Purpose To establish the safety profile and antitumor activity of the anti-programmed death 1 receptor monoclonal antibody, pembrolizumab, in patients with recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (RM-NPC) that expressed programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1). Patients and Methods KEYNOTE-028 (NCT02054806) is a nonrandomized, multicohort, phase Ib trial of pembrolizumab in patients with PD-L1-positive advanced solid tumors. Key eligibility criteria for the NPC cohort included unresectable or metastatic disease, failure on prior standard therapy, and PD-L1 expression in 1% or more of tumor cells or tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. Patients received pembrolizumab 10 mg/kg every 2 weeks up to 2 years or until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Primary end point was objective response rate (ORR) per investigator review. Tumor response was assessed according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST; version 1.1) every 8 weeks for the first 6 months and every 12 weeks thereafter. Results Twenty-seven patients received pembrolizumab. Median age was 52.0 years (range, 18 to 68 years); 92.6% received prior therapies for RM-NPC; 70.4% had received three or more therapies. Partial response and stable disease were observed in seven and 14 patients, respectively, for an ORR of 25.9% (95% CI, 11.1 to 46.3) over a median follow-up of 20 months. ORR by central review was similar (26.3%). Drug-related adverse events that occurred in 15% or more of patients included rash (25.9%), pruritus (25.9%), pain (22.2%), hypothyroidism (18.5%), and fatigue (18.5%). Grade ≥ 3 drug-related adverse events occurred in eight patients (29.6%), and there was one drug-related death (sepsis). As of the data cutoff (June 20, 2016), two patients remained on pembrolizumab treatment. Conclusion Pembrolizumab demonstrated antitumor activity and a manageable safety profile in patients with RM-NPC.

Purpose Limited treatment options exist for patients with thymic epithelial tumor (TET) whose disease progresses after platinum-based chemotherapy. We conducted a phase II study of pembrolizumab in patients with TET to evaluate its efficacy and safety. Methods Patients with histologically confirmed TET whose disease progressed after at least one line of platinum-based chemotherapy were eligible for the study. Patients were excluded if they had an active autoimmune disease requiring systemic treatment within the past year or documented history of clinically severe autoimmune disease. Patients received 200 mg of pembrolizumab intravenously every 3 weeks until tumor progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary objective of response rate was assessed every 9 weeks by investigators. Results Of 33 patients enrolled, 26 had thymic carcinoma and seven had thymoma. Of seven thymoma, two (28.6%; 95% CI, 8.2% to 64.1%) had partial response, and five (71.6%) had stable disease. Of 26 thymic carcinoma, five (19.2%; 95% CI, 8.5% to 37.9%) had partial response and 14 (53.8%) had stable disease. The median progression-free survival was 6.1 months for both groups. The most common adverse events of any grade included dyspnea (11; 33.3%), chest wall pain (10; 30.3%), anorexia (seven; 21.2%), and fatigue (seven; 21.2%). Five (71.4%) of seven patients with thymoma and four (15.4%) of 26 patients with thymic carcinoma reported grade ≥ 3 immune-related adverse events, including hepatitis (four; 12.1%), myocarditis (three; 9.1%), myasthenia gravis (two; 6.1%), thyroiditis (one; 3.0%), antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (one; 3.0%), colitis (one; 3.0%), and subacute myoclonus (one; 3.0%). Conclusions Pembrolizumab showed encouraging antitumor activity in patients with advanced TET. Given the high incidence of autoimmunity, additional studies are needed to identify those who can benefit from pembrolizumab without immune-related adverse events.

BACKGROUND: This study was undertaken to evaluate the prognostic value of quantitative metabolic parameters in [ 18 F]2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) for diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). METHODS: A total of 140 DLBCL patients underwent FDG-PET scans before rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone (R-CHOP) chemotherapy. The maximal standardized uptake value (SUV max ) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) were calculated, with the margin thresholds as 25%, 50%, and 75% of SUV max of all lesions. Treatment outcomes were compared between groups according to metabolic parameters and the International Prognostic Index (IPI). RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 28.5 months (range, 5-81 months), the 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 83% and 87%, respectively. Among metabolic parameters, TLG at the threshold of 50% (TLG 50 ) was significantly associated with treatment outcomes. High TLG 50 values (>415.5) were associated with reduced survivals compared with low TLG 50 values ( 415.5) (2-year PFS of 73% versus 92%, P ¼ .007; and 2-year OS of 81% versus 93%, P ¼ .031). High IPI score (!3) significantly reduced OS (2-year OS of 79% versus 90%, P ¼ .049). Ann Arbor stage III/IV adversely affected PFS (P ¼ .013). However, high IPI score and Ann Arbor stage of III/V did not significantly shorten PFS (P ¼ .200) and OS (P ¼ .921), respectively. High TLG 50 values independently predicted survivals by multivariate analysis (hazard ratio ¼ 4.4; 95% confidence interval ¼ 1.5-13.1; P ¼ .008 for PFS and hazard ratio ¼ 3.1; 95% confidence interval ¼ 1.0-9.6; P ¼ .049 for OS). CONCLUSIONS: Combined assessment of volume and metabolism (ie, TLG) is predictive of survivals in DLBCL patients who are treated with R-CHOP.

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Background/Aims:The role of induction chemotherapy (IC) for eyeball preservation has not been established in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) of the paranasal sinus and nasal cavity (PNSNC). Periorbital involvement frequently leads to eyeball exenteration with a margin of safety. We evaluated the treatment outcomes, including survival and eyeball preservation, of patients who received IC for HNSCC of the PNSNC.Methods:We reviewed 21 patients diagnosed with HNSCC of the PNSNC who were treated with IC. We analyzed response, eyeball preservation rate, and overall survival.Results:Tumors were located in the paranasal sinus (n = 14) or nasal cavity (n = 7). Most patients had stage T4a (n = 10) or T4b (n = 7) disease. More than half of the patients received a chemotherapy regimen of docetaxel, fluorouracil, and cisplatin (n = 11). Thirteen patients (61.9%) achieved a partial response after IC and 15 patients (71.4%) achieved T down-staging. Among 17 patients with stage T4 disease, which confers a high risk of orbital exenteration, 14 (82.4%) achieved preservation of the involved eye. The 3-year overall survival (OS) rate of patients who achieved a partial response to IC was 84.6%. The 3-year OS rate of patients with stable disease or disease progression after IC was 25.0% (p = 0.038).Conclusions:IC could be considered for down-staging patients with advanced T-stage disease. It could also be a reasonable option for eyeball preservation in locally advanced HNSCC of the PNSNC.

Deletion of CDKN2A (p16) or amplification of CCND1 (cyclin D1) occurs commonly in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and induces sustained cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 activation. Here, we report the antiproliferative activity of LY2835219, a selective CDK4/6 inhibitor through inhibition of CDK4/6-dependent Ser780 phosphorylation in retinoblastoma (RB) and induction of cell cycle arrest in HNSCC cells. In addition, we demonstrated the antitumor effects of HNSCC xenografts to LY2835219 in vivo. Given the limited effect in HNSCC as a single-agent treatment with LY2835219, a combinational strategy is required to enhance antitumor activity. At the molecular level, we found that LY2835219 inhibited activation of AKT and ERK, but not mTOR. The combination of LY2835219 with mTOR inhibitor was found to be more effective than either drug alone in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, our findings suggest that a combinational treatment with LY2835219 and mTOR inhibitor is a promising therapeutic approach for HNSCC.

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