Drakaki, Alexandra

The NCCN Guidelines for Testicular Cancer provide recommendations for the multidisciplinary approach to the diagnostic workup, treatment, and follow-up for testicular germ cell tumors, including both seminoma and nonseminoma. These NCCN Guidelines Insights discuss the current treatment recommendations and supporting clinical data for seminomas as presented in Version 2.2025 of the NCCN Guidelines for Testicular Cancer.

Abstract Background Treatment options for penile squamous cell carcinoma are limited. We sought to investigate clinical outcomes and safety profiles of patients with penile squamous cell carcinoma receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors. Methods This retrospective study included patients with locally advanced or metastatic penile squamous cell carcinoma receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors between 2015 and 2022 across 24 centers in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Overall survival and progression-free survival were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Objective response rates were determined per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours 1.1 criteria. Treatment-related adverse events were graded per the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 5.0. Two-sided statistical tests were used for comparisons. Results Among 92 patients, 8 (8.7%) were Asian, 6 (6.5%) were Black, and 24 (29%) were Hispanic and/or Latinx. Median (interquartile range) age was 62 (53-70) years. In all, 83 (90%) had metastatic penile squamous cell carcinoma, and 74 (80%) had received at least second-line treatment. Most patients received pembrolizumab monotherapy (n = 26 [28%]), combination nivolumab-ipilimumab with or without multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors (n = 23 [25%]), or nivolumab (n = 16 [17%]) or cemiplimab (n = 15 [16%]) monotherapies. Median overall and progression-free survival were 9.8 months (95% confidence interval = 7.7 to 12.8 months) and 3.2 months (95% confidence interval = 2.5 to 4.2 months), respectively. The objective response rate was 13% (n = 11/85) in the overall cohort and 35% (n = 7/20) in patients with lymph node–only metastases. Visceral metastases, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 1 or higher, and a higher neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio were associated with worse overall survival. Treatment-related adverse events occurred in 27 (29%) patients, and 9.8% (n = 9) of the events were grade 3 or higher. Conclusions Immune checkpoint inhibitors are active in a subset of patients with penile squamous cell carcinoma. Future translational studies are warranted to identify patients more likely to derive clinical benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitors.

PURPOSE Compared with people living without HIV (PWOH), people living with HIV (PWH) and cancer have traditionally been excluded from immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) trials. Furthermore, there is a paucity of real-world data on the use of ICIs in PWH and cancer. METHODS This retrospective study included PWH treated with anti–PD-1- or anti–PD-L1-based therapies for advanced cancers. Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Objective response rates (ORRs) were measured per RECIST 1.1 or other tumor-specific criteria, whenever feasible. Restricted mean survival time (RMST) was used to compare OS and PFS between matched PWH and PWOH with metastatic NSCLC (mNSCLC). RESULTS Among 390 PWH, median age was 58 years, 85% (n = 331) were males, 36% (n = 138) were Black; 70% (n = 274) received anti–PD-1/anti–PD-L1 monotherapy. Most common cancers were NSCLC (28%, n = 111), hepatocellular carcinoma ([HCC]; 11%, n = 44), and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC; 10%, n = 39). Seventy percent (152/216) had CD4+ T cell counts ≥200 cells/µL, and 94% (179/190) had HIV viral load <400 copies/mL. Twenty percent (79/390) had any grade immune-related adverse events (irAEs) and 7.7% (30/390) had grade ≥3 irAEs. ORRs were 69% (nonmelanoma skin cancer), 31% (NSCLC), 16% (HCC), and 11% (HNSCC). In the matched mNSCLC cohort (61 PWH v 110 PWOH), 20% (12/61) PWH and 22% (24/110) PWOH had irAEs. Adjusted 42-month RMST difference was –0.06 months (95% CI, –5.49 to 5.37; P = .98) for PFS and 2.23 months (95% CI, –4.02 to 8.48; P = .48) for OS. CONCLUSION Among PWH, ICIs demonstrated differential activity across cancer types with no excess toxicity. Safety and activity of ICIs were similar between matched cohorts of PWH and PWOH with mNSCLC.

Abstract Background: This is an update of the safety and efficacy of durvalumab monotherapy in pts with locally advanced/metastatic urothelial carcinoma (UC) from an ongoing, phase 1/2 open-label study (NCT01693562). Methods: Pts received 10 mg/kg every 2 weeks up to 12 months or until unacceptable toxicity, progression, or starting another anticancer therapy. Pts were stratified by tumor PD-L1 expression (Ventana PD-L1 [SP263] Assay [PD-L1 cutoff: ≥25% of tumor cells and/or immune cells with membrane staining]) and treatment line. Results: As of the data cutoff (16Oct2017), 201 UC pts with Stage IV disease received treatment, with a median follow-up of 16.9 months (range, 0.4-37.7). Across treatment lines, objective response rate (ORR) by blinded independent central review was 17.4% (95% CI, 12.4, 23.4) in all pts; 27.5% in the PD-L1 ≥25% group vs 5.8% in the PD-L1 &lt;25% group. The responses have been durable regardless of PD-L1 status, with the median duration of response not yet reached in the PD-L1 ≥25% group and 12.2 months in the PD-L1 &lt;25% group. Responses lasted ≥12 mo in 62.9% of responders (max 25.7+ mo). Overall, median OS was 10.5 months (95% CI, 6.9, 15.7); 19.8 months in the PD-L1 ≥25% group vs 4.8 months in the PD-L1 &lt;25% group (Table). Pts previously treated with platinum based chemotherapy also reported similar durable responses. At least one treatment-related AE was reported in 120 pts (59.7%), including fatigue (39 [19.4%]), decreased appetite and rash (18 [9.0%] each), and diarrhea (16 [8.0%]). Grade 3/4 treatment-related AEs occurred in 19 (9.5%) pts; 6 (3.0%) treatment discontinuations and 2 (1.0%) deaths were attributed to treatment-related AEs. Conclusions: With extended follow-up, durvalumab continues to show durable clinical activity in UC pts, especially in the PD-L1 ≥25% group with an acceptable toxicity profile. PD-L1 ≥25%PD-L1 &lt;25%PD-L1 unknownTotalAll UCn=102n=86n=13N=201Confirmed ORR, %27.55.815.417.4(95% CI)(19.1, 37.2)(1.9, 13.0)(1.9, 45.4)(12.4, 23.4)CR, %7.83.57.76.0PR, %19.62.37.711.4Median DoR, monthsNR12.2NRNR(min, max)(2.7, 25.7+)(8.6, 21.7+)(14.5+, 14.6+)(2.7, 25.7+)Median PFS, months (95% CI)1.9 (1.4, 2.7)1.4 (1.3, 1.5)2.8 (1.4, NE)1.5 (1.4, 1.8)6-month PFS rate, %28.68.625.220.412-month PFS rate, %22.37.125.216.2Median OS, months (95% CI)19.8 (9.3, NE)19.8 (9.3, NE)4.8 (3.3, 8.1)NR (4.9, NE)10.5 (6.9, 15.7)6-month OS rate, %67.645.869.258.912-month OS rate, %57.629.561.546.6 Citation Format: Peter O'Donnell, Christophe Massard, Bhumsuk Keam, Sang-We Kim, Terry Friedlander, Myung-Ju Ahn, Michael Ong, Michael Gordon, Marcus Butler, Scott Antonia, Gerardo Colon-Otero, Martin Gutierrez, Sumati Gupta, Alexander Spira, Alexandra Drakaki, Michele Maio, Feng Xiao, Natasha Angra, Shaad Abdullah, Thomas Powles. Updated efficacy and safety profile of durvalumab monotherapy in urothelial carcinoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr CT031.