Butowski, Nicholas

The NCCN Guidelines for Central Nervous System (CNS) Cancers focus on management of adult CNS cancers ranging from noninvasive and surgically curable pilocytic astrocytomas to metastatic brain disease. The involvement of an interdisciplinary team, including neurosurgeons, radiation therapists, oncologists, neurologists, and neuroradiologists, is a key factor in the appropriate management of CNS cancers. Integrated histopathologic and molecular characterization of brain tumors such as gliomas should be standard practice. This article describes NCCN Guidelines recommendations for WHO grade I, II, III, and IV gliomas. Treatment of brain metastases, the most common intracranial tumors in adults, is also described.

Abstract Dysregulation of ErbB-mediated signaling is observed in up to 90% of solid tumors. ErbB family cross-talk is implicated in the development of resistance and metastasis, including CNS metastases. Inhibition of multiple ErbB receptors may result in improved patient outcomes. EO1001 is a novel, patented, oral, brain-penetrating, irreversible pan-ErbB inhibitor targeting EGFR (ErbB1), HER2 (ErbB2) and HER4 (ErbB4). METHODS: (1) In vitro testing. EO1001 demonstrates high specificity for the ErbB family of receptors with excellent, balanced equipotent activity against EGFR, HER2 and HER4 (0.4 to 7.4 nM). EO1001 inhibits signaling downstream of wild type EGFR, mutant EGFR (T790M, L858R and d746-750) and HER2. (2) PK and toxicity. In rodent studies in vivo, EO1001 exhibited a half-life of 16–20 hours. EO1001 rapidly enters the CNS and penetrates tumor tissue at higher concentrations relative to plasma. Safety of EO1001 was evaluated by repeat-dosing studies in SD rats and beagle dogs. Toxicities typical of the ErbB inhibitor class, including gastro-intestinal effects, weight loss and decreased activity were observed at higher dose groups in both species. Mortality was observed in SD rats at higher dose groups. (3) In vivo efficacy studies. EO1001 was studied following oral administration in several erbB-positive mouse xenograft models including N87 (Her2+), H1975 (EGFR/T790M), GBM12 (EGFR+), GBM39 (EGVRvIII+). Following oral administration, treatment with EO1001 resulted in a statistically significant improvement in outcomes compared to positive and negative controls in both CNS and systemic tumor models. EO1001 was well-tolerated with no gastrointestinal side effects observed at efficacious doses in these models. CONCLUSION: Based on research to date, EO1001 has the potential to be a best-in-class CNS-penetrating pan-ErbB inhibitor with a safety and pharmacokinetic profile amenable for use as a single agent and in combination with other agents. EO1001 is poised to enter phase 1-2a clinical testing in the second-half of 2019.

2023 Background: TRC105 is a humanized antibody targeting CD105 (endoglin), a member of the TGFβ receptor superfamily. CD105 is expressed in glioma stem cells and circulating endothelial cells (CECs) in GBM patients (pts), increasing following VEGF inhibition. N1174 was conducted in recurrent bevacizumab (bev) naïve GBM pts to investigate the hypothesis that CD105 blockade+bev can delay development of bev resistance. Methods: After a ph I cohort (15 pts) established the ph II dose of TRC105 as 10 mg/kg IV over 4 hours every 7 days in combination with standard dose bev, the ph II trial used 1:1 randomization with 90% power and 0.10 type I error to detect a 3 month (mo) difference in progression-free survival (PFS) between the two arms. CECs including CD105 positive subsets were measured by flow cytometry at baseline and multiple time points. Results: Based on 101 evaluable ph II pts, there was no significant difference in PFS between TRC105+bev and bev only (2.9 vs 3.2 mo, respectively; HR=1.14, 95% CI 0.73-1.77, p=0.57), or overall survival (10.0 vs 7.4 mo; HR 1.02 95% CI 0.63-1.65, p=0.93). Response rate (complete or partial) was 12.2% (6/49) for TRC105+bev and 11.6% (5/43) for bev only. Overall incidence of grade (gr) 3+ toxicity was higher for TRC105+bev (67.3% vs 32.7%, p<0.001) mainly due to 14 pts with gr 3 anemia in the TRC105+bev arm vs 0 in the bev only pts. Gr 3+ non-heme toxicities were higher in pts receiving TRC105+bev vs bev only (50% vs 30.6%, p=0.07), mainly due to headache (6 vs 1 pts) and hyperglycemia (3 vs 0 pts). CECs remained stable in combination treated pts, suggesting a possible impact of the anti-CD105 blockade, but increased at progression in the bev only arm. There was no association between PFS and initial changes in CEC values, independent of treatment received. Conclusions: TRC105 plus bev did not prolong median PFS vs single agent bev in recurrent GBM pts, although it was associated with a non-significant prolongation of OS. These data and associated correlative analysis of CECs from study pts point against endoglin being a clinically significant factor for the development of bev resistance. Support: U10CA180821, U10CA180882. Clinical trial information: NCT01648348.

Abstract Purpose: Glioblastoma is an aggressive and molecularly heterogeneous cancer with few effective treatment options. We hypothesized that next-generation sequencing can be used to guide treatment recommendations within a clinically acceptable time frame following surgery for patients with recurrent glioblastoma. Experimental Design: We conducted a prospective genomics-informed feasibility trial in adults with recurrent and progressive glioblastoma. Following surgical resection, genome-wide tumor/normal exome sequencing and tumor RNA sequencing were performed to identify molecular targets for potential matched therapy. A multidisciplinary molecular tumor board issued treatment recommendations based on the genomic results, blood–brain barrier penetration of the indicated therapies, drug–drug interactions, and drug safety profiles. Feasibility of generating genomics-informed treatment recommendations within 35 days of surgery was assessed. Results: Of the 20 patients enrolled in the study, 16 patients had sufficient tumor tissue for analysis. Exome sequencing was completed for all patients, and RNA sequencing was completed for 14 patients. Treatment recommendations were provided within the study's feasibility time frame for 15 of 16 (94%) patients. Seven patients received treatment based on the tumor board recommendations. Two patients reached 12-month progression-free survival, both adhering to treatments based on the molecular profiling results. One patient remained on treatment and progression free 21 months after surgery, 3 times longer than the patient's previous time to progression. Analysis of matched nonenhancing tissue from 12 patients revealed overlapping as well as novel putatively actionable genomic alterations. Conclusions: Use of genome-wide molecular profiling is feasible and can be informative for guiding real-time, central nervous system–penetrant, genomics-informed treatment recommendations for patients with recurrent glioblastoma. Clin Cancer Res; 24(2); 295–305. ©2017 AACR. See related commentary by Wick and Kessler, p. 256