Gastrointestinal Toxicity of Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) in Metastatic Breast Cancer: A Pooled Analysis

Trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1), sacituzumab govitecan (SG), and trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) are three ADCs approved for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Since gastrointestinal toxicities have been commonly observed with these drugs in clinical trials, a pooled analysis evaluating gastrointestinal adverse events (AEs) in patients with MBC treated with ADCs in clinical trials was performed. PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched from inception until May 2023 for phase II and III clinical trials reporting frequency and severity of gastrointestinal AEs during treatment with ADCs. Data were retrieved for nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, and abdominal pain: overall and grade 3-4 toxicity rates according to NCI-CTCAE were collected and expressed as proportions. A pre-specified subgroup analysis according to the agent was also carried out. Fourteen studies, comprising 5608 patients, were included in the analysis. Gastrointestinal AEs were frequently registered with SG and T-DXd. A significantly higher frequency of nausea (65.6% with SG, 75% with T-DXd), vomiting (43.7% with SG, 45% with T-DXd), and diarrhea (59.7% with SG, 29% with T-DXd) was noticed with these ADCs compared to TDM-1. Furthermore, diarrhea was more frequently associated with SG (grade 3 in 7.5% of patients), while constipation and abdominal pain were less common. Gastrointestinal AEs, notably nausea and diarrhea, were frequently reported by MBC patients treated with SG and T-DXd in clinical trials. Since these ADCs are administered continuously until disease progression or occurrence of unbearable AEs, gastrointestinal toxicity may have a negative impact on patient quality of life. Therefore, appropriate management of gastrointestinal AEs is mandatory to ensure treatment efficacy and adherence.

Immunotherapy-Mediated Luminal Gastrointestinal Toxicities

The advent of immune checkpoint blockade and its application in the management of advanced malignancies has revolutionized cancer therapies, outcomes, and survival. As beneficial as these class of drugs have been proven to be, their use is not devoid of complications, viz., immune-related adverse events (irAEs). The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is the second most frequently affected organ system, and toxicities may vary in severity from mild disease to aggressive life-threatening clinical presentations. Timely diagnosis that incorporates clinical, biochemical, imaging, endoscopic, and histologic evaluation is imperative for efficacious management of this disease process to ensure good outcomes. Management varies depending on severity and can comprise supportive care in milder disease patterns as well as vigorous immunosuppression in aggressive cases.

N-acetylcysteine as an adjunctive treatment for bipolar depression and major depressive disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis of double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trials

RATIONALE

It remains unclear whether using N-acetylcysteine as an adjunctive treatment has any benefit for bipolar depression and major depressive disorder.

OBJECTIVES

A systematic review and random-effect meta-analysis of double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trials was conducted to explore the clinical question.

METHODS

Outcomes included improvement in depression scale scores (primary), Young Mania Rating Scale score, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale score, Clinical Global Impression-Severity Scale (CGI-S) score, Global Assessment of Functioning Scale score, Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale score, Range of Impaired Functioning Tool score, Streamed Longitudinal Interval Clinical Evaluation for the Longitudinal Interview Follow-Up Evaluation score, quality of life scales scores, and the incidence of all-cause discontinuation and individual adverse events.

RESULTS

Seven studies (n = 728, 8-24 weeks, mean age = 46.81, % female = 58.45%) were included. N-acetylcysteine did not improve depressive symptoms compared with placebo (N = 7, n = 579, standardized mean difference (SMD) = - 0.12, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = - 0.38, 0.14, p = 0.38, I² = 52.74%). The meta-regression analysis detected an association between effect size and publication year (coefficient = 0.06, 95% CI = 0.00, 0.11, p = 0.04, I² = 27.56%). Although N-acetylcysteine was superior to placebo in CGI-S score (N = 6, n = 563, SMD = - 0.28, 95% CI = - 0.47, - 0.10, p < 0.01, I² = 14.88%), there was no significant difference in the other efficacy outcomes between the treatment groups. Although N-acetylcysteine was associated with a higher incidence of gastrointestinal adverse events compared with placebo (N = 4, n = 537, risk ratio = 1.79, 95% CI = 1.37, 2.32, p < 0.01, I² = 0.00%, number needed to treat to harm = 7), there was no significant difference in all-cause discontinuation and other safety outcomes between the treatments.

CONCLUSIONS

Although N-acetylcysteine decreased CGI-S score, no specific improvements in symptoms were identified.

Evaluation of Characteristics of Gastrointestinal Adverse Events with Once-Weekly Dulaglutide Treatment in Chinese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Post Hoc Pooled Analysis of Two Randomized Trials

INTRODUCTION

Gastrointestinal (GI) events are a common side effect of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists (RA) class. This post hoc analysis assessed the characteristics of GI adverse events in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) who were treated with once-weekly dulaglutide from two randomized clinical trials.

METHODS

Chinese patients with T2D, treated with once-weekly dulaglutide (1.5 mg and 0.75 mg) from two phase III multicenter trials (AWARD-CHN1 and AWARD-CHN2) were included. Descriptive statistics were used to present the data. The characteristics (incidence, severity, onset, duration, and time of occurrence) of GI adverse events reported through 26 weeks in a Chinese subpopulation from the two trials were investigated.

RESULTS

A total of 787 Chinese patients with T2D were included in this analysis. Up to week 26, 225 patients (28.6%) reported at least one GI treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE). The most frequently reported GI TEAEs were diarrhea (13.1%), nausea (6.6%), abdominal distension (6.4%), and vomiting (3.0%), with most being categorized as mild to moderate in severity in proportions of 92%, 88%, 94%, and 83%, respectively. A total of 12 patients (1.5%) discontinued the dulaglutide treatment as a result of GI TEAEs. The median duration of the first reported GI TEAEs was 4.0, 5.0, 12.5, and 4.0 days for diarrhea, nausea, abdominal distension, and vomiting, respectively. The incidence of GI TEAEs was more frequent during the first 2 weeks of dulaglutide treatment; however, the incidence declined rapidly after 2 weeks and remained low until week 26.

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the GI TEAEs associated with once-weekly dulaglutide (1.5 mg and 0.75 mg) were mild to moderate in severity. The incidence of GI TEAEs was more pronounced during the first 2 weeks of dulaglutide treatment but declined rapidly as treatment continued, and was low at week 26, indicating that dulaglutide was well tolerated in Chinese patients with T2D.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

NCT01648582 and NCT01644500.

Gastrointestinal Tract Adverse Events

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have shown significant benefit in cancer patients. Their success, however, is associated with immune-related adverse events (irAEs), which commonly affect the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in diarrhea and colitis. IrAEs range from mild self-limiting to severe life-threatening diseases and potentially limit the use of these medications. Diagnosis of ICI-induced enterocolitis is based on clinical symptoms, physical examination, stool tests, endoscopic and histologic evaluation, and/or imaging. Current management strategy is mainly anti-diarrheal agents for mild symptoms and immunosuppressants (e.g., corticosteroids, and infliximab or vedolizumab) for more severe diseases.

Clinical diagnosis and treatment of immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated adverse events in the digestive system

Immunotherapy for malignant tumors is a hot spot in current research and the treatment of cancer. The activation of programmed cell death receptor-1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA)-4 relevant signaling pathway can inhibit the activation of T lymphocytes. Tumor cells can achieve immune escape by activating this signaling pathway. By inhibiting this signaling pathway, immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) activate T lymphocytes to clear the tumor cells. Therefore, the adverse effects of ICIs are mainly immune-related adverse events (irAEs). The digestive system, including the gastrointestinal tract and liver which are vital organs of digestion and absorption, metabolism and detoxification, as well as important immune-related organs, is the most commonly affected system of irAEs. This review explains the incidence, clinical features, diagnosis and treatment of liver and gastrointestinal adverse events in ICIs.

[Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment of Immune-related Adverse Events in Digestive System Related to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors]

恶性肿瘤的免疫治疗是当前肿瘤研究和治疗领域的热点，免疫检查点分子程序性死亡受体-1（programmed cell death receptor-1, PD-1）和细胞毒性T淋巴细胞相关抗原4（cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4, CTLA-4）相关信号通路的激活可以抑制T淋巴细胞活化，肿瘤细胞通过激活该信号通路实现免疫逃逸。免疫检查点抑制剂（immuno-checkpoint inhibitors, ICIs）通过抑制该信号通路，活化T淋巴细胞发挥机体对肿瘤细胞的清除。因此，ICIs的相关毒性包括免疫相关的不良事件（immune-related adverse effects, irAEs）。消化系统如胃肠道、肝脏作为人体重要的消化吸收器官、代谢解毒器官，同时也是重要的免疫相关器官，是irAEs的常见受累系统。本文将分别对ICIs的肝脏、胃肠道不良反应的发生率、临床表现、诊断和处理分别进行阐述。

Outcomes Associated with Treatment of Chronic Pain with Tapentadol Compared with Morphine and Oxycodone: A UK Primary Care Observational Study

Introduction

This study compared adverse outcomes and resource use for patients with a diagnosis of pain treated with tapentadol prolonged-release (PR) versus those treated with morphine controlled-release (CR) and oxycodone CR.

Methods

Data were sourced from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), a database derived from UK primary care. Patients prescribed tapentadol PR between May 2011 and December 2016 were selected and matched to two groups of controls treated with either morphine CR or oxycodone CR on gender, age, pain duration, pain site, pain aetiology, Charlson index and prior analgesia. Times to first adverse event (constipation or nausea/vomiting) were compared within a Cox proportional hazards model. Rates of primary care contacts, accident and emergency contacts and, for a subset of patients linked to Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), inpatient admissions and outpatient contacts were compared using incidence rate ratios (IRRs) derived from Poisson regression.

Results

A total of 1907 patients prescribed tapentadol PR were identified and 1791 (93.9%) had a pain diagnosis. Of these 1246 (65.3%) were matched to morphine controls and 829 (43.4%) to oxycodone controls. Compared to controls, gastrointestinal adverse events with tapentadol PR treatment were reduced; aHR = 0.532 (0.402–0.703; p < 0.001) versus morphine CR and 0.517 (0.363–0.735; p < 0.001) versus oxycodone CR. Compared with morphine CR, primary care contacts [IRR = 0.831 (0.802–0.861)], accident and emergency attendance [0.739 (0.572–0.951)], outpatient contacts [0.917 (0.851–0.989)] and inpatients contacts [0.789 (0.664–0.938)] were reduced. For oxycodone, the respective figures were 0.735 (0.703–0.768), 0.971 (0.699–1.352), 0.877 (0.799–0.962) and 0.748 (0.601–0.932).

Conclusion

Tapentadol PR was associated with significantly fewer adverse gastrointestinal events than morphine CR and oxycodone CR in patients with a diagnosis of pain. There was also significantly reduced primary and secondary care resource use. As with all observational studies, potential bias due to residual confounding and confounding by indication should be considered.

Funding

Grünenthal Ltd.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1007/s12325-019-00932-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

ASCEND-8 pharmacokinetic, safety, and efficacy data for ceritinib 450 mg with food in patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive non-small cell lung Cancer: A clinical perspective

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive (ALK+) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is diagnosed in up to 126,000 patients worldwide annually. Ceritinib is a next-generation ALK-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is approved for the treatment of patients with metastatic ALK+ NSCLC. In December 2017, the US Food and Drug Administration-approved dose of ceritinib was changed from 750 mg/day under fasting conditions to 450 mg/day taken with food for the treatment of patients with ALK+ NSCLC. This change was implemented on the basis of data from studies designed to investigate ways to reduce the frequency of gastrointestinal adverse events noted in patients enrolled in several ASCEND clinical trials that evaluated a ceritinib 750-mg fasted dose as either first- or second/third-line treatment. This review highlights and discusses published findings from the ASCEND-8 food-effect trial and includes commentary from physicians regarding their own clinical cases of patients who were enrolled in the trial and treated with either the 750-mg fasted or 450-mg fed dose of ceritinib. The review also discusses the implications of using the recently approved ceritinib 450-mg dose in the clinical setting.

Managing flushing and gastrointestinal events associated with delayed-release dimethyl fumarate: Experiences of an international panel

Strategies for monitoring and managing the known adverse event (AE) profile of therapies for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis have become key to the optimization of patient outcomes. Delayed-release dimethyl fumarate (DMF) was associated with an increased risk of flushing and gastrointestinal (GI) AEs in clinical trials. A survey of clinicians with significant research experience using delayed-release DMF was conducted to provide guidance to clinicians using delayed-release DMF in clinical practice on the management of flushing and GI tolerability AEs. Recommendations for prophylaxis included educating the patient about flushing and GI AEs associated with delayed-release DMF and recommending administration with food. A variety of symptomatic treatments were utilized during the delayed-release DMF clinical trials in patients presenting with delayed-release DMF-related flushing or GI AEs that were severe or bothersome enough to warrant pharmacological intervention.