Daldrup-Link, Heike

Abstract Purpose: Mouse models demonstrate a role for RANK and its ligand, RANKL, in osteosarcoma. The primary objective of this single-arm, open-label phase 2 trial was to determine whether denosumab, a RANKL mAb, improved disease control in recurrent osteosarcoma relative to benchmarks derived from historic Children’s Oncology Group clinical trial data. Patients and Methods: Skeletally mature patients ages 11 to 49 years old with measurable disease were eligible for cohort 1, and those with complete surgical resection of all sites of disease were eligible for cohort 2. Patients received denosumab 120 mg subcutaneously every 4 weeks with calcium and vitamin D supplementation. The primary endpoints were RECIST response and remaining event-free for 4 months for cohort 1 and remaining event-free for 12 months for cohort 2. Toxicity, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamic effects were additional endpoints. Results: Fifteen patients in cohort 1 and 38 in cohort 2 were eligible and evaluable for the primary endpoint. One of 15 cohort 1 patients remained event-free at 4 months. There were no objective responses. Ten of 38 cohort 2 patients were event-free at 12 months. The predefined efficacy criteria were not met in either cohort. The most common ≥ grade 3 adverse events were hypocalcemia and hypophosphatemia (8% and 11%, respectively). At steady state, mean serum denosumab trough concentrations were 23.7 to 31 μg/mL in cycles 2 to 7. Serum c-telopeptide and urine n-telopeptide decreased on treatment. Conclusions: Denosumab was well-tolerated with anticipated side effects and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters but had insufficient activity for further development in osteosarcoma.

Abstract Epilepsy neuroimaging assessment requires exceptional anatomic detail, physiologic and metabolic information. Magnetic resonance (MR) protocols are often time-consuming necessitating sedation and positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) comes with a significant radiation dose. Hybrid PET/MRI protocols allow for exquisite assessment of brain anatomy and structural abnormalities, in addition to metabolic information in a single, convenient imaging session, which limits radiation dose, sedation time, and sedation events. Brain PET/MRI has proven especially useful for accurate localization of epileptogenic zones in pediatric seizure cases, providing critical additional information and guiding surgical decision making in medically refractory cases. Accurate localization of seizure focus is necessary to limit the extent of the surgical resection, preserve healthy brain tissue, and achieve seizure control. This review provides a systematic overview with illustrative examples demonstrating the applications and diagnostic utility of PET/MRI in pediatric epilepsy.

PURPOSE Monoclonal antibodies directed against insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) have shown activity in patients with relapsed Ewing sarcoma. The primary objective of Children's Oncology Group trial AEWS1221 was to determine if the addition of the IGF-1R monoclonal antibody ganitumab to interval-compressed chemotherapy improves event-free survival (EFS) in patients with newly diagnosed metastatic Ewing sarcoma. METHODS Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 at enrollment to standard arm (interval-compressed vincristine/doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide alternating once every 2 weeks with ifosfamide/etoposide = VDC/IE) or to experimental arm (VDC/IE with ganitumab at cycle starts and as monotherapy once every 3 weeks for 6 months after conventional therapy). A planned sample size of 300 patients was projected to provide 81% power to detect an EFS hazard ratio of 0.67 or smaller for the experimental arm compared with the standard arm with a one-sided α of .025. RESULTS Two hundred ninety-eight eligible patients enrolled (148 in standard arm; 150 in experimental arm). The 3-year EFS estimates were 37.4% (95% CI, 29.3 to 45.5) for the standard arm and 39.1% (95% CI, 31.3 to 46.7) for the experimental arm (stratified EFS-event hazard ratio for experimental arm 1.00; 95% CI, 0.76 to 1.33; 1-sided, P = .50). The 3-year overall survival estimates were 59.5% (95% CI, 50.8 to 67.3) for the standard arm and 56.7% (95% CI, 48.3 to 64.2) for the experimental arm. More cases of pneumonitis after radiation involving thoracic fields and nominally higher rates of febrile neutropenia and ALT elevation were reported on the experimental arm. CONCLUSION Ganitumab added to interval-compressed chemotherapy did not significantly reduce the risk of EFS event in patients with newly diagnosed metastatic Ewing sarcoma, with outcomes similar to prior trials without IGF-1R inhibition or interval compression. The addition of ganitumab may be associated with increased toxicity.