Published papers

Background: In the BEACON CRC study (NCT02928224), encorafenib plus cetuximab with binimetinib {9.3 versus 5.9 months; hazard ratio (HR) [95% confidence interval (CI)]: 0.60 [0.47-0.75]} or without binimetinib [9.3 versus 5.9 months; HR (95% CI): 0.61 (0.48-0.77)] significantly improved overall survival (OS) compared with the previous standard of care (control) in patients with BRAF V600E metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Quality of life (QoL) was a secondary endpoint, assessed using validated instruments. Patients and methods: BEACON CRC was a randomized, open-label, phase III study comparing encorafenib plus cetuximab with or without binimetinib and the investigator's choice of irinotecan plus cetuximab or FOLFIRI plus cetuximab (chemotherapy control) in patients with previously treated BRAF V600E mCRC. Patient-reported QoL assessments included the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy—Colorectal (FACT-C). The primary outcome for these tools was time to definitive 10% deterioration. Results: Encorafenib plus cetuximab, both with and without binimetinib, was associated with longer median times to definitive 10% deterioration versus the control group in the EORTC Global Health Status scale [HR (95% CI): 0.65 (0.52-0.80) versus 0.61 (0.49-0.75), respectively] and the FACT-C functional well-being subscale [HR (95% CI): 0.62 (0.50-0.76) versus 0.58 (0.47-0.72), respectively]. Consistent results were observed across all subscales of the EORTC and FACT-C instruments. QoL was generally maintained during treatment for the global EORTC and FACT-C scales. Conclusions: In addition to improving OS, encorafenib plus cetuximab with or without binimetinib delays QoL decline in previously treated patients with BRAF V600E-mutant mCRC.

Background: Treatment toxicity and disease-related symptoms of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) can adversely affect quality of life (QoL). Maintaining QoL is an important treatment goal alongside improving survival outcomes. Quality-adjusted time without symptoms of disease or toxicity (Q-TWiST) measures the quality of patients’ survival by assessing the proportion of survival time that is free of symptoms/toxicity. The phase III FRESCO-2 study met its primary endpoint, demonstrating improved overall survival with fruquintinib plus best supportive care (BSC) versus placebo plus BSC [hazard ratio 0.66, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.55-0.80, P < 0.001]. This post hoc Q-TWiST analysis compared the benefit–risk of fruquintinib versus placebo in all patients randomized in FRESCO-2. Methods: Patients with refractory mCRC in the USA, Europe, Japan, and Australia were randomized to receive fruquintinib (n = 461) or placebo (n = 230) plus BSC until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients’ survival time was partitioned as follows: time from randomization with grade 3/4 treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) before progression (TOX); time from randomization to progression without grade 3/4 TEAEs (TWiST); and time from progression to death/censoring (REL). Q-TWiST was calculated as the combined utility-weighted mean durations of each health state, assuming utility coefficients of 1 for TWiST and 0.5 for TOX and REL. Results: Q-TWiST was improved when fruquintinib (versus placebo) was added to BSC, with a between-treatment difference of 2.0 months (95% CI 1.5-2.6 months, P < 0.05) and a relative improvement of 31.4%. This effect was primarily driven by the difference in the TWiST component [mean difference 2.1 months (95% CI 1.8-2.5 months), P < 0.05]. Q-TWiST improvements were consistent in all subgroups, including by age, sex, liver metastases, and primary tumor site. The subgroup and sensitivity analysis results confirmed the robustness of the primary analysis findings. Conclusions: Fruquintinib provides a clinically meaningful quality-adjusted survival benefit versus placebo in refractory mCRC.

Background: As mCRC and its treatment can adversely impact quality of life (QoL), maintaining QoL is an important treatment goal in addition to improving survival outcomes, particularly as patients progress through lines of therapy. In the global, randomized, double-blind, phase 3 FRESCO-2 trial (NCT04322539), fruquintinib (F) + BSC vs placebo (P) + BSC demonstrated significantly improved overall survival (OS) (median 7.4 months vs 4.8 months; HR 0.66, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.55–0.80) and progression-free survival, with a manageable safety profile and without deterioration of QoL in heavily pretreated patients with refractory mCRC. The objective of this post-hoc Q-TWiST analysis was to assess the quality-adjusted survival benefit of F + BSC in the context of the FRESCO-2 trial. Methods: The Q-TWiST analysis was applied to all 691 randomized patients from FRESCO-2 (F + BSC n=461 vs P + BSC n=230). Survival time of each patient was partitioned into 3 health states: time spent with treatment-emergent adverse events of CTCAE grade 3 or 4 before disease progression (TOX), time before disease progression without toxicity (TWiST), and time between disease progression and death or censoring (REL). Assuming utility coefficients of 1 for TWIST and 0.5 for TOX and REL, Q-TWiST was calculated as the utility-weighted sum of the time spent in each health state. The mean time spent in each of the 3 health states was calculated for each treatment group using Kaplan-Meier analysis, and a 95% CI for the difference between treatment was calculated using the nonparametric bootstrap method. Results: Q-TWiST was 6.25 months for F + BSC and 4.21 months for P + BSC, a difference of 2.04 (95% CI 1.51–2.57) months longer with F + BSC vs P + BSC. This difference in Q-TWiST was mainly driven by the difference in the TWiST component (2.14 months [95% CI 1.78–2.49]; F + BSC 4.06 months vs P + BSC 1.92 months). The relative Q-TWiST gain, calculated as the difference in Q-TWiST divided by the mean OS time of the P + BSC group, was 31.4% in favor of F + BSC. Conclusions: In the FRESCO-2 trial, F + BSC demonstrated a clinically meaningful quality-adjusted survival benefit compared with P + BSC in heavily pretreated patients with refractory mCRC.

We discuss the local and quasilocal properties of the loosely trapped surface (LTS) and the attractive gravity probe surface (AGPS), which have been proposed to characterize the strength of gravity in both strong and weak gravity regions using the mean curvature. In terms of local mass defined in a region surrounded by the two AGPSs and of Geroch quasilocal mass, we present several inequalities concerning their size and area, which are of particular interest. We also propose the improved concepts of the LTS/AGPS, which we call LTS Plus (LTS+) and AGPS Plus (AGPS$+$), defined in terms of expansions of outgoing and ingoing null geodesic congruences on those surfaces. Then, the similar inequalities are proven in terms of appropriately defined local mass and the Hawking quasilocal mass.

Background: The QUATTRO-II trial examined the efficacy and safety of capecitabine+oxaliplatin+irinotecan (CAPOXIRI)+bevacizumab (BEV) vs. 5-fluorouracil+folinic acid+oxaliplatin+irinotecan (FOLFOXIRI)+BEV in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Methods: In this phase II study (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04097444; jRCTs041190072), patients were randomized (1:1) to FOLFOXIRI+BEV or CAPOXIRI+BEV. The induction treatment in the FOLFOXIRI+BEV/CAPOXIRI+BEV arms was continued for 8/6 cycles (maximum 12/8 cycles if feasible), and the maintenance treatment was 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin+BEV or capecitabine+BEV at the investigators’ discretion. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS), with the two arms deemed equivalent if the hazard ratio (HR) of the point estimate was 0.80 < HR < 1.25. Secondary endpoints were overall response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS), incidence of adverse events (AEs), and patient-reported outcomes. Findings: Overall, 51 and 52 patients were randomized to FOLFOXIRI+BEV and CAPOXIRI+BEV, respectively. The study met its primary endpoint; PFS at median follow-up of 23.7 months was 10.6 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 7.7–13.3) in the FOLFOXIRI+BEV arm vs. 10.9 months (95% CI, 9.3–14.3) in the CAPOXIRI+BEV arm (HR 1.114 [0.80 < HR < 1.25], p = 0.654). In the FOLFOXIRI+BEV vs. CAPOXIRI+BEV arms, the 2-year OS rate (95% CI) was 65.5% (49.5%–77.6%) vs. 74.3% (59.8%–84.2%), and the ORR (95% CI) was 76.5% (62.5%–87.2%) vs. 84.6% (71.9%–93.1%). Major (grade ≥3) AEs in the FOLFOXIRI+BEV vs. CAPOXIRI+BEV arms were neutropenia (68.6% vs. 40.4%), febrile neutropenia (9.8% vs. 11.5%), diarrhea (7.8% vs. 17.3%), and appetite loss (7.8% vs. 17.3%). Conclusion: CAPOXIRI+BEV was well tolerated with reduced hematological toxicity and efficacy comparable to those of FOLFOXIRI+BEV, providing a potentially convenient first-line treatment alternative to FOLFOXIRI+BEV in patients with mCRC. Funding: Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

The treatment for lymph node involvement (LNI) after radical prostatectomy (RP) has not been established. This study aimed to reveal the outcomes of various management strategies among patients with LNI after RP. Retrospectively, 561 patients with LNI after pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) with RP treated between 2006 and 2019 at 33 institutions participating in the Japanese Urological Oncology Group were investigated. Metastasis-free survival (MFS) was the primary outcome. Patients were stratified by prostate-specific antigen (PSA) persistence after RP. Cox regression models were used to analyze the relationships between clinicopathological characteristics and survival. Survival analyses were conducted using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test with or without propensity score matching. Prognoses, including MFS and overall survival, were prominently inferior among patients with persistent PSA compared with those without persistent PSA. In multivariate analysis, androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) plus radiotherapy (RT) was associated with better MFS than ADT alone among patients with persistent PSA (hazard ratio = 0.37; 95% confidence interval = 0.15-0.93; p = 0.034). Similarly, MFS and overall survival were significantly better for ADT plus RT than for ADT alone among patients with persistent PSA after propensity score matching. This study indicated that PSA persistence in LNI prostate cancer increased the risk of poor prognoses, and intensive treatment featuring the addition of RT to ADT might improve survival.

PURPOSE: Rapid decision-making is essential in precision medicine for initiating molecular targeted therapy for patients with cancer. This study aimed to extract pathomorphologic features that enable the accurate prediction of genetic abnormalities in cancer from hematoxylin and eosin images using deep learning (DL). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: A total of 1,657 images (one representative image per patient) of thin formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections from either primary or metastatic tumors with next-generation sequencing-confirmed genetic abnormalities-including BRAFV600E and KRAS mutations, and microsatellite instability high (MSI-H)-that are directly relevant to therapeutic strategies for advanced colorectal cancer were obtained from the nationwide SCRUM-Japan GI-SCREEN project. The images were divided into three groups of 986, 248, and 423 images to create one training and two validation cohorts, respectively. Pathomorphologic feature-prediction DL models were first developed on the basis of pathomorphologic features. Subsequently, gene-prediction DL models were constructed for all possible combinations of pathomorphologic features that enabled the prediction of gene abnormalities based on images filtered by the combination of pathomorphologic feature-prediction models. RESULTS: High accuracies were achieved, with AUCs > 0.90 and 0.80 for 12 and 27, respectively, of 33 analyzed pathomorphologic features, with high AUCs being yielded for both BRAFV600E (0.851 and 0.859) and MSI-H (0.923 and 0.862). CONCLUSIONS: These findings show that novel next-generation pathology methods can predict genetic abnormalities without the need for standard-of-care gene tests, and this novel next-generation pathology method can be applied for colorectal cancer treatment planning in the near future.

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous bladder rupture (SBR) is very rare and can be associated with advanced bladder cancer. Because of its rarity, the optimal management of bladder cancer with SBR has not been established. Herein, we report a case of SBR due to locally advanced bladder cancer, which rapidly invaded the ileum and caused peritoneal dissemination. Case Presentation. An 86-year-old man presented with sudden-onset lower abdominal pain and distension. The patient was diagnosed with bladder perforation and bladder tumor on contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT). Transurethral resection of the bladder tumor revealed an invasive urothelial carcinoma with squamous differentiation. Although radical cystectomy with lymph node dissection was planned, preoperative CECT and magnetic resonance imaging revealed enlargement of the bilateral iliac regional lymph nodes, multiple peritoneal nodules, and invasion of the bladder tumor to the ileocecum. Therefore, cystectomy and resection of ileocecum with palliative intent and bilateral cutaneous ureterostomy were performed. However, the patient's general condition rapidly worsened after surgery, and he died 74 days after the initial diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: We encountered a case of SBR accompanied by bladder cancer with extremely rapid progression, which suggested the importance of short-interval repeat imaging examinations. Emergency surgery should be considered when bladder cancer is suspected in patients with SBR so as not to miss the window period of a possible cure.

We demonstrated real-time imaging of alpha-ray tracks using a high-pressure, high-temperature synthetic diamond scintillator. The optical microscopy system consisted of a magnification objective lens and an electron-multiplying charge-coupled device (EMCCD) to detect luminescence from the diamond substrate irradiated with alpha-rays from a 241Am source. Optical images of alpha-ray tracks were successfully captured under ambient conditions, and image processing methods were performed to enable automatic event recognition and track length detection. These results demonstrate that diamond is a promising scintillator material for alpha-ray imaging, representing an important step toward exploiting the potential of diamond scintillators

36Background: The incidence of eo CRC (age of onset: <50 years) is rising globally, although specific reasons remain unknown. In a prior study using the ARCAD database, the addition of EGFRi to chemotherapy (chemo) significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) in late-onset (lo) KRAS wild-type (wt) left-sided mCRC patients (pts); however, no such effect was observed in eo mCRC pts (Jin Z et al., 2022). Methods: This retrospective study used the nationwide Flatiron Health electronic health record-derived de-identified database of adult patients diagnosed with mCRC on/after January 1, 2013 with data cut-off on June 30, 2023. The cohort included pts with RAS/BRAF wt and left-sided primary tumors who were treated with first-line (1L) chemo+EGFRi, chemo+bevacizumab (bev), or chemo alone. Associations of disease onset and 1L therapy with real-world overall survival and time to next treatment (rwOS, rwTTNT) were assessed using Kaplan-Meier methods and hazard models adjusted for clinical confounders including year of metastatic diagnosis, group stage at initial diagnosis, site of disease, gender, race/ethnicity, and ECOG performance status. Results: Among 895 left-sided RAS/BRAF wt mCRC pts, 216 and 679 pts had eo and lo mCRC, respectively. In pts treated with chemo+EGFRi vs chemo alone, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) (95% CI) of rwTTNT was 0.93 (0.56-1.53) and 0.77 (0.58-1.02) for eo and lo pts, respectively; the adjusted HR (95% CI) of rwOS was 0.96 (0.51-1.83) and 0.78 (0.57-1.07) in eo and lo pts, respectively. In pts treated with chemo+bev vs chemo alone, the adjusted HR (95% CI) of rwTTNT was 1.00 (0.62-1.60) and 0.75 (0.58-0.97) for eo and lo pts, respectively; the adjusted HR (95% CI) of rwOS was 0.97 (0.54-1.75) and 0.78 (0.58-1.03) in eo and lo pts, respectively. Conclusions: Adding EGFRi to chemotherapy suggested potential improvements in rwTTNT and rwOS in lo pts but not in eo pts, similar to findings from the prior ARCAD database study. Such differences in outcomes, similarly observed in pts treated with chemo+bev, underscore the need for tailored therapeutic strategies. Given the wide confidence intervals in this study, future research with larger patient cohorts or longer follow-up may yield more precise estimates of these differences. [Table presented]

The US Food and Drug Administration approves tissue-agnostic therapies to target tumor biomarkers regardless of tumor type. In light of the growing number of such approvals in recent years, a better understanding of their relative clinical benefit across cancer types is required. To address this need, we analyzed tissue-agnostic indications (TMB-High, MSI-High/MMRd, BRAFV600E mutations, and NTRK and RET fusions) in a database of 295,316 molecularly-profiled tumor samples with associated clinical outcomes data. Here, we show that 21.5% of tumors harbored at least one of the tissue-agnostic indications investigated, including 5.4% lacking a cancer-specific indication. Our analysis reveals poor uptake of targeted therapies for rare NTRK fusions, significant differences in pembrolizumab-associated outcomes across tumor types for TMB-High and MSI-High/MMRd, as well as clinical benefits in tumor types and drugs of the same class not investigated in the pivotal clinical trials. These results demonstrate that treatment effects are not necessarily tissue-agnostic, and suggest possible expansion of therapeutic avenues for a given tissue-agnostic indication.

BACKGROUND: Disease-free survival (DFS) with a 3-year median follow-up (3-year DFS) was validated as a surrogate for overall survival (OS) with a 5-year median follow-up (5-year OS) in adjuvant chemotherapy colon cancer (CC) trials. Recent data show further improvements in OS and survival after recurrence in patients who received adjuvant FOLFOX. Hence, reevaluation of the association between DFS and OS and determination of the optimal follow-up duration of OS to aid its utility in future adjuvant trials are needed. METHODS: Individual patient data from 9 randomized studies conducted between 1998 and 2009 were included; 3 trials tested biologics. Trial-level surrogacy examining the correlation of treatment effect estimates of 3-year DFS with 5 to 6.5-year OS was evaluated using both linear regression (RWLS2) and Copula bivariate (RCopula2) models and reported with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). For R2, a value closer to 1 indicates a stronger correlation. RESULTS: Data from a total of 18 396 patients were analyzed (median age = 59 years; 54.0% male), with 54.1% having low-risk tumors (T1-3 and N1), 31.6% KRAS mutated, 12.3% BRAF mutated, and 12.4% microsatellite instability high or deficient mismatch repair tumors. Trial-level correlation between 3-year DFS and 5-year OS remained strong (RWLS2 = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.67 to 0.98; RCopula2 = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.83 to 1.00) and increased as the median follow-up of OS extended. Analyses limited to trials that tested biologics showed consistent results. CONCLUSIONS: Three-year DFS remains a validated surrogate endpoint for 5-year OS in adjuvant CC trials. The correlation was likely strengthened with 6 years of follow-up for OS.

Background: Oncogenic mutations in BRAF genes are found in approximately 5–10% of colorectal cancers. The majority of BRAF mutations are located within exons 11–15 of the catalytic kinase domains, with BRAF V600E accounting for more than 80% of the observed BRAF mutations. Sensitivity to BRAF- and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK) inhibitors varies depending on BRAF mutations and tumor cell types. Previously, we newly identified, BRAF L525R-mutation, in the activation segment of the kinase in colorectal cancer patient. Here, we characterized the function of the BRAF L525R mutation. Methods: HEK293 cells harboring a BRAF mutation (V600E or L525R) were first characterized and then treated with cetuximab, dabrafenib, and selumetinib. Cell viability was measured using WST-1 assay and the expression of proteins involved in the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathways was evaluated using western blot analysis. Results: The MEK inhibitor selumetinib effectively inhibited cell proliferation and ERK phosphorylation in BRAF L525R cells but not in BRAF V600E cells. Further studies revealed that AKT phosphorylation was reduced by selumetinib in BRAF L525R cells but not in BRAF V600E cells or selumetinib-resistant BRAF L525R cells. Moreover, the AKT inhibitor overcame the selumetinib resistance. Conclusions: We established a model system harboring BRAF L525R using HEK293 cells. BRAF L525R constitutively activated ERK. AKT phosphorylation caused sensitivity and resistance to selumetinib. Our results suggest that a comprehensive network analysis may provide insights to identify effective therapies.