Vincenzi, Bruno

11502 Background: To report results from the open-label alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS) cohort of the phase III APROMISS trial (NCT03016819) evaluating Catequentinib hydrochloride (AL3818), an oral multitargeted receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, in adults with advanced or metastatic ASPS. Methods: Adult patients with pathologic and molecularly confirmed advanced ASPS, either treatment-naive or previously treated (excluding cediranib), were enrolled in the open-label, non-randomized ASPS cohort of the phase III APROMISS trial conducted across the United States, Asia, and Europe. Catequentinib hydrochloride was administered orally at 12 mg once daily in 21-day cycles (14 days on/7 days off) until disease progression, toxicity, or death. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR) assessed per RECIST by Blinded Independent Central Review (BICR) (predefined threshold: 31%). Secondary endpoints included duration of response (DOR) with a predefined target of =/>6 months, progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results: From July 2017 to August 2022, a total of 56 patients entered the trial; 56 patients were evaluable for the primary endpoint. Median (m-) age was 29.5 years (range: 18 – 66), with 24 female and 32 male. Best overall response included 1/56 complete response (1.8%), 14/56 partial responses (25.0%), 36/56 stable disease (64.3%), and 3/56 (5.4%) progressive disease. RECIST ORR by BICR was 26.8% (95% CI, 15.8–40.3); m-DOR was 22.57 months (95%CI: 10.38-NE). The study data was collected close to 8 years for all patients. mPFS was 18.33 months (95% CI, 14.19–23.13), with 6- and 12-month progression-free rates of 88.77% (95% CI, 76.68–94.79) and 65.54% (95% CI, 50.42–77.06), respectively. mOS was 59.27 months (95% CI, 44.09–NE), with 6- and 12-month overall survival rates of 94.64% (95% CI, 84.30–98.24) and 90.81% (95% CI, 79.30–96.08), respectively. Overall, 27/56 (48.2%) patients experienced grade ≥3 treatment-related adverse events, most commonly diarrhea (50.0%), hypertension (44.6%), fatigue (37.5%), nausea (35.7%), and palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia syndrome (30.4%); one patient (1.8%) had a grade 5 event (respiratory failure). Conclusions: Catequentinib hydrochloride demonstrated meaningful antitumor activity and durable responses in adults with advanced ASPS. Despite the ORR of 26.8% slightly below the predefined 31% threshold, disease control was prolonged, with a m-DOR exceeding 22 months. Favorable PFS and OS outcomes, together with a manageable safety profile, support its clinical benefit in this ultra-rare sarcoma. Clinical trial information: NCT03016819 .

PURPOSE Tumor treating fields (TTFields) use alternating electric fields to disrupt cancer cell proliferation. Feasibility of TTFields therapy with gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel was previously demonstrated in patients with advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma. PANOVA-3 was designed to confirm safety and efficacy of TTFields in patients with unresectable locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma (LA-PAC). METHODS In this global phase III trial, 571 patients with newly diagnosed LA-PAC were randomly assigned to receive gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m 2 and nab-paclitaxel 125 mg/m 2 by intravenous infusion once a day on days 1, 8, and 15 of a 28-day cycle with or without TTFields. The primary end point was overall survival (OS). Secondary end points included progression-free survival (PFS), local PFS, pain-free survival, and overall response rate (ORR). Distant PFS was analyzed post hoc. RESULTS OS was significantly prolonged using TTFields with gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel versus gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel (median, 16.2 months [95% CI, 15.0 to 18.0] v 14.2 months [95% CI, 12.8 to 15.4]; hazard ratio [HR], 0.82 [95% CI, 0.68 to 0.99]; P = .039). PFS, local PFS, and ORR were not improved. Pain-free survival was significantly prolonged with TTFields with gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel (median, 15.2 months [95% CI, 10.3 to 22.8] v 9.1 months [95% CI, 7.4 to 12.7]; HR, 0.74 [95% CI, 0.56 to 0.97]; P = .027), as was distant PFS (median, 13.9 months [95% CI, 12.2 to 16.8] v 11.5 months [95% CI, 10.4 to 12.9]; HR, 0.74 [95% CI, 0.57 to 0.96]; P = .022). Device-related skin adverse events (AEs) were experienced by 76.3% of patients. Most device-related skin AEs were mild to moderate, with 7.7% of patients reporting a grade 3 AE. CONCLUSION This study demonstrated significant OS, pain-free survival, and distant PFS benefits for TTFields with gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel versus gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel in patients with unresectable LA-PAC, with no additive systemic toxicity.

Abstract Background Treatment options for penile squamous cell carcinoma are limited. We sought to investigate clinical outcomes and safety profiles of patients with penile squamous cell carcinoma receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors. Methods This retrospective study included patients with locally advanced or metastatic penile squamous cell carcinoma receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors between 2015 and 2022 across 24 centers in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Overall survival and progression-free survival were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Objective response rates were determined per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours 1.1 criteria. Treatment-related adverse events were graded per the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 5.0. Two-sided statistical tests were used for comparisons. Results Among 92 patients, 8 (8.7%) were Asian, 6 (6.5%) were Black, and 24 (29%) were Hispanic and/or Latinx. Median (interquartile range) age was 62 (53-70) years. In all, 83 (90%) had metastatic penile squamous cell carcinoma, and 74 (80%) had received at least second-line treatment. Most patients received pembrolizumab monotherapy (n = 26 [28%]), combination nivolumab-ipilimumab with or without multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors (n = 23 [25%]), or nivolumab (n = 16 [17%]) or cemiplimab (n = 15 [16%]) monotherapies. Median overall and progression-free survival were 9.8 months (95% confidence interval = 7.7 to 12.8 months) and 3.2 months (95% confidence interval = 2.5 to 4.2 months), respectively. The objective response rate was 13% (n = 11/85) in the overall cohort and 35% (n = 7/20) in patients with lymph node–only metastases. Visceral metastases, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 1 or higher, and a higher neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio were associated with worse overall survival. Treatment-related adverse events occurred in 27 (29%) patients, and 9.8% (n = 9) of the events were grade 3 or higher. Conclusions Immune checkpoint inhibitors are active in a subset of patients with penile squamous cell carcinoma. Future translational studies are warranted to identify patients more likely to derive clinical benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitors.

5 Background: Management options for patients (pts) with advanced (locally advanced or metastatic) PeCa are limited. The GSRGT assembled an international cohort of pts with advanced PeCa treated with ICI to evaluate toxicity and clinical outcomes. Methods: We retrospectively collected data on pts with advanced PeCa receiving ≥1 cycle of ICI between 2015-2022 at 18 medical centers in the US, Europe, and Asia. Immune-related adverse events (irAE) were graded per the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v5.0. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Objective response rate (ORR) was determined by the clinical investigator per RECIST 1.1 criteria, whenever feasible. Results: Among 72 pts with advanced PeCa treated with ICI, 24 (33%) were Hispanic and 7 (10%) were Black. 60 (83%) pts had metastases while the remainder had locally advanced disease. The median age was 64 (inter-quartile range (IQR): 54,70) years and 48 (67%) had ECOG performance status ≥1. Most pts (n=60, 83%) were treated in the ≥2nd line setting and received pembrolizumab (n=23), nivolumab (n=15), cemiplimab (n=15), nivolumab and ipilimumab (n=7), or other anti-PD1/L1-based therapies (n=12). Among 37 pts with available data on HPV status, 24 (65%) were HPV+. 3 (4%) pts were HIV+. irAE of any grade occurred in 18 (25%) pts, 7 (10%) were grade ≥3, 7 (10%) required steroids, 6 (9%) required hospitalization, and 8 (11%) led to treatment discontinuation. The median OS and 24-month OS and median PFS and 24-month PFS were 9.4 (95%CI: 6.8, 12.8) months and 19.3% (95%CI: 9.2, 32.1) and 2.8 (95%CI: 2.1, 3.9) months and 11.2 % (95%CI: 4.9, 20.2), respectively. Among 66 pts evaluable for response, ORR was 7/66 (11%) (2 with complete response, 5 with partial response), and 16 (24%) pts had stable disease for a disease control rate of 35%. The median duration of response was 7.9 (IQR: 3, not reached) months. Conclusions: In the largest retrospective cohort of ICI-treated advanced PeCa, ICI showed no new safety signals, however, overall anti-tumor activity was limited. Future translational studies are needed to identify pts that are more likely to derive clinical benefit from ICI.

PURPOSE Antitumor activity in preclinical models and a phase I study of patients with dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DD-LPS) was observed with selinexor. We evaluated the clinical benefit of selinexor in patients with previously treated DD-LPS whose sarcoma progressed on approved agents. METHODS SEAL was a phase II-III, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Patients age 12 years or older with advanced DD-LPS who had received two-five lines of therapy were randomly assigned (2:1) to selinexor (60 mg) or placebo twice weekly in 6-week cycles (crossover permitted). The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS). Patients who received at least one dose of study treatment were included for safety analysis (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02606461 ). RESULTS Two hundred eighty-five patients were enrolled (selinexor, n = 188; placebo, n = 97). PFS was significantly longer with selinexor versus placebo: hazard ratio (HR) 0.70 (95% CI, 0.52 to 0.95; one-sided P = .011; medians 2.8 v 2.1 months), as was time to next treatment: HR 0.50 (95% CI, 0.37 to 0.66; one-sided P < .0001; medians 5.8 v 3.2 months). With crossover, no difference was observed in overall survival. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events of any grade versus grade 3 or 4 with selinexor were nausea (151 [80.7%] v 11 [5.9]), decreased appetite (113 [60.4%] v 14 [7.5%]), and fatigue (96 [51.3%] v 12 [6.4%]). Four (2.1%) and three (3.1%) patients died in the selinexor and placebo arms, respectively. Exploratory RNA sequencing analysis identified that the absence of CALB1 expression was associated with longer PFS with selinexor compared with placebo (median 6.9 v 2.2 months; HR, 0.19; P = .001). CONCLUSION Patients with advanced, refractory DD-LPS showed improved PFS and time to next treatment with selinexor compared with placebo. Supportive care and dose reductions mitigated side effects of selinexor. Prospective validation of CALB1 expression as a predictive biomarker for selinexor in DD-LPS is warranted.

11505 Background: AL3818 (Catequentinib, Anlotinib) is a novel, orally administered, small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor. The primary objective of this Phase 3 study is to evaluate the efficacy of AL3818 monotherapy in patients (pts) with synovial sarcoma (SS) comparing with dacarbazine in randomization setting. Methods: Patients with a diagnosis of synovial sarcoma requiring second line or further line treatment were eligible for enrollment. The regimen was a 21-day cycle with oral AL3818 administered on 14 days on and 7 days off. This phase 3 trial is randomized in 2:1 ratio of AL3818 comparing to dacarbazine with option of crossover after PD of dacarbazine treatment. Progression free survival (PFS) with Log Rank test is the primary endpoint and this trial for SS is currently completed enrolled in US and Italy. Results: Total 79 pts initiated treatment and are evaluable, 52 received AL3818 as treatment arm (T), and 27 received dacarbazine (D) as control arm (C). Arms T/C median ages were 40.5/42.0 years (range: 18-70+) and 20/16 (38.5%/59.3%) were male. Overall, PFS was 2.89 months (95% CI: 2.73 – 6.87) for AL3818 and 1.64 (95% CI: 1.45 – 2.70) for D. The PFS of study met the primary endpoint with a p-value of 0.0015 and a HR of 0.449 (95% CI: 0.270– 0.744). At the month 4, 6, and 12, the percentages of progression free patients for AL3818 were 48.1%, 42.3% and 26.9%; and for D were 14.85%, 11.1% and 3.7%. For grade 3 treatment-related adverse events, 12(23.1%) of pts experienced for AL3818 and 7(25.9%) of pts experienced for D. The most common AL3818 related grade 3 AEs were diarrhea (5.8%) and hypertension (3.8%). Conclusions: This phase III trial demonstrates improved disease control and superior progression free survival for AL3818 vs dacarbazine in advanced SS. In addition, the study further confirms the acceptable benefit-risk profile of AL3818 from the prior randomized Phase 2b soft tissue sarcoma study (NCT02449343). AL3818 is a meaningful treatment option for pts with advanced SS. Clinical trial information: NCT 03016819 Clinical trial information: NCT03016819.

Abstract Tumor metastasis refers to spread of a tumor from site of its origin to distant organs and causes majority of cancer deaths. Although &gt;30 metastasis suppressor genes (MSGs) that negatively regulate metastasis have been identified so far, two issues are poorly understood: first, which MSGs oppose metastasis in a tumor type, and second, which molecular function of MSG controls metastasis. Herein, integrative analyses of tumor-transcriptomes (n = 382), survival data (n = 530) and lymph node metastases (n = 100) in lung cancer patients identified non-metastatic 2 (NME2) as a key MSG from a pool of &gt;30 metastasis suppressors. Subsequently, we generated a promoter-wide binding map for NME2 using chromatin immunoprecipitation with promoter microarrays (ChIP-chip), and transcriptome profiling. We discovered novel targets of NME2 which are involved in focal adhesion signaling. Importantly, we detected binding of NME2 in promoter of focal adhesion factor, vinculin. Reduced expression of NME2 led to enhanced transcription of vinculin. In comparison, NME1, a close homolog of NME2, did not bind to vinculin promoter nor regulate its expression. In line, enhanced metastasis of NME2-depleted lung cancer cells was found in zebrafish and nude mice tumor models. The metastatic potential of NME2-depleted cells was remarkably diminished upon selective RNA-i-mediated silencing of vinculin. Together, we demonstrate that reduced NME2 levels lead to transcriptional de-repression of vinculin and regulate lung cancer metastasis.

Abstract HSulf-1 modulates the sulfation states of heparan sulfate proteoglycans critical for heparin binding growth factor signaling. In the present study, we show that HSulf-1 is transcriptionally deregulated under hypoxia in breast cancer cell lines. Knockdown of HIF-1α rescued HSulf-1 downregulation imposed by hypoxia, both at the RNA and protein levels. Chromatin immunoprecipitation with HIF-1α and HIF-2α antibodies confirmed recruitment of HIF-α proteins to the two functional hypoxia-responsive elements on the native HSulf-1 promoter. HSulf-1 depletion in breast cancer cells resulted in an increased and sustained bFGF2 (basic fibroblast growth factor) signaling and promoted cell migration and invasion under hypoxic conditions. In addition, FGFR2 (fibroblast growth factor receptor 2) depletion in HSulf-1–silenced breast cancer cells attenuated hypoxia-mediated cell invasion. Immunohistochemical analysis of 53 invasive ductal carcinomas and their autologous metastatic lesions revealed an inverse correlation for the expression of HSulf-1 to CAIX in both the primary tumors (P ≥ 0.0198) and metastatic lesions (P ≥ 0.0067), respectively, by χ2 test. Finally, HSulf-1 expression levels in breast tumors by RNA in situ hybridization showed that high HSulf-1 expression is associated with increased disease-free and overall survival (P ≥ 0.03 and P ≥ 0.0001, respectively). Collectively, these results reveal an important link between loss of HSulf-1 under hypoxic microenvironment and increased growth factor signaling, cell migration, and invasion. Cancer Res; 71(6); 2152–61. ©2011 AACR.