Carlos Becerra M.D.

Savona, M. R., K. Kolibaba, P. Conkling, E. C. Kingsley, C. Becerra, J. C. Morris, R. M. Rifkin, E. Laille, A. Kellerman, S. M. Ukrainskyj, Q. Dong and B. S. Skikne (2018). “Extended dosing with CC-486 (oral azacitidine) in patients with myeloid malignancies.” Am J Hematol Jul 17. [Epub ahead of print].

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CC-486 (oral azacitidine) is an epigenetic modifier in clinical development for treatment of hematological cancers. This study of extended CC-486 dosing included patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML), or acute myeloid leukemia (AML). After a pharmacokinetic assessment period, 31 patients (MDS n=18, CMML n=4, and AML n=9) entered a clinical phase in which they received CC-486 300 mg once-daily for 21 days of repeated 28-day cycles. Median age was 71 years (range: 53-93); 42% of patients were aged >/=75 years. Five patients with AML (63%) had prior MDS. Median number of CC-486 treatment cycles was 4 (range: 1-32). The most common treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were gastrointestinal (84% of patients) and hematologic (81%). Most common grade 3-4 TEAEs were neutropenia (n=13, 42%) and anemia (n=9, 29%). Ten patients experienced grade 4 neutropenia. Infrequently, CC-486 dose was interrupted or reduced due to gastrointestinal (n=5, 16%) or hematologic (n=6, 19%) TEAEs. Overall response rate (complete remission [CR], CR with incomplete hematological recovery [CRi], partial remission [PR], marrow CR) in the MDS/CMML subgroups was 32% and in the AML subgroup (CR/CRi/PR) was 22%. RBC transfusion independence rates in the MDS/CMML and AML subgroups were 33% and 25%, respectively, and 2 MDS/CMML patients attained hematologic improvement as a best response on-study. No baseline gene mutation was predictive of response/nonresponse. CC-486 allows flexible dosing and schedules to improve tolerability or response. Neutropenia in early treatment cycles deserves scrutiny and may warrant initiation of prophylactic antibiotics.

Rodon, J., A. Perez-Fidalgo, I. E. Krop, H. Burris, A. Guerrero-Zotano, C. D. Britten, C. Becerra, J. Schellens, D. A. Richards, M. Schuler, M. Abu-Khalaf, F. M. Johnson, M. Ranson, J. Edenfield, A. P. Silva, W. Hackl, C. Quadt, D. Demanse, V. Duval and J. Baselga (2018). “Phase 1/1b dose escalation and expansion study of BEZ235, a dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor, in patients with advanced solid tumors including patients with advanced breast cancer.” Cancer Chemother Pharmacol Jun 7. [Epub ahead of print].

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PURPOSE: To determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of BEZ235, an oral inhibitor of class I PI3K and mTOR complexes 1 and 2. METHODS: We performed a phase I/Ib, multicenter, open-label study of oral BEZ235 administered in a continuous daily schedule. The study consisted of two parts: dose-escalation part and safety-expansion part. BEZ235 was administered as a single agent to patients with solid tumors or in combination with trastuzumab for HER2+ advanced breast cancer (aBC). Primary end points were MTD, safety, and tolerability. The secondary end point was pharmacokinetics. Other formulations of BEZ235, solid dispersion system (SDS) sachet, and SDS capsules were also assessed. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty-three patients were enrolled; single-agent BEZ235 was administered as hard gelatin capsule (n = 59), SDS capsules A and B (n = 33), and SDS sachet (n = 61), amongst which SDS sachet was chosen as the preferred formulation. The monotherapy MTD for capsule A and SDS sachet was determined to be 1000 and 1200 mg/day, respectively. Thirty patients with HER2+ aBC received BEZ235 in combination with trastuzumab. The MTD of BEZ235 in combination with trastuzumab was 600 mg/day. A total of four patients (13.3%) achieved partial response across the different groups. Most frequent AEs in single agent and combination cohorts included nausea (80.3 and 93.3%), diarrhea (75.4 and 80.0%), and vomiting (63.9 and 63.3%). CONCLUSIONS: The MTD of BEZ235 as single agent was 1200 and 600 mg/day with trastuzumab. Pharmacokinetic profiles showed low-to-moderate variability at low dose (10 mg) and high variability at high doses (100 mg and above). Gastrointestinal AEs were frequent at high doses.

Becerra, C. R., K. Yoshida, H. Mizuguchi, M. Patel and D. Von Hoff (2017). “A phase 1, open-label, randomized, crossover study evaluating the bioavailability of tas-102 (trifluridine/tipiracil) tablets relative to an oral solution containing equivalent amounts of trifluridine and tipiracil.” J Clin Pharmacol 57(6): 751-759.

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TAS-102 (trifluridine/tipiracil) is composed of an antineoplastic thymidine-based nucleoside analogue trifluridine (FTD), and a thymidine phosphorylase inhibitor, tipiracil (TPI), at a molar ratio of 1:0.5 (weight ratio, 1:0.471). A phase 1 study evaluated relative bioavailability of TAS-102 tablets compared with an oral solution containing equivalent amounts of FTD and TPI. In an open-label, 2-sequence, 3-period, crossover bioavailability study (part 1), patients 18 years or older with advanced solid tumors were randomized to receive TAS-102 tablets (60 mg; 3 x 20-mg tablets) on day 1 and TAS-102 oral solution (60 mg) on days 8 and 15, or the opposite sequence. In an extension (part 2), all patients received TAS-102 tablets. Of the 46 patients treated in the crossover study, 38 were evaluable in the crossover bioavailability pharmacokinetic population. For area under the concentration-time curve (AUC)0-infinity and AUC0-last for FTD and TPI, and maximum plasma concentration (Cmax ) for TPI, the 90% confidence intervals (CIs) of the geometric mean ratios were within the 0.80 to 1.25 boundary for demonstration of bioequivalence; for FTD Cmax , the lower limit of the 90%CI was 0.786. The most frequently reported treatment-related grade 3 or 4 adverse events were neutropenia (7 patients) and decreased neutrophil count (3 patients). Although the lower limit of the 90%CI for the geometric mean ratio of FTD Cmax was slightly lower than 0.80, the bioavailability of the TAS-102 tablet is considered clinically similar to that of a TAS-102 oral solution. TAS-102 was well tolerated in this population of patients with advanced solid tumors.

Pavel, M. E., C. Becerra, K. Grosch, W. Cheung, J. Hasskarl and J. C. Yao (2017). “Effect of everolimus on the pharmacokinetics of octreotide long-acting repeatable in patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors: An analysis of the randomized phase III RADIANT-2 trial.” Clin Pharmacol Ther 101(4): 462-468.

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In the RADIANT-2 trial, addition of everolimus to octreotide long-acting repeatable (LAR) exhibited a clinically meaningful 5.1-month improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with advanced functional neuroendocrine tumors. In this study, we characterized the effects of everolimus co-administration on octreotide LAR pharmacokinetics and its relationship with efficacy and safety. At least one evaluable blood everolimus and plasma octreotide predose minimum concentration (Cmin ) was available for 182 patients and 294 patients, respectively. Concomitant everolimus administration increased octreotide Cmin with a geometric mean ratio (everolimus/placebo) of 1.47 (90% confidence interval [CI] = 1.32-1.64). Risk for progression was consistently reduced when everolimus Cmin was increased twofold, regardless of octreotide exposure (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.74; 95% CI = 0.46-1.18; HR = 0.54; 95% CI = 0.32-0.92 for 6 ng/mL and 4 ng/mL octreotide, respectively). Risk for pulmonary or metabolic events was associated with increased everolimus Cmin . Co-administration of everolimus plus octreotide LAR increased octreotide Cmin , which did not impact efficacy.

Becerra, C. R., K. Yoshida, H. Mizuguchi, M. Patel and D. Von Hoff (2017). “A phase 1, open-label, randomized, crossover study evaluating the bioavailability of tas-102 (trifluridine/tipiracil) tablets relative to an oral solution containing equivalent amounts of trifluridine and tipiracil.” J Clin Pharmacol: 2017 Jan [Epub ahead of print].

Full text of this article.

TAS-102 (trifluridine/tipiracil) is composed of an antineoplastic thymidine-based nucleoside analogue trifluridine (FTD), and a thymidine phosphorylase inhibitor, tipiracil (TPI), at a molar ratio of 1:0.5 (weight ratio, 1:0.471). A phase 1 study evaluated relative bioavailability of TAS-102 tablets compared with an oral solution containing equivalent amounts of FTD and TPI. In an open-label, 2-sequence, 3-period, crossover bioavailability study (part 1), patients 18 years or older with advanced solid tumors were randomized to receive TAS-102 tablets (60 mg; 3 x 20-mg tablets) on day 1 and TAS-102 oral solution (60 mg) on days 8 and 15, or the opposite sequence. In an extension (part 2), all patients received TAS-102 tablets. Of the 46 patients treated in the crossover study, 38 were evaluable in the crossover bioavailability pharmacokinetic population. For area under the concentration-time curve (AUC)0-infinity and AUC0-last for FTD and TPI, and maximum plasma concentration (Cmax ) for TPI, the 90% confidence intervals (CIs) of the geometric mean ratios were within the 0.80 to 1.25 boundary for demonstration of bioequivalence; for FTD Cmax , the lower limit of the 90%CI was 0.786. The most frequently reported treatment-related grade 3 or 4 adverse events were neutropenia (7 patients) and decreased neutrophil count (3 patients). Although the lower limit of the 90%CI for the geometric mean ratio of FTD Cmax was slightly lower than 0.80, the bioavailability of the TAS-102 tablet is considered clinically similar to that of a TAS-102 oral solution. TAS-102 was well tolerated in this population of patients with advanced solid tumors.