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Background: Although immunotherapy has emerged as a therapeutic strategy for many cancers, there are limited studies establishing the safety and efficacy in people living with HIV (PLWH) and cancer., Methods: PLWH and solid tumors or Kaposi sarcoma (KS) receiving antiretroviral therapy and a suppressed HIV viral load received nivolumab at 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks, in two dose deescalation cohorts stratified by CD4 count (stratum 1: CD4 count > 200/µL and stratum 2: CD4 count 100-199/µL). An expansion cohort of 24 participants with a CD4 count > 200/µL was then enrolled., Results: A total of 36 PLWH received nivolumab, including 15 with KS and 21 with a variety of other solid tumors. None of the first 12 participants had dose-limiting toxicity in both CD4 strata, and five patients (14%) overall had grade 3 or higher immune related adverse events. Objective partial response occurred in nine PLWH and cancer (25%), including in six of 15 with KS (40%; 95% CI, 16.3-64.7). The median duration of response was 9.0 months overall and 12.5 months in KS. Responses were observed regardless of PDL1 expression. There were no significant changes in CD4 count or HIV viral load., Conclusions: Nivolumab has a safety profile in PLWH similar to HIV-negative subjects with cancer, and also efficacy in KS. Plasma HIV remained suppressed and CD4 counts remained stable during treatment and antiretroviral therapy, indicating no adverse impact on immune function., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02408861., (© 2023 American Cancer Society.)

Background: TAILORx (Trial Assigning Individualized Options for Treatment) prospectively assessed fatigue and endocrine symptoms among women with early-stage hormone receptor-positive breast cancer and a midrange risk of recurrence who were randomized to endocrine therapy (E) or chemotherapy followed by endocrine therapy (CT+E)., Methods: Participants completed the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue, the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-Fatigue Short Form, and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Endocrine Symptoms at the baseline and at 3, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months. Linear regression was used to model outcomes on baseline symptoms, treatment, and other factors., Results: Participants (n = 458) in both treatment arms reported greater fatigue and endocrine symptoms at early follow-up in comparison with the baseline. The magnitude of change in fatigue was significantly greater for the CT+E arm than the E arm at 3 and 6 months but not at 12, 24, or 36 months. The CT+E arm reported significantly greater changes in endocrine symptoms from the baseline to 3 months in comparison with the E arm; change scores were not significantly different at later time points. Endocrine symptom trajectories by treatment differed by menopausal status, with the effect larger and increasing for postmenopausal patients., Conclusions: Adjuvant CT+E was associated with greater increases in fatigue and endocrine symptoms at early time points in comparison with E. These differences lessened over time, and this demonstrated early chemotherapy effects more than long-term ones. Treatment arm differences in endocrine symptoms were more evident in postmenopausal patients., Lay Summary: Participants in TAILORx (Trial Assigning Individualized Options for Treatment) with early-stage hormone receptor-positive breast cancer and an intermediate risk of recurrence were randomly assigned to endocrine or chemoendocrine therapy. Four hundred fifty-eight women reported fatigue and endocrine symptoms at the baseline and at 3, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months. Both groups reported greater symptoms at early follow-up versus the baseline. Increases in fatigue were greater for the chemoendocrine group than the endocrine group at 3 and 6 months but not later. The chemoendocrine group reported greater changes in endocrine symptoms in comparison with the endocrine group at 3 months but not later., (© 2021 American Cancer Society.)

Background: Population-based studies have shown improved survival for patients diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer over time, presumably because of the availability of new and more effective therapies. The objective of the current study was to determine whether survival improved for patients who developed distant recurrence of breast cancer after receiving adjuvant therapy., Methods: Adjuvant chemotherapy trials coordinated by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group that accrued patients between 1978 and 2002 were reviewed. Survival after distant disease recurrence was estimated for progressive time periods, and adjusted for baseline covariates in a Cox proportional hazards model., Results: Of the 13,785 patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy in 11 trials, 3447 (25%) developed distant disease recurrence; the median survival after recurrence was 20 months (95% confidence interval, 19 months-21 months). Factors associated with inferior survival included a shorter distant recurrence-free interval (DRFI), estrogen receptor-negative and progesterone receptor-negative disease, the number of positive axillary lymph nodes present at the time of diagnosis, and black race (P < .0001 for all). When the time period of recurrence was added to the model, it was not found to be significantly associated with survival for the general population with disease recurrence. Survival improved over time only in those patients with hormone receptor-negative disease with a DRFI ≤ 3 years, both among the 5 most recent and the entire trial data sets (P = .01 and P = .05, respectively)., Conclusions: In contrast to reports from population-based studies, no general improvement in survival was observed over the last 30 years for patients who developed distant disease recurrence after adjuvant chemotherapy after adjusting for DRFI. Improved survival for patients with hormone receptor-negative disease with a short DRFI suggests a benefit from trastuzumab., (Copyright © 2012 American Cancer Society.)

Background: Improved outcomes have recently been reported for rituximab (R) plus rituximab plus infusional etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, and doxorubicin (R-EPOCH) chemotherapy in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated, aggressive B-cell, non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The objective of the current analysis was to assess whether patient selection or other factors contributed to this improvement and to identify patients who are at the greatest risk for lethal toxicity., Methods: The authors performed a pooled analysis of 2 consecutive trials that included 150 patients with HIV-associated NHL who received either R-CHOP (n = 99; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome [AIDS] Malignancy Consortium Trial 010 [AMC010]) or R-EPOCH (n = 51; AMC034). Age-adjusted International Prognostic Index (aaIPI), CD4 count at lymphoma diagnosis (<100/μL vs ≥100/μL), and treatment (R-CHOP vs R-EPOCH) were included as variables in a multivariate logistic regression model for complete response (CR) and in a Cox proportional hazards regression models for event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS)., Results: Features that were associated significantly with an improved CR rate and improved EFS and OS included a low aaIPI score and a baseline CD4 count ≥100/μL. When the analysis was adjusted for aaIPI and CD4 count, patients who received concurrent R-EPOCH had improved EFS (hazard ratio [HR] 0.40; 95% confidence intervals [CI], 0.23, 0.69; P < .001) and OS (HR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.21, 0.69; P < .01). Treatment-associated death occurred significantly more often in patients with CD4 counts <50/μL (37% vs 6%; P < .01)., Conclusions: The current analysis provided additional level 2 evidence supporting the use of concurrent R-EPOCH in patients with HIV-associated lymphoma and a CD4 count >50/μL, and the results support the design of an ongoing phase 3 trial comparing concurrent R-EPOCH with R-CHOP in immunocompetent patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (National Clinical Trial no. NCT00118209)., (Copyright © 2011 American Cancer Society.)

Background: Epigenetic dysregulation is a hallmark of cancer, including multiple myeloma. Inhibitors of histone deacetylases (HDACs) induce DNA hyperacetylation by inhibiting removal of acetyl groups from amino tails on histone proteins, thereby uncoiling condensed chromatin favoring transcription of silenced genes, including tumor suppressor genes. Romidepsin is an HDAC inhibitor that exhibits antiproliferative and apoptotic effects against multiple myeloma cell lines., Methods: A phase 2 trial was performed of romidepsin in patients with multiple myeloma who were refractory to standard therapy. Treatment was comprised of romidepsin (13 mg/m²) given as a 4-hour intravenous infusion on Days 1, 8, and 15 every 28 days). Thirteen patients received a median of 2 cycles of therapy (range, 1-7 cycles)., Results: Although no patients had an objective response, 4 of 12 patients with secretory myeloma exhibited evidence of M-protein stabilization, and several other patients experienced improvement in bone pain and resolution of hypercalcemia., Conclusions: The results of the current study demonstrate that romidepsin, as a single agent, is unlikely to be associated with a response rate of ≥30% in patients with refractory myeloma, although there was some clinical evidence suggesting a biological effect associated with therapy., (Copyright © 2010 American Cancer Society.)