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  Risk-based decision-making in the treatment of HER2-positive early breast cancer: Recommendations based on the current state of knowledge

  Jackisch, C.; Cortazar, P.; Geyer, C. E.; Gianni, L.; Gligorov, J.; Machackova, Z.; Perez, E. A.; Schneeweiss, A.; Tolaney, S. M.; Untch, M.; et al. (2021)

  Treatment of HER2-positive early breast cancer (EBC) continues to evolve with neoadjuvant (pre-operative) and adjuvant (post-operative) HER2-targeted therapies as standard of care. There are two important decision points. The first involves deciding between neoadjuvant therapy or proceeding directly to surgery. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) plus pertuzumab-trastuzumab is appropriate for patients with high-risk HER2-positive EBC (tumour diameter ≥2 cm, and/or node-positive disease). Patients with node-negative disease and tumour diameter <2 cm are candidates for upfront surgery followed by paclitaxel for 12 weeks plus 18 cycles of trastuzumab, with the option to add pertuzumab (if pN+). The second decision point involves the pathohistological result at surgery after neoadjuvant therapy. Total pathological complete response (tpCR: ypT0/is, ypN0) is associated with improved survival endpoints. Patients with tumours ≥2 cm and/or node-positive disease at diagnosis who have a tpCR after dual blockade should continue pertuzumab-trastuzumab in the adjuvant setting to complete 1 year (18cycles) of treatment. For patients with invasive residual disease, 14cycles of post-neoadjuvant trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) therapy significantly increases invasive-DFS compared with trastuzumab. Extended adjuvant therapy with neratinib is an option in selected patients (HER2-positive and oestrogen receptor [ER]-positive) who have completed adjuvant trastuzumab-based therapy. Less aggressive chemotherapy regimens are recommended in populations with a lower risk of recurrence (patients with small tumours without axillary involvement; patients unlikely to tolerate anthracycline-taxane or taxane-carboplatin regimens). Ultimately, treatment recommendations should be consistent with local and international guidelines. Further studies will guide optimisation of treatment for patients with HER2-positive EBC according to the risk of disease recurrence.
• The Magnolia Trial: Zanubrutinib, a next-generation bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor, demonstrates safety and efficacy in relapsed/refractory marginal zone lymphoma

  Opat, S.; Tedeschi, A.; Linton, Kim M; McKay, P.; Hu, B.; Chan, H.; Jin, J.; Sobieraj-Teague, M.; Zinzani, P. L.; Coleman, M.; et al. (2021)

  Purpose: Marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) is an uncommon non-Hodgkin lymphoma with malignant cells that exhibit a consistent dependency on B-cell receptor signaling. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of zanubrutinib, a next-generation selective Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor, in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) MZL. Experimental design: Patients with R/R MZL were enrolled in the phase 2 MAGNOLIA (BGB-3111-214) study. The primary endpoint was overall response rate (ORR) as determined by an independent review committee (IRC) based on the Lugano 2014 classification. Results: Sixty-eight patients were enrolled. After a median follow-up of 15.7 months (range, 1.6 to 21.9 months), the IRC-assessed ORR was 68.2% and complete response (CR) was 25.8%. The ORR by investigator assessment was 74.2%, and the CR rate was 25.8%. The median duration of response (DOR) and median progression-free survival (PFS) by independent review was not reached. The IRC-assessed DOR rate at 12 months was 93.0%, and IRC-assessed PFS rate was 82.5% at both 12 and 15 months.with the majority of adverse events (AEs) being grade 1 or 2. The most common AEs were diarrhea (22.1%), contusion (20.6%), and constipation (14.7%). Atrial fibrillation/flutter was reported in two patients; one patient had grade 3 hypertension. No patient experienced major hemorrhage. In total, four patients discontinued treatment due to AEs, of which was considered treatment-related by the investigators. Conclusions: Zanubrutinib demonstrated high ORR and CR rate with durable disease control and a favorable safety profile in patients with R/R MZL.
• International variation in childhood cancer mortality rates from 2001-2015: comparison of trends in the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership countries

  Smith, L.; Stiller, C. A.; Aitken, J. F.; Hjalgrim, L. L.; Johannesen, T.; Lahteenmaki, P.; McCabe, Martin G; Phillips, R.; Pritchard-Jones, K.; Steliarova-Foucher, E.; et al. (2021)

  Despite improved survival rates, cancer remains one of the most common causes of childhood death. The International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP) showed variation in cancer survival for adults. We aimed to assess and compare trends over time in cancer mortality between children, adolescents and young adults (AYAs) and adults in the six countries involved in the ICBP: UK, Denmark, Australia, Canada, Norway and Sweden. Trends in mortality between 2001 and 2015 in the six original ICBP countries were examined. Age standardized mortality rates (ASR per million) were calculated for all cancers, leukaemia, malignant and benign CNS tumours, and non-CNS solid tumours. ASRs were reported for children (age 0-14 years), AYAs aged 15-39 years, and adults aged 40 years and above. Average annual percentage change (AAPC) in mortality rates per country were estimated using Joinpoint regression. For all cancers combined, significant temporal reductions were observed in all countries and all age groups. However, the overall AAPC was greater for children (-2.9; 95% CI -4.0 to -1.7) compared to AYAs (-1.8; -2.1 to -1.5) and adults aged>40 years (-1.5; -1.6 to -1.4). This pattern was mirrored for leukaemia, CNS tumours and non-CNS solid tumours, with the difference being most pronounced for leukaemia: AAPC for children -4.6 (-6.1 to -3.1) vs AYAs -3.2 (-4.2 to -2.1) and over 40s -1.1 (-1.3 to -0.8). AAPCs varied between countries in children for all cancers except leukaemia, and in adults over 40 for all cancers combined, but not in subgroups. Improvements in cancer mortality rates in ICBP countries have been most marked among children aged 0-14s in comparison to 15-39 and over 40 year olds. This may reflect better care, including centralised service provision, treatment protocols and higher trial recruitment rates in children compared to older patients.
• Reply to: Comment on: Unsatisfactory quality of E. coli asparaginase biogenerics in India-Implications for clinical outcomes in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

  Sidhu, J.; Saha, Vaskar; Krishnan, Shekhar; Department of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology, Tata Medical Center, Kolkata, India (2021)
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  Subpathologies and genomic classifier for treatment individualization of post-prostatectomy radiotherapy

  Ramotar, M.; Chua, M. L. K.; Truong, H.; Hosni, A.; Pintilie, M.; Davicioni, E.; Fleshner, N. E.; Dicker, A. P.; Bristow, Robert G; He, H. H.; et al. (2021)

  Purpose/objective: Risk-stratification for post-prostatectomy radiotherapy (PORT) using conventional clinicopathologic indexes leads to substantial over- and under-treatment. Better patient selection could spare unnecessary toxicities and improve outcomes. We investigated the prognostic utility of unfavorable subpathologies intraductal carcinoma and cribriform architecture (IDC/CA), and a 22-gene Decipher genomic classifier (GC) in prostate cancer (PCa) patients receiving PORT. Material/methods: A cohort of 302 men who received PORT at 2 academic institutions was pooled. PORT was predominately delivered as salvage (62% of cases); 20% received HT+PORT. Specimens were centrally reviewed for IDC/CA presence. In 104 cases, GC scores were determined. Endpoints were biochemical relapse-free (bRFR) and metastasis-free (mFR) rates. Results: After a median follow-up of 6.49-years, 135 (45%) and 40 (13%) men experienced biochemical relapse and metastasis, respectively. IDC/CA were identified in 160 (53%) of cases. Men harboring IDC/CA experienced inferior bRFR (HR 2.6, 95%CI 1.8-3.2, P<0.001) and mFR (HR 3.1, 95%CI 1.5-6.4, P = 0.0014). Patients with GC scores, 22 (21%) were stratified low-, 30 (29%) intermediate-, and 52 (50%) high-risk. GC low-risk was associated with superior bRFR (HR 0.25, 95%CI 0.1-0.5, P<0.001) and mFR (HR 0.15, 95%CI 0.03-0.8, P = 0.025). On multivariable analyses, IDC/CA and GC independently predicted for bRFR, corresponding to improved discrimination (C-index = 0.737 (95%CI 0.662-0.813)). Conclusions: IDC/CA subpathologies and GC predict for biochemical relapse and metastasis beyond conventional clinicopathologic indexes in the PORT setting. Patients harboring IDC/CA are at higher risk of relapse after maximal local therapies, thus warranting consideration for treatment intensification strategies. Conversely, for men with absence of IDC/CA and low GC scores, de-intensification strategies could be explored.

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