RELAY, ramucirumab plus erlotinib versus placebo plus erlotinib in patients with untreated, EGFR-mutated, metastatic non-small cell lung cancer: Europe/United States subset analysis.

Background: In EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC, dual EGFR/VEGFR inhibition compared to EGFR alone increases anti-tumor efficacy. The Phase III RELAY trial demonstrated superior PFS for ramucirumab plus erlotinib (RAM + ERL) over placebo plus erlotinib (PBO + ERL) (HR 0.591 [95% CI 0.461–0.760], p<0.0001). EGFR mutated NSCLC is less prevalent in Western versus Asian patients. This prespecified analysis evaluates efficacy and safety of RAM + ERL in EU and US patients enrolled in RELAY. Patients and Methods: Patients were randomized 1:1 to ERL + RAM (10 mg/kg IV) or PBO Q2W. Treatment continued until unacceptable toxicity or progressive disease. Patients were stratified by geographic region (East Asia vs "other" [EU/US and Canada (EU/US)]). Objectives included PFS, ORR, DoR, OS, PFS2, safety and biomarker analysis. Results: EU/US subset included 113/449 (25.9%) patients (58 RAM + ERL, 55 PBO + ERL). RAM + ERL improved PFS (20.6 vs 10.9 months, HR 0.605 [95% CI: 0.362–1.010]). ORR and DCR were similar, but median DoR was longer with RAM + ERL (18.0 vs 10.1 months, HR 0.527 [95% CI: 0.296–0.939]). OS and PFS2 were immature at data cut-off (censoring rates 81.0–81.8% and 67.3–79.3%, respectively). Most commonly reported Grade ≥3 TEAE for RAM + ERL was hypertension (17 [29.8%]) and for PBO + ERL, dermatitis acneiform (5 [9.1%]). Conclusion: EU/US subset analysis showed improved efficacy outcomes for RAM + ERL and a safety profile consistent with the overall population. Ramucirumab is a safe and effective addition to standard-of-care EGFR-TKI for EGFR mutation-positive metastatic NSCLC

RELAY Subgroup Analyses by EGFR Ex19del and Ex21L858R Mutations for Ramucirumab Plus Erlotinib in Metastatic Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer

Purpose: In E GFR-mutated metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), outcomes from EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors have differed historically by mutation type present, with lower benefit reported in patients with ex21L858R versus ex19del mutations. We investigated if EGFR-activating mutation subtypes impact treatment outcomes in the phase III RELAY study. Associations between EGFR mutation type and preexisting co-occurring and treatment-emergent genetic alterations were also explored. Patients and Methods: Patients with metastatic NSCLC, an EGFR ex19del or ex21L858R mutation, and no central nervous system metastases were randomized (1:1) to erlotinib (150 mg/day) with either ramucirumab (10 mg/kg; RAM+ERL) or placebo (PBO+ERL), every 2 weeks, until RECIST v1.1-defined progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary and exploratory endpoints included overall response rate (ORR), duration of response (DOR), PFS2, time-to-chemotherapy (TTCT), safety, and next-generation sequencing analyses. Results: Patients with ex19del and ex21L858R mutations had similar clinical characteristics and comutational profiles. One-year PFS rates for ex19del patients were 74% for RAM+ERL versus 54% for PBO+ERL; for ex21L858R rates were 70% (RAM+ERL) versus 47% (PBO+ERL). Similar treatment benefits (ORR, DOR, PFS2, and TTCT) were observed in RAM+ERL-treated patients with ex19del and ex21L858R. Baseline TP53 comutation was associated with superior outcomes for RAM+ERL in both ex19del and ex21L858R subgroups. EGFR T790M mutation rate at progression was similar between treatment arms and by mutation type. Conclusions: RAM+ERL provided significant clinical benefit for both EGFR ex19del and ex21L858R NSCLC, supporting this regimen as suitable for patients with either of these EGFR mutation types

A phase 1b study of necitumumab in combination with abemaciclib in patients with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer

International audienceNecitumumab, an anti-EGFR antibody, and abemaciclib, a CDK4/6 inhibitor, have shown activity in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and have non-overlapping toxicities. A 2-part, single-arm, multicenter, phase 1b trial was conducted to test the safety and efficacy of necitumumab plus abemaciclib in patients with advanced NSCLC who had received ≤2 lines of chemotherapy, including a platinum-based one

Phase II study of pemetrexed and cisplatin plus cetuximab followed by pemetrexed and cetuximab maintenance therapy in patients with advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer

Objectives: The aim was to determine if combined pemetrexed, cisplatin, and cetuximab was efficacious and safe as first-line treatment in advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients and methods: In this single-arm, multicenter clinical trial, patients with Stage IIIB/IV nonsquamous NSCLC received first-line therapy consisting of pemetrexed (500 mg/m(2)) and cisplatin (75 mg/m2) on Day 1 (21-day cycles) plus weekly cetuximab (400 mg/m(2) loading dose, then 250 mg/m(2)) for 4-6 cycles. Non-progressing patients received maintenance therapy consisting of pemetrexed and cetuximab as above until disease progression. All patients received vitamin supplementation, dexamethasone, and antihistamine prophylaxis. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR). Secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS), 1-year survival rate, translational research (TR) and safety. Results: Of the 113 patients receiving study drug, 109 were protocol-qualified. All patients completed &gt;= 1 cycle of induction, and 51 (45%) and 49 (43%) patients completed &gt;= 1 cycle of maintenance with pemetrexed and cetuximab, respectively. The ORR (n=109) was 38.5% (80% confidence interval [CI], 32.3-45.1%), all partial responses. Median PFS was 5.8 (80% CI, 4.4-6.7) months. One-year survival rate was 45% (80% CI, 39-51%). In exploratory analyses, there was some preliminary evidence of potential prognostic relationships with efficacy outcomes for epidermal growth factor receptor and thyroid transcription factor-1 protein expression, but not for KRAS mutation or for thymidylate synthase or folate receptor-alpha protein expression. Seventy-three (64.6%) patients had study drug-related Grade 3/4 adverse events (AEs). Drug-related serious AEs were reported in 31 (27.4%) patients. There were 3 (2.7%) potentially drug-related deaths on-study or within 30 days of follow up. Conclusion: Pemetrexed, cisplatin, and cetuximab appeared efficacious and tolerable in advanced nonsquamous NSCLC patients. The TR outcomes are hypothesis-generating given the study’s size and nonrandomized nature. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Ramucirumab Plus Erlotinib Versus Placebo Plus Erlotinib in Patients With Untreated Metastatic EGFR-Mutated NSCLC: RELAY Japanese Subset

Introduction: The phase 3 RELAY global study (NCT02411448) revealed significant improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) with ramucirumab plus erlotinib (RAM + ERL) compared with placebo plus ERL (PL + ERL) in untreated EGFR-mutated metastatic NSCLC (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.59 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.46–0.76, p < 0.0001]). This prespecified analysis evaluates efficacy, safety, and postprogression EGFR T790M rates of RELAY patients enrolled in Japan. Methods: Patients were randomized (1:1) to oral ERL (150 mg/d) plus intravenous RAM (10 mg/kg) or PL every 2 weeks. End points included PFS (primary), safety (secondary), and biomarker analyses (exploratory). Plasma samples collected at baseline and poststudy treatment discontinuation were evaluated for EGFR T790M mutations by next-generation sequencing. Results: The Japanese subset included 211 of 449 (47.0%) RELAY patients (RAM + ERL, n = 106; PL + ERL, n = 105). Median PFS was 19.4 versus 11.2 months for RAM + ERL versus PL + ERL treatment (HR = 0.610 [0.431–0.864]) in the Japanese intent-to-treat population, 16.6 versus 12.5 months (HR = 0.701 [0.424–1.159]) in the EGFR exon 19 deletion subgroup, and 19.4 versus 10.9 months (HR = 0.514 [0.317–0.835]) in the EGFR exon 21 L858R subgroup, respectively. Adverse events of grade 3 or above with RAM + ERL included hypertension (24.8%, all grade 3) and dermatitis acneiform (23.8%). Postprogression treatment-emergent T790M rates were similar between arms (RAM + ERL: 47%, 9 of 19 patients; PL + ERL: 50%, 20 of 40 patients). Conclusions: Clinically meaningful efficacy was observed with RAM + ERL versus PL + ERL in the RELAY Japanese subset, with no new safety concerns. Postprogression T790M rates were similar across treatment arms, indicating the addition of RAM did not affect the ERL-associated EGFR T790M rates at disease progression