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Gao, Jianjun

0000-0001-6138-4472

Mayo Clinic

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Citations 4

Phase II study of frontline gemcitabine, 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin, and cisplatin (GemFLP) in advanced urachal and non-urachal urinary tract adenocarcinoma.
Gao, J, Pagliaro, Lance C. , Guo, Charles, Czerniak, Bogdan, Thomas, Zachariah, Campbell, M, Siefker-Radtke, Arlene O., Crupi, Emanuele , Gao, Jianjun , Corn, Paul Gettys , Czerniak, Bogdan A. , Moussa, Mohammad Jad , Jiang, Cindy Y. , Alhalabi, Omar , Campbell, Matthew T. , Siefker-Radtke, Arlene Odelia

Journal of Clinical Oncology | May 27, 2026 | Volume: 44 | Issue: 16_suppl | Pages: 4515-4515

10.1200/jco.2026.44.16_suppl.4515 Get It

4515 Background: Adenocarcinomas of the urinary tract are rare malignancies with limited prospective data. Outcomes of triplet chemotherapy remain poorly defined. Methods: This was a prospective, single-arm, phase II study (NCT00082706) conducted at MD Anderson. Between 2005 and 2010, patients (pts) aged ≥18 years with ECOG 0–2 and metastatic or unresectable urachal (UA) or non-urachal adenocarcinoma (NUA) received frontline GemFLP (5-fluorouracil 200 mg/m² continuous infusion ×5 days with leucovorin 23 mg IV daily ×5; cisplatin 20 mg/m² IV daily ×5; gemcitabine 200 mg/m² IV on days 1 and 5). Best overall response (BOR) was assessed by imaging. Primary endpoints were objective response rate (ORR) and overall survival (OS); secondary endpoint was toxicity. PFS was calculated from treatment initiation and duration of response (DoR) from first CR/PR to progression or death; time-to-event endpoints were estimated by Kaplan–Meier (KM). Post hoc analyses evaluated baseline tumor markers (CEA, CA19-9, CA125, β-hCG) Treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were graded per CTCAE v5. Results: Forty-six pts were enrolled (28 UA, 18 NUA). Median age was 58 years; 41% were de novo metastatic, and 78% had visceral metastases. ORR was 44% (20/46). Among responders, median DoR was 8.6 months (95% CI 4.6–30.8). median PFS was 3.3 months (95% CI 2.3–8.4) and median OS (mOS) was 21.0 months (95% CI 15.9–35.3) There was no difference in PFS (p=0.39) or OS (p=0.99) between UA and NUA. Baseline CEA, CA19-9, CA125, and β-hCG were not associated with ORR or PFS. Higher baseline CA125 was associated with inferior OS (HR 1.33, 95% CI: 1.12–1.58; p =0.001) Subsequent systemic therapy was administered to 28 pts (60.9%); median number of subsequent treatment lines was 2 (range 1–5). The most common hematologic TRAEs were anemia (28.1%; grade ≥3 [G3] 12.5%), thrombocytopenia (21.9%; G3 12.5%), and neutropenia (12.5%; G3 9.4%). The most frequent non-hematologic TRAEs were dehydration (21.9%; G3: 6.2%), diarrhea (9.4%; G3 6.2%) and catheter-related thrombosis (9.4%; G3 9.4%). No grade 5 events occurred. Conclusions: In this prospective phase II study, frontline GemFLP achieved a 44% ORR with durable responses (mDoR 8.6 mo) and 21 mo mOS in advanced UA and NUA. Survival did not differ between UA and NUA subtypes. Baseline CA125 was associated with OS. Toxicity was manageable. These data provide a prospective benchmark for this rare disease. Clinical trial information: NCT00082706 . Variable UA (n=28) NUA (n=18) Characteristics Age, median [ICR] 58 [54– 62] 58 [54– 62] 67 [ 62-72] Race, n (%) White 22 (79) 11 61) Black 6 (21) 6 (33) Other 0 1 (6) Prior surgery for localized disease, n (%) 18 (64) 5 (28) Mets at baseline Any 24 (86) 7 (39) Lung 6 (21) 4 (22) Liver 3 (11) 0 Peritoneum 17 (61) 0 Bone 3 (11) 3 (17) Nodal-only mets 1 (3) 2 (10) Outcomes ORR (%) 43.5 35.7 55.6 BOR n (%) CR 4 (14) 2 (11) PR 6 (21) 8 (44) SD 11 (39) 4 (22) PD 6 (21) 3 (17) NE 1 (4) 1 (6)
CABOSUN II: Results from a phase 2, open-label, multi-center randomized study of cabozantinib (CABO) vs. sunitinib (SUN) for non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma (NCCRCC).
Johns, Andrew , Zurita, Amado J. , Pagliaro, Lance C. , Bilen, Mehmet Asım , Tamboli, Pheroze, Sircar, Kanishka , Campbell, Matthew T. , Msaouel, Pavlos , Jonasch, Eric W. , Hahn, Andrew W. , Gao, Jianjun , Shah, Amishi Yogesh , Goswami, Sangeeta , Venkatesan, Aradhana M. , Rao, Priya , Tidwell, Rebecca S. , Tannir, Nizar

Journal of Clinical Oncology | June 4, 2023 | Volume: 41 | Issue: 16_suppl | Pages: 4597-4597

10.1200/jco.2023.41.16_suppl.4597 Get It

4597 Background: NCCRCC are a diverse group of rare diseases with limited data to guide treatment. CABO is highly effective in clear cell RCC, but it is unknown whether it is superior to SUN, the historic standard of care for metastatic NCCRCC. Methods: CABOSUN II (NCT03541902) was a randomized phase II study at 3 centers for patients (pts) with metastatic NCCRCC. Sixty pts were planned to detect CABO as better than SUN with a 1-sided test. Pts were randomized 1:1 to CABO 60mg daily or SUN 50mg daily (4 weeks on, 2 weeks off). SUN dose modification to 2 weeks on, 1 week off was allowed for toxicity. Stratification was by papillary RCC (PRCC) vs. non-PRCC (NPRCC), good/intermediate vs. poor risk disease by IMDC criteria, and prior TKI use. The primary outcome was progression-free survival (PFS) by RECIST v1.1 compared between the 2 arms using the log-rank test. Secondary outcomes were objective response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS), and adverse event (AE) rates (2-sided tests). Results: 32 pts were randomized to CABO (N=15) or SUN (N=17) between 9/2018 and 6/2021. The trial stopped early due to a change in standard therapy for PRCC not based on these pts’ outcomes. Age range was 22-88 years with medians 57 and 61 for CABO and SUN. Pts were primarily white (84%) and male (72%), with good/intermediate risk (88%), and these were balanced between arms. More pts on the CABO arm had bone metastases (62% vs. 24%). NPRCC were chromophobe (N=6; 5 randomized to SUN), unclassified (N=5), and MiT family translocation (N=3; all randomized to CABO). With median follow-up of 33.3 months and 20 PFS events, median PFS for CABO vs. SUN was 8.2 vs. 13.8 months (1-sided p=0.96). There were no statistically significant differences in ORR or OS between the arms. AEs were in line with previous studies. Conclusions: CABO was not superior to SUN for metastatic NCCRCC in this study. Both arms had high rates of stable disease or better. Despite stratification by PRCC or NPRCC, there were major differences in NPRCC subtypes between the arms that may have impacted the results. More pts with chromophobe histology, an often indolent subtype, received SUN while all pts with MiT family translocation, a relatively aggressive subtype, received CABO. Permitted SUN dose modifications may have also influenced outcomes. While the PAPMET study showed CABO to be superior to SUN for PRCC, optimal treatments for rare, NPRCC remain a pressing need. Clinical trial information: NCT03541902 . [Table: see text]
Abstract 385: MTAP gene deficiency creates vulnerability to anti-folate therapy in urothelial bladder carcinoma
Wang, Wei‐Lien , Zhang, Xin-Qiao, Song, Jian H. , López, Lidia, Ramachandran, Sumankalai , Hoang, Anh , Garnett, Tyrone, Tu, Shi‐Ming, Gallick, Gary E., Efstathiou, Eleni , Benedict, William F., Chen, Jianfeng , Alhalabi, Omar , Han, Guangchun , Campbell, Matthew T. , Shah, Amishi Yogesh , Wang, Jennifer Rui , Siefker-Radtke, Arlene Odelia , Tu, Shi‐Ming , Titus, Mark Anton , Guo, Charles Chuanhai , Logothetis, Christopher J. , Ho, Thai H. , Wang, Linghua , Gao, Jianjun

Cancer Research | August 7, 2019 | Volume: 79 | Issue: 13_Supplement | Pages: 385-385

10.1158/1538-7445.am2019-385 Get It

Abstract Background: The methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) gene encodes an essential enzyme for the salvage pathway of adenosine synthesis and is frequently lost in different types of cancer including urothelial bladder carcinoma. Therefore, MTAP-deficient tumors are theoretically very sensitive to anti-folate agents such as pemetrexed that can effectively block the de novo pathway of adenosine synthesis and as a result, create a state of synthetic lethality. We thus hypothesize that tumor MTAP gene deficiency is associated with response to pemetrexed therapy in bladder cancer. Methods: In this study, we investigated MTAP gene deficiency rates in the TCGA database and confirmed MTAP protein loss by immunohistochemistry using a tumor tissue microarray containing bladder tumor tissues from 151 patients. We then performed in vitro and in vivo studies using MTAP-proficient and MTAP-deficient human bladder cancer cell lines. Functional loss of MTAP was verified with mass spectrometry, which detects its substrate methylthioadenosine (MTA) levels. We also correlated these pre-clinical studies with clinical response data on patients with metastatic bladder cancer treated with pemetrexed. Results: We identified that 27.8% bladder cancer patients have MTAP protein deficiency, which is consistent with exome sequencing data from the TCGA database. In vitro data showed MTAP-deficient human bladder cancer cell lines were significantly more sensitive to pemetrexed, with IC50 at least 40 times lower than MTAP-proficient cell lines. Subsequent knockdown of the MTAP gene in MTAP-proficient cell lines increased sensitivities to pemetrexed treatment. Consistent with the in vitro data, pemetrexed significantly inhibited the growth of MTAP-deficient or knockdown xenograft tumors but not MTAP-proficient tumors. Furthermore, 4 of 4 (100%) patients with MTAP-deficient metastatic bladder cancer responded to pemetrexed treatment, whereas only 1 of 11 (9%) patients with MTAP-proficient metastatic bladder cancer responded to pemetrexed. Conclusion: Our data demonstrate that MTAP gene loss in urothelial bladder cancer leads to a metabolic state of synthetic lethality with pemetrexed therapy. Therefore, bladder tumor MTAP loss should be further investigated as a potential biomarker for selection of patients for anti-folate therapy. Citation Format: Jianfeng Chen, Omar Alhalabi, Guangchun Han, Wei-Lien Wang, Xin-Qiao Zhang, Jian H. Song, Lidia P. Lopez, Sumankalai Ramachandran, Anh G. Hoang, Tyrone Garnett, Matthew Campbell, Amishi Y. Shah, Jennifer Wang, Arlene O. Siefker-Radtke, Shi-Ming Tu, Mark Titus, Charles C. Guo, Gary E. Gallick, Eleni Efstathiou, William F. Benedict, Christopher J. Logothetis, Thai H. Ho, Linghua Wang, Jianjun Gao. MTAP gene deficiency creates vulnerability to anti-folate therapy in urothelial bladder carcinoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 385.
Correlation of methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) loss with response to anti-folate therapy in urothelial bladder carcinoma (UBC).
Wang, Wei‐Lien , Song, Jian H. , Ramachandran, Sumankalai , López, Lidia, Hoang, Anh , Gallick, Gary E., Efstathiou, Eleni , Alhalabi, Omar , Chen, Jianfeng , Campbell, Matthew T. , Tidwell, Rebecca S. , Han, Guangchun , Siefker-Radtke, Arlene Odelia , Titus, Mark Anton , Guo, Charles Chuanhai , Msaouel, Pavlos , Logothetis, Christopher J. , Ho, Thai H. , Wang, Linghua , Gao, Jianjun

Journal of Clinical Oncology | May 27, 2019 | Volume: 37 | Issue: 15_suppl | Pages: 4521-4521

10.1200/jco.2019.37.15_suppl.4521 Get It

4521 Background: The MTAP gene encodes an essential enzyme for the salvage pathway of nucleotide synthesis and is frequently deleted in UBC. Anti-folate agents such as pemetrexed can effectively inhibit the de novo pathway of nucleotide synthesis and as a result, create a synthetic lethality in MTAP deficient UBC. We hypothesize that MTAP gene loss correlates with enhanced response to pemetrexed in UBC. Methods: We investigated MTAP gene deletion rates in the TCGA database and determined MTAP protein loss rates by immunohistochemistry (IHC) using a UBC tissue microarray (TMA) from 151 patients (pts). We then performed in vitro and in vivo studies using MTAP proficient and MTAP deficient bladder cancer cell lines. At the clinical level, we performed a retrospective analysis based on MTAP status of pts treated with pemetrexed as 2nd line at our institution between 2014 and 2018. We are now enrolling pts in a single-arm, open-label, phase II clinical trial (NCT02693717) with pemetrexed in pts with MTAP deficient UBC. Results: Per our TCGA and TMA IHC analyses, MTAP deficiency rate was 25.9% and 27.8%, respectively. MTAP deficient UBC cell lines were at least 40 times more sensitive to pemetrexed than MTAP proficient lines. Knockdown of the MTAP gene increased apoptosis rate by pemetrexed from approximately 20% to 60%. Additionally, pemetrexed significantly inhibited the growth of MTAP deficient or knockdown xenograft tumors but not MTAP proficient tumors. Retrospective analysis of 12 pts using RECIST criteria indicated that all 4 MTAP deficient UBC pts responded to pemetrexed whereas only 1 of 8 (12.5%) MTAP proficient UBC pts responded. Of the 6 pts enrolled on the clinical trial, 3 (50%) had complete or partial response, 1 had stable disease, 1 was not evaluable and 1 had disease progression. Combined analysis of the entire experience demonstrates a higher response rate in MTAP deficient UBC (70%) as compared to MTAP proficient UBC (12.5%). Conclusions: Our preclinical and clinical data demonstrate that MTAP loss in UBC leads to a state of synthetic lethality when treated with pemetrexed and should be further investigated as a novel biomarker to predict response to anti-folate agents.