Cabozantinib plus atezolizumab in metastatic prostate cancer (CONTACT-02): final analyses from a phase 3, open-label, randomised trial.

Background: Patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) with extrapelvic soft-tissue metastases that has progressed on an androgen receptor pathway inhibitor (ARPI) have a poor prognosis with few treatment options. We aimed to assess efficacy and safety of cabozantinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor with immunomodulatory properties, plus the PD-L1 inhibitor atezolizumab in these patients.

Methods: CONTACT-02 is an open-label, randomised, phase 3 study that enrolled patients at 184 sites across 24 countries (in Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America).

The CD70-CD27 Axis in Cancer Immunotherapy: Predictive Biomarker and Therapeutic Target.

The CD27-CD70 interaction is recognized as a positive costimulatory pathway for T-cell priming and expansion. However, recent studies showed that chronic CD27-CD70 interaction in cancer can lead to apoptosis of T cells, rendering them dysfunctional. CD70 is expressed not only by hematologic tumors but also by solid tumor cells.

Fake It till You Predict It: Data Augmentation Strategies to Detect Initiation and Termination of Oncology Treatment.

At the hospital, the dispersion of information regarding anti-cancer treatment makes it difficult to extract. We proposed a solution capable of identifying dates, drugs and their temporal relationship within free-text oncology reports with very few manual annotations. We used pattern recognition for dates, dictionaries for drugs and transformer language models for the relationship, combined with a data augmentation strategy.

Enhanced efficacy of ipilimumab plus nivolumab in angiogenic subtypes of metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma.

In metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (mccRCC), choosing between immuno-oncology (IO) combinations and IO plus anti-VEGF therapies is uncertain. The BIONIKK trial revealed that ipilimumab plus nivolumab (Ipi/Nivo) achieved a 70% objective response rate in angiogenic cluster1/2 versus 41% in cluster4/5, which featured T-effector/cell-cycle signatures (p = 0.048).

Patient Versus Clinician Reported Symptoms Agreement in Advanced Metastatic Bladder Cancer Patients.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) improved survival in patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (la/mUC). Patient-reported symptoms in this context were poorly studied. The study aimed to compare symptom severity between patients and clinicians.

Belzutifan for von Hippel-Lindau disease-associated renal cell carcinoma and other neoplasms (LITESPARK-004): 50 months follow-up from a single-arm, phase 2 study.

Background: Hypoxia-inducible factor-2α inhibitor belzutifan is approved for von Hippel-Lindau disease-associated renal cell carcinoma, CNS haemangioblastomas, and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours, based on previously published initial results from the LITESPARK-004 study. Updated results are presented here after a median follow-up of nearly 50 months.

Methods: In this single-arm, phase 2 study, participants were enrolled at 11 centres in Denmark, France, the UK, and the USA.

Activity of lenvatinib-based therapy in previously treated patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma: A European multicenter study (LENVA-LAT).

Background And Objective: Lenvatinib's activity after immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) combination therapy in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains unknown. We aimed to describe the real-world outcomes of patients with metastatic RCC (mRCC) treated with lenvatinib after failure of the prior standard of care.

Methods: Multicenter retrospective study including patients with mRCC treated with lenvatinib-based therapies beyond first-line therapy between 2020 and 2024.

Soluble TIM-3, likely produced by myeloid cells, predicts resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors in metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Background: Immunotherapies targeting PD-1 and CTLA-4 are key components of the treatment of metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (mccRCC). However, they have distinct safety profiles and resistance to treatment can occur. We assess soluble TIM-3 (sTIM-3) in the plasma of mccRCC patients as a potential theranostic biomarker, as well as its source and biological significance.

Stratification system with dual human endogenous retroviruses for predicting immunotherapy efficacy in metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma.

Background: Endogenous retrovirus (ERV) elements are genomic footprints of ancestral retroviral infections within the human genome. While the dysregulation of ERV transcription has been linked to immune cell infiltration in various cancers, its relationship with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) response in solid tumors, particularly metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), remains inadequately explored.

Methods: This study analyzed patients with metastatic ccRCC from two prospective clinical trials, encompassing 181 patients receiving nivolumab in the CheckMate trials (-009 to -010 and -025) and 48 patients treated with the ipilimumab-nivolumab combination in the BIONIKK trial.

Cisplatin- or Carboplatin-Based Chemotherapy Plus Pembrolizumab in Advanced Urothelial Cancer: Exploratory Analysis From the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-361 Study.

Introduction: KEYNOTE-361 evaluated first-line pembrolizumab with and without platinum-based chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone in advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma. The primary end points of progression-free survival (PFS) or overall survival (OS) were not met. Exploratory analysis of efficacy by platinum agent (cisplatin or carboplatin) is reported.

Validation of the Lung Immune Prognostic Index in patients with untreated advanced non-small cell lung cancer: Post hoc analysis of the IMpower 130, 131 and 150 trials.

Introduction: LIPI has been strongly correlated with immunotherapy (IT) outcomes in advanced NSCLC. Limited data is available for upfront chemotherapy (CT) + IT combinations. We aimed to study its prognostic value in 1st-line CT +/- IT +/- antiangiogenics.

Effects of cardiologic magnetic and optical stimulation on quality of life in patients receiving systemic treatment for cancer: a pilot study.

Background: Oncological systemic treatments such as cytotoxic chemotherapy, radiation therapy or treatment with biological response modifiers can alter the quality of life (QoL) of cancer patients.The aim of this study is to assess the effects of cardiologic magnetic and optical stimulation (CMOS) on QoL in patients with advanced cancer receiving systemic treatment. For this purpose, we designed a non-invasive device that can reproduce and dynamically modulate stimulations of the same nature as the biological electromagnetic emissions specific to the body (cardiac).

Association of Tumor Mutational Burden and PD-L1 with the Efficacy of Pembrolizumab with or without Chemotherapy versus Chemotherapy in Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma.

Purpose: The three-arm, phase III KEYNOTE-361 study did not meet its dual primary endpoints of progression-free survival (PFS) or overall survival (OS) with first-line pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy in advanced urothelial carcinoma. This prespecified exploratory analysis assessed the association of tumor mutational burden (TMB) and PD-L1 combined positive score (CPS) with clinical outcomes.

Patients And Methods: TMB and PD-L1 CPS were determined via whole-exome sequencing and PD-L1 IHC 22C3 pharmDx, respectively.

[Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and PARP inhibitors: From tumor genomics to new therapeutic combinations].

Castration-resistant metastatic prostate cancer remains lethal and a therapeutic challenge. Current strategies are geared towards the personalization of treatments based on the identification of relevant molecular targets, including genomic alterations involved in tumoral processes. Among these novel targeted therapies, poly-ADP-ribose polymerase inhibitors (PARPi), by blocking the action of enzymes involved in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) repair, induce the destruction of cells carrying defects in homologous recombination repair, often associated with alterations in genes involved in this mechanism.

Prostate-specific antigen and health-related quality of life in individuals with advanced prostate cancer treated with apalutamide: a plain language summary of the SPARTAN and TITAN studies.

What Is This Summary About?: This is a summary of a paper that describes the results of the SPARTAN and TITAN studies, which looked at whether a treatment called apalutamide can help treat individuals with advanced prostate cancer.The SPARTAN study included 1207 participants with nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (or nmCRPC). The TITAN study included 1052 participants with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (or mCSPC).

Intra-individual Dose Escalation of Abiraterone According to Its Plasma Exposure in Patients with Progressive Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer: Results of the OPTIMABI Trial.

Background And Objective: Trough abiraterone concentration (ABI C) of 8.4 ng/mL has been identified as an appropriate efficacy threshold in patients treated for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). The aim of the phase II OPTIMABI study was to evaluate the efficacy of pharmacokinetics (PK)-guided dose escalation of abiraterone acetate (AA) in underexposed patients with mCRPC with early tumour progression.

Radiation Therapy for Locally Advanced Prostate Cancer: How Do We Treat Patients with cN1 Disease?

Radiotherapy (RT) for high-risk localized prostate cancer (HRLPC) can be controversial in the context of increasing detection of suspicious lymph nodes via advanced imaging techniques. The EORTC 22683 trial initially established RT with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) as the standard of care for HRLPC, but many patients remain uncured. GETUG-AFU-12 showed that addition of docetaxel and estramustine to ADT improved relapse-free survival but not overall survival.

Adverse myocardial and vascular side effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors: a prospective multimodal cardiovascular assessment.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can induce cardiovascular toxicities.

Objectives: To prospectively assess the incidence of major cardiovascular events (MACE) on ICIs in solid cancer patients: myocarditis, pericarditis, acute coronary syndrome, heart failure, high-degree conduction abnormalities or sustained ventricular arrhythmias, or cardiovascular death at 6 weeks (early MACE), including asymptomatic clinical changes by an independent adjudication committee using current recommended diagnostic criteria. The secondary objective was the incidence of the above-mentioned events adding atrial fibrillation (AF) at 6 months (late MACE).

PD-L1 expression and its prognostic value in metastatic papillary renal cell carcinoma: Results from a GETUG multicenter retrospective cohort.

Introduction: Papillary renal cell carcinoma (pRCC) is a rare and aggressive cancer with no specifically established therapeutic strategy in the metastatic setting. Combinations of tyrosine kinase and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are a promising option. We aimed to study the immune landscape of metastatic pRCC, and its interactions with angiogenesis pathways, to search for potential therapeutic targets.