Back to Authors

Romano, Alfredo

Mayo Clinic

Bristol-Myers Squibb (Switzerland)

Citations 2

A phase I safety and pharmacokinetic (PK) study of nab-paclitaxel (nab-P) plus gemcitabine (Gem) for patients (pts) with advanced pancreatic cancer (APC) who have cholestatic hyperbilirubinemia (CH) secondary to bile duct obstruction.
Riess, Hanno, Kunzmann, Volker , Philip, Philip Agop, Seufferlein, Thomas , McGovern, D., Chen, Peng , Romano, Alfredo, Ramanathan, Ramesh K.

Journal of Clinical Oncology | February 24, 2017 | Volume: 34 | Issue: 4_suppl | Pages: TPS474-TPS474

10.1200/jco.2016.34.4_suppl.tps474 Get It

TPS474 Background: In pts with APC, the distal common bile duct is frequently obstructed, which can lead to elevated bilirubin levels. Normalization of bilirubin by stenting can take weeks, so treatment options that could be initiated in pts with elevated bilirubin are desirable. In a phase III trial of pts with metastatic PC, nab-P + Gem demonstrated superior efficacy vs Gem alone for all endpoints, including overall survival (OS; median, 8.7 vs 6.6 months; hazard ratio, 0.72; P < 0.001). This study will be the first to analyze safety and PK profiles of nab-P + Gem in pts with APC and CH secondary to bile duct obstruction. Methods: Treatment-naive pts (≈ 12 to 40) with APC, Karnofsky performance status ≥ 70, and CH due to bile duct obstruction are eligible. Pts with a biliary stent must have 2 stable (within 20% of each other) bilirubin readings within 48 to 72 hours of each other taken between 5 and 21 days after stenting. Exclusion criteria consist of brain metastases, any other active malignancy, infection requiring systemic therapy, a history of myocardial infarction, or current use of medications known to be strong inducers of CYP3A4 and CYP2C8. Pts will enter 1 of 2 cohorts based on bilirubin level: cohort 1, > 1.5 to 3 × upper limit of normal (ULN), or cohort 2, > 3 to 5 × ULN. Cohort 2 will proceed only after review of safety and PK data from cohort 1 by a safety monitoring committee (SMC) and a decision has been made to proceed. The starting doses are nab-P 100 mg/m2 and Gem 800 mg/m2 for cohort 1 and nab-P 75 mg/m2 and Gem 600 mg/m2 for cohort 2. Treatment will be administered on days 1, 8, and 15 of each 28-day cycle. Doses in each cohort will be modified according to tolerability as determined by the SMC. The primary endpoints are determination of maximum tolerated dose for each cohort and PK profile. Secondary endpoints include investigator-assessed objective response rate, progression-free survival, OS, PK profile of Gem, and safety. The exploratory endpoint is change in serum CA19-9 level from baseline. Enrollment is ongoing. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02267707. Clinical trial information: NCT02267707.
Prognostic Factors of Survival in a Randomized Phase III Trial (MPACT) of Weekly nab-Paclitaxel Plus Gemcitabine Versus Gemcitabine Alone in Patients With Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer
Tabernero, Josep , Chiorean, E. Gabriela , Infante, Jeffrey R., Hingorani, Sunil R. , Ganju, Vinod , Weekes, Colin D. , Scheithauer, Werner, Ramanathan, Ramesh K., Goldstein, David , Penenberg, Darryl, Romano, Alfredo, Ferrara, Stefano, Hoff, Daniel D. Von , Infante, Jon , Weekes, Colin, Penenberg, Darryl N, Von Hoff, Daniel D, Tabernero, Josep , Infante, Jon

The Oncologist | January 13, 2015 | Volume: 20 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 143-150

10.1634/theoncologist.2014-0394 Get It

Abstract Background. nab-Paclitaxel in combination with gemcitabine has emerged as a new treatment option for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer (MPC), based on superiority over gemcitabine demonstrated in the phase III MPACT trial. Previously, Karnofsky performance status (KPS) score and the presence of liver metastases were shown to be predictive of survival with nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine treatment. This analysis sought to further explore the relationship between clinical characteristics and survival in the MPACT trial and to identify potential predictors of overall survival and progression-free survival in patients with MPC. Materials and Methods. Cox regression models adjusted for stratification factors and a stepwise multivariate analysis of prespecified baseline prognostic factors were performed. Results. Treatment effect was significantly associated with survival, with a similar magnitude of reduction in risk of death compared with the previously reported primary analysis. Treatment effect consistently favored nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine across the majority of the prespecified factors. In addition to KPS score and presence of liver metastases, age and number of metastatic sites were independent prognostic factors of overall and progression-free survival. Baseline carbohydrate antigen 19-9 was not found to be an independent prognostic factor of survival in this analysis. Conclusion. The results of this analysis confirm broad utility of nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine for the treatment of MPC. In addition, these findings suggest that KPS score, presence of liver metastases, age, and number of metastatic sites are important predictors of survival that may be useful when making treatment decisions and designing future clinical trials.