Rilotumumab plus epirubicin, cisplatin, and capecitabine as first-line therapy in advanced MET-positive gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction cancer (RILOMET-1): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial.

BACKGROUND: Rilotumumab is a fully human monoclonal antibody that selectively targets the ligand of the MET receptor, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). We aimed to assess the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of rilotumumab combined with epirubicin, cisplatin, and capecitabine, and to assess potential biomarkers, in patients with advanced MET-positive gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. METHODS: This multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 study was done at 152 centres in 27 countries. We recruited adults (aged ≥18 years) with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1, MET-positive tumours (≥25% of tumour cells with membrane staining of ≥1+ staining intensity), and evaluable disease, who had not received previous systemic therapy. Eligible patients were randomly assigned (1:1) via a computerised voice response system to receive rilotumumab 15 mg/kg intravenously or placebo in combination with open-label chemotherapy (epirubicin 50 mg/m2 intravenously; cisplatin 60 mg/m2 intravenously; capecitabine 625 mg/m2 orally twice daily) in 21-day cycles for up to ten cycles. After completion of chemotherapy, patients continued to receive rilotumumab or placebo monotherapy until disease progression, intolerability, withdrawal of consent, or study termination. Randomisation was stratified by disease extent and ECOG performance status. Both patients and physicians were masked to study treatment assignment. The primary endpoint was overall survival, analysed by intention to treat. We report the final analysis. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01697072. FINDINGS: Between Nov 7, 2012, and Nov 21, 2014, 609 patients were randomly assigned to rilotumumab plus epirubicin, cisplatin, and capecitabine (rilotumumab group; n=304) or placebo plus epirubicin, cisplatin, and capecitabine (placebo group; n=305). Study treatment was stopped early after an independent data monitoring committee found a higher number of deaths in the rilotumumab group than in the placebo group; all patients in the rilotumumab group subsequently discontinued all study treatment. Median follow-up was 7·7 months (IQR 3·6-12·0) for patients in the rilotumumab group and 9·4 months (5·3-13·1) for patients in the placebo group. Median overall survival was 8·8 months (95% CI 7·7-10·2) in the rilotumumab group compared with 10·7 months (9·6-12·4) in the placebo group (stratified hazard ratio 1·34, 95% CI 1·10-1·63; p=0·003). The most common grade 3 or worse adverse events in the rilotumumab and placebo groups were neutropenia (86 [29%] of 298 patients vs 97 [32%] of 299 patients), anaemia (37 [12%] vs 43 [14%]), and fatigue (30 [10%] vs 35 [12%]). The frequency of serious adverse events was similar in the rilotumumab and placebo groups (142 [48%] vs 149 [50%]). More deaths due to adverse events occurred in the rilotumumab group than the placebo group (42 [14%] vs 31 [10%]). In the rilotumumab group, 33 (11%) of 298 patients had fatal adverse events due to disease progression, and nine (3%) had fatal events not due to disease progression. In the placebo group, 23 (8%) of 299 patients had fatal adverse events due to disease progression, and eight (3%) had fatal events not due to disease progression. INTERPRETATION: Ligand-blocking inhibition of the MET pathway with rilotumumab is not effective in improving clinical outcomes in patients with MET-positive gastric or gastro-oesophageal adenocarcinoma. FUNDING: Amgen.

Panitumumab-FOLFOX4 treatment and RAS mutations in colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer that harbors KRAS mutations in exon 2 do not benefit from anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) therapy. Other activating RAS mutations may also be negative predictive biomarkers for anti-EGFR therapy. METHODS: In this prospective-retrospective analysis, we assessed the efficacy and safety of panitumumab plus oxaliplatin, fluorouracil, and leucovorin (FOLFOX4) as compared with FOLFOX4 alone, according to RAS (KRAS or NRAS) or BRAF mutation status. A total of 639 patients who had metastatic colorectal cancer without KRAS mutations in exon 2 had results for at least one of the following: KRAS exon 3 or 4; NRAS exon 2, 3, or 4; or BRAF exon 15. The overall rate of ascertainment of RAS status was 90%. RESULTS: Among 512 patients without RAS mutations, progression-free survival was 10.1 months with panitumumab-FOLFOX4 versus 7.9 months with FOLFOX4 alone (hazard ratio for progression or death with combination therapy, 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.58 to 0.90; P=0.004). Overall survival was 26.0 months in the panitumumab-FOLFOX4 group versus 20.2 months in the FOLFOX4-alone group (hazard ratio for death, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.62 to 0.99; P=0.04). A total of 108 patients (17%) with nonmutated KRAS exon 2 had other RAS mutations. These mutations were associated with inferior progression-free survival and overall survival with panitumumab-FOLFOX4 treatment, which was consistent with the findings in patients with KRAS mutations in exon 2. BRAF mutations were a negative prognostic factor. No new safety signals were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Additional RAS mutations predicted a lack of response in patients who received panitumumab-FOLFOX4. In patients who had metastatic colorectal cancer without RAS mutations, improvements in overall survival were observed with panitumumab-FOLFOX4 therapy. (Funded by Amgen and others; PRIME ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00364013.).

Panitumumab versus cetuximab in patients with chemotherapy-refractory wild-type KRAS exon 2 metastatic colorectal cancer (ASPECCT): a randomised, multicentre, open-label, non-inferiority phase 3 study.

BACKGROUND: The anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies panitumumab and cetuximab are effective in patients with chemotherapy-refractory wild-type KRAS exon 2 metastatic colorectal cancer. We assessed the efficacy and toxicity of panitumumab versus cetuximab in these patients. METHODS: For this randomised, open-label, phase 3 head-to-head study, we enrolled patients (from centres in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia) aged 18 years or older with chemotherapy-refractory metastatic colorectal cancer, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 2 or less, and wild-type KRAS exon 2 status. Using a computer-generated randomisation sequence, we assigned patients (1:1; stratified by geographical region and ECOG performance status, with a permuted block method) to receive panitumumab (6 mg/kg once every 2 weeks) or cetuximab (initial dose 400 mg/m(2); 250 mg/m(2) once a week thereafter). The primary endpoint was overall survival assessed for non-inferiority (retention of ≥ 50% of the cetuximab treatment effect; historical hazard ratio [HR] for cetuximab plus best supportive care vs best supportive care alone of 0.55). The primary analysis included patients who received one or more dose of panitumumab or cetuximab, analysed per allocated treatment. Recruitment for this trial is closed. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01001377. FINDINGS: Between Feb 2, 2010, and July 19, 2012, we enrolled and randomly allocated 1010 patients, 999 of whom began study treatment: 499 received panitumumab and 500 received cetuximab. For the primary analysis of overall survival, panitumumab was non-inferior to cetuximab (Z score -3.19; p=0.0007). Median overall survival was 10.4 months (95% CI 9.4-11.6) with panitumumab and 10.0 months (9.3-11.0) with cetuximab (HR 0.97; 95% CI 0.84-1.11). Panitumumab retained 105.7% (81.9-129.5) of the effect of cetuximab on overall survival seen in this study. The incidence of adverse events of any grade and grade 3-4 was similar across treatment groups. Grade 3-4 skin toxicity occurred in 62 (13%) patients given panitumumab and 48 (10%) patients given cetuximab. The occurrence of grade 3-4 infusion reactions was lower with panitumumab than with cetuximab (one [<0.5%] patient vs nine [2%] patients), and the occurrence of grade 3-4 hypomagnesaemia was higher in the panitumumab group (35 [7%] vs 13 [3%]). We recorded one treatment-related fatal adverse event: a lung infection in a patient given cetuximab. INTERPRETATION: Our findings show that panitumumab is non-inferior to cetuximab and that these agents provide similar overall survival benefit in this population of patients. Both agents had toxicity profiles that were to be expected. In view of the consistency in efficacy and toxicity seen, small but meaningful differences in the rate of grade 3-4 infusion reactions and differences in dose scheduling can guide physician choice of anti-EGFR treatment.

Influence of the posterior cruciate ligament on kinematics of the knee during experimentally simulated clinical tests and activities of daily living.

Clinical outcomes following posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) reconstruction are often suboptimal. A better understanding of the biomechanical contributions of the PCL to knee stability under physiologic, clinically-relevant loading conditions could improve reconstruction techniques and outcomes. We employed a servohydraulic joint motion simulator to investigate the kinematics of intact and PCL-deficient knees during simulated clinical tests and activities of daily living(ADL), including gait, stair ascent and descent. PCL transection caused the tibia to be displaced posterior, relative to the intact joint, throughout flexion. PCL transection also increased the amount of posterior tibial displacement measured during posterior laxity testing by up to 9.6 ± 1.7 mm at 75° (p = 0.001). During internal-external rotational laxity testing, PCL transection increased the allowable internal and external rotation of the tibia, by up to 2.9 ± 0.5°at90° (p = 0.001) and 1.0 ± 0.2° at45°(p = 0.001), respectively. PCL transection did not have a significant effect on abduction-adduction kinematics or laxity, regardless of flexion angle. PCL transection resulted in a relative posterior displacement of the tibia during the stance phase of gait when the knee was extended (2.2 ± 2.2 mm, p = 0.045), and when the knee was flexed during stair ascent (2.4 ± 2.2 mm, p = 0.035) and descent (1.6 ± 1.4 mm, p = 0.037). Our results support previous studies of the role of the PCL on neutral joint kinematics and laxity, and provide new data quantifying the effect of PCL transection on AP kinematics during simulated ADL.

Predicting outcome in follicular lymphoma by using interactive gene pairs.

PURPOSE: Follicular lymphoma is a common lymphoma of adults. Although its course is often indolent, a substantial proportion of patients have a poor prognosis, often due to rapid progression or transformation to a more aggressive lymphoma. Currently available clinical prognostic scores, such as the follicular lymphoma international prognostic index, are not able to optimally predict transformation or poor outcome. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Gene expression profiling was done on primary lymphoma biopsy samples. RESULTS: Using a statistically conservative approach, predictive interaction analysis, we have identified pairs of interacting genes that predict poor outcome, measured as death within 5 years of diagnosis. The best gene pair performs >1,000-fold better than any single gene or the follicular lymphoma international prognostic index in our data set. Many gene pairs achieve outcome prediction accuracies exceeding 85% in extensive cross-validation and noise sensitivity computational analyses. Many genes repeatedly appear in top-ranking pairs, suggesting that they reproducibly provide predictive capability. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence reported here may provide the basis for an expression-based, multi-gene test for predicting poor follicular lymphoma outcomes.

Extended RAS analysis for anti-epidermal growth factor therapy in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

RAS family proteins (including KRAS and NRAS) play important roles in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling pathway. Mutations in RAS genes (occurring at loci in exons 2, 3, and 4) often result in constitutive activation of RAS proteins and persistent downstream signaling. Mutations in KRAS exon 2 (codon 12/13) are an established predictor of lack of response to the anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies cetuximab and panitumumab in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), and have been used routinely in clinical practice to identify patients unlikely to derive benefit from these therapies. However, a meaningful proportion of patients with mCRC have tumors bearing other mutations in RAS genes. Recent studies have demonstrated that evaluation of an extended panel of RAS mutations­including mutations in KRAS exon 2, 3, and 4 and NRAS exons 2, 3, and 4­can better define the patient population that is unlikely to benefit from anti-EGFR therapy, with concomitant improvements in outcomes in the more highly selected RAS wild-type group. This discovery has changed the practice of oncology and has the potential to spare patients from exposure to ineffective therapy. In the near future, it is important for the oncology community to validate extended RAS analysis assays and make certain that patients who are candidates for anti-EGFR therapy undergo appropriate testing and treatment.

Analysis of KRAS/NRAS Mutations in a Phase III Study of Panitumumab with FOLFIRI Compared with FOLFIRI Alone as Second-line Treatment for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer.

PURPOSE: We evaluated the influence of RAS mutation status on the treatment effect of panitumumab in a prospective-retrospective analysis of a randomized, multicenter phase III study of panitumumab plus fluorouracil, leucovorin, and irinotecan (FOLFIRI) versus FOLFIRI alone as second-line therapy in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC; ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT0039183). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Outcomes were from the study's primary analysis. RAS mutations beyond KRAS exon 2 (KRAS exons 3, 4; NRAS exons 2, 3, 4; BRAF exon 15) were detected by bidirectional Sanger sequencing in wild-type KRAS exon 2 tumor specimens. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were coprimary endpoints. RESULTS: The RAS ascertainment rate was 85%; 18% of wild-type KRAS exon 2 tumors harbored other RAS mutations. For PFS and OS, the hazard ratio (HR) for panitumumab plus FOLFIRI versus FOLFIRI alone more strongly favored panitumumab in the wild-type RAS population than in the wild-type KRAS exon 2 population [PFS HR, 0.70 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.54-0.91); P = 0.007 vs. 0.73 (95% CI, 0.59-0.90); P = 0.004; OS HR, 0.81 (95% CI, 0.63-1.03); P = 0.08 vs. 0.85 (95% CI, 0.70-1.04); P = 0.12]. Patients with RAS mutations were unlikely to benefit from panitumumab. Among RAS wild-type patients, the objective response rate was 41% in the panitumumab-FOLFIRI group versus 10% in the FOLFIRI group. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with RAS mutations were unlikely to benefit from panitumumab-FOLFIRI and the benefit-risk of panitumumab-FOLFIRI was improved in the wild-type RAS population compared with the wild-type KRAS exon 2 population. These findings support RAS testing for patients with mCRC. Clin Cancer Res; 21(24); 5469-79. ©2015 AACR.See related commentary by Salazar and Ciardiello, p. 5415.

Evaluation of progression-free survival as a surrogate endpoint for survival in chemotherapy and targeted agent metastatic colorectal cancer trials.

Pooled analyses of chemotherapy trials in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) have suggested that progression-free survival (PFS) is a surrogate endpoint for overall survival (OS). However, this has not been evaluated under current standard-of-care regimens of chemotherapy in combination with targeted therapies. We conducted an analysis of published mCRC trials of chemotherapy and targeted therapies from 2000 to evaluate the surrogacy of PFS and response rate (RR) for OS. Study-level data was pooled from 24 randomized mCRC trials that evaluated fluoropyrimidine-based regimens and included trials conducted with targeted agents (panitumumab, cetuximab, bevacizumab, and aflibercept). A total of 69 treatment arms with a sample size of 20,438 patients was included. Linear regression analysis was carried out to estimate the correlation of PFS and RR with OS. The correlation coefficient between PFS HRs and OS HRs was 0.86 for all trials, 0.89 for 12 phase III trials of targeted agents in combination with chemotherapy, 0.95 for 8 first-line phase III trials of targeted agents, and 0.83 for 9 trials of anti-EGFR-targeted agents. In all cases, correlation coefficients between RR and OS HRs were lower than those between PFS HRs and OS HRs (range, 0.42-0.81). In this study-level analysis of randomized mCRC trials of chemotherapy and targeted agents, improvements in PFS are strongly correlated with improvements in OS. This suggests that PFS remains a valid surrogate endpoint for OS with current treatment regimens in the mCRC setting.

Expression, adverse prognostic significance and therapeutic small molecule inhibition of Polo-like kinase 1 in multiple myeloma.

The amplified myeloma centrosome has been identified as a therapeutic target. The present study explored the expression and prognostic significance of the centrosome-associated protein PLK1 in myeloma and the effect of BI 2536, a potent and selective inhibitor of PLK1, on myeloma cells. High plasma cell expression of PLK1 protein in myeloma patient bone marrow biopsies is an independent adverse prognostic factor (HR=2.3, p=0.003 unadjusted; HR=1.9, p=0.03 in multivariable model). BI 2536 inhibits myeloma cell lines at nanomolar concentrations, and is therapeutic for xenografts in NOD/SCID mice. PLK1 inhibition is a potential new strategy for the treatment of multiple myeloma.

Outcomes after balloon dilation of congenital aortic stenosis in children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the long-term outcomes and risk factors for, reintervention after balloon dilation of congenital aortic stenosis in children aged 6 months or older. BACKGROUND: Although balloon dilation of congenital aortic stenosis has become a primary therapeutic strategy, few data are available regarding long-term outcomes. METHODS: We carried out a retrospective review of 87 children who had undergone balloon dilation of the aortic valve at median age of 6.9 years. RESULTS: The procedure was completed in 98% of the children, with an average reduction in the gradient across the valve of 64 +/- 28%, and without mortality. Of the children, 76 had been followed for a mean of 6.3 +/- 4.2 years. Reintervention on the aortic valve was required in 32 children, with 12 undergoing reintervention within 6 months, with 1 death. Another patient had died over the period of follow-up due to a non-cardiac event. Estimated freedom from reintervention was 86% at 1 year, 67% at 5 years, and 46% at 12 years. Parametric modeling of the hazard function showed a brief early phase of increased risk, superimposed on an ongoing constant risk. The only incremental risk factor for the early phase was a residual gradient immediately subsequent to the procedure greater than 30 mmHg. Incremental risk factors for the constant phase included the presence of symmetric valvar opening, and greater than moderate regurgitation immediately after dilation. CONCLUSION: Long-term survival was excellent, albeit that the need for further reintervention was high due to the palliative nature of the procedure.