Immunomonitoring and Biomarker Research in Patients With Squamous Cell Anal Carcinoma

Plain-language summary

Even if squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCCA) is a rare disease, its incidence increases worldwide. SCCA is mostly induced by Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and HPV-related oncoproteins (E6 and E7) are expressed in more than 90% of SCCA. T stage and N stage are recognized prognostic factors for local and/or distant recurrence in SCCA patients treated by chemoradiotherapy. In fact, ≥T3 or ≥N1 anal cancers are associated with as high as 50% of disease recurrence rate at 2 years. The University Hospital of Besançon with the Gercor conducted a prospective clinical trial (Epitopes HPV02 study) including 69 advanced SCCA patients and established a new standard of care based on Docetaxel, Cisplatin and 5-FU (5-FluoroUracil) chemotherapy (DCF). Among 69 patients treated with DCF regimen, 66 patients were evaluable for efficacy end-points. The objective response rate was 86% including 44% of complete response, and 47% of patients were progression-free at 12 months of follow-up from the first cycle of DCF treatment. Thus, the "Epitopes-HPV02" trial has demonstrated a high response rate of the DCF regimen with a higher than expected 12 months progression-free survival rate.These results raised the hypothesis of DCF being an immunogenic chemotherapy and in that demonstrating a possibly new role of taxane-based chemotherapy in SCCA patients. More than 50% of patients in complete remission had a detectable immunological response against peptides derived from HPV oncoproteins (E6 or E7) or from the telomerase antigen (which is transactivated by E6). LAND study will enroll patients with locally advanced SCCA enrolled in OPTIMANAL clinical trial. OPTIMANAL study will assess the feasibility and efficacy to combine nivolumab to mDCF chemotherapy, followed by the standard chemo-radiotherapy, in high risk locally advanced SCCA patients with T3/T4 N1a or N1b/N1c disease. LAND study is an exploratory translational study, which will analyze the biological mechanisms of action and our ability to track the immune responses against HPV and telomerase. The investigator group will take advantage of the presence of HPV antigens in most patients to set up a specific immunomonitoring program based on tumor samples and blood-derived lymphocytes to better understand the potential synergisms between immunogenic chemotherapy and anti-PD1 (Programmed Death-1), and to identify valuable biomarkers of treatment efficacy.

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