Raghunand, Natarajan

Abstract INTRODUCTION Immunotherapy with engineered CAR T cells is a promising new therapy for glioblastoma, for which predictive and prognostic biomarkers are needed to inform effective intervention. Recently, our group analyzed standard-of-care (SOC) MRI images of long-term and short-term glioblastoma survivors and identified six intratumoral “habitats” of which “Habitat 6” was correlated with survival at diagnosis in high-grade glioma. Based on the MRI characteristics of “Habitat 6”, viz. high enhancement and high edema, we hypothesized that it could be a marker of tumor immune infiltrates. We are studying longitudinal changes in tumor “habitat” composition on MRIs of subjects with recurrent high-grade glioma treated with CAR T cells engineered to target IL13Ra2. METHODS MRI scans of the brain were acquired in 6 subjects at 3.0 T at baseline and various times before and after initiation of CAR T cell therapy. FLAIR, T1W and T1W-CE MRI images were registered to T2W images and six intratumoral “habitats” were computed as per our recently published methodology. The six habitats generated at the end of the tumor segmentation process were: “Habitat 1” (low FLAIR, low enhancement), “Habitat 2” (high FLAIR, low enhancement), “Habitat 3” (low FLAIR, medium enhancement), “Habitat 4” (high FLAIR, medium enhancement), “Habitat 5” (low FLAIR, high enhancement), and “Habitat 6” (high FLAIR, high enhancement). RESULTS Analysis of temporal changes in the six “habitats” shows an initial increase in both “Habitat 4” and “Habitat 6” following CAR T cell therapy initiation. Subjects with higher absolute volumes of “Habitat 6” at the baseline (pre-treatment) showed longer overall survival. Overall survival is a function of absolute “Habitat 6” volume at baseline, its direction of change immediately post-therapy, the duration of any increase in “Habitat 6” post-treatment, and the “Habitat 6” to “Habitat 4” ratio. Additional subjects are being evaluated to further understand these preliminary observations.

Although glioblastoma (GBM) is a fatal primary brain cancer with short median survival of 15 months, a small number of patients survive >5 years after diagnosis; they are known as extreme survivors (ES). Because of their rarity, very little is known about what differentiates these outliers from other patients with GBM. For the purpose of identifying unknown drivers of extreme survivorship in GBM, the ENDURES consortium (ENvironmental Dynamics Underlying Responsive Extreme Survivors of GBM) was developed. This consortium is a multicenter collaborative network of investigators focused on the integration of multiple types of clinical data and the creation of patient-specific models of tumor growth informed by radiographic and histologic parameters. Leveraging our combined resources, the goals of the ENDURES consortium are 2-fold: (1) to build a curated, searchable, multilayered repository housing clinical and outcome data on a large cohort of ES patients with GBM; and (2) to leverage the ENDURES repository for new insights into tumor behavior and novel targets for prolonging survival for all patients with GBM. In this article, the authors review the available literature and discuss what is already known about ES. The authors then describe the creation of their consortium and some preliminary results.

Abstract Background: Nal-IRI (MM-398, nanoliposomal irinotecan) is designed for extended circulation relative to free irinotecan and to exploit leaky tumor vasculature for enhanced drug delivery to tumors. Tumor deposition of nal-IRI and subsequent conversion to SN-38 in both neoplastic cells and tumor associated macrophages (TAM) may positively correlate with response to therapy. In phase I studies of nal-IRI, activity has been shown in metastatic breast cancer (MBC), pancreatic and colorectal cancer. Ferumoxytol (FMX) is an iron-oxide superparamagnetic nanoparticle that has been used off-label for its MRI contrast properties. FMX has long-circulating pharmacokinetics and is taken up by TAMs with similar distribution patterns to nal-IRI in preclinical models. A single site pilot study established the feasibility of performing quantitative FMX MRI. Thirteen patients with advanced cancer (3 with ER/PR+ MBC) were imaged with FMX MRI and treated with nal-IRI. Median tumor lesion FMX uptake in the pilot study was 32.6 and 34.5 μg/mL at 1 h and 24 h, respectively. Lesions with FMX uptake above the median were associated with greater reductions in tumor size following treatment with nal-IRI as determined by CT lesion measurements. The relationship between FMX levels in tumor lesions and nal-IRI activity may serve as a potential biomarker for nal-IRI deposition and response in solid tumors. This study has been expanded to include additional MBC patients to further evaluate the technical feasibility of FMX MRI at multiple study sites, and to evaluate activity of nal-IRI in patients with MBC. Trial Design: Three cohorts of 10 patients with MBC in the following categories will be enrolled: ER and/or PR positive/HER2-negative, triple negative (TNBC) and MBC with brain metastases. An imaging phase will be followed by a treatment phase. The imaging phase consists of a baseline MRI scan, FMX infusion, and follow-up MRI scans at 1-4 and 24 h after infusion. The treatment phase begins 1-6 days after imaging and consists of nal-IRI 80 mg/m2 q2w. A pretreatment biopsy is required for correlative studies. Study Objectives: The primary objective of this multisite expansion is to investigate the feasibility of FMX quantitation in tumor lesions at multiple lesion sites in breast cancer. The secondary objective is to characterize the efficacy of nal-IRI in patients with metastatic breast cancer. Eligibility Criteria: The key inclusion criteria include patients with MBC, ECOG 0 or 1 with adequate bone marrow reserve and no prior topoisomerase 1 inhibitor or anti-VEGF treatment. ER and/or PR positive/HER2-negative and TNBC patients must have had 1-3 prior lines of chemotherapy in the metastatic setting and have at least 2 measurable lesions. Patients with brain metastasis must be neurologically stable and have new or progressive brain metastases after prior radiation therapy with at least one lesion measuring ≥ 1 cm in longest diameter on gadolinium-enhanced MRI. Status: This trial is currently recruiting patients. Citation Format: Sachdev JC, Ramanathan RK, Raghunand N, Anders C, Munster P, Minton S, Northfelt D, Blanchette S, Campbell K, Lee H, Klinz SG, Hendriks BS, Moyo V, Fitzgerald JB, Korn RL. A phase 1 study in patients with metastatic breast cancer to evaluate the feasibility of magnetic resonance imaging with ferrumoxytol as a potential biomarker for response to treatment with nanoliposomal irinotecan (nal-IRI, MM-398). [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2015 Dec 8-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(4 Suppl):Abstract nr OT3-02-14.