Background There is no effective systemic therapy for metastatic adrenal cortical carcinoma (ACC) after failure of platinum-based chemotherapy. The efficacies of single-agent oral multikinase inhibitors (MKIs) or salvage immune checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) have been very limited. It is unknown whether combining CPIs, such as pembrolizumab (PEM), with other therapies, such as MKIs, could yield higher response rates in ACC, yet this combination has shown promise in other cancers. Herein, we describe the first case series using PEM in combination with the MKI lenvatinib (LEN) in patients with progressive, metastatic ACC. Methods A retrospective case series describing the use of LEN/PEM as salvage therapy in patients with progressive/metastatic ACC. Results Eight patients were treated with the LEN/PEM combination therapy. Half were female, and the median age at time of diagnosis was 38 years (range 21–49). Three (37.5%) patients had hormonally active ACC. The median number of prior lines of systemic therapy was 4 (range 2–9). Six (75%) patients had had disease progression on prior CPIs and five (62.5%) patients had progressed on prior MKI therapy. The median progression-free survival was 5.5 months (95% CI 1.8–not reached) and median duration of therapy was 8.5 months (range 2–22). Two (25%) patients had a partial response, one (12.5%) patient had stable disease, and five (62.5%) patients had progressive disease. None of the eight patients stopped therapy because of adverse events. Conclusions In our small cohort of heavily pretreated patients with ACC, the combination of LEN/PEM was associated with objective responses in a subset of patients without significant toxicity. This combination should be formally investigated in phase II clinical trial with robust correlative studies to identify predictors for response.
Assessment of absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) as a predictor of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall response rate (ORR) in metastatic melanoma (MM) patients (pts) treated with high-dose interleukin-2 (HD IL-2).
9096 Background: HD IL-2 is an approved immunotherapy that can achieve durable cures in MM pts. Due to toxicity and low ORR, identification of predictors of clinical benefit would enhance pt selection and outcomes with HD IL-2. Recent research identified a positive correlation for ALC ≥ 1000 (either at baseline or at dose 3) with OS among MM pts treated with the immunotherapy agent ipilimumab. We tested the hypothesis that ALC (≥ 1000) or other hematological parameters correlates with clinical benefit from HD IL2. Methods: Results of hematologic testing in patients (n=98) treated with HD IL2 at MD Anderson Cancer Center were collected, including absolute levels of neutrophils (ANC), lymphocytes (ALC), monocytes (AMC), eosinophils (AEC), and platelets (APC) at baseline, after cycle 1 (C1), and after cycle 2 (C2) of HD IL-2; changes in each parameter for each interval were also calculated. Hematologic values were assessed as categorical (for ALC, ≥ 1000 Yes/No; other parameters, above upper limit of normal [ULN] Yes/No) and continuous variables. Associations between these parameters and PFS and ORR were analyzed. Results: ALC was≥ 1000 in 75 pts (76%) at baseline, in 81 (83%) after C1, and in 80 of 86 pts (93%) after completion of C2 of HD IL-2. PFS was not significantly associated with ALC ≥ 1000 at baseline (HR 0.69, p=0.13), after C1 (HR 1.32, p=0.33), or after C2 (HR 1.01, p=0.98). ALC ≥ 1000 at each timepoint was not significantly associated with ORR or OS. There was no significant difference in the change in ALC with HD IL2 treatment among responders versus non-responders. Among baseline hematological factors, APC > ULN was significantly associated with PFS (p=0.001), but it was rare (2/98 patients). Exploratory analyses identified significantly shorter PFS for patients with baseline APC > 300 (11%, HR 2.75, p=0.002). Analysis of hematologic factors as continuous values identified significant associations with PFS for AMC (HR 2.42, p=0.03) and AEC (HR 1.73, p=0.009) after C2. Conclusions: ALC ≥ 1000 did not correlate with PFS, ORR, or OS with HD IL-2 therapy in this cohort of metastatic melanoma pts.