TPS8125 Background: Sarcomatoid mesothelioma is the most aggressive form of pleural mesothelioma and is associated with the worst prognosis of the histologic variants of this disease. In the Checkmate 743 clinical trial the patients with sarcomatoid mesothelioma who received ipilimumab and nivolumab had survival outcomes that were similar to those of patients with epithelioid mesothelioma. In comparison, the patients with sarcomatoid mesothelioma who received chemotherapy had the worst outcomes in this trial, highlighting the known limited efficacy of chemotherapy against this histologic variant. Checkmate 743 demonstrated that ipilimumab and nivolumab is a new standard of care for non-epithelioid mesothelioma. Surgery typically has not been offered to this group of patients given their historically poor outcomes. With the significant survival gains seen patients with sarcomatoid mesothelioma treated with immunotherapy, we hypothesized that surgery may extend the benefits seen with immunotherapy. Methods: Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology A082101 is a prospective, phase 2 nonrandomized clinical trial for patients with sarcomatoid mesothelioma. The co-primary objectives are to determine the percentage of patients with potentially resectable sarcomatoid mesothelioma able to proceed with surgery after neoadjuvant ipilimumab and nivolumab, and the progression-free survival (PFS) at 12 months (12-month PFS) after the initiation of ipilimumab and nivolumab. For sample size determination, we assumed that if the true rate of surgery is 75% or greater, it would indicate that neoadjuvant immunotherapy is feasible to be given prior to surgery. On the other hand, if the true rate of surgery is 50% or less it would indicate that neoadjuvant immunotherapy is not worthy of further investigation. Twenty-six (26) eligible patients will be needed to receive neoadjuvant immunotherapy. If 16 or fewer of the 26 eligible patients proceed to surgery, it will be concluded that the experimental therapy is not worthy of further investigation. Otherwise, it will be concluded that the experimental therapy is worthy of further investigation. Safety monitoring will be done through a 6-week run-in for the first 10 patients to assess for pre-operative and post-operative toxicities and complications. Sequential boundaries will be used to monitor severe toxicity and complication rates. Accrual will be halted if excessive numbers of severe toxicity and complications in pre-operative and post-operative phases are seen. The accrual and safety data will be summarized in reports for semiannual reviews by Alliance Data and Safety Monitoring Board. Tumor and blood-based biomarkers will be included as exploratory biomarkers. Support: U10CA180821, U10CA180882, U24 CA196171; https://acknowledgments.alliancefound.org . Clinical trial information: NCT05647265 .
Neoadjuvant immunotherapy in sarcomatoid mesothelioma (Alliance A082101).
TPS8602 Background: Sarcomatoid mesothelioma is the most aggressive form of pleural mesothelioma and is associated with the worst prognosis of the histologic variants of this disease. In the Checkmate 743 clinical trial the patients with sarcomatoid mesothelioma who received ipilimumab and nivolumab had survival outcomes that were similar to those of patients with epithelioid mesothelioma. In comparison, the patients with sarcomatoid mesothelioma who received chemotherapy had the worst outcomes in this trial, highlighting the known limited efficacy of chemotherapy against this histologic variant. Checkmate 743 demonstrated that ipilimumab and nivolumab is a new standard of care for non-epithelioid mesothelioma. Surgery typically has not been offered to this group of patients given their historically poor outcomes. With the significant survival gains seen patients with sarcomatoid mesothelioma treated with immunotherapy, we hypothesized that surgery may extend the benefits seen with immunotherapy. Methods: Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology A082101 is a prospective, phase 2 nonrandomized clinical trial for patients with sarcomatoid mesothelioma. The co-primary objectives are to determine the percentage of patients with potentially resectable sarcomatoid mesothelioma able to proceed with surgery after neoadjuvant ipilimumab and nivolumab, and the progression-free survival (PFS) at 12 months (12-month PFS). For sample size determination, we assumed that if the true rate of surgery is 75% or greater, it would indicate that neoadjuvant immunotherapy is feasible to be given prior to surgery. On the other hand, if the true rate of surgery is 50% or less it would indicate that neoadjuvant immunotherapy is not worthy of further investigation. Twenty-six (26) eligible patients will be needed to receive neoadjuvant immunotherapy. If 16 or fewer of the 26 eligible patients proceed to surgery, it will be concluded that the experimental therapy is not worthy of further investigation. Otherwise, it will be concluded that the experimental therapy is worthy of further investigation. Safety monitoring will be done through a 6-week run-in for the first 10 patients to assess for pre-operative and post-operative toxicities and complications. Sequential boundaries will be used to monitor severe toxicity and complication rates. Accrual will be halted if excessive numbers of severe toxicity and complications in pre-operative and post-operative phases are seen. Tumor and blood-based biomarkers will be included as exploratory biomarkers. Clinical trial information: NCT05647265 .
Randomized Phase III Study of Enzalutamide Compared With Enzalutamide Plus Abiraterone for Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer (Alliance A031201 Trial)
PURPOSE Enzalutamide and abiraterone both target androgen receptor signaling but via different mechanisms. The mechanism of action of one drug may counteract the resistance pathways of the other. We sought to determine whether the addition of abiraterone acetate and prednisone (AAP) to enzalutamide prolongs overall survival (OS) in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) in the first-line setting. PATIENTS AND METHODS Men with untreated mCRPC were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive first-line enzalutamide with or without AAP. The primary end point was OS. Toxicity, prostate-specific antigen declines, pharmacokinetics, and radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) were also examined. Data were analyzed using an intent-to-treat approach. The Kaplan-Meier estimate and the stratified log-rank statistic were used to compare OS between treatments. RESULTS In total, 1,311 patients were randomly assigned: 657 to enzalutamide and 654 to enzalutamide plus AAP. OS was not statistically different between the two arms (median, 32.7 [95% CI, 30.5 to 35.4] months for enzalutamide v 34.2 [95% CI, 31.4 to 37.3] months for enzalutamide and AAP; hazard ratio [HR], 0.89; one-sided P = .03; boundary nominal significance level = .02). rPFS was longer in the combination arm (median rPFS, 21.3 [95% CI, 19.4 to 22.9] months for enzalutamide v 24.3 [95% CI, 22.3 to 26.7] months for enzalutamide and AAP; HR, 0.86; two-sided P = .02). However, pharmacokinetic clearance of abiraterone was 2.2- to 2.9-fold higher when administered with enzalutamide, compared with clearance values for abiraterone alone. CONCLUSION The addition of AAP to enzalutamide for first-line treatment of mCRPC was not associated with a statistically significant benefit in OS. Drug-drug interactions between the two agents resulting in increased abiraterone clearance may partly account for this result, although these interactions did not prevent the combination regimen from having more nonhematologic toxicity.
Alliance A031902 (CASPAR): A randomized phase (ph) 3 trial of enzalutamide with rucaparib/placebo in first-line metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).
TPS277 Background: Despite a growing number of treatment options for first-line mCRPC, approximately 40% of patients (pts) have radiographic progression within the first year. Co-inhibition of androgen receptor (AR) and PARP is a promising therapeutic strategy that leverages synthetic lethality induced by impaired double-strand DNA repair. Two phase III studies have shown improvement in radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) in HRR-mutant pts with abiraterone + PARPi combinations vs abiraterone alone. However, the results in HRR-wild type pts are conflicting, with only one of the studies demonstrating a benefit with the abiraterone + PARPi combination. ENZ + RUCA has shown an acceptable safety profile & no significant drug-drug interactions (S-DDI) in a phase 1b trial. This allows its evaluation in mCRPC. Methods: CASPAR (A031902) is a phase 3 study in which 984 pts will be randomized on a 1:1 basis to ENZ plus RUCA/PBO. HRR gene aberration is not required for enrollment. All pts will undergo next-generation targeted exome sequencing from archival tumor tissue (new biopsy only required if no archival tissue is available). Treatment will be continued until disease progression and crossover is not allowed. Key eligibility criteria are age ≥ 18 years, ECOG PS 0-2, biopsy-proven prostate adenocarcinoma, progressive (PSA or radiographic) disease per Prostate Cancer Working Group 3 guidelines, measurable or non-measurable disease per RECIST 1.1, no prior treatment for mCRPC (prior docetaxel, abiraterone, darolutamide, or apalutamide in non-mCRPC setting is allowed), no significant uncontrolled comorbidity, and no medications with S-DDI with ENZ/RUCA. Hierarchical co-primary endpoints are overall survival (OS) and rPFS. The OS analysis will be undertaken as a primary endpoint if the rPFS endpoint is met. For a one-sided logrank test with a type 1 error rate equal to 0.025, the study has 90% power to detect a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.71 in rPFS (median rPFS of 15 and 21 months in control and combination arms, respectively), and 80% power to detect an HR of 0.80 in OS (median OS of 32 and 40 months, respectively). Key secondary endpoints are rPFS and OS in pts with vs without pathogenic BRCA1, BRCA2, or PALB2 alterations; and differences in adverse events and quality of life (QOL) outcomes between the treatment arms. QOL assessments include Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Prostate (FACT-P), Brief Pain Inventory Short Form (BPI-SF), and EQ-5D-5L. A key correlative endpoint is the sensitivity of ctDNA testing for HRR gene alterations. Enrollment began in July 2021 & the study is available for participation to all US-NCTN sites. Clinical trial information: NCT04455750 .
Lobar or Sublobar Resection for Peripheral Stage IA Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer
Alliance A031902 (CASPAR): A randomized, phase (ph) 3 trial of enzalutamide with rucaparib/placebo in first-line metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).
TPS5107 Background: Despite a growing number of treatment options for first line mCRPC, approximately 40% of patients (pts) have radiographic progression within the first year. Androgen receptor (AR) signaling inhibition increases genomic instability with double-strand DNA breaks & co-inhibition of AR & PARP induces synthetic lethality in multiple preclinical models. Homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene aberrations do not appear to be necessary for this synergy as demonstrated in a ph 3 clinical trial of abiraterone & olaparib where this combination improved radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) in HRR-wild-type pts compared with abiraterone alone. A ph 1b trial has since shown that enzalutamide plus rucaparib has acceptable safety profile & no significant drug-drug interactions (S-DDI). Methods: CASPAR/A031902 (NCT04455750) is a ph 3 study in which 984 pts will be randomized 1:1 to enzalutamide plus rucaparib or placebo. HRR gene aberration is not required for enrollment. All pts will undergo next-generation targeted-exome sequencing from archival tumor tissue (new biopsy only required if no archival tissue available). Treatment will be continued until disease progression & crossover is not allowed. Key eligibility criteria are age ≥ 18 years, ECOG PS 0-2, biopsy-proven prostate adenocarcinoma, progressive (PSA or radiographic) disease per Prostate Cancer Working Group 3 guidelines, measurable or nonmeasurable disease per RECIST 1.1, no prior treatment for mCRPC (prior docetaxel, abiraterone, darolutamide, or apalutamide in non-mCRPC setting is allowed), no significant uncontrolled comorbidity, & no medications with S-DDI with enzalutamide/rucaparib. Hierarchical co-primary endpoints are rPFS & overall survival (OS). The OS analysis will be undertaken as a primary endpoint if the rPFS endpoint is met. For a one-sided logrank test with a type 1 error rate equal to 0.025, the study has 90% power to detect a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.71 in rPFS (median rPFS of 15 & 21 months in control & combination arms, respectively) & 80% power to detect an HR of 0.80 in OS (median OS of 32 & 40 months, respectively). Key secondary endpoints are rPFS & OS in pts with vs without pathogenic BRCA1, BRCA2, or PALB2 alterations; & differences in adverse events & quality of life (QOL) outcomes between the treatment arms. QOL assessments include Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Prostate (FACT-P), Brief Pain Inventory Short Form (BPI-SF) & EQ-5D-5L. A key correlative endpoint is the sensitivity of ctDNA-based testing for alterations in HRR genes. Enrollment to CASPAR began in July 2021 & the study is available for participation to all US-NCTN sites with a projected enrollment of 3 years. Support: U10CA180821, U10CA180882, U24CA196171; U10CA180888. Clinical trial information: NCT04455750.
Alliance A031902 (CASPAR): A randomized, phase (ph) 3 trial of enzalutamide with rucaparib/placebo as novel therapy in first-line metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).
TPS194 Background: Despite a growing number of treatment options for first line mCRPC, approximately 40% of patients (pts) have radiographic progression within the first year. Androgen receptor (AR) signaling inhibition increases genomic instability with double-strand DNA breaks & co-inhibition of AR & PARP induces synthetic lethality in multiple preclinical models. Homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene aberrations do not appear to be necessary for this synergy as demonstrated in a ph 2 clinical trial of abiraterone & olaparib where this combination improved radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) in HRR-wild-type pts compared with abiraterone alone. A ph 1b trial has since shown that enzalutamide plus rucaparib has acceptable safety profile & no significant drug-drug interactions (S-DDI). Methods: CASPAR/A031902 (NCT04455750) is a ph 3 study in which 984 pts will be randomized 1:1 to enzalutamide plus rucaparib or placebo. HRR gene aberration is not required for enrollment. All pts will undergo next-generation targeted-exome sequencing from archival tumor tissue (new biopsy only required if no archival tissue available). Treatment will be continued until disease progression & crossover is not allowed. Key eligibility criteria are age ≥ 18 years, ECOG PS 0-2, biopsy-proven prostate adenocarcinoma, progressive (PSA or radiographic) disease per Prostate Cancer Working Group 3 guidelines, measurable or nonmeasurable disease per RECIST 1.1, no prior treatment for mCRPC (prior docetaxel, abiraterone, darolutamide, or apalutamide in non-mCRPC setting is allowed), no significant uncontrolled comorbidity, & no medications with S-DDI with enzalutamide/rucaparib. Hierarchical co-primary endpoints are rPFS & overall survival (OS). The OS analysis will be undertaken as a primary endpoint if the rPFS endpoint is met. For a one-sided logrank test with a type 1 error rate equal to 0.025, the study has 90% power to detect a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.71 in rPFS (median rPFS of 15 & 21 months in control & combination arms, respectively) & 80% power to detect an HR of 0.80 in OS (median OS of 32 & 40 months, respectively). Key secondary endpoints are rPFS & OS in pts with vs without pathogenic BRCA1, BRCA2, or PALB2 alterations; & differences in adverse events & quality of life (QOL) outcomes between the treatment arms. QOL assessments include Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Prostate (FACT-P), Brief Pain Inventory Short Form (BPI-SF) & EQ-5D-5L. A key correlative endpoint is the sensitivity of ctDNA-based testing for alterations in HRR genes. Enrollment to CASPAR began in July 2021 & the study is available for participation to all US-NCTN sites with a projected enrollment of 3 years. Support: U10CA180821, U10CA180882, U24CA196171; U10CA180888; Clovis Oncology; http://acknowledgments.alliancefound.org Clinical trial information: NCT04455750.
PDIGREE: An adaptive phase III trial of PD-inhibitor nivolumab and ipilimumab (IPI-NIVO) with VEGF TKI cabozantinib (CABO) in metastatic untreated renal cell cancer (Alliance A031704).
TPS366 Background: First-line treatment of mRCC has rapidly changed to include IPI-NIVO or CABO, with clinical benefit of each based on the Checkmate 214 and CABOSUN (A031203) trials. Combination immunotherapy with VEGF therapies has shown benefit over sunitinib in the JAVELIN 101 and KEYNOTE 426 trials. It is yet unclear which patients (pts) benefit most from combination immunotherapy-VEGF inhibitors, and the optimal sequence of drugs. Methods: In an adaptive, randomized, multicenter phase III trial (Alliance A031704, PDIGREE), pts start treatment with induction IPI 1 mg/kg and NIVO 3 mg/kg intravenously (IV) once every 3 weeks. Key inclusion criteria include clear cell mRCC, International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium (IMDC) intermediate or poor risk, Karnofsky performance status >70, and no prior treatments for mRCC. Based on 3-month radiographic assessment (after completing IPI-NIVO combination), pts with complete responses (CR) undergo maintenance NIVO 480 mg IV every 4 weeks; pts with progression of disease (PD) switch to CABO 60 mg oral daily; pts with non-CR/non-PD are randomized to NIVO 480 mg IV every 4 weeks versus NIVO 480 mg IV every 4 weeks with CABO 40 mg oral daily. Randomization is stratified by IMDC risk criteria and presence of bone metastases. The primary endpoint of the study is overall survival (OS). We hypothesize that 3-year OS will improve to 70% for NIVO-CABO compared to 60% for NIVO alone; to achieve 85% power with a two-sided alpha of 0.05 and exponential distribution, 696 patients will be randomized. Accounting for 30% patients with either CR or PD, and 5% dropout from toxicity, up to 1046 pts will be enrolled. Key secondary endpoints include progression-free survival, 12-month CR rate, overall response rate based on RECIST 1.1 and iRECIST criteria, and toxicity profiles. Quality of life will be assessed based on the FKSI-19, PROMIS-fatigue, and EQ5D-5L questionnaires. Biomarkers associated with CR, tissue-based and plasma-based biomarkers will be assessed. Updated enrollment through January 2021 will be presented. Clinical trial information: NCT03793166 .
Cancer and Leukemia Group B 90203 (Alliance): Radical Prostatectomy With or Without Neoadjuvant Chemohormonal Therapy in Localized, High-Risk Prostate Cancer
PURPOSE Radical prostatectomy (RP) alone is often inadequate in curing men with clinically localized, high-risk prostate cancer (PC). We hypothesized that chemohormonal therapy (CHT) with androgen-deprivation therapy plus docetaxel before RP would improve biochemical progression–free survival (BPFS) over RP alone. PATIENTS AND METHODS Men with clinically localized, high-risk PC were assigned to RP alone or neoadjuvant CHT with androgen deprivation plus docetaxel (75 mg/m 2 body surface area every 3 weeks for 6 cycles) and RP. The primary end point was 3-year BPFS. Biochemical failure was defined as a serum prostate-specific antigen level > 0.2 ng/mL that increased on 2 consecutive occasions that were at least 3 months apart. Secondary end points included 5-year BPFS, overall BPFS, local recurrence, metastasis-free survival (MFS), PC-specific mortality, and overall survival (OS). RESULTS In total, 788 men were randomly assigned. Median follow-up time was 6.1 years. The overall rates of grade 3 and 4 adverse events during chemotherapy were 26% and 19%, respectively. No difference was seen in 3-year BPFS between neoadjuvant CHT plus RP and RP alone (0.89 v 0.84, respectively; 95% CI for the difference, −0.01 to 0.11; P = .11). Neoadjuvant CHT was associated with improved overall BPFS (hazard ratio [HR], 0.69; 95% CI, 0.48 to 0.99), improved MFS (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.51 to 0.95), and improved OS (HR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.40 to 0.94) compared with RP alone. CONCLUSION The primary study end point, 3-year BPFS, was not met. Although some improvement was seen in secondary end points, any potential benefit must be weighed against toxicity. Our data do not support the routine use of neoadjuvant CHT and RP in patients with clinically localized, high-risk PC at this time.