281 JAVELIN Medley VEGF: phase 2 study of avelumab + axitinib in patients with previously treated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or treatment naive, cisplatin-ineligible urothelial cancer (UC)

Abstract

BackgroundAvelumab, a human anti–PD-L1 monoclonal antibody, has shown a manageable safety profile and antitumor activity in multiple tumor types, including platinum-resistant metastatic or recurrent NSCLC,1 and is approved for patients with locally advanced or metastatic UC who have progressed after ≥1 previous line of platinum-based chemotherapy2 3 and as maintenance treatment for those who have not progressed with platinum-based chemotherapy.4 JAVELIN Medley VEGF (NCT03472560) evaluated the efficacy and safety of avelumab + axitinib, a potent inhibitor of VEGFR 1, 2, and 3, in patients with advanced or metastatic NSCLC or UC.MethodsEligible patients with NSCLC had received ≥1 prior platinum-containing therapy and ≤2 prior lines of systemic therapy for locally advanced or metastatic disease; patients with UC were treatment naive in the locally advanced or metastatic setting and ineligible for cisplatin-containing chemotherapy. Patients were immune checkpoint inhibitor naïve and received avelumab 800 mg intravenously every 2 weeks + axitinib 5 mg orally twice daily. The primary endpoint was confirmed objective response (OR) per investigator assessment (RECIST 1.1). Secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS) and safety. PD-L1 expression was assessed in baseline tumor samples (Ventana SP263 assay). Data have not undergone standard quality checks and are subject to change due to COVID-19–related healthcare burden.ResultsA total of 41 patients with NSCLC and 20 with UC received avelumab + axitinib. The confirmed OR rate was 31.7% (95% CI, 18.1–48.1) in the NSCLC cohort and 10% (95% CI, 1.2–31.7) in the UC cohort (all partial responses); 16 patients (39.0%) and 5 (25.0%) had stable disease, respectively. Responses were observed regardless of PD-L1 expression status. Median PFS was 5.5 months (95% CI, 2.5–7.0) in the NSCLC cohort and 2.3 months (95% CI, 1.8–5.6) in the UC cohort. Grade ≥3 treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) occurred in 24 patients (58.5%) in the NSCLC cohort; the most common was hypertension (n=7 [17.1%]). Grade ≥3 TRAEs occurred in 9 patients (45.0%) in the UC cohort; the most common were amylase increased, asthenia, decreased appetite, and palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia syndrome (n=2 [10%] each). One patient in each cohort experienced a TRAE that led to death (gastric perforation and urinary bladder hemorrhage).ConclusionsAvelumab + axitinib showed antitumor activity and a manageable safety profile in patients with advanced or metastatic NSCLC or UC consistent with findings from studies of each drug alone and in combination.Trial RegistrationNCT03472560Ethics ApprovalThe study was approved by each site’s independent ethics committee.ConsentN/AReferencesGulley JL, Rajan A, Spigel DR, et al. Avelumab for patients with previously treated metastatic or recurrent non-small-cell lung cancer (JAVELIN Solid Tumor): dose-expansion cohort of a multicentre, open-label, phase 1b trial. Lancet Oncol 2017;18:599–610.Patel MR, Ellerton J, Infante JR, et al. Avelumab in metastatic urothelial carcinoma after platinum failure (JAVELIN Solid Tumor): pooled results from two expansion cohorts of an open-label, phase 1 trial. Lancet Oncol 2018;19:51–64.Bavencio(avelumab) injection. [package insert] Darmstadt, Germany: Merck KGaA; 2019.US Food and Drug Administration. FDA approves avelumab for urothelial carcinoma maintenance treatment. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-approvals-and-databases/fda-approves-avelumab-urothelial-carcinoma-maintenance-treatment. Accessed August 19, 2020.

Landscape of targeted therapies for advanced urothelial carcinoma

“…The multicenter, multicohort, open-label phase Ib/II trial FIDES-02 (NCT04045613) assessed the effectiveness, safety, and tolerability of dovitinib as a monotherapy and combined with atezolizumab [121]. The main aim of this trial was to evaluate the ORR [121].…”

Current Landscape of Therapeutic Resistance in Lung Cancer and Promising Strategies to Overcome Resistance

“…As mentioned earlier, neo-angiogenesis or tumor vasculature is an extrinsic resistance mechanism in immunotherapy-resistant cancers that plays a significant role in promoting an immunosuppressive TME and preventing the delivery of immunotherapeutic agents [ 228 ]. In a phase II clinical trial involving a combination of anti-PD-1 (avelumab), and the receptor kinase inhibitor drug (axitinib) targeting VEGFR showed an objective response rate (ORR) of 31.7% in chemotherapy-resistant and recurrent NSCLC [ 260 ]. Therefore, targeting VEGF and ICPs, following combination approaches, could serve as an effective strategy to overcome immunotherapy resistance in lung cancer.…”

New Strategies and Combinations to Improve Outcomes in Immunotherapy in Metastatic Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

“…The following supporting information can be downloaded at: , Table S1. Ongoing or recently completed trials of immune checkpoint inhibitors (IO) in combination with novel targets for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) [ 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 , 105 , 106 , 107 , 108 , 109 , 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 , 118 , 119 , 120 , 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 , 125 , 126 , 127 , 128 , 129 , 130 , 131 , 132 , 133 , 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 , 138 , 139 , 140 , 141 , 142 , 143 , 144 , 145 , 146 ].…”