Randomized Phase III Study of FOLFOX Alone or With Pegilodecakin as Second-Line Therapy in Patients With Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer That Progressed After Gemcitabine (SEQUOIA)

PURPOSE SEQUOIA compared efficacy and safety of adding pegilodecakin (PEG), a pegylated recombinant human interleukin (IL)-10, with folinic acid, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) in patients following progression on first-line gemcitabine-containing therapy with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). PATIENTS AND METHODS SEQUOIA, a randomized, global phase III study, compared FOLFOX with PEG + FOLFOX as second line in gemcitabine-refractory PDAC. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 (PEG + FOLFOX:FOLFOX) and stratified by prior gemcitabine and region. Eligible patients had only one prior gemcitabine-containing treatment. Primary end point was overall survival (OS). Secondary end points included progression-free survival (PFS), response evaluation per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumor (RECIST) 1.1, and safety. Exploratory analyses included biomarkers related to immune activation. RESULTS Between March 1, 2017, and September 9, 2019, 567 patients were randomly assigned PEG + FOLFOX (n = 283) or FOLFOX (n = 284). Most (94.7%) patients received prior gemcitabine plus nab paclitaxel. OS was similar comparing PEG + FOLFOX versus FOLFOX (median: 5.8 v 6.3 months; hazard ratio = 1.045; 95% CI, 0.863 to 1.265). Also, PFS (median 2.1 v 2.1 months; hazard ratio = 0.981; 95% CI, 0.808 to 1.190) and objective response rate (4.6% v 5.6%) were similar between the treatment arms. Most common (≥ 35%) treatment-emergent adverse events in PEG + FOLFOX versus FOLFOX were thrombocytopenia (55% v 20%), anemia (40% v 16%), fatigue (61% v 45%), neutropenia (39% v 28%), abdominal pain (37% v 29%), nausea (45% v 41%), neuropathy (37% v 38%), and decreased appetite (35% v 31%). Exploratory analyses revealed increases in total IL-18, interferon (IFN)-γ, and granzyme B and decreases in transforming growth factor (TGF)-β with the addition of PEG. CONCLUSION PEG added to FOLFOX did not improve efficacy in advanced gemcitabine-refractory PDAC. Safety findings were consistent as previously observed from PEG with chemotherapy; toxicity was manageable and tolerable. Exploratory pharmacodynamic results were consistent with immunostimulatory signals of the IL-10R pathway.

The Impact of Liposomal Irinotecan on the Treatment of Advanced Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: Real-World Experience in a Taiwanese Cohort

Liposomal irinotecan plus 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin (nal-IRI + 5-FU/LV) has shown to provide survival benefits for patients with gemcitabine-refractory metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in NAPOLI-1 trial, in which Asian patients experienced more hematological toxicity and subsequent dose modification. A retrospective chart review to investigate the administration pattern, therapeutic efficacy and safety profile of nal-IRI + 5-FU/LV in 44 consecutive patients with gemcitabine-refractory advanced PDAC treated between December 2016 and December 2018 in National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Taiwan. Most of them had metastatic diseases (88.6%), one-line of prior treatment (72.7%), ECOG PS 0-1 (72.7%) and starting dose of nal-IRI at 60 mg/m2 (≈52 mg/m2 irinotecan free-base) in 65.9%. The overall response rate was 9.1%. The median OS was 6.6 months for the entire cohort, and 7.8 and 2.7 months for patients of ECOG PS 0-1 and>2, respectively. The median OS of ECOG PS 0-1 patients with nal-IRI starting doses at 80 mg/m2 (≈70 mg/m2 irinotecan free-base, n = 13) and 60 mg/m2 (n = 19) were 7.5 and 8.4 months, respectively. Thirty-four percent of patients experienced manageable grade 3-4 hematological toxicity. Our results confirm the clinical benefit of nal-IRI + 5-FU/LV for patients of gemcitabine-refractory advanced PDAC with good performance status in a real-world setting.

Oral chemotherapy as second-line treatment option for gemcitabine-refractory advanced pancreatic cancer with poor performance status.

405 Background: There is few data for effective second-line treatment in advanced pancreatic cancer, and most patients have poor performance status after progressive disease. We evaluated the efficacy, toxicity, and median dose intensity of oral chemotherapy, capecitabine, or TS-1 in gemcitabine-refractory advanced pancreatic cancer for second-line treatment. Methods: Patients who have progressive disease after first-line gemcitabine-based chemotherapy were retrospectively analyzed between Jan. 2011 and Nov. 2017. These patients were treated with capecitabine or TS-1 as second-line treatment. Capecitabine were administered as 2,500 mg/m2 divided dose on day 1-14, followed by one week rest. In TS-1 group, TS-1 was taken orally based on patient’s BSA (60mg twice daily in BSA > 1.5, 50mg twice daily in BSA 1.25-1.5, and 40mg twice daily in BSA < 1.25) through 28 days, by two week rest. Median dose intensity was compared by calculating a percent of target dose achieved in the average cycle for each patient. Results: Of the total 62 patients, 41 patients were treated with capecitabine and 21 patients were treated with TS-1. The median age was 61 years for the capecitabine group compared with 62 years for the TS-1 group. In capecitabine group, males were 56%, and in TS-1 group, males were 66%. 29% of capecitabine group received prior fluorouracil base therapy, and 47% of TS-1 group were receiving such therapy. The objective response rate was similar in the two groups: 12.2% with capecitabine and 4.8% with TS-1 (p = 0.358). There was no difference in median progression free survival between capecitabine and TS-1 (2.1 months vs. 2.7 months, p = 0.102), however, TS-1 group showed better median overall survival time than capecitabine group (6.9 months vs. 4.6 months, p = 0.048). Most of the adverse events were similar in both group, except that grade 3 or 4 mucositis was more common in TS-1 group. There was no significant difference in median dose intensity between two groups. (Capecitabine 91.5% vs. TS-1 90.1%, p = 0.216). Conclusions: Oral agents such as TS-1 or capecitabine can be second-line treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer patients with poor performance status after progression to gemcitabine-based regimen.