Progress report of a cross-organ and biomarker-based basket-type clinical trial: BELIEVE Trial

Cancer genomic medicine using next-generation sequencers has been developing. However, the number of patients who could receive genomically matched therapy is limited because off-label use or patient-oriented compassionate use was not permitted under National Health Insurance in Japan. To improve patient drug accessibility, we initiated a biomarker-based basket-type clinical trial (NCCH1901) in October 2019 under patient-proposed healthcare services. We listed the drugs that had high medical needs but were not covered by National Healthcare Insurance. Then we included these drugs before patient proposal so that they could access off-label drugs soon after they had the results of CGP tests. All drugs were provided free of charge by pharmaceutical companies. The objective was to administer off-label drugs and to collect efficacy and safety data for these drugs. The primary endpoint was the response rate based on the best overall response for up to 16 weeks. As of January 31, 2022, we included 18 drug cohorts and 295 patients were treated in this study. The most common cancer was brain tumor, followed by carcinoma of endocrine organs and colorectal cancer. BRAF mutations and ERBB2 amplifications were the frequent genomic abnormalities to be enrolled. This study was one way to access off-label drugs, and contributed significantly to providing treatment opportunities for patients in Japan.

Concurrent Mutations in STK11 and KEAP1 Cause Treatment Resistance in KRAS Wild-type Non-small-cell Lung Cancer

We herein report a patient with KRAS wild-type non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with concurrent STK11 and KEAP1 mutations. A 53-year-old man visited a local doctor with a complaint of left shoulder swelling and pain. He was diagnosed with NSCLC cT4N0M1c stage IVB. A comprehensive genome profile test revealed mutations in STK11 and KEAP1 but no KRAS mutations. The patient was refractory to radiotherapy, immunotherapy, and chemotherapy. Thus, STK11 and KEAP1 mutations can be considered resistance mutations that confer resistance to various anticancer therapies in KRAS wild-type NSCLC.