Paclitaxel, bevacizumab, and everolimus/placebo as first-line treatment for patients with metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer: a randomized placebo-controlled phase II trial of the Sarah Cannon Research Institute.

Amplified PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling is common in metastatic breast cancer (MBC). The mTOR inhibitor everolimus improves progression-free survival (PFS) when added to steroidal aromatase inhibitor therapy. This randomized phase II trial compares the efficacy of paclitaxel/bevacizumab/everolimus and paclitaxel/bevacizumab/placebo as first-line treatment for MBC. Patients with untreated HER2-negative MBC were randomized (1:1) to receive 28-day cycles of paclitaxel 90 mg/m(2) IV (days 1, 8, and 15) and bevacizumab 10 mg/kg IV (days 1, 15) with either everolimus 10 mg (Arm 1) or placebo (Arm 2) daily. Treatment continued (evaluation every 8 weeks) until progression or unacceptable toxicity. Treatment of 110 patients allowed detection of an improvement in median PFS from 11 to 16 months (70 % power, α = 0.10). Between August 2009 and June 2011, 113 patients (median age 58 years; 88 % ER or PR positive) were randomized (Arm 1, 56; Arm 2, 57). Patients in both arms received a median of six treatment cycles. Median PFS (95 % CI) was 9.1 months (6.8-18.8) for Arm 1, and 7.1 months (5.6-10.8) for Arm 2 (p = 0.89). Comparisons of other efficacy endpoints were also similar in the two treatment arms. Patients receiving everolimus had more anemia, stomatitis, diarrhea, rash, and arthralgia/myalgia, although the overall incidence of severe (grade 3/4) toxicity was similar. The addition of everolimus did not improve the efficacy of weekly paclitaxel/bevacizumab as first-line treatment for patients with HER2-negative MBC. These results contrast with the demonstrated efficacy of adding everolimus to either hormonal or HER2-targeted therapy in previously treated patients.

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase II trial of sorafenib and erlotinib or erlotinib alone in previously treated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

PURPOSE: Sorafenib, an oral multikinase inhibitor, has shown preliminary activity in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients with advanced NSCLC were treated with erlotinib with or without sorafenib in this multicenter phase II trial. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Key eligibility criteria included the following: stage IIIB or IV NSCLC; one to two prior regimens; Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 to 2; and measurable disease. Patients were randomly assigned 2:1 to sorafenib (400 mg orally twice a day) plus erlotinib (150 mg orally daily) or placebo plus erlotinib and stratified by squamous/nonsquamous histology and prior bevacizumab. Treatment efficacy, measured by progression-free survival (PFS) and overall response rate (ORR), was compared. Treatment of 168 patients allowed detection of 40% improvement in the historical PFS of 2.2 months with single-agent erlotinib. RESULTS: One hundred sixty-eight patients enrolled from February 2008 to February 2009. Clinical characteristics of the two groups were similar. ORRs for sorafenib/erlotinib and placebo/erlotinib were 8% and 11%, respectively (P = .56); disease control rates were 54% and 38%, respectively (P = .056). Median PFS was 3.38 months for sorafenib/erlotinib versus 1.94 months for placebo/erlotinib (hazard ratio, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.60 to 1.22; P = .196). Seventy-two patients consented to analyses of tumor epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). In 67 patients with EGFR wild-type (WT) tumors, median PFS was 3.38 months for sorafenib/erlotinib versus 1.77 months for placebo/erlotinib (P = .018); median overall survival (OS) was 8 months for sorafenib/erlotinib versus 4.5 months for placebo/erlotinib (P = .019). An OS advantage for sorafenib/erlotinib was suggested among 43 patients with fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) EGFR-negative tumors (P = .064). Both regimens were tolerable, with modest toxicity increase with sorafenib. CONCLUSION: Although there was little difference in ORR or PFS, subset analyses in EGFR WT and EGFR FISH-negative patients suggest a benefit for the combination of erlotinib/sorafenib compared with single-agent erlotinib with respect to PFS and OS.