Background Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) targeting programmed cell death protein 1 and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4 has achieved modest clinical activity as salvage therapy in relapsed small cell lung cancer (SCLC). We conducted this signal-finding study to assess the efficacy of ICB with or without radiation in relapsed SCLC. Methods Patients with relapsed SCLC and ≤2 previous lines of therapy were randomized to (1) arm A: durvalumab (D) 1500 mg/tremelimumab (T) 75 mg (intravenously every 4 weeks without stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT)) or (2) arm B: immune-sensitizing SBRT to one selected tumor site (9 Gy × 3 fractions) followed by D/T. Treatment continued until progression or a maximum of 12 months. The co-primary endpoints of the study were overall response rate (ORR) and progression-free survival (PFS). We evaluated circulating lymphocyte repertoire in serial peripheral blood samples and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) from on-treatment biopsies as pharmacodynamic markers. Results Eighteen patients were randomized to arms A and B (n=9 each): median age 70 years; 41.2% women. The median PFS and ORR were 2.1 months and 0% in arm A and 3.3 months and 28.6% in arm B. The median overall survival (OS) was 2.8 months in arm A and 5.7 months in arm B (p=0.3772). Pooled efficacy of D/T±SBRT in 15 Response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (RECIST) evaluable patients across both arms showed the best ORR in terms of partial response in 13.3%, stable disease in 26.6% and progressive disease in 60.0%; the overall median PFS and OS were 2.76 and 3.9 months. The most common adverse events were grade 1 fatigue (66%) and grade 1 elevated amylase (56%) in arm A, and grade 1 fatigue (56%) and pain (44%) in arm B. There was a significant increase in activated CD8(+)ICOS+ T cells (p=0.048) and a reduction in naïve T cells (p=0.0454) in peripheral blood following treatment, along with a significant amount of activated CD8+ICOS+ T cells in TILs from responders. Conclusions The D/T combination with and without SBRT was safe but did not show sufficient efficacy signal in relapsed SCLC. Changes in peripheral blood lymphocyte and TILs were consistent with an immunologic response.

Background: SCLC has limited treatment options and inadequate preclinical models. Promising activity of arsenic trioxide (ASO) recorded in conventional preclinical models of SCLC supported the clinical evaluation of ASO in patients. We assessed the efficacy of ASO in relapsed SCLC patients and in corresponding patient-derived xenografts (PDX). Methods: Single arm, Simon 2-stage, phase II trial to enroll patients with relapsed SCLC who have failed at least one line of therapy. ASO was administered as an intravenous infusion over 1-2h daily for 4days in week 1 and for 2days in weeks 2-6 of an 8-week cycle. Treatment continued until disease progression. Pretreatment tumor biopsy was employed for PDX generation through direct implantation into subcutaneous pockets of SCID mice without in vitro manipulation and serially propagated for five generations. Ex vivo efficacy of cisplatin (3mg/kg i.p. weekly) and ASO (3.75mg/kg i.p. every other day) was tested in PDX representative of platinum sensitive and platinum refractory SCLC. Results: The best response in 17 evaluable patients was stable disease in 2 (12%), progressive disease in 15 (88%) patients and median time-to-progression of seven (range 1-7) weeks. PDX was successfully grown in 5 of 9 (56%) transplanted biopsy samples. Serially-propagated PDXs preserved characteristic small cell histology and genomic stability confirmed by immunohistochemistry, short tandem repeat (STR) profiling and targeted sequencing. ASO showed in vitro cytotoxicity but lacked in vivo efficacy against SCLC PDX tumor growth. Conclusions: Cisplatin inhibited growth of PDX derived from platinum-sensitive SCLC but was ineffective against PDX from platinum-refractory SCLC. Strong concordance between clinical and ex vivo effects of ASO and cisplatin in SCLC supports the use of PDX models to prescreen promising anticancer agents prior to clinical testing in SCLC patients.

Background Significant controversy remains regarding the care of patients with clinical stage III (N2‐positive) NSCLC. Although multimodality therapy is effective, the roles of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy are not fully defined and the optimal treatment approach is not firmly established. We analyzed outcomes and predictors associated with trimodality therapy (TT) in the National Cancer Database. Materials and Methods The NCDB was queried from 2004 to 2014 for patients with NSCLC diagnosed with stage III (N2) disease and treated with chemotherapy and radiation (CRT). Three cohorts of patients were studied: CRT only/no surgery (NS), CRT plus lobectomy (LT), and CRT plus pneumonectomy (PT). The univariate and multivariable analyses (MVA) were conducted using Cox proportional hazards model and log‐rank tests. Results A total of 29,754 patients were included in this analysis: NS 90.1%, LT 8.4%, and PT 1.5%. Patient characteristics: median age 66 years; male 56% and white 85%. Patients treated at academic centers were more likely to receive TT compared with those treated at community centers (odds ratio: 1.85 [1.53–2.23]; p < .001). On MVA, patients that received TT were associated with better survival than those that received only CRT (hazard ratio: 0.59 [0.55–0.62]; p < .001). The LT group was associated with significantly better survival than the PT and NS groups (median survival: 62.8 months vs. 51.8 months vs. 34.2 months, respectively). In patients with more than two nodes involved, PT was associated with worse survival than LT and NS (median survival: 51.4 months in LT and 39 months in NS vs. 37 months in PT). The 30‐day and 90‐day mortality rates were found to be significantly higher in PT patients than in LT. Conclusion TT was used in less than 10% of patients with stage III N2 disease, suggesting high degree of patient selection. In this selected group, TT was associated with favorable outcomes relative to CRT alone. Implications for Practice This analysis demonstrates that trimodality therapy could benefit a selected subset of patients with stage III (N2) disease. This plan should be considered as a treatment option following patient evaluation in a multidisciplinary setting in experienced medical centers with the needed expertise.

BACKGROUND: Monoclonal antibodies against programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) are effective therapies in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Herein, the authors performed a systematic review investigating differences in the toxicities of PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors. METHODS: An electronic literature search was performed of public databases (MEDLINE, Excerpta Medica dataBASE [EMBASE], and Cochrane) and conference proceedings for trials using PD-1 inhibitors (nivolumab and pembrolizumab) and PD-L1 inhibitors (atezolizumab, durvalumab, and avelumab) in patients with NSCLC. A formal systematic analysis was conducted with Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software (version 2.2). Clinical and demographic characteristics, response, and toxicity data were compared between both groups. RESULTS: A total of 23 studies reported between 2013 and 2016 were eligible for analysis. The total number of patients evaluated for toxicities was 3284 patients in the PD-1 group and 2460 patients in the PD-L1 group. The baseline patient characteristics of the 2 groups were similar, although there was a trend toward increased squamous histology in the group treated with PD-L1 (32% vs 25%; P =.6). There was no difference in response rate noted between PD-1 (19%) and PD-L1 (18.6%) inhibitors (P =.17). The incidence of overall adverse events (AEs) was comparable between the PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors (64% [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 63%-66%] vs 66% [95% CI, 65%-69%]; P =.8). Fatigue was the most frequently reported AE with both classes of drugs. Patients treated with PD-1 inhibitors were found to have a slightly increased rate of immune-related AEs (16% [95% CI, 14%-17%] vs 11% [95% CI, 10%-13%]; P =.07) and pneumonitis (4% [95% CI, 3%-5%] vs 2% [95% CI, 1%-3%]; P =.01) compared with patients who received PD-L1 inhibitors. CONCLUSIONS: In this systematic review involving 5744 patients with NSCLC, the toxicity and efficacy profiles of PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors appear to be similar. Cancer 2018;124:271-7. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

Background Lung cancer is the leading cause of death among non-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) defining malignancies. Since highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) has improved survival for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients, we evaluated lung cancer outcomes in the HAART era. Methods HIV-positive patients diagnosed with lung cancer in our institution during the HAART era (1995-2008) were analyzed. Patient charts were reviewed for clinical and laboratory data. CD4 count at diagnosis was treated as a continuous variable and subcategorized into distinct variables with 3 cut-off points (50, 200, & 500 μl). Pearson’s correlation coefficients were estimated for each covariate studied. Survival was determined by the Kaplan-Meier method. Results Out of 80 patients, 73 had non-small cell lung cancer. Baseline characteristics were: median age-52 yrs; male-80%; African American-84%; injection drug use-25%; smokers-100%; and prior exposure to antiretroviral agents-55%. Mean CD4 count and viral load were 304 μL and 82,420 copies/ml, respectively at cancer diagnosis. The latency between diagnosis of HIV and lung cancer was significantly shorter in women (4.1 yrs vs. 7.7 yrs, P=0.02) and 71% of the patients received anti-cancer therapy. The 1- and 3-year survival rates were 31% and 4% overall. Grade 3/4 toxicities occurred in 60% with chemo-radiation vs. 36% with chemotherapy. Cancer-related survival was better for patients with CD4 count >200 (P=0.0298) and >500 (P=0.0076). Conclusions The latency from diagnosis of HIV to lung cancer was significantly shorter for women. Although outcomes for lung cancer patients with HIV remain poor, high CD4 count is associated with an improved lung cancer-related survival.