Necchi, Andrea

PURPOSE The COSMIC-021 study assessed the safety and efficacy of cabozantinib plus atezolizumab in advanced solid tumors. Presented here are results from the expansion cohorts with advanced urothelial carcinoma (UC). METHODS This phase Ib study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03170960 ) enrolled patients with inoperable locally advanced/metastatic UC into four tumor cohorts: first-line cisplatin-eligible (cis-eligible), first-line cisplatin-ineligible (cis-ineligible), previous platinum-containing chemotherapy (previous chemotherapy-treated), and previous immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)–treated. Patients received oral cabozantinib 40 mg once daily and intravenous atezolizumab 1,200 mg once every 3 weeks. The primary end point was objective response rate (ORR), as assessed by the investigator per RECIST v1.1 every 6 weeks for 12 months and every 12 weeks thereafter; the secondary end point was safety. RESULTS A total of 121 patients (previous ICI-treated cohort, n = 31, and each of the other cohorts, n = 30) received study treatment from March 2018 to November 2021. The ORR (95% CI) was 30% (15 to 49) for cis-eligible, 20% (8 to 39) for cis-ineligible, 27% (12 to 46) for previous chemotherapy-treated, and 10% (2 to 26) for previous ICI-treated cohorts. The median progression-free survival (95% CI) was 5.5 (1.6 to 11.6), 5.6 (3.1 to 11.1), 5.4 (1.6 to 7.6), and 3.0 (1.8 to 5.5) months, respectively. Grade 3 or 4 treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were experienced by 43%, 67%, 57%, and 45% of patients, respectively. TRAEs led to discontinuation of all treatment components in 17%, 13%, 3%, and 19%, respectively. No grade 5 TRAEs were reported in any cohort. CONCLUSION The novel combination of cabozantinib plus atezolizumab exhibited clinical activity in advanced UC that is cis-eligible, cis-ineligible, or previously treated with platinum-containing chemotherapy; clinical activity in previous ICI-treated UC was modest. The toxicity profile was consistent with that previously reported for the combination.

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.

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Aktuell wurde mit dem Tetrafecta-Score das erste Instrument zur Beurteilung der Behandlungsqualität in der chirurgischen Primärtherapie des Peniskarzinoms (PECa) publiziert. Eine externe wissenschaftliche Auseinandersetzung mit den ihn definierenden Einzelkriterien steht bislang noch aus und bildet das Studienziel. Material und Methode Es wurde eine internationale Arbeitsgruppe bestehend aus 12 Urologen und einem Onkologen mit klinischer und akademisch-wissenschaftlicher Expertise auf dem Gebiet des Peniskarzinoms gegründet. In einem modifizierten vierstufigen Delphi-Prozess wurden unter Einbeziehung der Tetrafecta-Kriterien insgesamt 13 Kriterien für PECa-Patienten in den klinischen AJCC-Stadien 1–4 (T1–3N0–3, aber M0) definiert, von denen in einer geheimen Abstimmung jeder der Experten 5 auswählen musste, um dadurch einen individuellen Pentafecta-Score zu generieren. Anschließend wurde das Rating der Experten aggregiert ausgewertet und dadurch ein finaler Pentafecta-Score gebildet. Ergebnisse Keines der ursprünglichen Tetrafecta-Kriterien wurde in den finalen Pentafecta-Score übernommen, der sich aus den folgenden Kriterien zusammensetzt: 1.) Organerhalt, sofern immer möglich (≤T2), jedoch stets unter Wahrung eines negativen chirurgischen Schnittrandes, 2.) beidseitige inguinale Lymphadenektomie (ILAE) ab pT1G2N0, 3.) perioperative Chemotherapie sollte erfolgen, sofern durch die Leitlinien indiziert, 4.) ILAE sollte, sofern indiziert, in einem zeitlichen Abstand von maximal 3 Monaten zur Primärtumorresektion erfolgen und 5.) die behandelnde Klinik sollte im Minimum 15 chirurgische Primärtherapien bei PECa-Patienten durchführen. Nur 7 der 13 Experten (54%) zeigten eine starke Korrelation ihres individuellen mit dem finalen Pentafecta-Score (rsp >0.60). Schlussfolgerung Auf der Basis eines moderierten Abstimmungsprozesses unter internationalen PECa-Experten wurde ein Pentafecta-Score als Qualitätssicherungs-Instrument für die chirurgische Primärtherapie gebildet, der nun anhand von patientenrelevanten und patientenberichteten Endpunkten zu validieren ist.

We read with great interest the manuscript by Brassetti et al. recently published in your journal and hope it will encourage discussion and debate around the optimization of the surgical management of patients with penile cancer (PECa) [...]

4504 Background: C, a multitargeted receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), promotes an immune-permissive environment that may enhance response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). COSMIC-021, a multicenter phase 1b study, is evaluating C + A (anti‒PD-L1 therapy) in various solid tumors (NCT03170960). C + A demonstrated encouraging clinical activity in cohort 2 of COSMIC-021 in patients (pts) with UC previously treated with platinum-containing chemotherapy (chemo) (Pal S et al. ASCO 2020. Abstract 5013). Outcomes of C + A from 3 other UC cohorts (C3, C4, C5) are presented. Methods: Pts with inoperable locally advanced/metastatic UC with transitional cell histology and ECOG PS 0‒1 were eligible. Pts enrolled in C3 and C4 had no prior therapy and were cisplatin-based chemo ineligible (C3) or eligible (C4). C5 enrolled pts with one prior ICI and no prior VEGFR-TKI therapy. Pts received C 40 mg PO QD and A 1200 mg IV Q3W. CT/MRI scans were performed Q6W for first year and Q12W thereafter. The primary endpoint is objective response rate (ORR) per RECIST v1.1 by investigator. Other endpoints: safety, duration of response (DOR), PFS, and OS. Results: Thirty pts each were enrolled in C3 and C4, and 31 in C5. Baseline characteristics for C3, C4, and C5, respectively: median age, 74 y, 66 y, 68 y; male, 67%, 73%, 55%; ECOG PS 1, 63%, 57%, 74%; lung/liver metastasis; 33%/17%, 40%/20%, 58%/23%; ≥3 tumor sites, 30%, 43%, 45%; bladder as primary site, 67%, 70%, 71%. As of Nov 30, 2021, the median follow-up for C3, C4, and C5 was 27.9, 19.1, and 32.9 mo, respectively, with 1, 6, and 1 pts on treatment. C + A demonstrated clinical benefit across all cohorts (Table). Most common treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) of any grade across C3, C4, and C5, respectively, were diarrhea (43%, 33%, 35%), nausea (27%, 17%, 26%), fatigue (27%, 27%, 48%), and decreased appetite (33%, 27%, 39%); grade 3/4 TRAEs occurred in 63%, 43%, and 45%, and there was no grade 5 TRAE. Conclusions: C + A demonstrated encouraging clinical activity with manageable toxicity in inoperable locally advanced/metastatic UC as first-line systemic therapy in cisplatin-based chemo eligible/ineligible pts and as second- or later line in pts who received prior ICI. Clinical trial information: NCT03170960. [Table: see text]

Objectives To evaluate outcomes of patients achieving a post‐treatment pathological stage of <ypT2N0 at radical cystectomy (RC) following neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for muscle‐invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) to identify an optimal definition of pathological response. Patients and Methods Patients from 10 international centres who underwent NAC for cT2–4aN0–1 MIBC and achieved <ypT2N0 disease at RC were included. The primary outcome was time to recurrence, either local or distant. Kaplan–Meier and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to evaluate associations between clinicopathological variables and outcomes. Results A total of 625 patients were included. The median age was 66 years and 80% were male. Gemcitabine and cisplatin (GC, 56%) and methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin and cisplatin (MVAC)/dose‐dense (dd)MVAC (32%) were the most common NAC regimens. ypT0, pure ypTis, ypTa ±ypTis and ypT1 ± ypTis were attained in 58.1%, 20.0%, 7.6% and 14.2% of patients, respectively. The cumulative incidence of recurrence at 5 years was 9%, 16%, 29% and 30%, respectively. Pathological stage was prognostic for recurrence, with ypTa ± Tis (hazard ratio [HR] 3.20, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.40–7.30) and ypT1 ± Tis disease (HR 4.03, 95% CI 2.13–7.63) associated with a significantly higher recurrence risk. Pure ypTis (HR 1.66, 95% CI 0.82–3.38) and the type of NAC regimen (ddMVAC: HR 1.59, 95% CI 0.55–4.56; MVAC: HR 1.18, 9%% CI 0.25–5.54; reference: GC) were not associated with recurrence. Conclusion We propose that optimal pathological response after NAC be defined as attainment of ypT0N0/ypTisN0 at RC. Patients with ypTaN0 or ypT1N0 disease (with or without Tis) at RC displayed a significantly higher risk of recurrence and may be candidates for trials investigating adjuvant therapy.

Objectives To develop and externally validate a risk calculator for prediction of any cancer recurrence in patients with penile squamous cell carcinoma (pSCC) and inguinal lymph node metastases (ILNM), as to date no validated prognostic tool is available for patients with pSCC and ILNM. Patients and Methods The development cohort included 234 patients from seven referral centres. The external validation cohort included 273 patients from two additional referral centres. Cox regression identified predictors of any recurrence, which were used to develop a risk calculator. The risk‐calculator grouped the development and the validation cohorts according to the individual risk of any recurrence at 24 months (24m‐R). Adjuvant treatment effects were tested on overall survival (OS) according to the derived tertiles, within the development and validation cohorts. Results Positive surgical margins, pN 3 , and ILNM ratio were associated with higher recurrence rate. The 2‐year OS rates were lower for patients with high (>37%) and intermediate (19–37%) compared to low (<19%) 24m‐R risk of recurrence, for both the development (43% and 58% vs 83%, P < 0.001) and validation cohort (44% and 50% vs 85%, P < 0.001). Results were confirmed in the subgroup of patients who did not receive adjuvant treatment ( P < 0.001), but not in patients who did receive adjuvant treatments in both the development and validation cohorts ( P > 0.1). Conclusion Adjuvant treatment planning is crucial in patients with pSCC with ILNM, where only weak evidence is available. The current tool proved to successfully stratify patients according to their individual risk, potentially allowing better tailoring of adjuvant treatments.

5043 Background: Pathologic complete response (pCR) after NAC for MIBC is strongly correlated with long-term overall survival. However, there are sparse data on the risk of recurrence based on depth of pathologic response (pT0, pTa, pTis, pT1), and the differential impact of clinicopathologic factors and NAC regimen on recurrence. Methods: Baseline data on all pts with cT2-4N0-1 MIBC receiving NAC and who achieved < ypT2N0 disease at radical cystectomy (RC) from 9 international centers were obtained. The key outcome was time to recurrence (TTR) – defined as the time to any recurrence in the urinary tract or regional/distant metastasis, with death (in the absence of recurrence) considered a competing risk. Cox regression analysis was used to analyze the impact of clinical factors on recurrence. Results: A total of 506 pts were available. Median age was 66 years (range 33-86) and 78% (n = 396) were male; median follow-up after RC was 2.6 years. The majority of patients had pure urothelial histology (n = 371, 73%), and baseline stage was cT2N0 (n = 368, 73%), cT3-4N0 (n = 95, 19%) and TanyN1 (n = 43, 9%). NAC regimens were gemcitabine-cisplatin (GC, n = 296, 59%), dose-dense methotrexate-vinblastine-doxorubicin-cisplatin (ddMVAC, n = 141, 28%), split-dose GC (n = 29, 6%), MVAC (n = 29, 6%) and non-cisplatin based regimens (n = 11, 2%). At RC, 304 patients (60%) had ypT0N0 disease, 32 (6%) had ypTaN0, 107 (21%) had ypTisN0 and 63 (13%) had ypT1N0. Overall, 43 patients (8%) recurred with a median TTR of 56 weeks (range 7-251); 5-year freedom from recurrence was 87% (95% CI 83-91). The majority (n = 38) recurred outside the urinary tract. On multivariable analysis, ypTa (HR = 3.36 [1.24-9.11]) and ypT1 (HR = 2.88 [1.33-6.22], p = 0.013) disease at RC were predictors of shorter TTR, while female sex was associated with longer TTR (HR = 0.52 [0.27-0.98], p = 0.043). The type of NAC was not predictive of TTR (GC vs. other, HR = 1.49 [0.75-2.97], p = 0.26). Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the largest study to quantify the risk of recurrence in pts achieving pathologic response after NAC and RC for MIBC. 8% of patients undergoing NAC and achieving < ypT2N0 at RC recurred. Residual ypTa and ypT1 disease conferred a significantly higher risk of recurrence, while ypTis did not; female sex was associated with a lower risk of recurrence. Importantly, the type of cisplatin-based NAC regimen used was not an independent predictor of recurrence.

5013 Background: Cabozantinib (C), an inhibitor of MET, AXL, and VEGFR, has been shown to promote an immune-permissive environment and has shown promising clinical activity in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in solid tumors including renal cell carcinoma and urothelial carcinoma (UC). ICI monotherapy is approved for patients (pts) with locally advanced or metastatic UC with disease progression after platinum-containing chemotherapy. COSMIC-021, a multi-center phase 1b study, is evaluating the combination of C with atezolizumab (A) in various solid tumors (NCT03170960). We report results from Cohort 2 in UC pts with prior platinum-containing chemotherapy. Methods: Eligible pts had ECOG PS 0-1 and had progressed on or after a platinum-containing chemotherapy (including pts with disease recurrences < 12 months after the end of perioperative chemotherapy). Pts received C 40 mg PO QD and A 1200 mg IV Q3W. CT/MRI scans were performed Q6W for first year and Q12W thereafter. The primary endpoint is objective response rate (ORR) per RECIST v1.1 by investigator. Other endpoints include safety, duration of response (DOR), PFS, and OS. Results: As of Dec 20, 2019, 30 pts with advanced UC were enrolled with a median follow-up of 16.5 mo (range 12, 21). Median age was 66 yrs (range 44, 84), 73% were male, and 60% had ECOG PS 1. Primary tumor sites were bladder (80%), renal pelvis (10%), and ureter (10%); the most frequent metastatic sites included lung (40%) and liver (27%). Fourteen pts (47%) had received ≥2 prior systemic anticancer therapies. The most common treatment-related AEs (TRAEs) of any grade were asthenia (37%), diarrhea (27%), decreased appetite (23%), increased transaminases (23%), and mucosal inflammation (20%). Grade 3/4 TRAEs occurred in 57% of pts, with no grade 5 TRAEs. Confirmed ORR per RECIST v1.1 was 27% (8 of 30 pts), including 2 pts with CR. DCR (CR+PR+SD) was 64%. Median DOR was not reached, with the longest DOR ongoing at 14.3+ mos. Median PFS was 5.4 mo (range 0.0+, 17.3+). Conclusions: C in combination with A demonstrated encouraging clinical activity in pts with advanced UC with an acceptable safety profile. Additional cohorts of pts with advanced UC are being explored in the study. Clinical trial information: NCT03170960 .