On April 06, 2016 TESARO, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSRO), an oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company, and Janssen Biotech Inc., one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, reported a global collaboration and license agreement focused on the development and commercialization of niraparib specifically for the treatment of prostate cancer (Press release, TESARO, APR 6, 2016, View Source [SID:1234510485]). Niraparib is an oral, once daily, potent, and highly selective PARP inhibitor that is currently being evaluated in Phase 3 clinical trials for ovarian and breast cancer.

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"We are pleased to be working with Janssen, a leader in the prostate cancer field, to advance niraparib in this indication," said Lonnie Moulder, CEO of TESARO. "This innovative, indication-specific collaboration accelerates efforts to expand the treatment options available for men with prostate cancer and further increases the value of the niraparib franchise."

Under the terms of the agreement, Janssen will develop and commercialize niraparib for patients with prostate cancer worldwide, except in Japan. TESARO will receive an upfront payment of $35 million, and is eligible to receive additional milestone payments of up to $415 million, contingent upon Janssen reaching certain pre-determined development, regulatory and commercial milestones, in addition to tiered, double-digit royalty payments. Janssen will be responsible for funding all development and commercialization activities related to niraparib in prostate cancer. Separately, Johnson & Johnson Innovation — JJDC, Inc. is making a $50 million equity investment in TESARO at a price of $44.24 per share, which is based upon the 5-day volume weighted average share price through the day prior to execution of the agreement.

About Niraparib

Niraparib is an oral, once daily, potent, and highly selective PARP inhibitor that induces synthetic lethality in tumors cells with homologous recombination DNA repair deficiencies (HRD). The ongoing development program for niraparib includes a Phase 3 trial in patients with ovarian cancer (the NOVA trial), a registrational Phase 2 treatment trial in patients with ovarian cancer (the QUADRA trial), and a Phase 3 trial for the treatment of patients with BRCA-positive breast cancer (the BRAVO trial). In addition, a Phase 3 trial of niraparib in first-line ovarian cancer (PRIMA) and a Phase 1/2 clinical trial designed to evaluate the combination of niraparib plus KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) in patients with triple-negative breast cancer or ovarian cancer are planned to initiate shortly. Several collaborator-sponsored studies are also underway, including combination trials of niraparib plus enzalutamide, bevacizumab, and temozolomide, in patients with prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, and Ewing’s sarcoma, respectively. Additional studies are being planned to evaluate niraparib in patients with lung cancer.

Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) is a key enzyme of glycolysis which is highly expressed in many tumor cells, and plays an important role in the Warburg effect. In previous study, we found PIM2 phosphorylates PKM2 at Thr454 residue (Yu, etl 2013). However, the functions of PKM2 Thr454 modification in cancer cells still remain unclear. Here we find PKM2 translocates into the nucleus after Thr454 phosphorylation. Replacement of wild type PKM2 with a mutant (T454A) enhances mitochondrial respiration, decreases pentose phosphate pathway, and enhances chemosensitivity in A549 cells. In addition, the mutant (T454A) PKM2 reduces xenograft tumor growth in nude mice. These findings demonstrate that PKM2 T454 phosphorylation is a potential therapeutic target in lung cancer.
Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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Melanoma is one of the major cancer types for which new immune-based cancer treatments have achieved promising results. However, anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 therapies are effective only in some patients. Hence, predictive molecular markers for the development of clinical strategies targeting immune checkpoints are needed. Using the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) RNAseq data, we found expression of ESRP1, encoding a master splicing regulator in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), was inversely correlated with tumor-associated immune cytolytic activity. That association holds up across multiple TCGA tumor types, suggesting a link between tumor EMT status and infiltrating lymphocyte activity. In melanoma, ESRP1 mainly exists in a melanocyte-specific truncated form transcribed from exon 13. This was validated by analyzing CCLE cell line data, public CAGE data, and RT-PCR in primary cultured melanoma cell lines. Based on ESRP1 expression, we divided TCGA melanoma cases into ESRP1 low, truncated, and full-length groups. ESRP1-truncated tumors comprise approximately two-thirds of melanoma samples and reside in an apparent transitional state between epithelial and mesenchymal phenotypes. ESRP1 full-length tumors express epithelial markers and constitute about five percent of melanoma samples. In contrast, ESRP1-low tumors express mesenchymal markers and are high in immune cytolytic activity as well as PD-L2 and CTLA-4 expression. Those tumors are associated with better patient survival. Results from our study suggest a path toward the use of ESRP1 and other EMT markers as informative biomarkers for immunotherapy.
Copyright ©2016, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper).

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In a randomized, double-blind phase II trial in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), axitinib versus placebo titration yielded a significantly higher objective response rate. We evaluated pharmacokinetic and blood pressure (BP) data from this study to elucidate relationships among axitinib exposure, BP change, and efficacy.
Patients received axitinib 5 mg twice daily during a lead-in period. Patients who met dose-titration criteria were randomized 1:1 to stepwise dose increases with axitinib or placebo. Patients ineligible for randomization continued without dose increases. Serial 6-h and sparse pharmacokinetic sampling were carried out; BP was measured at clinic visits and at home in all patients, and by 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) in a subset of patients.
Area under the plasma concentration-time curve from 0 to 24 h throughout the course of treatment (AUCstudy) was higher in patients with complete or partial responses than those with stable or progressive disease in the axitinib-titration arm, but comparable between these groups in the placebo-titration and nonrandomized arms. In the overall population, AUCstudy and efficacy outcomes were not strongly correlated. Mean BP across the population was similar when measured in clinic, at home, or by 24-h ABPM. Weak correlations were observed between axitinib steady-state exposure and diastolic BP. When grouped by change in diastolic BP from baseline, patients in the ≥10 and ≥15 mmHg groups had longer progression-free survival.
Optimal axitinib exposure may differ among patients with mRCC. Pharmacokinetic or BP measurements cannot be used exclusively to guide axitinib dosing. Individualization of treatment with vascular endothelial growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors, including axitinib, is thus more complex than anticipated and cannot be limited to a single clinical factor.
© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: [email protected].

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Prostate cancer (PCa) is an androgen-dependent disease. Nonetheless, the role of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes encoding androgen metabolism remains an unexplored area.
To investigate the role of germline variations in cytochrome P450 17A1 (CYP17A1) and steroid-5α-reductase, α-polypeptides 1 and 2 (SRD5A1 and SRD5A2) genes in PCa.
In total, 494 consecutive Spanish patients diagnosed with nonmetastatic localized PCa were included in this multicenter study and were genotyped for 32 SNPs in SRD5A1, SRD5A2, and CYP17A1 genes using a Biotrove OpenArray NT Cycler. Clinical data were available. Genotypic and allelic frequencies, as well as haplotype analyses, were determined using the web-based environment SNPator. All additional statistical analyses comparing clinical data and SNPs were performed using PASW Statistics 15.
The call rate obtained (determined as the percentage of successful determinations) was 97.3% of detection. A total of 2 SNPs in SRD5A1-rs3822430 and rs1691053-were associated with prostate-specific antigen level at diagnosis. Moreover, G carriers for both SNPs were at higher risk of presenting initial prostate-specific antigen levels>20ng/ml (Exp(B) = 2.812, 95% CI: 1.397-5.657, P = 0.004) than those who are AA-AA carriers. Haplotype analyses showed that patients with PCa nonhomozygous for the haplotype GCTTGTAGTA were at an elevated risk of presenting bigger clinical tumor size (Exp(B) = 3.823, 95% CI: 1.280-11.416, P = 0.016), and higher Gleason score (Exp(B) = 2.808, 95% CI: 1.134-6.953, P = 0.026).
SNPs in SRD5A1 seem to affect the clinical characteristics of Spanish patients with PCa.
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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