Phase 3 assessment of the automated bone scan index as a prognostic imaging biomarker of overall survival in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer a secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial

IMPORTANCE Prostate cancer commonly metastasizes to bone, and bone metastases are associated with pathologic fractures, pain, and reduced survival. Bone disease is routinely visualized using the technetium Tc 99m(99mTc) bone scan; however, the standard interpretation of bone scan data relies on subjective manual assessment of counting metastatic lesion numbers. There is an unmet need for an objective and fully quantitative assessment of bone scan data. OBJECTIVE To clinically assess in a prospectively defined analysis plan of a clinical trial the automated Bone Scan Index (aBSI) as an independent prognostic determinant of overall survival (OS) in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This investigationwas a prospectively planned analysis of the aBSI in a phase 3 multicenter randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of tasquinimod (10TASQ10). Men with bone metastatic chemotherapy-naïve CRPC were recruited at 241 sites in 37 countries between March 2011 and August 2015. The statistical analysis plan to clinically evaluate the aBSI was prospectively defined and locked before unmasking of the 10TASQ10 study. The analysis of aBSI was conducted between May 25, 2016, and June 3, 2017. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The associations of baseline aBSI with OS, radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS), time to symptomatic progression, and time to opiate use for cancer pain. RESULTS Of the total 1245 men enrolled, 721 were evaluable for the aBSI. The mean (SD) age (available for 719 men) was 70.6 (8.0) years (age range, 47-90 years). The aBSI population was representative of the total study population based on baseline characteristics. The aBSI (median, 1.07; range, 0-32.60) was significantly associated with OS (hazard ratio [HR], 1.20; 95%CI, 1.14-1.26; P < .001). The median OS by aBSI quartile (lowest to highest) was 34.7, 27.3, 21.7, and 13.3 months, respectively. The discriminative ability of the aBSI (C index, 0.63) in prognosticating OS was significantly higher than that of the manual lesion counting (C index, 0.60) (P = .03). In a multivariable survival model, a higher aBSI remained independently associated with OS (HR, 1.06; 95%CI, 1.01-1.11; P = .03). A higher aBSI was also independently associated with time to symptomatic progression (HR, 1.18; 95%CI, 1.13-1.23; P < .001) and time to opiate use for cancer pain (HR, 1.21; 95%CI, 1.14-1.30; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE To date, this investigation is the largest prospectively analyzed study to validate the aBSI as an independent prognostic imaging biomarker of survival in mCRPC. These data support the prognostic utility of the aBSI as an objective imaging biomarker in the design and eligibility of clinical trials of systemic therapies for patients with mCRPC

A Randomized Phase II/III Study of Naptumomab Estafenatox + IFNα versus IFNα in Renal Cell Carcinoma: Final Analysis with Baseline Biomarker Subgroup and Trend Analysis

Purpose: To prospectively determine the efficacy of naptumomab estafenatox (Nap) þ IFNa versus IFN in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Experimental Design: In a randomized, open-label, multicenter, phase II/III study, 513 patients with RCC received Nap (15 mg/ kg i. v. in three cycles of four once-daily injections) + IFN (9 MU s. c. three times weekly), or the same regimen of IFN monotherapy. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). Results: This phase II/III study did notmeetits primary endpoint. Median OS/PFS for Nap + IFN patients was 17.1/5.8 months versus 17.5/5.8 months for the patients receiving IFN alone (P = 0.56; HR, 1.08/P = 0.41; HR, 0.92). Post hoc exploratory subgroup and trend analysis revealed that the baseline plasma concentrations of antiSEA/E-120 (anti-Nap antibodies) for drug exposure and IL6 for immune status could be used as predictive biomarkers. A subgroup of patients (SG; n = 130) having concentrations below median of anti-SEA/E-120 and IL6 benefitted greatly from the addition of Nap. In SG, median OS/PFS for the patients treated with Nap þ IFN was 63.3/13.7 months versus 31.1/5.8 months for the patients receiving IFN alone (P = 0.02; HR, 0.59/P = 0.02; HR, 0.62). Addition of Nap to IFN showed predicted and transient immune related AEs and the treatment had an acceptable safety profile. Conclusions: The study did not meet its primary endpoint. Nap + IFN has an acceptable safety profile, and results from post hoc subgroup analyses showed that the treatment might improve OS/PFS in a baseline biomarker-defined RCC patient subgroup. The results warrant further studies with Nap in this subgroup