Immune-mediated adverse events and overall survival with tremelimumab plus durvalumab and durvalumab monotherapy in unresectable HCC: HIMALAYA phase III randomized clinical trial
Background and Aims: In the global phase III HIMALAYA study in unresectable HCC, STRIDE significantly improved overall survival (OS) versus sorafenib; durvalumab was noninferior to sorafenib. Immune checkpoint inhibitor studies have shown an association between the occurrence of immune-mediated adverse events (imAEs) and improved OS. We assessed potential associations between the occurrence of imAEs and OS, and temporal patterns of imAEs, in HIMALAYA. Approach and Results: OS in participants who did and did not experience imAEs and the frequency and timing of imAEs were assessed for STRIDE and durvalumab in the safety analysis set of HIMALAYA. imAEs occurred in 139/388 (35.8%) and 64/388 (16.5%) participants with STRIDE and durvalumab, respectively; most were low grade. OS HRs (95% CI) in participants who experienced imAEs versus those who did not were 0.73 (0.56–0.95) for STRIDE and 1.14 (0.82–1.57) for durvalumab. The 36-month OS rate (95% CI) for STRIDE was 36.2% (28.1–46.7) and 27.7% (22.4–34.2) in participants who did and did not experience imAEs, respectively. The most common imAE category with STRIDE was endocrine events (16.5%). Most imAEs occurred ≤3 months after treatment initiation. Conclusions: Participants who experienced imAEs with STRIDE had a numerical improvement in OS versus those who did not, which was not observed for durvalumab. Long-term OS with STRIDE was observed regardless of imAEs. Most imAEs were low grade, manageable, and occurred in the first 3 months after treatment initiation. Results continue to support the benefits of STRIDE in a diverse population that reflects unresectable HCC globally.
Plain language summary of the HIMALAYA study: tremelimumab and durvalumab for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer)
Phase 3 randomized, open-label, multicenter study of tremelimumab (T) and durvalumab (D) as first-line therapy in patients (pts) with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC): HIMALAYA.
379 Background: A single priming dose of T (anti-CTLA-4) added to D (anti-PD-L1) in the STRIDE (Single T Regular Interval D) regimen, formerly T300+D, showed encouraging clinical activity and limited toxicity in a phase 2 uHCC study (Study 22, NCT02519348), suggesting single exposure to T is sufficient to improve upon D activity. HIMALAYA (NCT03298451) evaluated the efficacy and safety of STRIDE or D vs sorafenib (S) in uHCC. Methods: HIMALAYA is an open-label, multicenter, phase 3 study, in which pts with uHCC and no prior systemic therapy were initially randomized to STRIDE (T 300 mg plus D 1500 mg [one dose] plus D 1500 mg every 4 weeks [Q4W]), D (1500 mg Q4W), S (400 mg twice daily), or T 75 mg Q4W (4 doses) plus D 1500 mg Q4W (T75+D). Recruitment to T75+D ceased after a planned analysis of Study 22 showed T75+D did not meaningfully differ from D. The primary objective was overall survival (OS) for STRIDE vs S. The secondary objective was OS noninferiority (NI) of D to S (NI margin: 1.08). Secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR; RECIST v.1.1), duration of response (DoR), and safety. Results: In total, 1171 pts were randomized to STRIDE (N=393), D (N=389), or S (N=389). At data cutoff (DCO), the primary objective was met: OS was significantly improved for STRIDE vs S (hazard ratio [HR], 0.78; 96% confidence interval [CI], 0.65–0.92; p=0.0035; Table). D met the objective of OS NI to S (HR, 0.86; 96% CI, 0.73–1.03). ORRs were higher for STRIDE (20.1%) and D (17.0%) than for S (5.1%). No new safety signals were identified. Grade 3/4 treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) occurred in 25.8% (STRIDE), 12.9% (D), and 36.9% (S) of pts. Grade 3/4 hepatic TRAEs occurred in 5.9% (STRIDE), 5.2% (D), and 4.5% (S) of pts. No TRAE of esophageal varices hemorrhage occurred. Rates of TRAEs leading to discontinuation were 8.2% (STRIDE), 4.1% (D), and 11.0% (S). Conclusions: HIMALAYA was the first large phase 3 trial with a diverse, representative uHCC population and extensive long-term follow-up to assess both mono- and combination immunotherapy. D was noninferior to S with favorable safety. The combination of a single priming dose of T plus D in STRIDE displayed superior efficacy and a favorable benefit-risk profile vs S. STRIDE is a proposed, novel, first-line standard of care systemic therapy for uHCC. Clinical trial information: NCT03298451. [Table: see text]