Phase II study (KAMELEON) of single-agent T-DM1 in patients with HER2-positive advanced urothelial bladder cancer or pancreatic cancer/cholangiocarcinoma

The antibody-drug conjugate trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) is approved for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2/ERBB2)-positive breast cancer. We aimed to study tumor HER2 expression and its effects on T-DM1 responses in patients with HER2-positive urothelial bladder cancer (UBC) or pancreatic cancer (PC)/cholangiocarcinoma (CC). In the phase II KAMELEON study (NCT02999672), HER2 status was centrally assessed by immunohistochemistry, with positivity defined as non-focal homogeneous or heterogeneous overexpression of HER2 in ≥30% of stained cells. We also performed exploratory biomarker analyses (e.g., gene-protein assay) on tissue samples collected from study participants and consenting patients who failed screening. Of the 284 patients successfully screened for HER2 status (UBC, n = 69; PC/CC, n = 215), 13 with UBC, four with PC, and three with CC fulfilled eligibility criteria. Due to recruitment difficulty, the sponsor terminated KAMELEON prematurely. Of the five responders in the UBC cohort (overall response rate, 38.5%), HER2 expression was heterogeneous in two and homogeneous in three. The one responder in the PC/CC cohort had PC, and the tumor displayed homogeneous expression. In the biomarker-evaluable population, composed of screen-failed and enrolled patients, 24.3% (9/37), 1.5% (1/66), and 8.2% (4/49) of those with UBC, PC, or CC, respectively, had HER2-positive tumors. In a gene-protein assay combining in situ hybridization with immunohistochemistry, greater HER2 homogeneity was associated with increased ERBB2 amplification ratio. In conclusion, KAMELEON showed that some patients with HER2-positive UBC or PC can respond to T-DM1 and provided insight into the prevalence of HER2 positivity and expression patterns in three non-breast tumor types.

Primary results from CECILIA, a global single-arm phase II study evaluating bevacizumab, carboplatin and paclitaxel for advanced cervical cancer

OBJECTIVE

Adding bevacizumab to cisplatin-paclitaxel for advanced cervical cancer significantly improves overall and progression-free survival. We evaluated bevacizumab with a widely used carboplatin-paclitaxel backbone.

METHODS

Patients with metastatic/recurrent/persistent cervical cancer not amenable to curative surgery and/or radiotherapy received 3-weekly bevacizumab 15 mg/kg, paclitaxel 175 mg/m², and carboplatin AUC 5 until progression or unacceptable toxicity. Maintenance bevacizumab was allowed. Patients with ongoing bladder/rectal involvement, prior cobalt radiotherapy, a history of fistula/gastrointestinal perforation, or recent bowel resection/chemoradiation were excluded. The primary objective was to determine incidences of gastrointestinal perforation/fistula, gastrointestinal-vaginal fistula, and genitourinary fistula.

RESULTS

Among 150 treated patients, disease at study entry was persistent in 21%, recurrent in 56%, and newly diagnosed metastatic in 23%. After 27.8 months' median follow-up, median bevacizumab duration was 6.7 months; 57% received maintenance bevacizumab. Seventeen patients (11.3%; 95% CI: 6.7-17.5%) experienced ≥1 perforation/fistula event: gastrointestinal perforation/fistula in 4.7% (1.9-9.4%), gastrointestinal-vaginal fistula in 4.0% (1.5-8.5%), and genitourinary fistula in 4.7% (1.9-9.4%). Of these, 16 were previously irradiated, several with ongoing radiation effects. The most common grade 3/4 adverse events were neutropenia (25%), anemia (19%), and hypertension (14%). Five patients (3%) had fatal adverse events. Objective response rate was 61% (95% CI: 52-69%), median progression-free survival was 10.9 (10.1-13.7) months, and median overall survival was 25.0 (20.9-30.4) months.

CONCLUSIONS

Bevacizumab can be combined with carboplatin-paclitaxel in the CECILIA study population. The fistula/gastrointestinal perforation incidence is in line with GOG-0240; efficacy results are encouraging.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT02467907 (ClinicalTrials.gov).

Outcome according to residual disease (surgeon's report vs pre-chemotherapy imaging) in patients with bevacizumab-treated ovarian cancer: Analysis of the ROSiA study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The single-arm ROSiA study evaluated frontline bevacizumab for advanced ovarian cancer. We explored how discordant surgically and radiologically assessed postoperative residual disease affects outcomes.

METHODS

After debulking surgery, 1021 patients received 4 to 8 cycles of carboplatin-paclitaxel plus bevacizumab until progression or up to 24 months. The primary endpoint was safety; progression-free survival (PFS) was a secondary endpoint. We performed post hoc exploratory PFS analyses in four subgroups: surgeon-reported no visible residuum (NVR) without target lesions; surgeon-reported NVR with target lesions; macroscopic (≤1 cm) residuum; and >1 cm residuum.

RESULTS

Surgical and radiological assessments were concordant in 94% of patients; 61 patients (6%; 21% of those with surgeon-reported NVR) had NVR with target lesions. Median PFS was numerically longest in patients with concordant surgically/radiologically assessed NVR (35.5 months), intermediate for surgeon-reported NVR with target lesions (31.8 months), and shortest for visible residuum (27.9 and 20.2 months for visible residuum ≤1 and >1 cm, respectively). One-year and 2-year PFS rates showed the same pattern.

CONCLUSIONS

These analyses suggest that prognosis is potentially worse in patients with radiologically detected target lesions despite surgeon-reported NVR compared with concordant NVR by both assessment methods. Postsurgical imaging may add valuable prognostic information.

Safety of trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) in patients with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer: Primary results from the KAMILLA study cohort 1

BACKGROUND

Many patients with metastatic human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer (BC) are candidates for trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) treatment sometime in their disease history. KAMILLA evaluated safety of T-DM1 in patients with previously treated HER2-positive locally advanced or metastatic BC (advanced BC).

METHODS

KAMILLA (NCT01702571) is a single-arm, open-label, international, phase IIIb safety study of patients with HER2-positive advanced BC with progression after prior treatment with chemotherapy and a HER2-directed agent for MBC or within 6 months of completing adjuvant therapy. Patients received T-DM1 (3.6 mg/kg every 3 weeks) until unacceptable toxicity, withdrawal or disease progression.

RESULTS

Among 2002 treated patients, median age was 55 years (range, 26-88; 373 [18.6%] aged ≥65 years), 1321 (66.0%) received ≥2 prior metastatic treatment lines and 398 (19.9%) had baseline central nervous system metastases. Adverse events (AEs) and serious AEs occurred in 1862 (93.0%) and 427 (21.3%) patients, respectively. Grade ≥3 AEs occurred in 751 (37.5%) patients; the three most common (individual Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activity terms) were anaemia (3.0%), thrombocytopaenia (2.7%) and fatigue (2.5%). Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 6.9 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.0-7.6). Median overall survival (OS) was 27.2 months (95% CI, 25.5-28.7). With increasing lines of prior advanced therapy (0-1 versus 4+), median PFS and OS decreased numerically from 8.3 to 5.6 months and from 31.3 to 22.5 months, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

KAMILLA is the largest cohort of T-DM1-treated patients studied to date. Results are consistent with prior randomised studies, thereby supporting T-DM1 as safe, tolerable and efficacious treatment for patients with previously treated HER2-positive advanced BC.

Safety and Efficacy of Bevacizumab Plus Standard-of-Care Treatment Beyond Disease Progression in Patients With Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: The AvaALL Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance

Bevacizumab treatment beyond progression has been investigated in breast and metastatic colorectal cancers. Avastin in All Lines Lung (AvaALL) is the first randomized phase 3 study of bevacizumab across multiple lines of treatment beyond progression in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Objective

To assess the efficacy and safety of continuous bevacizumab treatment beyond first progression in NSCLC.

Design, Setting, and Participants

AvaALL was a randomized, open-label, phase 3b trial, conducted from 2011 to 2015 in 123 centers worldwide. Patients with nonsquamous NSCLC previously treated with first-line bevacizumab plus platinum-doublet chemotherapy and at least 2 cycles of bevacizumab maintenance were randomized (1:1) at first progression to receive bevacizumab plus standard of care (SOC) or SOC alone.

Interventions

Patients received bevacizumab (7.5 or 15 mg/kg intravenously every 21 days) and/or investigator's choice of SOC. For subsequent lines, patients treated with bevacizumab received SOC with or without bevacizumab; the SOC arm received SOC only.

Main Outcomes and Measures

The primary outcome was overall survival (OS). Secondary outcomes included progression-free survival from first to second (PFS2) and third progression (PFS3), time to second (TTP2) and third progression (TTP3), and safety.

Results

Between June 2011 and January 2015, 485 patients (median age, 63.0 years [range, 26-84 years]; 293 [60.4%] male) were randomized. Median OS was not significantly longer with bevacizumab plus SOC vs SOC alone: 11.9 (90% CI, 10.2-13.7) vs 10.2 (90% CI, 8.6-11.9) months (hazard ratio [HR], 0.84; 90% CI, 0.71-1.00; P = .104). Median PFS2 was numerically longer with bevacizumab plus SOC vs SOC alone: 5.5 (90% CI, 4.2-5.7) vs 4.0 (90% CI, 3.4-4.3) months (HR, 0.83; 90% CI, 0.70-0.98; P = .06). Median PFS3 appeared longer with bevacizumab plus SOC vs SOC alone: 4.0 (90% CI, 2.9-4.5) vs 2.6 (90% CI, 2.3-2.9) months (HR, 0.63; 90% CI, 0.49-0.83), as did TTP2 and TTP3. Grade 3/4 adverse events were more frequent with bevacizumab plus SOC (186 [76.5%]) vs SOC alone (140 [60.3%]). No new safety signals were observed.

Conclusions and Relevance

The primary end point was not met; however, OS was underpowered according to initial statistical assumptions. Continued therapy beyond first progression led to improved PFS3 (but not PFS2), TTP2, and TTP3. Although a result with P = .06 for PFS2 would conventionally be considered significant at a specified 2-sided α of .10, in the absence of adjustments for multiplicity, this result could be a chance finding. No new safety signals were identified with bevacizumab treatment beyond progression.

Trial Registration

clinicaltrialsregister.eu Identifier: 2010-022645-14; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01351415.

Efficacy and safety results from AvaALL: An open-label, randomized phase III trial of standard of care (SOC) with or without continuous bevacizumab (Bev) treatment beyond progression (PD) in patients (pts) with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) progressing after first-line Bev and chemotherapy (chemo)

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Background: The role of treatment with Bev beyond PD is unclear in the multiline treatment strategy of advanced NSCLC.AvaALL(NCT01351415), a multinational, open-label, randomized phase III trial, assessed continuous Bev and SOC beyond first PD (PD1) in pts with NSCLC following first-line treatment with platinum-based chemo plus Bev. Here we present efficacy and safety data from AvaALL. Methods: Pts with NSCLC who received 4–6 cycles of chemo + Bev and ≥2 cycles of maintenance Bev were randomized after PD1 to second-line SOC therapy (docetaxel, pemetrexed or erlotinib) ± Bev. After second PD (PD2) and third PD (PD3), pts received third-line or fourth-line SOC ± Bev treatment, respectively. Primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). Secondary endpoints were OS rates (6, 12, and 18-months [mos]), progression-free survival (PFS) from PD1 to PD2/from PD2 to PD3, overall response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and safety. Data cut-off: 24 Jun 2016. Results: Overall, 485 pts were randomized (n = 475 treated). Pt characteristics were well balanced between the two arms. Bev plus chemo resulted in a median OS of 11.9 mos versus 10.2 mos for SOC alone (HR 0.84, 90% CI 0.71–1.00; p = 0.1016; 387 OS events). The primary endpoint was not met (416 OS events were required, at 10% two-sided significance level). OS rates were 10% higher in the Bev arm vs SOC alone at 6-, 12- and 18-mos. Median PFS2 was 4.9 mos with Bev vs 3.8 mos with SOC (HR 0.85, 90% CI 0.72–1.00; p = 0.0907). PFS3 was significantly improved (3.5 mos for Bev, 2.4 mos for SOC; HR 0.65, 90% CI 0.51–0.84; p = 0.0047). ORR and DCR were slightly higher in the Bev arm versus the SOC arm (ORR 9.7% vs 6.7%; DCR 86.2% vs 79.3%, respectively). No new safety signals were identified. Grade ≥3 adverse events were reported in 78.2% of Bev pts and 61.6% of SOC pts. Conclusions: Although the primary endpoint was not met, efficacy data suggest a positive trend for continued Bev plus SOC after PD1 compared with SOC alone. No cumulative safety signals were identified. Clinical trial information: NCT01351415.

Improving Probabilities of Correct Interim Decision in Population Enrichment Designs

Choice of target population is an essential part at the design stage of clinical trials. Data from earlier clinical development might suggest that the treatment is more effective in a subpopulation, but there might not be enough evidence to restrict the target population upfront. Adaptive designs allow modification of the target population based on interim data. Decision for modification should be based on objective decision rules. The presented decision rules maximize the weighted probability of correct interim decisions based on prior assumptions. Evaluation of decision rules in the planning phase can improve probabilities of correct interim decision and power.

An open-label phase II study of first- and second-line treatment with brivanib in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)

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Background: Brivanib is an orally available dual inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling. FGF pathway activation is of increasing importance in the setting of liver fibrosis and HCC. This phase II study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of brivanib in patients (pts) with unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic HCC who had received either no prior systemic therapy (Cohort A) or one prior regimen of angiogenesis inhibitor (Cohort B). Methods: Eligible pts had biopsy-proven HCC or had radiological evidence of HCC and were serology positive for Hep B or C with alpha fetoprotein levels ≥ 400 μg/L. Pts received brivanib 800 mg qd. Efficacy endpoints included OS, PFS, TTP, ORR, and DCR. Safety was assessed throughout the study. Serum levels of a biomarker, Collagen IV (a component of the basement membrane of blood vessels), were measured on day 1, weeks 3 and 6, and at end of treatment. Results: Interim results are reported. From December 2006 to October 2008, 96 patients were enrolled (Cohort A: 55 pts; Cohort B: 41 pts). In Cohort B, 38 pts had failed sorafenib and 3 had failed thalidomide. In Cohort A, median OS (95% CI) was 10 (6.8,-) months. Most frequently reported grade 3/4 AEs were fatigue (16%), AST elevation (19%), and hyponatremia (41%) in Cohort A and hypertension (7.3%), diarrhea (4.9%), and headache (4.9%) in Cohort B. 24 pts died in Cohort A and 5 pts in Cohort B, none were considered treatment-related. Treatment-induced reductions in serum Collagen IV appear to correlate with long term outcome (PFS and OS). Conclusions: Brivanib has activity as both first-line and second-line post-sorafenib systemic treatment in HCC. Collagen IV, a novel serum angiogenic biomarker, appears to be associated with outcome.

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