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BackgroundTo determine the safety and efficacy of the anti-colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (anti-CSF1R) monoclonal antibody AMG 820 in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with select solid tumors.Patients and methodsPatients had advanced, refractory mismatch repair-proficient colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, or non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with low (<50%) programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and were naïve to anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)/PD-L1 or had relapsed/refractory NSCLC after anti-PD-1/PD-L1 treatment with low or high (≥50%) PD-L1 expression; all were anti-CSF1/CSF1R naïve. Patients received 1100 mg or 1400 mg AMG 820 plus 200 mg pembrolizumab intravenously every 3 weeks. The primary endpoints were incidence of dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) and adverse events (AEs) and objective response rate per immune-related Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours at the recommended combination dose.ResultsOverall, 116 patients received ≥1 dose of AMG 820 plus pembrolizumab (18 at 1400 mg AMG 820; 98 at 1100 mg AMG 820). Most patients (64%) were male; the median age was 64 (range 30–86) years. Seven patients had DLTs (1 at 1400 mg AMG 820; 6 at 1100 mg AMG 820). Almost all patients (99.1%) had AEs, 87.9% with grade ≥3 AEs. The most common AEs were increased aspartate aminotransferase (59.5%), fatigue (48.3%), periorbital/face edema (48.3%), and rash/maculopapular rash (37.1%). The best response was immune-related partial response in 3 patients (3%; duration of response 9.2, 10.0, 12.5 months) and immune-related stable disease in 39 patients (34%). None of the completed phase II cohorts met the predefined threshold for efficacy. Post-treatment there was accumulation of serum colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF1) and interleukin-34, reduction in CSF1-dependent CD16-expressing monocytes, and increased PD-L1 expression and CD4 and CD8 cell numbers in tumor biopsies.ConclusionsThe recommended combination dose of 1100 mg AMG 820 plus 200 mg pembrolizumab had an acceptable safety profile. Although pharmacodynamic effects were observed, antitumor activity was insufficient for further evaluation of this combination in selected patient populations.Trial registration number NCT02713529

ObjectiveTo evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK) and preliminary antitumour activity of AMG 404, a fully human IgG1 monoclonal antibody targeting programmed cell death-1, in patients with advanced solid tumours.DesignFirst-in-human phase I study comprising eight dose expansion cohorts, including cohorts with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) tumours and non-small cell lung cancer with high programmed death-ligand 1 expression (NSCLC/PDL1-H, tumour proportion score ≥50%).SettingConducted across 28 global sites.ParticipantsThis study enrolled adult patients with histologically or cytologically confirmed metastatic or locally advanced solid tumours not amenable to curative treatment with surgery or radiation. The inclusion criteria included a life expectancy of >3 months, ≥1 measurable or evaluable lesion per modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours (RECIST) V.1.1, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of ≤2 and adequate haematological, renal and hepatic function. Patients with prior treatment with checkpoint inhibitors, primary brain tumour or untreated or symptomatic brain metastases and leptomeningeal disease and history of other malignancy within the past 2 years were excluded.InterventionsThe planned doses were 240 mg, 480 mg and 1050 mg of AMG 404 administered every 4 weeks (Q4W).Primary and secondary outcome measuresPrimary endpoints were dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs), treatment-emergent adverse events, treatment-related adverse events, changes in vital signs and clinical laboratory tests. Secondary endpoints included PK parameters, incidence of antidrug (AMG 404) antibodies and antitumour activity assessed per modified RECIST V.1.1 (objective response, duration of response, progression-free survival (PFS), disease control and duration of stable disease).ResultsA total of 171 patients were enrolled; 168 were treated. Median (range) follow-up was 36.3 weeks (1.6–137.1). No DLTs were observed. Grade 3 and serious treatment-related adverse events occurred in 16 (9.5%) and 12 (7.1%) patients, respectively. The 480 mg Q4W dose was selected as the recommended phase II dose. AMG 404 serum exposure increased approximately dose proportionally. The objective response rate (80% CI) was 19.6% (15.7–24.1) for the overall population and 36.6% (26.4–47.8) and 30.8% (14.2–‍52.3) for cohorts with MSI-H tumours (n=41) and NSCLC/PDL1-H (n=13), respectively. The overall disease control rate (80% CI) was 54.8% (49.5–59.9). The median (80% CI) PFS was 3.7 (3.5–4.5) months for the overall population and 14.8 (9.0–not estimable) and 4.4 (2.2–9.7) months for cohorts with MSI-H tumours and NSCLC/PDL1-H, respectively.ConclusionsAMG 404 monotherapy was tolerable at the tested doses, with encouraging antitumour activity observed across tumour types.Trial registration numberNCT03853109.

Astegolimab, a fully human immunoglobulin G2 monoclonal antibody, binds with high affinity to ST2, the interleukin‐33 receptor, thereby blocking ST2/interleukin‐33 binding and subsequent inflammatory cascades involved in inflammatory diseases. Here, we present three randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, Phase I studies evaluating the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and immunogenicity of single‐ascending doses of astegolimab in healthy participants and patients with mild atopic asthma (NCT01928368), multiple‐ascending doses in healthy participants (NCT02170337), and single‐ascending doses in healthy Japanese and White adults. Overall, 152 participants were enrolled, randomized, and treated with single‐ or multiple‐ascending doses of astegolimab (n = 112) or placebo (n = 40) subcutaneously (2.1–560 mg) or intravenously (210 or 700 mg). No deaths, serious adverse events, or discontinuations due to adverse events occurred during the studies. No clinically meaningful differences in incidence of TEAEs were observed between treatment arms. Pharmacokinetic exposure increased more than dose proportionally over 2.1–420 mg for single‐ascending doses but were approximately dose proportional for single‐ and multiple‐ascending doses ≥ 70 mg following subcutaneous administration. No pharmacokinetic differences were observed based on ethnicity between Japanese and White participants following body weight adjustments. Incidence of antidrug antibodies to astegolimab in healthy participants in the single‐ and multiple‐ascending dose studies was 14%–23% and 33%–50% for subcutaneous and intravenous administration, respectively. Astegolimab was well tolerated in these Phase I studies with no safety concerns identified. Thus, further assessment of astegolimab in targeted patient populations was justified; the Phase IIb ALIENTO and Phase III ARNASA trials in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are ongoing.

Manual interpretation of variants remains rate limiting in precision oncology. The increasing scale and complexity of molecular data generated from comprehensive sequencing of cancer samples requires advanced interpretative platforms as precision oncology expands beyond individual patients to entire populations. To address this unmet need, we introduce a Platform for Oncogenomic Reporting and Interpretation (PORI), comprising an analytic framework that facilitates the interpretation and reporting of somatic variants in cancer. PORI integrates reporting and graph knowledge base tools combined with support for manual curation at the reporting stage. PORI represents an open-source platform alternative to commercial reporting solutions suitable for comprehensive genomic data sets in precision oncology. We demonstrate the utility of PORI by matching 9,961 pan-cancer genome atlas tumours to the graph knowledge base, calculating therapeutically informative alterations, and making available reports describing select individual samples. The interpretation of somatic variants in cancer is challenging due to the scale and complexity of sequencing data. Here, the authors present PORI, an open-source framework for interpreting somatic variants in cancer using graph knowledge base tools, automated reporting, and manual curation.

Summary Purpose To determine the dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs), maximum tolerated dose (MTD), safety, and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles of the tripeptide epoxyketone proteasome inhibitor oprozomib in patients with advanced refractory or recurrent solid tumors. Methods Patients received escalating once daily (QD) or split doses of oprozomib on days 1–5 of 14-day cycles (C). The split-dose arm was implemented and compared in fasted (C1) and fed (C2) states. Pharmacokinetic samples were collected during C1 and C2. Proteasome inhibition was evaluated in red blood cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Results Forty-four patients (QD, n  = 25; split dose, n  = 19) were enrolled. The most common primary tumor types were non–small cell lung cancer (18 %) and colorectal cancer (16 %). In the 180-mg QD cohort, two patients experienced DLTs: grade 3 vomiting and dehydration; grade 3 hypophosphatemia ( n  = 1 each). In the split-dose group, three DLTs were observed (180-mg cohort: grade 3 hypophosphatemia; 210-mg cohort: grade 5 gastrointestinal hemorrhage and grade 3 hallucinations ( n  = 1 each). In the QD and split-dose groups, the MTD was 150 and 180 mg, respectively. Common adverse events (all grades) included nausea (91 %), vomiting (86 %), and diarrhea (61 %). Peak concentrations and total exposure of oprozomib generally increased with the increasing dose. Oprozomib induced dose-dependent proteasome inhibition. Best response was stable disease. Conclusions While generally low-grade, clinically relevant gastrointestinal toxicities occurred frequently with this oprozomib formulation. Despite dose-dependent increases in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, single-agent oprozomib had minimal antitumor activity in this patient population with advanced solid tumors.

BackgroundTargeting the MDM2-p53 interaction using AMG 232 is synergistic with MAPK inhibitors (MAPKi) in preclinical melanoma models. We postulated that AMG 232 plus MAPKi is safe and more effective than MAPKi alone in TP53-wild type, MAPKi-naïve metastatic melanoma.MethodsPatients were treated with increasing (120 mg, 180 mg, 240 mg) oral doses of AMG 232 (seven-days-on, 15-days-off, 21-day cycle) plus dabrafenib (D) and trametinib (T) (Arm 1, BRAFV600-mutant) or T alone (Arm 2, BRAFV600-wild type). Patients were treated for seven days with AMG 232 alone before adding T±D. Safety and efficacy were assessed using CTCAE v4.0 and RECIST v1.1 criteria, respectively. Pharmacokinetic (PK) analysis was performed at baseline and steady-state levels for AMG 232.Results31 patients were enrolled. Ten and 21 patients were enrolled in Arm 1 and Arm 2, respectively. The most common AMG 232-related adverse events (AEs) were nausea (87%), diarrhea (77%), and fatigue (74%). Seven patients (23%) were withdrawn from the study due to AMG 232-related AEs. Three dose-limiting AEs occurred (Arm 1, 180 mg, nausea; Arm 2, 240 mg, grade 3 pulmonary embolism; Arm 2, 180 mg, grade 4 thrombocytopenia). AMG 232 PK exposures were not altered when AMG 232 was combined with T±D. Objective responses were seen in 8/10 (Arm 1) and 3/20 (Arm 2) evaluable patients. The median progression-free survival for Arm 1 and Arm 2 was 19.0 months-not reached and 2.8 months, respectively.ConclusionThe maximum tolerated dose of AMG 232 for both arms was 120 mg. AMG 232 plus T±D exhibited a favorable PK profile. Although objective responses occurred in both arms, adding AMG 232 to T±D did not confer additional clinical benefit.

BackgroundEnhancement of antitumor immunity through inhibition of the checkpoint PD-1 receptor has been effective in the treatment of many malignancies. AMG 404 is a monoclonal antibody (mAb) targeting PD-1. This phase 1, open-label, multicenter first-in-human study (NCT03853109) will evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy of AMG 404 monotherapy in adult patients with advanced solid tumors.MethodsThe primary study endpoint is dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) and safety; key secondary endpoints include pharmacokinetic parameters, objective response rate (assessed Q8W), duration of response, and progression-free survival. Key inclusion criteria include histologically or cytologically proven metastatic or locally advanced solid tumors not amenable to curative treatment with surgery or radiation for which standard therapies have been exhausted or not available. Prior anti-PD-(L)1 or other checkpoint inhibitors were not allowed. Five dose-finding cohorts, including 2 expansion cohorts, ranged from 3–20 patients each. AMG 404 was given until disease progression, intolerance, or consent withdrawal.ResultsAs of the data cutoff date of May 4, 2020, 62 patients received at least 1 dose of AMG 404 and were included in the safety and efficacy analysis sets. Fifty percent were men, 72% had ECOG 1 performance status, median age was 62 years (range: 28–83), and 42% had ≥3 lines of prior anticancer therapy. Median AMG 404 exposure was ~3 months (maximum: ~12 months). No DLTs were observed. Treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were reported for 29 patients (47%): those reported for ≥2 patients were fatigue (n=7); hypothyroidism (n=6); increased blood thyroid stimulating hormone and nausea (n=4 each); increased aspartate aminotransferase, decreased appetite, and pyrexia (n=3 each); and increased alanine aminotransferase, arthralgia, diarrhea, and increased weight (n=2 each). AEs leading to withdrawal of AMG 404 were reported for 3 patients (5%); all were serious and considered to be not related to AMG 404. Sixteen (26%) patients died on study; no deaths were considered related to AMG 404. Preliminary pharmacokinetic results were consistent with those of other therapeutic anti-PD-1 mAbs. Three patients had a confirmed partial response (pancreatic cancer, clear cell cancer, and pleomorphic sarcoma); an additional 4 patients had one scan with a partial response and are pending a confirmatory scan (clear cell renal carcinoma, undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma, sarcomatoid carcinoma of unknown primary, and colon cancer).ConclusionsAMG 404 is tolerable at the tested doses with no DLTs reported. All observed TRAEs are consistent with other anti-PD-1 therapies. Encouraging anti-tumor activity has been observed in heavily pretreated patients. The study is continuing enrollment into additional cohorts.Trial RegistrationNCT03853109Ethics ApprovalThe study was approved by the Ethics Board of each institution involved in this study and can be produced upon request.

Manual interpretation of variants remains rate limiting in precision oncology. The increasing scale and complexity of molecular data generated from comprehensive sequencing of cancer samples requires advanced interpretative platforms as precision oncology expands beyond individual patients to entire populations. To address this unmet need, we created the Platform for Oncogenomic Reporting and Interpretation (PORI), comprising an analytic framework created to facilitate the interpretation and reporting of somatic variants in cancer. PORI is unique in its integration of reporting and graph knowledge base tools combined with support for manual curation at the reporting stage. PORI represents one of the first open-source platform alternatives to commercial reporting solutions suitable for comprehensive genomic data sets in precision oncology. We demonstrate the utility of PORI by matching 9,961 TCGA tumours to the graph knowledge base, revealing that 88.2% have at least one potentially targetable alteration, and making available reports describing select individual samples. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Footnotes * https://github.com/bcgsc/pori

N′-Nitrosonomicotine (NNN), N-nitrosopiperidine (NPIP), and N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPYR) are structurally related cyclic nitrosamines that induce tumors in laboratory animals and are likely causative agents in human cancers. Humans are exposed to these nitrosamines via tobacco and dietary sources. NNN is the most abundant of the carcinogenic nitrosamines in tobacco. NPIP and NPYR are present in tobacco and the diet. Additional exposure to these nitrosamines may come from endogenous formation. These nitrosamines have distinct tissue selectivity as carcinogens. NNN and NPIP are potent esophageal and nasal carcinogens in rats whereas NPYR primarily induces liver tumors, but does not induce esophageal tumors and is only weakly carcinogenic in the nasal cavity. The ability of these nitrosamines to cause tumor induction is likely due to their effective metabolic activation catalyzed by cytochrome P450 (P450) enzymes in the target tissue. Therefore, we hypothesized that differences in metabolic activation of these structurally similar nitrosamines mediate the differences in their carcinogenic activities in experimental animals. In this thesis, nitrosamine bioactivation was investigated in vitro with rat microsomes and expressed cytochrome P450 (P450s) enzymes. It was demonstrated that rat esophageal and nasal microsomes (containing P450s) preferentially catalyzed NPIP bioactivation relative to NPYR, indicating that tissue-specific metabolic activation is a key factor in tissue-selective tumor formation. Striking differences in NNN, NPIP, and NPYR bioactivation were observed in a structure-activity study with closely related rat, mouse, and human P450s. Taken together, these data strongly support that P450-mediated bioactivation in the rodent and human target tissues is a crucial event mediating tissue-selective tumor formation by NNN, NPIP, NPYR, and other nitrosamines. In additional studies, it was determined that human P450 2A13 is a functional protein in vivo. P450 2A13 is expressed in the lung and nasal cavity on an mRNA level and efficiently catalyzes the bioactivation of several carcinogenic nitrosamines, including 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK), a likely causative agent for tobacco-related cancers in humans. Further, investigations were carried out to understand the low catalytic activities observed for NNK activation by human lung microsomes.

Increased synthesis of Apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I) and HDL is believed to provide a new approach to treating atherosclerosis through the stimulation of reverse cholesterol transport. RVX-208 increases the production of ApoA-I in hepatocytes in vitro, and in vivo in monkeys and humans, which results in increased HDL-C, but the molecular target was not previously reported. Using binding assays and X-ray crystallography, we now show that RVX-208 selectively binds to bromodomains of the BET (Bromodomain and Extra Terminal) family, competing for a site bound by the endogenous ligand, acetylated lysine, and that this accounts for its pharmacological activity. siRNA experiments further suggest that induction of ApoA-I mRNA is mediated by BET family member BRD4. These data indicate that RVX-208 increases ApoA-I production through an epigenetic mechanism and suggests that BET inhibition may be a promising new approach to the treatment of atherosclerosis.