Kaufmann, Timothy J.

2023 Background: TRC105 is a humanized antibody targeting CD105 (endoglin), a member of the TGFβ receptor superfamily. CD105 is expressed in glioma stem cells and circulating endothelial cells (CECs) in GBM patients (pts), increasing following VEGF inhibition. N1174 was conducted in recurrent bevacizumab (bev) naïve GBM pts to investigate the hypothesis that CD105 blockade+bev can delay development of bev resistance. Methods: After a ph I cohort (15 pts) established the ph II dose of TRC105 as 10 mg/kg IV over 4 hours every 7 days in combination with standard dose bev, the ph II trial used 1:1 randomization with 90% power and 0.10 type I error to detect a 3 month (mo) difference in progression-free survival (PFS) between the two arms. CECs including CD105 positive subsets were measured by flow cytometry at baseline and multiple time points. Results: Based on 101 evaluable ph II pts, there was no significant difference in PFS between TRC105+bev and bev only (2.9 vs 3.2 mo, respectively; HR=1.14, 95% CI 0.73-1.77, p=0.57), or overall survival (10.0 vs 7.4 mo; HR 1.02 95% CI 0.63-1.65, p=0.93). Response rate (complete or partial) was 12.2% (6/49) for TRC105+bev and 11.6% (5/43) for bev only. Overall incidence of grade (gr) 3+ toxicity was higher for TRC105+bev (67.3% vs 32.7%, p<0.001) mainly due to 14 pts with gr 3 anemia in the TRC105+bev arm vs 0 in the bev only pts. Gr 3+ non-heme toxicities were higher in pts receiving TRC105+bev vs bev only (50% vs 30.6%, p=0.07), mainly due to headache (6 vs 1 pts) and hyperglycemia (3 vs 0 pts). CECs remained stable in combination treated pts, suggesting a possible impact of the anti-CD105 blockade, but increased at progression in the bev only arm. There was no association between PFS and initial changes in CEC values, independent of treatment received. Conclusions: TRC105 plus bev did not prolong median PFS vs single agent bev in recurrent GBM pts, although it was associated with a non-significant prolongation of OS. These data and associated correlative analysis of CECs from study pts point against endoglin being a clinically significant factor for the development of bev resistance. Support: U10CA180821, U10CA180882. Clinical trial information: NCT01648348.

Introduction: Elsberg syndrome (ES) is a rarely recognized cause of cauda equina syndrome and lower thoracic myelitis, mainly linked to reactivation, or occasionally primary, infection with herpes simplex virus type 2. West Nile virus neuroinvasive disease is rarely considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with ES. Case Report: A 63-year-old man with pancreatic cancer in remission and polymyalgia rheumatica on low-dose prednisone presented with a 10-day history of low-back pain and a viral-type illness with low-grade fever, nausea, and vomiting. Days later, he developed left leg monoparesis, neurogenic bladder, and bowel. Magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar spine revealed a hyperintense signal abnormality within the central spinal cord and conus medullaris with mild swelling of the conus. Cells, proteins, and glucose in cerebrospinal fluid were 67/mm 3 , 70 mg/dL, and 58 mg/dL, respectively. Serology was positive for West Nile virus IgM. Nerve conduction studies and electromyography showed an acute motor neurogenic process affecting left lumbosacral segments. Conclusions: West Nile virus neuroinvasive disease is an uncommon condition that should be considered in patients with ES. Determining the etiology of ES in the acute setting may avoid unnecessary diagnostic investigations and treatments.

When medically intractable epilepsy is multifocal or focal but poorly localized, neuromodulation can be useful therapy. One such technique is deep brain stimulation (DBS) targeting the anterior nucleus of the thalamus (ANT). Unfortunately, the ANT is difficult to visualize in standard MRI sequences and its indirect targeting is difficult because of thalamic variability and atrophy in patients with epilepsy. The following study describes the novel use of the fast gray matter acquisition T1 inversion recovery (FGATIR) MRI sequence to delineate the mammillothalamic tract for direct targeting of the ANT through visualizing the termination of the mammillothalamic tract in the ANT. The day prior to surgery in a 19-year-old, right-handed woman with a 5-year history of epilepsy, MRI was performed on a 3-T Siemens Prisma scanner (Siemens AG, Healthcare Sector) using a 64-channel head and neck coil. As part of the imaging protocol, noncontrast magnetization-prepared rapid gradient echo (MP-RAGE) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) sequences were obtained for targeting purposes. The ANT was directly targeted using the FGATIR sequence, and bilateral Medtronic 3389 leads were placed. At the last follow-up (2 months), the patient reported an approximate 75% decrease in seizure frequency, as well as a decrease in seizure severity.