Clinical Activity of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase-Targeted Therapies in Patients With Non-V600 BRAF-Mutant Tumors.

PURPOSE: Non-V600 mutations comprise approximately 35% of all BRAF mutations in cancer. Many of these mutations have been identified as oncogenic drivers and can be classified into three classes according to molecular characteristics. Consensus treatment strategies for class 2 and 3 BRAF mutations have not yet been established. METHODS: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis with published reports of individual patients with cancer harboring class 2 or 3 BRAF mutations from 2010 to 2021, to assess treatment outcomes with US Food and Drug Administration-approved mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway targeted therapy (MAPK TT) according to BRAF class, cancer type, and MAPK TT type. Coprimary outcomes were response rate and progression-free survival. RESULTS: A total of 18,167 studies were screened, identifying 80 studies with 238 patients who met inclusion criteria. This included 167 patients with class 2 and 71 patients with class 3 BRAF mutations. Overall, 77 patients achieved a treatment response. In both univariate and multivariable analyses, response rate and progression-free survival were higher among patients with class 2 compared with class 3 mutations, findings that remain when analyses are restricted to patients with melanoma or lung primary cancers. MEK ± BRAF inhibitors demonstrated greater clinical activity in class 2 compared with class 3 BRAF-mutant tumors than BRAF or EGFR inhibitors. CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis suggests that MAPK TTs have clinical activity in some class 2 and 3 BRAF-mutant cancers. BRAF class may dictate responsiveness to current and emerging treatment strategies, particularly in melanoma and lung cancers. Together, this analysis provides clinical validation of predictions made on the basis of a mutation classification system established in the preclinical literature. Further evaluation with prospective clinical trials is needed for this population.

First-in-Class ERK1/2 Inhibitor Ulixertinib (BVD-523) in Patients with MAPK Mutant Advanced Solid Tumors: Results of a Phase I Dose-Escalation and Expansion Study.

Ulixertinib (BVD-523) is an ERK1/2 kinase inhibitor with potent preclinical activity in BRAF- and RAS-mutant cell lines. In this multicenter phase I trial (NCT01781429), 135 patients were enrolled to an accelerated 3 + 3 dose-escalation cohort and six distinct dose-expansion cohorts. Dose escalation included 27 patients, dosed from 10 to 900 mg twice daily and established the recommended phase II dose (RP2D) of 600 mg twice daily. Ulixertinib exposure was dose proportional to the RP2D, which provided near-complete inhibition of ERK activity in whole blood. In the 108-patient expansion cohort, 32% of patients required dose reduction. The most common treatment-related adverse events were diarrhea (48%), fatigue (42%), nausea (41%), and dermatitis acneiform (31%). Partial responses were seen in 3 of 18 (17%) patients dosed at or above maximum tolerated dose and in 11 of 81 (14%) evaluable patients in dose expansion. Responses occurred in patients with NRAS-, BRAF V600-, and non-V600 BRAF-mutant solid tumors.Significance: Here, we describe the first-in-human dose-escalation study of an ERK1/2 inhibitor for the treatment of patients with advanced solid tumors. Ulixertinib has an acceptable safety profile with favorable pharmacokinetics and has shown early evidence of clinical activity in NRAS- and BRAF V600- and non-V600-mutant solid-tumor malignancies. Cancer Discov; 8(2); 184-95. ©2017 AACR.See related commentary by Smalley and Smalley, p. 140This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 127.

Exercise-mediated improvements in painful neuropathy associated with prediabetes in mice.

Recent research suggests that exercise can be effective in reducing pain in animals and humans with neuropathic pain. To investigate mechanisms in which exercise may improve hyperalgesia associated with prediabetes, C57Bl/6 mice were fed either standard chow or a high-fat diet for 12 weeks and were provided access to running wheels (exercised) or without access (sedentary). The high-fat diet induced a number of prediabetic symptoms, including increased weight, blood glucose, and insulin levels. Exercise reduced but did not restore these metabolic abnormalities to normal levels. In addition, mice fed a high-fat diet developed significant cutaneous and visceral hyperalgesia, similar to mice that develop neuropathy associated with diabetes. Finally, a high-fat diet significantly modulated neurotrophin protein expression in peripheral tissues and altered the composition of epidermal innervation. Over time, mice that exercised normalized with regards to their behavioral hypersensitivity, neurotrophin levels, and epidermal innervation. These results confirm that elevated hypersensitivity and associated neuropathic changes can be induced by a high-fat diet and exercise may alleviate these neuropathic symptoms. These findings suggest that exercise intervention could significantly improve aspects of neuropathy and pain associated with obesity and diabetes. Additionally, this work could potentially help clinicians determine those patients who will develop painful versus insensate neuropathy using intraepidermal nerve fiber quantification.

Peripheral nervous system insulin resistance in ob/ob mice.

BACKGROUND: A reduction in peripheral nervous system (PNS) insulin signaling is a proposed mechanism that may contribute to sensory neuron dysfunction and diabetic neuropathy. Neuronal insulin resistance is associated with several neurological disorders and recent evidence has indicated that dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons in primary culture display altered insulin signaling, yet in vivo results are lacking. Here, experiments were performed to test the hypothesis that the PNS of insulin-resistant mice displays altered insulin signal transduction in vivo. For these studies, nondiabetic control and type 2 diabetic ob/ob mice were challenged with an intrathecal injection of insulin or insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and downstream signaling was evaluated in the DRG and sciatic nerve using Western blot analysis. RESULTS: The results indicate that insulin signaling abnormalities documented in other "insulin sensitive" tissues (i.e. muscle, fat, liver) of ob/ob mice are also present in the PNS. A robust increase in Akt activation was observed with insulin and IGF-1 stimulation in nondiabetic mice in both the sciatic nerve and DRG; however this response was blunted in both tissues from ob/ob mice. The results also suggest that upregulated JNK activation and reduced insulin receptor expression could be contributory mechanisms of PNS insulin resistance within sensory neurons. CONCLUSIONS: These findings contribute to the growing body of evidence that alterations in insulin signaling occur in the PNS and may be a key factor in the pathogenesis of diabetic neuropathy.