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Studies JVDB and JVCZ examined alternative ramucirumab dosing regimens as monotherapy or combined with paclitaxel, respectively, in patients with advanced/metastatic gastric/gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma. For JVDB, randomized patients (N = 164) received ramucirumab monotherapy at four doses: 8 mg/kg every 2 weeks (Q2W) (registered dose), 12 mg/kg Q2W, 6 mg/kg weekly (QW), or 8 mg/kg on days 1 and 8 (D1D8) every 3 weeks (Q3W). The primary objectives were the safety and pharmacokinetics of ramucirumab monotherapy. For JVCZ, randomized patients (N = 245) received paclitaxel (80 mg/m2-D1D8D15) plus ramucirumab (8 mg/kg- or 12 mg/kg-Q2W). The primary objective was progression-free survival (PFS) of 12 mg/kg-Q2W arm versus placebo from RAINBOW using meta-analysis. Relative to the registered dose, exploratory dosing regimens (EDRs) led to higher ramucirumab serum concentrations in both studies. EDR safety profiles were consistent with previous studies. In JVDB, serious adverse events occurred more frequently in the 8 mg/kg-D1D8-Q3W arm versus the registered dose; 6 mg/kg-QW EDR had a higher incidence of bleeding/hemorrhage. In JVCZ, PFS was improved with the 12 mg/kg plus paclitaxel combination versus placebo in RAINBOW; however, no significant PFS improvement was observed between the 12 mg/kg and 8 mg/kg arms. The lack of a dose/exposure-response relationship in these studies supports the standard dose of ramucirumab 8 mg/kg-Q2W as monotherapy or in combination with paclitaxel as second-line treatment for advanced/metastatic gastric/GEJ adenocarcinoma.

293 Background: NET-02 was a multi-centre, randomised (1:1), non-comparative phase II trial of nal-IRI/5-FU/folinic acid (ARM A) or docetaxel (ARM B) in pts with progressive PD-EP-NEC, aimed at selecting a treatment for evaluation in a phase III trial. Primary analysis (N = 58) showed ARM A, but not ARM B, achieved the target 6-month progression-free survival rate primary endpoint (McNamara et al. ASCO 2022). HRQoL was a secondary endpoint in NET-02. Methods: HRQoL was assessed using the EORTC QLQ-C30 and GINET21 (at baseline (BL), 6-weekly intervals and at disease progression). The mean change from BL was estimated for each scale by timepoint and treatment arm. Results are presented where there were ≥4 responses per time point. Scores were considered stable if they did not change by > 10 points from BL. The mean BL C30 scores for all pts were compared to United Kingdom (UK) population normative C30 data using a 2-sample t-test. Results: Fifty-four of 58 pts (93%) completed a BL questionnaire; of these, 39 (72%) completed ≥1 post-BL questionnaire, with 21 (51%) completing questionnaires at progression. Global health status (GHS) and all functional scales in ARM A remained stable from BL to intervals pre-progression, with a sustained improvement in role functioning observed post-BL. In ARM B, GHS and all C30 functional scales decreased by > 10 points between BL and week 18 (worsening of QoL). Both arms had a > 10-point increase from BL in constipation and diarrhoea in ≥1 post-BL time point. In ARM A, pain, insomnia and financial problems decreased from BL. No C30 symptom scales in ARM B were consistently lower post-BL. Patterns of change in GINET21 mean score were similar in both arms: body image, disease-related worries, information/communication, sexual function and social function all had a > 10-point reduction in score from BL (indicating improvement in symptoms/problems); endocrine and gastrointestinal symptoms remained stable; muscle/bone pain varied across time points, initially showing a reduction in pain followed by an increase, compared to BL. In comparison to the UK C30 norms (BL all pts), 11 of 15 C30 scales did not significantly differ (P > 0.05). Mean scores for fatigue and appetite loss were significantly higher than UK C30 norms (worse symptoms in pts from NET-02) (P = 0.03, P = 0.0003 respectively). However, emotional functioning and GHS were significantly better in pts from NET-02 (P = 0.001, P = 0.03 respectively). Role and social functioning were lower in pts from NET-02 (both P = 0.06) (poorer level of functioning). Conclusions: HRQoL was maintained and potentially improved with nal-IRI/5-FU/folinic acid, but not docetaxel. Compared to the UK general population, BL QoL did not substantially differ in pts from NET-02. Clinical trial information: NCT03837977.

Chapter 7 discusses oesophageal tumours, including clinical background, diagnosis and staging, planning, therapeutic assessment, and follow-up. Patients with oesophageal cancer have a poor prognosis because many present with advanced disease. Accurate multi-modality staging with computed tomography (CT), endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) is vital for management decisions, in particular providing complementary information for radical radiotherapy planning. The role of radiological imaging to assess treatment response is an area of growing interest. The likelihood of disease recurrence following potentially curative therapy remains high but the benefit of post-treatment surveillance remains unproven.

4015 Background: PLATFORM is a prospective, open-label, multicentre, adaptive phase II trial assessing maintenance therapy in patients (pts) with OG adenocarcinoma after platinum-based first-line induction chemotherapy. HER2 negative pts were initially randomised 1:1:1:1:1 to surveillance (A1), capecitabine (A2), durvalumab (A3), with rucaparib (A4) and capecitabine + ramucirumab (A5) added later as per adaptive design. Here we report the primary analysis of durvalumab maintenance vs. surveillance. Methods: Pts were randomised upon achieving response or stable disease following 18 weeks of platinum-based chemotherapy and were stratified by region, disease extent and performance status. A1 pts had 4 weekly surveillance visits and A3 pts received 10mg/kg durvalumab iv Q2W. Target accrual was 154 pts/arm; however, A3 was closed prematurely after cessation of industry support. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) from randomisation post induction chemotherapy to disease progression according to RECIST 1.1 criteria, or death. Secondary endpoints were time to treatment failure (TTF), objective response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS) and toxicity. Survival analyses according to PD-L1 using the combined positive score (CPS, Ventana SP263 assay) was conducted. Results: A total of 205 pts were concurrently randomised into A1 (n = 100) and A3 (n = 105). At data cut-off (02 Feb 2021), median follow up was 24.2 months [95% confidence interval (CI) 21.6-36.8]. There was no significant difference in PFS between A1 and A3 [median PFS: 3.2 vs. 4.7 months (hazard ratio (HR) 0.79 (95% CI 0.59-1.06, p = 0.122) respectively]. Median OS was 11.4 vs. 11.3 months (HR 0.92, 95% CI 0.66-1.27, p = 0.60) in A1 and A3 respectively and no significant difference in TTF was detected between both arms (median TTF: 3.2 vs. 3.5 months (HR 0.92, 95% CI 0.69-1.23, p = 0.558)]. ORR was 6% in A3 (n = 2 complete and n = 4 partial responses) whereas no radiological responses were seen in A1. PD-L1 results were available for 76 pts in A1 and 77 pts in A3. PFS was comparable between subgroups using the PD-L1 CPS thresholds of ≥1, ≥5 and ≥10. The safety population consisted of 199 pts (A1: 98 pts and A3: 101 pts). Grade ≥3 treatment-related adverse events were reported in 18% of A3 pts and no new safety signals were identified. Conclusions: Although a survival advantage was not seen with maintenance durvalumab compared to surveillance, a subset of patients who received durvalumab demonstrated incremental radiological responses. Exploratory analysis of PD-L1 expression was not associated with improved survival outcomes. Clinical trial information: NCT02678182.

282 Background: Advanced OGA patients (pts) are treated with platinum-based 1st line chemotherapy but the role of maintenance therapy once disease control is obtained is unknown. Methods: PLATFORM is a prospective, open-label, adaptive phase II trial assessing maintenance therapy in OGA. HER2 negative pts with advanced OGA achieving response or stable disease on completion of 1st line platinum-based chemotherapy were initially randomised to surveillance (A1), capecitabine (A2) and durvalumab (A3). Rucaparib (A4) and capecitabine+ramucirumab (A5) were subsequently added as part of adaptive design. Primary endpoint is progression-free survival with target recruitment of 154pts/arm. A pre-planned futility interim analysis (IA) is triggered when 61 pts/arm are recruited and evaluable using 12-week progression-free rate (PFR). Individual arms will continue accrual if the upper limit of 1-sided 95% CI difference is > 0 when compared to A1. Biomarker analyses of A1 and A3 IA patients include: PDL1 as tumour and immune cell combined proportion (TIP), multiplex IHC of tumour infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), TMB and MSI status by whole exome sequencing. Results: To date, 1053 pts have registered prior to or during 1st line therapy and 356 pts randomised. Primary attrition was due to disease progression. Baseline demographics in the IA population (arms A1 to A3, n = 183) were male (81%); median age 65 yrs; metastatic disease (92%); oesophageal (40%), OG junction (28%) and gastric (32%) primary. 12-week PFR were A1: 51% (95%CI: 38-64%); A2: 52% (95%CI: 40-65%); A3: 49% (95%CI: 36-62%). PFR differences to arm A1 were A2: 1.6% (95%CI: -13.2 to 16.5%); A3: -1.6% (95%CI: -16.5 to 13.3%). In A1, PFR was 53% vs 43% in PDL1 TIP < 10% and ≥10% respectively. In A3, PFR was 51% vs 100% in PDL1 TIP < 10% and ≥10% respectively. 3 pts in A3 had partial response; none were seen in A1 and A2. Density of TILs subsets, TMB and MSI data will be presented. Conclusions: PLATFORM IA did not indicate futility in maintenance capecitabine or durvalumab compared to surveillance in advanced OGA and will continue to target accrual. Incremental radiological responses were observed with maintenance durvalumab only. Clinical trial information: NCT02678182.

Introduction Requiring many specialities, NETs have complex pathways presenting a challenge to plan services in existing NHS structures. In Wales, we aimed to produce patient-centred services for Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs) incorporating the addition of specialist gastroenterology services to endocrinology, oncology and surgery across Wales by government-assisted population based commissioning. Methods WHSSC (Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee) coordinated a group of patient representatives, clinicians, nurses and planners to evaluate existing services in Wales and to make recommendations for a gastroenterology-led service. Options were appraised by the national cancer network, disease experts, 2 ENETS centres of excellence and patients/relatives. Results The existing service demonstrated inequalities across healthcare boundaries. Patient surveys suggested little nurse specialist input, inconsistent feedback from multidisciplinary meetings (MDM), and lack of access to specialist expertise. Recommendations included funding 2 specialist nurses, appropriate central MDM staffing, leadership and appropriate expertise with some diagnostics and treatments delivered locally. Policies for Gallium68 -PET imaging and peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) were developed. Eight NHS health boards/trusts, 17 acute hospitals were involved. North Wales patients were served by the Liverpool NET service due to geography. In a short space of time, the NET MDT has been transformed, with accurately coded real-time records and timely communication to referring clinicians across the region. The addition of expertise from a gastroenterologist trained in a centre of excellence improved quality of life (QoL). With the focus on QoL, an app to monitor wellbeing remotely has been developed. Two appointed specialist nurses are undergoing tailored training and are accessible to patients regardless of geography. Patients have access to a specialist clinic based in Cardiff with a smaller hub in Swansea. Using a nationwide digital health record (Welsh Clinical Portal), communication with referring teams has improved including use of imaging and pathology close to the patients home saving on travel for patients. Feedback from patients and clinicians, has been vigorously positive including positive patient stories. Conclusions In this complex cancer/chronic disease, care has been transformed across organisational boundaries on a national basis through listening to individuals and groups and an emphasis on quality of life. Ongoing development continues to ensure sustainability and excellence.

Chemotherapy can induce various clinical emergencies. Prompt recognition and management of these adverse events are important for avoiding further morbidity and mortality. Some events such as hypersensitivity and extravasation are quite common, whereas emergencies such as neutropenic typhlitis, pancreatitis, and acute haemolysis are very rare. Little information exists on the management of rare chemotherapy-induced emergencies that affect fewer than 1% of patients. We review these uncommon chemotherapy-induced life-threatening emergencies, their pathogenesis and management, and recommendations for rechallenge with the offending chemotherapy.

117 Background: Ramucirumab (RAM) is approved for treatment of advanced gastric cancer or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma with disease progression after prior platinum and/or fluoropyrimidine chemotherapy at 8 mg/kg every 2 weeks (Q2W). Previous phase 3 trials indicated that efficacy of RAM correlated with exposure. While the primary objectives of the open-label RAM monotherapy JVDB study were pharmacokinetics and safety, a secondary analysis was conducted on efficacy and safety of the 3 higher exposure regimens vs. the standard regimen. Methods: Patients ( n = 164) were randomized 1:1:1:1 to 4 treatment arms: 8 mg/kg Q2W (Arm 1), 12 mg/kg Q2W (Arm 2), 6 mg/kg every week (Arm 3), and 8 mg/kg Days 1 and 8 (D1D8) every 3 weeks (Q3W) (Arm 4). Treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were graded by NCI CTCAE v4.0. Tumor response was assessed by RECIST 1.1. Results: Median (months) progression-free survival (PFS) of the 3 arms and overall survival (OS) of 2 arms was increased compared to the standard regimen (Table). Best overall response was partial response (Arm 2, n = 4; Arm 3, n = 2). The majority of patients experienced ≥1 TEAE (81.4%); 39.1% had ≥1 Grade ≥3 event and 26.7% had ≥1 serious event. The most frequent Grade ≥3 events were fatigue (5.6%), abdominal pain (5.05%), hypertension (5.0%), anemia (4.3%), and vomiting (3.7%). Conclusions: Although the study was not powered for statistical comparisons, some trends toward improved efficacy vs. the standard regimen were observed; the greatest median PFS months and OS improvement was 1 month (Arm 2 vs. Arm 1; PFS = 2.50 vs. 1.45; OS = 6.74 vs. 5.68). Despite higher RAM exposures with the experimental regimens, the safety profile is similar to the standard dose regimen, and no unexpected safety findings were observed. Clinical trial information: NCT02443883. [Table: see text]

The PI3K pathway is a key mechanism of trastuzumab resistance, but early attempts to indirectly target this pathway with mTOR inhibitors have had limited success. We present the results of a preclinical study of the selective alpha/delta isoform dominant PI3K inhibitor BAY 80-6946 tested alone and in combination with HER2-targeted therapies in HER2-positive cell lines, including models with acquired resistance to trastuzumab and/or lapatinib. A panel of HER2-positive breast cancer cells were profiled for their mutational status using Sequenom MassARRAY, PTEN status by Western blot, and anti-proliferative response to BAY 80-6946 alone and in combination with the HER2-targeted therapies trastuzumab, lapatinib and afatinib. Reverse phase protein array was used to determine the effect of BAY 80-6946 on expression and phosphorylation of 68 proteins including members of the PI3K and MAPK pathways. The Boyden chamber method was used to determine if BAY 80-6946 affected cellular invasion and migration. BAY 80-6946 has anti-proliferative and anti-invasive effects when used alone in our panel of cell lines (IC50s 3.9–29.4 nM). BAY 80-6946 inhibited PI3K signalling and was effective in cells regardless of their PI3K, P53 or PTEN status. The combination of HER2-targeted therapies and BAY 80-6946 inhibited growth more effectively than either therapy used alone (with clear synergism in many cases), and can restore sensitivity to trastuzumab and lapatinib in cells with acquired resistance to either trastuzumab and/or lapatinib. The addition of BAY 80-6946 to HER2-targeted therapy could represent an improved treatment strategy for patients with refractory metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer, and should be considered for clinical trial evaluation.

Context. In studies of population dynamics, disease ecology and prevalence, point-sampling of data is a widely used sampling technique and capture–mark–recapture (CMR) is the most popular method of point sampling. Population estimates based on CMR are sensitive to deviations from the assumptions of the models such as equal catchability of all animals. Although consistent deviations from these assumptions can be accounted for in a robust statistical framework (e.g. identification of trap-shy animals), transient effects cannot be adequately incorporated in the statistical models and thus are expected to affect the accuracy of model predictions. In natural animal populations, parasitism is often transient but inevitable and studies showing behavioural changes, e.g. foraging strategies, as a result of infection are numerous. Thus, parasitism may represent a transient source of heterogeneity of trapping probability in small mammal populations and may affect accuracy of wildlife sampling techniques. Aims. The aim of the present study was to quantify the effect of parasitic status on capture rates of wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus), and thus the potential for parasitism to act as a source of bias in wildlife sampling techniques such as CMR. Methods. In total, 41 wood mice were successfully captured, marked and released from two study sites in two different years, with weight, sex and faecal egg counts (FEC; used as a measure of the level of parasitism) recorded at every capture. Key results. In both studies, FEC was positively correlated with the capture rate of mice and the number of different traps in which an individual was caught. Conclusions. We conclude that parasitism affects the rate of capture of wood mice and has the potential to represent a significant source of heterogeneity in trapping probability. Implications. The consistent results of these two small studies suggest that wildlife point-sampling techniques may be biased by the parasitic status of the animals, which has potentially significant and far-reaching implications for wildlife population studies and disease-prevalence studies.

646 Background: As demonstrated in the primary analysis of NET-02, nal-IRI/5-FU/folinic acid, but not docetaxel, met the primary endpoint of 6 month (mo) progression-free survival (PFS) rate in pts with progressive PD-EP-NEC. Here, the final results are presented. Methods: This was a multi-centre, randomised (1:1), phase II trial of IV nal-IRI (70mg/m2 free base)/5-FU (2400 mg/m2)/folinic acid, Q14 days (ARM A), or IV docetaxel (75mg/m2), Q21 days (ARM B), as 2L therapy in pts with progressive PD-EP-NEC, aimed at selecting a treatment for continuation to a phase III trial. On disease progression, pts in both arms could receive further systemic treatment as recommended by their physicians. Primary endpoint was 6 mo PFS rate; 80% power to demonstrate the one-sided 95% confidence interval (CI) of the 6 mo PFS rate excluded 15%, if the true rate was ≥30% (required level of efficacy); a rate of

4005 Background: The prognosis for pts with PD-EP-NEC is poor. A recognised first-line (1L) treatment for advanced disease is etoposide/platinum-based chemotherapy; there is no standard second-line (2L) treatment (area of unmet need). Methods: This was a multi-centre, randomised (1:1), phase II trial of IV nal-IRI (70mg/m2 free base)/5-FU (2400 mg/m2)/folinic acid, Q14 days (ARM A), or IV docetaxel (75mg/m2), Q21 days (ARM B), as 2L therapy in a planned 102 pts with progressive PD-EP-NEC, aimed at selecting a treatment for continuation to a phase III trial. Pts with histologically-confirmed PD-EP-NEC (Ki-67>20%; Grade 3, WHO 2019), who had prior 1L platinum-based chemotherapy and radiological disease progression or discontinuation of 1L therapy due to intolerance, with an ECOG performance status ≤2 were eligible. Randomisation was stratified by Ki-67, ECOG PS, presence of liver metastases, and response to previous platinum-based therapy. Primary endpoint was 6 month (mo) progression-free survival (PFS) rate; 80% power to demonstrate the one-sided 95% confidence interval (CI) of the 6 mo PFS rate excluded 15%, if the true rate was at least 30%, where 30% was the required level of efficacy; a rate of