Tumor and plasma biomarker analysis from the randomized controlled phase II trial (RCT) of tivantinib in second-line hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Abstract

197 Background: Tivantinib, an oral MET inhibitor, showed activity in patients (pts) MET-High at immunohistochemistry (IHC) in randomized, placebo controlled studies in HCC, NSCLC, CRC, and prostate cancer. ARQ 197-215 was a RCT of tivantinib in second-line HCC. The study randomized 107 pts 2:1 to tivantinib capsules or placebo, reached the primary endpoint of time to progression in the intent-to-treat population and the pre-specified secondary efficacy endpoints, including OS, in MET-High pts. Tumor MET was also found to be a strong independent prognostic factor. This analysis aims to study prognostic and predictive value of tumor and circulating biomarkers. Methods: Circulating MET, HGF, and AFP were centrally analyzed by ELISA and median values were used as cut-offs to determine High or Low status except for AFP, where the 75th percentile was also used. Tumor MET was centrally analyzed and considered High if staining was >2+ in >50% of cells at IHC. Results: Circulating MET was prognostic (N=102; OS: 4.6 vs 8.9 months in High vs Low, HR=0.61, p=0.023) and trended towards predicting tivantinib’s activity. MET was also a pharmacodynamic marker: pts on tivantinib with a MET reduction over time survived longer; MET was reduced in pts stable on tivantinib but not on placebo. Circulating HGF was prognostic (N=102; OS: 5.0 vs 9.0 months in High vs Low, HR=0.6, p=0.02) and changes over time correlated with outcome. AFP by the 75th percentile was prognostic (N=104; OS: 3.0 vs 7.9 months in High vs Low, HR=0.36, p<0.0001). Median IHC score (H-Score) was 175 for tumor MET-High, 40 for MET-Low pts (N=77). MET was highly expressed in 40% of biopsies taken before and in 82% of biopsies taken after sorafenib. A significant interaction between tivantinib and tumor MET in terms of OS was observed (p=0.039). No biomarker except for tumor MET was predictive of response to tivantinib. Conclusions: A clear prognostic value was found for circulating MET, HGF, and AFP by the 75th percentile. Tumor MET was highly prognostic and predictive. IHC results on over 900 tumor samples analyzed in the ongoing METIV-HCC phase 3 study will also be presented. Clinical trial information: NCT00988741.