ABSTRACT
Limited data are available on the efficacy of anti-IGF-1R agents in KRAS mutant colorectal cancer (CRC). We analysed the outcome of 69 chemorefractory, KRAS exon 2 mutant CRC patients who were enrolled in a double-blind, randomised, phase II/III study of irinotecan and cetuximab plus dalotuzumab 10 mg/kg once weekly (arm A), dalotuzumab 7.5 mg/kg every second week (arm B) or placebo (arm C). Objective response rate (5.6% vs. 3.1% vs. 4.8%), median progression-free survival (2.7 vs. 2.6 vs. 1.4 months) and overall survival (7.8 vs. 10.3 vs. 7.8 months) were not statistically significantly different between treatment groups. Most common grade ≥3 treatment-related toxicities included neutropenia, diarrhoea, hyperglycaemia, fatigue and dermatitis acneiform. Expression of IGF-1R, IGF-1, IGF-2 and EREG by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was assessed in 351 patients from the same study with available data on KRAS exon 2 mutational status. Median cycle threshold values for all biomarkers were significantly lower (i.e., higher expression, p < 0.05) among patients with KRAS wild-type compared to those with KRAS exon 2 mutant tumours. No significant changes were found according to location of the primary tumour with only a trend towards lower expression of IGF-1 in colon compared to rectal cancers (p = 0.06). Albeit limited by the small sample size, this study does not appear to support a potential role for anti-IGF-1R agents in KRAS exon 2 mutant CRC. Data on IGF-1R, IGF-1 and IGF-2 expression here reported may be useful for patient stratification in future trials with inhibitors of the IGF pathway.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/therapeutic use , Antibodies, Monoclonal/therapeutic use , Colorectal Neoplasms/drug therapy , Mutation/genetics , Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras)/genetics , Adult , Aged , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use , Camptothecin/administration & dosage , Camptothecin/analogs & derivatives , Cetuximab/administration & dosage , Colorectal Neoplasms/genetics , Disease-Free Survival , Double-Blind Method , Exons/genetics , Female , Humans , Insulin-Like Growth Factor I/genetics , Insulin-Like Growth Factor II/genetics , Irinotecan , Male , Middle Aged , Receptor, IGF Type 1/geneticsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Insulin-like growth factor type 1 receptor (IGF-1R) mediates resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibition and may represent a therapeutic target. We conducted a multicenter, randomized, double blind, phase II/III trial of dalotuzumab, an anti-IGF-1R monoclonal antibody, with standard therapy in chemo-refractory, KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer. METHODS: Eligible patients were randomly assigned to dalotuzumab 10mg/kg weekly (arm A), dalotuzumab 7.5mg/kg every alternate week (arm B), or placebo (arm C) in combination with cetuximab and irinotecan. Primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Secondary endpoints included exploratory biomarker analyses. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: The trial was prematurely discontinued for futility after 344 eligible KRAS wild-type patients were included in the primary efficacy population (arm A = 116, arm B = 117, arm C = 111). Median PFS was 3.9 months in arm A (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.33, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.98 to 1.83, P = .07) and 5.4 months in arm B (HR = 1.13, 95% CI = 0.83 to 1.55, P = .44) compared with 5.6 months in arm C. Median OS was 10.8 months in arm A (HR = 1.41, 95% CI = 0.99 to 2.00, P = .06) and 11.6 months in arm B (HR = 1.26, 95% CI = 0.89 to 1.79, P = .18) compared with 14.0 months in arm C. Grade 3 or higher asthenia and hyperglycaemia occurred more frequently with dalotuzumab compared with placebo. In exploratory biomarker analyses, patients with high IGF-1 mRNA tumors in arm A had numerically better PFS (5.6 vs 3.6 months, HR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.28 to 1.23, P = .16) and OS (17.9 vs 9.4 months, HR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.31 to 1.45, P = .31) compared with those with high IGF-1 mRNA tumors in arm C. In contrast, in arm C high IGF-1 mRNA expression predicted lower response rate (17.6% vs 37.3%, P = .04), shorter PFS (3.6 vs 6.6 months, HR = 2.15, 95% CI = 1.15 to 4.02, P = .02), and shorter OS (9.4 vs 15.5 months, HR = 2.42, 95% CI = 1.21 to 4.82, P = .01). CONCLUSIONS: Adding dalotuzumab to irinotecan and cetuximab was feasible but did not improve survival outcome. IGF-1R ligands are promising biomarkers for differential response to anti-EGFR and anti-IGF-1R therapies.
