Netupitant/palonosetron (NEPA) for prevention of delayed chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in multiple cycles of chemotherapy.

Abstract

211 Background: Prevention of CINV in the delayed phase (24-120 h post-chemotherapy) and over multiple cycles of chemotherapy remains a challenge. NEPA, a fixed combination of the NK1 receptor antagonist (RA) netupitant (300 mg) and the 5-HT3 RA palonosetron (PALO; 0.5 mg), has demonstrated efficacy in multiple studies, in both acute and delayed phases, during the first cycle of moderately or highly emetogenic chemotherapy (MEC and HEC, respectively) regimens. Two clinical trials evaluated NEPA over multiple cycles of chemotherapy. We report data for the delayed phase for each cycle. Methods: Both studies were Phase 3, double-blind, active-controlled studies. In study 1 (MEC), patients were randomized 1:1 to receive a single oral dose of NEPA (n = 724) or PALO 0.5 mg (n = 725) on Day 1; following cycle 1, patients could participate in a multi-cycle extension phase. In study 2 (MEC or HEC), patients were randomized 3:1 to receive a single oral dose of NEPA on Day 1 (n = 309) or oral aprepitant (APR) 125 mg plus oral PALO 0.5 mg on Day 1, then APR 80 mg/d on days 2 and 3 of each cycle (n = 103). In both studies, all patients also received dexamethasone. Efficacy endpoints included complete response (CR; no emesis, no rescue medication) and no significant nausea. Results: In both studies, CR rates were consistently numerically higher with NEPA (Study 1 range: 77%-89%; Study 2 range: 83%-93%) than with PALO (Study 1; range: 69%-83%) or APR/PALO (Study 2; range: 78%-88%) in each cycle up to cycle 6 (Table). In both studies, rates of no significant nausea in the NEPA group were similar to or higher than in the control group. NEPA was well tolerated in both studies; treatment-related adverse events included constipation and headache. Conclusions: These studies demonstrate sustained efficacy of NEPA (administered as a single dose on Day 1) across multiple cycles of MEC or HEC for prevention of CINV in the delayed phase. Clinical trial information: 2009-016775-30; 2010-023297-39. [Table: see text]