Safety and preliminary activity results of the GATTO study, a phase Ib study combining the anti-TA-MUC1 antibody gatipotuzumab with the anti-EGFR tomuzotuximab in patients with refractory solid tumors

BACKGROUND

The phase I GATTO study (NCT03360734) explored the feasibility, tolerability and preliminary activity of combining gatipotuzumab, a novel humanized monoclonal antibody binding to the tumor-associated epitope of mucin 1 (TA-MUC1) and an anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (anti-EGFR) antibody in refractory solid tumors.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Initially the study enrolled primary phase (PP) patients with EGFR-positive metastatic solid tumors, for whom no standard treatment was available. Patients received gatipotuzumab administered at 1400 mg every 2 weeks, 6 weeks after the start of the glyco-optimized anti-EGFR antibody tomuzotuximab at 1200 mg every 2 weeks. As this regimen was proven safe, enrollment continued in an expansion phase (EP) of patients with refractory metastatic colorectal cancer, non-small-cell lung cancer, head and neck cancer and breast cancer. Tomuzotuximab and gatipotuzumab were given at the same doses and gatipotuzumab treatment started 1 week after the first dose of the anti-EGFR antibody. Additionally, investigators could use a commercial anti-EGFR antibody in place of tomuzotuximab.

RESULTS

A total of 52 patients were enrolled, 20 in the PP and 32 in the EP. The combined treatment was well tolerated and no dose-limiting toxicity was observed in the whole study, nor related serious adverse event or death. Preliminary activity of the combination was observed, with one and four RECIST partial responses in the PP and EP, all in colorectal cancer patients. The trial was accompanied by a comprehensive translational research program for identification of biomarkers, including soluble TA-MUC1 (sTA-MUC1) in serum. In the EP, patients with baseline sTA-MUC1 levels above the median appeared to have improved progression-free survival and overall survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Combination of a TA-MUC1-targeting antibody and an EGFR-targeting antibody is safe and feasible. Interesting antitumor activity was observed in heavily pretreated patients. Future studies should test this combination together with chemotherapy and explore the potential of sTA-MUC1 as a companion biomarker for further development of the combination.

Phase I study of CC-90010, a reversible, oral BET inhibitor in patients with advanced solid tumors and relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

BACKGROUND

Bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) proteins are epigenetic readers that regulate expression of genes involved in oncogenesis. CC-90010 is a novel, oral, reversible, small-molecule BET inhibitor.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

CC-90010-ST-001 (NCT03220347; 2015-004371-79) is a phase I dose-escalation and expansion study of CC-90010 in patients with advanced or unresectable solid tumors and relapsed/refractory (R/R) non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). We report results from the dose escalation phase, which explored 11 dose levels and four dosing schedules, two weekly (2 days on/5 days off; 3 days on/4 days off), one biweekly (3 days on/11 days off), and one monthly (4 days on/24 days off). The primary objectives were to determine the safety, maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and/or recommended phase II dose (RP2D) and schedule. Secondary objectives were to evaluate signals of early antitumor activity, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics.

RESULTS

This study enrolled 69 patients, 67 with solid tumors and two with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The median age was 57 years (range, 21-80) and the median number of prior regimens was four (range, 1-9). Treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were mostly mild and manageable; grade 3/4 TRAEs reported in more than two patients were thrombocytopenia (13%), anemia, and fatigue (4% each). Six patients had dose-limiting toxicities. MTDs were 15 mg (2 days on/5 days off), 30 mg (3 days on/11 days off), and 45 mg (4 days on/24 days off). The RP2D and schedule selected for expansion was 45 mg (4 days on/24 days off). As of 8 October 2019, one patient with grade 2 astrocytoma achieved a complete response, one patient with endometrial carcinoma had a partial response, and six patients had prolonged stable disease ≥11 months.

CONCLUSIONS

CC-90010 is well tolerated, with single-agent activity in patients with heavily pretreated, advanced solid tumors.

Energy loss measurements of inclined muon bundles in the Cherenkov water detector

An experiment on the measurements of the energy deposit of inclined cosmic ray muon bundles is being conducted at the experimental complex NEVOD (MEPhI). The complex includes the Cherenkov water calorimeter with a volume of 2000 m3 and the coordinate-tracking detector DECOR with a total area of 70 m2. The DECOR data are used to determine the local muon densities in the bundle events and their arrival directions, while the energy deposits (and hence the average muon energy loss) are evaluated from the Cherenkov calorimeter response. Average energy loss carries information about the mean muon energy in the bundles. The detection of the bundles in a wide range of muon multiplicities and zenith angles gives the opportunity to explore the energy range of primary cosmic ray particles from about 10 to 1000 PeV in the frame of a single experiment with a relatively small compact setup. Experimental results on the dependence of the muon bundle energy deposit on the zenith angle and the local muon density are presented and compared with expectations based on simulations of the EAS muon component with the CORSIKA code.

Measurement of the velocity of neutrinos from the CNGS beam with the large volume detector

We report the measurement of the time of flight of ∼17 GeV ν(μ) on the CNGS baseline (732 km) with the Large Volume Detector (LVD) at the Gran Sasso Laboratory. The CERN-SPS accelerator has been operated from May 10th to May 24th 2012, with a tightly bunched-beam structure to allow the velocity of neutrinos to be accurately measured on an event-by-event basis. LVD has detected 48 neutrino events, associated with the beam, with a high absolute time accuracy. These events allow us to establish the following limit on the difference between the neutrino speed and the light velocity: -3.8 × 10(-6) < (v(ν)-c)/c < 3.1 × 10(-6) (at 99% C.L.). This value is an order of magnitude lower than previous direct measurements.

Effect of oxygen deficiency on response of CR-39 on board scientific balloons

We should be careful about the effect of oxygen deficiency on polymeric track detectors even at balloon altitude. Results of balloon experiments and calibration experiments in a vacuum chamber at different pressures show that the effect of oxygen deficiency becomes serious at a pressure below 10 hPa.