TY - JOUR A1 - Glutsch, Valerie A1 - Kneitz, Hermann A1 - Gesierich, Anja A1 - Goebeler, Matthias A1 - Haferkamp, Sebastian A1 - Becker, Jürgen C. A1 - Ugurel, Selma A1 - Schilling, Bastian T1 - Activity of ipilimumab plus nivolumab in avelumab-refractory Merkel cell carcinoma JF - Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy N2 - Background Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive neuroendocrine cutaneous malignancy with poor prognosis. In Europe, approved systemic therapies are limited to the PD-L1 inhibitor avelumab. For avelumab-refractory patients, efficient and safe treatment options are lacking. Methods At three different sites in Germany, clinical and molecular data of patients with metastatic MCC being refractory to the PD-L1 inhibitor avelumab and who were later on treated with combined IPI/NIVO were retrospectively collected and evaluated. Results Five patients treated at three different academic sites in Germany were enrolled. Three out of five patients investigated for this report responded to combined IPI/NIVO according to RECIST 1.1. Combined immunotherapy was well tolerated without any grade II or III immune-related adverse events. Two out of three responders to IPI/NIVO received platinum-based chemotherapy in between avelumab and combined immunotherapy. Conclusion In this small retrospective study, we observed a high response rate and durable responses to subsequent combined immunotherapy with IPI/NIVO in avelumab-refractory metastatic MCC patients. In conclusion, our data suggest a promising activity of second- or third-line PD-1- plus CTLA-4-blockade in patients with anti-PD-L1-refractory MCC. KW - ipilimumab KW - Merkel cell carcinoma KW - resistance KW - avelumab KW - nivolumab Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-265635 SN - 14320851 VL - 70 IS - 7 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Frings, Verena Gerlinde A1 - Goebeler, Matthias A1 - Schilling, Bastian A1 - Kneitz, Hermann T1 - Aberrant cytoplasmic connexin43 expression as a helpful marker in vascular neoplasms JF - Journal of Cutaneous Pathology N2 - Background Gap junctions consisting of connexins (Cx) are fundamental in controlling cell proliferation, differentiation, and cell death. Cx43 is the most broadly expressed Cx in humans and is attributed an important role in skin tumor development. Its role in cutaneous vascular neoplasms is yet unknown. Methods Fifteen cases each of cutaneous angiosarcoma (cAS), Kaposi sarcoma (KS), and cherry hemangioma (CH) were assessed by immunohistochemistry for expression of Cx43. Expression pattern, intensity, and percentage of positively stained cells were analyzed. Solid basal cell carcinomas served as positive and healthy skin as negative controls. Results Most cases of cAS presented with a strong Cx43 staining of almost all tumor cells, whereas endothelia of KS showed medium expression and CH showed mostly weak expression. In comparison with KS or cAS, the staining intensity of CH was significantly lower (P ≤ 0.001). All tissue sections of both cAS and KS were characterized by a mostly diffuse, cytoplasmic staining pattern of the vascular endothelia. None of those showed nuclear staining. Conclusion The high-to-intermediate expression of Cx43 observed in all cases of cAS and KS suggests that this Cx may play a role in the development of malignant vascular neoplasms and serve as a helpful diagnostic marker. KW - Kaposi sarcoma KW - cutaneous angiosarcoma KW - Cx43 KW - hemangioma KW - immunohistochemistry Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-258412 VL - 48 IS - 11 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Buder, Kristina A1 - Lapa, Constantin A1 - Kreissl, Michael C. A1 - Schirbel, Andreas A1 - Herrmann, Ken A1 - Schnack, Alexander A1 - Bröcker, Eva-Bettina A1 - Goebeler, Matthias A1 - Buck, Andreas K. A1 - Becker, Jürgen C. T1 - "Somatostatin receptor expression in Merkel cell carcinoma as target for molecular imaging" N2 - Background Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare cutaneous neoplasm with increasing incidence, aggressive behavior and poor prognosis. Somatostatin receptors (SSTR) are expressed in MCC and represent a potential target for both imaging and treatment. Methods To non-invasively assess SSTR expression in MCC using PET and the radiotracers [68Ga]DOTA-D-Phe1-Tyr3-octreotide (DOTATOC) or -octreotate (DOTATATE) as surrogate for tumor burden. In 24 patients with histologically proven MCC SSTR-PET was performed and compared to results of computed tomography (CT). Results SSTR-PET detected primary and metastatic MCC lesions. On a patient-based analysis, sensitivity of SSTR-PET was 73% for nodal metastases, 100% for bone, and 67% for soft-tissue metastases, respectively. Notably, brain metastases were initially detected by SSTR-PET in 2 patients, whereas liver and lung metastases were diagnosed exclusively by CT. SSTR-PET showed concordance to CT results in 20 out of 24 patients. Four patients (17%) were up-staged due to SSTR-PET and patient management was changed in 3 patients (13%). Conclusion SSTR-PET showed high sensitivity for imaging bone, soft tissue and brain metastases, and particularly in combination with CT had a significant impact on clinical stage and patient management. KW - Merkel cell carcinoma KW - Molecular imaging KW - Somatostatin receptor expression KW - Positron emission tomography Y1 - 2014 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-110326 ER -