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Gores, Gregory J.

Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic in Arizona

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Single-arm phase 2 study of the FGFR inhibitor futibatinib (Futi) in combination with pembrolizumab (Pem) in patients with FGF19 expressing advanced or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (aHCC).
Palmer, Mathias Earl, Ulrich, Angela, Babiker, Hani M., Revzin, Alexander , Gores, Gregory J., Jin, Zhaohui, Fonkoua, Lionel Aurelien Kankeu, Roberts, Lewis R. , Goenka, Ajit H. , Mahipal, A., Tran, Nguyen H., Roberts, Lewis R , Wee, Wen , Bekaii‐Saab, Tanios , Borad, Mitesh J. , Babiker, Hani M. , Majeed, Umair , Gores, Gregory J. , Hálfdánarson, Þorvarður R. , Jin, Zhaohui , Fonkoua, Lionel Aurelien Kankeu , McWilliams, Robert R. , Graham, Rondell P. , Heimbach, Julie K. , Mahipal, Amit , Ou, Fang‐Shu , Tran, Nguyen H.

Journal of Clinical Oncology | January 12, 2026 | Volume: 44 | Issue: 2_suppl | Pages: 561-561

10.1200/jco.2026.44.2_suppl.561 Get It

561 Background: For patients with aHCC, second-line treatment options are not well established. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Futi, an FGFR 1-4 inhibitor, in combination with Pem as a second line therapy in patients with FGF19-expressing aHCC. Methods: Patients aged ≥ 18 years, with histological/cytological diagnosis or radiological diagnosis of HCC, Child-Pugh (CP) class A-B7, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) A, B or C, ECOG performance status of 0-2, and FGF19+, by in-situ hybridization or immunohistochemistry, received Futi 20 mg once daily plus i.v. Pem 200mg every 3 weeks. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival at 6 months (PFS6). Secondary endpoints include overall survival (OS). The study was designed to enroll 22 evaluable patients to detect PFS6 from 25% (historical control) to 47%, assuming a 1-sided alpha of 0.1 with 80% power. All patients provided written consent. Eligible patients with consent who started treatment are considered evaluable. Results: The study was closed to enrollment early at the request of funding agency due to poor accrual. Between 8/2021 and 3/2024, 14 patients enrolled with 1 patient withdrawing consent before beginning protocol treatment. Among 13 evaluable patients, median age was 72 (range: 60-87) years, 7 (53.8%) were male, 12 CP A (92.3%), 7 BCLC C (53.8%), with 7 (53.8%) having received prior liver directed therapy. Median PFS was 15 weeks (95% confidence interval [CI]: 9.0-Not Estimable) and PFS6 was 23.1% (95% CI: 8.6%, 62.3%). Objective response rate was 0% (95% CI: 0%, 24.71%) and stable disease occurred in 7 (53.9%) of patients. Median OS was 55.7 weeks (95% CI: 47.3-NE). Nine (69.2%) patients experienced at least 1 grade 3+ adverse event (AE), and 2 (15.4%) patients experienced at least a grade 4+ AE. One patient had a grade 5 AE unrelated to study treatment (acute kidney injury). Most commonly reported AEs (occurring in more than 31% of patients) were hyperphosphatemia (76.9%), fatigue (69.3%), diarrhea (61.6%), AST (53.9%) and ALT (46.2%), dry eye (38.5%), nail changes (38.5%), rash-maculo-papular (38.5%), and mucositis oral (38.5%). Conclusions: This prospective study evaluated the use of a targeted treatment in combination with immunotherapy following first line immune-based therapy. This combination had modest activity as a second line therapy for patients with aHCC but did not meet the primary endpoint. The safety profile was acceptable and consistent with prior reports. An optimal second-line regimen remains a critical need. Clinical trial information: NCT04828486 .