Multicenter randomized phase II trial of atezolizumab with or without cobimetinib in biliary tract cancers

Mark Yarchoan, Leslie Cope, Amanda N. Ruggieri, Robert A. Anders, Anne M. Noonan, Laura W. Goff, Lipika Goyal, Jill Lacy, Daneng Li, Anuj K. Patel, Aiwu R. He, Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, Kristen Spencer, Edward J. Kim, S. Lindsey Davis, Autumn J. McRee, Paul R. Kunk, Subir Goyal, Yuan Liu, Lauren DennisonStephanie Xavier, Aditya A. Mohan, Qingfeng Zhu, Andrea Wang-Gillam, Andrew Poklepovic, Helen X. Chen, Elad Sharon, Gregory B. Lesinski, Nilofer S. Azad

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56 Scopus citations

Abstract

BACKGROUND. MEK inhibitors have limited activity in biliary tract cancers (BTCs) as monotherapy but are hypothesized to enhance responses to programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibition. METHODS. This open-label phase II study randomized patients with BTC to atezolizumab (anti–PD-L1) as monotherapy or in combination with cobimetinib (MEK inhibitor). Eligible patients had unresectable BTC with 1 to 2 lines of prior therapy in the metastatic setting, measurable disease, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status less than or equal to 1. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). RESULTS. Seventy-seven patients were randomized and received study therapy. The trial met its primary endpoint, with a median PFS of 3.65 months in the combination arm versus 1.87 months in the monotherapy arm (HR 0.58, 90% CI 0.35–0.93, 1-tail P = 0.027). One patient in the combination arm (3.3%) and 1 patient in the monotherapy arm (2.8%) had a partial response. Combination therapy was associated with more rash, gastrointestinal events, CPK elevations, and thrombocytopenia. Exploratory analysis of tumor biopsies revealed enhanced expression of antigen processing and presentation genes and an increase in CD8/FoxP3 ratios with combination treatment. Patients with higher baseline or lower fold changes in expression of certain inhibitory ligands (LAG3, BTLA, VISTA) on circulating T cells had evidence of greater clinical benefit from the combination. CONCLUSION. The combination of atezolizumab plus cobimetinib prolonged PFS as compared with atezolizumab monotherapy, but the low response rate in both arms highlights the immune-resistant nature of BTCs.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere152670
JournalJournal of Clinical Investigation
Volume131
Issue number24
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2021

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