Virtual Library

Start Your Search

Alexander Drilon



Author of

  • +

    MS 25 - Novel Molecular Targets (KRAS/MET/Novel Fusions): Druggable or Not? (ID 547)

    • Event: WCLC 2017
    • Type: Mini Symposium
    • Track: Chemotherapy/Targeted Therapy
    • Presentations: 1
    • +

      MS 25.03 - MET-Related Molecular Targets (ID 7761)

      14:30 - 16:15  |  Presenting Author(s): Alexander Drilon

      • Abstract
      • Presentation
      • Slides

      Abstract:
      MET activation in non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) can occur via mechanisms including mutation and amplification. MET exon 14 splicing alterations and MET amplification are clinically actionable genomic alterations. Response to MET-directed targeted therapy has been reported for both subsets. In a phase 1 study of crizotinib for patients with MET exon 14-altered NSCLCs, the overall response rate (ORR) was 39% and the median progression-free survival was 8 months (Drilon et al, ASCO 2016). In the same phase 1 study, the ORR for crizotinib in patients with MET-amplified NSCLC was 17% and 50% for tumors with a FISH MET/CEP7 ratio of >2.2 to <5 and ≥5, respectively (Camidge et al, ASCO 2014). Furthermore, acquired MET amplification is associated with resistance to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibition in EGFR-mutant lung cancers. Response to combined EGFR- and MET-directed therapy has been reported in patients with EGFR-mutant lung cancers with acquired resistance to prior EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy. Prospective clinical trials of various MET inhibitors as single-agents or in combination with other therapies are ongoing. A number of different MET inhibitors have been tested in the clinic, including multikinase inhibitors with activity against MET such as crizotinib and cabozantinib, MET-selective inhibitors such as capmatinib, and MET antibodies such as onartuzumab and embituzumab. Newer agents such as MET antibody-drug conjugates are being explored. Data on acquired resistance to MET-directed targeted therapy has begun to emerge. The MET D1228N and D1228V kinase domain mutations have been identified as acquired mechanisms of resistance to MET tyrosine kinase inhibition (Heist et al, J Thoracic Oncol 2016; Bachall et al, Cancer Discov 2017)). The detection of MET mutation and amplification in the clinic is thus important, but is associated with specific challenges, and requires a comprehensive approach to testing. Notably, molecular profiling should not be restricted to the classic population of younger, never or former light cigarette smoker patients with advanced lung adenocarcinomas where other drivers such as sensitizing EGFR mutations and ALK or ROS1 rearrangements are enriched; MET exon 14 alterations, for example, are found in older patients with a more substantial prior smoking history, and in sarcomatoid carcinomas of the lung. The role of MET immunohistochemistry in selecting patients for MET-directed targeted therapy in the absence of comprehensive molecular profiling remains controversial, although the experience with this approach in prior prospective clinical trials has been disappointing. Advances have clearly been made in the development of MET-directed targeted therapy for subsets of patients with advanced NSCLCs that are hopefully moving the field closer to the regulatory approval of one or more these agents in the future.

      Only Members that have purchased this event or have registered via an access code will be able to view this content. To view this presentation, please login, select "Add to Cart" and proceed to checkout. If you would like to become a member of IASLC, please click here.

      Only Active Members that have purchased this event or have registered via an access code will be able to view this content. To view this presentation, please login or select "Add to Cart" and proceed to checkout.

  • +

    OA 12 - Emerging Genomic Targets (ID 679)

    • Event: WCLC 2017
    • Type: Oral
    • Track: Advanced NSCLC
    • Presentations: 2
    • +

      OA 12.06 - Plasma Genomic Profiling and Outcomes of Patients with MET Exon 14-Altered NSCLCs Treated with Crizotinib on PROFILE 1001 (ID 9385)

      11:00 - 12:30  |  Presenting Author(s): Alexander Drilon

      • Abstract
      • Presentation
      • Slides

      Background:
      MET exon 14 alterations occur in ~4% of non-squamous non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs). Treatment with the MET inhibitor, crizotinib, achieves confirmed and durable responses in patients with MET exon 14-altered NSCLCs, underscoring the need to test for these drivers (as of August 1, 2016, objective response rate was 39% and median duration of response was 9.1 months). Comprehensive molecular tumor profiling is required to detect MET exon 14 alterations that are highly heterogeneous. The utility of plasma profiling to detect these drivers has not previously been explored in a prospective trial.

      Method:
      Patients with advanced NSCLCs harboring MET exon 14 alterations by local tumor profiling performed in a CLIA-certified or equivalent environment were treated with crizotinib at 250 mg twice daily on an expansion cohort of the ongoing phase I PROFILE 1001 study (NCT00585195). Objective response was assessed by RECIST v1.0. Prospective plasma profiling of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) for MET exon 14 alterations was performed using the PlasmaSELECT64 targeted gene panel (sequencing and analysis output by Personal Genome Diagnostics, Boston MA).

      Result:
      Plasma samples were obtained for MET exon 14 alteration analysis after study amendment approval in 20 of 52 crizotinib-treated patients, of which 18 samples were deemed sufficient for analysis. MET exon 14 alterations were detected in ctDNA in 11 of 18 patients (61% agreement of plasma ctDNA testing with tumor testing) mapping to the same exon 14 splice site region in 10 of the 11 cases. Of the 11 patients with ctDNA-positive tumors, all were evaluable for response. Of these evaluable patients, a confirmed partial response and stable disease were observed in 2 and 4 patients, respectively.

      Conclusion:
      MET exon 14 alterations can be detected in plasma ctDNA in a subset of patients with advanced NSCLCs that harbor MET exon 14 alterations by tumor testing. Responses to crizotinib were observed in patients with ctDNA-positive testing for a MET exon 14 alteration. Plasma profiling should be considered as an adjunct to tumor profiling in screening patients for MET exon 14 alterations, pending further confirmation.

      Only Members that have purchased this event or have registered via an access code will be able to view this content. To view this presentation, please login, select "Add to Cart" and proceed to checkout. If you would like to become a member of IASLC, please click here.

      Only Active Members that have purchased this event or have registered via an access code will be able to view this content. To view this presentation, please login or select "Add to Cart" and proceed to checkout.

    • +

      OA 12.07 - LOXO-292, a Potent, Highly Selective RET Inhibitor, in MKI-Resistant RET Fusion-Positive Lung Cancer Patients with and without Brain Metastases (ID 10955)

      11:00 - 12:30  |  Author(s): Alexander Drilon

      • Abstract
      • Presentation
      • Slides

      Background:
      RET fusions are validated therapeutic targets in human lung cancers. However, the clinical activity of multikinase inhibitors (MKIs) with anti-RET activity is limited by a narrow therapeutic index from off-target effects and poor pharmacokinetics (PK). Moreover, MKIs have limited RET inhibition in the central nervous system (CNS), and patients often experience disease progression in the brain. LOXO-292 is a potent and highly selective RET inhibitor, with >100-fold selectivity versus important off-targets, and anti-tumor activity in the brain and periphery in RET-dependent tumor models in vivo.

      Method:
      Two RET fusion-positive lung cancer patients were treated with LOXO-292: a patient with CCDC6-RET-rearranged lung cancer with acquired resistance to RXDX-105; and a patient with KIF5B-RET-rearranged lung cancer with progressive disease in the brain while on alectinib treated under a single patient protocol with real-time, PK- guided intra-patient dose titration.

      Result:
      The first patient was enrolled on cohort 1 of the Phase 1 trial (20 mg daily) and was the first lung cancer patient to receive LOXO-292. She achieved a rapid, confirmed partial response (PR) by RECIST 1.1, with a 44% reduction in target lesion size. The second patient, the first to receive LOXO-292 in the setting of brain metastases, achieved a PR with escalating doses of LOXO-292 (20-60-100 mg twice daily) that included target lesion responses in both the lungs and brain (Figure 1), and resolution of cancer-related CNS symptoms. Early clinical experience with LOXO-292 has already established drug exposures that are consistent with significant RET inhibition in vitro and RET-dependent tumor regression in vivo. Importantly, LOXO-292 has been well-tolerated, with the majority of treatment-emergent adverse events reported as Grade 1-2, and none attributed to LOXO-292.

      Conclusion:
      LOXO-292 has demonstrated proof-of-concept tolerability, significant exposure, and efficacy in two patients with MKI-resistant, RET-dependent cancers, including a patient with progressive brain metastases after alectinib.Figure 1



      Only Members that have purchased this event or have registered via an access code will be able to view this content. To view this presentation, please login, select "Add to Cart" and proceed to checkout. If you would like to become a member of IASLC, please click here.

      Only Active Members that have purchased this event or have registered via an access code will be able to view this content. To view this presentation, please login or select "Add to Cart" and proceed to checkout.

  • +

    OA 14 - New Paradigms in Clinical Trials (ID 681)

    • Event: WCLC 2017
    • Type: Oral
    • Track: Clinical Design, Statistics and Clinical Trials
    • Presentations: 1
    • +

      OA 14.06 - Entrectinib in Patients with Locally Advanced or Metastatic ROS1 Fusion-Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) (ID 8564)

      11:00 - 12:30  |  Author(s): Alexander Drilon

      • Abstract
      • Presentation
      • Slides

      Background:
      Entrectinib is a potent, investigational, CNS-active, oral inhibitor of ROS1 with a biochemical IC~50~ (0.2 nM) ~30 times more potent than crizotinib, the only agent approved for the treatment of ROS1-positive NSCLC. Previously, we reported an objective response rate of 85% in 13 ROS1 inhibitor-naïve NSCLC patients who were treated in Phase 1 studies (Drilon and Siena et al, Cancer Discov 2017), including 2 of 3 (67%) patients with CNS disease. Responses were durable, with 1 patient remaining on study for more than 3 years. Entrectinib was well tolerated, with predominantly Grades 1 or 2 adverse events that were reversible with dose modification.

      Method:
      Patients with ROS1 inhibitor-naïve NSCLC were enrolled across Phase 1 and 2 studies of entrectinib. Patients were screened for ROS1 gene fusions either locally or centrally at Ignyta’s diagnostic laboratory using next generation sequencing. Entrectinib was administered orally at 600 mg once-daily in 4-week cycles. Safety was assessed by monitoring adverse events, laboratory tests, and clinic visits. Tumor assessments were performed at the end of Cycle 1 and every 8 weeks thereafter. All scans were read locally (INV) and by blinded independent central review (BICR) using RECIST v1.1. INV results will be presented except where noted.

      Result:
      As of 24 May 2017, a total of 32 patients were evaluable for response (median age 52 years, 72% female). At a median follow-up of 12 months, objective responses were observed in 24 of 32 (75% [95% CI: 56.6, 88.5]; 3 complete responses) patients, including 7 of 11 (64% [95% CI: 30.8, 89.1]) patients with CNS disease at baseline. Five of 7 patients with evaluable CNS lesions by BICR experienced confirmed RECIST intracranial responses, for a CNS response rate of 71% (95% CI: 29.0, 96.3). With 19 (59%) patients remaining on study, the median duration of response was 17.2 months (95% CI: 6.5, 36.0) and progression-free survival was 19.1 months (95% CI: 6.5, 36.6). The most common (>15%) treatment-related adverse events were fatigue/asthenia (34%), dysgeusia (34%), dizziness (24%), weight increase (21%), paresthesia (19%), nausea (18%), constipation (18%), and diarrhea (16%). All data will be updated at the time of presentation.

      Conclusion:
      Entrectinib is well tolerated and has shown promising antitumor activity in ROS1 inhibitor-naïve NSCLC, including patients with CNS disease. Patients with ROS1+ NSCLC and other tumor types continue to be enrolled in STARTRK-2 (NCT02568267) in order to support a potential regulatory filing for entrectinib in this population.

      Only Members that have purchased this event or have registered via an access code will be able to view this content. To view this presentation, please login, select "Add to Cart" and proceed to checkout. If you would like to become a member of IASLC, please click here.

      Only Active Members that have purchased this event or have registered via an access code will be able to view this content. To view this presentation, please login or select "Add to Cart" and proceed to checkout.