Anna Couvillon

Active surveillance for prostate cancer: past, present and future.

Purpose of review This article reviews recent developments in the use of active surveillance for localized prostate cancer. Recent findings The treatment of localized prostate cancer continues to be a major challenge for urologic oncologists. Screening with prostate-specific antigen has resulted in increased numbers of low-risk prostate cancers being detected. Aggressive whole-gland therapy with surgery, or radiation therapy is associated with potentially life-altering treatment-related side effects such as urinary incontinence, bowel toxicity and erectile dysfunction. The goal of active surveillance is to avoid or delay the adverse events associated with prostate cancer therapy while still allowing for curative intervention in the future, if needed. Summary Active surveillance is a reasonable treatment option for many men with low-risk, and some men with intermediate-risk, prostate cancer. Additional research is needed to determine the optimal active surveillance inclusion criteria, monitoring schedule, and treatment triggers. It is hoped that advances in prostate imaging, biomarkers, and focal therapy will foster greater use of active surveillance in appropriately selected men to optimize quality-of-life without compromising cancer outcomes.

Phase II trial of docetaxel, bevacizumab, lenalidomide and prednisone in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

To determine the safety and clinical efficacy of two anti‐angiogenic agents, bevacizumab and lenalidomide, with docetaxel and prednisone.

A Prospective Comparison of 18F-Sodium Fluoride PET/CT and PSMA-targeted 18F-DCFBC PET/CT in Metastatic Prostate Cancer

The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance of 18F-DCFBC PET/CT, a first-generation 18F-labeled prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)–targeted agent, and 18F-NaF PET/CT, a sensitive marker of osteoblastic activity, in a prospective cohort of patients with metastatic prostate cancer. Methods: Twenty-eight prostate cancer patients with metastatic disease on conventional imaging prospectively received up to 4 PET/CT scans. All patients completed baseline 18F-DCFBC PET/CT and 18F-NaF PET/CT scans, and 23 patients completed follow-up imaging, with a median follow-up interval of 5.7 mo (range, 4.2–12.6 mo). Lesion detection was compared across the 2 PET/CT agents at each time point. Detection and SUV characteristics of each PET/CT agent were compared with serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and treatment status at the time of baseline imaging using nonparametric statistical testing (Spearman correlation, Wilcoxon rank). Results: Twenty-six patients had metastatic disease detected on 18F-NaF or 18F-DCFBC at baseline, and 2 patients were negative on both scans. Three patients demonstrated soft tissue–only disease. Of 241 lesions detected at baseline, 56 were soft-tissue lesions identified by 18F-DCFBC only and 185 bone lesions detected on 18F-NaF or 18F-DCFBC. 18F-NaF detected significantly more bone lesions than 18F-DCFBC (P < 0.001). Correlation of PSA with patient-level SUV metrics was strong in 18F-DCFBC (ρ > 0.5, P < 0.01) and poor in 18F-NaF (ρ < 0.3, P > 0.1). When PSA levels were combined with treatment status, patients with below-median levels of PSA (<2 ng/mL) on androgen deprivation therapy (n = 11) demonstrated more lesions on 18F-NaF than 18F-DCFBC (P = 0.02). In PSA greater than 2 ng/mL, patients on androgen deprivation therapy (n = 8) showed equal to or more lesions on 18F-DCFBC than on 18F-NaF. Conclusion: The utility of PSMA-targeting imaging in metastatic prostate cancer appears to depend on patient disease course and treatment status. Compared with 18F-NaF PET/CT, 18F-DCFBC PET/CT detected significantly fewer bone lesions in the setting of early or metastatic castrate-sensitive disease on treatment. However, in advanced metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer, 18F-DCFBC PET/CT shows good concordance with NaF PET/CT.

Use of supportive measures to improve outcome and decrease toxicity in docetaxel-based antiangiogenesis combinations.

128 Background: We have recently completed accrual of 63 patients (pts) to our study combining lenalidomide (L), with bevacizumab (B), docetaxel (D), and prednisone (P) (ART-P). Due to the lack of improved survival and the increased toxicity of anti-angiogenic docetaxel combinations in the MAINSAIL and CALGB 90410 trials we attempted to contrast and compare our studies with the failed phase III trials. METHODS Among the first 52 pts on the ART-P, 3 received L 15 mg daily, 3 had 20 mg daily, and the rest had 25 mg daily for 14 days of every 21-day cycle (C). We later enrolled 11 more pts at L 15 mg. All pts received D 75 mg/m2 and B 15 mg/kg on day 1 with P 10 mg and enoxaparin daily throughout each C. Pegfilgrastim was given on day 2. Patients on CALGB 90410 received D 75 mg/m2 and B 15 mg/kg on day 1 with P 10 mg and on MAINSAIL received D 75 mg/m2, L 25 mg daily for 14 days of every 21-day cycle with daily P. Patients on CALGB 90410 and MAINSAIL did not receive enoxaparin or pegfilgrastim prophylactically. RESULTS Median number of Cs in ART-P was 16 (3-38). PFS was 22 months and median OS has not been reached. Pts with measurable disease had 1 CR and 25 PR (86.7% RR). Two patients (3%) had deep vein thromboses. Of 1,219 cycles given, 14 cycles were complicated by febrile neutropenia (FN) (1.1%). There were no treatment related deaths. In comparison, median number of Cs in MAINSAIL L+DP arm was 6, with a PFS of 45 weeks and an OS of 77 weeks. Thirty-four pts (6.5%) developed pulmonary emboli and there were 2 deaths due to toxicity in the experimental arm. Nearly 12% of Cs were complicated by FN. In the experimental arm of CALGB 90410 trial, median OS was 22.6 months with median PFS of 9.9 months. Median number of Cs was 8, and 19 pts developed thromboses/emboli (3.6%). In addition, 7% of patients developed FN and treatment related deaths were reported at 4%. CONCLUSIONS The use of supportive care allows the ART-P combination to be given for more cycles than were given in MAINSAIL and CALGB 90401 potentiating a longer PFS, RR and possibly OS with an improved toxicity profile. This data demonstrates the potential importance of supportive measures and is hypothesis generating for future combination studies. CLINICAL TRIAL INFORMATION NCT00942578.

Abstract LB-059: Neoadjuvant immunotherapy with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) prior to radiation in prostate cancer: Impact on multiparametric prostate MRI and immune responses

Background: There is increasing interest in using combination immunotherapy in the neoadjuvant setting in prostate cancer, however, endpoints for such studies remain elusive. We have conducted a clinical trial evaluating immunotherapy with ADT in patients with high risk prostate cancer. Patients were assessed for immune responses and changes in endorectal (er) MRI which can be used to assess intraprostatic tumors. Methods: Treatment-naive high-risk (Gleason 8-10, PSA>20, or stage T3) prostate cancer patients (pts) were randomized to standard ADT+Radiation + an immunotherapy targeting MUC1 (tecemotide, aka L-BLP25) in this trial (NCT01496131). ADT consisted of gonadotropin-releasing hormone therapy. Immunotherapy included low dose (300 mg/m2, maximum 600 mg) pre-treatment cyclophosphamide for regulatory T-cell depletion. erMRI was done at baseline and after 2 months of immunotherapy including multiparametric MRI evaluation of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps from diffusion-weighted MRI. Monthly peripheral blood assessments analyzed immune cell subsets using flow cytometry and intracellular cytokine (ICC) staining for MUC-1 specific responses. Results: 28 pts with high risk prostate cancer were enrolled (n=14/arm). As expected, PSA declined in all pts 2 months after ADT. erMRI after 2 months of treatment suggested greater improvements in ADC values in pts receiving immunotherapy+ADT vs. ADT alone. Improved ADC on MRI indicates increased intratumoral diffusion and has been associated with decreased tumor density. The improvements in ADC were seen when one dominant tumor per patient was evaluated (p=0.17) but were more pronounced when up to 3 lesions were evaluated per pt (n=44 lesions; p=0.031). Compared to baseline, there were trends to increases in CTLA4+ CD8+ T-cells consistent with immune activation and decreases in myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in pts receiving immunotherapy+ADT coinciding with the erMRI changes. These immune findings were not seen in the ADT alone group. 3 of 14 pts had MUC1 specific immune response by ICC. 2 of these patients had the greatest changes in ADC noted on erMRI over a 2-year period. Conclusions: Based on assessments by erMRI, pts who received ADT+immunotherapy had greater improvements in ADC than pts receiving ADT alone. Given that ADC improvements are associated with decreased tumor density, this suggests a possible greater anti-tumor effect of the ADT-immunotherapy combination vs. ADT alone. These findings were associated with trends to increased activated CD8+ T-cells and decreased MDSCs in pts receiving immunotherapy+ADT, with 3/14 pts having MUC1 specific immune responses. Further studies are required to confirm the potential to use ADC on erMRI as a potential (bio)marker of anti-tumor effect of immune combinations including ADT. Citation Format: Ravi A. Madan, Baris Turkbey, Lauren M. Lepone, Renee N. Donahue, Italia Grenga, Samuel Samuel Borofsky, Peter A. Pinto, Deborah Citrin, Aradhana Kaushal, Andra Krauze, Sheri McMahon, Myrna Rauchhorst, Anna Couvillon, Martin H. Falk, S Peter Eggleton, Stephen C. Greco, Peter L. Choyke, William L. Dahut, Jeffrey Schlom, James L. Gulley. Neoadjuvant immunotherapy with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) prior to radiation in prostate cancer: Impact on multiparametric prostate MRI and immune responses [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-059. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-LB-059

Ferumoxytol enhanced MRI for lymph node staging in prostate cancer.

208 Background: Conventional imaging methods of lymph node staging in prostate cancer are limited. The goal of this study is to determine the utility of ferumoxytol enhanced MRI in lymph node (LN) staging. Methods: This ongoing IRB-approved clinical trial enrolls prostate cancer patients at high risk for LN metastases. Patients first undergo baseline T2 and T2* weighted MRI scans followed by 7.5mg/Kg ferumoxytol injection. Repeat scans are acquired at 24 hr and 48 hr post-injection. The criterion for positive LNs was hyperintense signal indicating failure to take up ferumoxytol. Validation was determined on clinical grounds or by histopathology when available. Results: To date, 11 patients have completed the study. One patient was examined pre-operatively while the other 10 had suspected therapy failure. Median age and PSA were 65 yrs (36-75) and 5.6ng/dL (0.3-201). Of 16 LNs with median size 1.6 x 1.1cm, 10 were true positives, one was false positive and one was false negative with 4 nodes pending valida...

Abstract CT222: Ferumoxytol enhanced MRI for lymph node staging in genitourinary cancers

Proceedings: AACR 106th Annual Meeting 2015; April 18-22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA Background: Conventional imaging has limited accuracy in genitourinary (GU) cancer staging. This study examines the utility of ferumoxytol enhanced MRI in lymph node (LN) staging of GU cancers. Methods: This ongoing IRB-approved phase II clinical trial enrolls patients with prostate cancer, renal cell carcinoma, or bladder cancer at high risk for LN metastases. Patients undergo baseline T2 and T2* weighted MRI scans followed by injection of 7.5mg/Kg ferumoxytol. Repeat scans are acquired at 24hr and 48hr post-injection. The criterion for positive LNs was preservation of hyper-intense signal indicating failure to take up ferumoxytol. Validation was by histopathology when available or on clinical grounds, for which LNs that changed size on routine imaging were considered true positives. Results: To date, 13 patients have completed the study. Of 11 prostate cancer patients, one was studied pre-operatively while 10 had suspected therapy failure. Median age and PSA were 65yrs (36-75) and 5.6ng/mL (0.3-201). The other 2 patients had renal cell carcinoma and bladder cancer. Overall, 20 LNs were identified with mean size 1.9cm (0.7-3.8) long axis by 1.3cm (0.6-2.6) short axis. There were 14 true positive LNs, 1 false positive, 1 false negative, and 4 nodes pending validation. Validation was by histopathology for 7 LNs, with 2 nodes pending biopsy, and clinical grounds for 13 LNs, with 2 inconclusive nodes awaiting further validation. Ferumoxytol correctly identified LN status in 9 of 10 patients with validated nodes (Table 1). Conclusions: Ferumoxytol enhanced MRI shows promise in detecting malignant LNs >6mm in GU cancer patients. Since the method involves a conventional MRI unit with off-label use of an FDA-approved agent, it could be widely available. However, further validation is necessary before routine use. Table 1: Preliminary results for LN staging in GU cancer patients using ferumoxytol enhanced MRI | Subject | Study Arm | Gender | Age (yr) | PSA at study initiation (ng/mL) | LN number | LN location | size/long axis (cm) | size/short axis (cm) | Ferumoxytol positive? 1 = yes, 0 = no | Result | |:------- | -------------------- | ------ | -------- | ------------------------------- | --------- | -------------- | ------------------- | -------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ------------ | | 1 | prostate cancer | M | 63 | 25.06 | 1 | R ext iliac | 3.0 | 2.6 | 1 | TP | | | | | | | 2 | L ext iliac | 1.3 | 0.8 | 1 | TP | | 2 | prostate cancer | M | 65 | 73.96 | 1 | L RP | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1 | TP | | | | | | | 2 | L int iliac | 3.8 | 1.9 | 1 | TP | | 3 | prostate cancer | M | 64 | 10.49 | 1 | R ext iliac | 3.0 | 0.9 | 1 | pending | | | | | | | 2 | L ext iliac | 1.9 | 1.1 | | pending | | 4 | prostate cancer | M | 74 | 2.06 | 1 | L RP | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1 | TP | | 5 | prostate cancer | M | 64 | 2.89 | 1 | R ext iliac | 1.6 | 1.1 | 1 | TP | | 6 | prostate cancer | M | 65 | 0.28 | 1 | L int iliac | 1.5 | 0.8 | 1 | TP | | 7 | prostate cancer | M | 75 | 2.87 | 1 | R int iliac | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1 | TP | | 8 | prostate cancer | M | 64 | 27.91 | 1 | R common iliac | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1 | inconclusive | | 9 | prostate cancer | M | 72 | 201.2 | 1 | L RP | 2.3 | 1.7 | | FN | | 10 | prostate cancer | M | 73 | 6.77 | 1 | L int iliac | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1 | TP | | 11 | prostate cancer | M | 36 | 1.35 | 1 | R femoral | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1 | FP | | | | | | | 2 | L ext iliac | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1 | inconclusive | | | | | | | 3 | R perirectal | 0.8 | 0.6 | 1 | TP | | 12 | renal cell carcinoma | F | 41 | N/A | 1 | aortocaval | 2.8 | 2.2 | 1 | TP | | | | | | | 2 | R RP | 3.6 | 2.3 | 1 | TP | | | | | | | 3 | R int iliac | 2.0 | 1.5 | 1 | TP | | 13 | bladder cancer | M | 59 | N/A | 1 | aortocaval | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1 | TP | RP = retroperitoneal, TP = true positive, FN = false negative, FP = false positive, ext = external, int = internal Citation Format: Anna M. Brown, Sandeep Sankineni, Marcelino Bernardo, Dagane Daar, Juanita Weaver, Yolanda McKinney, Anna Couvillon, James L. Gulley, Bradford J. Wood, Peter A. Pinto, William L. Dahut, Ravi Amrit Madan, Peter L. Choyke, Baris Turkbey. Ferumoxytol enhanced MRI for lymph node staging in genitourinary cancers. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr CT222. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-CT222

Feasibility of continuing docetaxel-based therapy in patients with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) that experience hypersensitivity reactions (HSR).

132 Background: Patients that receive docetaxel are observed closely for HSRs. Severe HSRs have been reported in patients premedicated with corticosteroids. The rate of allergic reactions reported in the TAX 327 trial (n=332) was 8% (any grade) and 1% (grade 3/4). In TAX 327 treatment was stopped after a total of 10 cycles of docetaxel. A recent trial conducted at the NCI has included patients treated with docetaxel-based therapy until radiographic progression with no cap on total dose or cycle number. Most patients have had significantly more than 10 cycles (median greater than 16 with a range of 1 to 48; however, some cycles did not include docetaxel). Given the increased incidence of HSR to docetaxel on our protocols, we developed guidelines for the clinical management of HSRs to docetaxel. METHODS We reviewed the literature on taxane HSRs and developed a 4-step clinical management guideline for the prevention and treatment of HSRs to docetaxel. Our guidelines utilize increasing amounts of H1/H2 antihistamines, corticosteroids, slower infusion rates of docetaxel, and/or decreasing concentrations of docetaxel. RESULTS From August 2009 to present, 63 mCRPC patients have been treated with docetaxel-based therapy. Twenty-three patients (37%) have experienced a HSR to docetaxel. HSRs initially occurred at cycle 1 (17%), cycle 2 (48%), cycle 3 (17%), cycle 4 (n=2), cycle 14 (n=1), cycle 16 (n=1). All patients were re-challenged with docetaxel using our 4-step clinical management guideline approach. Ten patients continued docetaxel without further HSRs. The remaining 13 patients continued to experience HSRs but were able to safely complete each infusion of docetaxel. No patients required discontinuation of therapy. Of the 23 patients with HSRs, 21 received more than 10 cycles of therapy with a median of 17 and a range of 1 to 38. CONCLUSIONS Patients with mCRPC disease that is taxane sensitive and who experience HSR to docetaxel can continue to receive docetaxel safely. Most of these patients demonstrated a continued PSA, clinical, and radiographic response to therapy.