Final phase Ib data for the oral c-Met inhibitor tepotinib in patients with previously treated advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

Abstract

e15676 Background: The prognosis for patients (pts) with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after failure of sorafenib is poor, with few systemic therapy options. c-Met is a receptor tyrosine kinase implicated in the progression of HCC. Tepotinib, a highly selective c-Met inhibitor, has shown activity first-line in patients with c-Met+ HCC. We report final results of a phase Ib study of tepotinib in pts with advanced HCC after failure of first-line sorafenib. Methods: Eligible pts were ≥18 years with advanced HCC, Child-Pugh Class A, ECOG PS 0-1, and progression after ≥4 weeks of sorafenib. Tepotinib doses of 300 and 500 mg/day on a 21-day cycle were explored to establish the recommended phase II dose (RP2D) of tepotinib. Secondary objectives included antitumor activity by RECIST v1.1, biochemical response, and safety. Results: Seventeen pts were enrolled: 4 pts received tepotinib 300 mg/day and 13 pts 500 mg/day, confirmed as the RP2D. Fourteen pts experienced treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs), the most frequent being peripheral edema (n = 5, 2 grade 3), lipase increase (2, 1 grade 3), acute kidney injury (2, 1 grade 3), renal impairment (2, 1 grade 3), fatigue (2), nausea (2), asthenia (2). One pt with peripheral edema permanently discontinued treatment. No grade ≥4 TRAEs and no dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) were reported. The best overall response was partial response (PR) in 2 pts and stable disease (SD) in 4 pts. The duration of the PRs was 57 and 91 weeks. In the first of these pts, tumor size decreased by 55% and serum alfa-fetoprotein (AFP) levels had decreased from 15,923 μg/L at baseline to < 3,000 μg/L by day 15 of cycle 2 and remained at this level until progression. In the second pt, tumor size decreased by > 60% from baseline. No consistent change in AFP was seen in pts with SD. Median overall survival was 7.2 months (range 0.7–22.9 months). Conclusions: The RP2D of tepotinib as second-line therapy for pts with advanced HCC who progress after sorafenib treatment is 500 mg/day. Tepotinib was well tolerated at this dose and showed signs of activity. The ongoing phase II part of this trial is investigating the efficacy and safety of tepotinib 500 mg/day in pts with c-Met+ HCC. Clinical trial information: NCT02115373.