Durvalumab plus gemcitabine and cisplatin in advanced biliary tract cancer (TOPAZ-1): patient-reported outcomes from a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial

BACKGROUND

In the ongoing, randomised, double-blind phase 3 TOPAZ-1 study, durvalumab, a PD-L1 inhibitor, plus gemcitabine and cisplatin was associated with significant improvements in overall survival compared with placebo, gemcitabine, and cisplatin in people with advanced biliary tract cancer at the pre-planned intermin analysis. In this paper, we present patient-reported outcomes from TOPAZ-1.

METHODS

In TOPAZ-1 (NCT03875235), participants aged 18 years or older with previously untreated, unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic biliary tract cancer with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 or 1 and one or more measurable lesions per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST; version 1.1) were randomly assigned (1:1) to the durvalumab group or the placebo group using a computer-generated randomisation scheme. Participants received 1500 mg durvalumab or matched placebo intravenously every 3 weeks (on day 1 of the cycle) for up to eight cycles in combination with 1000 mg/m2 gemcitabine and 25 mg/m2 cisplatin intravenously on days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks for up to eight cycles. Thereafter, participants received either durvalumab (1500 mg) or placebo monotherapy intravenously every 4 weeks until disease progression or other discontinuation criteria were met. Randomisation was stratified by disease status (initially unresectable vs recurrent) and primary tumour location (intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma vs extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma vs gallbladder cancer). Patient-reported outcomes were assessed as a secondary outcome in all participants who completed the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer's 30-item Quality of Life of Cancer Patients questionnaire (QLQ-C30) and the 21-item Cholangiocarcinoma and Gallbladder Cancer Quality of Life Module (QLQ-BIL21). We calculated time to deterioration-ie, time from randomisation to an absolute decrease of at least 10 points in a patient-reported outcome that was confirmed at a subsequent visit or the date of death (by any cause) in the absence of deterioration-and adjusted mean change from baseline in patient-reported outcomes.

FINDINGS

Between April 16, 2019, and Dec 11, 2020, 685 participants were enrolled and randomly assigned, 341 to the durvalumab group and 344 to the placebo group. Overall, 345 (50%) of participants were male and 340 (50%) were female. Data for the QLQ-C30 were available for 318 participants in the durvalumab group and 328 in the placebo group (median follow-up 9·9 months [IQR 6·7 to 14·1]). Data for the QLQ-BIL21 were available for 305 participants in the durvalumab group and 322 in the placebo group (median follow-up 10·2 months [IQR 6·7 to 14·3]). The proportions of participants in both groups who completed questionnaires were high and baseline scores were mostly similar across treatment groups. For global health status or quality of life, functioning, and symptoms, we noted no difference in time to deterioration or adjusted mean changes from baseline were observed between groups. Median time to deterioration of global health status or quality of life was 7·4 months (95% CI 5·6 to 8·9) in the durvalumab group and 6·7 months (5·6 to 7·9) in the placebo group (hazard ratio 0·87 [95% CI 0·69 to 1·12]). The adjusted mean change from baseline was 1·23 (95% CI -0·71 to 3·16) in the durvalumab group and 0·35 (-1·63 to 2·32) in the placebo group.

INTERPRETATION

The addition of durvalumab to gemcitabine and cisplatin did not have a detrimental effect on patient-reported outcomes. These results suggest that durvalumab, gemcitabine, and cisplatin is a tolerable treatment regimen in patients with advanced biliary tract cancer.

FUNDING

AstraZeneca.

Plain language summary of the TOPAZ-1 study: durvalumab and chemotherapy for advanced biliary tract cancer

WHAT IS THIS SUMMARY ABOUT?

This is a summary describing the results of a Phase III study called TOPAZ-1. The study looked at treatment with durvalumab (a type of immunotherapy) and chemotherapy to treat participants with advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC). Advanced BTC is usually diagnosed at late stages of disease, when it cannot be cured by surgery. This study included participants with advanced BTC who had not received previous treatment, or had their cancer come back at least 6 months after receiving treatment or surgery that aimed to cure their disease. Participants received treatment with durvalumab and chemotherapy or placebo and chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to find out if treatment with durvalumab and chemotherapy could increase the length of time that participants with advanced BTC lived, compared with placebo and chemotherapy.

WHAT WERE THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY?

Participants who took durvalumab and chemotherapy had a 20% lower chance of experiencing death at any point in the study compared with participants who received placebo and chemotherapy. The side effects experienced by participants were similar across treatment groups, and less than 12% of participants in either treatment group had to stop treatment due to treatment-related side effects.

WHAT DO THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY MEAN?

Overall, these results support durvalumab and chemotherapy as a new treatment option for people with advanced BTCs. Based on the results of this study, durvalumab is now approved for the treatment of adults with advanced BTCs in combination with chemotherapy by government organizations in Europe, the United States and several other countries.

Outcomes by antibiotic use in participants with advanced biliary tract cancer treated with durvalumab or placebo plus gemcitabine and cisplatin in the phase 3 TOPAZ-1 study

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Background: TOPAZ-1 (NCT03875235) is a double-blind, Phase 3 study of durvalumab (D), an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI), + gemcitabine and cisplatin (GC) in participants (pts) with advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC). D + GC improved overall survival (OS) in pts with advanced BTC versus placebo (PBO) + GC (Oh et al. NEJM Evid 2022). Use of antibiotics during ICI treatment has been correlated with poorer OS and progression-free survival (PFS; Jiang et al. Front Oncol 2022). Methods: Pts were randomized 1:1 to receive D (1500 mg) or PBO on Day 1 every 3 weeks (Q3W), + G (1000 mg/m2) and C (25 mg/m2) on Days 1 and 8 Q3W, for ≤8 cycles, followed by D or PBO monotherapy Q4W. This exploratory subgroup analysis of TOPAZ-1 assessed OS and PFS by systemic antibiotic use during the study (≥1 dose 14 days before first D/PBO dose to 14 days after last D/PBO dose). Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated using an unstratified Cox proportional hazards model, adjusting for disease status (initially unresectable or recurrent) and primary tumor location (intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, or gallbladder cancer). Data cut-off at primary analysis was Aug 11, 2021. Results: The number (%) of pts using antibiotics during the study (D + GC, 167/341 [49.0%]; PBO + GC, 167/344 [48.5%]) was similar between treatment arms. In the D + GC arm, median OS (95% CI) was similar regardless of antibiotics use: 12.6 (9.7–14.8) months in pts with antibiotics use vs 13.0 (10.8–14.7) months in pts without (Table). In the PBO + GC arm, median OS (95% CI) was 10.3 (8.7–12.5) in pts with antibiotics use vs 12.1 (11.0–13.8) in pts without. OS HRs (95% CI) in D + GC vs PBO + GC were 0.78 (0.59–1.02) in pts with antibiotics and 0.81 (0.62–1.07) in pts without. Median PFS (95% CI) was 7.3 (6.5–7.7) months in pts with antibiotics use vs 7.2 (5.9–7.4) months in pts without in the D + GC arm and 5.7 (5.4–6.6) months vs 6.1 (5.6–7.3) months, respectively, in the PBO + GC arm (Table). PFS HRs (95% CI) were 0.70 (0.55–0.89) in pts with antibiotics use and 0.82 (0.65–1.03) in pts without. Conclusions: In the TOPAZ-1 study of D in BTC, no meaningful difference was found in OS or PFS for participants who received antibiotics during the study period compared with those who did not, and results were consistent with the primary analysis. These results support that people receiving D may be treated with antibiotics when clinically indicated. Clinical trial information: NCT03875235 . [Table: see text]

Characterization of long-term survivors in the TOPAZ-1 study of durvalumab or placebo plus gemcitabine and cisplatin in advanced biliary tract cancer

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Background: At the primary analysis of TOPAZ-1 (NCT03875235; data cut-off [DCO] Aug 11, 2021), durvalumab (D) + gemcitabine and cisplatin (GC) significantly improved overall survival (OS) vs placebo (PBO) + GC in participants (pts) with advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC), with OS curves that separated over time (Oh et al. NEJM Evid 2022), that persisted with further follow-up (DCO Feb 25, 2022; HR, 0.76 [95% CI, 0.64–0.91]; 18-month OS, 34.8% [D + GC] vs 24.1% [PBO + GC]; Oh et al. Ann Oncol 2022 Abs 56P). We characterized long-term survivors (LTS) in TOPAZ-1. Methods: Pts untreated for unresectable locally advanced, recurrent or metastatic BTC received D (1500 mg every 3 weeks [Q3W]) or PBO, + G (1000 mg/m2) and C (25 mg/m2) on days 1 and 8 Q3W, up to 8 cycles, followed by D (1500 mg Q4W) or PBO. Characteristics and outcomes of LTS (pts who survived ≥18 months after randomization; DCO Feb 25, 2022) were assessed. Results: There were more LTS with D + GC vs PBO + GC (Table). Characteristics of LTS were consistent with the full analysis set (FAS, all randomized pts) including age, sex, region, primary tumor location, disease classification (metastatic vs locally advanced) and PD-L1 expression. Recurrent disease was more common than initially unresectable disease in LTS vs FAS. Median exposure to study treatment was 11.3 months (mo; D), 9.7 mo (PBO) and 5.5 mo (GC, both arms) in LTS and 7.3 mo (D), 5.8 mo (PBO) and 5.1 mo (GC, both arms) in FAS. The objective response rate in LTS was greater with D + GC vs PBO + GC (44.3%, D + GC; 33.8%, PBO + GC), and greater for both groups vs FAS (26.7%, D + GC; 18.7%, PBO + GC). A higher proportion of LTS in the PBO + GC group received subsequent anticancer therapy, including immunotherapy, than LTS in the D + GC group. The frequency of treatment-related adverse events leading to discontinuation in LTS was consistent with FAS. Conclusions: In TOPAZ-1, characteristics of LTS were generally consistent with the FAS. Overall, LTS were more common with D + GC; LTS in the PBO + GC group appear to be associated with higher frequency of subsequent treatments, including immunotherapy. Clinical trial information: NCT03875235 . [Table: see text]