Primary systemic therapy for patients with brain metastases from lung cancer ineligible for targeted agents

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate overall survival after systemic therapy, largely chemotherapy, in patients with small cell or non-small cell lung cancer and brain metastases. After completion of systemic therapy, some patients received planned brain irradiation, while others were followed. Methods Retrospective cohort study. Results Thirty-eight patients were included (28 small cell, 20 followed with imaging). Six of these 20 patients (30%) received delayed radiotherapy during follow-up. Planned radiotherapy (n = 18, intention-to-treat) was associated with longer survival from diagnosis of brain metastases, median 10.8 versus 6.1 months, p = 0.025. Delayed radiotherapy still resulted in numerically better survival than no radiotherapy at all (median 8.8 versus 5.3 months, not significant). If calculated from the start of delayed radiotherapy, median survival was only 2.7 months. In a multivariable analysis, both Karnofsky performance status ≥ 70 (p = 0.03) and planned radiotherapy (p = 0.05) were associated with better survival. Conclusion In patients ineligible for targeted agents, planned radiotherapy in a modern treatment setting was associated with longer survival compared to no radiotherapy. Timing and type of radiotherapy in such patients should be evaluated in prospective trials to identify patients who might not need planned radiotherapy.

ESR1 PvuII polymorphism: from risk factor to prognostic and predictive factor of the success of primary systemic therapy in advanced breast cancer

Background The ESR1 gene encodes Estrogen Receptor alpha (ERα), which plays a role in the tumourigenesis of breast cancer. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in intron 1 of this gene called ESR1 PvuII (rs2234693) has been reported to increase the risk of breast cancer. This study aimed to investigate the ESR1 PvuII polymorphism as a prognostic and predictive factor guiding the choice of therapy for advanced breast cancer. Methods This retrospective study was conducted in 104 advanced breast cancer patients at Dharmais Cancer Hospital from 2011 to 2018. The ESR1 PvuII polymorphism was analysed by Sanger sequencing of DNA from primary breast tumour samples. Results The percentages of patients with ESR1 PvuII genotypes TT, TC, and CC were 42.3, 39.4, and 18.3%, respectively. Looking at prognosis, patients with ESR1 PvuII TC + CC had shorter overall survival than those with the TT genotype [HR = 1.79; 95% CI 1.05–3.04; p = 0.032]. As a predictive marker, TC + CC was associated with shorter survival (p = 0.041), but TC + CC patients on primary hormonal therapy had a median overall survival longer than TC + CC patients on primary chemotherapy (1072 vs 599 days). Conclusion The ESR1 PvuII TC + CC genotypes confer poor prognosis in advanced breast cancer, but these genotypes could be regarded as a good predictor of the therapeutic effect of hormonal treatment.

PET/MRI for Staging the Axilla in Breast Cancer: Current Evidence and the Rationale for SNB vs. PET/MRI Trials

Axillary surgery in breast cancer (BC) is no longer a therapeutic procedure but has become a purely staging procedure. The progressive improvement in imaging techniques has paved the way to the hypothesis that prognostic information on nodal status deriving from surgery could be obtained with an accurate diagnostic exam. Positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) is a relatively new imaging tool and its role in breast cancer patients is still under investigation. We reviewed the available literature on PET/MRI in BC patients. This overview showed that PET/MRI yields a high diagnostic performance for the primary tumor and distant lesions of liver, brain and bone. In particular, the results of PET/MRI in staging the axilla are promising. This provided the rationale for two prospective comparative trials between axillary surgery and PET/MRI that could lead to a further de-escalation of surgical treatment of BC. • SNB vs. PET/MRI 1 trial compares PET/MRI and axillary surgery in staging the axilla of BC patients undergoing primary systemic therapy (PST). • SNB vs. PET/MRI 2 trial compares PET/MRI and sentinel node biopsy (SNB) in staging the axilla of early BC patients who are candidates for upfront surgery. Finally, these ongoing studies will help clarify the role of PET/MRI in BC and establish whether it represents a useful diagnostic tool that could guide, or ideally replace, axillary surgery in the future.

The Clinical Relevance of Target Lymph Node Biopsy after Primary Systemic Therapy in Initially Node-Positive Breast Cancer Patients

Purpose: To assess the impact of the removal of the target lymph node (TLN) on therapy after the completion of primary systemic therapy (PST) in initially node-positive breast cancer patients. Methods: Pooled data analysis of participants of the prospective CLIP- and TATTOO-study at the University of Rostock was performed. Results: A total of 75 patients were included; 63 of them (84.0%) converted to clinically node-negative after PST. Both TLN and sentinel lymph node (SLN) were identified in 41 patients (51.2%). In five out of 63 patients (7.9%), the TLN was metastatic after PST and the SLN was either tumor-free or not detected. Axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) was conducted in all five patients. In one patient, systemic therapy recommendation was influenced by the TLN; adjuvant radiotherapy was influenced by the TLN in zero patients. For patients with fewer than three removed SLNs, the FNR was 28.6% for the SLN biopsy alone and 7.1% for targeted axillary dissection (TAD). Conclusions: Removal of the TLN in addition to the SLN after PST has only minimal impact on the type of adjuvant systemic therapy and radiotherapy. However, the extent of axillary surgery was relevantly affected and FNR was improved by TAD.

A single-arm confirmatory study to evaluate the efficacy of nonsurgical therapy for HER2-positive early breast cancer with clinical complete response after primary systemic therapy (JCOG1806: AMATERAS-BC study).

TPS601 Background: The surgical treatment is a standard therapy for early breast cancer (EBC) after primary systemic therapy (PST). In more than half of HER2 positive (HER2(+)) breast cancer, pathological complete response (pCR) is achieved by PST with HER2 inhibitors and chemotherapy. In addition, hormone receptor (HR) negative HER2(+) (HR(-)HER2(+)) subtype has higher concordance between pCR and clinical complete response (cCR) before surgery than other subtypes, especially in EBC. However, non-surgical therapy is not an option for EBC with cCR after PST because of few evidence. We planned single arm confirmatory study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the non-surgical therapy for HR(-)HER2(+) EBC with cCR after PST. Methods: The key eligibility criteria are as follows: 1) Histologically confirmed as invasive ductal carcinoma of breast, HR(-)HER2(+). 2) cT1-2, N0, M0 (UICC 8th). 3) No ipsilateral BC. 4) Women aged 20-74 years. 5) ECOG performance status 0 or 1. 6) Written informed consent. HER2 inhibitors (trastuzumab and pertuzumab) and cytotoxic drugs as PST are administered for all patients (pts). After completion of PST, cCR is diagnosed by breast imaging and physical examination. cCR is defined as 1) Not palpable breast mass by physical examination, 2) No enhanced breast mass by enhanced MRI, 3) No breast mass by sonography. After diagnosis of cCR, conventional radiotherapy for whole breast and boost radiation for tumor bed are mandatory, followed by pertuzumab and trastuzumab every 3 weeks during 9 months. In non-cCR cases, surgical resection is performed and adjuvant therapy are not specified. The primary endpoint is a distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) at 3 year, the secondary endpoints are DFS, OS, RFS, proportion of local recurrence, and cosmetics outcome. Given that the threshold and expected of DMFS at 3-year is 93% and 98% with a significance level 2.5% (one sided) and 80% power, 170 cCR cases are required. Assuming half of HER2 pts reach to cCR, 350 pts are required as sample size started PST. Enrollment launched January, 2020 and 57 pts are enrolled as of January 12, 2021. Recent reports found that HR positive HER2(+) subtype has higher concordance between pCR and cCR by adding needle biopsy in the diagnosis, so we are planning to include HR positive subtype in this trial. This clinical trial has been registered at Japan Registry of Clinical Trials as jRCTs031190129 and conducted by the Japan Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG) Breast Cancer Study Group under public fund (National Cancer Center Research and Development Fund). Clinical trial information: jRCTs031190129.

Primary Systemic Therapy for HER2/Neu-Positive Operable Breast Cancer Increases the Number of Breast-Conserving Surgery and Disease-Free Survival: Retrospective Cohort Analysis at Single Institution

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and cardiotoxicity profile, and to reduce the extend of breast cancer surgery in primary systemic therapy (PST) HER2/neu–positive operable breast cancer patients. Materials and Methods A total of 152 patients diagnosed from 2010 to 2015 were included in the study. The PST consisted of a sequential regimen of taxanes and anthracyclines plus trastuzumab. The clinical and pathological responses and the type of breast cancer surgery were evaluated and correlated with clinical and biological factors. The cardiotoxicity profile and long-term benefits were analyzed. Results The median patient age was 47 (37–67) years, with T2 and T3 67 (44.1%) and 85 (55.9%), respectively. Axillary lymph node breast cancer at diagnosis N0 was 104 (68.4%) and N1 and N2 were 28.9% and 2.6%, respectively. A total of 95.7% of patients had nonspecific type of breast cancer, 67% of tumors were hormonal receptor–negative, 75.5% were grade III, 100% Ki67 > 20%, and 90% of tumors were confirmed to be HER2/neu–positive through immunohistochemistry. Following PST, pathological complete response (pCR) rate was achieved in 44.7% evaluable patients. The pCR rate was higher in HR-negative (93.1% vs. 6.9%) cancer and in grade III (86.2%) than in grade I and II (13.8%) cancer; only 75.5% of complete response (CR) on ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging were also CR on pathology results. Breast conserving surgery was performed in 41.4%. Regarding type of chemotherapy, there were no significant differences between chemotherapy with anthracycline backbone or taxanes to achieved pathological complete response. Despite that, we were unable to demonstrate an association between pCR and better DFS with p = 0.096; HR 5.7 95.0% CI (0.73–45.52). Patients who are hormonal receptor positive tend to have lower disease-free survival (DFS) than those who are hormonal receptor negative; HR = 6.34, 95.0% CI (1.54–26.00) and p = 0.010. Five years DFS was higher for those who achieved pCR compare with those who did not. Even in this research we failed to show it is statistically significant. Conclusion A sequential regimen of taxanes and anthracyclines plus trastuzumab was effective with high pCR rates and increases the possibility to do breast conservation surgery and had tolerable cardiotoxicity profile.