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Therapeutic cancer vaccines have shown activity in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), and methods are being assessed to enhance their efficacy. Ipilimumab is an antagonistic monoclonal antibody that binds cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4, an immunomodulatory molecule expressed by activated T cells, and to CD80 on antigen-presenting cells. We aimed to assess the safety and tolerability of ipilimumab in combination with a poxviral-based vaccine targeting prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and containing transgenes for T-cell co-stimulatory molecule expression, including CD80. We did a phase 1 dose-escalation trial, with a subsequent expansion phase, to assess the safety and tolerability of escalating doses of ipilimumab in combination with a fixed dose of the PSA-Tricom vaccine. Patients with mCRPC received 2×108 plaque-forming units of recombinant vaccinia PSA-Tricom subcutaneously on day 1 of cycle 1, with subsequent monthly boosts of 1×109 plaque-forming units, starting on day 15. Intravenous ipilimumab was given monthly starting at day 15, in doses of 1, 3, 5, and 10 mg/kg. Our primary goal was to assess the safety of the combination. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00113984. We completed enrolment with 30 patients (24 of whom had not been previously treated with chemotherapy) and we did not identify any dose-limiting toxic effects. Grade 1 and 2 vaccination-site reactions were the most common toxic effects: three of 30 patients had grade 1 reactions and 26 had grade 2 reactions. 21 patients had grade 2 or greater immune-related adverse events. Grade 3 or 4 immune-related adverse events included diarrhoea or colitis in four patients and grade 3 rash (two patients), grade 3 raised aminotransferases (two patients), grade 3 endocrine immune-related adverse events (two patients), and grade 4 neutropenia (one patient). Only one of the six patients previously treated with chemotherapy had a PSA decline from baseline. Of the 24 patients who were chemotherapy-naive, 14 (58%) had PSA declines from baseline, of which six were greater than 50%. The use of a vaccine targeting PSA that also enhances co-stimulation of the immune system did not seem to exacerbate the immune-related adverse events associated with ipilimumab. Randomised trials are needed to further assess clinical outcomes of the combination of ipilimumab and vaccine in mCRPC. US National Institutes of Health.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a dismal prognosis. The high risk of recurrence following surgical resection provides the rationale for adjuvant therapy. However, only a subset of patients benefit from adjuvant therapy. Identification of molecular markers to predict treatment outcome is therefore warranted. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether expression of novel candidate biomarkers, including microRNAs, can predict clinical outcome in PDAC patients treated with adjuvant therapy. Formalin-fixed paraffin embedded specimens from a cohort of 82 resected Korean PDAC cases were analyzed for protein expression by immunohistochemistry and for microRNA expression using quantitative Real-Time PCR. Cox proportional hazards model analysis in the subgroup of patients treated with adjuvant therapy (N = 52) showed that lower than median miR-21 expression was associated with a significantly lower hazard ratio (HR) for death (HR = 0.316; 95%CI = 0.166-0.600; P = 0.0004) and recurrence (HR = 0.521; 95%CI = 0.280-0.967; P = 0.04). MiR-21 expression status emerged as the single most predictive biomarker for treatment outcome among all 27 biological and 9 clinicopathological factors evaluated. No significant association was detected in patients not treated with adjuvant therapy. In an independent validation cohort of 45 frozen PDAC tissues from Italian cases, all treated with adjuvant therapy, lower than median miR-21 expression was confirmed to be correlated with longer overall as well as disease-free survival. Furthermore, transfection with anti-miR-21 enhanced the chemosensitivity of PDAC cells. Low miR-21 expression was associated with benefit from adjuvant treatment in two independent cohorts of PDAC cases, and anti-miR-21 increased anticancer drug activity in vitro. These data provide evidence that miR-21 may allow stratification for adjuvant therapy, and represents a new potential target for therapy in PDAC.

Somatic gene mutations can alter the vulnerability of cancer cells to T-cell-based immunotherapies. Here we perturbed genes in human melanoma cells to mimic loss-of-function mutations involved in resistance to these therapies, by using a genome-scale CRISPR–Cas9 library that consisted of around 123,000 single-guide RNAs, and profiled genes whose loss in tumour cells impaired the effector function of CD8 + T cells. The genes that were most enriched in the screen have key roles in antigen presentation and interferon-γ signalling, and correlate with cytolytic activity in patient tumours from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Among the genes validated using different cancer cell lines and antigens, we identified multiple loss-of-function mutations in APLNR , encoding the apelin receptor, in patient tumours that were refractory to immunotherapy. We show that APLNR interacts with JAK1, modulating interferon-γ responses in tumours, and that its functional loss reduces the efficacy of adoptive cell transfer and checkpoint blockade immunotherapies in mouse models. Our results link the loss of essential genes for the effector function of CD8 + T cells with the resistance or non-responsiveness of cancer to immunotherapies. The authors describe a two-cell-type CRISPR screen to identify tumour-intrinsic genes that regulate the sensitivity of cancer cells to effector T cell function. CRISPR screen identifies genes driving resistance to cancer immunotherapy Some mutations in cancer cells make them resistant to immunotherapy. Nicholas Restifo and colleagues designed a 'two-cell-type' CRISPR–Cas9 screen to identify tumour-intrinsic genetic mutations associated with the sensitivity of melanoma cells to effector T cell function. The candidate genes identified included mediators of MHC class I antigen presentation and genes unknown to be involved in these immunity processes. The authors highlight the interaction between T-cell-secreted apelin and its receptor APLNR on tumour cells as a node for potent T-cell-mediated killing of cancer cells.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) modified T cells targeting CD19 have shown activity in case series of patients with acute and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and B-cell lymphomas, but feasibility, toxicity, and response rates of consecutively enrolled patients treated with a consistent regimen and assessed on an intention-to-treat basis have not been reported. We aimed to define feasibility, toxicity, maximum tolerated dose, response rate, and biological correlates of response in children and young adults with refractory B-cell malignancies treated with CD19-CAR T cells. This phase 1, dose-escalation trial consecutively enrolled children and young adults (aged 1–30 years) with relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukaemia or non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Autologous T cells were engineered via an 11-day manufacturing process to express a CD19-CAR incorporating an anti-CD19 single-chain variable fragment plus TCR zeta and CD28 signalling domains. All patients received fludarabine and cyclophosphamide before a single infusion of CD19-CAR T cells. Using a standard 3 + 3 design to establish the maximum tolerated dose, patients received either 1 × 106 CAR-transduced T cells per kg (dose 1), 3 × 106 CAR-transduced T cells per kg (dose 2), or the entire CAR T-cell product if sufficient numbers of cells to meet the assigned dose were not generated. After the dose-escalation phase, an expansion cohort was treated at the maximum tolerated dose. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01593696. Between July 2, 2012, and June 20, 2014, 21 patients (including eight who had previously undergone allogeneic haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation) were enrolled and infused with CD19-CAR T cells. 19 received the prescribed dose of CD19-CAR T cells, whereas the assigned dose concentration could not be generated for two patients (90% feasible). All patients enrolled were assessed for response. The maximum tolerated dose was defined as 1 × 106 CD19-CAR T cells per kg. All toxicities were fully reversible, with the most severe being grade 4 cytokine release syndrome that occurred in three (14%) of 21 patients (95% CI 3·0–36·3). The most common non-haematological grade 3 adverse events were fever (nine [43%] of 21 patients), hypokalaemia (nine [43%] of 21 patients), fever and neutropenia (eight [38%] of 21 patients), and cytokine release syndrome (three [14%) of 21 patients). CD19-CAR T cell therapy is feasible, safe, and mediates potent anti-leukaemic activity in children and young adults with chemotherapy-resistant B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. All toxicities were reversible and prolonged B-cell aplasia did not occur. National Institutes of Health Intramural funds and St Baldrick's Foundation.

Diffuse large-B-cell lymphoma is curable, but when treatment fails, outcome is poor. Although imaging can help to identify patients at risk of treatment failure, they are often imprecise, and radiation exposure is a potential health risk. We aimed to assess whether circulating tumour DNA encoding the clonal immunoglobulin gene sequence could be detected in the serum of patients with diffuse large-B-cell lymphoma and used to predict clinical disease recurrence after frontline treatment. We used next-generation DNA sequencing to retrospectively analyse cell-free circulating tumour DNA in patients assigned to one of three treatment protocols between May 8, 1993, and June 6, 2013. Eligible patients had diffuse large-B-cell lymphoma, no evidence of indolent lymphoma, and were previously untreated. We obtained serial serum samples and concurrent CT scans at specified times during most treatment cycles and up to 5 years of follow-up. VDJ gene segments of the rearranged immunoglobulin receptor genes were amplified and sequenced from pretreatment specimens and serum circulating tumour DNA encoding the VDJ rearrangements was quantitated. Tumour clonotypes were identified in pretreatment specimens from 126 patients who were followed up for a median of 11 years (IQR 6·8–14·2). Interim monitoring of circulating tumour DNA at the end of two treatment cycles in 108 patients showed a 5-year time to progression of 41·7% (95% CI 22·2–60·1) in patients with detectable circulating tumour DNA and 80·2% (69·6–87·3) in those without detectable circulating tumour DNA (p<0·0001). Detectable interim circulating tumour DNA had a positive predictive value of 62·5% (95% CI 40·6–81·2) and a negative predictive value of 79·8% (69·6–87·8). Surveillance monitoring of circulating tumour DNA was done in 107 patients who achieved complete remission. A Cox proportional hazards model showed that the hazard ratio for clinical disease progression was 228 (95% CI 51–1022) for patients who developed detectable circulating tumour DNA during surveillance compared with patients with undetectable circulating tumour DNA (p<0·0001). Surveillance circulating tumour DNA had a positive predictive value of 88·2% (95% CI 63·6–98·5) and a negative predictive value of 97·8% (92·2–99·7) and identified risk of recurrence at a median of 3·5 months (range 0–200) before evidence of clinical disease. Surveillance circulating tumour DNA identifies patients at risk of recurrence before clinical evidence of disease in most patients and results in a reduced disease burden at relapse. Interim circulating tumour DNA is a promising biomarker to identify patients at high risk of treatment failure. National Cancer Institute and Adaptive Biotechnologies.

Background This update of a randomized, prospective study presents the effect of external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) on long-term overall survival, local control, and limb function following limb-sparing surgery (LSS) for the treatment extremity soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Methods Following LSS, patients with extremity STS were randomized to receive EBRT or surgery alone. All patients with high-grade STS received adjuvant chemotherapy. Long-term follow-up was obtained through telephone interviews using a questionnaire based on validated methods. Overall survival (OS) was determined by Kaplan–Meier method. Results A total of 141 patients with extremity STS were randomized to receive adjuvant EBRT ( n  = 70) or LSS alone ( n  = 71). Median follow-up was 17.9 years. The 10- and 20-year survival was 77 % (95 % CI 66–85 %) and 64 % (95 % CI 52–75 %) for patients receiving LSS alone and 82 % (95 % CI 72–90 %) and 71 % (95 % CI 59–81 %) for patients receiving EBRT ( p  = 0.22). Of the 54 patients who completed telephone interviews, the incidence of local recurrence during the follow-up period was 4 % (1 of 24) in the LSS alone cohort compared with 0 % (0 of 30) in those who received EBRT ( p  = 0.44). Patients treated with EBRT tended to have more wound complications (17 vs. 12.5 %, p  = 0.72), clinically significant edema (25 vs. 12 %, p  = 0.31), and functional limb deficits (15 vs. 12 %, p  = 0.84). Conclusions Adjuvant EBRT following surgery for STS of the extremity provides excellent local control with acceptable treatment-related morbidity and no statistically significant improvement in overall survival.

High-grade serous ovarian carcinoma is characterised by TP53 mutations, DNA repair defects, and genomic instability. We hypothesised that prexasertib (LY2606368), a cell cycle checkpoint kinase 1 and 2 inhibitor, would be active in BRCA wild-type disease. In an open-label, single-centre, two-stage, proof-of-concept phase 2 study, we enrolled women aged 18 years or older with measurable, recurrent high-grade serous or high-grade endometrioid ovarian carcinoma. All patients had a negative family history of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer or known BRCA wild-type status, measurable disease according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) version 1.1, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status score 0–2, and adequate haematological, renal, hepatic, and bone-marrow function. Patients received intravenous prexasertib 105 mg/m2 administered over 1 h every 14 days in 28-day cycles until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, or withdrawal of consent. The primary endpoint of investigator-assessed tumour response, based on RECIST version 1.1, was assessed per protocol (assessable patients who had undergone CT imaging at baseline and attended at least one protocol-specified follow-up) and by intention to treat. The final analysis of this cohort of patients with BRCA wild-type high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma is reported here. This ongoing trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02203513, and continues to enrol patients for the BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer cohort. Between Jan 20, 2015, and Nov 2, 2016, we enrolled 28 women with a median age of 64 years (IQR 58·0–69·5) who had previously received a median of 5·0 (IQR 2·5–5·0) systemic therapies. Most patients (22 [79%]) had platinum-resistant or platinum-refractory disease. All women received at least one dose of prexasertib, but four (14%) of 28 patients were not assessable for RECIST response. Eight (33%, 95% CI 16–55) of 24 patients assessable per protocol had partial responses. In the intention-to-treat population, eight (29%, 95% CI 13–49) of 28 had a partial responses. The most common (in >10% patients) grade 3 or 4 treatment-emergent adverse events were neutropenia in 26 (93%) of 28 patients, reduced white blood cell count in 23 (82%), thrombocytopenia in seven (25%), and anaemia in three (11%). Grade 4 neutropenia was reported in 22 (79%) patients after the first dose of prexasertib and was transient (median duration 6 days [IQR 4–8]) and recovered without growth-factor support in all cases. The treatment-related serious adverse event of grade 3 febrile neutropenia was reported in two (7%) patients. One patient died during the study due to tumour progression. Prexasertib showed clinical activity and was tolerable in patients with BRCA wild-type high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma. This drug warrants further development in this setting, especially for patients with platinum-resistant or platinum-refractory disease. Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute.

Survival from malignant mesothelioma, particularly pleural mesothelioma, is very poor. For patients with breast, ovarian, or prostate cancers, overall survival is associated with increased sensitivity to platinum chemotherapy due to loss-of-function mutations in DNA repair genes. The goal of this project was to evaluate, in patients with malignant mesothelioma, the relationship between inherited loss-of-function mutations in DNA repair and other tumor suppressor genes and overall survival following platinum chemotherapy. Patients with histologically confirmed malignant mesothelioma were evaluated for inherited mutations in tumor suppressor genes. Survival was evaluated with respect to genotype and site of mesothelioma. Among 385 patients treated with platinum chemotherapy, median overall survival was significantly longer for patients with loss-of-function mutations in any of the targeted genes compared with patients with no such mutation (P = 0.0006). The effect of genotype was highly significant for patients with pleural mesothelioma (median survival 7.9 y versus 2.4 y, P = 0.0012), but not for patients with peritoneal mesothelioma (median survival 8.2 y versus 5.4 y, P = 0.47). Effect of patient genotype on overall survival, measured at 3 y, remained independently significant after adjusting for gender and age at diagnosis, two other known prognostic factors. Patients with pleural mesothelioma with inherited mutations in DNA repair and other tumor suppressor genes appear to particularly benefit from platinum chemotherapy compared with patients without inherited mutations. These patients may also benefit from other DNA repair targeted therapies such as poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors.

No standard treatments are available for advanced thymic epithelial tumours after failure of platinum-based chemotherapy. We investigated the activity of sunitinib, an orally administered tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Between May 15, 2012, and Oct 2, 2013, we did an open-label phase 2 trial in patients with histologically confirmed chemotherapy-refractory thymic epithelial tumours. Patients were eligible if they had disease progression after at least one previous regimen of platinum-containing chemotherapy, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of two or lower, measurable disease, and adequate organ function. Patients received 50 mg of sunitinib orally once a day, in 6-week cycles (ie, 4 weeks of treatment followed by 2 weeks without treatment), until tumour progression or unacceptable toxic effects arose. The primary endpoint was investigator-assessed best tumour response at any point, which we analysed separately in thymoma and thymic carcinoma cohorts. Patients who had received at least one cycle of treatment and had their disease reassessed were included in the analyses of response. The trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01621568. 41 patients were enrolled, 25 with thymic carcinoma and 16 with thymoma. One patient with thymic carcinoma was deemed ineligible after enrolment and did not receive protocol treatment. Of patients who received treatment, one individual with thymic carcinoma was not assessable because she died. Median follow-up on trial was 17 months (IQR 14·0–18·4). Of 23 assessable patients with thymic carcinoma, six (26%, 90% CI 12·1–45·3, 95% CI 10·2–48·4) had partial responses, 15 (65%, 95% CI 42·7–83·6) achieved stable disease, and two (9%, 1·1–28·0) had progressive disease. Of 16 patients with thymoma, one (6%, 95% CI 0·2–30·2) had a partial response, 12 (75%, 47·6–92·7) had stable disease, and three (19%, 4·1–45·7) had progressive disease. The most common grade 3 and 4 treatment-related adverse events were lymphocytopenia (eight [20%] of 40 patients), fatigue (eight [20%]), and oral mucositis (eight [20%]). Five (13%) patients had decreases in left-ventricular ejection fraction, of which three (8%) were grade 3 events. Three (8%) patients died during treatment, including one individual who died of cardiac arrest that was possibly treatment-related. Sunitinib is active in previously treated patients with thymic carcinoma. Further studies are needed to identify potential biomarkers of activity. National Cancer Institute (Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program).

Mice deficient in the ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) kinase have impaired responses to genotoxic and oxidative stressors, predisposing them to develop thymic T-cell lymphoblastic lymphomas (T-LBL) resembling human T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemias (T-ALL). A previous study identified genomic deletions of the gene encoding PTEN, a negative regulator of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling, in a subset of murine ATM-deficient (ATMKO) thymic T-LBLs; however, the frequency and consequences of these deletions were not defined. The present study demonstrates that the majority of established cultures of ATMKO T-LBLs isolated from ATMKO thymi have a variety of genomic Pten alterations and fail to express functional PTEN protein. In addition, all T-LBLs demonstrate constitutive expression of pAKT, indicating the presence of activated AKT signaling, and are sensitive to treatment with the pan-AKT inhibitor MK-2206, suggesting that these lymphomas are dependent on pAKT signaling for their survival. Lastly, ATM-deficiency itself does not cause loss of PTEN or dysregulated AKT signaling, as ATM-deficient non-malignant thymocytes express wild-type levels of PTEN and lack detectable pAKT. This study demonstrates for the first time that the majority of ATM-deficient thymic T-LBLs lose PTEN expression and all depend on AKT signaling for survival, suggesting their potential use as an animal model for PI3K/AKT/MTOR pathway dysfunction in human T-ALL.