Hypofractionated Radiotherapy with Sequential Anthracycline-based Chemotherapy in Marginally Resectable Soft Tissue Sarcomas: Final Results of a Phase II Clinical Trial

TPS11075 Background: Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are rare tumors and exhibit substantial histological diversity. Efficacious targeted 1st line treatment for advanced or metastatic STS is not available, and the standard therapy has been anthracycline-based for decades. This strategy shows poor efficacy, as demonstrated by a median Overall Survival (OS) of 12-20 months. Several STS subtypes, however, have been shown to express PD-L1, and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have demonstrated principle anti-tumor activity in pretreated STS. Our ongoing clinical trial tests the activity and safety of ICI combination therapy in the first-line setting. We hypothesize that the dual checkpoint blockade with Durvalumab (PD-L1) and Tremelimumab (CTLA-4) improves overall survival in STS when compared to the standard of care doxorubicin. Methods: MEDISARC is a multi-center phase II trial that is enrolling adult treatment-naïve patients with histologically confirmed STS of intermediate or high grade (FNCLCC grade 2 or 3) not amenable to surgery with curative intent and ECOG performance status 0-2. Chemosensitive histologic STS are eligible. 100 patients will be randomized 1:1, stratified by ECOG status (0 vs. 1/2). Patients in the experimental arm are treated with fixed doses of durvalumab (1.5 g Q4W) and tremelimumab (75 mg Q4W for 3 cycles, then Q12W) until Progressive Disease (PD) or for a maximum of 12 months. Doxorubicin treatment in the standard arm is at 75 mg/m2 Q3W and limited to 6 cycles. OS is the primary endpoint. Secondary endpoints include 2-year OS rate, PFS, ORR according to conventional and modified RECIST 1.1, safety and tolerability and health-related quality of life (EORTC QLQ-C30). OS analysis may be performed when the required number of events (E=70) has been observed. All randomized and treated subjects will be included in the efficacy and safety analysis. The accompanying translational research aims to identify prognostic and predictive biomarkers in blood and tumor tissue. Enrollment of patients started in April 2018 and is ongoing. As of February 2019, 32 patients have been enrolled. The study is sponsored by AIO-Studien-gGmbH, Berlin, Germany. Clinical trial information: 2016-004750-15.

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RECIST vs. WHO: Prospective comparison of response criteria in an EORTC phase II clinical trial investigating ET-743 in advanced soft tissue sarcoma

European Journal of Cancer ◽

10.1016/j.ejca.2005.04.005 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 41 (10) ◽

pp. 1426-1430 ◽

Cited By ~ 54

Author(s):

P. Therasse ◽

A. Le Cesne ◽

M. Van Glabbeke ◽

J. Verweij ◽

I. Judson

Keyword(s):

Clinical Trial ◽

Soft Tissue ◽

Soft Tissue Sarcoma ◽

Phase Ii ◽

Phase Ii Clinical Trial ◽

Response Criteria ◽

Advanced Soft Tissue Sarcoma ◽

Prospective Comparison

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PD1 inhibition in soft-tissue sarcomas with tertiary lymphoid structures: A multicenter phase II trial.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2021.39.15_suppl.11507 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽

pp. 11507-11507

Author(s):

Antoine Italiano ◽

Alban Bessede ◽

Emmanuelle Bompas ◽

Sophie Piperno-Neumann ◽

Christine Chevreau ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Clinical Trial ◽

Soft Tissue ◽

Phase Ii ◽

Progressive Disease ◽

Objective Response ◽

Soft Tissue Sarcomas ◽

Progression Rate ◽

Multicenter Phase ◽

Tertiary Lymphoid Structures ◽

Lymphoid Structures

11507 Background: PD1 inhibition has shown limited activity in all comers clinical trials including patients with advanced soft-tissue sarcomas (STS). In the PEMBROSARC study, objective response rate, progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were respectively 2.1%, 1.4 and 7.1 months respectively (Toulmonde et al. Jama Oncol 2017). We have recently shown that the presence of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) may represent a biomarker to select patients who are more likely to benefit from immunotherapy (PetitPrez et al., Nature 2020). We report here the first clinical trial investigating the efficacy of PD1 inhibition in TLS-positive STS. Methods: PEMBROSARC is an open-label multicenter phase II study of pembrolizumab in combination with low-dose cyclophosphamide in pts with STS selected based on the presence of TLS. TLS status has been assessed centrally has previously described (PetitPrez et al., Nature 2020). Eligible patients received pembrolizumab 200mg IV q21 days and cyclophosphamide 50 mg BID 1week on, 1 week off. All patients had confirmed progressive disease at inclusion based on central review of two imaging performed at less than 6 months interval. The primary efficacy endpoint was 6-month non-progression (as per RECIST evaluation criteria v1.1). Based on the following hypotheses: 15% 6-month non-progression rate (H0), 40% acceptable 6-month non-progression rate (H1), 5% type I error rate, 90% power, a total of 29 assessable patients were necessary and 8 patients or more had to be progression-free at 6 months to reach the first endpoint. Results: 240 patients were screened for TLS status between September 2018 and January 2020 in 7 centers of the French Sarcoma Group. Among them, 48 were found to be TLS+ as per central review and 35 were included in the study. The three most frequent histological subtypes were: well-differentiated/dedifferentiated liposarcoma (n = 13); UPS (n = 6), and leiomyosarcoma (n = 4). 30 patients were eligible for efficacy. Of those, as per central imaging review, 13 patients (43.3%) had tumor shrinkage resulting in partial response in 8 patients (26.7%) and stable disease in 5 cases (16.7%). 10 patients had progressive disease. Twelve patients were progression-free at 6 months (40.0% 95%CI = [22.7 – 59.4]).Median PFS and OS were 4.1 months (95%CI, 1.4-9.6) and 14.5 months (95%CI, 8.5- 18.3 months), respectively. Conclusions: With an objective response and a 6-month non-progression rates of 26.7% and 40% respectively versus 2.1% and 4.2% in all comers, the PEMBROSARC study confirms that selection based on TLS status is an efficient approach to tailor immunotherapy in STS patients. Clinical trial information: NCT02406781.

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A randomized phase II trial of cabozantinib combined with PD-1 and CTLA-4 inhibition in metastatic soft tissue sarcoma.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2021.39.15_suppl.tps11583 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽

pp. TPS11583-TPS11583

Author(s):

Vanessa Anne Eulo ◽

Breelyn A. Wilky ◽

Jingqin Luo ◽

Angela C. Hirbe ◽

Mia C. Weiss ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Clinical Trial ◽

Soft Tissue ◽

Phase Ii ◽

Immune Checkpoint ◽

Response Rate ◽

Single Agent ◽

Objective Response ◽

Soft Tissue Sarcomas ◽

Randomized Phase Ii ◽

Metastatic Setting

TPS11583 Background: Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are rare malignancies with poor prognosis in the metastatic setting. Current standard therapy includes anthracycline based chemotherapy. Cabozantinib is a multikinase inhibitor that has demonstrated efficacy in solid tumors such as renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A phase II study of cabozantinib in advanced STS is underway. Cabozantinib in combination with immune checkpoint blockade has shown clinical benefit in several tumor types including HCC, RCC, non-small cell lung cancer, and urothelial carcinoma. Since cabozantinib may alter PD-1 expression in regulatory T-cells and promote an immune permissive environment, we hypothesize that combining cabozantinib with immune checkpoint inhibition is a therapeutic strategy that will be more effective than cabozantinib alone. Additionally, the design of the trial will allow assessment of whether pretreatment with cabozantinib will enhance the efficacy of nivolumab and ipilimumab alone. Methods: This is an open label, multicenter, randomized phase II clinical trial of cabozantinib (60mg orally daily as a single agent, 40mg in combination) with or without combination Ipilimumab (ipi, 1mg/kg IV every 3 weeks for 4 doses) and Nivolumab (nivo, 3mg/kg IV every 3 weeks for four doses, then 480mg IV every 4 weeks) in patients (pts) with unresectable or metastatic STS refractory to up to two lines of chemotherapy. 105 pts with non-translocation driven sarcomas will be enrolled at three US sites and randomized 2:1 to the combination group. Pts will be stratified by prior pazopanib use and balanced for histologies. Patients who progress on arm A will cross over to combination therapy (arm B). The primary efficacy endpoint is objective response rate (ORR) by RECIST 1.1. 35 patients in Cohort A (cabozantinib alone) and 70 patients in Cohort B (cabozantinib plus ipi/nivo) will be required to detect an increase of the ORR from 10% in cohort A to 30% in cohort B with 81% power with a one-sided alpha level of 10%. Key eligibility criteria include: at least 18 years of age, ECOG performance status of 0 or 1, ≤2 prior lines of therapy and measurable disease. Exclusion criteria include: translocation-driven sarcoma except alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS), prior immunotherapy, and chronic use of corticosteroids or other immunosuppression. Secondary endpoints are safety, overall and progression free survival, disease control rate, and response rate to ipilimumab and nivolumab after cabozantinib pretreatment. Mandatory tumor biopsies pre-treatment and at 6 weeks will be obtained. Peripheral blood will be collected for circulating immune phenotyping. Enrollment will occur at 3 participating institutions and is expected to be completed in 2022. Clinical trial information: NCT04551430.

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