NRG/RTOG 1122: A phase 2, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study of bevacizumab with and without trebananib in patients with recurrent glioblastoma or gliosarcoma.

BACKGROUND: Targeting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) alone does not improve overall survival (OS) in recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM). The angiopoiein (Ang)-TIE2 system may play a role in tumor survival under VEGF inhibition. We conducted a phase 2, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of bevacizumab plus trebananib (a novel Fc fusion protein that sequesters Ang1/Ang2) over bevacizumab alone in rGBM. METHODS: Patients ≥18 years of age with a Karnofsky performance status ≥70 and GBM or variants in first or second relapse were randomized to bevacizumab 10 mg/kg every 2 weeks plus trebananib 15 mg/kg every week or bevacizumab plus placebo. The primary endpoint was 6-month progression-free survival (PFS). RESULTS: After an initial 6-patient lead-in cohort confirmed the safety of combining bevacizumab and trebananib, 115 eligible patients were randomized to the control (n = 58) or experimental treatment (n = 57). In the control arm, 6-month PFS was 41.1%, median survival time was 11.5 months (95% CI, 8.4-14.2 months), median PFS was 4.8 months (95% CI, 3.8-7.1 months), and radiographic response (RR) was 5.9%. In the experimental arm, 6-month PFS was 22.6%, median survival time was 7.5 months (95% CI, 6.8-10.1 months), median PFS was 4.2 months (95% CI, 3.7-5.6 months), and RR was 4.2%. The rate of severe toxicities was not significantly different between arms. CONCLUSION: The combination of bevacizumab and trebananib was well tolerated but did not significantly improve 6-month PFS rate, PFS, or OS for patients with rGBM over bevacizumab alone. The shorter PFS in the experimental arm with a hazard ratio of 1.51 (P = .04) suggests that the addition of trebananib to bevacizumab is detrimental.

First results on survival from a large Phase 3 clinical trial of an autologous dendritic cell vaccine in newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

BACKGROUND: Standard therapy for glioblastoma includes surgery, radiotherapy, and temozolomide. This Phase 3 trial evaluates the addition of an autologous tumor lysate-pulsed dendritic cell vaccine (DCVax®-L) to standard therapy for newly diagnosed glioblastoma. METHODS: After surgery and chemoradiotherapy, patients were randomized (2:1) to receive temozolomide plus DCVax-L (n = 232) or temozolomide and placebo (n = 99). Following recurrence, all patients were allowed to receive DCVax-L, without unblinding. The primary endpoint was progression free survival (PFS); the secondary endpoint was overall survival (OS). RESULTS: For the intent-to-treat (ITT) population (n = 331), median OS (mOS) was 23.1 months from surgery. Because of the cross-over trial design, nearly 90% of the ITT population received DCVax-L. For patients with methylated MGMT (n = 131), mOS was 34.7 months from surgery, with a 3-year survival of 46.4%. As of this analysis, 223 patients are ≥ 30 months past their surgery date; 67 of these (30.0%) have lived ≥ 30 months and have a Kaplan-Meier (KM)-derived mOS of 46.5 months. 182 patients are ≥ 36 months past surgery; 44 of these (24.2%) have lived ≥ 36 months and have a KM-derived mOS of 88.2 months. A population of extended survivors (n = 100) with mOS of 40.5 months, not explained by known prognostic factors, will be analyzed further. Only 2.1% of ITT patients (n = 7) had a grade 3 or 4 adverse event that was deemed at least possibly related to the vaccine. Overall adverse events with DCVax were comparable to standard therapy alone. CONCLUSIONS: Addition of DCVax-L to standard therapy is feasible and safe in glioblastoma patients, and may extend survival. Trial registration Funded by Northwest Biotherapeutics; Clinicaltrials.gov number: NCT00045968; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00045968?term=NCT00045968&rank=1 ; initially registered 19 September 2002.

Correction to: First results on survival from a large Phase 3 clinical trial of an autologous dendritic cell vaccine in newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors reported an error in the spelling of one of the author names. In this Correction the incorrect and correct author names are indicated and the author name has been updated in the original publication. The authors also reported an error in the Methods section of the original article. In this Correction the incorrect and correct versions of the affected sentence are indicated. The original article has not been updated with regards to the error in the Methods section.

Phase 1 Study of Ipilimumab Combined With Whole Brain Radiation Therapy or Radiosurgery for Melanoma Patients With Brain Metastases.

PURPOSE: We performed a phase 1 study to determine the maximum tolerable dose and safety of ipilimumab with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) or whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) in patients with brain metastases from melanoma. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Based on the intracranial disease burden, patients underwent WBRT (arm A) or SRS (arm B). The ipilimumab starting dose was 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, starting on day 3 of WBRT or 2 days after SRS. The ipilimumab dose was escalated to 10 mg/kg using a 2-stage, 3+3 design. The primary endpoint was to determine the maximum tolerable dose of ipilimumab combined with radiation therapy. The secondary endpoints were overall survival, intracranial and extracranial control, progression-free survival, and toxicity. The ClinicalTrials.gov registration number is NCT01703507. RESULTS: The characteristics of the 16 patients enrolled between 2011 and 2014 were mean age, 60 years; median number of brain metastases, 2 (range 1->10); and number with EC disease, 13 (81%). Treatment included WBRT (n=5), SRS (n=11), and ipilimumab 3 mg/kg (n=7) or 10 mg/kg (n=9). The median follow-up was 8 months (arm A) and 10.5 months (arm B). A total of 21 grade 1 to 2 neurotoxic effects occurred, with no dose-limiting toxicities. One patient experienced grade 3 neurotoxicity before ipilimumab administration. Ten additional grade 3 toxicities were reported, with gastrointestinal toxicities (n=5; 31%) the most common. No patient developed grade 4 or 5 toxicity. The median progression-free survival and overall survival in arm A was 2.5 months and 8 months and in arm B was 2.1 months and not reached, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Concurrent ipilimumab 10 mg/kg with SRS is safe. The WBRT arm was closed early because of slow accrual but demonstrated safety with ipilimumab 3 mg/kg. No patient experienced dose-limiting toxicity. Larger studies, including those with combination checkpoint inhibitor therapy and SRS, are warranted.