A phase1b study of navicixizumab plus FOLFIRI in second-line treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Abstract

111 Background: Navicixizumab is an anti-delta-like ligand 4 (DLL4)/vascular endothelial growth factor bispecific antibody which has shown promising preclinical and clinical activity in multiple tumor types. The blockade of DLL4, a transmembrane protein acting as a ligand for Notch receptors 1 and 4, causes tumor differentiation and reduction in cancer stem cells, as well as repolarization of the tumor microenvironment. Methods: We conducted a phase 1b single-arm dose escalation study combining navicixizumab with FOLFIRI or FOLFOX as second line treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). Patients were dosed either at 3 or 4 mg/kg intravenously once every 2 weeks (Q2W). The primary endpoint was the maximum tolerated dose of navicixizumab in combination with FOLFOX or FOLFIRI. Results: Between December 2016 and August 2018, 15 patients received navicixizumab plus FOLFIRI. Median patient age was 55 years, and nine of 15 patients were female (60%). Three patients were enrolled in the 3 mg/kg dose-escalation cohort, 2 patients were enrolled in the 4-mg/kg dose-escalation cohort, and 10 patients were enrolled in the 3 mg/kg dose expansion cohort. No DLTs were observed in this study. The median duration of navicixizumab therapy was 127 days. Hypertension was the most frequent all-grade treatment-related adverse event reported (12 of 15 patients, 80%), followed by fatigue (8 of 15 patients, 53.3%). Grade 3 hypertension was reported in 3 patients (20%). Eight of the 15 patients (53.3%) experienced at least one serious adverse event, resulting in discontinuation of study for 6 (40%) patients. One patient had a bowel perforation. One patient (3 mg/kg cohort) experienced a treatment-related grade 5 cardiopulmonary arrest resulting in death. The best overall response was partial response in three patients (20%). Eleven patients (73.3%) had stable disease and one (6.7%) experienced disease progression. Conclusions: This study was stopped early to focus on the development of navicixizumab in ovarian cancer. Although the disease control rate was promising, further evaluation is needed to determine whether navicixizumab delivers efficacy greater than chemotherapy alone and assess tolerability of this regimen. [Table: see text]