Combining a WT1 Vaccine (Galinpepimut-S) With Checkpoint Inhibition (Nivolumab) in Patients With WT1-Expressing Diffuse Pleural Mesothelioma: A Phase 1 Study.

Introduction: WT1 often presents on the surface of diffuse pleural mesotheliomas (DPMs) and is an ideal therapeutic target. Galinpepimut-S (GPS), a tetravalent, non-human leukocyte antigen-restricted, heteroclitic WT1-specific peptide vaccine was safe and effective in early phase clinical trials and upregulates T-cell suppressive programmed death-ligand 1 in the tumor microenvironment of other malignancies. A randomized phase 2 study of adjuvant GPS in patients with DPM trended toward improved median overall survival.

Correlation of Histologic Features with Gene Alterations in Pleural Mesothelioma.

Histologic features, including architectural patterns, cytologic features, and 2021 World Health Organization nuclear grade have been shown to have prognostic significance in epithelioid diffuse pleural mesothelioma (DPM). Biphasic and sarcomatoid DPM, regardless of morphology, have worse outcomes. These prognostic findings are well established but the correlation of architectural patterns, cytologic features, and nuclear grade with genetic alterations has not been well studied.

Combination of MDM2 and Targeted Kinase Inhibitors Results in Prolonged Tumor Control in Lung Adenocarcinomas With Oncogenic Tyrosine Kinase Drivers and Amplification.

Purpose: MDM2, a negative regulator of the TP53 tumor suppressor, is oncogenic when amplified. amplification (MDM2amp) is mutually exclusive with mutation and is seen in 6% of patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), with significant enrichment in subsets with receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) driver alterations. Recent studies have shown synergistic activity of MDM2 and MEK inhibition in patient-derived LUAD models with MDM2amp and RTK driver alterations.

Early Circulating Tumor DNA Shedding Kinetics for Prediction of Platinum Sensitivity in Patients With Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Purpose: Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is characterized by rapid progression after platinum resistance. Circulating tumor (ctDNA) dynamics early in treatment may help determine platinum sensitivity.

Materials And Methods: Serial plasma samples were collected from patients receiving platinum-based chemotherapy for SCLC on the first 3 days of cycle one and on the first days of subsequent cycles with paired samples collected both before and again after infusions.

Chromothripsis-Mediated Small Cell Lung Carcinoma.

Small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) is a highly aggressive malignancy that is typically associated with tobacco exposure and inactivation of RB1 and TP53 genes. Here, we performed detailed clinicopathologic, genomic, and transcriptomic profiling of an atypical subset of SCLC that lacked RB1 and TP53 co-inactivation and arose in never/light smokers. We found that most cases were associated with chromothripsis-massive, localized chromosome shattering-recurrently involving chromosome 11 or 12 and resulting in extrachromosomal amplification of CCND1 or co-amplification of CCND2/CDK4/MDM2, respectively.