Antonarakis, Emmanuel S.

Indications for and implications of germline genetic testing (GGT) in patients with prostate cancer have expanded over the past decade, particularly related to precision therapies and management. GGT has become the standard of care for many cancers such as breast, ovarian, colorectal, pancreatic, and metastatic prostate cancer, and it is imperative that patients be offered timely and equitable access to testing as it can inform patient-physician shared decision making for management of the current cancer as well as anticipatory guidance for disease progression. Additionally, GGT guides screening for and prevention of secondary malignancies for the patient and cascade testing for at-risk family members. Here, we present data supporting the notion that clinicians should offer all patients with prostate cancer the opportunity to undergo comprehensive GGT for pathogenic germline variants known to be associated with familial cancer and/or known to have implications for treatment and management.

AbstractCurrent US clinical practice guidelines for advanced prostate cancer management contain recommendations based on high‐level evidence from randomized controlled trials; however, these guidelines do not address the nuanced clinical questions that are unanswered by prospective trials but nonetheless encountered in day‐to‐day practice. To address these practical questions, the 2024 US Prostate Cancer Conference (USPCC 2024) was created to generate US‐focused expert clinical decision‐making guidance for circumstances in which level 1 evidence is lacking. At the second annual USPCC meeting (USPCC 2024), a multidisciplinary panel of experts convened to discuss ongoing clinical challenges related to 5 topic areas: biochemical recurrence; metastatic, castration‐sensitive prostate cancer; poly [ADP‐ribose] polymerase inhibitors; prostate‐specific membrane antigen radioligand therapy; and metastatic, castration‐resistant prostate cancer. Through a modified Delphi process, 34 consensus recommendations were developed and are intended to provide clinicians who manage prostate cancer with guidance related to the implementation of novel treatments and technologies. In this report, the authors review the areas of consensus identified by the USPCC 2024 experts and evaluate ongoing unmet needs regarding translational application of the current clinical evidence.

TPS5125 Background: B7-H3 is a member of the B7 superfamily, which includes PD-L1 (B7-H1) and PD-L2 (B7-DC). Enoblituzumab is a humanized Fc-optimized B7-H3–targeting antibody that induces antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). A recent investigator-initiated trial demonstrated that enoblituzumab therapy, used in the neoadjuvant prostate cancer setting, is feasible, safe, may enhance short-term clinical outcomes, and appears to stimulate intratumoral immune activation including CD8+ T cell infiltration and peripheral expansion of tumor-infiltrating T-cell clones that correlated with undetectable PSA at 1-year post-prostatectomy. To assess the impact of enoblituzumab on recurrence-free survival following prostatectomy, a phase 2, randomized, neoadjuvant clinical trial in high-risk localized prostate cancer patients has been started. We hypothesize that targeting B7-H3 with enoblituzumab will delay or prevent recurrence following prostatectomy compared to standard of care (SOC) . Methods: The HEAT trial is an investigator-initiated, multi-center, randomized, phase 2 study that is presently enrolling (NCT06014255). Eligible patients will undergo a pre-treatment prostate biopsy and conventional imaging (CT and bone scan) as well as PSMA-PET. Patients who have clinical stage cT1c-T3b, cN0 cM0 disease by conventional imaging (N1 by PSMA allowed with up to 3 LNs each ≤1 cm) will be eligible as long as concurrent hormonal or radiation therapy is not given. Prostate biopsy, within 3 months of enrollment, needs to show at least 3 positive cores containing at least 1 core with at least 50% disease involvement with Gleason ≥4+3=7 disease (with at least 1 additional high-risk feature such as PSA>20 ng/ml or cT3) or a Gleason sum ≥8. Patients will receive enoblituzumab at a dose of 15mg/kg IV biweekly for 6 doses (12 weeks) on the treatment arm, followed by prostatectomy, or will be scheduled for prostatectomy directly within 4-8 weeks on the SOC arm. 219 patients will be randomized (2:1) to treatment versus SOC. Pre-treatment, on-treatment, and post-treatment biomarkers of response and resistance will be collected. Patients will be followed according to standard institutional practices, but will require PSA evaluations every 3 (±1) months during year 1 and every 6 (±2) months during years 2-5. In both arms, salvage or adjuvant therapy will occur after biochemical or radiographic progression. The primary endpoint is recurrence-free survival (RFS) defined as any metastasis events, local pelvic visceral or lymph node recurrence, detectable prostate-specific antigen (PSA), or start of subsequent local or systemic therapy (including salvage or adjuvant therapy), or death for any cause, whichever occurs first. Secondary endpoints include additional clinical and immunologic correlates. Clinical trial information: NCT06014255 .

Abstract B7-H3 (CD276) is a transmembrane glycoprotein of the B7 immune checkpoint superfamily that has emerged as a promising therapeutic target. To better understand the applicability of B7-H3–directed therapies, we analyzed 156,791 samples comprising 50 cancer types to interrogate the clinical, genomic, transcriptomic, and immunologic correlates of B7-H3 mRNA expression. DNA (592-gene/whole-exome) and RNA (whole-transcriptome) sequencing was performed from samples submitted to Caris Life Sciences. B7-H3 high versus low expression was based on top and bottom quartiles for each cancer type. Patients’ overall survival was determined from insurance claims data. Pathway analysis was performed using gene set enrichment analyses. Immune cell fractions were inferred using quanTIseq. B7-H3 is expressed across several human malignancies including prostate, pancreatic, ovarian, and lung cancers. High B7-H3 expression is associated with differences in overall survival, possibly indicating a prognostic role of B7-H3 for some cancers. When examining molecular features across all cancer types, we did not identify recurrent associations between B7-H3 expression and genetic alterations in TP53, RB1, and KRAS. However, we find consistent enrichment of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, Wnt, TGFβ, and Notch signaling pathways. In addition, tumors with high B7-H3 expression are associated with greater proportions of M1 macrophages, but lower fractions of CD8+ T cells. We have begun to define the genomic, transcriptomic, clinical, and immunologic features associated with B7-H3 expression in 50 cancer types. We report novel clinical and molecular features of B7-H3–high tumors which may inform how current B7-H3 therapeutics should be deployed and prioritized. Significance: B7-H3–targeting therapeutics have shown promising results in initial clinical trials. In this pan-cancer analysis of B7-H3 mRNA expression, we found that B7-H3 exhibits robust expression in many common cancer types. These results may inform further development of B7-H3–targeting therapeutics and may guide clinical decisions for patients with limited treatment options.

216 Background: PCa harbors recurrent FOXA1 alterations, yet distinct alteration types may drive divergent consequences. Here, we established several classes of FOXA1 alterations and evaluated their clinical outcomes, molecular correlates, and immunologic landscape in a large cohort of primary and metastatic PCa samples from Caris Life Sciences. Methods: We interrogated the Caris DNA (592-gene/whole exome) and RNA (whole transcriptome) NGS databases. FOXA1 alterations were annotated based on amino acid (a.a.) location and prior functional studies (Table). Real-world overall survival (OS) was determined from insurance claims data using Kaplan-Meier estimates. Gene set enrichment analyses (GSEA) was used to estimate signaling pathway activity. Immune-cell fractions were inferred from bulk RNA-seq using quanTIseq. All comparisons are made relative to FOXA1 WT cases. Results: The overall prevalence of FOXA1 alterations was 16%, with no enrichment in metastatic PCa samples (15.5%). Class 2 mutations were enriched in histologic NEPC, were associated with a classical NEPC mRNA signature, and showed poor survival with ADT (HR 5.6, 95% CI: 2.5–12.5, p<0.001). Conversely, metastatic PCa patients with Class 1B mutations had numerically improved survival with ADT (HR 0.76, 95% CI: 0.50–1.14, p=0.18). All FOXA1 alterations (except Class 2) resulted in increased FOXA1 transcripts, with 1B and 1C having the greatest effects (q<0.0001). Class 0 and 3 alterations had 2–5 fold higher frequency of TMB-high and MSI-high status (q<0.05). Conversely, Class 1B exhibited lower TMB and markedly fewer TP53 mutations (35.7% vs 20.3%, q<0.001) and TMPRSS2-ERG fusions (34.5% vs 4.6%, q<0.001). Class 1B was depleted of AR transcriptional signatures (q=0.01) but enriched of MYC signaling in GSEA analysis (FDR<0.001), and showed reduced expression of B7-H3. On immune-cell deconvolution analysis, Class 1B showed reduced dendritic cells, but increased B cells and neutrophils (DC: 1.96% vs 0.01%, B cell: 4.27% vs 5.29%, neutrophils: 5.05% vs 8.00%, each q<0.001). Conclusions: Different FOXA1 alterations exhibit divergent molecular and clinical features, and should not be interpreted in aggregate. In particular, Class 1B mutations are associated with a unique molecular and immunological landscape with potentially better outcomes to ADT, while Class 2 mutations are associated with NEPC phenotype with inferior ADT sensitivity. [Table: see text]

SPOP mutations drive opposing molecular and immune landscapes in prostate and endometrial cancers, suggesting tailored therapies

5071 Background: Best treatment of mCSPC involves doublet therapy (ADT + novel hormonal agent) or triplet therapy (ADT + novel hormone + docetaxel); however, opportunity remains for further improvement. Studies show that homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene mutations are enriched in metastatic prostate cancer, and may portend resistance to docetaxel. CASCARA tested quadruplet therapy (ADT + cabazitaxel/carboplatin + abiraterone) in high-volume mCSPC, aiming to enhance PSA responses and decrease progression at 1 year. Methods: This phase 2 study enrolled 61 mCSPC patients with high-volume disease who received ADT plus cabazitaxel (20 mg/m2 q21d x 6) and carboplatin (AUC=4 q21d x 6) followed by abiraterone (1000 mg, plus prednisone 5 mg). Primary endpoint was freedom from PSA/radiographic progression at 1 year. Other endpoints included PSA50 response, freedom from PSA progression, and safety. Archival biopsies were retrospectively evaluated for HRR ( BRCA1/2, ATM, CHEK2, CDK12, BRIP1, RAD51B) mutations at a CLIA-certified lab. A sample size of 61 was determined using a Simon two-stage design (stage 1: 32 men, stage 2: 29 men) with a null hypothesis of a 1-year PSA/radiographic progression-free rate of 0.80 against a one-sided alternative of 0.92. Results: From 11/2019 to 06/2022, 61 men enrolled at 7 sites. Median age was 64 (range, 45–76) years; 21% were African American. Median baseline PSA was 8.9 (range, 0.1–1021) ng/mL. 44% of men had ECOG=1. 91% had Gleason sum 8–10. Prevalence of DNA alterations (50 evaluable pts) was 18% for HRR mutations, 38% for TP53 muts, 22% for ERG fusions, 10% for SPOP muts. Freedom from PSA/radiographic progression at 1 year was 77% (95% CI, 63–87%), and freedom from PSA progression at 1 year was 81% (95% CI, 67–90%). The PSA50 rate response was 97%. PSA ≤0.2 ng/mL at month-7, a surrogate for survival in other mCSPC studies, was 61%; PSA ≤4 ng/mL at month-7 was 82%. Outcomes according to mutation status are shown. AEs included 7% grade (Gr)-3/4 myelosuppression, 8% Gr-3/4 infections, 10% Gr-3 GI disorders, and 3% Gr-3 fatigue. There were 4 treatment-related discontinuations. Conclusions: Quadruplet therapy with ADT + cabazitaxel/carboplatin + abiraterone was well tolerated. At 1 year, 77% of pts were progression-free. PSA ≤0.2 ng/mL at month-7 was 61%, exceeding the historical month-7 PSA ≤0.2 ng/mL rate of 45% in CHAARTED–docetaxel arm. Further exploration of this quadruplet strategy in randomized phase III studies is warranted. Clinical trial information: NCT03934840 . [Table: see text]

Abstract Introduction: Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has clinical activity in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) but is less effective in the ER+HER2- signature, where there is a cold immune microenvironment (IM) and regulatory T cells (Tregs) may suppress effector T cells. Agents that activate the IM by turning cold tumors hot may support ICB. The biguanides hexyl-benzyl-biguanide (HBB) and its bioisostere hexyl-(cuban-1-yl-methyl)-biguanide (HCB) are candidate agents to activate the IM because they potently inhibit biosynthesis of immunosuppressive epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) and EET-driven oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), while blocking N-glycosylation of immune checkpoint (IC) proteins. We hypothesized that reversal of hypoxia by biguanides in the ovarian dependent ER+HER2- STAT1 KO SSM2ucd mouse mammary carcinoma (MC) model would suppress Tregs and promote effector T cells in the tumor IM. While the SSM2ucd model did not express immune checkpoint protein PD-L1 (B7-H1), it did express related IC proteins B7-H3 and B7-H4. We hypothesized that by inhibiting OXPHOS and reducing N-glycosylation of immune checkpoint proteins, HBB and HCB may promote efficacy of ICB. We chose the SSM2ucd model to test impact of HCB on the ER+ MC IM. Results: SSM2ucd cells exhibited longer tumor latency (60 days) than the basal 4T1 (10 days) and 67NR (20 days) mouse MC models. SSM2ucd tumor reimplantation shortened latency by more than half, to 20 days. Immunohistochemistry showed that B7-H3 and B7-H4 protein levels were 1.2 (P=0.001) and 1.3-fold (P=0.04) higher in reimplanted tumors vs. control. In SSM2ucd cells, HCB inhibited N-glycosylation of B7-H3 (P=0.01) by 35% and B7-H4 (P=0.02) by 45% and suppressed TGFβ induction of B7-H3 by 21% (P=0.02) and B7-H4 by 79% (P=0.001) at 24 hours, while 14,15-EET promoted N-glycosylation of B7-H3 (1.2-fold; P=0.03) and B7-H4 (1.3-fold; P=0.04) at 4 hours. Effects of HBB and HCB on anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 stimulated mouse splenocytes were assayed. The proliferative effects of HBB on CD4+ and CD8+ cells peaked at 12 uM (p&lt;0.001) and for HCB at 6.25 uM (p&lt;0.001). Tregs decreased with HCB at a threshold of 12 uM (p &lt;0.001) and with HBB at 25 uM (P &lt; 0.001) while 14,15-EET increased Tregs (1.2 fold; P=0.02) and suppressed the CD8+:Treg ratio (0.79; P=0.02). In the SSM2ucd mammary allograft model, although HCB 12mg/kg daily did not inhibit tumor growth, it reduced intratumoral hypoxia by 20% (P=0.01), increased CD8+ TIL by 4.4-fold (P=0.04), decreased Treg:CD4+ TIL ratio by 76% (P=0.02), and decreased Treg:CD8+ TIL ratio by 88% (P=0.01) relative to control. Conclusion: B7-H3 and B7-H4 expression inversely correlated with latency of ER+ MC and may represent targets for immune checkpoint antibodies and their drug conjugates. HCB, an inhibitor of OXPHOS and EET biosynthesis, reduced intratumoral hypoxia, increased CD8+ TIL and reduced the Treg:CD8+ ratio, potentially supporting ICB therapy of ER+ MC by turning cold tumors hot. Supported by CDMRP BCRP Grant BC180596, Award Number W81XWH-19-1-0099 Citation Format: Zhijun Guo, Jianxun Lei, Hrishi Venkatesh, David Owen, Adam Bass, Christine Cannon, Joshua McCarra, Brenda Koniar, Craig Flory, Beverly Norris, Robert J. Schumacher, Swaathi Jayaraman, John Hawse, Emmanuel S. Antonarakis, Emanuel F. Petricoin, Julia Wulfkuhle, Robert D. Cardiff, Elizabeth A. Ambrose, Gunda I. Georg, Kaylee L. Schwertfeger, Michael A. Farrar, Brad St. Croix, Matthew P. Goetz, David A. Potter. Hexyl-(cuban-1-yl-methyl)-biguanide (HCB) suppresses N-glycosylation of immune checkpoint proteins B7-H3 and B7-H4, reverses tumor hypoxia, decreases intratumoral regulatory T cells, and increases intratumoral CD8+ T cells in the ovarian dependent ER+HER2- SSM2ucd mammary cancer allograft model [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 2 (Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Research); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(8_Suppl):Abstract nr LB102.

PURPOSE Enzalutamide and abiraterone both target androgen receptor signaling but via different mechanisms. The mechanism of action of one drug may counteract the resistance pathways of the other. We sought to determine whether the addition of abiraterone acetate and prednisone (AAP) to enzalutamide prolongs overall survival (OS) in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) in the first-line setting. PATIENTS AND METHODS Men with untreated mCRPC were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive first-line enzalutamide with or without AAP. The primary end point was OS. Toxicity, prostate-specific antigen declines, pharmacokinetics, and radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) were also examined. Data were analyzed using an intent-to-treat approach. The Kaplan-Meier estimate and the stratified log-rank statistic were used to compare OS between treatments. RESULTS In total, 1,311 patients were randomly assigned: 657 to enzalutamide and 654 to enzalutamide plus AAP. OS was not statistically different between the two arms (median, 32.7 [95% CI, 30.5 to 35.4] months for enzalutamide v 34.2 [95% CI, 31.4 to 37.3] months for enzalutamide and AAP; hazard ratio [HR], 0.89; one-sided P = .03; boundary nominal significance level = .02). rPFS was longer in the combination arm (median rPFS, 21.3 [95% CI, 19.4 to 22.9] months for enzalutamide v 24.3 [95% CI, 22.3 to 26.7] months for enzalutamide and AAP; HR, 0.86; two-sided P = .02). However, pharmacokinetic clearance of abiraterone was 2.2- to 2.9-fold higher when administered with enzalutamide, compared with clearance values for abiraterone alone. CONCLUSION The addition of AAP to enzalutamide for first-line treatment of mCRPC was not associated with a statistically significant benefit in OS. Drug-drug interactions between the two agents resulting in increased abiraterone clearance may partly account for this result, although these interactions did not prevent the combination regimen from having more nonhematologic toxicity.

199 Background: Contained within the spectrum of metastatic cancer is an oligometastatic state where metastases are limited in number. Recent prospective data have shown that metastasis directed therapy (MDT) can alter the natural history of oligometastatic disease. In hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (HSPC), the positive clinical effect of MDT has been observed by the phase II STOMP and ORIOLE trials. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are a likely origin of the formation of macroscopic metastases. CTCs thus may provide an approach for identifying subgroups of patients with oligometastatic HSPC (oligoHSPC) that would benefit most from MDT. Our main goal was to evaluate the association between presence of CTCs at baseline or day 180 with clinical outcomes in the ORIOLE trial. Methods: ORIOLE was a phase II trial randomizing men with recurrent oligoHSPC with 1-3 metastases to observation (Obs) versus stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) MDT. Blood samples were prospectively collected at baseline and day 180. Progression-free survival (PFS) was a composite endpoint including any of the following: a PSA rise of at least 2 ng/dL and 25% above nadir; radiologic progression by CT, MRI or bone scan (RECIST v1.1); symptomatic progression of disease; initiation of ADT; or death. Patient blood samples were shipped for analysis on Epic Sciences liquid biopsy platform (Epic Sciences, San Diego, CA). Machine learning algorithms identified CTCs and characterized androgen receptor (AR) expression. Comparisons of patient and tumor characteristics between the groups were performed by two-sample t-tests. Survival curves were generated using the Kaplan-Meier method and p-values were calculated using log-rank test. Analysis was performed using SPSS version 28. Results: A total of 82 samples were collected: 70 from the SABR arm (35 baseline and 35 on day 180) and 12 Obs (7 baseline and 5 on day 180). CTCs were detected in 30/42 samples at baseline (71%, AR+= 7) and in 26/40 samples on day 180 (65%, AR+= 9). In the SABR group there was no difference between CTC+ versus CTC- and AR + versus AR- groups for PSA evaluated at baseline, day 90 or day 180 or Gleason score. With a median follow-up of 41.7 months, PFS was significantly lower in the patients with AR+ versus AR- CTCs at baseline in the SABR arm (p = 0.011, mean PFS: AR+ = 9.3 months, AR- = 27.1 months). The mean biochemical failure-free survival was AR+= 12.9 versus AR-= 29.2 months (p = 0.058). Conclusions: Our preliminary results demonstrate an association between AR+ CTCs at baseline and Day 180 with clinical outcomes following SABR MDT in oligoHSPC. This is the first report examining baseline and dynamic presence of CTCs in oligoHSPC treated from a prospective randomized trial of SABR. Longer follow-up, further analysis and a greater number of patients are needed for a more comprehensive conclusion.