Automated immunoassay of serum NY-ESO-1 and XAGE1 antibodies for predicting clinical benefit with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) in advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: NY-ESO-1 and XAGE1 cancer/testis antigens elicit humoral and cellular immune responses in NSCLC patients. We aimed to predict clinical benefit with ICI monotherapy, using an automated immunoassay of NY-ESO-1/XAGE1 antibodies (Abs). METHODS: This study enrolled 99 NSCLC patients who received nivolumab after chemotherapy, including 21 patients harboring EGFR, ALK, or KRAS alterations. The cutoff value (10 units/mL) of NY-ESO-1 and XAGE1 Ab was determined based on Ab levels in non-malignant controls, and NY-ESO-1/XAGE1 Abs in NSCLC were measured before nivolumab. Differences in PFS and OS between the Ab-positive and Ab-negative groups were retrospectively analyzed using Cox regression analysis after applying inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW). RESULTS: NY-ESO-1/XAGE1 Abs were positive in 28 NSCLC, who responded more highly to nivolumab than the Ab-negatives (response rate 50.0% vs. 15.5 %, p < 0.0007). The IPTW-adjusted positives and negatives for NY-ESO-1/XAGE1 Abs were 24.5 and 70.2, respectively. The Ab-positives showed longer IPTW-adjusted PFS (HR = 0.59, 95 % CI: 0.39-0.90, p = 0.014) and IPTW-adjusted OS (HR = 0.51, 95 % CI: 0.32-0.81, p = 0.004) than the Ab-negatives. Among NSCLC harboring driver genes, the Ab-positives (n = 10) showed longer PFS (HR = 0.34, 95 % CI: 0.13-0.89, p = 0.029) and OS (HR = 0.27, 95 % CI: 0.098-0.75, p = 0.012) than the Ab-negatives (n = 11). CONCLUSION: Our immunoassay of NY-ESO-1/XAGE1 Abs is probably useful for predicting the clinical benefit with nivolumab in NSCLC, including those harboring driver genes. These results suggest that our immunoassay may be useful in ICI monotherapy for NSCLC.

Randomized phase II study of daily versus alternate-day administrations of S-1 for the elderly patients with completely resected pathological stage IA (tumor diameter > 2 cm)-IIIA of non-small cell lung cancer: Setouchi Lung Cancer Group Study 1201.

BACKGROUND: It is shown that the postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was associated with survival benefit in an elderly population. We aimed to analyze the feasibility and efficacy of alternate-day S-1, an oral fluoropyrimidine, for adjuvant chemotherapy in elderly patients with completely resected pathological stage IA (tumor diameter > 2 cm) to IIIA (UICC TNM Classification of Malignant Tumours, 7th edition) NSCLC. METHODS: Elderly patients were randomly assigned to receive adjuvant chemotherapy for one year consisting of either alternate-day oral administration of S-1 (80 mg/m2/day) for 4 days a week (Arm A) or a daily oral administration of S-1 (80 mg/m2/day) for 14 consecutive days followed by 7-day rest (Arm B). The primary endpoint was feasibility (treatment completion rate), which was defined as the proportion of patients who completed the allocated intervention for 6 months with a relative dose intensity (RDI) of 70% or more. RESULTS: We enrolled 101 patients in which 97 patients received S-1 treatment. The treatment completion rate at 6 months was 69.4% in Arm A and 64.6% in Arm B (p = 0.67). Treatment completion rate in Arm B tended to be lower compared to Arm A, as the treatment period becomes longer (at 9 and 12 months). RDI of S-1 at 12 months and completion of S-1 administration without dose reduction or postponement at 12 months was significantly better in Arm A than in Arm B (p = 0.026 and p < 0.001, respectively). Among adverse events, anorexia, skin symptoms and lacrimation of any grade were significantly more frequent in Arm B compared with Arm A (p = 0.0036, 0.023 and 0.031, respectively). The 5-year recurrence-free survival rates were 56.9% and 65.7% for Arm A and B, respectively (p = 0.22). The 5-year overall survival rates were 68.6% and 82.0% for Arm A and B, respectively (p = 0.11). CONCLUSION: Although several adverse effects were less frequent in Arm A, both alternate-day and daily oral administrations of S-1 were demonstrated to be feasible in elderly patients with completely resected NSCLC. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Unique ID issued by UMIN: UMIN000007819 (Date of registration: Apr 25, 2012) https://center6.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000009128. Trial ID issued by jRCT: jRCTs061180089 (Date of registration: Mar 22, 2019, for a shift toward a "specified clinical trial" based on Clinical Trials Act in Japan) https://jrct.niph.go.jp/en-latest-detail/jRCTs061180089.

Immune checkpoint therapy and response biomarkers in non-small-cell lung cancer: Serum NY-ESO-1 and XAGE1 antibody as predictive and monitoring markers.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are key drugs in systemic therapy for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and have recently been incorporated into neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings for surgical resection. Currently, ICI combinations with cytotoxic agents are frequently used in clinical practice, although several ICI clinical trials have failed to produce long-term clinical benefits. Unfortunately, clinical benefit is moderate and limited considering physical and financial burden. Therefore, selecting appropriate patients and regimens for ICI therapy is important, and biomarkers are necessary for their selection. Tumor PD-L1 expression is universally used as a biomarker; however, PD-L1 assays show low analytical validity and reproducibility due to the visual-scoring system by pathologists. Recent tumor immunology studies explore that neoantigens derived from somatic mutations and the collaboration between T and B cells efficiently elicit antitumor responses. This suggests that high tumor mutational burden and T-cell infiltration are predictive biomarkers. However, B cells producing antibody (Ab) remain poorly understood and analyzed as biomarkers. We found that NY-ESO-1 and XAGE1 of cancer-testis antigen frequently elicit spontaneous humoral and cellular immune responses in NSCLC. Serum Ab against these antigens were detected in approximately 25% of NSCLC patients and predicted ICI monotherapy responses. In addition, the Ab levels were decreased with tumor shrinkage after ICI therapy. Thus, NY-ESO-1 and XAGE1 Ab are potentially biomarkers predicting and monitoring response to ICI therapy. For clinical applications, a fully-automated assay system measuring the Ab was developed. Here, we review current ICI therapy, tumor immunology, and biomarkers in NSCLC, and discuss the applicability of the serum biomarkers NY-ESO-1 and XAGE1 Ab.

Effects of tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells, PD1/PD-L1 axis, and expression patterns of HLA class I on the prognosis of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma who underwent extra-pleural pneumonectomy.

Programmed cell death protein-1 (PD1), PD1 ligand 1 (PD-L1), and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecule play pivotal roles in T cell-induced anti-tumor immunity; however, the clinical impact of these parameters in resected malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) cases is unknown. We immunohistochemically evaluated the tumor infiltrated lymphocytes (TILs), PD1/PD-L1 axis, and expression of HLA class I in resected specimens from 58 patients with MPM who underwent extra-pleural pneumonectomy (EPP). Higher infiltration of CD3-TIL, CD8-TIL, and PD1-TIL, loss of HLA class I, and overexpression of PD-L1 by tumor cells (PD-L1 TC) or immune cells (PD-L1 IC) were observed in 34 (58.6%), 27 (46.6%), 41 (70.7%), 45 (77.6%), 29 (50.0%), and 33 (56.4%) of 58 cases, respectively. Interestingly, the CD3-TIL score positively correlated with PD-L1 TC and PD1-TIL scores. HLA class I expression level was inversely correlated with the expression levels of PD-L1 TC and PD-L1 IC. Multivariate analysis showed that age, histology, and node metastasis were independent prognostic factors for 5-year overall survival (OS) and loss of HLA class I coincided with a positive prognosis (p = 0.011). The concomitant lack of infiltrating CD8+ T cells with no loss of HLA class I predicted worse 5-year OS (p = 0.007). Moreover, cluster classifications among multiple immunoparameters showed that categories among CD3/PD-L1 TC/HLA class I (p = 0.043), CD8/PD1/HLA class I (p = 0.032), CD8/PD-L1 TC/HLA class I (p = 0.011), and PD1/PD-L1 TC/HLA class I (p = 0.032) predicted 5-year OS in EPP cases for MPM. These immunoparameters could guide surgical indications for patients with MPM.

Tumor PD-L1 and VEGF Expression, and CD8 T Cell Infiltration Predict Clinical Response to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIM: We evaluated the efficacy of "the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) classification" for predicting clinical response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In addition, we aimed to evaluate the "modified TIME classification", which adds the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) status to TIME. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Programmed cell death receptor ligand-1 (PD-L1), CD8 T cell tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (CD8+TILs) count and VEGF expression analyses were performed using immuno - histochemistry in 44 patients who had undergone ICI monotherapy. RESULTS: Regarding TIME classification, type-I (PD-L1 high and CD8+TILs high) had a significantly higher response than the other types. Using the modified TIME classification, type-IA (PD-L1 high, CD8+TILs high, and VEGF low) had a significantly higher response than the other types. CONCLUSION: The modified TIME classification, which adds tumor VEGF expression to "the TIME classification", could be useful in predicting clinical response to ICI monotherapy.

Randomized phase II study of daily and alternate-day administration of S-1 for adjuvant chemotherapy in completely-resected stage I non-small cell lung cancer: results of the Setouchi Lung Cancer Group Study 1301.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this multicenter, randomized phase II study was to analyze the feasibility and safety of alternate-day S-1, an oral fluoropyrimidine, for adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with completely resected pathological stage I (tumor diameter > 2 cm) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: Patients were randomly assigned to receive adjuvant chemotherapy for 1 year comprising either alternate-day oral administration of S-1 (80 mg/m2/day) for 4 days a week (Group A) or a 2-week oral administration of S-1 (80 mg/m2/day) followed by 1 week of rest (Group B). The primary endpoint was feasibility, which was defined as the proportion of patients who completed the allocated intervention for 6 months with a relative dose intensity (RDI) of 70% or more. RESULTS: Ninety-three patients were enrolled of whom 90 patients received S-1 treatment. Median follow-up was 66.9 months. The treatment completion rate based on an RDI of 70% or more for 6 months was 84.4% (95%CI; 70.5-93.5%) in group A and 64.4% (95%CI; 48.8-78.1%) in group B. There were no grade 4 adverse events in either group. Moderate or severe adverse events (grade 2 or grade 3) were significantly more frequent in group B (67%) compared with group A (29%, P = 0.001). The 5-year relapse-free survival rate was 87.0 and 80.9% for group A and B, respectively (P = 0.451). The 5-year overall survival rate for all patients (n = 93) was 100 and 89.4% for group A and B, respectively (P = 0.136). CONCLUSION: Alternate-day oral administration of S-1 for 1 year as adjuvant chemotherapy was demonstrated to be feasible with low toxicity in completely resected stage I (tumor diameter > 2 cm) NSCLC. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Trial registration number: UMIN000011994 . Date of registration: 10/8/2013.

Tofacitinib overcomes an IFNγ-induced decrease in NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity via the regulation of immune-related molecules in LC-2/ad.

BACKGROUND: Immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting the programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)/PD-1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) axis have shown promising results in patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). One major PD-L1 inducer is IFNγ, which is secreted by T cells and NK cells. Importantly, IFNγ-induced PD-L1 is one of the major mechanisms by which cancer cells escape host immunity. METHODS: Here, we found that the NSCLC cell line, LC-2/ad, has a unique character; the PD-L1 expression in these cells is up-regulated by both IFNγ and epidermal growth factor (EGF). RESULTS: Comparative analysis of the cell signaling pathway showed that IFNγ activates STAT1 signaling, while EGF activates AKT, MAPK, and ribosomal protein S6 kinase in LC-2/ad cells. IFNγ-induced PD-L1, but not EGF-induced PD-L1, was clearly blocked by the JAK-STAT inhibitor tofacitinib. Interestingly, IFNγ decreased the expression of NK cell-activating ligands while increasing the expression of MHC class I molecules, resulting in a phenotype that can easily escape from NK cells, theoretically. Finally, we showed that IFNγ stimuli attenuated NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity in LC-2/ad cells, which was, however, blocked by tofacitinib. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our study shows that tofacitinib blocks the IFNγ-induced transformation from an NK cell-sensitive phenotype to an NK cell-resistant one in IFNγ-reacted LC-2/ad cells, thereby implicating that tofacitinib may be a promising agent to overcome IFNγ-induced tumor immune escape, although it may be adapted to the limited number of NSCLC patients.

Clinicopathological relevance of tumor expression of NK group 2 member D ligands in resected non-small cell lung cancer.

UL16-binding protein (ULBP) 1-6 and MHC class I chain-related molecule A and B (MICA/B) are NK group 2, member D (NKG2D) ligands, which are specifically expressed in infected or transformed cells and are recognized by NK cells via NKG2D-NKG2D ligand interactions. We previously reported that MICA/B overexpression predicted improved clinical outcomes in patients with resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the clinicopathological features and prognostic significance of ULBPs in NSCLC remain unclear. Here,ULBP1-6 expression was evaluated based on immunohistochemistry of 91 NSCLC samples from patients following radical surgery. ULBPs were expressed by the majority of NSCLC. Either ULBP1 or ULBP2/5/6 overexpression was associated with squamous-cell carcinoma histology, whereas ULBP4 overexpression was associated with younger age and adenocarcinoma histology. Although overexpression of ULBP1-6 did not impact clinical outcomes in NSCLC patients, integrative profiling with cluster analysis classified patients into 3 subgroups based on the expression pattern of NKG2D ligands. The subgroup characterized by ULBP1 or ULBP2/5/6 high expressing but ULBP4 low expressing tumors showed poor overall survival. Taken together with previous results, NSCLC histological subtype strongly correlates with NKG2D ligands expression pattern. NKG2D ligands expression levels assessed by multiple immune parameters could predict clinical outcomes of patients with NSCLC.

Serum Antibody Against NY-ESO-1 and XAGE1 Antigens Potentially Predicts Clinical Responses to Anti-Programmed Cell Death-1 Therapy in NSCLC.

INTRODUCTION: Programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) inhibitors effectively treat NSCLC and prolong survival. Robust biomarkers for predicting clinical benefits of good response and long survival with anti-PD-1 therapy have yet to be identified; therefore, predictive biomarkers are needed to select patients with benefits. METHODS: We conducted a prospective study to explore whether serum antibody against NY-ESO-1 and/or XAGE1 cancer-testis antigens predicted primarily good clinical response and secondarily long survival with anti-PD-1 therapy for NSCLC. The serum antibody was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and tumor immune microenvironment and mutation burden were analyzed by immunohistochemistry and next-generation sequencing. RESULTS: In the discovery cohort (n = 13), six antibody-positive NSCLC cases responded to anti-PD-1 therapy (two complete and four partial responses), whereas seven antibody-negative NSCLC cases did not. Antibody positivity was associated with good response and survival, regardless of tumor programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression, mutation burden, and CD8+ T-cell infiltration. In the validation cohort (n = 75), 17 antibody-positive NSCLC cases responded well to anti-PD-1 therapy as compared with 58 negative NSCLC cases (objective response rate 65% versus 19%, p = 0.0006) and showed significantly prolonged progression-free survival and overall survival. Antibody titers highly correlated with tumor reduction rates. In the multivariate analysis, response biomarkers were tumor programmed death ligand 1 expression and antibody positivity, and only antibody positivity was a significantly better predictive biomarker of progression-free survival (hazard ratio = 0.4, p = 0.01) and overall survival (hazard ratio = 0.2, p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that NY-ESO-1 and/or XAGE1 serum antibodies are useful biomarkers for predicting clinical benefits in anti-PD-1 therapy for NSCLC and probably for other cancers.

Impact of pathological stage and histological subtype on clinical outcome of adjuvant chemotherapy of paclitaxel plus carboplatin versus oral uracil-tegafur for non-small cell lung cancer: subanalysis of SLCG0401 trial.

BACKGROUND: Pathological stage (pStage) and histological subtype are strong determinants of the treatment strategy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Setouchi Lung Cancer study Group (SLCG) recently reported the results of a multicenter trial (SLCG0401) indicating that paclitaxel plus carboplatin (CBDCA/PTX) as adjuvant chemotherapy does not yield better survival than uracil-tegafur (UFT) in NSCLC patients with pStage IB-IIIA disease, while stratified analyses considering the pStage and histological subtype have not been performed. METHODS: We reanalyzed the overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) in 402 patients who had been randomly assigned to receive CBDCA/PTX or UFT by multivariate analysis with adjustments for the pStage and histological subtype. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the OS or RFS between the two treatment settings either in the entire cohort (n = 402) and in some of subsets: pStage IB (n = 228), pStage II (n = 117), adenocarcinoma (AD, n = 265), and squamous cell carcinoma (SQ, n = 101). In pStage IIIA patients (n = 57), CBDCA/PTX yielded superior RFS to UFT [hazard ratio (HR) 0.44; P = 0.016]. Among the patients with non-AD and non-SQ histology (n = 36), UFT yielded both superior OS and RFS to CBDCA/PTX (HRs 0.16 and 0.23; P = 0.046 and 0.011, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: There are subsets of patients in which one or the other between UFT and CBDCA/PTX is significantly more effective. Selection of adjuvant therapy for NSCLC patients needs to be made taking into consideration the pStage and histological subtype.

Effect of platinum­based chemotherapy on the expression of natural killer group 2 member D ligands, programmed cell death­1 ligand 1 and HLA class I in non­small cell lung cancer.

Platinum­based chemotherapy improves the clinical outcome of patients with non­small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), although tumors often become refractory after treatment. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to investigate the expression levels of natural killer group 2 member D (NKG2D) ligands, programmed cell death­1 ligand 1 (PD­L1), and human leucocyte antigen (HLA)­class I in tissue samples collected from 10 NSCLC patients who received platinum­based chemotherapy followed by surgery. Additionally, the effects of repeated exposure to cisplatin on the expression of NKG2D ligands, PD­L1 and HLA­class I in NSCLC cell lines were assessed by flow cytometry. We found upregulation of PD­L1 or downregulation of NKG2D ligands in 5 of the 10 NSCLC cases, leading to the attenuation of NK cell­mediated tumor cell death. Moreover, upregulation of PD­L1 or downregulation of HLA­class I were observed in 6 cases, supporting tumor escape from T cell immunity. An in vitro assay showed that repeated exposure to cisplatin enhanced the expression of PD­L1 and NKG2D ligands in NSCLC cell lines. Notably, interferon gamma (IFNγ) stimuli enhanced PD­L1 expression while attenuated that of NKG2D ligands in NSCLC cell lines, which mimicked the results of the clinical study. Both IFNγ­induced upregulation of PD­L1 and downregulation of NKG2D ligands were blocked by the JAK­STAT inhibitor tofacitinib. These findings suggested that the expression levels of NKG2D ligands, PD­L1 and HLA­class I in residual tumors after chemotherapy were affected by host immunity, resulting in an immunoescape phenotype. Blocking IFNγ­induced tumor immunoescape by a JAK­STAT inhibitor might be a promising treatment strategy for NSCLC.

Comparative study of the PD-L1 expression and CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte between surgically resected and matched re-biopsy specimens in recurrent non-small cell lung cancer.

Introduction: Numerous studies conducted until date have reported that the chemotherapy regimen could affect the programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression status in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Materials and methods: A total of 36 NSCLC patients for whom both the surgically resected specimens of the primary tumors and re-biopsy specimens of the recurrent tumors were available were enrolled in this study. The PD-L1 expression status and tumor-infiltrating CD8-positive T lymphocytes (CD8+TILs) count were measured in paired samples by immunohistochemistry. The concordance rate in the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) classification based on the PD-L1 expression status and CD8+TILs count was analyzed. Results: While the PD-L1 expression levels were similar between the surgical and re-biopsy specimens in 77.8% of cases, in 16.7% of cases, the expression levels were higher in the re-biopsy specimens. When the analysis was confined to patients who had received platinum-based chemotherapy, the percentage increased to 42.9%. The TIME classification changed in the re-biopsy specimens as compared to the surgical specimens in one-third of the patients, especially in those who had received chemotherapy previously. The TIME classification in the re-biopsy specimens more closely resembled that in the metastatic lymph nodes as compared to that in the primary tumor. Conclusion: In patients with recurrent NSCLC, especially those who have received chemotherapy previously, a recent re-biopsy sample is required to determine whether PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors should be used for treatment or not.

Deciduoid type malignant pleural mesothelioma: a case report.

Here, we report a patient with deciduoid type malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), which rapidly progressed. A 55-year-old man who might have been exposed to asbestos a few decades ago had severe back pain. The chest X-ray scanning and computed tomography (CT) revealed pleural thickness on his right thoracic space, without the presence of a lung mass. A pleural biopsy was performed and the patient was histologically diagnosed with deciduoid type MPM. Although he received two cycles of chemotherapy, his disease rapidly progressed and he died within two months of the diagnosis of deciduoid type MPM.

Impact of COX2 Inhibitor for Regulation of PD-L1 Expression in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIM: There is no clear evidence in the literature regarding the regulation of programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression by cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX2). In this study, whether PD-L1 expression was regulated by COX2 activity was examined in vitro. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Resected lung cancer specimens were analyzed for PD-L1 and COX2 expression by immunohistochemical analysis. Next, co-localization of PD-L1 and COX2 expression was analyzed by double-fluorescence staining. Lastly, the effect of COX2 inhibition on the expression of PD-L1 was examined using lung cancer cell lines. RESULTS: PD-L1 expression was significantly correlated with COX2 expression in the resected specimens. The majority of cancer cells that expressed PD-L1 also co-expressed COX2. However, treatment of lung cancer cell lines with a COX2 inhibitor had no impact on PD-L1 expression. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that COX2 inhibition might have no effect on the usage of immune checkpoint inhibitors in lung cancer treatment.

A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Study of Paclitaxel plus Carboplatin versus Oral Uracil-Tegafur as the Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Resected Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

INTRODUCTION: We conducted a randomized controlled study to compare the survival benefit of paclitaxel plus carboplatin and oral uracil-tegafur (UFT) as adjuvant chemotherapy in resected NSCLC. METHODS: In an open-label multicenter trial, patients with pathological stage IB to IIIA NSCLC were randomized into a group receiving paclitaxel (175 mg/m2) plus carboplatin (area under the curve 5) every 3 weeks for four cycles (arm A) or a group receiving orally administered UFT (250 mg/m2) daily for 2 years (arm B). The primary and secondary end points were overall survival and relapse-free survival and toxicity, respectively. RESULTS: Between November 2004 and November 2010, 402 patients from 40 institutions were included (201 in each arm). The median follow-up period was 6.5 years. The 5-year overall survival rate was 70% (95% confidential interval [CI]: 63-76] in arm A versus 73% (95% CI: 66-78) in arm B (hazard ratio = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.55-1.41, p = 0.69). There was no significant difference in the 5-year relapse-free survival rate between arms A and B (56% versus 57% [hazard ratio = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.63-1.34, p = 0.50]). Toxicities were well tolerated and there was no treatment-related death. Toxicities of any grade or grade 4 were significantly more frequent in the paclitaxel plus carboplatin group (95.7% and 22.1%, respectively) than in the UFT group (76.5% and 1.0%, respectively [p < 0.0001 in both]). CONCLUSIONS: As adjuvant chemotherapy, paclitaxel plus carboplatin was no better than UFT in terms of survival among patients with stage IB to IIIA NSCLC tumors who underwent complete resection (UMIN000000810).

Prognostic value of Cox-2 and PD-L1 expression and its relationship with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in resected lung adenocarcinoma.

Programmed cell death-1 ligand 1 (PD-L1), tumor-infiltrating CD8-positive T lymphocytes (CD8-positive TILs), and cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2) have been used as prognostic tools in patients with lung adenocarcinoma. We conducted a retrospective review of data from 170 patients who had undergone pulmonary resection as an initial treatment for clinical T1-2 N0 lung adenocarcinoma. We then investigated the expressions of three biomarkers using immunohistochemical analyses and compared the expression levels with the clinicopathological characteristics and outcomes of the patients. Next, we classified the tumors into four groups based on the PD-L1 and CD8-positive TILs statuses and evaluated the prognostic significance of Cox-2 expression according to the tumor immune microenvironment classification. Tumors with positive PD-L1 expression levels had a significantly larger number of CD8-positive TILs than tumors with negative PD-L1 expression levels, whereas tumors with high Cox-2 expressions had significantly fewer CD8-positive TILs than tumors with low Cox-2 expressions. A multivariate analysis showed that histological subtype, nodal metastasis, CD8-positive TILs count, and PD-L1 expression were independent predictors of patient outcome. Using a classification based on the PD-L1 and CD8-positive TILs statuses, the outcomes of patients with a negative PD-L1 expression and a high CD8-positive TIL count were significantly better than those with other classifications. In patients with negative PD-L1 and low CD8-positive TILs, the rate of EGFR mutation was significantly higher than that in other classifications, and Cox-2 expression was a powerful predictor of outcome. Clinical and pathological features in conjunction with the tumor immune microenvironment classification indicate that lung adenocarcinoma should be divided into different subgroups for prognosis and treatment. Classification according to the PD-L1 and CD8-positive TILs statuses might enable the effects of Cox-2 inhibitor to be predicted.

Urinary levels of prostaglandin E2 are positively correlated with intratumoral infiltration of Foxp3+ regulatory T cells in non-small cell lung cancer.

The immune microenvironment of primary tumors has been reported to be one of the factors influencing the prognosis of patients with cancer. The tumor-infiltrating regulatory T cell (Treg) count has previously been revealed to be positively correlated with intratumoral cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2) expression, and was also associated with poor survival among patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In addition, the urinary levels of a prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) metabolite (PGE-M) were used as a biomarker in clinical trials of the Cox-2 inhibitor celecoxib. In the current prospective study, the association of urinary PGE2 and PGE-M levels with intratumoral Cox-2 expression and Treg count was examined in patients with NSCLC. A total of 21 patients with NSCLC who underwent complete resection of the tumor at Kawasaki Medical School Hospital (Kurashiki, Japan) were enrolled. Urine specimens were obtained prior to surgery in order to examine urinary PGE2 and PGE-M levels. A significant positive association was observed between urinary PGE2 levels and the intratumoral Treg count (P=0.023), but not the intratumoral Cox-2 expression levels. No significant associations were identified between urinary PGE2 levels and any of the other clinicopathological characteristics examined, including age, sex, smoking history, histology, tumor size, nodal status and disease stage. However, no significant association was observed between urinary PGE-M levels and the intratumoral Treg count (P=0.069) or Cox-2 expression. In conclusion, urinary PGE2 levels were positively correlated with intratumoral Treg counts in patients with NSCLC in the current study. This indicates that urinary PGE2 may be an improved biomarker, compared with PGE-M, for the prediction of intratumoral Treg numbers.

PD-L1 overexpression is partially regulated by EGFR/HER2 signaling and associated with poor prognosis in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.

Immunocheckpoint inhibitors targeting the programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and PD-1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) axis have shown promising results in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Recent research has shown that epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling affects PD-L1 expression in NSCLC cells; however, the mechanism regulating PD-L1 expression in tumor cells remains unclear. Using immunohistochemistry, we evaluated the impact of expression of PD-L1 and EGF family receptors EGFR and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) in tumor cells from 91 patients with pathological Stage IA-IIIA NSCLC. Overexpression of PD-L1 was observed in 14% of the resected tumors, and associated with poor recurrence-free survival (p = 0.021) and overall survival (p = 0.033). PD-L1 expression is positively correlated with EGFR expression and inversely correlated with HER2. NSCLC cell lines were treated in vitro with the EGFR ligand EGF with or without inhibition of EGFR or HER2, after which PD-L1 expression was evaluated using flow cytometry. Consistent with previous reports, PD-L1 expression was clearly enhanced by EGF. EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors or EGFR small interfering RNA (siRNA) blocked EGF-induced PD-L1 overexpression in NSCLC cell lines, but HER2 siRNA did not. Moreover, our findings suggest that PD-L1 expression could be partially regulated via the PI3K/AKT and JAK/STAT pathways. We conclude that PD-L1 overexpression is associated with poor prognosis and is positively correlated with EGFR expression but inversely correlated with HER2 expression in NSCLC. We also showed that EGFR and HER2 have different effects on EGF-induced PD-L1 expression in NSCLC cell lines.