Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA (United States)
Citations 10
TROPION-Lung02: Datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) plus pembrolizumab (pembro) with or without platinum chemotherapy (Pt-CT) as first-line (1L) therapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC).
8501 Background: TROPION-Lung02 (NCT04526691) evaluated the TROP2-directed antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) Dato-DXd plus pembro combination with or without Pt-CT in aNSCLC. Here we report primary analyses of pts receiving combination therapy in the 1L setting. Methods: Pts across 6 cohorts were dosed with Dato-DXd (4 or 6 mg/kg) plus pembro 200 mg alone (doublet) or with pembro plus Pt-CT (triplet; cisplatin 75 mg/m 2 or carboplatin AUC 5) Q3W. PD-L1 expression (tumor proportion score) was assessed locally by immunohistochemistry (22C3 assay). Primary objectives were safety and tolerability; efficacy was a secondary objective. Results: As of Apr 29, 2024, 96 pts received either the doublet (n=42) or triplet (n=54) combination as 1L therapy; 29% and 15% of pts were ongoing, respectively. Median ages were 65 (doublet) and 64 years (triplet). Median treatment durations were 9.7 and 5.8 months, respectively. Stomatitis (doublet, 57%; triplet, 33%) and nausea (doublet, 42%; triplet, 48%), primarily Gr 1–2, were the most common adverse events (AEs) across both regimens. Treatment related serious AEs occurred in 5 (12%) and 12 (22%) pts in each cohort and no deaths related to study drug were seen. Efficacy outcomes, including by histology, are summarized in the Table. Biomarker analyses, including efficacy by PD-L1 status, will be presented. Conclusions: In this largest data set to date evaluating an ADC combined with an anti-PD-1/L1 agent in the 1L setting, the combination of Dato-DXd plus pembro treatment both with and without Pt-CT elicited durable antitumor activity in pts with aNSCLC. Tolerability of the combinations was as expected, based on known profiles of the individual agents. Clinical trial information: NCT04526691 . All 1L (n=96) 1L, Nonsquamous (n=75) 1L, Squamous (n=21) Response, n (%) Doublet (n=42) Triplet (n=54) Doublet (n=33) Triplet (n=42) Doublet (n=9) Triplet (n=12) Confirmed objective response rate 23 (55) 30 (56) 17 (52) 24 (57) 6 (67) 6 (50) Complete response 1 (2) 2 (4) 1 (3) 2 (5) 0 0 Partial response 22 (52) 28 (52) 16 (49) 22 (52) 6 (67) 6 (50) Stable disease 14 (33) 18 (33) 12 (36) 14 (33) 2 (22) 4 (33) Progressive disease 3 (7) 2 (4) 3 (9) 1 (2) 0 1 (8) Disease control rate a 37 (88) 48 (89) 29 (88) 38 (91) 8 (89) 10 (83) Median duration of response, mo (95% CI) 20.1 (9.7–NE) 13.7 (5.7–NE) 24.9 (9.7–NE) 18.0 (8.0–NE) 12.0 (5.5–NE) 5.5 (4.1–NE) Median PFS, mo (95% CI) 11.2 b (8.2–21.3) 6.8 c (5.5–11.1) 11.2 (6.1–21.3) 10.8 (5.5–17.3) 10.2 (0.4–NE) 6.7 (1.0–8.2) a Proportion of pts with confirmed CR + PR + SD at 12 wks. b.c Median (95% CI) PFS follow-up, mo: b 17.3 (11.3−26.8); c 23.5 (17.3−27.9). mo, months; NE, not evaluable.
Assessment of tumors, blood, and ascites to establish correlations with treatment benefit in platinum resistant or refractory ovarian cancer patients treated with igrelimogene litadenorepvec and pembrolizumab combination therapy.
5555 Background: Platinum-resistant/refractory ovarian cancer presents a significant therapeutic challenge and despite several attempts, immunotherapies have not delivered satisfactory results to be approved. Identifying biomarkers of response to novel therapies is crucial for personalizing treatments and improving patient outcomes, especially since certain patients do experience long term benefit after the treatment with pembrolizumab and igrelimogene litadenorepvec (TILT-123; an oncolytic adenovirus coding for TNF and IL-2). Methods: Tumor biopsies (n=62), ascites (n=8) and blood (n=234) were collected from 15 patients treated in the PROTA trial (Phase I, NCT05271318). These patients received pembrolizumab intravenously plus igrelimogene litadenorepvec intravenously, followed by local administration intratumorally or intraperitoneally. Sampling took place prior to therapy, during therapy and after it. Tumor proteome (IHC, mIF) and transcriptome was analyzed to assess immune changes and virus presence. Ascites and blood samples were assayed to measure cell counts, phenotypes, cytokine and protein counts, as well as for the presence of antiviral neutralizing antibodies (NAbs). Biological parameters were correlated with overall survival (OS), RECIST 1.1 evaluations and tumor size changes. For analysis of OS, logrank test was used. For group comparisons two-tailed Mann-Whitney U-test was used. Pearson or Spearman tests were used for correlations. Results: Patients experiencing a drop in circulating lymphocytes 8-24 hours after treatment were more likely to experience longer OS (p=0.044). Additionally, patients with a higher lymphocyte count at baseline experienced similar OS benefit (p=0.018) plus a positive correlation with disease control (p=0.023). Most patients (11/15) showed antiviral immunity at baseline but eventually all patients developed neutralizing activity, and the same was observed in ascites. The presence of NAbs at baseline as well as development of highest titers were positively correlated with longer OS (p=0.004) and disease control (p=0.003). Conclusions: Igrelimogene litadenorepvec and pembrolizumab are therapies designed to attract, activate and/or protect lymphocyte-mediated antitumor activity. These findings suggest that having a fit immune system able to mobilize effector immune cells as well as responding to immunostimulant agents increases therapeutic success. As a disease with few therapeutic options, ovarian cancer patients often receive multiple lines of chemotherapy that might decrease the efficacy of immediate immunotherapies. The potential use of these biomarkers will be studied in larger studies to validate their utility in guiding the use of immunotherapy in this challenging patient population. Clinical trial information: NCT05271318 .
Phase 2 trial of imprime and pembrolizumab immunotherapy in metastatic triple negative breast cancer patients who have progressed beyond first line chemotherapy
Abstract The Phase 2 IMPRIME 1 study evaluated the combination of the pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) Imprime with the immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) pembrolizumab as second or later line of treatment (2 L+) for patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC). Eligible patients with mTNBC received weekly Imprime (4 mg/kg) intravenously in combination with pembrolizumab (200 mg every 3 weeks). Primary endpoints were overall response rate (ORR) and safety. Secondary endpoints included disease control rate (DCR), duration of response (DoR), progression free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Exploratory endpoints included correlations between immune cell activation markers in tumor tissues and blood and response to therapy. Of the 42 evaluable patients, six had a response (one complete, five partial), with an ORR of 14.3% by RECIST v1.1. Median PFS was 2.7 months, median OS was 16.4 months, and DCR was 54.8%, with responders achieving a median DoR of 15.2 months. Therapy was generally well tolerated and resulted in an increase of immune activation markers, with higher levels of activation in peripheral blood associated with response and improved survival. The combination of Imprime and pembrolizumab was safe and demonstrated immune activation in tumor tissues and peripheral blood in patients with TNBC. Improved response rates were observed compared to historical studies of ICI monotherapy in similar patient populations. Study number (ClinicalTrials.gov trial registration): NCT02981303.
Abstract 2035: Clinical-immunological correlates in platinum resistant or refractory ovarian cancer patients treated with chimeric oncolytic adenovirus encoding TNFa and IL-2 (TILT-123) in combination with pembrolizumab
Abstract Background: Ad5/3-E2F-D24-hTNFa-IRES-hIL-2 (TILT-123) is an oncolytic adenovirus armed with TNFa and IL-2. The cytokine pairing demonstrated superior tumor immunomodulation in preclinical studies. Subsequent studies supported evaluation of TILT-123 in PROTA, a phase 1 study of TILT-123 in combination with pembrolizumab in platinum resistant or refractory ovarian cancer patients. Biomarker analysis is ongoing. Experimental procedures: In this phase 1a dose escalation trial (NCT05271318), 15 patients received an initial single intravenous dose of TILT-123 ranging from 3x1011 to 4x1012 VPs, followed by intratumoural and/or intraperitoneal injections ranging from 1x1011 to 5x1011 VPs. Patients also received i.v. pembrolizumab (200mg) every three weeks starting on day 36. The primary endpoint was safety by day 92, while efficacy by RECIST1.1 and overall survival (OS) were secondary endpoints. Collection of tumour biopsies and blood, including PBMCs and serum, enabled evaluation of MoA and identification of preliminary biomarkers. Summary of data: ORR was 7.1% in evaluable patients (1/14). Disease control rate was 64% in evaluable patients (n = 14) and median OS was 190 days (n =15). Patients with disease control and no disease control by 92 achieved a median OS of 571 days and 138 days respectively. Correlations of complete blood count with differential to OS (n =15) and imaging response (n = 14) revealed a greater drop in lymphocyte count after treatment, as well as baseline lymphocyte count positively correlated with OS and disease control (PR/SD vs PD). Correlation of prothrombin INR to OS revealed patients with a slower blood-clotting rate at baseline and post-treatment positively correlated with OS. Analysis of anti-adenovirus neutralizing antibody (nAb) titer revealed 77% of all patients were positive for nAbs prior to treatment. All patients developed nAbs in blood and ascites (ascites n = 3). Patients presenting with nAbs at baseline achieved longer OS than those not positive. Additionally, a higher titer post-treatment positively correlated with OS and disease control. Percentage and fold change increase in IgM expression on plasma cells on day 36 positively correlated with OS. In addition, a higher expression of IgM on the surface of plasma cells at baseline was observed in patients achieving disease control. Conclusion: These preliminary results identify a key role of circulating lymphocyte re-distribution and humoral immune response as markers of treatment benefit. Initial phenotyping implicates IgM producing plasma cells as a potentially relevant immune cell population. Additionally we observed a correlation between the coagulation cascade and OS. Citation Format: James H. Clubb, Matthew Block, Johanna Mäenpää, Victor Arias, Mirte van der Heijden, Santeri Pakola, Dafne C. Quixabeira, Tatiana Kudling, Elise Jirovec, Lyna Haybout, Tuomo Alanko, Daniel Adamo, Susan Ramadan, Jorma Sormunen, Juha Kononen, Michael J. Chisamore, Julia W. Cohen, Nadena Singh, John Goldfinch, Suvi Sorsa, Riikka Havunen, Claudia Kistler, João M. Santos, Víctor Cervera-Carrascon, Akseli Hemminki. Clinical-immunological correlates in platinum resistant or refractory ovarian cancer patients treated with chimeric oncolytic adenovirus encoding TNFa and IL-2 (TILT-123) in combination with pembrolizumab [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2025; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2025 Apr 25-30; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2025;85(8_Suppl_1):Abstract nr 2035.
722 Immunoprofiling and correlative analysis from PROTA: a phase I trial combining an oncolytic adenovirus encoding TNFα and IL2 with pembrolizumab for platinum-resistant or refractory ovarian cancer
Datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) plus pembrolizumab (pembro) with or without platinum chemotherapy (Pt-CT) as first-line (1L) therapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC): Subgroup analysis from TROPION-Lung02.
8617 Background: Dato-DXd is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) composed of an anti-TROP2 monoclonal antibody linked to a potent topoisomerase I inhibitor payload. We report updated findings from TROPION-Lung02 (NCT04526691) evaluating Dato-DXd plus pembro with or without Pt-CT as 1L therapy for aNSCLC. Methods: Patients (Pts) received Dato-DXd (4 or 6 mg/kg) plus pembro 200 mg alone (doublet) or with Pt-CT (triplet; cisplatin 75 mg/m2 or carboplatin AUC 5) Q3W across 6 cohorts. Pts in the expansion stage were primarily treatment (tx)-naïve. PD-L1 expression was evaluated by tumor proportion score (TPS < 50% or ≥50%) using immunohistochemistry (22C3 assay). The primary objectives were safety and tolerability, with efficacy a secondary objective. Results: 96 pts were treated with doublet (n = 42) or triplet (n = 54) therapy in the 1L setting. At data cutoff (Oct 31, 2023), 45% and 20% of pts receiving doublet or triplet tx were ongoing. Median age was 66 years in both subgroups. Median treatment durations were 6.6 and 5.8 months. Across doublet and triplet tx, the most common any-grade (Gr) treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were stomatitis (57%, 33%) and nausea (40%, 46%), mainly Gr 1–2. Gr ≥3 TEAEs were seen in 57% and 76% of pts; serious TEAEs in 38% and 44%. TEAEs associated with Dato-DXd discontinuation occurred in 29% and 39% of pts receiving doublet or triplet tx. TEAEs associated with death were seen in 2% and 9%, none considered related to study drug. Efficacy outcomes, including ORR and preliminary PFS, in the 1L setting overall and by PD-L1 status are summarized in the Table. Conclusions: As 1L therapy for aNSCLC, Dato-DXd plus pembro with or without Pt-CT continues to demonstrate durable antitumor activity. Efficacy was observed regardless of PD-L1 expression. Tolerability of the combinations was as expected based on known profiles of the individual agents, with no new safety signals observed. To date, this is the largest dataset reported for any ADC combined with an anti-PD-1/L1 agent in the 1L setting for aNSCLC. Clinical trial information: NCT04526691 . [Table: see text]
TROPION-Lung02: Datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) plus pembrolizumab (pembro) with or without platinum chemotherapy (Pt-CT) in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC).
9004 Background: Despite advances in first-line (1L) immunotherapy ± CT, most patients (pts) with aNSCLC experience disease progression, necessitating novel strategies. Dato-DXd is an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) composed of a humanized anti-TROP2 IgG1 monoclonal antibody covalently linked to a topoisomerase I inhibitor payload via a plasma-stable tetrapeptide-based cleavable linker. Dato-DXd had encouraging efficacy and manageable safety in heavily pretreated aNSCLC. Dato-DXd + immunotherapy yielded greater preclinical activity than either agent alone. Methods: TROPION-Lung02 (NCT04526691) is a phase 1b, global, dose-escalation and -expansion study evaluating Dato-DXd (4 or 6 mg/kg) + pembro 200 mg ± Pt-CT (cisplatin 75 mg/m2 or carboplatin AUC 5) every 21 days across 6 cohorts. Pts in escalation may have received ≤2 prior lines of therapy for aNSCLC. Pts in expansion were primarily treatment (tx) naive (pts receiving Dato-DXd + pembro may have ≤1 prior Pt-based tx). The primary objective is to assess safety and tolerability, including dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs). Secondary objectives include evaluation of efficacy, pharmacokinetics, and immunogenicity. Results: As of the Oct 31, 2022, data cutoff (DCO), 120 pts were treated. All cohorts met DLT criteria to move to escalation. Median age was 65 years. PD-L1 expression was <1%, 1%-49%, and ≥50% in 40%, 33%, and 26% of pts, respectively. Median tx duration was 4.6 mo, with 55% receiving tx at DCO. The most frequent any-grade (gr) tx-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were nausea (45%) and stomatitis (45%). Gr ≥3 TEAEs occurred in 61% of pts; most frequent were neutrophil count decreased (8%) and amylase increased (8%). TEAEs that were serious, associated with discontinuation, or associated with death occurred in 31%, 24% (16% associated with Dato-DXd), and 6% of pts, respectively. Dose reductions due to TEAEs associated with Dato-DXd occurred in 17%. Drug-related interstitial lung disease occurred in 12 pts (10%; 9 gr 1/2; 3 gr 3). The objective response rate (ORR) with 1L Dato-DXd + pembro doublet and Dato-DXd + pembro + Pt-CT triplet tx was 60% (95% CI, 36%-81%; 12 [2 unconfirmed]/20) and 55% (95% CI, 39%-70%; 23 [5 unconfirmed]/42), respectively. The ORR for any line of therapy was 38% (95% CI, 25%-54%; 18 [2 unconfirmed]/47) with doublet and 47% (95% CI, 34%-60%; 28 [5 unconfirmed]/60) with triplet tx. In both subsets, the disease control rate was 85% and median duration of response was not reached. Responses were observed in all 3 PD-L1 expression level subgroups. Although immature, median progression-free survival (95% CI) was 10.8 (8.3-15.2) and 7.8 mo (5.5-NE) with doublet and triplet tx, respectively. Conclusions: Dato-DXd + pembro ± Pt-CT demonstrated tolerable safety with notable 1L activity in this first and largest dataset with an ADC + immunotherapy ± Pt-CT in aNSCLC pts. Clinical trial information: NCT04526691 .
666 Phase 2, single arm study of CG0070 combined with pembrolizumab in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) unresponsive to bacillus calmette-guerin (BCG)
Abstract CT036: CORE1: Phase 2, single arm study of CG0070 combined with pembrolizumab in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) unresponsive to Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG)
Abstract Introduction: CG0070, is an Ad5-based oncolytic vaccine engineered to express GM-CSF and replicate selectively in tumor cells with mutated or deficient RB. The CG0070 mechanism of action includes cell lysis and immunogenic cell death which is enhanced in the presence of GM-CSF. In an open label ph. 2 study, an overall CR rate of 62% and a CR at 12 months (m) of 29% have been observed in patients with high risk NMIBC previously treated with BCG. IV pembrolizumab, was recently approved by the FDA for patients with BCG-unresponsive CIS (with or without papillary tumors) with an overall complete RR of 41% and a 12 m CR rate of ~20%.This ph. 2 study will assess the potential synergy of the two agents in the treatment of BCG-unresponsive NMIBC. Methods:35 pts with BCG-unresponsive CIS with or without concurrent Ta or T1 disease will be treated with intravescical CG0070 (1x1012 vp) in combination with pembrolizumab at a dose of 400 mg IV q6 weeks. CG0070 will be administered weekly x 6 as induction followed by weekly x 3 maintenance instillations at months 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18. Pts with persistent CIS or HG Ta at 3 m may receive re-induction with weekly x 6 of CG0070. Pembrolizumab will be administered up to 24 m. Assessment of response will include q 3 m cystoscopy with biopsy of areas suspicious for disease, urine cytology, CTU/MRU, and mandatory bladder mapping biopsies at 12 m. Recurrence of HG disease will be enumerated as disease recurrence. The primary endpoint of the study is CR at 12 m. Secondary endpoints will include CR at any time, progression free survival, duration of response, cystectomy free survival and the safety of the combination. Correlate assessments will include changes in the tumor immune microenvironment, systemic immune induction, viral replication and transgene expression. Baseline expression of PD-L1, coxsackie adenovirus receptor, E2F transcription factor as well as anti-Ad5 Ab titer will be correlated with tumor response. Results: Thus far, 10 patients are evaluable at the 3 m timepoint for efficacy. Assessment of these 10 pts demonstrates 100% CR at 3 mos. Six of the 10 pts have also reached the 6 m hallmark in a CR as well as 2 at the 12 mos timepoint. Treatment related AE have been limited to transient grade 1-2 local-regional genitourinary adverse events with no grade 3 or 4 treatment related AE reported date. Conclusions: This initial data on the efficacy and safety of CG0070 plus pembrolizumab for the treatment of BCG unresponsive NMIBC is encouraging. An update on the study will be provided at the time of presentation. Citation Format: Roger Li, Gary Steinberg, Paras Shah, Ed Uchio, Donald Lamm, Trinity Bivalacqua, Vignesh Packiam, Ashish Kamat, Michael Chisamore, John McAdory, Paola Grandi, Jee-Hyun Kim, James Burke. CORE1: Phase 2, single arm study of CG0070 combined with pembrolizumab in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) unresponsive to Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr CT036.
CORE1: Phase 2, single-arm study of CG0070 combined with pembrolizumab in patients with nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) unresponsive to bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG).
4597 Background: CG0070, is an Ad5-based oncolytic vaccine engineered to express GM-CSF and replicate selectively in tumor cells with mutated or deficient RB. The CG0070 mechanism of action includes cell lysis and immunogenic cell death which is enhanced in the presence of GM-CSF. In an open label ph. 2 study, an overall CR rate of 62% and a CR at 12 months (m) of 29% have been observed in patients with high risk NMIBC previously treated with BCG. IV pembrolizumab, was recently approved by the FDA for patients with BCG-unresponsive CIS (with or without papillary tumors) with an overall complete RR of 41% and a 12 m CR rate of ̃20%. This ph. 2 study will assess the potential synergy of the two agents in the treatment of BCG-unresponsive NMIBC. Methods: 35 pts with BCG-unresponsive CIS with or without concurrent Ta or T1 disease will be treated with intravescical CG0070 (1x1012 vp) in combination with pembrolizumab at a dose of 400 mg IV q6 weeks. CG0070 will be administered weekly x 6 as induction followed by weekly x 3 maintenance instillations at months 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18. Pts with persistent CIS or HG Ta at 3 m may receive re-induction with weekly x 6 of CG0070. Pembrolizumab will be administered up to 24 m. Assessment of response will include q 3 m cystoscopy with biopsy of areas suspicious for disease, urine cytology, CTU/MRU, and mandatory bladder mapping biopsies at 12 m. Recurrence of HG disease will be enumerated as disease recurrence. The primary endpoint of the study is CR at 12 m. Secondary endpoints will include CR at any time, progression free survival, duration of response, cystectomy free survival and the safety. Correlate assessments will include changes in the tumor immune microenvironment, systemic immune induction,viral replication and transgene expression. Baseline expression of PD-L1, coxsackie adenovirus receptor, E2F transcription factor as well as anti-Ad5 Ab titer will be correlated with tumor response. Results: A CR rate of 87.5% (14/16) at the 3 m assessment timepoint has been observed thus far. All patients in CR at 3 m remain in CR at downstream timepoints including: 9/9 at 6 m, 6/6 at 9 m, and 3/3 at 12 m. Treatment related AE have been generally limited to transient grade 1-2 local-regional genitourinary adverse events with no reports of grade 3, 4 or SAE attributed to treatment with CG0070/Pembroluzimab. Conclusions: This initial data on the efficacy and safety of CG0070 plus pembrolizumab for the treatment of BCG unresponsive NMIBC is encouraging. Additional data on efficacy as well as safety and biomarker (CAR, E2F, and PDL1) assessment will be presented for at least 25 of the projected 35 patients at the time of the conference. Clinical trial information: NCT04387461.