Tan, Winston

Abstract Targeted therapy in prostate cancer is in its early stages and has a promising future since many genomic alterations in metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) do not have FDA approved agents for this indication. Three-dimensional culture has been shown to recapitulate patient response to therapy. We characterized a unique patient tumor-derived, GUR017M, 3D culture spheroid model and tested novel therapies based on its genomic profile. This tumor was obtained from a patient with mCRPC who progressed on enzalutamide, abiraterone, cabazitaxel, and had exposure to docetaxel, however discontinued due to toxicity. In order to characterize and test novel therapies for mCRPC, a 3-D spheroid drug assay was utilized and was able to recapitulate the GUR017M response to previous therapies (resistance to docetaxel and enzalutamide). Using a 3-D spheroid drug assay, single agents were investigated based on the GUR017M genomic profile which included cyclin D1, LYN, and FGF3/4/19 amplifications along with HRAS Q61R mutation, and TP53 splice site 672+2T>G. Single agents (abemaciclib, bafetinib, erdafitinib, tipifarnib, MK2206, APR-246) all caused dose dependent inhibition up to 100% inhibition. This rare prostate cancer model, GUR017M allows us to test novel single agents and combination strategies in 3-D culture. This patient tumor has also proven to be a successful PDTX model which allows for confirmatory testing in animal models in order to move forward with clinical trial proposals. Citation Format: Adam M. Kase, Winston Tan, John A. Copland. Characterization and targeted therapy using patient tumor-derived 3-D spheroids in a metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer model [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 2640.

Abstract Purpose: Men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) have limited treatment options after progressing on hormonal therapy and chemotherapy. Here, we evaluate the safety and efficacy of atezolizumab (anti–PD-L1) + radium-223 dichloride (radium-223) in men with mCRPC. Patients and Methods: This phase Ib study evaluated atezolizumab + radium-223 in men with mCRPC and bone and lymph node and/or visceral metastases that progressed after androgen pathway inhibitor treatment. Following safety assessment of concurrent dosing, 45 men were randomized 1:1:1 to concurrent or one of two staggered dosing schedules with either agent introduced one cycle before the other. This was followed by a safety–efficacy expansion cohort (randomized 1:1:1). The primary endpoints were safety and objective response rate (ORR) by RECIST 1.1. Secondary endpoints included radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS), PSA responses, and overall survival (OS). Results: As of October 4, 2019, 44 of 45 men were evaluable. All 44 had ≥1 all-cause adverse event (AE); 23 (52.3%) had a grade 3/4 AE. Fifteen (34.1%) grade 3/4 and 3 (6.8%) grade 5 AEs were related to atezolizumab; none were related to radium-223. Confirmed ORR was 6.8% [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.4–18.7], median rPFS was 3.0 months (95% CI, 2.8–4.6), median PSA progression was 3.0 months (95% CI, 2.8–3.3), and median OS was 16.3 months (95% CI, 10.9–22.3). Conclusions: This phase Ib study demonstrated that atezolizumab + radium-223, regardless of administration schedule, had greater toxicity than either drug alone, with no clear evidence of additional clinical benefit for patients with mCRPC and bone and lymph node and/or visceral metastases.

PURPOSETumor tissue from metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) harbors frequent copy number variations (CNVs) in the PTEN-PI3K-AKT pathway. However, identifying CNVs in plasma cell–free DNA (cfDNA) has proven to be challenging. With emerging data supporting Akt inhibition in PTEN-deficient mCRPC, we profiled PTEN-PI3K-AKT pathway aberrations in patients with mCRPC using a novel cfDNA assay optimized for CNV detection.METHODSA next-generation sequencing–based cfDNA assay was used to profile 231 patients with mCRPC from two independent cohorts (Australian, n = 78; United States, n = 153). PTEN-PI3K-AKT pathway genomic aberrations were correlated with clinical outcomes, including progression-free survival and overall survival (OS).RESULTSPTEN loss and PIK3CA gain were detected in 37% (85 of 231) and 17% (39 of 231) of patients, respectively. Poorer outcomes were observed in patients with PTEN-PI3K-AKT pathway aberrations, including those with dual PTEN loss and PIK3CA gain (hazard ratio 2.3, 95% CI 1.2 to 4.4). Cumulative CNV burden in the PTEN-PI3K-AKT and androgen receptor (AR) pathways was associated with significantly worse clinical outcomes (0 v 1 v ≥ 2 CNVs in Australian cohort: median OS 33.5 v 17.2 v 9.7 months, P < .001; 0 v 1 v ≥ 2 CNVs in US cohort: median OS 35.5 v 14.3 v 9.2 months, P < .001). Notably, 21% (31 of 146) of PTEN-neutral patients harbored alternative PTEN-PI3K-AKT pathway aberrations.CONCLUSIONPTEN-PI3K-AKT pathway CNVs were readily detected using our cfDNA assay, with the prevalence of PTEN loss comparable with tissue-based studies. Additional PTEN-PI3K-AKT pathway aberrations were found in one fifth of PTEN-neutral cases. Concurrent CNVs in the PTEN-PI3K-AKT and AR pathways portended poor survival, and identifying this high-risk patient subset for dual AR/Akt inhibition may optimize precision treatment with Akt inhibitors in mCRPC.

472 Background: Enfortumab Vedotin (EV), an antibody-drug conjugate that targets nectin-4, is approved for metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) progressing post-platinum and PD1/L1 inhibitor therapy. Erdafitinib is approved in patients for post-platinum mUC with activating genomic alterations in FGFR2/3, but the activity of EV in this subset is unclear. We investigated the activity of EV in patients (pts) with mUC based on FGFR2/3 genotype to inform management. Methods: In this multi-center, retrospective analysis, we assessed the objective response rate (ORR) to EV in mUC pts with and without FGFR2/3 genomic alterations detected by targeted panel next-generation sequencing. Activating gene fusions and known hotspots mutations in the two genes were considered. Descriptive analysis of ORR and patient characteristics was performed. Fisher’s exact test and binomial test with two-tailed p-value were used. Results: 40 pts were available from 4 institutions. Most pts were male (31/40, 78%) and the median age at start of EV was 74.1 (range 49 – 90) years. Ten patients (25%) had upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC), and 33 (82%) had baseline ECOG performance status of 0-1. 31 of 39 patients had received both platinum-based chemotherapy and PD1/L1 inhibitors. Seven patients had confirmed activating hotspot FGFR3 mutations (p.S249C or p.Y373C). One pt had FGFR2 high-level amplification (HA), and one had FGFR3 HA. Of 36 patients evaluable for ORR, 18 had partial response (PR), 12 had stable disease (SD) and 6 had progressive disease (PD). Patients with FGFR2/3 activating mutations exhibited an ORR that was not statistically different compared to patients without no mutations: 2/7 (29%; 90% CI: 5 – 66%) vs. 16/29 (55%; 90% CI: 38 – 71%) respectively ( p-value = 0.4). 3/7 patients with FGFR3 hotspot mutations received an FGFR2/3 inhibitor and none responded; one of them had a sequential response to EV. Conclusions: In this multi-center retrospective cohort, FGFR2/3 activating genomic alterations did not appear to compromise response to EV in mUC. Larger studies are required to confirm our findings and optimal sequencing of EV and erdafitinib in mUC pts with FGFR2/3 genomic alterations requires further assessment.

159 Background: Tumour tissue from metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) harbors frequent copy number variations (CNVs) in the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt-signaling pathway. However, identifying CNVs in plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) has proven challenging. With emerging data supporting Akt inhibition in PTEN-deficient mCRPC, cfDNA assays for robustly identifying PI3K/Akt pathway aberrations including CNVs are urgently required. Methods: In this multi-institutional prospective biomarker study, we used the Predicine cfDNA assay, optimised for CNV detection, to perform targeted sequencing in 231 mCRPC patients in two independent cohorts (Australian, n = 78; US, n = 153). Kaplan-Meier survival estimates and multivariable Cox regression analysis were used to assess associations between genomic aberrations and progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results: PTEN loss and PIK3CA gain were detected in 37% (85/231) and 17% (39/231) of patients, respectively. Poorer outcomes were observed in patients with PI3K/Akt pathway aberrations, including those with dual PTEN loss and PIK3CA gain (HR 2.3, 95% CI 1.2-4.4). Similarly, cumulative CNV burden in the PI3K/Akt and AR pathways (0 vs 1 vs ≥2 CNVs in Australian cohort: median OS 33.5 vs 17.2 vs 9.7 months, p< 0.001; 0 vs 1 vs ≥2 CNVs in US cohort: median OS 35.5 vs 14.3 vs 9.2 months, p< 0.001) was associated with significantly worse clinical outcomes. Notably, 21% (31/146) of PTEN-neutral patients harbored other alterations in the PI3K/Akt pathway. Conclusions: Our cfDNA assay readily detected PI3K/Akt pathway CNVs, with the prevalence of PTEN loss comparable to prior tissue sequencing studies. CNVs in the PI3K/Akt pathway were associated with deleterious clinical outcomes, especially when concurrent with AR gain. Additional PI3K/Akt pathway aberrations were found in approximately one-fifth of PTEN-neutral mCRPC. Collectively, our data demonstrate the potential utility of profiling cfDNA to facilitate and optimize patient selection for treatment with Akt inhibitors in mCRPC. [Table: see text]

Background: Bone metastatic prostate cancer (BMPCa), despite the initial responsiveness to androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), inevitably becomes resistant. Recent clinical trials with upfront treatment of ADT combined with chemotherapy or novel hormonal therapies (NHTs) have extended overall patient survival. These results indicate that there is significant potential for the optimization of standard-of-care therapies to delay the emergence of progressive metastatic disease. Methods: Here, we used data extracted from human bone metastatic biopsies pre- and post-abiraterone acetate/prednisone to generate a mathematical model of bone metastatic prostate cancer that can unravel the treatment impact on disease progression. Intra-tumor heterogeneity in regard to ADT and chemotherapy resistance was derived from biopsy data at a cellular level, permitting the model to track the dynamics of resistant phenotypes in response to treatment from biological first-principles without relying on data fitting. These cellular data were mathematically correlated with a clinical proxy for tumor burden, utilizing prostate-specific antigen (PSA) production as an example. Results: Using this correlation, our model recapitulated the individual patient response to applied treatments in a separate and independent cohort of patients (n = 24), and was able to estimate the initial resistance to the ADT of each patient. Combined with an intervention-decision algorithm informed by patient-specific prediction of initial resistance, we propose to optimize the sequence of treatments for each patient with the goal of delaying the evolution of resistant disease and limit cancer cell growth, offering evidence for an improvement against retrospective data. Conclusions: Our results show how minimal but widely available patient information can be used to model and track the progression of BMPCa in real time, offering a clinically relevant insight into the patient-specific evolutionary dynamics of the disease and suggesting new therapeutic options for intervention. Trial registration: NCT # 01953640. Funding: Funded by an NCI U01 (NCI) U01CA202958-01 and a Moffitt Team Science Award. CCL and DB were partly funded by an NCI PSON U01 (U01CA244101). AA was partly funded by a Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program (W81XWH-15-1-0184) fellowship. LC was partly funded by a postdoctoral fellowship (PF-13-175-01-CSM) from the American Cancer Society.

Precise management of kidney cancer requires the identification of prognostic factors. hPG80 (circulating progastrin) is a tumor promoting peptide present in the blood of patients with various cancers, including renal cell carcinoma (RCC). In this study, we evaluated the prognostic value of plasma hPG80 in 143 prospectively collected patients with metastatic RCC (mRCC). The prognostic impact of hPG80 levels on overall survival (OS) in mRCC patients after controlling for hPG80 levels in non-cancer age matched controls was determined and compared to the International Metastatic Database Consortium (IMDC) risk model (good, intermediate, poor). ROC curves were used to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of hPG80 using the area under the curve (AUC). Our results showed that plasma hPG80 was detected in 94% of mRCC patients. hPG80 levels displayed high predictive accuracy with an AUC of 0.93 and 0.84 when compared to 18–25 year old controls and 50–80 year old controls, respectively. mRCC patients with high hPG80 levels (>4.5 pM) had significantly lower OS compared to patients with low hPG80 levels (<4.5 pM) (12 versus 31.2 months, respectively; p = 0.0031). Adding hPG80 levels (score of 1 for patients having hPG80 levels > 4.5 pM) to the six variables of the IMDC risk model showed a greater and significant difference in OS between the newly defined good-, intermediate- and poor-risk groups (p = 0.0003 compared to p = 0.0076). Finally, when patients with IMDC intermediate-risk group were further divided into two groups based on hPG80 levels within these subgroups, increased OS were observed in patients with low hPG80 levels (<4.5 pM). In conclusion, our data suggest that hPG80 could be used for prognosticating survival in mRCC alone or integrated to the IMDC score (by adding a variable to the IMDC score or by substratifying the IMDC risk groups), be a prognostic biomarker in mRCC patients.

Abstract Background: Obesity is a well established risk factor not only for increased prostate cancer incidence, but for poorer survival from prostate cancer. However, there is limited knowledge on the role of the circulating lipidome in prostate cancer. In order to target lipid metabolism optimally, it is critical to understand the spectrum of changes in circulating lipid profiles and the association with clinical outcome across the natural history of prostate cancer. Aim: To assess the relationship between the plasma lipidome and clinical outcome in localized and metastatic prostate cancer. Methods: Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used to quantitate over 500 lipid species in plasma samples from 3 cohorts (1) 389 men with localized prostate cancer, (2) 44 men with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC), and (3) 137 men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Associations between circulating lipids with metastatic relapse, androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) failure or overall survival for each relevant disease stage were examined by latent class analysis and cox regression. Results: Circulating lipid profiles displaying elevated levels of ceramides were associated with metastatic relapse in localized prostate cancer (HR 5.8, 95% CI 3.0-11, P 1 × 10−6), early ADT failure in mHSPC (HR 2.4, 95% CI 1.1-5.3, P 0.03), and shorter overall survival in CRPC (HR 2.5, 95% CI 1.7-3.7, P 2 × 10−6). ADT failure in mHSPC and shorter overall survival in CRPC were also associated with elevated levels of other sphingolipids (sphingomyelins, hexosylceramides). The prognostic significance of the high risk lipid profiles in localized prostate cancer was independent of clinicopathological characteristics (lipid profile HR 4.7, 95%CI 2.4-9.3, P 7 × 10−6) when modeled with Gleason score (P&lt;0.0001) and pathological stage (P&lt;0.0001). Furthermore, the circulating lipid profiles were independent of metabolic factors (localized prostate cancer lipid profile HR 8.2, 95% CI 2.6-25, P 0.0003 when modeled with diabetes, statin, hypertension, body mass index [BMI]; CRPC lipid profile HR 2.6, 95% CI 1.7-3.8, P x10−6 when modeled with BMI). Conclusion: Elevated circulating ceramides are associated with poorer clinical outcomes across the natural history of prostate cancer (from localized to metastatic hormone-sensitive to metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer). This demonstrates that aberrant lipid metabolism in the patients occurs early in prostate cancer and could be therapeutically targeted in prospective clinical trials to improve prostate cancer outcomes. Citation Format: Lisa Glen Horvath, Hui-Ming Lin, Blossom Mak, Kate Mahon, Nicole Yeung, Maria Docanto, Peter Sutherland, andrew Shepherd, Winston Tan, Arun Azad, Manish Kohli, Peter Meikle, Lisa Butler. Lipidomic analysis of circulating lipids across the natural history of prostate cancer identifies aberrant ceramide metabolism [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 4761.

Abstract Background: Androgen receptor (AR) amplification is a common genomic event in advanced prostate cancer, in particular, the metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and is associated with poor treatment response and short overall survival (OS). Recent studies also show more frequent amplification at AR enhancer region in the mCRPC patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate clinical utility of multiplex digital PCR assay to detect amplification at AR locus in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) for prognostication of mCRPC. Methods: Plasma samples were collected from 108 patients with mCRPC before stage-specific treatment. The target regions were selected based on our previous sequencing data showing frequent amplification in mCRPC patients at AR loci, including AR enhancer, AR (AR exon 1 and exon 8) and OPHN1 (downstream of AR). Multiplex digital PCR assays to detect four targets were developed by adjusting the concentrations of primers and probes. The Kaplan-Meier (KM) estimate was used for OS analysis. Results: We first examined existing databases to determine relative stable genomic regions in prostate cancer. This analysis showed most stable regions in three gene loci including C2orf16 at 2p23.2, FAM111B at 11q12.1, and GRIA3 at Xq25, which were then used as reference controls for copy number normalization. We then designed two multiplex digital PCR assays to quantify copy number of selected targets. To separate two different targets with same fluorescence, we adjusted ratio of FAM-labeled probes with 1: 0.4 and HEX-labeled probes with 1:0.4. The ratio of FAM to HEX probes was 1:1.5 in final assays. The combination of four different targets in one reaction gave 9 possible clusters in the 2D amplitude space. We defined the amplification as the normalized ratio ≥ 1.8 between target and reference loci. By applying this cutoff in 108 mCRPC samples, we detected the amplification of AR-enhancer, AR and OPHN1 in 38, 34, and 25 samples, respectively. KM analysis showed the significant association of amplification in AR-enhancer (p=0.0053, HR=2.16[1.41-6.53]), AR (p=0.04, HR=1.74[1.04-4.03]) and OPHN1 (p=0.031, HR=1.91[1.07-5.53]) with OS. This result was consistent with whole genome sequencing data in the same group of patients. Conclusions: We established a highly sensitive multiplex digital PCR assay to detect copy number changes of AR, AR enhancer and OPHN1 in plasma cfDNA and demonstrated its potential clinical use as non-invasive testing tool for mCRPC prognosis. The easy-to-use and low-cost multiplex digital PCR assay covers multiple gene loci, which can aid in improving the sensitivity of detecting amplification at AR locus in the highly heterogeneous mCRPC patients. Citation Format: Meijun Du, Chiang-Ching Huang, Winston Tan, Manish Kohli, Liang Wang. Clinical utility of multiplex digital PCR to detect androgen receptor amplification in cell-free DNA for prognosis of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 4319.

1020 Background: Trastuzumab-containing regimes have dramatically improved outcome of patients with HER2+ breast cancer. Efforts to improve efficacy and tolerability of combination regimens with this monoclonal antibody are important for patient care. Thus, we conducted a multi-institutional phase II study of a triplet combination in patients eligible to receive either first- or second-line treatment for HER2+ metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Methods: A phase II study designed to test that the true confirmed response rate (CRR) was at most 45% versus a true CRR of at least 65% was done (March 2005-June 2008). This design required that at least 25/45 confirmed responses in evaluable patients for the treatment to be considered promising. Patients received capecitabine 825 mg/m2 po (days 1–14), vinorelbine intravenously (IV) 25 mg/m2 days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks and trastuzumab IV 8mg/kg day 1, week 1, and then 6 mg/kg q 3 weeks. Tissue and blood have been collected for future studies on biomarkers. Results: 47 women were accrued, one patient cancelled participation prior to receiving any study drug, and another had a major protocol violation. 45 patients were evaluable and 30 (67%) achieved a confirmed response, (26 patients, 58% had a confirmed partial response and 4 patients, 9% had a confrimed complete response). Median progression free survival was 11.3 months (95% CI 8.4–23.2 months), median overall survival was 27.2 months (95% CI: 26.6-NA months), and among the 30 responders, the median duration of response time was 15.5 months (95% 7.7–26.1 months). The most common grade 3 events include neutropenia 61%, fatigue 13%, skin reaction-hand-foot 11%, and leukopenia 11%. Alopecia was not noted with this regimen. Conclusions: This triplet combination is effective, safe, and is promising in patients with HER2+ MBC. A phase III study should be conducted to compare the best doublet with this triplet combination whether this would lead to better clinical outcomes. [Table: see text]