An Endocrine News roundup of the week’s pharmaceutical news, breakthroughs, and general information. *
Neuroendocrine Tumor Treatment Data Presented by Exelixis
On September 16, Exelixis announced updated and final data from CABINET, a Phase 3 pivotal trial evaluating cabozantinib (CABOMETYX®) versus placebo in two cohorts of patients with previously treated neuroendocrine tumors: one cohort with advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNET) and one cohort with advanced extra-pancreatic NET (epNET).
These data were presented at the 2024 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress (ESMO 2024) during the Proffered Paper Session: NETs and Endocrine Tumours at 2:45 p.m. CET and were simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
“The phase 3 CABINET study, which was conducted through the National Cancer Institute’s National Clinical Trials Network, reflects real-world clinical practice in that it enrolled a wide and heterogeneous range of patients regardless of primary tumor site, grade, somatostatin receptor expression and functional status,” said Jennifer Chan, MD, MPH, study chair for the CABINET trial, clinical director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Center and director of the Program in Carcinoid and Neuroendocrine Tumors at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. “I’m encouraged by these final results showing that cabozantinib provided a clinically meaningful treatment benefit for patients with previously treated advanced neuroendocrine tumors, including across all major clinical subgroups. The findings suggest that cabozantinib has the potential to become a new standard of care for these patients greatly in need of new treatment options.”
The final results from the CABINET study presented today at ESMO and published in NEJM demonstrate continued improvement with cabozantinib in the primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS) by blinded independent central review (BICR) through the data cutoff of August 24, 2023. In the pNET cohort (n=95), at a median follow-up of 13.8 months, the hazard ratio (HR) was 0.23 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.12-0.42; p<0.0001); median PFS was 13.8 months for cabozantinib versus 4.4 months for placebo. In the epNET cohort (n=203), at a median follow-up of 10.2 months, the HR was 0.38 (95% CI: 0.25-0.59; p<0.0001); median PFS was 8.4 months versus 3.9 months, respectively. Upon disease progression, patients were unblinded, and those receiving placebo were permitted to cross over to open-label therapy with cabozantinib.
Additional analyses suggest benefits with cabozantinib across all clinical subgroups examined, including primary tumor site, grade and prior systemic anticancer therapy. In the pNET cohort, the objective response rate (ORR) by BICR was 19% with cabozantinib compared with 0% with placebo. In the epNET cohort, the ORR by BICR was 5% with cabozantinib compared with 0% with placebo. Similar interim overall survival (OS) results for cabozantinib compared to placebo were observed in both cohorts; HRs for OS were 0.95 (95% CI: 0.45-2.00) for the pNET cohort and 0.86 (95% CI: 0.56-1.31) for the epNET cohort.
“Patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors face a poor prognosis with limited treatment options. These updated data reinforce the potential of cabozantinib as a new treatment to significantly delay disease progression,” says Amy Peterson, MD, executive vice president, Product Development & Medical Affairs, and chief medical officer, Exelixis. “We believe the CABINET data indicate that cabozantinib could be practice-changing in NET, and we are working closely with the FDA to bring this differentiated option to patients with advanced NET as quickly as possible.”
The safety profile of cabozantinib observed in each cohort was consistent with its known safety profile; no new safety signals were identified. A majority of patients treated with cabozantinib required dose modifications or reductions to manage adverse events.
These results were the basis for Exelixis’ supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for cabozantinib for the treatment of adults with advanced NET. The FDA accepted the sNDA in August and assigned a Prescription Drug User Fee Act target action date of April 3, 2025.
In August of 2023, CABINET was stopped and unblinded early due to a dramatic improvement in PFS observed at an interim analysis in both of the trial’s cohorts, per a unanimous recommendation of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board; all patients were unblinded, and those on placebo were given the option to cross over to active treatment with cabozantinib. Cabozantinib demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in PFS versus placebo based on results of both local review and available BICR. Initial results by investigator were presented at ESMO 2023.
Merck Receives Positive EU CHMP Opinions for KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) Regimens as Treatment for Patients With Two Types of Gynecologic Cancers
Positive opinion granted for KEYTRUDA plus chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of adult patients with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial carcinoma who are candidates for systemic therapy, based on the Phase 3 NRG-GY018 trial, also known as KEYNOTE-868
Positive opinion also granted for KEYTRUDA plus chemoradiotherapy for the treatment of FIGO 2014 Stage III-IVA locally advanced cervical cancer in adults who have not received prior definitive therapy, based on the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-A18 trial
On September 20, Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, announced that the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopted positive opinions recommending approval of KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, for two indications in gynecologic cancers. The first opinion recommends the approval of KEYTRUDA in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel, followed by KEYTRUDA as a single agent, for the first-line treatment of adult patients with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial carcinoma who are candidates for systemic therapy.
The second positive opinion recommends the approval of KEYTRUDA in combination with chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for the treatment of FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics) 2014 Stage III-IVA locally advanced cervical cancer in adults who have not received prior definitive therapy. The CHMP’s recommendations will now be reviewed by the European Commission for marketing authorization in the European Union (EU), and final decisions are expected in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The recommendation in primary advanced or recurrent endometrial carcinoma is based on the NRG-GY018 trial, also known as KEYNOTE-868, evaluating KEYTRUDA in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel, followed by KEYTRUDA as a single agent. In this study, the KEYTRUDA-based regimen demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) versus placebo plus carboplatin and paclitaxel. If approved, this would mark the third indication for KEYTRUDA in endometrial cancer in Europe. KEYTRUDA plus LENVIMA® (lenvatinib) was approved in November 2021 for the treatment of advanced or recurrent endometrial carcinoma in adults who have disease progression on or following prior treatment with a platinum‑containing therapy in any setting and who are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation, and KEYTRUDA monotherapy was approved in April 2022 for these patients who have microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) tumors. In June 2024, KEYTRUDA in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel, followed by KEYTRUDA as a single agent, was approved in the U.S. for the treatment of adult patients with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial carcinoma.
The recommendation in newly diagnosed patients with FIGO 2014 Stage III-IVA locally advanced cervical cancer is based on the KEYNOTE-A18 trial, also known as ENGOT-cx11/GOG-3047, in which KEYTRUDA in combination with concurrent CRT demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in overall survival (OS) and PFS versus CRT alone. If approved, this would mark the second indication for KEYTRUDA in cervical cancer in Europe. KEYTRUDA plus chemotherapy, with or without bevacizumab, was approved in April 2022 for the treatment of persistent, recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer in adults whose tumors express PD-L1 (Combined Positive Score [CPS] ≥1). In January 2024, KEYTRUDA in combination with CRT was approved in the U.S. for the treatment of patients with FIGO 2014 Stage III-IVA cervical cancer.
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