Final results of a phase II study of fluorouracil (FU), leucovorin (LV), and nanoliposomal irinotecan (nal-IRI) in previously treated biliary tract cancer (NAPOLI-2).
4122 Background: BTCs are rare and aggressive malignancies. The first-line standard of care regimen for advanced BTC (aBTC) is gemcitabine (GEM), cisplatin, and an immune checkpoint inhibitor. Although FOLFOX is a preferred second-line treatment, it is limited by neuropathy. Nal-IRI contains IRI free base in liposome nanoparticles, which shelter IRI from conversion to its active metabolite (SN-38) and increase intratumoral SN-38 compared with IRI alone. The NAPOLI-1 trial of FU/LV/nal-IRI vs. FU/LV in second-line advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma showed an overall survival (OS) benefit. The NIFTY trial (South Korea) demonstrated median OS (mOS) benefit of FU/LV/nal-IRI over FU/LV in a second-line aBTC population (8.6 vs. 5.3 months [mo], HR 0.68, 95% CI 0.48-0.95); however, the NALIRICC trial (Germany) did not (6.9 vs. 8.2 mo, HR 1.08, 95% CI 0.68-1.72). We sought to characterize second-line FU/LV/nal-IRI efficacy in US patients (pts) with second-line aBTC. Methods: This was a single-arm, open-label, multicenter phase II study of pts with aBTC previously treated with GEM/platinum chemotherapy. Pts received nal-IRI 70 mg/m 2 IV over 90 minutes, LV 400 mg/m 2 IV over 30 minutes every 14 days, and FU 2400 mg/m 2 IV over 46 hours every 14 days. The primary objective was to determine progression-free survival rate at 4 mo (PFS 4mo ) using RECIST v. 1.1 criteria. Median PFS reported for pts receiving second-line 5-FU doublet chemotherapy was 3 mo with a PFS of 30%. FU/LV/nal-IRI was of interest if it could increase the PFS 4mo to 50% or higher. Using a one-sided α of 0.05 and 80% power, 17 of 39 evaluable pts had to be progression-free at 4 mo to detect a difference in PFS 4mo between 30% and 50%. Results: Forty-eight pts were enrolled: median age 64.5 years; 69% women; 27% gallbladder primary; 54% intra- and 19% extrahepatic. Ten pts came off study due to toxicity without disease progression before 4 mo on study and were replaced to evaluate the PFS 4mo endpoint. Of 38 evaluable pts, 18 pts (PFS 4mo 47%) were alive and progression-free at 4 mo, meeting the primary endpoint. With a median follow-up of 7.1 mo, median time to disease progression or study discontinuation due to toxicity for all pts was 2.3 mo (95% CI 1.8-4.6, PFS 4mo 38%), and for pts evaluable for the primary endpoint, median PFS was 3.5 mo (95% CI 1.8-5.5). Five pts (10%) had PFS beyond 12 mo. mOS for all pts was 7.9 mo (95% CI 5.7-11.7). Of 41 evaluable pts, the response rate was 2% (1 PR), and the disease control rate was 54%. Adverse events (AEs) were consistent with known toxicities from the FU/LV/nal-IRI regimen. Conclusions: FU/LV/nal-IRI is an effective second-line regimen for aBTC in US pts. There was significant early toxicity as 21% of pts came off study due to AEs before 4 mo. Correlative studies, including longitudinal analyses of circulating tumor DNA using banked blood specimens, are planned (NCT04005339). Clinical trial information: NCT04005339 .
Neoadjuvant epacadostat (INCB024360) combined with short course radiotherapy in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer: Efficacy and safety from a phase 2 trial.
162 Background: In preclinical studies, the tryptophan-metabolizing enzyme, Indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1), promotes resistance to radiation in colorectal cancer, and IDO1 inhibition with epacadostat improves tumor radiosensitivity. In a phase 1 trial, patients (pts) with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC, n=17) were treated with epacadostat in combination with short course radiotherapy (SCRT) and CAPOX which was well-tolerated, and the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) of epacadostat was 400mg BID. Here we report efficacy and safety from the NCI-supported phase 2 (NCT03516708) multicenter, open-label trial (treatment cohort). Methods: Pts were treated with standard of care (SOC) SCRT, then SOC neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) followed by SOC surgical resection or non-operative management (NOM). Epacadostat (400 mg BID) started with SCRT and continued until starting NAC (a minimum of 21 days). Eight pts were enrolled prior to discontinuation of epacadostat by Incyte in February/March 2025. The primary endpoint is Neoadjuvant Rectal (NAR) score. In patients who underwent NOM, we calculated MRI-based tumor regression grade (MR-TRG). Secondary endpoints are pathologic complete response (pCR) rate, complete clinical response (cCR) rate, and progression free survival (PFS). Results: Table 1 summarizes baseline characteristics and endpoints (primary and secondary). NOM was pursued in 7/8 (87.5%) pts, surgical resection was performed on 1/8 (12.5%). At median follow-up of 12 months, local tumor regrowth occurred in 1 pt initially treated with NOM (after tumor regrowth, he underwent salvage surgery and is currently on surveillance). Treatment with epacadostat was interrupted in 2/8 (25%) patients due to grade 3 maculopapular skin rash. Most frequent treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) regardless of causality (all grades (G)/G3-4) were bloating (75%/0%), increased ALT (62.5%/0%), increased AST (50%/0%), nausea (50%/0%), and constipation (50%/0%). Grade 3 diarrhea and grade 3 non-cardiac chest pain occurred in 1 patient each (both unrelated to epacadostat). Conclusions: Epacadostat demonstrates promising efficacy and manageable safety in patients with LARC. The biomarker cohort and correlative studies are ongoing. Clinical trial information: NCT03516708 . Baseline characteristics and endpoints. Patient Age Sex Ethnicity Stage Surgery/NOM NAR MR-TRG cCR/pCR Recurrence 1 52 M Caucasian T3N1 NOM NA 2 Y/NA No 2 45 M Caucasian T3N1 NOM NA 3 Y/NA Local tumor regrowth 3 48 M Caucasian T3N2 NOM NA 3 Y/NA No 4 61 M Caucasian T4N2 NOM NA 3 Y/NA No 5 57 M Caucasian T3N0 NOM NA 1 Y/NA No 6 60 F Caucasian T3N1 Surgery 15 3 N/ypT3N0 No 7 67 M Caucasian T4N0 NOM NA 3 Y/NA No 8 51 M Caucasian T4N2 NOM NA P NA No