Citations

Purpose We evaluated atypical response patterns and the relationship between overall survival and best overall response measured per immune-related response criteria (irRC) and Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, version 1.1 (RECIST v1.1) in patients with advanced melanoma treated with pembrolizumab in the phase Ib KEYNOTE-001 study (clinical trial information: NCT01295827). Patients and Methods Patients received pembrolizumab 2 or 10 mg/kg every 2 weeks or every 3 weeks. Atypical responses were identified by using centrally assessed irRC data in patients with ≥ 28 weeks of imaging. Pseudoprogression was defined as ≥ 25% increase in tumor burden at week 12 (early) or any assessment after week 12 (delayed) that was not confirmed as progressive disease at next assessment. Response was assessed centrally per irRC and RECIST v1.1. Results Of the 655 patients with melanoma enrolled, 327 had ≥ 28 weeks of imaging follow-up. Twenty-four (7%) of these 327 patients had atypical responses (15 [5%] with early pseudoprogression and nine [3%] with delayed pseudoprogression). Of the 592 patients who survived ≥ 12 weeks, 84 (14%) experienced progressive disease per RECIST v1.1 but nonprogressive disease per irRC. Two-year overall survival rates were 77.6% in patients with nonprogressive disease per both criteria (n = 331), 37.5% in patients with progressive disease per RECIST v1.1 but nonprogressive disease per irRC (n = 84), and 17.3% in patients with progressive disease per both criteria (n = 177). Conclusion Atypical responses were observed in patients with melanoma treated with pembrolizumab. Based on survival analysis, conventional RECIST might underestimate the benefit of pembrolizumab in approximately 15% of patients; modified criteria that permit treatment beyond initial progression per RECIST v1.1 might prevent premature cessation of treatment.

AbstractIntroductionAlzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) is now in its 10th year. The primary objective of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) core of ADNI has been to improve methods for clinical trials in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related disorders.MethodsWe review the contributions of the MRI core from present and past cycles of ADNI (ADNI‐1, ‐Grand Opportunity and ‐2). We also review plans for the future‐ADNI‐3.ResultsContributions of the MRI core include creating standardized acquisition protocols and quality control methods; examining the effect of technical features of image acquisition and analysis on outcome metrics; deriving sample size estimates for future trials based on those outcomes; and piloting the potential utility of MR perfusion, diffusion, and functional connectivity measures in multicenter clinical trials.DiscussionOver the past decade the MRI core of ADNI has fulfilled its mandate of improving methods for clinical trials in AD and will continue to do so in the future.

Abstract Background: Extranodal follicular dendritic cell sarcoma (FDCS) is an exceedingly rare tumor type that is limited to few cases in the literature. Given the rarity of this tumor, there is a lack of genetic understanding of this disease resulting in a non-individualized plan of care for patients with this disease. Herein, we are the first to describe extensively molecularly the DNA and RNA of this tumor. Methods: Under an IRB approved protocol, the patient's tumor and whole blood was freshly frozen for molecular analysis. We performed Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) genomic profiling including exome capture, mate pair and mRNA sequencing on this tumor. Exome and mRNA data were processed through Mayo's Bioinformatics Core standard pipelines, GENOME GPS 1.2.1 and MAPRSeq v1.2.1. Mutations and indels were prioritized depending on whether or not they belonged to known cancer associated genes. Copy number variations (CNVs) in Exome and Mate Pair data was found through PatternCNV v 1.0.1 and fusion transcripts were found using SNOWSHOES-FTD and Tophat-Fusion 2.0.6. Results: At the genomic level large scale genomic rearrangements were detected, including chr19 and chr20 trisomy, chr15q and chr17q segmental duplications result in two intra-chromosomal fusion genes, and translocations leading to four inter-chromosomal fusion genes between chr15 and chr17. Of particular interest is a stop codon gain in the CLTC1 (chr22) gene, which is involved in the mitotic spindle organization which has been associated with meningiomas and breast tumorigenesis. The new stop codon is before the site required for the recruitment of the proteins to the spindle. The large scale genomic rearrangement described above is consistent with this defective spindle assembly hypothesis. Another intriguing mutation detected in the VEGFR1 (chr13) gene leads to a 45% mis-spliced transcript. VEGFR1 is thought to modulate VEGFR2 which plays an essential role in angiogenesis, by acting as a decoy receptor. Therefore the loss of function of VEGFR1 might lead to hyper-activity of VEGFR2 pathway and a potential therapeutic strategy is to directly inhibit the VEGFR2 pathway. Furthermore missense mutations in the ATM (chr11) and TP53 (chr17) genes were found. PARP inhibitors have been used with success for cancer with defects in the ATM gene. Finally a novel fusion transcript of HDGRFP3 (chr15) and SHC4 (chr15) was identified. Such fusion results in an overexpressed SHC4 gene which has been associated with metastatic melanomas. Conclusions: In summary, genomic profiling of a rare thyroid FDCS identified drug targetable genes as well as changes related to tumor etiology. Future work is necessary to determine the functional significance of these molecular findings and whether they will predict benefit to targeted therapies. Citation Format: Jaime I. Davila, Jason Starr, Steven Attia, Chen Wang, Xue Wang, Brian Necela, Casler John, David Menke, Vivek Sarangi, Gavin Oliver, Richard Joseph, John Copland, Alexander Parker, E. Aubrey Thompson, Robert Smallridge, Yan W. Asmann. Extensive genomic profiling of a rare extranodal-follicular dendritic cell sarcoma: Implications for future individualized therapy. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 1894. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1894

Significance The skin and intestinal barrier are controlled by signaling scissors, termed ADAM17 (a disintegrin and metalloprotease 17), that reside in the membrane on the surface of cells. The main purpose of these signaling scissors is to liberate growth factors from their membrane anchor, allowing them to activate their receptors, including the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The ADAM17/EGFR signaling axis is tightly regulated, yet little is known about the underlying mechanism. Here we use genetic, cell biological, and biochemical approaches to identify two membrane proteins termed iRhoms 1 and 2 (inactive Rhomboid-like proteins) as crucial upstream regulators of ADAM17-dependent EGFR signaling. This uncovers the iRhoms as attractive novel targets to treat ADAM17/EGFR-dependent diseases such as cancer.