate (ORR), and toxicity with clinical characteristics were explored using stratified Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression models. Results: Overall, 283 patients with GCC were included from 11 international centers, with 159 patients (56%) in group A and 124 patients (44%) in group B. The first salvage treatment was administered between 1998 and 2022, with a median follow-up of 27.0 [standard deviation (SD) 46.2] months for group A and 17.0 (SD 48.5) months for group B. The median OS from HD-CTX treatment initiation was not reached in group A, compared with 25 months in group B (P = 0.00027), associated with 2- and 5-year OS rates of 74% and 63% (group A) versus 53% and 37% (group B), respectively. When administered as the first salvage treatment, HD-CTX was associated with a higher ORR (79% versus 60%; P = 0.013) and lower nonhematologic grade ≥3 toxicity rate (78% versus 97%; P < 0.001). Concerning risk factor analysis for the total cohort, the International Prognostic Factors Study Group score was the only independent predictor of OS in multivariable analysis (P = 0.006). Conclusions: When administered as the initial salvage treatment or after CDR, HD-CTX exhibits curative potential for patients with RR GCC. The efficacy and safety outcomes were more favorable when HD-CTX was conducted as the first salvage treatment line

A Prospective, Multi-site, International Comparison of F-18 fluoro-methyl-choline, multi-parametric magnetic resonance and Ga-68 HBED-CC (PSMA-11) in men with High-Risk Features and Biochemical Failure after Radical Prostatectomy: Clinical Performance and Patient Outcomes

BACKGROUND: A significant proportion of men with rising PSA following radical prostatectomy (RP) fail prostate fossa salvage radiotherapy (SRT). This study assessed the ability of F18 fluoro-methyl-choline PET/CT(FCH), Ga-68 HBED-CC PSMA-11 PET/CT (PSMA) and pelvic multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (pelvic MRI) to identify men who will best benefit from SRT. METHODS: Prospective, multisite, imaging study in men with rising PSA post RP, high-risk features (PSA > 0.2ng/mL and either Gleason Score (GS) > 7 or PSA doubling time 1.0ng/mL) and negative /equivocal conventional imaging (CT and bone scan) being considered for SRT. FCH (91/91), Pelvic MRI (88/91) and PSMA (31/91) (Australia only) were performed within two weeks. Imaging was interpreted by experienced local and central reads blinded to other imaging results with consensus for discordance. Imaging results were validated using a composite reference standard. Expected management was documented pre and post- imaging, and all treatments, biopsies and PSA collected for 3 years. Treatment response to SRT was defined as > 50% PSA reduction without androgen deprivation therapy. RESULTS: Median GS, PSA at imaging and PSA doubling time were 8, 0.42(IQR 0.29-0.93) ng/mL, and 5.0 (IQR 3.3-7.6) months, respectively. Overall recurrent PCa was detected in 28% (25/88) with pelvic MRI, 32% (29/91) FCH and 42% (13/31) PSMA. This was within the prostate fossa (PF) in 21.5% (19/88), 13% (12/91) and 19% (6/31), with extra PF sites in 8% (7/88), 19% (17/91), and 32% (10/31) for MRI, FCH and PSMA (< 0.004). 94% (16/17) extra- PF sites on FCH were within the field of view of pelvic MRI. The detection rate for intrapelvic extra-PF disease was 90% (9/10) for PSMA and 31% (5/16) for MRI compared to FCH. Imaging changed expected management in 46% (42/91) FCH, and 23% (21/88) MRI. PSMA provided additive management change over FCH in a further 23% (7/31). Treatment response to SRT was higher in men with negative or PF confined vs. extra PF disease. FCH 73% (32/44) vs. 33% (3/9) (p< 0.02), pelvic MRI 70% (32/46) vs 50% (2/4), P = ns) and PSMA 88% (7/8) vs. 14% (1/7) (p<0.005). Men with negative imging (MRI, FCH +/- PSMA) had high (78%) response rates to SRT. CONCLUSION: FCH and PSMA had high detection rates for extra PF disease in men with negative/equivocal conventional imaging and BCR post RP. This impacted management and treatment responses to SRT, suggesting an important role for PET in triaging men being considered for curative SRT

Ultralight vector dark matter search using data from the KAGRA O3GK run

Among the various candidates for dark matter (DM), ultralight vector DM can be probed by laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors through the measurement of oscillating length changes in the arm cavities. In this context, KAGRA has a unique feature due to differing compositions of its mirrors, enhancing the signal of vector DM in the length change in the auxiliary channels. Here we present the result of a search for U(1)B−L gauge boson DM using the KAGRA data from auxiliary length channels during the first joint observation run together with GEO600. By applying our search pipeline, which takes into account the stochastic nature of ultralight DM, upper bounds on the coupling strength between the U(1)B−L gauge boson and ordinary matter are obtained for a range of DM masses. While our constraints are less stringent than those derived from previous experiments, this study demonstrates the applicability of our method to the lower-mass vector DM search, which is made difficult in this measurement by the short observation time compared to the auto-correlation time scale of DM