Hálfdánarson, Þorvarður R.

710 Background: Leptomeningeal metastasis (LM) has been described as a rare form of metastatic disease progression in colorectal cancer (CRC). There remains a paucity of literature with regards to the course and management of LM in CRC. The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence of LM in CRC patients seen at our institution over a 15-year period, and to describe the clinical course and outcome of these cases. Methods: LM in CRC primary cases between 2000 and 2014 were identified in the Mayo Clinic databases. The charts were retrospectively reviewed. Results: Of 17,095 CRC primaries, we identified 10 patients with LM (0.058%) in this 15-year period. Nine cases were included in the analysis. Four had metastatic disease at the time of their initial CRC diagnosis. One patient also had a lung adenocarcinoma diagnosed during initial staging for the CRC primary. Median overall survival after CRC diagnosis was 25.7 months (range 4.7-74.8). Median time to diagnosis of LM after CRC diagnosis was 25.3 months (range 1-68.1). All patients had MRI findings consistent with LM: 3 patients with spinal LM, 5 patients with intracranial LM, 1 with both. One of three CSF analyses at the time of LM workup was positive for malignant cells; all had elevated protein. Neurologic symptoms correlated with site of the lesions, with headache, cranial nerve palsy, lower extremity weakness, and gait disturbance among the most frequently reported. However, not all patients had neurologic findings, with LM lesions found incidentally in two cases. Seven patients (78%) had palliative radiotherapy (RT) for LM. Three patients continued to receive systemic chemotherapy after diagnosis of LM. No patients underwent intrathecal chemotherapy. Median survival after LM diagnosis was 7 weeks (range 2-39). Conclusions: The diagnosis of LM is an exceedingly rare development in the natural course of CRC. It continues to confer an extremely poor prognosis with limited treatment options. At our institution, most patients had their disease addressed by palliative means, with many receiving RT to control their neurologic symptoms. Based on our series, supportive care remains a sensible approach to the management of LM in CRC.

569 Background: BBI-608 is an oral first-in-class cancer stemness inhibitor that blocks STAT3-mediated transcription of cancer stemness genes. Potent anti-CSC activity was observed in vitro and in vivo,in mono and combination therapy. In phase I studies, BBI-608 was generally well tolerated with encouraging signs of anti-tumor activity. Methods: A phase Ib open label, multi-center study in pts with advanced CRC was undertaken to confirm the RP2D of BBI-608 in combination with FOLFIRI with or without BEV. BBI-608 was administered at 240 mg BID in combination with FOLFIRI (5-FU 400 mg/m2 bolus with 2400 mg/m2, irinotecan 180 mg/m2, and leucovorin 400 mg/m2infusion) with or without BEV 5 mg/kg, administered bi-weekly until progression of disease, unacceptable toxicity, or other discontinuation criterion was met. Results: 18 heavily pretreated pts with an average of > 3 prior lines of therapy of which 10 pts (56%) previously progressed on FOLFIRI were enrolled. Of the 17 pts evaluable for response, 8 pts received FOLFIRI and 9 pts received FOLFIRI with BEV in combination with BBI-608. Most common adverse events included grade 1 and 2 diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and anorexia. No dose limiting toxicity or new adverse events were seen, and the safety profile was similar to that of each regimen as monotherapy. Grade 3 events related to protocol therapy included diarrhea occurring in 3 pts, fatigue in 2 pts and dehydration in 1 pt. All events resolved after dose reduction and/or start of anti-diarrheal medications. No significant pharmacokinetic interactions were observed. Disease control (PR+SD) was observed in 16 of 17 evaluable pts (94%) with 2 PR (per RECIST 1.1 criteria: 44% and 33% regression) and 14 SD (of which 13 (93%) had tumor regression < 25%). In the evaluable pts, median progression free survival was 5.54 months. Of 17 pts, 7 (41%) had prolonged SD of > 6 months. Conclusions: This phase Ib study confirmed that BBI-608 at 240 mg bid can be safely combined with FOLFIRI with and without BEV, and shows encouraging anti-tumor activity in heavily pretreated CRC pts, even in pts with prior progression on FOLFIRI-based therapy. Clinical trial information: NCT02024607.

Extramammary Paget disease (EMPD) is a rare cutaneous malignancy. The most common presentation of EMPD is the vulva followed by perianal involvement. Most cases are localized to the dermis with treatment focused on surgery, topical treatment or radiotherapy. Recurrence is frequent despite therapies utilized. Metastatic extramammary Paget disease is uncommon and, as such, standard treatment guidelines do not exist. This study sought to evaluate the treatment regimens and outcomes of patients treated at a Mayo Clinic Center from 1998-2012. Cancer registry inquiry revealed 261 patients with report advanced Paget disease during these years. Ten cases of metastatic EPMD were identified with sufficient documentation for review. This review reveals support for utilizing localized radiation therapy for bulky disease sequentially with systemic chemotherapy consisting of carboplatin and paclitaxel or irinotecan. Further studies are necessary to define the optimal treatment regimen.

Neoadjuvant treatment may result in better quality of life and functional status 1 year after diagnosis.

AbstractPurposeDistance from health care facilities can be a barrier to colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, especially for colonoscopy. Alternatively, an improved at‐home stool‐based screening tool, the fecal immunochemical test (FIT), requires only a single sample and has a better sensitivity‐specificity balance compared to traditional guaiac fecal occult blood tests. Our objective was to determine if FITs mailed to asymptomatic, average‐risk patients overdue for screening resulted in higher screening rates versus mailing educational materials alone or no intervention (ie, usual care).MethodsVeterans ages 51‐64, asymptomatic, at average risk for CRC, overdue for screening and in a veterans administration (VA) catchment area covering a large rural population were randomly assigned to 3 groups: (1) education only (Ed) group: mailed CRC educational materials and a survey of screening history and preferences (N = 499); (2) FIT group: mailed the FIT, plus educational materials and survey (N = 500); and (3) usual care (UC) group: received no mailings (N = 500).FindingsAt 6 months postintervention, 21% of the FIT group had received CRC screening by any method compared to 6% of the Ed group (and 6% of the UC group) (P < .0001). Of the 105 respondents from the FIT group, 71 (68%) were eligible to take the FIT. Of those, 64 (90%) completed the FIT and 8 (12%) tested positive.ConclusionsThis low‐intensity intervention of mailing FITs to average risk patients overdue for screening resulted in a significantly higher screening rate than educational materials alone or usual care, and may be of particular interest in rural areas.

This commentary discusses the role of retrospective studies in the investigation of treatment options for small bowel adenocarcinoma.

Abstract Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal malignancy, and the majority of patients succumb to the disease within 2 years. We evaluated the role of variants of mitochondrial DNA and mitochondrial haplogroups in predicting prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer. A total of 24 mitochondrial single nucleotide polymorphisms were genotyped in 990 patients with pancreatic cancer. After adjusting for covariates and multiple comparisons, no association between any of the mitochondrial single nucleotide polymorphisms or haplogroups and survival was observed. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(9):2512–3)