Slide Show: 2013 European Cancer Congress

Slide 1: Advanced Melanoma Patients Treated With Ipilimumab Live as Long as 10 YearsA pooled analysis from 12 retrospective and prospective phase II and III trials shows that some metastatic melanoma patients lived as long as 10 years following treatment with ipilimumab, included 254 patients that were followed for at least 3 years. The 3-year and 7-year overall survival rates for both treatment-naive and previously treated patients were 22% and 17%, respectively.Source: Schadendorf D, Hodi FS, et al. Pooled analysis of long-term survival data from phase II and phase III trials of ipilimumab in metastatic or locally advanced, unresectable melanoma. ECCO 2013; Abstract LBA24.Slide 2: Anti-Angiogenesis Agent Improves Survival in Ovarian CancerThe oral VEGF (vascular endothelial growth-factor receptor) tyrosine kinase inhibitor cediranib extended the survival of women with recurrent, advanced ovarian cancer when combined with platinum-based chemotherapy. The 456-patient ICON6 trial showed the combination provided a 2.7 month (30% improvement) advantage in overall survival (20.3 months vs 17.6 months, P = .042). The drug also extended progression-free survival by 3.1 months (from 9.4 months with chemotherapy to 12.5 months with chemotherapy combined with cediranib, P = .00001).Source: Ledermann JA et al. Randomised double-blind phase III trial of cediranib (AZD 2171) in relapsed platinum sensitive ovarian cancer: Results of the ICON6 trial. ECCO 2013; Abstract LBA10.Slide 3: Aspirin Improves Colon Cancer Outcomes for HLA-Positive TumorsLow-dose aspirin was associated with a survival benefit among 999 Dutch colon cancer patients who expressed human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I genes which function in the immune system. The study suggests HLA expression may be a predictive biomarker to identify patients who may be more likely to benefit from aspirin therapy after a colon cancer diagnosis. There was no association of aspirin effect and COX-2 expression or PIK3CA.Source: Reimers MS et al. COX-2 expression influences the prognostic effect of aspirin use after diagnosis in colon cancer patients. ECCO 2013; Abstract 2183.Slide 4: Routine PSA Screening May Do More Harm Than Good, Says French StudyA French study of the benefits and harms of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing concludes the testing and follow-ups do more harm than good, including side effects such as incontinence and impotence from treatment and side effects from biopsies. The study found death rates from prostate cancer were very similar among 1,000 PSA-screened patients and 1,000 non-screened controls.Sources: Perrin P et al. Number needed to harm in prostate cancer screening with PSA. ECCO 2013; Abstract 1481. Boniol M et al. Mortality rate 60 days following radical prostatectomy in France. ECCO 2013; Abstract 2857.Slide 5: Immunotherapy Shows Encouraging Activity for Lung Cancer Patients With History of SmokingOf 53 heavily pretreated non-small-cell lung cancer patients, 26% of the smokers and 10% of nonsmokers responded to treatment with MPDL3280A, an engineered antibody against PD-L1. Overall, 23% of all patients (12 of 53 patients) responded to treatment and all but 1 patient continue to respond. Patients with higher expression in tumor cells of PD-L1 were more likely to respond.Source: Soria JC et al. Clinical activity, safety and biomarkers of PD-L1 blockade in non-small cell-lung cancer (NSCLC): Additional analyses from a clinical study of the engineered antibody MPDL3280A (anti-PD-L1); ECCO 2013; Abstract 3408.Slide 6: Decrease in European Colorectal Cancer Rates Directly Attributable to Screening ProgramsEuropean survey of patients from 1998 to 2010 shows countries with the most colorectal cancer screening have the lowest colorectal cancer mortality. The study provides evidence for the effectiveness of colorectal cancer screening (fecal blood tests, sigmoidoscopy, or colonoscopy) in preventing colorectal cancer-related deaths and a rationale to boost national colorectal cancer screening programs. Austria had among the highest proportion of patients screened (61%) while Greece had the least over the same period.Source: Autier P. Trends in colorectal cancer mortality and screening activities in European countries. ECCO 2013; Abstract 1405.Slide 7: Drug Prolongs Survival After Failure of Prior Anti-HER2 TreatmentsT-DM1 (ado-trastuzumab emtansine), an antibody-chemotherapy conjugate almost doubled progression-free survival compared to physician’s choice of treatment for 602 advanced metastatic breast cancer patients in the TH3RESA phase III trial. Median progression-free survival was 6.2 months for patients on T-DM1, compared with 3.3 months for those treated with physician’s choice of therapy, which was typically trastuzumab combined with chemotherapy. The overall survival has not yet been reached.Source: Wildiers H et al. T-DM1 for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC): Primary results from TH3RESA, a phase III study of T-DM1 vs treatment of physician’s choice. ECCO 2013; Abstract LBA15.