Alpelisib for treatment of patients with PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum (PROS).

PURPOSE: PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum (PROS) encompasses several rare conditions resulting from activating variants in PIK3CA. Alpelisib, a PI3Kα-selective inhibitor, targets the underlying etiology of PROS, offering a novel therapeutic approach to current management strategies. This study evaluated the safety and efficacy of alpelisib in pediatric and adult patients with PROS. METHODS: EPIK-P1 (NCT04285723) was a non-interventional, retrospective chart review of 57 patients with PROS (≥2 years) treated with alpelisib through compassionate use. Patients had severe/life-threatening PROS-related conditions and confirmed PIK3CA pathogenic variant. The primary end point assessed patient response to treatment at Week 24 (6 months). RESULTS: Twenty-four weeks (6 months) after treatment initiation, 12 of 32 (37.5%) patients with complete case records included in the analysis of the primary end point experienced a ≥20% reduction in target lesion(s) volume. Additional clinical benefit independent from lesion volume reduction was observed across the full study population. Adverse events (AEs) and treatment-related AEs were experienced by 82.5% (47/57) and 38.6% (22/57) of patients, respectively; the most common treatment-related AEs were hyperglycemia (12.3%) and aphthous ulcer (10.5%). No deaths occurred. CONCLUSION: EPIK-P1 provides real-world evidence of alpelisib effectiveness and safety in patients with PROS and confirms PI3Kα as a valid therapeutic target for PROS symptom management.

Ceritinib in paediatric patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive malignancies: an open-label, multicentre, phase 1, dose-escalation and dose-expansion study.

BACKGROUND: Several paediatric malignancies, including anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), inflammatory myofibroblastic tumour (IMT), neuroblastoma, and rhabdomyosarcoma, harbour activation of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) through different mechanisms. Here, we report the safety, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy of ceritinib in paediatric patients with ALK-positive malignancies. METHODS: This multicentre, open-label, phase 1 trial was done at 23 academic hospitals in ten countries. Children (aged ≥12 months to <18 years) diagnosed with locally advanced or metastatic ALK-positive malignancies that had progressed despite standard therapy, or for which no effective standard therapy were available, were eligible. ALK-positive malignancies were defined as those with ALK rearrangement, amplification, point mutation, or in the case of rhabdomyosarcoma, expression in the absence of any genetic alteration. Eligible patients had evaluable or measurable disease as defined by either Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours, version 1.1 for patients with non-haematological malignancies, International Neuroblastoma Response Criteria scan for patients with neuroblastoma, or International Working Group criteria for patients with lymphoma. Other eligibility criteria were Karnofsky performance status score of at least 60% for patients older than 12 years or Lansky score of at least 50% for patients aged 12 years or younger. This study included a dose-escalation part, followed by a dose-expansion part, in which all patients received treatment at the recommended dose for expansion (RDE) established in the dose-escalation part. Both parts of the study were done in fasted and fed states. In the dose-escalation part, patients were treated with once-daily ceritinib orally, with dose adjusted for body-surface area, rounded to the nearest multiple of the 50 mg dose strength. The starting dose in the fasted state was 300 mg/m2 daily and for the fed state was 320 mg/m2 daily. The primary objective of this study was to establish the maximum tolerated dose (ie, RDE) of ceritinib in the fasted and fed states. The RDE was established on the basis of the incidence of dose-limiting toxicities in patients who completed a minimum of 21 days of treatment with safety assessments and at least 75% drug exposure, or who discontinued treatment earlier because of dose-limiting toxicity. Overall response rate (defined as the proportion of patients with a best overall response of complete response or partial response) was a secondary endpoint. Activity and safety analyses were done in all patients who received at least one dose of ceritinib. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01742286) and is completed. FINDINGS: Between Aug 28, 2013, and Oct 17, 2017, 83 children with ALK-positive malignancies were enrolled to the dose-escalation (n=40) and dose-expansion (n=43) groups. The RDE of ceritinib was established as 510 mg/m2 (fasted) and 500 mg/m2 (fed). 55 patients (30 with neuroblastoma, ten with IMT, eight with ALCL, and seven with other tumour types) were treated with ceritinib at the RDE (13 patients at 510 mg/m2 fasted and 42 patients at 500 mg/m2 fed). The median follow-up was 33·3 months (IQR 24·8-39·3) for patients with neuroblastoma, 33·2 months (27·9-35·9) for those with IMT, 34·0 months (21·9-46·4) for those with ALCL, and 27·5 months (22·4-36·9) for patients with other tumour types. An overall response was recorded in six (20%; 95% CI 8-39) of 30 patients with neuroblastoma, seven (70%; 33-93) of ten patients with IMT, six (75%; 35-97) of eight patients with ALCL, and one (14%; <1-58) of seven patients with other tumours. The safety profile of ceritinib was consistent with that observed in adult patients. All patients had at least one adverse event. Grade 3 or 4 adverse events occurred in 67 (81%) of 83 patients and were mostly increases in aminotransferases (alanine aminotransferase increase in 38 [46%] patients and aspartate aminotransferase increase in 27 [33%] patients). At least one serious adverse event was reported in 40 (48%) of 83 patients and 31 (37%) of 83 patients had at least one grade 3 or 4 serious adverse event. 14 (17%) deaths occurred during the study, of which 12 were on-treatment deaths and two were after 30 days of the last dose. Of the 12 on-treatment deaths, ten were due to disease progression (neuroblastoma), one due to sepsis, and one due to intractable hypotension. INTERPRETATION: Ceritinib 500 mg/m2 once daily with food is the recommended dose for paediatric patients with ALK-positive malignancies. Ceritinib showed promising preliminary antitumour activity in patients with ALK-positive refractory or recurrent IMT or ALCL, and in a subset of patients with relapsed or refractory neuroblastoma, with a manageable safety profile. Our data support the notion that ALK inhibitors should be considered in therapeutic strategies for paediatric patients with malignancies with genetic ALK alterations. FUNDING: Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation.

First-line ceritinib versus platinum-based chemotherapy in advanced ALK-rearranged non-small-cell lung cancer (ASCEND-4): a randomised, open-label, phase 3 study.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of ceritinib in patients with untreated anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-rearranged non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is not known. We assessed the efficacy and safety of ceritinib versus platinum-based chemotherapy in these patients. METHODS: This randomised, open-label, phase 3 study in untreated patients with stage IIIB/IV ALK-rearranged non-squamous NSCLC was done in 134 centres across 28 countries. Eligible patients were assigned via interactive response technology to oral ceritinib 750 mg/day or platinum-based chemotherapy ([cisplatin 75 mg/m2 or carboplatin AUC 5-6 plus pemetrexed 500 mg/m2] every 3 weeks for four cycles followed by maintenance pemetrexed); randomisation was stratified by World Health Organization performance status (0 vs 1-2), previous neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy, and presence of brain metastases as per investigator's assessment at screening. Investigators and patients were not masked to treatment assignment. The primary endpoint was blinded independent review committee assessed progression-free survival, based on all randomly assigned patients (the full analysis set). Efficacy analyses were done based on the full analysis set. All safety analyses were done based on the safety set, which included all patients who received at least one dose of study drug. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01828099. FINDINGS: Between Aug 19, 2013, and May 11, 2015, 376 patients were randomly assigned to ceritinib (n=189) or chemotherapy (n=187). Median progression-free survival (as assessed by blinded independent review committee) was 16·6 months (95% CI 12·6-27·2) in the ceritinib group and 8·1 months (5·8-11·1) in the chemotherapy group (hazard ratio 0·55 [95% CI 0·42-0·73]; p<0·00001). The most common adverse events were diarrhoea (in 160 [85%] of 189 patients), nausea (130 [69%]), vomiting (125 [66%]), and an increase in alanine aminotransferase (114 [60%]) in the ceritinib group and nausea (in 97 [55%] of 175 patients), vomiting (63 [36%]), and anaemia (62 [35%]) in the chemotherapy group. INTERPRETATION: First-line ceritinib showed a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival versus chemotherapy in patients with advanced ALK-rearranged NSCLC. FUNDING: Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

Treatment of two infants with PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum by alpelisib.

PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum (PROS) includes rare genetic conditions due to gain-of-function mutations in the PIK3CA gene. There is no approved medical therapy for patients with PROS, and alpelisib, an approved PIK3CA inhibitor in oncology, showed promising results in preclinical models and in patients. Here, we report for the first time the outcome of two infants with PROS having life-threatening conditions treated with alpelisib (25 mg) and monitored with pharmacokinetics. Patient 1 was an 8-mo-old girl with voluminous vascular malformation. Patient 2 was a 9-mo-old boy presenting with asymmetrical body overgrowth and right hemimegalencephaly with West syndrome. After 12 mo of follow-up, alpelisib treatment was associated with improvement in signs and symptoms, morphological lesions and vascular anomalies in the two patients. No adverse events were reported during the study. In this case series, pharmacological inhibition of PIK3CA with low-dose alpelisib was feasible and associated with clinical improvements, including a smaller size of associated complex tissue malformations and good tolerability.

ASCEND-7: Efficacy and Safety of Ceritinib Treatment in Patients with ALK-Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Metastatic to the Brain and/or Leptomeninges.

PURPOSE: Central nervous system metastases are a prominent cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with ALK-positive (ALK+) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The phase II ASCEND-7 (NCT02336451) study was specifically designed to assess the efficacy and safety of the ALK inhibitor (ALKi) ceritinib in patients with ALK+ NSCLC metastatic to the brain and/or leptomeninges. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with active brain metastases were allocated to study arms 1 to 4 based on prior exposure to an ALKi and/or prior brain radiation (arm 1: prior radiotherapy/ALKi-pretreated; arm 2: no radiotherapy/ALKi-pretreated; arm 3: prior radiotherapy/ALKi-naïve; arm 4: no radiotherapy/ALKi-naïve). Arm 5 included patients with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis. Patients received ceritinib 750 mg once daily (fasted condition). Primary endpoint was investigator-assessed whole-body overall response rate (ORR) per RECIST v1.1. Secondary endpoints included disease control rate (DCR) and intracranial/extracranial responses. RESULTS: Per investigator assessment, in arms 1 (n = 42), 2 (n = 40), 3 (n = 12), and 4 (n = 44), respectively: whole-body ORRs [95% confidence interval (CI)] were 35.7% (21.6-52.0), 30.0% (16.6-46.5), 50.0% (21.1-78.9), and 59.1% (43.2-73.7); whole-body DCR (95% CI): 66.7% (50.5-80.4), 82.5% (67.2-92.7), 66.7% (34.9-90.1), and 70.5% (54.8-83.2); intracranial ORRs (95% CI): 39.3% (21.5-59.4), 27.6% (12.7-47.2), 28.6% (3.7-71.0), and 51.5% (33.5-69.2). In arm 5 (n = 18), whole-body ORR was 16.7% (95% CI, 3.6-41.4) and DCR was 66.7% (95% CI, 41.0-86.7). Paired cerebrospinal fluid and plasma sampling revealed that ceritinib penetrated the human blood-brain barrier. CONCLUSIONS: Ceritinib showed antitumor activity in patients with ALK+ NSCLC with active brain metastases and/or leptomeningeal disease, and could be considered in the management of intracranial disease. See related commentary by Murciano-Goroff et al., p. 2477.

Ceritinib Efficacy and Safety in Treatment-Naive Asian Patients With Advanced ALK-Rearranged NSCLC: An ASCEND-4 Subgroup Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: In the phase 3 ASCEND-4 study, ceritinib exhibited improved progression-free survival (PFS) by Blinded Independent Review Committee (BIRC) assessment versus the standard first-line chemotherapy in patients with advanced ALK-rearranged NSCLC. Here, we assessed the efficacy and safety of ceritinib in the subgroup of Asian patients from the ASCEND-4 trial. METHODS: Treatment-naive patients with stage IIIB or IV ALK-rearranged nonsquamous NSCLC were randomized in a one-to-one ratio to receive either oral ceritinib 750 mg/day (fasted) daily or intravenous chemotherapy ([cisplatin 75 mg/m2 or carboplatin area under the curve 5-6 plus pemetrexed 500 mg/m2] every three wk, followed by pemetrexed maintenance). The primary end point was PFS by BIRC assessment. RESULTS: Of 376 randomized patients, 158 (42.0%) were Asian (ceritinib arm: N = 76; chemotherapy arm: N = 82). The median time from randomization to the cutoff date (June 24, 2016) was 18.3 months (range = 13.5-34.2) in the Asian subgroup. The median PFS (by BIRC assessment) was 26.3 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 8.6-not estimable) and 10.6 months (95% CI: 6.7-15.0), with an estimated 34% risk reduction in PFS (hazard ratio = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.41-1.05) in the ceritinib arm versus chemotherapy arm. The most common adverse events of any grade were diarrhea (85.5%), increased alanine aminotransferase and vomiting (73.7% each), and increased aspartate aminotransferase and nausea (69.7% each) in the ceritinib arm, and nausea (49.3%), vomiting (42.7%), and anemia (40.0%) in the chemotherapy arm. CONCLUSION: Ceritinib was effective and safe in treatment-naive Asian patients with advanced ALK-rearranged NSCLC. The findings were largely consistent with that of the overall study population.

A multicenter cohort study of dose-dense temozolomide (21 of 28 days) for the treatment of recurrent anaplastic astrocytoma or oligoastrocytoma.

Dose-dense temozolomide schedules deplete O6-methylguanine methyltransferase and may overcome chemoresistance. This multicenter cohort study enrolled 19 patients (15 anaplastic astrocytoma, 4 anaplastic oligoastrocytoma) who received temozolomide (100 mg/m2/day for 21 consecutive days every 28-day cycle) at first recurrence, either until disease progression or 12 cycles. Six-month progression-free survival was 56%, comparing favorably with historic controls treated with the standard 5-day temozolomide schedule. Median survival was 12.9 months (95% CI: 3.7, 22 months). Among 15 evaluable patients, 2 had a complete or partial response, and 10 had stable disease. Grade 3 and 4 lymphopenia occurred in 53% and 47% of patients, respectively.

Multicenter Phase II Study of Whole-Body and Intracranial Activity With Ceritinib in Patients With ALK-Rearranged Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Previously Treated With Chemotherapy and Crizotinib: Results From ASCEND-2.

PURPOSE: Phase I data (ASCEND-1) showed ceritinib efficacy in patients with ALK-rearranged non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), regardless of brain metastases status and with or without prior therapy with an inhibitor of the ALK protein. Data are presented from a phase II trial (ASCEND-2) in which ceritinib efficacy and safety were evaluated in patients who had ALK-rearranged NSCLC previously treated with at least one platinum-based chemotherapy and who had experienced progression during crizotinib treatment as their last prior therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with advanced ALK-rearranged NSCLC, including those with asymptomatic or neurologically stable baseline brain metastases, received oral ceritinib 750 mg/d. Whole-body and intracranial responses were investigator assessed (according to RECIST version 1.1). Patient-reported outcomes were evaluated with the Lung Cancer Symptom Scale and European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer surveys (the core-30 and the 13-item lung cancer-specific quality-of-life questionnaires). RESULTS: All 140 patients enrolled had received two or more previous treatment regimens, and all patients had received crizotinib. The median duration of exposure and the follow-up time with ceritinib were 8.8 months (range, 0.1 to 19.4 months) and 11.3 months (range, 0.1 to 18.9 months), respectively. Investigator-assessed overall response rate was 38.6% (95% CI, 30.5% to 47.2%). Secondary end points, all investigator assessed, included disease control rate (77.1%; 95% CI, 69.3% to 83.8%), time to response (median, 1.8 months; range, 1.6 to 5.6 months), duration of response (median, 9.7 months; 95% CI, 7.1 to 11.1 months), and progression-free survival (median, 5.7 months; 95% CI, 5.4 to 7.6 months). Of 100 patients with baseline brain metastases, 20 had active target lesions at baseline; investigator-assessed intracranial overall response rate was 45.0% (95% CI, 23.1% to 68.5%). The most common adverse events (majority, grade 1 or 2) for all treated patients were nausea (81.4%), diarrhea (80.0%), and vomiting (62.9%). Patient-reported outcomes showed a trend toward improved symptom burden. The global quality-of-life score was maintained during treatment. CONCLUSION: Consistent with its activity in ASCEND-1, ceritinib treatment provided clinically meaningful and durable responses with manageable tolerability in chemotherapy- and crizotinib-pretreated patients, including those with brain metastases.

Semi-quantification of methionine uptake and flair signal for the evaluation of chemotherapy in low-grade oligodendroglioma.

UNLABELLED: 11C-Methionine (MET) is a useful positron emission tomography (PET) tracer for the evaluation of low-grade gliomas. Among these tumors, a high percentage of low-grade oligodendrogliomas (ODG) are sensitive to chemotherapy with procarbazine, CCNU, and vincristine (PCV). We aimed at: (1) objectively assessing ODG response to PCV by a metabolic index (the Activity Volume Index or AVI) generated from an automated semi-quantification of PET with MET (PET-MET); (2) comparing AVI and quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements of response to PCV. METHODS: seven patients with ODG were followed for a period of 19.9+/-6.6 months after the completion of PCV chemotherapy. Regions of interest (ROI) were generated by covering all voxels with count values above a threshold level set at 120% of the mean cerebellar activity. On each slice, ROI volume and mean count values were calculated. AVI was calculated as the sum over all ROI of tumor volumex(tumor mean count/cerebellum count). Tumor volume measurements on MRI, were based on signal abnormalities visually detected on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) sequences. RESULTS: PCV therapy was associated with a drastic decrease in AVI (mean+/-SD, cm3): AVI post-PCV=0.80+/-1.45 vs. AVI prior PCV=12.94+/-11.46 (P=0.03). Likewise, we observed a decrease in tumor volume estimated from the FLAIR signal (31.37+/-11.99 post-PCV vs. 67.95+/-39.96 prior PCV, P=0.03) although AVI decrease after PCV was significantly more pronounced (P=0.015). CONCLUSION: This study, based on limited number of patients and follow-up period indicates that AVI may be a sensitive and observer-independent method applicable to the assessment of ODG responsiveness to PCV treatment and may offer a major added value to both clinical assessment and MRI evaluation of chemotherapeutic outcomes.

Temozolomide for the treatment of recurrent supratentorial glioma: results of a compassionate use program in Belgium.

Temozolomide (TMZ) has demonstrated activity and acceptable toxicity for the treatment of recurrent high-grade gliomas in prospective phase II studies. Limited information is available on TMZ when prescribed outside a clinical trial. We conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the activity and safety of TMZ that was prescribed for the treatment of recurrent glioma in the context of a compassionate use program in Belgium. Data were obtained on 117 adult patients (from five hospitals) who received TMZ as first or second line chemotherapy. The recommended starting dose of TMZ was 200 mg/m2 x5d q28d for chemonaive patients and 150 mg/m2 x5d q28d for pre-treated patients. Toxicity was generally mild. Thrombocytopenia was the most frequent treatment related adverse event (grade 3/4 in 17% of patients). Its occurrence was correlated with a starting dose of 200 mg/m2/d and stresses the need to monitor toxicity. The overall objective response rate (complete and partial response) was 29 and 34% of patients achieved an objective disease stabilization. The median progression-free survival was 104 days (95% CI: 85-123) and the median overall survival was 215 days (95% CI: 161 269). In multivariate analysis a 'deep localization' of the glioma (as opposed to a cortico-subcortical localization) and 'the preceding history of a low-grade glioma' were respectively identified as a negative and positive independent prognostic variable for survival. No significant difference in terms of response or median survival was observed between patients with anaplastic astrocytoma or oligo-astrocytoma and chemonaive glioblastoma multiforme. This retrospective study indicates that the reported activity and toxicity profile of TMZ for the treatment of patients with recurrent glioma is reproducible outside the setting of a prospective clinical trial.

Evaluation of the efficiency of chemotherapy in in vivo orthotopic models of human glioma cells with and without 1p19q deletions and in C6 rat orthotopic allografts serving for the evaluation of surgery combined with chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Malignant gliomas of the central nervous system remain associated with dismal prognoses because of their diffuse invasion of the brain parenchyma. Very few experimental models that mimic clinical reality are available today to test potentially new therapies. The authors set up experimental in vivo glioma models of anaplastic astrocytomas of human and rat origins and anaplastic oligodendroglioma of human origin. Standard hospital chemotherapies were employed to test the validity of these models. METHODS: Three glioma cells lines obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (i.e., human Hs683 and U373 cells and rat C6 cells) were implanted into nude mouse brains (Hs683 and U373 cells) and rat brains (C6 cells). The astrocytic nature, as opposed to the oligodendrocytic nature, of the Hs683 and U373 models was investigated by using quantitative (computer-assisted microscopy) immunohistochemical characterizations of nestin, vimentin, glutathione-S-transferase alpha (GSTalpha), GSTmu, GSTpi, and p53 expression. Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) was employed to investigate 1p19q losses. Chronic administrations of carmustine (BCNU), fotemustin, or temozolomide were assayed in the xenografted U373 and Hs683 models. Both BCNU-related chemotherapy and surgery were assayed in the C6 model. RESULTS: The quantitative phenotypic analyses pointed to the oligodendroglial nature of the Hs683 cell line and the astrocytic nature of the U373 cell line. The Hs683 cells exhibited 1p19q losses, whereas the U373 cells did not. BCNU, fotemustin, and temozolomide dramatically increased the time of survival of the Hs683 oligodendroglioma-bearing mice, whereas temozolomide only induced a weak but nevertheless statistically significant increase in the U373 glioma-bearing mice. In the C6 rat glioma model, surgery and BCNU chemotherapy were more efficient than either treatment alone. CONCLUSIONS: The in vivo models of gliomas of the central nervous system developed in the current work best mimicked clinical reality. They can be used either to identify new therapies against human gliomas or to optimize existing therapies.