Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) represents the most aggressive pulmonary neoplasm and is often diagnosed at late stage with limited survival, despite combined chemotherapies. We show in an autochthonous mouse model of SCLC that combined anti-VEGF/anti-PD-L1-targeted therapy synergistically improves treatment outcome compared with anti-PD-L1 and anti-VEGF monotherapy. Mice treated with anti-PD-L1 alone relapsed after 3 weeks and were associated with a tumor-associated PD-1/TIM-3 double-positive exhausted T-cell phenotype. This exhausted T-cell phenotype upon PD-L1 blockade was abrogated by the addition of anti-VEGF-targeted treatment. We confirmed a similar TIM-3-positive T-cell phenotype in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with SCLC with adaptive resistance to anti-PD-1 treatment. Mechanistically, we show that VEGFA enhances coexpression of the inhibitory receptor TIM-3 on T cells, indicating an immunosuppressive function of VEGF in patients with SCLC during anti-PD-1-targeted treatment. Our data strongly suggest that a combination of anti-VEGF and anti-PD-L1 therapies can be an effective treatment strategy in patients with SCLC. Combining VEGF and PD-L1 blockade could be of therapeutic benefit to patients with small cell lung cancer. .

Purpose Combined-modality treatment is widely considered the standard of care in early-stage Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), and treatment intensity has been reduced over the last years. Long-term follow-up is important to judge both efficacy and safety of the different therapies used. Patients and Methods We analyzed updated follow-up data on 4,276 patients treated within the German Hodgkin Study Group trials HD7 and HD10 for early-stage favorable HL and HD8 and HD11 for early-stage unfavorable HL between 1993 and 2003. Results In HD7 (N = 627; median follow-up, 120 months), combined-modality treatment was superior to extended-field radiotherapy (RT), with 15-year progression-free survival (PFS) of 73% versus 52% (hazard ratio [HR], 0.5; 95% CI, 0.3 to 0.6; P < .001), without differences in overall survival (OS). In HD10 (N = 1,190; median follow-up, 98 months), noninferiority of two cycles of doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, dacarbazine (ABVD) plus 20 Gy involved-field (IF)-RT to more intensive four cycles of ABVD plus 30 Gy IF-RT was confirmed with 10-year PFS of 87% each (HR, 1.0; 95%, 0.6 to 1.5) and OS of 94% each (HR, 0.9; 95% CI, 0.5 to 1.6), respectively. In both trials, no differences in second neoplasias were observed. In HD8 (N = 1,064; median follow-up, 153 months), noninferiority of involved-field RT to extended-field RT regarding PFS was confirmed (HR, 1.0; 95% CI, 0.8 to 1.2). In HD11 (N = 1,395; median follow-up, 106 months), superiority of bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone at baseline over ABVD was not observed. After BEACOPP, 20 Gy IF-RT was noninferior to 30 Gy (10-year PFS, 84% v 84%; HR, 1.0; 95% CI, 0.7 to 1.5). In contrast, PFS was inferior in ABVD-treated patients receiving 20 Gy instead of 30 Gy IF-RT (10-year PFS, 76% v 84%; HR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.0 to 2.1). No differences in OS or second neoplasias were observed in in both trials. Conclusion Long-term follow-up data of the four randomized trials largely support the current risk-adapted therapeutic strategies in early-stage HL. Nevertheless, continued follow-up is necessary to assess the long-term safety of currently applied therapeutic strategies.

Key Points• Two cycles of ABVD or AVD were equally tolerable in older early-stage favorable HL patients.• Excessive toxicity including severe bleomycin-induced lung toxicity occurred in older HL patients receiving 4 cycles of ABVD.Doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine sulfate, and dacarbazine (ABVD) is associated with severe toxicity in older patients, particularly from bleomycin-induced lung toxicity (BLT). Therefore, using bleomycin has been questioned in older Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) patients, especially in early-stage HL. We therefore analyzed feasibility, toxicity, and efficacy of ABVD or AVD in 287 older early-stage favorable HL patients. We included patients ‡60 years of age in the German Hodgkin Study Group HD10 and HD13 trials randomized to either 2 cycles of ABVD (23ABVD; n 5 137) or AVD (23AVD; n 5 82), each followed by involved-field radiotherapy (IF-RT), with patients randomized to 43ABVD1IF-RT (n 5 68). Patients' median age was 65 years (range, 60-75) with comparable patient and disease characteristics. Grade III-IV adverse event rates were similar in patients receiving 23AVD and 23ABVD (40% and 39%, respectively), but considerably higher in patients receiving 43ABVD (65%). Similarly, BLT was rare in patients receiving 23ABVD/AVD, but occurred in 7/69 (10%) of patients randomized to 43ABVD, with 3 lethal events. In conclusion, no effects of bleomycin on toxicity rates were detectable in older patients receiving 2 cycles of chemotherapy. However, we found a high risk of severe toxicity of bleomycin in older HL patients receiving more than 2 cycles of ABVD. These trials are registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov and www.isrctn.com as #NCT00265018 (HD10) and #ISRCTN63474366 (HD13). (Blood. 2016; 127(18):2189-2192

Nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL) is a rare subtype of lymphoma that, like other Hodgkin lymphomas, has historically been treated aggressively. However, in most cases, NLPHL has an indolent course, which raises the question of to what extent these patients require aggressive upfront treatment. We describe the management and outcomes of consecutive NLPHL patients diagnosed at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), with a focus on evaluating active surveillance. All patients aged 16 years or older diagnosed and followed at MSK between 1974 and 2016 were included. Treatment outcomes were compared between management with active surveillance and other strategies. We identified 163 consecutive patients who were treated with radiotherapy alone (46%), active surveillance (23%), chemotherapy (16%), combined modality (12%), or rituximab monotherapy (4%). Median follow-up was 69 months. Five-year progression-free survival (PFS), second PFS (PFS2), and overall survival (OS) estimates were 85% (95% confidence interval [CI], 78-90), 97% (95% CI, 92-99), and 99% (95% CI, 95-100), respectively. Only 1 of 7 deaths was lymphoma related. Patients managed with active surveillance had slightly shorter PFS than those receiving any active treatment, with 5-year PFS of 77% (95% CI, 56-89) vs 87% (95% CI, 79-92; P = .017). This difference did not translate into better PFS2 or OS. Only 10 patients managed with active surveillance (27%) eventually required treatment, after a median of 61 months, and none died. NLPHL has an excellent prognosis. Within the limitations of a retrospective analysis, active surveillance is a viable initial management strategy for selected NLPHL patients.

Classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) is the cancer type most susceptible to anti-programmed-death-receptor-1 (PD1) treatment and characterized by scarce Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg cells (HRSC) perpetuating a unique tumor microenvironment (TME). Whilst in solid tumors anti-PD1 effects appear largely mediated by cytotoxic CD8+ T-cells, HRSC frequently lack major histocompatibility complex expression and the mechanism of anti-PD1 efficacy in cHL is unclear. Rapid clinical response and high interim complete response rate to anti-PD1 based 1st-line treatment was recently reported for patients with early-stage unfavorable cHL treated in the GHSG phase II NIVAHL trial. To investigate the mechanisms underlying this very early response to anti-PD1 treatment, we analyzed paired biopsies and blood samples obtained in NIVAHL patients before and during the first days of nivolumab 1st-line cHL therapy. Mirroring the rapid clinical response, HRSC had disappeared from the tissue within days after the first nivolumab application. The TME shows a reduction of Tr1 T-cells and PD-L1+ tumor associated macrophages (TAM) already at this early timepoint of treatment. Interestingly, neither a cytotoxic immune-response nor a clonal T-cell expansion was observed in the tumors or peripheral blood. These early changes of the TMA were distinct from alterations found in a separate set of cHL biopsies at relapse during anti-PD1 therapy. We identify a unique very early histologic response pattern to anti-PD1 therapy in cHL suggestive for withdrawal of pro-survival factors rather than induction of an adaptive anti-tumor immune response as main mechanism of action.

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PURPOSE Vitamin D deficiency is described as a modifiable risk factor for the incidence of and mortality in many common cancers; however, data in Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) are lacking. PATIENTS AND METHODS We thus performed a study measuring pretreatment vitamin D levels in prospectively treated patients with HL and correlated this with clinical outcomes. A total of 351 patients from the German Hodgkin Study Group clinical trials (HD7, HD8, and HD9) were included. RESULTS Fifty percent of patients were vitamin D deficient (< 30 nmol/L) before planned chemotherapy. Pretreatment vitamin D deficiency was more common in relapsed/refractory patients than matched relapse-free controls (median baseline vitamin D, 21.4 nmol/L v 35.5 nmol/L; proportion with vitamin D deficiency, 68% v 41%; P < .001). Vitamin D–deficient patients had impaired progression-free survival (10-year difference, 17.6%; 95% CI, 6.9% to 28.4%; hazard ratio, 2.13; 95% CI, 1.84 to 2.48; P < .001) and overall survival (10-year difference, 11.1%; 95% CI, 2.1% to 20.2%; hazard ratio, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.53 to 2.15; P < .001), consistent across trials and treatment groups. We demonstrated that vitamin D status is an independent predictor of outcome and hypothesized that vitamin D status might be important for the chemosensitivity of HL. We subsequently performed experiments supplementing physiologic doses of vitamin D (calcitriol) to cultured HL cell lines and demonstrated increased antiproliferative effects in combination with chemotherapy. In an HL-xenograft animal model, we showed that supplemental vitamin D (dietary supplement, cholecalciferol) improves the chemosensitivity of tumors by reducing the rate of tumor growth compared with vitamin D or chemotherapy alone. CONCLUSION On the basis of our clinical and preclinical findings, we encourage that vitamin D screening and replacement be incorporated into future randomized clinical trials to properly clarify the role of vitamin D replacement therapy in HL.

NKG2D, an activating receptor expressed on NK cells and T cells, is critically involved in tumor immunosurveillance. In this study, we explored the potential therapeutic utility of the NKG2D ligand ULBP2 for the treatment of colon carcinoma. To this end we designed a fusion protein consisting of human ULBP2 and an antibody-derived single chain targeting the tumor carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The bispecific recombinant fusion protein re-directed NK cells towards malignant cells by binding to both, tumor cells and NK cells, and triggered NK cell-mediated target cell killing in vitro. Moreover, tumor growth was significantly delayed in a syngeneic colon carcinoma mouse model in response to immunoligand treatment. The anti-tumor activity could be attributed to the stimulation of immune cells with an elevated expression of the activation marker CD69 on NK, T and NKT cells and the infiltration of CD451 immune cells into the solid tumor. In summary, it was demonstrated that immunoligands provide specific tumor targeting by NK cells and exert anti-tumor activity in vitro and in vivo. This technology represents a novel immunotherapeutic strategy for solid tumors with the potential to be further developed for clinical applications.Colorectal cancer is fatal in advanced stages of the disease. Curative treatment options are commonly reserved for tumors not yet metastasized or with resectable metastasis. Colorectal cancer is susceptible to chemotherapy from the onset, but due to therapeutic pressure cancer cells usually become resistant to the standard therapies. In addition, the standard therapies are frequently associated with severe side effects. Thus, there is a high demand for targeted therapies. Most recently developed antibody-based immunotherapies including cetuximab, bevacizumab and the fully human antibody panitumumab have not only added new impulses to colorectal cancer therapy, but essentially improved clinical outcome. 1 They have shown to overcome resistance to conventional chemotherapy and have clearly demonstrated that colorectal carcinoma is accessible to antibody therapy.The potential of immune modulation as well as the role of antibody therapy to enhance a cell-based immunotherapy is currently evaluated. 2-4 Increasing attention has been drawn onto NK cells, which are part of the innate immune system and can attack malignant cells without prior antigen stimulation. 5,6 Numerous ways of tumor cell recognition by NK cells have been described. NK cell cytotoxicity against tumors can be triggered by cells lacking expression of self-recognized MHC class I molecules. This mechanism has been referred to as the "missing-self"-hypothesis and is controlled through a group of inhibitory receptors on the NK cell surface. 7 In addition, an anti-tumor immune response can be induced by the upregulation of ligands for triggering NK cell receptors on the surface of tumor cells. 8 This mechanism has been referred to as "induced-self" and provokes an effective immune response even in the presence of inhibitory signalling....