Carlumab, an anti-C-C chemokine ligand 2 monoclonal antibody, in combination with four chemotherapy regimens for the treatment of patients with solid tumors: an open-label, multicenter phase 1b study.

C-C chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) stimulates tumor growth, metastasis, and angiogenesis. Carlumab, a human IgG1κ anti-CCL2 mAb, has shown antitumor activity in preclinical and clinical trials. We conducted a first-in-human phase 1b study of carlumab with one of four chemotherapy regimens (docetaxel, gemcitabine, paclitaxel + carboplatin, and pegylated liposomal doxorubicin HCl [PLD]). Patients had advanced solid tumors for which ≥1 of these regimens was considered standard of care or for whom no other treatment options existed. Dose-limiting toxicities included one grade 4 febrile neutropenia (docetaxel arm) and one grade 3 neutropenia (gemcitabine arm). Combination treatment with carlumab had no clinically relevant pharmacokinetic effect on docetaxel (n = 15), gemcitabine (n = 12), paclitaxel or carboplatin (n = 12), or PLD (n = 14). Total serum CCL2 concentrations increased post-treatment with carlumab alone, consistent with carlumab-CCL2 binding, and continued increase in the presence of all chemotherapy regimens. Free CCL2 declined immediately post-treatment with carlumab but increased with further chemotherapy administrations in all arms, suggesting that carlumab could sequester CCL2 for only a short time. Neither antibodies against carlumab nor consistent changes in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) or circulating endothelial cells (CECs) enumeration were observed. Three of 19 evaluable patients showed a 30 % decrease from baseline urinary cross-linked N-telopeptide of type I collagen (uNTx). One partial response and 18 (38 %) stable disease responses were observed. The most common drug-related grade ≥3 adverse events were docetaxel arm-neutropenia (6/15) and febrile neutropenia (4/15); gemcitabine arm-neutropenia (2/12); paclitaxel + carboplatin arm-neutropenia, thrombocytopenia (4/12 each), and anemia (2/12); and PLD arm-anemia (3/14) and stomatitis (2/14). Carlumab could be safely administered at 10 or 15 mg/kg in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapy and was well-tolerated, although no long-term suppression of serum CCL2 or significant tumor responses were observed.

Phase 1 first-in-human trial of the vascular disrupting agent plinabulin(NPI-2358) in patients with solid tumors or lymphomas.

PURPOSE: Plinabulin (NPI-2358) is a vascular disrupting agent that elicits tumor vascular endothelial architectural destabilization leading to selective collapse of established tumor vasculature. Preclinical data indicated plinabulin has favorable safety and antitumor activity profiles, leading to initiation of this clinical trial to determine the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) and assess the safety, pharmacokinetics, and biologic activity of plinabulin in patients with advanced malignancies. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Patients received a weekly infusion of plinabulin for 3 of every 4 weeks. A dynamic accelerated dose titration method was used to escalate the dose from 2 mg/m² to the RP2D, followed by enrollment of an RP2D cohort. Safety, pharmacokinetic, and cardiovascular assessments were conducted, and Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) scans were performed to estimate changes in tumor blood flow. RESULTS: Thirty-eight patients were enrolled. A dose of 30 mg/m² was selected as the RP2D based on the adverse events of nausea, vomiting, fatigue, fever, tumor pain, and transient blood pressure elevations, with DCE-MRI indicating decreases in tumor blood flow (Ktrans) from 13.5 mg/m² (defining a biologically effective dose) with a 16% to 82% decrease in patients evaluated at 30 mg/m². Half-life was 6.06 ± 3.03 hours, clearance was 30.50 ± 22.88 L/h, and distributive volume was 211 ± 67.9 L. CONCLUSIONS: At the RP2D of 30 mg/m², plinabulin showed a favorable safety profile, while eliciting biological effects as evidenced by decreases in tumor blood flow, tumor pain, and other mechanistically relevant adverse events. On the basis of these results additional clinical trials were initiated with plinabulin in combination with standard chemotherapy agents.

A phase Ib study of AMG 102 in combination with bevacizumab or motesanib in patients with advanced solid tumors.

PURPOSE: This phase Ib study evaluated the safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and antitumor activity of AMG 102, a fully human monoclonal antibody against hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF), in combination with bevacizumab or motesanib in patients with advanced solid tumors. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Patients with treatment-refractory advanced solid tumors were sequentially enrolled into four cohorts (3, 10, or 20 mg/kg AMG 102 plus 10 mg/kg bevacizumab i.v. every 2 weeks, or 3 mg/kg AMG 102 i.v. every 2 weeks plus 75 mg motesanib orally once daily). RESULTS: Fourteen patients were enrolled and received AMG 102. The combination of AMG 102 with bevacizumab (n = 12) seemed to have acceptable toxicity. The number of patients (n = 2) who received AMG 102 plus motesanib was insufficient to adequately assess safety. No dose-limiting toxicities were reported. Enrollment in the motesanib cohort was suspended because of reports of cholecystitis in other motesanib studies. Treatment-emergent adverse events among patients receiving AMG 102 plus bevacizumab were generally mild and included fatigue (75%), nausea (58%), constipation (42%), and peripheral edema (42%). No anti-AMG 102 antibodies were detected. Bevacizumab did not seem to affect AMG 102 pharmacokinetics. Circulating total HGF/SF increased from baseline throughout the study. Eight of 10 evaluable patients had reductions in tumor dimensions, and stable disease at > or =8, > or =16, and > or =24 weeks occurred in 9, 7, and 4 patients, respectively. Progression-free survival ranged from 7.9 to 121.9 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: AMG 102 in combination with bevacizumab was well tolerated. Further evaluation of AMG 102 in combination with antiangiogenic agents is warranted.

A randomized comparison of every-2-week darbepoetin alfa and weekly epoetin alfa for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced anemia in patients with breast, lung, or gynecologic cancer.

An important clinical question is the relative efficacy of the most common dosages of darbepoetin alfa (Aranesp; Amgen Inc.; Thousand Oaks, CA) 200 microg every 2 weeks (Q2W) and epoetin alfa (Procrit; Ortho Biotech Products, LP; Raritan, NJ) 40,000 U weekly (QW) for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced anemia. We designed three concurrent randomized, open-label, multicenter, identical trials (with the exception of tumor type criteria of breast, gynecologic, or lung cancer) of darbepoetin alfa and epoetin alfa in patients with chemotherapy-induced anemia to validate the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire for Anemia (PSQ-An) treatment tool and to compare the efficacies and safety profiles of these two agents. In each trial, patients were randomized 1:1 to receive either darbepoetin alfa at a dose of 200 microg Q2W or epoetin alfa at a dose of 40,000 U QW for up to 16 weeks. The PSQ-An was assessed for validity, feasibility, and reliability. Secondary clinical endpoints were analyzed using the primary analysis set. Both individual trial analyses and a protocol-specified combined analysis of data from all three trials were conducted. Overall, 312 patients (157 darbepoetin alfa; 155 epoetin alfa) were randomized and received study drug. Baseline characteristics were similar in both treatment groups in each trial and overall. The PSQ-An was valid, feasible, and reliable. In general, no difference between treatment groups was observed for hemoglobin- and transfusion-based endpoints in each individual trial or in the combined analysis. From exploratory analyses, achievement and maintenance of a hemoglobin target range (11-13 g/dl) were similar in both groups. No differences in safety were observed. With the PSQ-An, formal comparisons of the impact of anemia therapies on patients and caregivers can be made in future prospective studies. Further, darbepoetin alfa (200 microg Q2W) and epoetin alfa (40,000 U QW) appear to achieve comparable clinical and hematologic outcomes.

A randomized controlled trial of darbepoetin alfa administered as a fixed or weight-based dose using a front-loading schedule in patients with anemia who have nonmyeloid malignancies.

BACKGROUND: The effect of using fixed versus weight-based doses for erythropoietic agents has not been reported previously. To investigate this issue, the authors conducted a randomized Phase II study of darbepoetin alfa administered as either a fixed dose or a weight-based dose using an accelerated correction and maintenance dosing regimen (front-loading). METHODS: During the correction phase, patients with anemia (hemoglobin < 11.0 g/dL) who had nonmyeloid malignancies and who were receiving chemotherapy were given darbepoetin alfa at a fixed dose of 325 microg (n = 122) or at a weight-based dose of 4.5 microg/kg (n = 120) once weekly until they achieved a hemoglobin concentration > or = 12.0 g/dL. Patients then received darbepoetin alfa (325 microg or 4.5 microg/kg) once every 3 weeks for the remainder of the 16-week treatment period (maintenance phase). RESULTS: Darbepoetin alfa resulted in high Kaplan-Meier rates of hematopoietic response (> or = 2 g/dL increase from the baseline level or a hemoglobin level > or = 12 g/dL) in both the fixed-dose group (86%; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 78- 94%) and the weight-based dose group (84%; 95% CI, 76-92%). The median time to hematopoietic response was 34 days (95% CI, 28-44 days) for the fixed-dose group and 36 days (95% CI, 30-45 days) for the weight-based dose group. Hemoglobin concentrations were maintained at target levels for up to 16 weeks in both groups. Darbepoetin alfa was well tolerated, and no clinically significant differences between fixed doses and weight-based doses were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Darbepoetin alfa was effective when administered as either a fixed dose or a weight-based dose using a front-loading approach to rapidly correct anemia and effectively maintain hemoglobin levels in patients with anemia who had malignant disease.