Phase II study of axitinib with doublet chemotherapy in patients with advanced squamous non-small-cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Axitinib is an orally active and potent tyrosine kinase inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1, 2 and 3. This phase II study assessed the efficacy and safety of axitinib combined with cisplatin/gemcitabine in chemotherapy-naïve patients with advanced/metastatic (stage IIIB/IV) squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: Axitinib (starting dose 5 mg twice daily [bid]; titrated up or down to 2-10 mg bid) was administered orally on a continuous schedule with cisplatin (80 mg/m(2) intravenously [i.v.] every 3 weeks) and gemcitabine (1,250 mg/m(2) i.v. on days 1 and 8 of each 3-week cycle), and was continued as monotherapy after completion of six cycles (maximum) of chemotherapy. The primary study endpoint was objective response rate, as defined by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours. RESULTS: Of the 38 patients treated, one (2.6%) patient achieved a complete response and 14 (36.8%) patients had a partial response; nine (23.7%) patients showed stable disease and three (7.9%) patients had disease progression. Median progression-free survival was 6.2 months, and median overall survival was 14.2 months. The estimated probability of survival at 12 months and 24 months was 63.2% and 30.8%, respectively. The most frequent grade ≥3 toxicities were neutropaenia and hypertension (13.2% each). Three (7.9%) patients experienced haemoptysis, of which one case (2.6%) was fatal. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with the combination of axitinib and cisplatin/gemcitabine demonstrated anti-tumour activity in patients with advanced/metastatic squamous NSCLC and the fatal haemoptysis rate was low. However, without a reference arm (cisplatin/gemcitabine alone), it is not conclusive whether the combination is better than chemotherapy alone. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, registration # NCT00735904, on August 13, 2008.

Treatment of advanced thyroid cancer with axitinib: Phase 2 study with pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic and quality-of-life assessments.

BACKGROUND: In a previous phase 2 trial, axitinib was active and well tolerated in patients with advanced thyroid cancer. In this second phase 2 trial, the efficacy and safety of axitinib were evaluated further in this population, and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic relationships and patient-reported outcomes were assessed. METHODS: Patients (N = 52) with metastatic or unresectable, locally advanced medullary or differentiated thyroid cancer that was refractory or not amenable to iodine-131 received a starting dose of axitinib 5 mg twice daily. The primary endpoint was the objective response rate (ORR). Secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), safety, pharmacokinetic parameters, and patient-reported outcomes assessed with the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory questionnaire. RESULTS: The overall ORR was 35% (18 partial responses), and 18 patients had stable disease for ≥16 weeks. The median PFS was 16.1 months, and the median OS was 27.2 months. All-causality, grade ≥3 adverse events (>5%) were fatigue, dyspnea, diarrhea, decreased weight, pain in extremity, hypertension, decreased appetite, palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia, hypocalcemia, and myalgia. Patients who had greater axitinib exposure had a longer median PFS. Quality of life was maintained during treatment with axitinib, and no significant deterioration in symptoms or interference in daily life caused by symptoms, assessed on MD Anderson Symptom Inventory subscales, were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Axitinib has activity and a manageable safety profile while maintaining quality of life, and it represents an additional treatment option for patients with advanced thyroid cancer.

Randomized phase II study of pemetrexed/cisplatin with or without axitinib for non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy and safety of axitinib, a potent and selective second-generation inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1, 2, and 3 in combination with pemetrexed and cisplatin was evaluated in patients with advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: Overall, 170 patients were randomly assigned to receive axitinib at a starting dose of 5-mg twice daily continuously plus pemetrexed 500 mg/m(2) and cisplatin 75 mg/m(2) on day 1 of up to six 21-day cycles (arm I); axitinib on days 2 through 19 of each cycle plus pemetrexed/cisplatin (arm II); or pemetrexed/cisplatin alone (arm III). The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). RESULTS: Median PFS was 8.0, 7.9, and 7.1 months in arms I, II, and III, respectively (hazard ratio: arms I vs. III, 0.89 [P = 0.36] and arms II vs. III, 1.02 [P = 0.54]). Median overall survival was 17.0 months (arm I), 14.7 months (arm II), and 15.9 months (arm III). Objective response rates (ORRs) for axitinib-containing arms were 45.5% (arm I) and 39.7% (arm II) compared with 26.3% for pemetrexed/cisplatin alone (arm III). Gastrointestinal disorders and fatigue were frequently reported across all treatment arms. The most common all-causality grade ≥3 adverse events were hypertension in axitinib-containing arms (20% and 17%, arms I and II, respectively) and fatigue with pemetrexed/cisplatin alone (16%). CONCLUSION: Axitinib in combination with pemetrexed/cisplatin was generally well tolerated. Axitinib combinations resulted in non-significant differences in PFS and numerically higher ORR compared with chemotherapy alone in advanced NSCLC. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00768755 (October 7, 2008).

Sunitinib in pediatric patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor: results from a phase I/II trial.

BACKGROUND: Sunitinib is approved for treatment of adults with imatinib-resistant gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) or imatinib intolerance. METHODS: This single-arm, multicenter, multinational phase I/II clinical trial (NCT01396148) enrolled eligible patients aged 6 to < 18 years with advanced, unresectable GIST with non-mutant KIT, or who demonstrated disease progression or intolerance to imatinib. Patients received sunitinib 15 mg/m2 per day, 4-weeks-on/2-weeks-off (schedule 4/2), for ≤ 18 cycles over 24 months. Intra-patient dose escalation to 22.5 and subsequently 30 mg/m2 were permitted based on individual patient tolerability and supported by real-time pharmacokinetics (PK). Primary objective was PK characterization. Secondary objectives included safety, antitumor activity and PK/pharmacodynamic relationships. RESULTS: Six patients were enrolled with median (range) age of 14 (13-16) years. All six patients completed at least three treatment cycles, with one completing all 18 cycles. Five patients had a dose increase to 22.5 mg/m2; two of them had a further dose increase to 30 mg/m2. The average daily dose at cycle 3 was 21.1 mg/m2 (n = 6). Steady-state plasma concentrations were reached by day 15, cycle 1. No tumor responses were observed, but three patients had stabilization of the disease (50%). Median progression-free survival was 5.8 months (95% CI 2.3-not reached). There were no serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: The tolerable dose of sunitinib in chemotherapy-naïve pediatric patients is at least 20 mg/m2 on schedule 4/2. The safety profile and PK of sunitinib in pediatric patients with GIST are comparable to those in adults.

Lack of effect of smoking status on axitinib pharmacokinetics in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.

PURPOSE: Axitinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1-3, is approved for second-line treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma. Axitinib is partially metabolized by cytochrome P450 1A2, which is induced by chronic heavy smoking. The effect of smoking on axitinib pharmacokinetics was evaluated in a non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patient population with a large number of active and ex-smokers. METHODS: Data were pooled from six clinical studies-serial pharmacokinetics from two healthy volunteer studies (n = 58) and sparse pharmacokinetics from four NSCLC studies (n = 152)-for a nonlinear mixed effects modeling (NONMEM v7.2) analysis. Demographics, smoking status, liver and renal function status, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status were tested as covariates. RESULTS: There were 83 (40%) active smokers and 56 (27%) ex-smokers in the pooled dataset. Axitinib pharmacokinetics was adequately described with a linear, two-compartment model with a lagged first-order absorption. Final parameter estimates (inter-individual variability) were 16.1 L/h (59.1%) and 45.3 L (54.4%) for systemic clearance (CL) and central volume of distribution (Vc), respectively. Smoking status was found not to alter CL or Vc. Asian ethnicity and body weight were significant covariates for Vc, but were not considered clinically relevant since individual values of Vc for Asians were within the range of non-Asians. CONCLUSIONS: Based on this analysis, smoking status does not affect area under plasma concentration-time curve, and thus no dose adjustment is required for smokers.

Pharmacokinetics and renal effects of cidofovir with a reduced dose of probenecid in HIV-infected patients with cytomegalovirus retinitis.

To reduce possible nephrotoxicity, intravenous prehydration with normal saline and administration of probenecid must be used with each infusing of the antiviral cidofovir. The recommended standard-dose probenecid (SDP) regimen is 2 g at 3 hours before cidofovir, then 1 g at 2 and 8 hours after cidofovir (total 4 g). A new regimen of reduced-dose probenecid (RDP), 2 g at 1 hour before cidofovir without additional probenecid administrations after infusion (total 2 g), was compared with SDP using a randomized, open-label, parallel design. A single dose of cidofovir (5 mg/kg) was given as a 1-hour infusion after saline prehydration to 24 HIV-infected patients (11 males, 13 females) with cytomegalovirus retinitis and good renal function. Blood was sampled for 48 hours and urine for 24 hours after the start of the cidofovir infusion. Cidofovir pharmacokinetics did not differ significantly between groups. Average key pharmacokinetic parameters (Cmax, tmax, lambda z, AUC0-infinity, Vss, CL, CLR, fe, ER) for RDP differed by less than 17% from SDP and were consistent with previously reported SDP data. Renal function parameters, other safety endpoints, and adverse events were similar between the groups. Therefore, the reduced-dose regimen of probenecid provided renal protection after a single dose of cidofovir and did not alter the pharmacokinetics of cidofovir in patients with moderately good renal function. Although the overall pharmacokinetic results do not show a significant difference in cidofovir exposure with the new probenecid regimen, the main issue of safety of the new dose regimen, both relating to renal toxicity and probenecid-related adverse events, is not adequately addressed in a small study.

Five-year survival in patients with cytokine-refractory metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated with axitinib.

BACKGROUND: In a phase II study of axitinib for cytokine-refractory metastatic renal cell carcinoma, median overall survival (OS) was 29.9 months (95% CI, 20.3 to not estimable months). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Long-term survival data were collected retrospectively from 52 patients with cytokine-refractory metastatic renal cell carcinoma who received axitinib in a completed phase II study (protocol 1), 11 of whom enrolled in a continuing access protocol (protocol 2), for the current observational study (protocol 3). In a post hoc analysis, the patients were grouped into quartiles based on cycle 1 day 1, 1- to 2-hour post-dose axitinib plasma levels to explore the impact of drug exposure on efficacy. RESULTS: The 5-year survival rate was 20.6% (95% CI, 10.9%-32.4%), with a median follow-up of 5.9 years. Frequent all-grade adverse events were fatigue (n = 38; 73.1%), diarrhea (n = 34; 65.4%), hypertension (n = 33; 63.5%), and nausea (n = 33; 63.5%). Quartile 3 patients (axitinib level, 45.2-56.4 ng/mL; n = 12) had the best clinical outcome: objective response rate 82%, median progression-free survival (PFS) 28.3 months, and median OS that was not reached after 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: Axitinib was well tolerated and provided an estimated 5-year survival rate of 20.6% for cytokine-refractory metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Exploratory analyses showed numerically higher objective response rate and longer OS and PFS in patients who achieved post-first-dose axitinib plasma concentrations within a specific range.