Purpose: Prospective human data are lacking regarding safety, efficacy, and immunologic impacts of different radiation doses administered with combined PD-L1/CTLA-4 blockade. Patients and Methods: We performed a multicenter phase II study randomly assigning patients with metastatic microsatellite stable colorectal cancer to repeated low-dose fractionated radiation (LDFRT) or hypofractionated radiation (HFRT) with PD-L1/CTLA-4 inhibition. The primary endpoint was response outside the radiation field. Correlative samples were analyzed using multiplex immunofluorescence (IF), IHC, RNA/T-cell receptor (TCR) sequencing, cytometry by time-of-flight (CyTOF), and Olink. Results: Eighteen patients were evaluable for response. Median lines of prior therapy were four (range, 1–7). Sixteen patients demonstrated toxicity potentially related to treatment (84%), and 8 patients had grade 3–4 toxicity (42%). Best response was stable disease in 1 patient with out-of-field tumor shrinkage. Median overall survival was 3.8 months (90% confidence interval, 2.3–5.7 months). Correlative IF and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) revealed increased infiltration of CD8+ and CD8+/PD-1+/Ki-67+ T cells in the radiation field after HFRT. LDFRT increased foci of micronuclei/primary nuclear rupture in two subjects. CyTOF and RNA-seq demonstrated significant declines in multiple circulating immune populations, particularly in patients receiving HFRT. TCR sequencing revealed treatment-associated changes in T-cell repertoire in the tumor and peripheral blood. Conclusions: We demonstrate the feasibility and safety of adding LDFRT and HFRT to PD-L1/CTLA-4 blockade. Although the best response of stable disease does not support the use of concurrent PD-L1/CTLA-4 inhibition with HFRT or LDFRT in this population, biomarkers provide support that both LDFRT and HFRT impact the local immune microenvironment and systemic immunogenicity that can help guide future studies.

Background: High-grade neuroendocrine carcinomas are rare in the gastrointestinal tract. However, treatment patterns and outcomes have not been well described. Subjects, Materials, and Methods: The National Cancer Database was analyzed. The primary objective was to describe the clinical outcomes and identify prognostic factors. Univariate and multivariate analyses were done to identify factors associated with patient outcome. Results: A total of 1,861 patients were identified between 2004 and 2013. The mean age was 63 years (standard deviation ±13). The majority of the patients (78.1%) were non-Hispanic whites. The most common primary sites were pancreas (pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor [PNET] = 19.4%), large intestine (18.1%), esophagus (17.8%), and rectum (15.5%). Stage at presentation was I (6.6%), II (10.5%), III (18%) and IV (64.6%). Only 1.6% of the patients had brain metastases. Surgical resection was the primary therapy in 27.9%, and their median overall survival (OS) was 13.3 months. Patients treated with palliative chemotherapy had a median OS of 11.2 months, compared with 1.7 months for untreated patients. The median OS for high-grade PNET was 6 months, compared with 9.9 months for other high-grade gastrointestinal neuroendocrine carcinomas (HG GI NEC). On univariable analysis, age < 65 years (hazard ratio [HR] 0.72; 0.66–0.8; p < .001) and treatment at an academic center (HR 0.88; 0.79–0.99; p < .034) were associated with improved survival. Multivariable analysis confirmed prognostic advantage of treatment at an academic center. Conclusion: This is the largest series of HG GI NEC. Most patients present with metastatic disease, and overall survival remains poor. Treatment at an academic center, younger age, and use of chemotherapy were associated with improved survival. Multiagent chemotherapy was found to be associated with superior survival compared with single-agent chemotherapy, which was superior to no chemotherapy. Temporal sequences of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation administration were not found to be associated with survival differences on multivariable analysis.

PURPOSE: We report phase I results for obrixtamig (BI 764532), a delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3)/CD3 IgG-like T-cell engager, in patients with previously treated DLL3-positive small cell lung cancer (SCLC), extrapulmonary neuroendocrine carcinomas (epNECs), or large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung (LCNEC-L). METHODS: Patients received escalating intravenous obrixtamig doses using four regimens: a fixed dose once every 3 weeks (A); a fixed dose once weekly (B1); a step-up dose once weekly for two weeks and target dose once weekly (B2); and a step-up dose once weekly for 3 weeks, target dose once weekly for 3 weeks, and once every 3 weeks thereafter (B3). The primary objective was maximum tolerated dose (MTD). Secondary objectives included safety, pharmacokinetics, and tumor response (RECIST v1.1). RESULTS: As of February 21, 2024, 168 patients received obrixtamig, 72% received ≥2 lines of previous anticancer therapy, and 51% received previous anti–PD-1/PD-L1 therapy. Seven dose-limiting toxicities occurred during MTD evaluation (Regimen A, n = 1; Regimen B2, n = 6). MTD was not reached. The most common treatment-related adverse event was cytokine release syndrome (any grade: 57%; grade ≥3: 3%); most cases occurred early and were reversible. Across all doses, regimens, and tumor types, the overall response rate (ORR) was 23% (95% CI, 17.4% to 30.2%), the median duration of response (DoR) was 8.5 months (95% CI, 6.2 to not reached), and the 6-month DoR rate was 70% (95% CI, 53% to 88%). All patients in Regimens B2/B3 received the minimum effective dose (≥90 μg/kg once weekly or once every 3 weeks), achieving an ORR of 28% (95% CI, 20.7% to 35.9%). With Regimens B2/B3, ORRs were 21% (95% CI, 12.9% to 33.1%), 27% (95% CI, 17.4% to 39.6%), and 70% (95% CI, 39.7% to 89.2%) for SCLC, epNECs, and LCNEC-L, respectively. CONCLUSION: The demonstrated tolerability and efficacy of obrixtamig regimens, administered as step-up followed by target doses of 90-1,080 μg/kg (once weekly or once every 3 weeks), in patients with heavily pretreated DLL3-positive tumors support further exploration in SCLC, epNEC, and LCNEC-L.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common malignancy worldwide. It is projected to increase by 3.2 million new cases and account for 1.6 million deaths by 2040. Mortality is largely due to limited treatment options for patients who present with advanced disease. Thus, the development of effective and tolerable therapies is crucial. Chemotherapy has been the backbone of systemic treatment of advanced CRC, but utility has been limited because of invariable resistance to therapy, narrow mechanisms of action, and unfavorable toxicity profile. Tumors that are mismatch repair-deficient have demonstrated remarkable response to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. However, most CRC tumors are mismatch repair-proficient and represent an unmet medical need. Although ERBB2 amplification occurs only in a few cases, it is associated with left-sided tumors and a higher incidence of brain metastasis. Numerous combinations of HER2 inhibitors have demonstrated efficacy, and antibody-drug conjugates against HER2 represent innovative strategies in this area. The KRAS protein has been classically considered undruggable. Fortunately, new agents targeting KRAS G12C mutation represent a paradigm shift in the management of affected patients and could lead the advancement in drug development for the more common KRAS mutations. Furthermore, aberrant DNA damage response is present in 15%-20% of CRCs, and emerging innovative combinations with poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors could improve the current therapeutic landscape. Multiple novel biomarker-driven approaches in the management of patients with advanced CRC tumors are reviewed in this article.

Background: Pathologic staging is crucial in colorectal cancer (CRC). Unlike the majority of solid tumors, the current staging model does not use tumor size as a criterion. We evaluated the predictive and prognostic impact of primary tumor size on all stages of CRC. Methods: Using the National Cancer Database (NCDB), we conducted an analysis of CRC patients diagnosed between 2010 and 2015 who underwent resection of their primary cancer. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify predictive and prognostic factors, Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards models for association between tumor size and survival. Results: About 61,000 patients met the inclusion criteria. Median age was 63 years and majority of the tumors were colon primary (82.7%). AJCC stage distribution was: I - 20.1%; II - 32.1%; III - 34.7% and IV - 13.1%. The prognostic impact of tumor size was strongly associated with survival in stage III disease. Compared to patients with tumors <2cm; those with 2-5cm (HR 1.33; 1.19-1.49; p<0.001), 5-10cm (HR 1.51 (1.34-1.70; p10cm (HR 1.95 (1.65-2.31; p<0.001) had worse survival independent of other variables. Stage II treated without adjuvant chemotherapy had comparable survival outcomes (HR 1.09; 0.97-1.523; p=0.148) with stage III patients who did, while Stage II patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy did much better than both groups (HR 0.76; 0.67-0.86; p<0.001). Stage III patients who did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy had the worst outcomes among the non-metastatic disease subgroups (HR 2.66; 2.48-2.86; p<0.001). Larger tumors were associated with advanced stage, MSI high, non-rectal primary and positive resection margins. Conclusions: Further studies are needed to clarify the role of tumor size in prognostic staging models, and how to incorporate it into therapy decisions.