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Summary Background Bevacizumab is a promising candidate for combination treatment with epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (eg, erlotinib), which could improve outcomes for patients with metastatic EGFR-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We have previously shown in NEJ026, a phase 3 trial, that the combination of bevacizumab plus erlotinib significantly prolonged progression-free survival compared with erlotinib alone in these patients. In further analyses, we aimed to examine the effects of bevacizumab–erlotinib on overall survival, time from enrolment to progressive disease during second-line treatment or death, and quality of life. Methods This open-label, randomised, multicentre, phase 3 trial (NEJ026) was done in 69 hospitals and medical, community-based centres across Japan. Eligible patients had stage IIIB, stage IV, or postoperative recurrent, EGFR-mutant (exon 19 deletion or exon 21 Leu858Arg point mutation) NSCLC, had not previously received systemic chemotherapy, and were randomly assigned (1:1) by a computer-generated randomisation sequence and minimisation to receive either 150 mg oral erlotinib once daily plus 15 mg/kg intravenous bevacizumab once every 21 days, or 150 mg oral erlotinib once daily, until disease progression or intolerable toxicity. Randomisation was stratified according to sex, smoking status, EGFR mutation subtype, and clinical disease stage. All participants, investigators, and study personnel (including those assessing outcomes) were unmasked to treatment allocation. We report the secondary outcomes of overall survival and quality of life (the period from enrolment to confirmation of a minimally important difference on the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire [EORTC QLQ]-C30), and the exploratory outcome of time from enrolment to progressive disease during second-line treatment or death. Overall survival and the exploratory outcome were analysed in the modified intention-to-treat population, which comprised all randomly assigned patients who received at least one dose of the study drug and had response evaluations. Quality of life was analysed in patients in the modified intention-to-treat population who had completed the quality of life questionnaires. The trial is registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry, UMIN000017069, and the Japan Registry of Clinical Trials, jRCTs031180056, and is currently closed. Findings Between June 3, 2015, and Aug 31, 2016, 228 patients were enrolled. 112 patients who received bevacizumab–erlotinib and 112 who received erlotinib only were included in the modified intention-to-treat population. At data cutoff (Nov 30, 2019) and a median follow-up of 39·2 months (IQR 23·9–43·5), the median overall survival was 50·7 months (95% CI 37·3–not estimable [NE]) in the bevacizumab–erlotinib group and 46·2 months (38·2–NE) in the erlotinib-only group (hazard ratio [HR] 1·007, 95% CI 0·681–1·490; p=0·97). In analysis of the exploratory outcome, after a median follow-up of 23·9 months (IQR 14·2–39·1), the median time from enrolment to progressive disease during second-line treatment or death was 28·6 months (95% CI 22·1–35·9) in the bevacizumab–erlotinib group and 24·3 months (20·4–29·1) in the erlotinib-only group (HR 0·773, 95% CI 0·562–1·065). The median time between enrolment and confirmation of a minimally important difference on the EORTC QLQ-C30 was 6·0 months (95% CI 5·2–11·3) in the bevacizumab–erlotinib group and 8·3 months (5·7–13·9) in the erlotinib-only group (p=0·47). Interpretation The addition of bevacizumab to erlotinib did not prolong survival in patients with metastatic EGFR-mutant NSCLC, but both treatment groups had relatively long survival durations. Why the addition of bevacizumab to erlotinib did not affect overall survival is unclear, but it is possible that the beneficial effects of combination therapy were not seen because overall survival was influenced by treatment regimens used after disease progression. Funding Chugai Pharmaceutical.

Background Epidermal growth factor receptor‐tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR‐TKIs) have become the gold standard for EGFR‐mutated non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been developed for the treatment of several malignancies, including lung cancer. However, it is known that ICIs have poorer efficacy in EGFR‐mutated NSCLC. Methods We collected data for patients with EGFR‐mutated NSCLC receiving monotherapy with ICIs after EGFR‐TKIs between December 2015 and March 2020 in three institutions, and retrospectively analyzed the association between patient characteristics and efficacy of ICIs. Results A total of 25 patients were included in this study. We defined responders as patients undergoing 90 days or longer of ICI treatment. Comparing characteristics between responders and non‐responders, more tumors with L858R EGFR mutation were observed in responders than in non‐responders (L858R: 66.7% and 25.0%, respectively, p, Efficacy of ICI in a part of patients with EGFR‐mutated NSCLC was observed. ICI treatments in tumors with L858R mutation achieved a better response than exon 19 deletion. This study suggests that patients with L858R‐mutated NSCLC are candidates for ICI treatment after EGFR‐TKI treatment.

Lung cancer is one of the most aggressive tumour types. Targeted therapies stratified by oncogenic drivers have substantially improved therapeutic outcomes in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC)1. However, such oncogenic drivers are not found in 25–40% of cases of lung adenocarcinoma, the most common histological subtype of NSCLC2. Here we identify a novel fusion transcript of CLIP1 and LTK using whole-transcriptome sequencing in a multi-institutional genome screening platform (LC-SCRUM-Asia, UMIN000036871). The CLIP1–LTK fusion was present in 0.4% of NSCLCs and was mutually exclusive with other known oncogenic drivers. We show that kinase activity of the CLIP1–LTK fusion protein is constitutively activated and has transformation potential. Treatment of Ba/F3 cells expressing CLIP1–LTK with lorlatinib, an ALK inhibitor, inhibited CLIP1–LTK kinase activity, suppressed proliferation and induced apoptosis. One patient with NSCLC harbouring the CLIP1–LTK fusion showed a good clinical response to lorlatinib treatment. To our knowledge, this is the first description of LTK alterations with oncogenic activity in cancers. These results identify the CLIP1–LTK fusion as a target in NSCLC that could be treated with lorlatinib. Whole-transcriptome sequencing of a subset of 75 non-small-cell lung cancer specimens in a multi-institutional genome screening study identified a fusion of the CLIP1 and LTK genes with transformational potential due to constitutive LTK kinase activity.

This prespecified subanalysis of the global, randomized controlled phase III KEYNOTE‐024 study of pembrolizumab vs chemotherapy in previously untreated metastatic non‐small‐cell lung cancer without EGFR/ALK alterations and a programmed death ligand 1 (PD‐L1) tumor proportion score of 50% or higher evaluated clinical outcomes among patients enrolled in Japan. Treatment consisted of pembrolizumab 200 mg every 3 weeks (35 cycles) or platinum‐based chemotherapy (four to six cycles). The primary end‐point was progression‐free survival; secondary end‐points included overall survival and safety. Of 305 patients randomized in KEYNOTE‐024 overall, 40 patients were enrolled in Japan (all received treatment: pembrolizumab, n = 21; chemotherapy, n = 19). Median progression‐free survival was 41.4 (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.2‐42.5) months with pembrolizumab and 4.1 (95% CI, 2.8‐8.3) months with chemotherapy (hazard ratio [HR], 0.27 [95% CI, 0.11‐0.65]; one‐sided, nominal P = .001). Median overall survival was not reached (NR) (95% CI, 22.9‒NR) and 21.5 (95% CI, 5.2‐35.0) months, respectively (HR, 0.39 [95% CI, 0.17‐0.91]; one‐sided, nominal P = .012). Treatment‐related adverse events occurred in 21/21 (100%) pembrolizumab‐treated and 18/19 (95%) chemotherapy‐treated patients; eight patients (38%) and nine patients (47%), respectively, had grade 3‐5 events. Immune‐mediated adverse events and infusion reactions occurred in 11 pembrolizumab‐treated patients (52%) and four chemotherapy‐treated patients (21%), respectively; four patients (19%) and one patient (5%), respectively, had grade 3‐5 events. Consistent with results from KEYNOTE‐024 overall, first‐line pembrolizumab improved progression‐free survival and overall survival vs chemotherapy with manageable safety among Japanese patients with metastatic non‐small‐cell lung cancer without EGFR/ALK alterations and a PD‐L1 tumor proportion score of 50% or higher. The trial is registered with Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02142738., This prespecified subanalysis of the global, randomized controlled phase III KEYNOTE‐024 study of pembrolizumab vs chemotherapy in previously untreated metastatic non‐small‐cell lung cancer without EGFR/ALK alterations and a PD‐L1 tumor proportion score of 50% or higher evaluated clinical outcomes among patients enrolled in Japan. Consistent with results from KEYNOTE‐024 overall, first‐line pembrolizumab improved progression‐free survival and overall survival vs chemotherapy with manageable safety among 40 Japanese patients in the study.

IL‐2 is a pleiotropic cytokine that regulates immune cell homeostasis. Its immunomodulatory function has been used clinically as an active immunotherapy agent for metastatic cancers. However, severe adverse effects, including the vascular leak syndrome and the preferential stimulation of anti‐immunogenic Treg rather than effector T cells, have been obstacles. We newly designed a mutein IL‐2, Mutakine‐6 (MK‐6), with reduced IL‐2Rα–binding capability. MK‐6 induced comparable cell growth potential toward IL‐2Rβγ–positive T cells but was far less efficient in in vitro Treg proliferation and STAT5 activation. Unlike IL‐2, in vivo administration of MK‐6 produced minimal adverse effects. Using CT26 and B16F10‐syngeneic tumor models, we found MK‐6 was highly efficacious on tumor regression. Serum albumin conjugation to MK‐6 prolonged in vivo half‐life and accumulated in CT26 tumors, showing enhanced antitumor effect. Tumor‐infiltrating leukocytes analysis revealed that albumin‐fused MK‐6 increased the ratio of effector CD8+ T cells to CD4+ Treg cells. These results demonstrated that MK‐6 is an efficient immunomodulator potentially used for improved immunotherapy with decreased adverse effects and attenuated Treg stimulation., Albumin‐conjugated IL‐2 mutein, MK‐6, exerts a potent antitumor effect in the CT26 tumor model.

Background A cisplatin plus irinotecan (CPT‐11) regimen is used for patients with extensive disease small cell lung cancer (ED‐SCLC). Amrubicin (AMR) is primarily used for relapsed SCLC. The HOT1401/NJLCG1401 trial, an open‐label randomized phase II trial, was designed to assess the benefit of maintenance therapy in patients with ED‐SCLC who responded to induction therapy. Methods Patients with histologically‐ or cytologically‐confirmed ED‐SCLC were included and were treated with an induction therapy of four cycles of cisplatin (60 mg/m2 on day 1) plus CPT‐11 (60 mg/m2 on days 1, 8, and 15) every four weeks. After induction therapy, patients who had nonprogressive disease were randomized to receive either maintenance CPT‐11 (60 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8) every three weeks, or AMR (35 mg/m2 on days 1–3) every three weeks. Results A total of 34 patients were enrolled; 20 patients had progressive disease or received incomplete induction chemotherapy. Finally, 14 patients were randomly assigned to receive CPT‐11 (n = 7) or AMR (n = 7). This study was terminated prematurely because of low patient accrual. The overall objective response rate was 73%, the median PFS was 5.7 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.6–11.8), and the median overall survival was 20.1 months (95% CI: 13.7–not reached). No statistically significant difference in progression‐free survival (PFS) were noted between patients treated with CPT‐11 and those treated with AMR. There were no treatment‐related deaths in this study. Conclusions Maintenance therapy with CPT‐11 or AMR after induction therapy might be effective in some patients., There were some patients who achieved long disease control. Maintenance therapy with CPT‐11 or AMR after induction therapy could have potential for treating ED‐SCLC.

BACKGROUND: The optimal regimen for concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) of locally advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was not definitive. We conducted randomized phase II study, NJLCG0601, and chemoradiotherapy with uracil/tegafur (UFT) and cisplatin achieved promising efficacy without severe toxicities. Here, we evaluated between this regimen and pemetrexed plus cisplatin in chemoradiotherapy for stage III non-squamous NSCLC. METHODS: Patients with inoperable stage III non-squamous NSCLC were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to UFT 400 mg/m(2) on days 1–14 and 29–42, and cisplatin 80 mg/m(2) on days 8 and 36 (UP), or cisplatin 75 mg/m(2) and pemetrexed 500 mg/m(2) on days 1, 22, and 43 (PP). Involved-field radiotherapy (IFRT) underwent from day 1 to a total dose of 66 Gy in 33 fractions. Consolidation chemotherapy after CCRT was prohibited for this study. The primary endpoint was defined as 2-year overall survival (OS). This trial was registered in the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN000003948). RESULTS: From November 2010 to June 2017, 86 patients were entered from 11 institutions. Median follow-up was 54 months. Of the 85 eligible patients, the 2-year OS rate was 78.6% (95% CI, 62.8–88.3%) in UP and 85.5% (95% CI, 70.5–93.2%) in PP. Median PFS and OS was 12.3 and 64.2 months in UP, 26.2 months and not reached in PP, respectively. Grade 3/4 febrile neutropenia was more frequent in the UP group (14.0% vs. 2.0%). CONCLUSIONS: Both UP and PP with IFRT achieved the expected 2-year OS. PP engendered more favorable OS and PFS compared to UP in terms.

Only a few prospective studies have been conducted to examine the efficacy and safety of systemic chemotherapy for patients with pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinomas (PSCs). There is, thus, a crucial need to develop novel treatment strategies for this rare tumor.Chemotherapy-naïve patients with histologically confirmed PSCs were assigned to receive either carboplatin/paclitaxel alone (CP) or with bevacizumab (CPB) followed by bevacizumab maintenance. The primary endpoint was overall response rate (ORR). Secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and safety.This study was closed before accumulating the expected number of cases due to slow patient accrual. Eventually, 16 patients were enrolled. The ORR was 25.0% and disease control rate was 56.3%. CPB was administered in all four patients with an objective response [partial response (PR)]; among the four PR cases, two patients had pleomorphic carcinoma, and two had carcinosarcoma. Median PFS and median survival time (MST) in all the enrolled patients were 2.6 months and 8.8 months, respectively. Median PFS was 1.2 months in the CP group and 4.2 months in the CPB group. In addition, MST was 7.9 months in the CP group and 11.2 months in the CPB group. Hematological and non-hematological adverse events were common and reversible, although ileus (grade 4) and nasal bleeding (grade 3) occurred in one case each in the CPB group.CPB might be effective as first-line treatment for PSCs. Further study is warranted to clarify the role of cytotoxic chemotherapy for this rare and aggressive tumor.University Hospital Medical Information Network (UMIN) Clinical Trial Registry (UMIN000008707).

Summary Background Resistance to first-generation or second-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) monotherapy develops in almost half of patients with EGFR-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after 1 year of treatment. The JO25567 phase 2 trial comparing erlotinib plus bevacizumab combination therapy with erlotinib monotherapy established the activity and manageable toxicity of erlotinib plus bevacizumab in patients with NSCLC. We did a phase 3 trial to validate the results of the JO25567 study and report here the results from the preplanned interim analysis. Methods In this prespecified interim analysis of the randomised, open-label, phase 3 NEJ026 trial, we recruited patients with stage IIIB–IV disease or recurrent, cytologically or histologically confirmed non-squamous NSCLC with activating EGFR genomic aberrations from 69 centres across Japan. Eligible patients were at least 20 years old, and had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 2 or lower, no previous chemotherapy for advanced disease, and one or more measurable lesions based on Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours (1.1). Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive oral erlotinib 150 mg per day plus intravenous bevacizumab 15 mg/kg once every 21 days, or erlotinib 150 mg per day monotherapy. Randomisation was done by minimisation, stratified by sex, smoking status, clinical stage, and EGFR mutation subtype. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival. This study is ongoing; the data cutoff for this prespecified interim analysis was Sept 21, 2017. Efficacy was analysed in the modified intention-to-treat population, which included all randomly assigned patients who received at least one dose of treatment and had at least one response evaluation. Safety was analysed in all patients who received at least one dose of study drug. The trial is registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry, number UMIN000017069. Findings Between June 3, 2015, and Aug 31, 2016, 228 patients were randomly assigned to receive erlotinib plus bevacizumab (n=114) or erlotinib alone (n=114). 112 patients in each group were evaluable for efficacy, and safety was evaluated in 112 patients in the combination therapy group and 114 in the monotherapy group. Median follow-up was 12·4 months (IQR 7·0–15·7). At the time of interim analysis, median progression-free survival for patients in the erlotinib plus bevacizumab group was 16·9 months (95% CI 14·2–21·0) compared with 13·3 months (11·1–15·3) for patients in the erlotinib group (hazard ratio 0·605, 95% CI 0·417–0·877; p=0·016). 98 (88%) of 112 patients in the erlotinib plus bevacizumab group and 53 (46%) of 114 patients in the erlotinib alone group had grade 3 or worse adverse events. The most common grade 3–4 adverse event was rash (23 [21%] of 112 patients in the erlotinib plus bevacizumab group vs 24 [21%] of 114 patients in the erlotinib alone group). Nine (8%) of 112 patients in the erlotinib plus bevacizumab group and five (4%) of 114 patients in the erlotinib alone group had serious adverse events. The most common serious adverse events were grade 4 neutropenia (two [2%] of 112 patients in the erlotinib plus bevacizumab group) and grade 4 hepatic dysfunction (one [1%] of 112 patients in the erlotinib plus bevacizumab group and one [1%] of 114 patients in the erlotinib alone group). No treatment-related deaths occurred. Interpretation The results of this interim analysis showed that bevacizumab plus erlotinib combination therapy improves progression-free survival compared with erlotinib alone in patients with EGFR-positive NSCLC. Future studies with longer follow-up, and overall survival and quality-of-life data will be required to further assess the efficacy of this combination in this setting. Funding Chugai Pharmaceutical.

Pembrolizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody against programmed death 1 (PD‐1), has been shown to improve overall survival (OS) in patients with previously treated advanced non–small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with programmed death ligand 1 (PD‐L1) tumor proportion score (TPS) ≥1%. We report safety and efficacy results from the phase 1b KEYNOTE‐025 study, which evaluated pembrolizumab in Japanese patients with previously treated NSCLC. Eligible patients had histologically/cytologically confirmed advanced NSCLC with PD‐L1 TPS ≥1% and had received ≥1 platinum‐doublet chemotherapy. Patients received pembrolizumab 10 mg/kg once every 3 weeks for 2 years or until disease progression/unacceptable toxicity. Primary objectives were to evaluate the safety of pembrolizumab in patients with PD‐L1 TPS ≥1% and the objective response rate (ORR) per RECIST version 1.1 in patients with PD‐L1 TPS ≥50%. Thirty‐eight patients were enrolled and received ≥1 pembrolizumab dose. The median (range) age was 66.0 (41‐78) years, and 61% had received ≥2 prior systemic therapies. Eleven patients (29%) experienced grade 3‐5 treatment‐related adverse events (AE); 9 patients (24%) experienced immune‐mediated AE and infusion reactions, with pneumonitis (11%; any grade) being most common. Among evaluable patients with PD‐L1 TPS ≥50% (n = 11), ORR was 27% (95% CI, 6‐61). Among evaluable patients with PD‐L1 TPS ≥1% (n = 37), ORR was 22% (95% CI, 10‐38). Median (95% CI) progression‐free survival and OS were 3.9 (2.0‐6.2) months and 19.2 (8.0‐26.7) months, respectively. In summary, pembrolizumab was generally well tolerated and showed promising antitumor activity in Japanese patients with previously treated PD‐L1–expressing NSCLC. Outcomes were consistent with those from the phase 3 KEYNOTE‐010 study. (Trial registration number: ClinicalTrials.gov, {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT02007070","term_id":"NCT02007070"}}NCT02007070.)

Identification of targetable fusions as oncogenic drivers in non-small cell lung cancer has transformed its diagnostic and therapeutic paradigm. In a recent article in Nature, Izumi et al. report the discovery of CLIP1-LTK fusion as a novel oncogenic driver in lung cancer, targetable using the ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitor lorlatinib.

Background: In NEJ026, a phase III trial comparing bevacizumab plus erlotinib (BE) to erlotinib alone (E) for advanced EGFR-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), we demonstrated that the progression-free survival (PFS) of BE was significantly superior to E. Here, we report the results from the analysis of final overall survival (OS) time from enrolment to progressive disease during second-line treatment (PFS2), and quality of life (QoL). Methods: Chemotherapy-naive advanced EGFR-mutant NSCLC patients were randomly assigned to receive either erlotinib 150 mg/day plus bevacizumab 15 mg/kg once every 21 days, or erlotinib alone. Kaplan-Meier curves were drawn for OS and PFS2 using a stratified log-rank test. QoL was assessed by determining the period that elapsed between enrolment to confirmation of a minimally important difference (MID) using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality of life questionnaire (EORTC QLQ)-C30. Findings: The 224 patients were assigned to BE (n=112) and E (n=112). For the OS analysis, the data cut-off date was 30 November 2019. Median follow up time was 39·2 months. Median OS was 50·7 months (95% CI 37·3–not reached) with BE and 46·2 months (95% CI 38·2–not reached) with E (hazard ratio 1·007; 95% CI 0·681–1·490). The median PFS2 was 28·6 months (95% CI 22·1–35·9) with BE and 24·3 months (95% CI 20·4–29·1) with E (hazard ratio, 0·795; 95% CI 0·578–1·094). Median time between enrolment and confirmation of MID was 6·0 months (95% CI 5·2–11·3) with BE and 8·3 months (95% CI 5·7–13·9) with E. Interpretation: In NEJ026, both BE and E were associated with prolonged OS, but addition of bevacizumab to the erlotinib regimen was not beneficial. Trial Registration: The trial is registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry, number UMIN000017069. Funding Statement: Chugai Pharmaceutical. Declaration of Interests: TF reports personal fees from Chugai Pharma., during the conduct of the study; personal fees from Astrazeneca, personal fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, outside the submitted work. HS reports grants from Chugai Pharmaceutical, grants from AstraZeneca, personal fees from Ono Pharmaceutical, personal fees from Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim, grants from MSD, personal fees from Novartis Pharma, outside the submitted work. NF reports personal fees from AstraZeneca, personal fees from Chugai, personal fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, personal fees from Eli Lilly, personal fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb, personal fees from Novartis, personal fees from Taiho, personal fees from Kyowa Kirin, personal fees from MSD, personal fees from Pfizer, outside the submitted work. SS reports personal fees from Chugai Pharma, personal fees from AstraZeneca, personal fees from Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim, personal fees from MSD, personal fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb, personal fees from Ono Pharmaceutical, personal fees from Pfizer, personal fees from Taiho Pharmaceutical, personal fees from Eli Lilly and Company, personal fees from Novartis, personal fees from Kyowa Hakko Kirin, personal fees from Yakult Honsha, outside the submitted work. SI reports grants and personal fees from ONO PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD., personal fees from Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., personal fees from AstraZeneca K.K., personal fees from MSD K.K, personal fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb K.K., personal fees from Eli Lilly Japan K.K., personal fees from Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., personal fees from DAIICHI SANKYO COMPANY, LIMITED., outside the submitted work. OY reports personal fees from Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., personal fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb, personal fees from Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., personal fees from AstraZeneca, personal fees from Eli Lilly Japan, outside the submitted work. MO reports grants from Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., during the conduct of the study. MS reports grants and personal fees from Chugai Pharmaceutical., during the conduct of the study. KA reports personal fees from Ono Pharmaceutical, personal fees from Chugai Pharmaceutical, personal fees from Astra Zeneca, personal fees from MSD Oncology, personal fees from Bristorl Myers Squibb, outside the submitted work. YuT reports personal fees from Chugai Pharmaceuticals Co Ltd, personal fees from AstraZeneca Co Ltd, personal fees from Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd, outside the submitted work. YF reports personal fees from Liliy, personal fees from Chugai Pharma, personal fees from AstraZeneca, personal fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, outside the submitted work. SW reports grants and personal fees from AstraZeneca, personal fees from Chugai Pharma, personal fees from Ono Pharmaceutical, personal fees from Bristol-Myers, grants and personal fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, personal fees from Eli Lilly, personal fees from MSD, personal fees from Taiho Pharmaceutical, personal fees from Pfizer, personal fees from Novartis, personal fees from Daiichi Sankyo, outside the submitted work. KH reports personal fees from Astra Zeneca, personal fees from Chugai Pharmaceutical, grants and personal fees from Taiho Pharmaceutical, grants and personal fees from Ono Pharma, personal fees from Boehringer-ingelheim, personal fees from Novartis, personal fees from Kyorin pharmaceutical, personal fees from Bristol Myers Squibb, grants from MSD, outside the submitted work. In addition, KH has a patent EGFR mutation test licensed to LSI medience. SM reports personal fees from AstraZeneca K.K, personal fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, personal fees from Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, personal fees from Eli Lilly Japan K.K, personal fees from MSD K.K, personal fees from Pfizer Japan Inc, personal fees from Taiho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, personal fees from Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., outside the submitted work. KK reports personal fees from AstraZeneca, personal fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb Japan, personal fees from Ono Pharmaceutical, personal fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, personal fees from Taiho Pharmaceutical Company, outside the submitted work. MMa reports grants and personal fees from chugai pharm., during the conduct of the study; personal fees from chugai pharm., personal fees from astrazeneca, personal fees from boehringer ingelheim, personal fees from Lilly, outside the submitted work. YK, KW, YoT, KY, IN, FK, HN, GA, MMi, and TN declare no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement: The study was done in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration and Good Clinical Practice Guidelines. The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the ethical committee of the Non-Profit Organization MINS Institutional Review Board and by the local institutional review boards of the participating institutions. Written informed consent was obtained from all enrolled patients.

Nivolumab is a newly introduced promising therapy for treating lung cancer that restores the anti-tumor immunity by disrupting programmed cell death-1-mediated immuno-suppressive signaling. Although "new-onset" autoimmune diseases are well-known immune-related adverse events, whether or not nivolumab exacerbates "pre-existing" autoimmune disease remains unclear. We herein report a patient with "pre-existing" myasthenia gravis in whom nivolumab was administered that flared up after the treatment with nivolumab. Regardless of the disease stability, nivolumab has the potential to exacerbate an autoimmune disease, and we must pay close attention to each patient's medical history before administering this agent.

Analysis of circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is under intensive investigation for its potential to identify tumor somatic mutations. We have now explored the usefulness of such liquid biopsy testing with both the digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) and next-generation sequencing (NGS) during treatment of patients with the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor afatinib.Eligible patients had advanced lung adenocarcinoma with EGFR activating mutations and were treated with afatinib. Plasma samples were collected before and during (4 and 24 weeks) afatinib treatment as well as at disease progression. Tumor and plasma DNA were analyzed by dPCR and NGS.Thirty-five patients were enrolled. The objective response rate and median progression-free survival (PFS) were 77.1% and 13.8 months, respectively. Tumor and plasma DNA were available for 32 patients. dPCR and NGS detected EGFR activating mutations in 81.3% and 71.9% of baseline cfDNA samples, respectively. In 19 patients treated with afatinib for ≥24 weeks, the number of EGFR mutant alleles detected in cfDNA by dPCR declined rapidly and markedly after treatment onset, becoming undetectable or detectable at only a low copy number (10 copies per milliliter) at 4 weeks. Median PFS was slightly longer for patients with undetectable EGFR mutant alleles in cfDNA at 4 weeks than for those in whom such alleles were detectable (14.3 versus 10.0 months). A total of 45 somatic mutations was identified in baseline tumor DNA, and 30 (66.7%) of these mutations were identified in cfDNA by NGS. Allele frequency for somatic mutations in cfDNA determined by NGS changed concordantly during afatinib treatment with the number of EGFR mutant alleles determined by dPCR.Monitoring of cfDNA by dPCR is informative for prediction of afatinib efficacy, whereas that by NGS is reliable and has the potential to identify mechanisms of treatment resistance.

PURPOSE Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor combined with cytotoxic chemotherapy is highly effective for the treatment of advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR mutations; however, little is known about the efficacy and safety of this combination compared with that of standard therapy with EGFR- tyrosine kinase inhibitors alone. METHODS We randomly assigned 345 patients with newly diagnosed metastatic NSCLC with EGFR mutations to gefitinib combined with carboplatin plus pemetrexed or gefitinib alone. Progression-free survival (PFS), PFS2, and overall survival (OS) were sequentially analyzed as primary end points according to a hierarchical sequential testing method. Secondary end points were objective response rate (ORR), safety, and quality of life. RESULTS The combination group demonstrated a better ORR and PFS than the gefitinib group (ORR, 84% v 67% [ P < .001]; PFS, 20.9 v 11.9 months; hazard ratio for death or disease progression, 0.490 [ P < .001]), although PFS2 was not significantly different (20.9 v 18.0 months; P = .092). Median OS in the combination group was also significantly longer than in the gefitinib group (50.9 v 38.8 months; hazard ratio for death, 0.722; P = .021). The rate of grade ≥ 3 treatment-related adverse events, such as hematologic toxicities, in the combination group was higher than in the gefitinib group (65.3% v 31.0%); there were no differences in quality of life. One treatment-related death was observed in the combination group. CONCLUSION Compared with gefitinib alone, gefitinib combined with carboplatin plus pemetrexed improved PFS in patients with untreated advanced NSCLC with EGFR mutations with an acceptable toxicity profile, although its OS benefit requires further validation.

9506 Background: In NEJ026, a phase III trial comparing bevacizumab plus erlotinib (BE) to erlotinib monotherapy (E) for EGFR-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), we demonstrated the progression-free survival (PFS) of BE was significantly superior to E (Saito et al. Lancet Oncol. 2019 May;20(5):625-635.). However overall survival analysis were immature at the cutoff date. Methods: Chemotherapy-naïve pts with advanced non-squamous NSCLC harboring EGFR-mutation were randomly assigned to receive either combination with erlotinib (150 mg daily) plus bevacizumab (15 mg/kg iv q3w) or erlotinib (150 mg daily). The primary endpoint was PFS. Secondary endpoints were OS, RR, safety, and QoL. Results: The 226 pts were assigned to BE (n=112) and E (n=114). For the follow-up OS analysis, the data cut-off date was 30 November 2019. Median follow up time was 39.2 months. Median OS was 50.7 months (95% CI, 37.3 months to not reached) with BE and 46.2 months (95% CI, 38.2 months to not reached) with E (hazard ratio, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.68 to 1.48). Twenty-nine patients (25.9%) in BE and twenty-six patients (23.2%) in E were treated by osimertinib as second line treatment. The median survival time between enrollment and progressive disease of second-line treatment (median PFS2) was 28.6 months (95% CI, 22.1 months to 35.9) with BE and 24.3 months (95% CI, 20.4 months to 29.1 months) with E (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.59 to 1.10). In both arms, the median OS of patients with osimertinib second-line treatment were longer than other second-line chemotherapy groups [50.7 months (95% CI, 38.0 months to 50.7 months) vs 40.1 months (95% CI, 29.5 months to not reached), (hazard ratio, 0.645; 95% CI, 0.40 to 1.03), respectively. Conclusion: The additional effect of bevacizumab on erlotinib monotherapy for NSCLC with EGFR mutations gradually decreased in the order of PFS2 and survival, with no significant differences. Clinical trial information: UMIN000017069 .

Liquid biopsy offers a potential alternative to tissue biopsy for detection of genetic alterations in cancer, and it has been introduced into clinical practice to detect the tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) resistance-conferring T790M mutation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We prospectively collected tumor and plasma samples from 25 NSCLC patients who harbored activating mutations of EGFR and experienced failure of treatment with afatinib. The samples were analyzed by digital PCR (dPCR) and next-generation sequencing (NGS). T790M was detected in plasma with a respective sensitivity and specificity of 83.3% and 70.0% by dPCR and 50.0% and 70.0% by NGS relative to analysis of corresponding tumor samples. Quantitation of T790M based on the ratio of the number of T790M alleles to that of activating mutation alleles (T/A ratio) improved the specificity of plasma analysis to 100% for both dPCR and NGS without a reduction in sensitivity. Although several afatinib resistance mechanisms other than T790M-including copy number gain of NRAS or MET-were identified in tumor samples, the corresponding genetic alterations were not detected in plasma. TP53 mutations were frequently identified in plasma and tumor samples, with most such mutations also having been detected before afatinib treatment. The presence of de novo TP53 mutations was associated with reduced progression-free survival. Quantitation of T790M in plasma is thus a clinically relevant approach to determine the T790M status of tumors. In addition, genetic alterations coexisting with EGFR mutations can affect the efficacy of EGFR-TKI treatment.

Background: Resistance to first- or second-generation TKI monotherapy, the standard treatment for EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC, develops in less than a year. A phase II study comparing combination therapy of erlotinib and bevacizumab (BE) with erlotinib (E) monotherapy demonstrated the higher efficacy and safety of BE in patients. To validate these results, we have conducted a phase III study. Methods: The NEJ026 study was an open-label, randomized phase III clinical study. The patients with EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC were randomly allocated to a BE combination therapy or E monotherapy arm. In both arms, patients were orally administered 150 mg/day of erlotinib. In the BE arm, patients were additionally intravenously administered 15 mg/kg of bevacizumab every 21 days. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). Interim analysis for evaluating efficacy was planned for when 67% of final events were attained. Findings: Between Jun 3, 2015 to Aug 31, 2016, 228 patients were enrolled. Preplanned interim analysis was performed on Sep 21, 2017. Median PFS for patients in the BE arm was 16·9 months (95% CI, 14·2-21·0), which was significantly superior to the value of 13·3 months (95% CI, 11·1-15·3) for patients in the E monotherapy arm. The response rates were 72·3% (95%CI 63·1-80·4) in the BE arm and 66·1% (95%CI 56·5-74·7) in the E arm. The rate of hypertension (45·5% vs 8·8%), proteinuria (32·1% vs 2·6%), and hemorrhage (25·9% vs 2·6%) significantly increased in the BE arm, but remained manageable. There were no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation: The results of this phase III study confirm that BE combination therapy can be a new standard treatment for patients with EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC. Clinical Trial Number: The trial was registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN-CTR; 000017069). Funding Statement: This study was funded by Chugai Pharmaceutical. The funding source gave its approval at the conception of this study and was involved in the provision of information; however, it was not involved in preparation of the protocol, analysis, and interpretation of the results. Declaration of Interests: HS reports grants from Chugai Pharmaceutical, AstraZeneca, and MSD, personal fees from Ono Pharmaceutical, Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis Pharma, outside the submitted work. TF reports personal fees from AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim, outside the submitted work. NF has nothing to disclose. KW has nothing to disclose. SS reports personal fees from Chugai Pharma, AstraZeneca, Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim, MSD, Taiho Pharmaceutical, Pfizer, Eli Lilly and Company, and Novartis, non-financial support from Kyowa Hakko Kirin, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Ono Pharmaceutical, outside the submitted work. SI reports grants and personal fees from Ono Pharmaceutical, Chugai Pharmaceutical, AstraZeneca, MSD, Bristol-Myers Squib, Eli Lilly Japan, Taiho Pharmaceutical, and DAIICHI SANKYO COMPANY, outside the submitted work. NT has nothing to disclose. OY has nothing to disclose. MO reports and Research grants and clinical trial fee to my research at Hiroshima University was provided from Chugai Pharma. IN has nothing to disclose. KA has received honoraria from Ono Pharmaceutical, Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, and Chugai Pharmaceutical. Yukari T has nothing to disclose. YF reports personal fees from Chugai Pharmaceutical, and AstraZeneca, outside the submitted work. NM has nothing to disclose. GA has nothing to disclose. SW reports personal fees from AstraZeneca, Chugai Pharma, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Ono Pharmaceutical, and Taiho Pharmaceutical, outside the submitted work. MasakiM has nothing to disclose. KH reports personal fees from Chugai pharmaceuticals, during the conduct of the study; In addition, KH has a patent EGFR mutation detection method with royalties paid to LSI medience. TN reports grants from Chugai Pharmaceutical, during the conduct of the study. SM reports grants from North East Japan Study Group, during the conduct of the study; personal fees from Chugai Pharmaceutical, outside the submitted work. KK reports grants from Chugai Pharmaceutical, during the conduct of the study. MakotoMD reports personal fees from Chugai Pharmaceutical., during the conduct of the study; grants and personal fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca, personal fees from Eli Lilly, outside the submitte Ethics Approval Statement: The study was conducted in compliance with the Helsinki Declaration and GCP Guidelines. Moreover, the study protocol was reviewed and approved by the central institutional review board (IRB). Although the primary endpoint was met and the independent data monitoring committee recommended that the study be ceased, we decided to continue our investigation to attain secondary and exploratory endpoints. The JO25567 study, however, was not designed to detect OS-related benefits and the OS analysis was additionally performed just for half of patients with consent. Therefore, a combined analysis of OS data from the NEJ026 and JO25567 studies was considered. To resolve any ethical issues with our approach, this study was continued after we notified all investigators of the results of our interim analysis and obtained permission for the addition of bevacizumab to the treatment regimen of patients in the E monotherapy arm.

Background Cisplatin plus irinotecan (PI) regimen is used for patients with extensive disease (ED)-SCLC. Amrubicin is mainly used for relapsed SCLC. HOT1401/NJLCG1401 trial, open-label randomized phase II trials was designed to assess the benefit of maintenance therapy in patients with ED-SCLC who responded induction therapy. Methods Eligible patients were aged 20-74 years; had histologically or cytologically confirmed, ED-SCLC. After induction therapy PI (P: 60mg/m2 on day 1, I: 60mg/m2 on days 1, 8, 15, every 4 weeks for 4 cycles), patients who attained CR, PR and SD were randomized to either maintenance irinotecan (I: 60mg/m2 on days 1, 8, every 3 weeks) or amrubicin (A: 35 mg/m2 on days 1-3 every 3 weeks). The primary endpoint is 6-months PFS rate. Results A total of 34 patients were enrolled from 2014 to 2017. Twenty patients had disease progression or incomplete of induction chemotherapy, finally 14 (41.1%) patients were randomly assigned to receive irinotecan (n = 7) and amrubicin (n = 7). This study was terminated prematurely because of low patient accrual. Of the evaluable patients (n = 34) the overall objective response rate was 73%, median progression free survival was 5.7 months (95% CI: 3.6 -11.8), and median overall survival was 20.1 months (95% CI: 13.7-NR). Six months PFS rate was 47 % (95%CI: 31.4-63.2). Sub group analysis showed the patients receive maintenance group showed longer PFS and OS than those without (15.8 months and 3.5 months, respectively p Conclusions Maintenance therapy of irinotecan or amrubicin after induction therapy was well tolerated. Some patients might be effective for maintenance therapy. Clinical trial identification UMIN 000013882. Legal entity responsible for the study HOT/NJLCG. Funding Has not received any funding. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

A 44-year-old woman who was diagnosed with anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive lung adenocarcinoma developed brain metastases, multiple spinal metastases and meningeal dissemination. Crizotinib was administered after the failure of first-line chemotherapy. Esophagitis and liver damage were induced by the twice-daily administration of crizotinib at 250 mg and 200 mg, respectively. The alternate-day administration of crizotinib (250 mg, twice daily) was able to control disease progression without any adverse effects for several months. We evaluated the relationship between the serum concentration of crizotinib and the development of esophagitis and liver damage. The alternate-day administration of crizotinib is one of the strategies for managing the severe toxicity of crizotinib.

EGFR is an important therapeutic target for non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs). Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), such as gefitinib and erlotinib, are effective in cases with EGFR-activating mutations. However, most such cases become resistant through a secondary EGFR mutation, T790M. While the second-generation TKI afatinib has a higher affinity for double-mutant EGFRs, better efficacy is needed. Combining afatinib with the anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody cetuximab improves clinical outcomes, but the mechanism is unclear. Here we examined this effect using erythroleukemic K562 cells. The activating EGFR mutation L858R is sensitive to first-generation TKIs, and adding T790M confers resistance to these drugs. This double-mutant EGFR was moderately sensitive to afatinib, but responded weakly to cetuximab. Combined afatinib and cetuximab synergistically increased their cytotoxicity for K562 cells expressing the double-mutant EGFR. Apoptosis in these cells followed induction of the pro-apoptotic protein BIM. Unexpectedly, afatinib caused redistribution of EGFR to the cell surface through Rab11a-dependent recycling. Cetuximab reduced cell-surface EGFR, and total EGFR decreased synergistically when cetuximab was combined with afatinib. Our results suggest that the synergistic effect exerted by afatinib and cetuximab on NSCLCs is associated with BIM induction and alterations in EGFR status.

8527 Background: It is unknown which regimen is the best in concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) of locally advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Our previous randomized phase Ⅱ study, NJLCG0601, showed that chemoradiotherapy with uracil/tegafur (UFT) and cisplatin achieved promising efficacy with acceptable toxicities. In this trial, this regimen was compared to a regimen with pemetrexed and cisplatin for stage Ⅲ non-squamous NSCLC. Methods: Patients with inoperable stage Ⅲ non-squamous NSCLC were randomized to UFT 400 mg/m2 on days 1–14 and 29–42, and cisplatin 80 mg/m2 on days 8 and 36 (UP), or pemetrexed 500 mg/m2 and cisplatin 75 mg/m2 on days 1, 22, and 43 (PP). Involved-field radiotherapy (IFRT) was administered from day 1 to a total dose of 66 Gy radiotherapy in 33 fractions. Consolidation chemotherapy after CCRT was not planned for this study. The primary endpoint was 2-year overall survival (OS), with expected rates of 55% and a lower limit of 35% (alfa 0.05, beta 0.2). Secondary endpoints were the objective response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS), OS, and toxicity profile. Results: From November 2010 to June 2017, 86 patients were enrolled from 11 institutions. Of the 85 eligible patients, the rate of 2-year OS was 78.6% (95% CI: 62.8–88.3%) in the UP arm and 85.5% (95% CI: 70.5–93.2%) in the PP arm. The ORR was 76.7% in the UP arm and 81.0% in the PP arm. With a median follow-up of 54 months, median PFS and OS were 12.3 and 64.2 months in the UP arm, and 26.2 months and not reached in the PP arm, respectively. Grade 3/4 febrile neutropenia was more frequent in the UP arm than in the PP arm (14.0%, 2.0%, respectively). Grade 3/4 pneumonitis occurred in 7.0% and 4.8% of patients in UP and PP arms, respectively. Conclusions: Both regimens with IFRT achieved the expected 2-year survival rate. PP had more favorable results than UP in terms of OS and PFS. We selected the PP arm for the next step.

Introduction. Rebiopsies have become more crucial in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Instead of invasive biopsies, development of collecting biological data of the tumor from blood samples is expected. We conducted a prospective study to assess the feasibility of detection of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation in plasma samples.Method. NSCLC patients harboring EGFR activating mutations, who were going to receive EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) as first-line treatment, were enrolled in this study. Plasma EGFR activating mutations and the T790M resistance mutation were analyzed by an improved PNA-LNA PCR clamp method, characterized by a 10-fold or more sensitivity compared with the original methods.Result. Six patients with wild-type EGFR and 24 patients with EGFR mutations were enrolled in this study. Pretreatment plasma samples achieved sensitivity of 79%. The 6 patients with wild-type EGFR were all negative for plasma EGFR mutations. At the time of disease progression, plasma T790M mutation was detected in 8 of 16 cases. Absence of T790M before and during TKI treatment and disappearance of activating mutations during TKI treatment were considered as predictors of EGFR-TKIs efficacy.Conclusion. We were able to detect EGFR mutations in plasma samples by using an improved PNA-LNA PCR clamp method.

9006Background: Development of treatment for EGFR-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) had been focused on monotherapy of gefitinib, erlotinib, or afatinib. Combinations of EGFR-TKIs and VEGF inhibitors are one of candidates for next strategy for EGFR-mutated tumor. We conducted a phase III study comparing BE to E. Methods: Chemotherapy-naive pts with advanced non-squamous NSCLC harbouring EGFR-mutation were randomly assigned to receive either combination with erlotinib (150 mg daily) plus bevacizumab (15 mg/kg iv q3w) or erlotinib (150 mg daily). Status of EGFR mutations in plasma samples were monitored routinely during the study treatment and a second-line treatment. The primary endpoint was PFS. Secondary endpoints were OS, RR, safety, and QoL. We hypothesized that hazard ratio of PFS was 0.63. It was estimated that 147 events would be needed for the study to have a power of 80% and a two-sided significance level of 5%. Accordingly, this study was planned to enroll 214 pts in total. Results: Betw...

9005Background: Although EGFR-TKI alone has been a standard first-line treatment for pts with advanced NSCLC with EGFR mutations, our phase II study (NEJ005) showed promising efficacy of GCP. NEJ00...

Summary Expression of PKM2, which diverts glucose-derived carbon from catabolic to biosynthetic pathways, is a hallmark of cancer. However, PKM2 function in tumorigenesis remains controversial. Here, we show that, when expressed rather than PKM2, the PKM isoform PKM1 exhibits a tumor-promoting function in KRAS G12D -induced or carcinogen-initiated mouse models or in some human cancers. Analysis of Pkm mutant mouse lines expressing specific PKM isoforms established that PKM1 boosts tumor growth cell intrinsically. PKM1 activated glucose catabolism and stimulated autophagy/mitophagy, favoring malignancy. Importantly, we observed that pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), including small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), express PKM1, and that PKM1 expression is required for SCLC cell proliferation. Our findings provide a rationale for targeting PKM1 therapeutically in certain cancer subtypes, including pulmonary NETs.

Several American and Japanese guidelines recommend surgery for patients with c-stage I small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), whereas the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) guidelines recommend surgery for patients with not only c-stage I but also c-stage II (T2N1) SCLC. In addition, previous studies identified various factors other than clinical stage that are related to survival in these patients. Thus, further validation and examination of the association of clinical stage and other clinical variables with survival are required for establishing practical management of early-stage SCLC.We reviewed the clinical courses of 156 SCLC patients who had undergone surgery at 17 institutions between January 2003 and January 2013.Clinical stages (tumor-node-metastasis [TNM] version 7) of the 156 patients were 98 cases in IA, 14 in IB, 16 in IIA, 7 in IIB, 18 in IIIA, and 3 in IIIB. Median overall survival (OS) was 33.3 months (95% confidence interval: 20.9-45.8). Multivariate analysis revealed that OS was longer in patients either at c-stage II and under, with a maximum tumor diameter of20mm, with preoperative diagnosis, without a history or presence of other types of cancer, or who underwent prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI).These results indicate that a history or presence of other types of cancer might be a major decisive factor for surgery. Patients with c-stages I and II (c-T2N1) can be considered for surgery, and PCI may be useful in patients undergoing surgery in a practical setting, partly supporting the ESMO guidelines.(1).

Introduction Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment is the standard therapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harbouring EGFR-activating mutations. The NEJ002 phase 3 clinical trial demonstrated the efficacy of EGFR-TKI; gefitinib was significantly superior in both progression-free survival (PFS) and objective response rate (ORR) than carboplatin plus paclitaxel. However, several cases showed no response. In this study, we performed further analysis of the characteristics of these non-responders. Methods Available data from NEJ002 on maximum changes in tumour size were obtained from 103 cases (90.4%) and 110 cases (96.5%) in the carboplatin–paclitaxel and gefitinib groups, respectively. Waterfall plots of maximum tumour size changes were created for non-responders. Results Five (4.9%) and 9 (8.2%) cases in the carboplatin–paclitaxel and gefitinib groups were non-responders, respectively. The mean pack years of the non-responders in the carboplatin–paclitaxel and gefitinib groups were 0.33 and 31.7, respectively. The ORR of total smokers (61.5%) and heavy smokers (over 40 pack years, 52.6%) in the gefitinib group were significantly lower compared to people who have never smoked (80.0%) ( P =0.044 and P =0.020, respectively). Smoker cases also showed a tendency towards lower PFS and overall survival (OS). In addition, the EGFR common mutation types did not affect PFS and OS in gefitinib-treated cases in NEJ002. However, in this study, the ORR and waterfall plots showed that gefitinib-treated non-responders who had a deletion in exon 19 in the EGFR gene exhibited a tendency towards a higher response compared to those with a L858R mutation. Conclusions NSCLC patients with a smoking history or the EGFR L858R mutation may demonstrate a poorer response to gefitinib treatment.

Cancer-associated retinopathy (CAR) is one of the paraneoplastic neurological syndromes and characterised by retinal degeneration. Autoimmunity between cancer cells and retinal proteins is considered a major cause of CAR. The presence of serum autoantibodies to retinal antigens plays an important role in the diagnosis. A 60-year-old man reporting of visual disturbance and paresthaesia of extremities presented to our hospital. CT scan revealed a massive tumour in the left lower lobe of the lung. Small cell lung cancer was diagnosed histologically with bronchoscopy. Ophthalmological examination showed retinopathy but not optic neuritis. Anti-CV2/collapsin response mediator protein (CRMP)-5 and anti-Hu antibodies were detected by further serum examination. It has been reported that anti-CV2/CRMP5 antibodies are present in patients with neoplasms accompanied by retinopathy as well as optic neuritis. This is the first case of CAR with presence of anti-CV2/CRMP5 antibodies without neuritis.