Using qualitative interviews to identify patient-reported clinical trial endpoints and analyses that are the most meaningful to patients with advanced breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Designing clinical trials with the emphasis on the patient-centered approach and focusing on clinical outcomes that are meaningful to patients is viewed as a priority by drug developers, regulatory agencies, payers, clinicians, and patients. This study aimed to capture information on clinical trial endpoints that would be most important and relevant for patients with advanced breast cancer, based on patient-reported outcomes.

METHODS

Patients with either advanced triple-negative breast cancer [TNBC] and a maximum of two lines of systemic therapy or hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative [HR+/HER2-] breast cancer and a maximum of three lines of systemic therapy, participated in semi-structured concept elicitation interviews. Concept saturation was assessed. A sign, symptom, or impact was defined as "salient" if mentioned by ≥ 60% of participants, with an average bother rating of ≥ 5 (0-10 Scale). Participants were also asked about treatment priorities and to evaluate hypothetical scenarios showing different health-related functioning and quality-of-life treatment outcomes, using graphical representations.

RESULTS

Thirty-two participants (97% women; aged 29+ years) with TNBC (n = 17) or HR+/HER2- breast cancer (n = 15) provided generally similar reports on symptom experience, with fatigue and pain being most salient, though importance of certain treatment-related symptoms varied between the two groups. Patients reported consistent perspectives on the importance of treatment outcomes: when considering a new treatment, they prioritized efficacy of the therapy, acceptable tolerability, stability, predictability of symptoms over time, and the duration of preserved health-related quality of life and physical functioning. The meaningful difference in preserved physical functioning was 2-3 months for 46% of participants with TNBC, whereas for most participants with HR+/HER2- breast cancer it started from 6-7 months. Both groups of participants found it easier to accept some toxicity at the beginning of therapy if it was followed by improvement, as opposed to improvement followed by deterioration.

CONCLUSION

The results may help to inform the design of patient-centered clinical trials, to interpret health-related quality of life and/or patient-reported outcomes, and to optimize care for patients with advanced breast cancer.

Pazopanib and Fosbretabulin in recurrent ovarian cancer (PAZOFOS): A multi-centre, phase 1b and open-label, randomised phase 2 trial

OBJECTIVE

Vascular co-option is a resistance mechanism to anti-angiogenic agents, but combinations of anti-vascular agents may overcome this resistance. We report a phase 1b and randomised phase 2 trial to determine the safety and efficacy of pazopanib with fosbretabulin.

METHODS

Eligible patients had recurrent, epithelial ovarian cancer with a platinum-free interval (PFI) of 3 to 12 months. Patients were stratified according to PFI (>6 versus ≤6 months) and prior bevacizumab use.

RESULTS

Twelve patients were treated in the phase 1b. Commonest grade ≥ 2 adverse events (AEs) were hypertension (100%), neutropenia (50%), fatigue (50%), vomiting (50%). There was one DLT (grade 3 fatigue). The recommended phase 2 dose level was fosbretabulin 54 mg/m2 on days 1, 8 and 15 and pazopanib 600 mg once daily (od), every 28 days, which was then compared to pazopanib 800 mg od in a randomised phase 2 trial. Twenty-one patients were randomised (1:1) in the phase 2 trial. In phase 1b and phase 2, four patients treated with pazopanib and fosbretabulin developed reversible, treatment-related cardiac AEs, leading to premature discontinuation of the study. In the phase 2 trial, the median PFS was 7.6 months (95% CI 4.1-not estimated) versus 3.7 months (95% CI 1.0-8.1) in favour of the experimental arm (HR 0.30, 95% CI 0.09-1.03, P = .06).

CONCLUSIONS

It remains unclear whether pazopanib with with fosbretabulin is an efficacious regimen to treat epithelial ovarian cancer. Effective cardiac risk mitigation is needed to increase the tolerability and maximize patient safety in future trials.

Prevalence and clinical implications of mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency in unselected non-serous epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients (pts)

1521

Background: It has previously been reported that 6-7% of clear cell (CC) and endometrioid (E) ovarian cancers are MMR deficient (MMRd). The prevalence of MMRd in other histological subtypes and correlation with germline (g) MMR (Lynch Syndrome) mutations in unselected non-serous EOC pts is less clear. MMRd in solid tumors has been associated with enhanced response to immunotherapy, hence knowledge of MMR status has therapeutic and familial implications. We aimed to study the prevalence and implications of MMRd and gMMRd in unselected pts with non-serous EOC. Methods: Routine immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed for the MMR proteins MLH1, MSH2, MSH6 and PMS2 in all non-serous EOC pts from June 2016; retrospective MMR IHC testing in pts in follow-up was performed. Pts with MMRd tumors were referred for gMMR testing. Results: We analyzed 66 unselected pts with non-serous EOC. Median age was 56.4 years (yrs). The majority had E ovarian cancer (54.5%) followed by CC (25.8%), mixed histology (12.1%), mucinous (4.5%) and mullerian (3%) subtypes. Endometriosis was noted in 45.5% of pts, and 75% were FIGO stage I and II at diagnosis. Seventeen pts (25.8%) had concurrent endometrial cancer, all Grade I. On IHC, 15.2% were MMRd: 5 E, 2 CC, 2 mixed and 1 mullerian-type. Of these, 3 pts (30%) had gMMR mutation, 2/3 did not meet the Revised Bethesda criteria for testing. A lower average body mass index (Kg/m2) was noted in MMRd 25.9 versus 30.1 in MMR proficient (MMRp). Median age at diagnosis was 53.5 yrs in the MMRd and 57.7 yrs in MMRp. A higher frequency of concurrent endometrial cancer was observed on the MMRd group (60%) versus (20%) on MMRp (p = 0.007). No statistically significant difference in overall survival or disease-free survival was observed between the MMRd and MMRp population. Conclusions: Our study has shown a higher prevalence of somatic MMRd in non-serous EOC (15.2%) than in previously published literature with a significant proportion found to carry gMMR mutations (4.5%). These interim findings support the role of universal MMR IHC testing in non-serous EOC regardless of family history. [Table: see text]

Microenvironmental niche divergence shapes BRCA1-dysregulated ovarian cancer morphological plasticity

How tumor microenvironmental forces shape plasticity of cancer cell morphology is poorly understood. Here, we conduct automated histology image and spatial statistical analyses in 514 high grade serous ovarian samples to define cancer morphological diversification within the spatial context of the microenvironment. Tumor spatial zones, where cancer cell nuclei diversify in shape, are mapped in each tumor. Integration of this spatially explicit analysis with omics and clinical data reveals a relationship between morphological diversification and the dysregulation of DNA repair, loss of nuclear integrity, and increased disease mortality. Within the Immunoreactive subtype, spatial analysis further reveals significantly lower lymphocytic infiltration within diversified zones compared with other tumor zones, suggesting that even immune-hot tumors contain cells capable of immune escape. Our findings support a model whereby a subpopulation of morphologically plastic cancer cells with dysregulated DNA repair promotes ovarian cancer progression through positive selection by immune evasion.

Microenvironmental niche divergence shapes BRCA1-dysregulated ovarian cancer morphological plasticity

How tumor microenvironmental forces shape plasticity of cancer cell morphology is poorly understood. Here, we conduct automated histology image and spatial statistical analyses in 514 high grade serous ovarian samples to define cancer morphological diversification within the spatial context of the microenvironment. Tumor spatial zones, where cancer cell nuclei diversify in shape, are mapped in each tumor. Integration of this spatially explicit analysis with omics and clinical data reveals a relationship between morphological diversification and the dysregulation of DNA repair, loss of nuclear integrity, and increased disease mortality. Within the Immunoreactive subtype, spatial analysis further reveals significantly lower lymphocytic infiltration within diversified zones compared with other tumor zones, suggesting that even immune-hot tumors contain cells capable of immune escape. Our findings support a model whereby a subpopulation of morphologically plastic cancer cells with dysregulated DNA repair promotes ovarian cancer progression through positive selection by immune evasion.

The current status of immunotherapy for cervical cancer

Immunotherapy has been proven effective in several tumours, hence diverse immune checkpoint inhibitors are currently licensed for the treatment of melanoma, kidney cancer, lung cancer and most recently, tumours with microsatellite instability. There is much enthusiasm for investigating this approach in gynaecological cancers and the possibility that immunotherapy might become part of the therapeutic landscape for gynaecological malignancies. Cervical cancer is the fourth most frequent cancer in women worldwide and represents 7.9% of all female cancers with a higher burden of the disease and mortality in low- and middle-income countries. Cervical cancer is largely a preventable disease, since the introduction of screening tests, the recognition of the human papillomavirus (HPV) as an etiological agent, and the subsequent development of primary prophylaxis against high risk HPV subtypes. Treatment for relapsed/advanced disease has improved over the last 5 years, since the introduction of antiangiogenic therapy. However, despite advances, the median overall survival for advanced cervical cancer is 16.8 months and the 5-year overall survival for all stages is 68%. There is a need to improve outcomes and immunotherapy could offer this possibility. Clinical trials aim to understand the best timing for immunotherapy, either in the adjuvant setting or recurrent disease and whether immunotherapy, alone or in combination with other agents, improves outcomes.

OCTOPUS: A randomised, multi-centre phase II umbrella trial of weekly paclitaxel+/- novel agents in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer—Vistusertib (AZD2014)

TPS5609

Background: There is an urgent need to improve outcomes for patients with platinum-resistant and refractory ovarian cancer (PROC). OCTOPUS is an umbrella phase II framework for testing whether the addition of novel targeted agents to weekly paclitaxel (wPxl) improves efficacy in PROC. The first agent to be evaluated is the dual mTORC1/mTORC2 inhibitor, vistusertib (AZD2014), as preclinical studies support targeting the PI3kinase/Akt/mTOR pathway in PROC and the combination of vistusertib and wPxl has shown promising preliminary activity in high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGS) patients in a phase I trial (Banerji et al poster discussion ESMO 2016). This is the first randomised trial of wPxl and a dual mTORC1/2 inhibitor in ovarian cancer. Methods: OCTOPUS is an investigator-initiated, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre, phase II trial. 140 patients with PROC (histologically confirmed HGS) are randomised 1:1 to receive wPxl (80mg/m2 D1, D8, D15 of 28 day cycle) plus oral vistusertib (50mg BD) or placebo (D1-3, D8-10, D15-17). The primary endpoint is progression-free survival (PFS) based on combined RECIST v1.1/GCIG CA125 criteria. The study is designed to detect a 50% improvement in median PFS from 3.7 months on placebo to 5.55 months on the experimental arm with 90% power, at the 20% 1-sided level of statistical significance (or equivalently with 80% power at the 10% level of statistical significance) using a 3-outcome design. Secondary endpoints include response (based on RECIST 1.1 and GCIG CA125 criteria), overall survival, toxicity and quality of life. Patients whom received prior wPxl for PROC are not eligible. A mandatory pre-treatment biopsy (if technically feasible), archival tissue, and serial blood samples will be collected for translational research studies. 49 patients have been recruited. The study is part of the NIHR CRN Cancer/Astrazeneca Alliance, sponsored by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde/University of Glasgow and endorsed by Cancer Research UK (CRUKE/14/052). Clinical trial information: ISRCTN16426935.

Efficacy of a sequential treatment strategy with GEMOX-based followed by FOLFIRI-based chemotherapy in advanced biliary tract cancers

BACKGROUND

Gemcitabine (GEM)-platinum chemotherapy stands as first-line therapy for patients with recurrent/advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC), yielding progression-free survival (PFS) of 3.4-6.4 months. No standard second-line chemotherapy after GEM-platinum failure exists and data on survival benefit remain limited.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed patients with recurrent/advanced BTC who received gemcitabine-oxaliplatin (GEMOX)-based chemotherapy followed by 5-fluorouracil-irinotecan (FOLFIRI)-based chemotherapy to evaluate the efficacy of the sequential treatment strategy. Overall survival (OS) and PFS were calculated by Kaplan-Meier method.

RESULTS

Fifty-two patients were analyzed, 21 (40%) had intrahepatic, 14 (27%) had hilar/extrahepatic, and 17 (33%) had gallbladder cancer. Median age was 64 years (range 38-79 years). Prior curative intent resection of the primary tumor was performed in 23 (44.2%) patients and GEMOX adjuvant chemotherapy was given in 12 (23.1%) patients. After a median follow-up of 36.3 months, 47 (90.4%) patients completed the treatment strategy. First-sequence GEMOX and second sequence FOLFIRI achieved 4.8 months and 3.2 months median PFS, respectively. The global OS for the sequential chemotherapy was 21.9 months. The sequence of FOLFIRI resulted in a median OS of 8.4 months.

CONCLUSION

The sequence of GEMOX-FOLFIRI is a potential treatment strategy for patients with recurrent/advanced BTC.