Citations

BackgroundPreoperative prediction of tumor recurrence is important in the management of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).PurposeTo investigate whether tumor stiffness derived by magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) could predict early recurrence of HCC after hepatic resection.Study TypeRetrospective.PopulationIn all, 99 patients with pathologically confirmed HCCs after surgical resection.Field Strength/Sequence3.0T; preoperative MRE with 60‐Hz mechanical vibrations using an active acoustic driver.AssessmentRegions of interest (ROIs) were manually drawn in the tumors to measure mean tumor stiffness. Surgical specimens were reviewed for histological grade, capsule, vascular invasion, and surgical margins. The early recurrence of HCC was defined as that occurring within 2 years after resection.Statistical TestsCox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate risk factors associated with the time to early recurrence.ResultsHCCs with recurrence had higher tumor stiffness, higher rate of advanced T stage, vascular invasion, lower rate of capsule formation, larger tumor size, higher aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and hepatitis B virus (HBV)‐DNA level and aspartate aminotransferase / alanine aminotransferase ratio (P = 0.031, 0.007, 0.01, <0.001, 0.015, 0.034, 0.01, and 0.014, respectively) than HCCs without recurrence. Vascular invasion (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.922; 95% confidence interval [CI]: [1.079, 7.914], P = 0.035) and mean tumor stiffness (HR = 1.163; 95% CI: [1.055, 1.282], P = 0.002) were risk factors associated with early recurrence. Each 1‐kPa increase in tumor stiffness was associated with a 16.3% increase in the risk for tumor recurrence.Data ConclusionThe mean stiffness of HCCs may be a useful, noninvasive, quantitative biomarker for the prediction of early HCC recurrence after hepatic resection.Level of Evidence: 4Technical Efficacy: Stage 5J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019;49:719–730.

2534 Background: The Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) v1.1 were derived from an international collaborative effort supported by data from clinical trials (16 studies, 9147 patients) on cytotoxic chemotherapy (CT), providing a standard tool for response assessment. RECIST’s role has been questioned for TCA. Using a pooled individual patient database (IPD) from clinical trials performed by industry and cooperative groups, we assessed whether modifications to RECIST are required to evaluate antitumor activity of TCA. Methods: Data were collected from phase 2 and 3 clinical trials testing TCA in solid tumors. To study the occurrence of mixed responses, the variability of response of lesions within patients was studied. Furthermore, response was correlated with survival through landmark analyses and time dependent Cox models. Results: Clinical data were obtained from 23,259 patients, mainly with lung (36%), colorectal (28%) or breast cancer (11%). 15,620 patients (67%) received a TCA, mainly transduction or angiogenesis inhibitors, either as single agent (37%) or combined with other TCAs (7%) or CT (56%); 28% received CT only and 5% best supportive care or placebo. Within-patient variability reduced as the number of lesions used for response assessment increased, and did so similarly for TCAs (+/- CT) and CT. Mixed responses seemed to occur similarly across these treatment categories as well. Landmark analyses showed improving overall survival by % tumor shrinkage and a clear distinction between the effect of tumor shrinkage and progressive disease (PD) according to RECIST 1.1. This was confirmed by time dependent analysis. In addition target lesion growth showed no marked improvement in overall survival prediction over and above the other components of RECIST 1.1 PD (new lesions, non-target PD), regardless of treatment (TCA, CT or both) received. Similar results were seen focusing on major tumor types and classes of TCA. Conclusions: Using a large IPD dataset we demonstrated that RECIST 1.1 performs equally well for response assessment of TCA as for CT. No modifications are required.

TPS11081 Background: AAS is an aggressive soft tissue sarcoma (STS) of endothelial cell origin with an expected median overall survival of 8-12 months. Pazopanib (P) is approved for treatment of advanced STS following progression on chemotherapy. In a retrospective study of 40 AAS patients treated with single agent P the median PFS was 3.1 months and median OS 9.9 months with no complete responses. Endoglin is an essential angiogenic receptor expressed on AAS that is upregulated following VEGF inhibition, and TRC105, an endoglin antibody, given with P produced durable complete responses in AAS patients with median PFS of 5.6 months in refractory patients including those receiving prior P. The TAPPAS trial is the first randomized Phase 3 trial performed in AAS, and was initiated following protocol assistance from the EMA and Special Protocol Assessment from the FDA. Methods: TAPPAS is a randomized multicenter study of TRC105/P vs P alone in the United States and Europe that is actively enrolling cutaneous and non-cutaneous AAS patients and incorporates an adaptive enrichment design. Key inclusion criteria: 0, 1 or 2 prior lines of therapy, ECOG ≤ 1. Primary endpoint is PFS and secondary endpoints include ORR and OS. The initial sample size of 124 patients, followed until 95 PFS events, provides more than 80% power to detect a hazard ratio of 0.55. At the time of interim analysis, projected to occur upon the occurrence of 40 events in approximately 70 patients, the result will be classified as belonging to either the favorable, promising, enrichment or unfavorable zones, based on conditional power. The sample size and PFS events will be unchanged in the favorable and unfavorable zones, and will be increased to a total of 200 patients followed for 170 PFS events in the promising zone. The trial will enroll 100 additional patients, with cutaneous disease only, in the enrichment zone and will follow them until 110 events are observed in the total cutaneous population. An independent DMC will follow the trial for safety and futility. The adaptive design requires the enrollment of fewer patients, preserves type-1 error, and protects power to detect a clinically meaningful survival benefit. (NCT 02979899). Clinical trial information: NCT02979899.

11546 Background: TRC105, an endoglin-targeting monoclonal antibody with anti-angiogenic and anti-tumor activity, is being evaluated in multiple diseases. Here we report on pharmacodynamic and prognostic biomarkers in patients (pts) treated with both TRC105 and anti-VEGF agents. Methods: Plasma samples were collected from pts on three phase 2 trials combining TRC105 with an anti-VEGF agent: axitinib in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), pazopanib in advanced soft tissue sarcoma, and bevacizumab in glioblastoma (GBM). Baseline and on-treatment levels of 22 soluble protein biomarkers were assessed. Results: Soluble endoglin markedly increased after TRC105 treatment in all pts ( p< 0.001) as previously reported. BMP9 (a ligand for endoglin) and TGFβR3 (a type III TGFβ receptor) decreased in sarcoma pts at Cycle 2 Day 1 (C2D1) and generally remained below baseline throughout the course of treatment (BMP9, p= 0.004; TGFβR3, p= 0.003). Although TGFβR3 was decreased at C2D1 in mRCC (p = 0.030), no clear patterns were observed over time. Overall BMP9 levels did not change in response to therapy in either mRCC or GBM. Osteopontin (OPN) levels, a downstream effector of TGFβ signaling, were increased in sarcoma pts [ p= 0.002 at C2D15, p< 0.001 at C4D1 and end of study (EOS)]; however, in mRCC ( p= 0.010) and GBM ( p= 0.003), OPN was only elevated at EOS. Increases in PlGF and VEGFD, and decreases in VEGFR2 were observed across all studies, as previously noted for VEGF inhibitors. In the mRCC trial, 5 of 18 pts exhibited a ≥30% tumor reduction. Lower OPN ( p= 0.026) and higher TGFβR3 ( p= 0.003) levels at baseline correlated with radiographic response to treatment. In the sarcoma trial, 6 of 19 pts responded (CHOI criteria) in which lower baseline levels of ICAM1 ( p= 0.018) and TSP2 ( p= 0.042) correlated with stable disease. Conclusions: In these trials, increases of soluble endoglin in response to TRC105 were observed, independent of the presence of any specific VEGF inhibitor. Differential regulation of BMP9, TGFβR3, and OPN suggests potential disease-specific modulation of key TGFβ signaling molecules in response to dual therapy. Baseline levels of OPN and TGFβR3 showed potential prognostic value in mRCC. Confirmation in larger trials is needed.

11534 Background: To date, there are no validated blood-based biomarkers of predicting response to PD-1 blockade. We previously reported that Bim is a downstream signaling molecule of the PD-1 pathway, and that measurement of Bim levels in circulating T-cells may predict and monitor responses to anti–PD-1 therapy in melanoma. We have identified the existence of sPD-L1 in cancer patients and showed that the sPD-L1 is biologically active and capable of triggering apoptosis in activated T-cells. Here we evaluated T cell Bim and sPD-L1 in the peripheral blood (PB) as biomarkers of response in a cohort of patients with metastatic melanoma and lung cancer undergoing anti-PD1 therapy. Methods: 60 pts treated with anti-PD-1 had PB collected at baseline and at radiographic tumor evaluation. Frequencies of Bim+ T cells and Bim median fluorescence intensity (MFI) were measured by flow cytometry in gated tumor-reactive CD11ahighPD1+ CD8+ T cells. We also measured levels of sPD-L1 at baseline and serially during treatment with sPD-L1 ELISA. Baseline Bim and sPD-L1 levels and percent change in Bim levels in patients (pts) who had a radiographic response (CR/PR) were compared to those who had progressive disease (PD) at 12 wks. Results: Similarly to previously reported preliminary data, pts with objective response (CR/PR, 15/60) after 4 cycles of anti-PD1 therapy had higher frequency of Bim T cells at baseline compared to pts with PD (16/60) (mean 43% vs. 30%, P = 0.0484). The frequencies of Bim+ T cells decreased significantly after the first 3 months of treatment in responders compared with progressors (mean -16% vs. + 40% P = 0.0111). High baseline sPD-L1 were associated with progression on anti-PD1 therapy (mean 2.8 ng/mL vs. 0.7 ng/mL, p = 0.07, n = 13) and the levels increased by the first tumor assessment in patients resistant to anti-PD-1. Conclusions: Measurements of Bim and sPD-L1 levels may help to select patients who are likely to benefit from anti-PD1 monotherapy versus combinatorial strategies, and provide a new non-invasive way to monitor response to anti-PD-1 blockade. A larger validation study is underway.

10526 Background: Checkpoint inhibitors have produced impressive responses in cancer. We report results of a Phase 1 study of nivolumab (nivo) alone and in combination with ipilumumab (ipi) in children with relapsed/refractory solid tumors and activity of nivo in patients with osteosarcoma (OS) and Ewing sarcoma (EWS) treated with the RP2D. Methods: Children with relapsed/refractory solid tumors (excluding CNS tumors or metastases) were eligible for Phase I Cohorts A and C. Using a rolling 6 design, Cohort A tested nivo at the adult RP2D, 3mg/kg Q14d (cycle = 28d). Cohort C tested nivo + ipi at 2 dose levels (DLs): DL1 nivo 1mg/kg + ipi 1mg/kg and DL2 nivo 3mg/kg + ipi 1mg/kg Q21d x 4 then nivo alone Q14d. At the RP2Ds, 6 additional patients were enrolled in each cohort for pharmacokinetics (PK). Phase II expansion cohorts enrolled patients with measurable OS (Cohort B2, n = 10) or EWS (Cohort B4, n = 10) respectively to assess activity of the RP2D of single agent nivo. Results: Twelve evaluable patients enrolled in Cohort A, none had DLTs. The pediatric RP2D of nivo alone was identified as 3 mg/kg Q14d. Five evaluable patients enrolled in Cohort C:DL1 without DLT, then 12 patients enrolled in Cohort C:DL2 with one DLT within the 21d reporting period (Gr 2 creatinine increase), defining the RP2D of nivo 3mg/kg + ipi 1mg/kg at the schedule above. In 39 patients treated in cohorts A, B2, B4 and C, pleural effusions occurred in 7 with variable attributions to drug, leading to a protocol amendment mandating supportive care and corticosteroids for pleural effusions on study. Common toxicities included anemia, elevated liver enzymes, rash, fatigue, and nausea, generally Grade 1. In Cohort A, nivo Cmax, t1/2 and Clpvalues were 63.2±15.7 mg/mL, 10.7±1.8 d and 0.196±0.075 ml/h/kg, respectively. In the Phase II expansion cohorts, no objective responses were observed in OS or EWS. Conclusions: Nivo alone or with ipi at the doses tested is safe in pediatric patients with relapsed/refractory solid tumors. The pediatric RP2D of nivo is 3mg/kg alone or in combination with ipi 1mg/kg. Single agent nivo did not have antitumor activity in OS or EWS. Enrollment to other expansion cohorts with nivo or nivo/ipi is ongoing. Clinical trial information: NCT02304458.