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There are limited data available regarding the management of oligometastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) patients, and no consensus guidelines are available. The objective is to review the available literature for the management of oligometastatic SCCHN. Articles were selected from English Medline literature between 1995 and 2018, searched by using the keywords: oligometastatic SCCHN/metastasectomy/stereotactic body radiation treatment (SBRT). With the available data, oligometastatic SCCHN patients appear to behave differently and tend to have a better prognosis than those with widespread metastases. Retrospective evidence suggests that the aggressive treatment of the primary disease and local treatment of the metastatic sites improves survival in oligometastatic SCCHN at diagnosis. The definitive treatment of the distant metastatic sites using metastasectomy or SBRT correlates with better survival in oligorecurrent patients. Oligometastatic SCCHN patients may have a better prognosis if treated aggressively.

Background Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) (estrogen receptor (ER) – negative, progesterone receptor (PR) - negative, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) -negative) is an aggressive subtype of breast cancer that is more common in younger women, carries a poorer prognosis and has a greater metastatic potential than receptor positive subtypes. Radiation therapy’s ability to improve outcomes, especially the overall survival is controversial, more so among African American patients. The objective of this study is to evaluate local control and survival rates of TNBC patients treated with radiotherapy (RT) in our institution with a sizeable cohort of African American women. Methods This is a retrospective analysis of 67 TNBCs (2007–2017) at an academic state institution who underwent a lumpectomy and /or mastectomy (surgery) followed by adjuvant irradiation to a median total dose of 50 Gy (range 40.5–50.40 Gy). Chemotherapy was administered in a neoadjuvant (32) or adjuvant setting (35). For all 67 TNBCs, local control (LC), overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The significance of survival variables was analyzed using the Cox univariate and multivariate proportional hazards model. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The SPSS 24.0 software was used for data analysis. Results The baseline characteristics of all 67 TNBCs were measured with median follow up of 58 months (range 10–142 months). Patients were stratified into two groups (neoadjuvant chemotherapy-RT (32) vs. adjuvant chemotherapy-RT (35)). The five-year rates for LC, DFS and OS were 14.8 % vs. 47.9 % (p = 0.002), 24.2% vs. 53.1 % (p = 0.015), and 65.1% vs. 92.2% (0.002) respectively. On Cox multivariate analysis, patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy were associated with statistically improved significant LC (p = 0.002) and OS (p = 0.002). The variables included were: BMI (p = 0.050), distance travelled (p = 0.027), 8th AJCC TNM staging (p = 0.018) and tumor grade (p = 0.022). Conclusion In this hypothesis-generating report, among TNBC patients undergoing RT, adjuvant chemotherapy appears to be better than neoadjuvant chemotherapy in determining the clinical outcomes.

Background The Will Rogers phenomenon [WRP] describes an apparent improvement in outcome for patients’ group due to tumor grade reclassification. Staging of cancers is important to select appropriate treatment and to estimate prognosis. The WRP has been described as one of the most important biases limiting the use of historical cohorts when comparing survival or treatment. The main purpose of this study is to assess whether the WRP exists with the move from the AJCC 7th to AJCC 8th edition in breast cancer [BC] staging, and if racial differences are manifested in the expression of the WRP. Methods This is a retrospective analysis of 300 BC women (2007–2017) at an academic medical center. Overall survival [OS] and disease-free survival [DFS] was estimated by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Bi and multi-variate Cox regression analyses was used to identify racial factors associated with outcomes. Results Our patient cohort included 30.3% Caucasians [Whites] and 69.7% African-Americans [Blacks]. Stages I, II, III, and IV were 46.2, 26.3, 23.1, and 4.4% of Whites; 28.7, 43.1, 24.4, and 3.8% of Blacks respectively, in anatomic staging (p = 0.043). In prognostic staging, 52.8, 18.7, 23, and 5.5% were Whites while 35, 17.2, 43.5, and 4.3% were Blacks, respectively (p = 0.011). A total of Whites (45.05% vs. 47.85%) Blacks, upstaged. Whites (16.49% vs. 14.35%) Blacks, downstaged. The remaining, 38.46 and 37.79% patients had their stages unchanged. With a median follow-up of 54 months, the Black patients showed better stage-by-stage 5-year OS rates using 8th edition compared to the 7th edition (p = 0.000). Among the Whites, those who were stage IIIA in the 7th but became stage IB in the 8th had a better prognosis than stages IIA and IIB in the 8th (p = 0.000). The 8th showed complex results (p = 0.176) compared to DFS estimated using the 7th edition (p = 0.004). Conclusion The WRP exists with significant variability in the move from the AJCC 7th to the 8th edition in BC staging (both White and Black patients). We suggest that caution needs to be exercised when results are compared across staging systems to account for the WRP in the interpretation of the data.

Background Peer review systems within radiation oncology are important to ensure quality radiation care. Several individualized methods for radiation oncology peer review have been described. However, despite the importance of peer review in radiation oncology barriers may exist to its effective implementation in practice. The purpose of this study was to quantify the rate of plan changes based on our group peer review process as well as the quantify amount of time and resources needed for this process. Methods Data on cases presented in our institutional group consensus peer review conference were prospectively collected. Cases were then retrospectively analyzed to determine the rate of major change (plan rejection) and any change in plans after presentation as well as the median time of presentation. Univariable logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with major change and any change. Results There were 73 cases reviewed over a period of 11 weeks. The rate of major change was 8.2% and the rate of any change was 23.3%. The majority of plans (53.4%) were presented in 6–10 min. Overall, the mean time of presentation was 8 min. On univariable logistic regression, volumetric modulated arc therapy plans were less likely to undergo a plan change but otherwise there were no factors significantly associated with major plan change or any type of change. Conclusion Group consensus peer review allows for a large amount of informative clinical and technical data to be presented per case prior to the initiation of radiation treatment in a thorough yet efficient manner to ensure plan quality and patient safety.

Purpose: The objective of this study is to evaluate local control and survival rates of node negative triple negative breast cancer patients (TNBCs) treated with radiotherapy (RT) in our institution. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of 67 TNBCs (2007 - 2017) at an academic state institution who underwent lumpectomy and /or mastectomy (surgery) followed by adjuvant irradiation to median total dose of 50 Gy (range 40.5-50.40 Gy). Chemotherapy was administered in a neoadjuvant (31) or adjuvant setting (36). For all 67 TNBCs, local control (LC), overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The significance of survival variables were analyzed using the Cox univariate and multivariate proportional hazards model. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The SPSS 24.0 software was used for data analysis. Results: The baseline characteristics of all 67 TNBCs were measured with median follow up of 58 months (range 10-142 months). Patients were stratified into two groups (neoadjuvant chemotherapy-RT (31) vs. adjuvant chemotherapy-RT (36)). The median rates for LC, DFS and OS were 27 % vs. 68 % (p= 0.001), 27.2% vs. 63.2 % (p= 0.034), and 63.4% vs. 92.5% (0.001) respectively. On Cox multivariate analysis, patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy were associated with statistically improved significant LC (p= 0.002) and OS (p=0.005). The variables included were: ethnicity (p=0.251), age (p=0.984), BMI (p=0.032), lump boost (p=0.300), TNM (p=0.162) and tumor grade (p=0.336). Conclusion: Among TNBC patients undergoing RT, adjuvant chemotherapy appears to be better than neoadjuvant chemotherapy in determining the clinical outcomes. Citation Format: Mary R. Nittala, Eswar K. Mundra, Satya Packianathan, Divyang Mehta, Maria L. Smith, William C. Woods, Shawn McKinney, Barbara S. Craft, Srinivasan Vijayakumar. Triple negative breast cancer patients treated with radiation therapy: Improvement in survival and local control with adjuvant chemotherapy compared to neoadjuvant chemotherapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 6177.

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the incidence, management, and prognosis of hypopharyngeal carcinoma in a tertiary care institution over the past 25 years. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients from 1995 to 2019 from the head and neck cancer data base of our institution. The data regarding the demographics, stage, treatment, and follow-up were collected. Outcomes including median survival and overall survival were evaluated using the Kaplan Meier method. All analyses were performed using SPSS version 24. Results: We identified 144 hypopharyngeal carcinoma patients, and the incidence was almost 4% of all head and neck cancers. All patients had squamous cell carcinoma. Sixty-one percent of patients were African Americans and 36% were Caucasians. Ninety percent of the patients were males, and 10% were females. Pyriform sinus was the subsite most commonly affected (67%), followed by posterior pharyngeal wall (10%) and postcricoid area (5%). Ninety-six percent of patients presented with advanced-stage disease (stages III and IV), with only 4% of patients presenting with early-stage disease (Stages I and II). Fifty-one percent of patients underwent definitive chemoradiotherapy with or without induction chemotherapy and 23% of patients underwent surgical management, followed by adjuvant radiation or chemoradiation, depending on risk factors. Ten percent of patients received only palliative chemotherapy and 15% did not receive any treatments. Induction chemotherapy was used in 31% of patients prior to initiation of definitive chemoradiation treatment. The median overall survival of early-stage patients and of advanced-stage patients was 56 months and 15 months, respectively. The median survival of the patients with advanced-stage patients who received definitive treatment was 26 months. The patients who underwent definitive operative management followed by adjuvant treatments had an improved median survival as compared to those undergoing definitive chemoradiation treatment (38 months vs. 16 months, p=0.05). Similarly, the overall survival at 3 years (30% vs. 54%, p=0.05) and 5 years (13% vs. 34%, p=0.05) was also better for surgery patients. The patients who received induction chemotherapy had clinically worse median survival as compared to those who did not, but this was not statistically significant (14 months vs. 21 months, p=0.2). Conclusions: Our results agree with the published literature regarding the low incidence of hypopharyngeal cancer, presentation in advanced stages, and poor long-term outcomes. Selection of patients for laryngeal preservation should be done very carefully. Our results suggest that trimodality treatment may be more efficacious than definitive chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced disease. Future studies are warranted to evaluate if neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery might be able to improve the current poor outcomes for advanced hypopharyngeal cancer patients who are not eligible for laryngeal preservation. Citation Format: Toms Vengaloor Thomas, Mary R. Nittala, Divyang Mehta, Madhava Rao Kanakamedala, Anu Abraham, Lacey Weatherall, Eldrin Bhanat, Ashley A. Albert, Srinivasan Vijayakumar. Hypopharyngeal carcinoma management: 25-year experience from a tertiary care medical center in United States [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-AHNS Head and Neck Cancer Conference: Optimizing Survival and Quality of Life through Basic, Clinical, and Translational Research; 2019 Apr 29-30; Austin, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2020;26(12_Suppl_2):Abstract nr B20.

Purpose: To assess whether the Will Roger’s phenomenon [WRP] exists with the move from the AJCC 7th to AJCC 8th edition in Breast Cancer staging and if racial differences are manifested in the expression of the WRP. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 300 women diagnosed with breast cancer between 2007 and 2017 at an academic medical center was performed. Pearson’s square test was used to compare the proportional differences between the anatomic staging system represented by the 7th edition and the prognostic staging of the 8th edition among Caucasian [C] and African-American [AA] women. Kaplan- Meier analysis was used to estimate overall survival [OS] and disease-free survival [DFS] between the races and compared using the log-rank test. Bi and multi-variate Cox hazard regression analyses were used to identify any racial factors associated with outcomes. The SPSS v.24.0 was used for all statistical analyses. Results: Our patient cohort included 30.3% C and 69.7% AA (median age, 62 y; range 34- 92 y). Stages I, II, III, and IV accounted for 46.2%, 26.3%, 23.1%, and 4.4% of C and 28.7%, 43.1%, 24.4%, and 3.8% of AA respectively, in anatomic staging (p= 0.043). In prognostic staging, 52.8%, 18.7%, 23%, and 5.5% were C while 35%, 17.2%, 43.5%, and 4.3 % were AA, respectively (p=0.011). A total number of 41 C (45.05 %) were upstaged compared to 100 AA (47.85 %) patients. Fifteen C patients (16.49 %) and 30 AA patients (14.35 %) were down-staged. Of the remainder, 35 C (38.46 %) and 79 AA (37.79 %) patients had their stages unchanged (P=0.859). The median follow-up duration for this cohort was 58 months (range 4- 235 months). The AA patients showed better stage -by- stage 5- year OS rates using 8th edition compared to the 7th edition, suggesting a manifestation of the WRP. Among the C patients, those who were stage IIIA in the 7th edition but became stage IB in the 8th had a better prognosis than stages IIA and IIB in the 8th edition (p=0.000). For AA patients, stage IIIA, IIIB, IIIC, and IV all demonstrated better prognoses in the 8th edition when compared to the 7th edition (p=0.000). In terms of DFS, the 8th edition’s clinical staging showed complex results (p=0.176) compared to DFS estimated using the 7th’s anatomic staging system (p=0.004). For C patients, stages IA, IB, IIB, and IIIC all recorded better DFS when using the 8th edition while for AA patients, only those with stages IB and IIIC showed better DFS in the 8th edition compared to the 7th. Conclusion: Our analyses suggest that the WRP exists in the move from the AJCC 7thto the 8th edition in breast cancer staging in both C and AA patients. However, there was significant variability between the races in the extent of its manifestation. We suggest that caution needs to be exercised when results are compared across staging systems to account for the WRP in the interpretation of the data. Citation Format: Mary R Nittala, Eswar K Mundra, SatyaSeelan Packianathan, Divyang Mehta, William C Woods, Shawn Mckinney, Barbara S Craft, Srinivasan Vijayakumar. The Will Rogers phenomenon in breast cancer: The AJCC 8th Ed. and the importance of caution in the interpretation of outcomes differences for overall population and race-specific cohorts [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr B126.

Previous studies have demonstrated that binding of peptide growth factors such as epidermal growth factor (EGF) decreases as cell density increases. We now report that binding of EGF to MDA 468 breast carcinoma cells is reduced as cells increase in density with time in culture. Cells at low density bound more EGF per cell than cells at higher density. The reduction of EGF binding was due to a reduction in receptor number. Metabolic labeling of MDA 468 cells with [35S]-methionine followed by immunoprecipitation of the EGF receptor (EGFR) indicated that the amount of total receptor protein was decreased. Using RNA blot hybridization, we found that high-density cells contained decreased amounts of EGFR transcripts. Northern analysis revealed that both the 10- and 5.6-kilobase mRNA transcripts encoding the EGFR were decreased. These data suggest that increasing cell density with time in culture results in modulation of EGFR content, with changes at the level of both protein and mRNA expression.