Summary Background Osimertinib (AZD9291) is an oral, potent, irreversible EGFR tyrosine-kinase inhibitor selective for EGFR tyrosine-kinase inhibitor sensitising mutations, and the EGFR Thr790Met ...resistance mutation. We assessed the efficacy and safety of osimertinib in patients with EGFR Thr790Met-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), who had progressed after previous therapy with an approved EGFR tyrosine-kinase inhibitor. Methods In this phase 2, open-label, single-arm study (AURA2), patients aged at least 18 years with centrally confirmed EGFR Thr790Met-positive mutations, locally advanced or metastatic (stage IIIB/IV) NSCLC who progressed on previous EGFR tyrosine-kinase inhibitor therapy received osimertinib 80 mg orally once daily; treatment could continue beyond progression if the investigator observed a clinical benefit. Patients with asymptomatic, stable CNS metastases not requiring steroids were allowed to enrol. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients achieving an objective response by blinded independent central review using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, version 1.1. Response endpoints were assessed in the evaluable for response analysis set (ie, all patients who received at least one dose of osimertinib and had measurable disease at baseline according to blinded independent central review). Other endpoints and safety were assessed in all patients receiving at least one osimertinib dose (full analysis set). The study is ongoing and patients are still receiving treatment. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov , number NCT02094261. Findings Between May 20, 2014, and Sept 12, 2014, 472 patients were screened, of whom 210 started osimertinib treatment between June 13, 2014, and Oct 27, 2014; 11 patients were excluded from the evaluable for response analysis set (n=199) due to absence of measurable disease at baseline by blinded independent central review. At data cutoff (Nov 1, 2015), 122 (58%) patients remained on treatment. The median duration of follow-up was 13·0 months (IQR 7·6–14·2). 140 (70%; 95% CI 64–77) of 199 patients achieved an objective response by blinded independent central review: confirmed complete responses were achieved in six (3%) patients and partial responses were achieved in 134 (67%) patients. The most common all-causality grade 3 and 4 adverse events were pulmonary embolism (seven 3%), prolonged electrocardiogram QT (five 2%), decreased neutrophil count (four 2%), anaemia, dyspnoea, hyponatraemia, increased alanine aminotransferase, and thrombocytopenia (three 1% each). Serious adverse events were reported in 52 (25%) patients, of which 11 (5%) were investigator assessed as possibly treatment-related to osimertinib. Seven deaths were due to adverse events; these were pneumonia (n=2), pneumonia aspiration (n=1), rectal haemorrhage (n=1), dyspnoea (n=1), failure to thrive (n=1), and interstitial lung disease (n=1). The only fatal event assessed as possibly treatment-related by the investigator was due to interstitial lung disease. Interpretation Osimertinib showed clinical activity with manageable side-effects in patients with EGFR Thr790Met-positive NSCLC. Therefore, osimertinib could be a suitable treatment for patients with EGFR Thr790Met-positive disease who have progressed on an EGFR tyrosine-kinase inhibitor. Funding AstraZeneca.
Summary Background Alectinib, a potent, highly selective, CNS-active inhibitor of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), showed promising efficacy and tolerability in the single-arm phase 1/2 AF-001JP ...trial in Japanese patients with ALK -positive non-small-cell lung cancer. Given those promising results, we did a phase 3 trial to directly compare the efficacy and safety of alectinib and crizotinib. Methods J-ALEX was a randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial that recruited ALK inhibitor-naive Japanese patients with ALK -positive non-small-cell lung cancer, who were chemotherapy-naive or had received one previous chemotherapy regimen, from 41 study sites in Japan. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) via an interactive web response system using a permuted-block method stratified by Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, treatment line, and disease stage to receive oral alectinib 300 mg twice daily or crizotinib 250 mg twice daily until progressive disease, unacceptable toxicity, death, or withdrawal. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival assessed by an independent review facility. The efficacy analysis was done in the intention-to-treat population, and safety analyses were done in all patients who received at least one dose of the study drug. The study is ongoing and patient recruitment is closed. This study is registered with the Japan Pharmaceutical Information Center (number JapicCTI-132316). Findings Between Nov 18, 2013, and Aug 4, 2015, 207 patients were recruited and assigned to the alectinib (n=103) or crizotinib (n=104) groups. At data cutoff for the second interim analysis, 24 patients in the alectinib group had discontinued treatment compared with 61 in the crizotinib group, mostly due to lack of efficacy or adverse events. At the second interim analysis (data cutoff date Dec 3, 2015), an independent data monitoring committee determined that the primary endpoint of the study had been met (hazard ratio 0·34 99·7% CI 0·17–0·71, stratified log-rank p<0·0001) and recommended an immediate release of the data. Median progression-free survival had not yet been reached with alectinib (95% CI 20·3–not estimated) and was 10·2 months (8·2–12·0) with crizotinib. Grade 3 or 4 adverse events occurred at a greater frequency with crizotinib (54 52% of 104) than alectinib (27 26% of 103). Dose interruptions due to adverse events were also more prevalent with crizotinib (77 74% of 104) than with alectinib (30 29% of 103), and more patients receiving crizotinib (21 20%) than alectinib (nine 9%) discontinued the study drug because of an adverse event. No adverse events with a fatal outcome occurred in either treatment group. Interpretation These results provide the first head-to-head comparison of alectinib and crizotinib and have the potential to change the standard of care for the first-line treatment of ALK -positive non-small-cell lung cancer. The dose of alectinib (300 mg twice daily) used in this study is lower than the approved dose in countries other than Japan; however, this limitation is being addressed in the ongoing ALEX study. Funding Chugai Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd.
Summary Background Fewer than half of the patients with completely resected non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are cured. Since the introduction of adjuvant chemotherapy in 2004, no substantial ...progress has been made in adjuvant treatment. We aimed to assess the efficacy of the MAGE-A3 cancer immunotherapeutic in surgically resected NSCLC. Methods In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we recruited patients aged at least 18 years with completely resected stage IB, II, and IIIA MAGE-A3-positive NSCLC who did or did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy from 443 centres in 34 countries (Europe, the Americas, and Asia Pacific). Patients were randomly assigned (2:1) to receive 13 intramuscular injections of recMAGE-A3 with AS15 immunostimulant (MAGE-A3 immunotherapeutic) or placebo during 27 months. Randomisation and treatment allocation at the investigator site was done centrally via internet with stratification for chemotherapy versus no chemotherapy. Participants, investigators, and those assessing outcomes were masked to group assignment. A minimisation algorithm accounted for the number of chemotherapy cycles received, disease stage, lymph node sampling procedure, performance status score, and lifetime smoking status. The primary endpoint was broken up into three co-primary objectives: disease-free survival in the overall population, the no-chemotherapy population, and patients with a potentially predictive gene signature. The final analyses included the total treated population (all patients who had received at least one treatment dose). This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov , number NCT00480025. Findings Between Oct 18, 2007, and July 17, 2012, we screened 13 849 patients for MAGE-A3 expression; 12 820 had a valid sample and of these, 4210 (33%) had a MAGE-A3-positive tumour. 2312 of these patients met all eligibility criteria and were randomly assigned to treatment: 1515 received MAGE-A3 and 757 received placebo and 40 were randomly assigned but never started treatment. 784 patients in the MAGE-A3 group also received chemotherapy, as did 392 in the placebo group. Median follow-up was 38·1 months (IQR 27·9–48·4) in the MAGE-A3 group and 39·5 months (27·9–50·4) in the placebo group. In the overall population, median disease-free survival was 60·5 months (95% CI 57·2–not reached) for the MAGE-A3 immunotherapeutic group and 57·9 months (55·7–not reached) for the placebo group (hazard ratio HR 1·02, 95% CI 0·89–1·18; p=0·74). Of the patients who did not receive chemotherapy, median disease-free survival was 58·0 months (95% CI 56·6–not reached) in those in the MAGE-A3 group and 56·9 months (44·4–not reached) in the placebo group (HR 0·97, 95% CI 0·80–1·18; p=0·76). Because of the absence of treatment effect, we could not identify a gene signature predictive of clinical benefit to MAGE-A3 immunotherapeutic. The frequency of grade 3 or worse adverse events was similar between treatment groups (246 16% of 1515 patients in the MAGE-A3 group and 122 16% of 757 in the placebo group). The most frequently reported grade 3 or higher adverse events were infections and infestations (37 2% in the MAGE-A3 group and 19 3% in the placebo group), vascular disorders (30 2% vs 17 3%), and neoplasm (benign, malignant, and unspecified (29 2% vs 16 2%). Interpretation Adjuvant treatment with the MAGE-A3 immunotherapeutic did not increase disease-free survival compared with placebo in patients with MAGE-A3-positive surgically resected NSCLC. Based on our results, further development of the MAGE-A3 immunotherapeutic for use in NSCLC has been stopped. Funding GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals SA.
Summary Background Patients with non-small-cell lung cancer harbouring mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor ( EGFR ) gene respond well to the EGFR-specific tyrosine kinase inhibitor ...gefitinib. However, whether gefitinib is better than standard platinum doublet chemotherapy in patients selected by EGFR mutation is uncertain. Methods We did an open label, phase 3 study (WJTOG3405) with recruitment between March 31, 2006, and June 22, 2009, at 36 centres in Japan. 177 chemotherapy-naive patients aged 75 years or younger and diagnosed with stage IIIB/IV non-small-cell lung cancer or postoperative recurrence harbouring EGFR mutations (either the exon 19 deletion or L858R point mutation) were randomly assigned, using a minimisation technique, to receive either gefitinib (250 mg/day orally; n=88) or cisplatin (80 mg/m2 , intravenously) plus docetaxel (60 mg/m2 , intravenously; n=89), administered every 21 days for three to six cycles. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival. Survival analysis was done with the modified intention-to-treat population. This study is registered with UMIN (University Hospital Medical Information Network in Japan) , number 000000539. Findings Five patients were excluded (two patients were found to have thyroid and colon cancer after randomisation, one patient had an exon 18 mutation, one patient had insufficient consent, and one patient showed acute allergic reaction to docetaxel). Thus, 172 patients (86 in each group) were included in the survival analyses. The gefitinib group had significantly longer progression-free survival compared with the cisplatin plus docetaxel goup, with a median progression-free survival time of 9·2 months (95% CI 8·0–13·9) versus 6·3 months (5·8–7·8; HR 0·489, 95% CI 0·336–0·710, log-rank p<0·0001). Myelosuppression, alopecia, and fatigue were more frequent in the cisplatin plus docetaxel group, but skin toxicity, liver dysfunction, and diarrhoea were more frequent in the gefitinib group. Two patients in the gefitinib group developed interstitial lung disease (incidence 2·3%), one of whom died. Interpretation Patients with lung cancer who are selected by EGFR mutations have longer progression-free survival if they are treated with gefitinib than if they are treated with cisplatin plus docetaxel. Funding West Japan Oncology Group (WJOG): a non-profit organisation supported by unrestricted donations from several pharmaceutical companies.
