The impact of locoregional treatments for metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer on disease progression: real life experience from a multicenter cohort.

BACKGROUND: Available data on medical treatment of metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) support the use of more than one therapy line to delay chemotherapy. We evaluate in a longitudinal real life multicenter cohort, the oncological outcome of mCRPC patients treated with Abiraterone Acetate (AA) and Enzalutamide (EZ) in a chemo-naïve setting, who received locoregional treatments for subsequent development of oligorecurrent disease. METHODS: We prospectively collected data on chemo-naïve mCRPC patients, who received either AA or EZ as first or second line treatment between Oct-2012 and Nov-2020 at 5 centers. High-volume disease at mCRPC onset was defined as bulky positive nodes (≥5 cm) or more than 6 bone metastases. Survival probabilities were computed at 12, 24, 48 and 60 months after treatment start. The impact of loco-regional treatments on progression free survival (PFS) were assessed with the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test was applied. RESULTS: Overall, 117 chemo-naive mCRPC patients received a first line therapy. Fifty-seven (48.7%) patients received AA and 60 (51.3%) received EZ. Eight (6.7%) patients underwent salvage chemotherapy after first line failure. Overall, 28 patients shifted to a second line therapy. Two-yr progression-free, cancer-specific and overall survival probabilities were 65.5%, 82.2% and 78.4% respectively. Since diagnosis of mCRPC, oligo progression occurred in 25 patients who received stereotactic radiation therapy (23/25, 92%) focused on metastasis (4 nodal sites and 19 bones) or salvage lymph node dissection (2/25, 8%). At Kaplan-Meier analysis, patients with low volume disease displayed higher PFS probabilities (log rank p = 0.009) and in this subgroup of patients loco-regional treatments had a significant impact on PFS (p = 0.048), while it was negligible in the whole cohort and in patients with high volume disease (p = 0.6 and p = 0.75). CONCLUSIONS: Low-volume mCRPC patients are exposed to improved PFS and seem to benefit from locoregional treatments.

Systemic effect of radiotherapy before or after nivolumab in lung cancer: an observational, retrospective, multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: The combination of radiotherapy (RT) and programmed death 1 inhibitors seems to increase antitumor immune responses. OBJECTIVE: To assess the outcome and the role of the best combination sequence, i.e. immunotherapy given before, during, and/or after RT, in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: We conducted an observational, retrospective analysis of 95 consecutive patients with advanced NSCLC who received any radiotherapy treatment and nivolumab, as clinically indicated. Median overall survival (OS) and the 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox model was used to obtain hazard ratio (HR) and associated 95% CI with statistical inference by log-rank statistic. RESULTS: Median OS was 11.9 months (95% CI, 6.6-17.2). Patients who received radiotherapy during an immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment started more than 60 days before showed a better outcome than patients who started immunotherapy over 60 days after RT ending (HR, 2.90 [1.37-6.12], p = 0.005; median OS, 22.4 months vs 8.6 months, p = 0.005). Median progression-free survival was 6.3 months (95% CI, 4.6-8.0). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that combining irradiation with nivolumab for the treatment of advanced NSCLC leads to improved OS. The optimal time window for the combination of RT and immunotherapy seems to play a critical role for therapeutic antitumor response derived by abscopal effect.

A 17-Gene Expression Signature for Early Identification of Poor Prognosis in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma.

The Identification of reliable Biomarkers able to predict the outcome after nephrectomy of patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is an unmet need. The gene expression analysis in tumor tissues represents a promising tool for better stratification of ccRCC subtypes and patients' evaluation. METHODS: In our study we retrospectively analyzed using Next-Generation expression analysis (NanoString), the expression of a gene panel in tumor tissue from 46 consecutive patients treated with nephrectomy for non-metastatic ccRCC at two Italian Oncological Centres. Significant differences in expression levels of selected genes was sought. Additionally, we performed a univariate and a multivariate analysis on overall survival according to Cox regression model. RESULTS: A 17-gene expression signature of patients with a recurrence-free survival (RFS) < 1 year (unfavorable genomic signature (UGS)) and of patients with a RFS > 5 years (favorable genomic signature (FGS)) was identified and resulted in being significantly correlated with overall survival of the patients included in this analysis (HR 51.37, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The identified Genomic Signatures may serve as potential biomarkers for prognosis prediction of non-metastatic RCC and could drive both follow-up and treatment personalization in RCC management.

Enzalutamide in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer: retrospective, multicenter, real life study.

BACKGROUND: Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is the final stage of pCa history and represents a clinically relevant phenotype with an elevated burden of mortality. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of enzalutamide in a "real-life" setting in mCRPC patients. METHODS: Data about all mCRPC patients treated with enzalutamide from September 2017 to September 2018 were collected. Demographics, comorbidities, clinical parameters, outcomes, toxicity, overall survival and progression free survival were analyzed. RESULTS: Overall, 158 patients were enrolled. Mean age was 75.8 (±8.7) years with a baseline median PSA of 16.5 (IQR 7.4-47.8) ng/mL. The median follow-up lasted 7.7 (IQR 4-14.1) months. Of all the 10.1% of patients reported grade 3-4 adverse events. 43.7% of patients experienced a progression. Overall, the 6 and 12 months PFS rates were 69.5% (95% CI: 61.7-78.3%) and the 45.6% (95% CI: 36.5-57.1%); a median baseline PSA>16 ng/mL (HR:2.0, 95% CI: 1.2-3.3, P<0.005), the use of opioid (HR: 3.1, 95% CI: 1.9-5.0, P<0.001), a previous treatment (abiraterone, docetaxel or abiraterone + docetaxel) were significantly associated with higher rates of cancer progression. Conversely, a brief pain questionnaire of 0-1 (HR: 0.4, 95% CI: 0.2-0.7, P<0.001), a 12 weeks 50% PSA reduction (HR: 0.4, 95% CI: 0.2-0.8, P<0.006) and a longer time to mCRPC (HR: 0.4, 95% CI: 0.3-0.7, P<0.002) were related to lower cancer progression rates. CONCLUSIONS: Our data shows an effective and safe profile of enzalutamide in a "real world" perspective in patients with mcRPC.

Managing lines of therapy in castration-resistant prostate cancer: real-life snapshot from a multicenter cohort.

PURPOSE: To provide a snapshot of toxicities and oncologic outcomes of Abiraterone (AA) and Enzalutamide (EZ) in a chemo-naïve metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCPRC) population from a longitudinal real-life multicenter cohort. METHODS: We prospectively collected data on chemo-naïve mCRPC patients treated with AA or EZ. Primary outcomes were PSA response, oncologic outcomes and toxicity profile. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to compare differences in terms of progression-free survival (PFS) between AA vs EZ and high- vs low-volume disease cohorts. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses were performed to identify predictors of PFS. Toxicity, PSA response rates and oncologic outcomes on second line were compared with those observed on first line. RESULTS: Out of 137 patients, 88 received AA, and 49 EZ. On first line, patients receiving EZ had significantly higher PSA response compared with AA (95.9% vs 67%, p < 0.001), comparable toxicity rate (10.2% vs 16.3%, p = 0.437) and PFS probabilities (p = 0.145). Baseline PSA and high-volume disease were predictors of lower PFS probabilities at univariable analysis (p = 0.027 and p = 0.007, respectively). Overall, 28 patients shifted to a second-line therapy (EZ or radiometabolic therapy). Toxicity and PSA response rates on second line were comparable to those observed on first line (11.1% vs 12.4%, p = 0.77; 73.1% vs 77.4%, p = 0.62, respectively); 2-year PFS, cancer-specific and overall survival probabilities were comparable to those displayed in first-line cohort (12.1% vs 16.2%, p = 0.07; 85.7% vs 86.4%, p = 0.98; 71% vs 80.3%, p = 0.66, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Toxicity profile, PSA response rate and oncological outcomes were comparable between first-line and second-line courses in patients treated with either AA or EZ for mCRPC. Our findings showed the tolerability and oncological effectiveness, when feasible, of two lines of therapy other than chemotherapy.

Correlation of Tumor Location to Clinical Outcomes in Colorectal Cancer: A Single-institution Retrospective Analysis.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Recent data highlighted that location of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) may have a prognostic impact and also a predictive value of the outcomes of first-line therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The records of mCRC patients who underwent first-line therapy from 2011 to April 2018 at our Institute were retrospectively reviewed. Progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and objective response rate (ORR) according to the primary tumor location were investigated. RESULTS: Overall, 130 patients were eligible. Two-year OS was 82.9% in left-sided colon cancers (LCC) and 67.5% in right-sided (RCC) (p=0.32). One-year mPFS was statistically longer in LCC (46.8% vs. 24.2%, p=0.0005). mPFS was longer in LCC treated with anti-VEGF vs. anti-EGFR (p=0.06). ORR was 51.1% in LCC, 25% in RCC (p=0.008). Overall, 11 complete responses all in LCC were observed (p=0.03). CONCLUSION: Tumor location has a prognostic impact and might influence the outcomes of mCRC patients.

Molecular Basis of Drug Resistance and Insights for New Treatment Approaches in mCRPC.

Inhibiting androgen receptor (AR) signaling with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) represents the mainstay of therapy for advanced and metastatic prostate cancer. However, about 20-60% of patients receiving first-line treatment for prostate cancer will relapse, evolving in a more aggressive and lethal form of the disease, the castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), despite the use of ADT. Multiple approved systemic therapies able to prolong survival of patients with metastatic CRPC (mCRPC) exist, but almost invariably, patients treated with these drugs develop primary or acquired resistance. Multiple factors are involved in CRPC treatment resistance and elucidating the mechanisms of action of these factors is a key question and an active area of research. Due to such a complex scenario, treatment personalization is necessary to improve treatment effectiveness and reduce relapse rates in CRPC. In this review, current evidence about the major mechanisms of resistance to the available prostate cancer treatments were examined by introducing insights on new and future therapeutic approaches.

Heterogeneity of PD-L1 Expression and Relationship with Biology of NSCLC.

Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies against programmed cell death (PD-1), such as nivolumab and pembrolizumab, has significantly improved the survival of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In order to determine the subset of patients that can benefit most from these therapies, biomarkers such as programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) have been proposed. However, the predictive and prognostic role of the use of PD-L1 is controversial. Anti-PD-L1 immunohistochemistry may not represent the actual status of the tumour because of individual variability and tumour heterogeneity. Additionally, there may be analytical variability due to the use of different assays and antibodies to detect PD-L1. Moreover PD-L1 expression is also regulated by oncogenic drivers in NSCLC, such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4 (EML4) fusion with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), and Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS). Preclinical studies have shown the potential role of targeted therapy in immune escape mechanisms in NSCLC cells. This review summarizes current literature data on the heterogeneity of PD-L1 expression and the relationship with such factors and with clinicopathological features of NSCLC.

Castration-resistance prostate cancer: what is in the pipeline?

INTRODUCTION: To evaluate the available evidence on the standard diagnosis and management of men with metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), and providing the timely update on new pharmacological treatments. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: A systematic literature search from from January 2000 until March 2017 was performed by combining the following MESH terms: castrate resistant prostate cancer, abiraterone, enzalutamide, 223radium, sipuleucel-T, docetaxel, cabazitaxel, resistance mechanisms, resistance to androgen deprivation, androgen receptor (AR) mutations, amplifications, splice variants, and AR alterations. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: In the few last years the introduction of new treatment modalities as abiraterone or enzalutamide have significantly change our prospective in mCRPC management increasing patients survival and quality of life. The standard imaging modalities to define the presence of regional or distant metastasis or the different resistant mechanisms to the available treatments are still an issue of debate, however several studies are ongoing to define the standard of care and to reduce treatments' resistance. Data from ongoing phase III trials are awaited to introduce in clinical new effective treatments that can be used in patients resistant to abiraterone/enzalutamide or more probably in a different phase of the disease. CONCLUSIONS: Castration resistant prostate cancer is now the key issue in prostate cancer management and research. Our challenge in the near future will be to identify the right treatment or better the right combination and sequencing of treatments that should be used in patients with mCRPC or even with advanced prostate cancer.

Safety and efficacy of abiraterone acetate in chemotherapy-naive patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer: an Italian multicenter "real life" study.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of abiraterone acetate (AA) in the "real life" clinical practice for men with chemotherapy-naïve metastatic castration-resistant prostate. METHODS: A consecutive series of patients with mCRPC in 9 Italian tertiary centres treated with AA was collected. Demographics, clinical parameters, treatment outcomes and toxicity were recorded. The Brief Pain Inventory scale Q3 was tracked and patient treatment satisfaction was evaluated. Survival curves were estimated by the method of Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression and compared by the log-rank test statistic. RESULTS: We included 145 patients (mean age 76.5y). All patients were on androgen deprivation therapy. Patients had prior radiotherapy, radical prostatectomy, both treatments or exclusive androgen deprivation therapy in 17%, 33%, 9% and 40%, respectively. 57% of the patients had a Gleason score higher more than 7 at diagnosis. 62% were asymptomatic patients. The median serum total PSA at AA start was 17 ng/mL (range 0,4-2100). The median exposure to AA was 10 months (range 1-35). The proportion of patients achieving a PSA decline ≥50% at 12 weeks was 49%. Distribution of patient satisfaction was 32% "greatly improved", 38% "improved", 24% "not changed", 5.5% "worsened". Grade 3 and 4 toxicity was recorded in 17/145 patients 11.7% (70% cardiovascular events, 30% critical elevation of AST/ALT levels). At the last follow-up, median progression free and overall survival were 17 and 26.5 months, respectively. Both outcomes significantly correlated with the presence of pain, patient satisfaction, PSA baseline and PSA decline. CONCLUSIONS: The AA is effective and well tolerated in asymptomatic or slightly symptomatic mCRPC in a "real life" setting. The survival outcomes are influenced by the presence of pain, patient satisfaction, baseline PSA and PSA decline. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was retrospectively registered at ISRCTN as DOI: 10.1186/ISRCTN 52513758 in date April the 30th 2016.

Abiraterone Acetate for Treatment of Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer in Chemotherapy-naive Patients: An Italian Analysis of Patients' Satisfaction.

INTRODUCTION: Abiraterone acetate (AA) gives a significant improvement in survival for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) before and after chemotherapy and has a favorable effect on patients' health-related quality of life and pain. Only a few studies have investigated patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in AA treatment for mCRPC. The aim of this study was to investigate patients' satisfaction in men affected by mCRPC treated with AA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of a database of consecutive chemonaive patients with progressive mCRPC. Patients were treated with AA until disease progression, death, or unacceptable toxicity. Evaluation was performed at baseline and every 4 weeks by means of physical examination and laboratory studies. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group score, pain symptoms, treatment-related toxicity, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and overall and progression-free survival were recorded. Satisfaction with treatment was investigated at 6 months by means of a 4-point arbitrary scale. RESULTS: One-hundred twenty-eight patients were enrolled. Patients' satisfaction with treatment was "greatly improved" in 36.1% of patients and "improved" in 32.4% of them. Patients with higher satisfaction had lower baseline and final PSA values (P < .05), lower PSA levels at 12 weeks (P = .080), and less pain symptoms and lower Brief Pain Inventory scores (P = .001). Satisfaction with treatment was significantly correlated with baseline PSA level (P = .018), presence of pain (P = .007), duration of androgen deprivation therapy >12 months (P = .025), and number of hormonal manipulations (P = .051). Progression-free survival significantly correlated with patient satisfaction (P < .001). CONCLUSION: AA is safe and well tolerated in chemonaive mCRPC patients, ensures good oncological and PROs. Patient's satisfaction is a predictor of progression-free survival.

Duration of response to first androgen deprivation therapy, time to castration resistance prostate cancer, and outcome of metastatic castration resistance prostate cancer patients treated with abiraterone acetate.

Abiraterone acetate (AA) demonstrated its efficacy in the treatment of patients with metastatic castration resistance prostate cancer (mCRPC) in predocetaxel and postdocetaxel setting. However, we learn from pivotal studies that forms of primary and acquired resistance to this drug exist. Patient selection becomes so crucial to optimize treatment results. Potential predictive biomarkers have been identified but are not yet validated. In this scenario, clinical features and disease characteristics may still be of value in selecting patients for different treatments. The objective of this retrospective study was to assess whether or not a correlation between duration of response to first androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), time to castration-resistant prostate cancer (TTCRPC), and outcome of AA therapy exists. A retrospective analysis of clinical data of mCRPC patients treated with AA at two Italian cancer centers was carried out. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazard model were used to analyze survival data. Correlation between median duration of response to first ADT or median TTCRPC and the outcome of patients treated with AA was analyzed. From January 2015 to November 2015, data of 59 patients with mCRPC were collected. We observed no differences in patient's median progression-free survival (PFS) and biochemical progression-free survival (bPFS), according to both median duration of response to first-line ADT (duration of first ADT<13 months: median PFS and bPFS were 11 and 5 months, respectively; duration of ADT≥13 months: median PFS and bPFS were 9 and 6 months, respectively) and median TTCRPC (TTCRPC<28 months: median PFS and bPFS were 8 and 5 months, respectively; TTCRPC≥28 months: median PFS and bPFS were 10 and 9 months, respectively). Overall survival, in the same group, did not differ between patients with a duration of response to first ADT over or under 13 months (P=0.90) but in patients with a TTCRPC of 28 months or more, there was a trend toward longer survival than patients with TTCRPC less than 28 months (5-year overall survival was 74 vs. 50%; P=0.14). The duration of response to first-line ADT and the TTCRPC showed no significant association with outcome of AA therapy in patients with mCRPC. However, large prospective trials are desirable to confirm these data.

Clinical Outcome of Third-Line Pazopanib in a Patient with Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Background. Renal cell carcinoma accounts for about 2-3% of all malignant tumors. The prevalence of brain metastases from RCC is less than 20% of cases. Traditionally, whole brain radiotherapy as well as the latest stereotactic radiosurgery improves both survival and local tumor control. These treatments also allow stabilization of clinical symptomatology. However, validated treatment guidelines for RCC patients with brain metastases are not yet available on account of the frequent exclusion of such patients from clinical trials. Moreover, limited data about the sequential use of three therapies, changing the class of agent, have been published up to now. Case Report. We report the case of a patient with metastatic RCC who developed disease progression after sunitinib and everolimus as first-line and second-line therapy, respectively. Thus, he underwent a multimodality treatment with pazopanib, as third-line therapy, to control systemic disease and radiosurgery directed on the new brain metastasis. To date, the patient is still receiving pazopanib, with progression-free survival and overall survival of 43 and 103 months, respectively. Conclusion. In a context characterized by different emerging options, with no general consensus on the optimal treatment strategy, the use of pazopanib in pretreated patients could be a suitable choice.

Resistance to abiraterone in castration-resistant prostate cancer: a review of the literature.

Persistent androgen signaling is functionally significant in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and it is actually considered a validated therapeutic target. Residual intra-tumoral androgens compensate for the effects of androgen ablation, activating the androgen receptor (AR), AR-mediated gene expression and driving CRPC. The intra-tumoral biosynthesis of androgens takes place in different ways and cytochrome P450 17A1 (CYP17A1) has a crucial role in this context. Abiraterone, a CYP17A1 inhibitor, has shown impressive results in pre- and post-chemotherapy settings, prolonging the survival of patients with CRPC. However, not all patients respond to the treatment and most responders develop resistance, with a widely variable duration of response. Although many hypotheses are emerging, the mechanisms of resistance to abiraterone treatment have not yet been elucidated. The aim of the present review is to describe the main data currently available on resistance to abiraterone.

Genomic and epigenomic alterations in prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer (PC) is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in man. The treatment of localized PC includes surgery or radiation therapy. In case of relapse after a definitive treatment or in patients with locally advanced or metastatic disease, the standard treatment includes the androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT). By reducing the levels of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone under the castration threshold, the ADT acts on the androgen receptor (AR), even if indirectly. The effects of the ADT are usually temporary and nearly all patients, initially sensitive to the androgen ablation therapy, have a disease progression after an 18-24 months medium term. This is probably due to the selection of the cancer cell clones and to their acquisition of critical somatic genome and epigenomic changes. This review aims to provide an overview about the genetic and epigenetic alterations having a crucial role in the carcinogenesis and in the disease progression toward the castration resistant PC. We focused on the role of the AR, on its signaling cascade and on the clinical implications that the knowledge of these aspects would have on hormonal therapy, on its failure and its toxicity.