Interim results of a phase II study of the mTOR inhibitor everolimus in patients with pretreated metastatic gastric and esophageal adenocarcinoma.
80 Background: There is increased evidence that cancers of the upper GI tract are comprised of distinct epidemiological and molecular entities that may respond differently to anti-cancer therapy in Asian patients compared to North American patients. Everolimus, an oral inhibitor of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) showed clinical promise in a phase II study in Japanese patients with pre-treated metastatic gastric cancer with a disease control rate of 56% (Doi et al, JCO, 2010). This study evaluates the efficacy and safety of everolimus in patients with pre-treated metastatic gastric and esophagus cancers in a US population. Methods: Patients with advanced upper GI adenocarcinomas who experienced disease progression despite 1-2 prior regimens were treated with everolimus 10 mg PO daily. The primary endpoint was disease control rate (DCR; CR+PR+SD). Secondary end points included progression free survival (PFS), toxicity, overall survival (OS) and translational correlatives of the mTOR pathway. Results: Of the 40 patients enrolled to date, 19 have gastric, 7 have esophagus and 14 have tumors from the GEJ. 32 patients are evaluable to date: median age of 59 (range 36-79), all patients had an ECOG of 0 or 1; 11 (34%) received 1 prior regimen and 21 (64%) received 2 prior regimens. We observed 0 responses with 44% of evaluable patients having stable disease. Median overall survival was 5.6 months (95% CI: 3.2-7.6) and PFS was 1.8 months (95% CI: 1.6-2.2). 89% of all adverse events were grade 1-2, and 11% were grade 3-4. Grade 3-4 related adverse events include: fatigue (24%), thrombocytopenia (22%), anemia (9%). Updated results of translational correlatives with the mTOR pathway will be presented. Conclusions: We did not achieve the same degree of overall survival or disease control as in the Japanese study which may reflect differences in the locations of the primary tumor or underlying geographic variation. However, OS is significantly better than best supportive care reported in a recent randomized European trial (Thuss-Patience PC et al, Eur J Cancer 2011). Results of the randomized Phase III trial of everolimus vs best supportive care in this patient population are pending.