Phase 1 Study of Ceritinib Combined With Trametinib in Patients With Advanced ALK- or ROS1-Positive NSCLC

• Published in: JTO clinical and research reports Vol. 3; no. 12; p. 100436
• Main Authors: Lara, Matthew S., Gubens, Matthew A., Bacaltos, Bianca, Daran, Lea, Lim, Steffany L., Li, Tianhong, Gandara, David R., Bivona, Trever G., Riess, Jonathan W., Blakely, Collin M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.12.2022; Elsevier
• Subjects: ALK-rearrangement; Brief Report; Ceritinib; MEK inhibition; Non–small cell lung cancer; ROS1-rearrangment; Trametinib; ROS1-rearrangment; Non–small cell lung cancer; Ceritinib; Trametinib; MEK inhibition; ALK-rearrangement
• ISSN: 2666-3643; 2666-3643
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jtocrr.2022.100436

In patients with NSCLC harboring oncogenic ALK or ROS1 rearrangements, tyrosine kinase inhibitors have yielded high response rates and improvements in progression-free survival compared with cytotoxic chemotherapy; however, acquired resistance eventually develops. In preclinical models, ALK and MEK coinhibition was able to overcome ALK inhibitor resistance. A phase 1 study of the ALK/ROS1 inhibitor ceritinib and the MEK inhibitor trametinib in patients with refractory NSCLC harboring ALK or ROS1 fusions was initiated. A three plus three dose-escalation scheme was used. Two dose levels were investigated. The primary end point was to determine the safety and tolerability of the combination. Nine patients (n = 8 ALK+, n = 1 ROS1+) were enrolled in the study and completed at least one cycle of therapy. The most common adverse events (all grades) were diarrhea (n = 9; 100%), rash (n = 8; 89%), abdominal pain (n = 5; 56%), and elevated aspartate transaminase/alanine transaminase level (n = 4; 44%). The overall response rate was 22%, whereas disease control rate was 56%. Median duration of response was 7.85 months. The median progression-free survival was 3.0 months (95% confidence interval: 1.5–7.0 mo). The median overall survival was 8.9 months (95% confidence interval: 2.0–not reached) Data from this trial indicate that the combination of ceritinib and trametinib had no unexpected toxicities and that a tolerable dose could be identified. A subset of patients seemed to obtain clinical benefit from this treatment after progression on prior ALK/ROS1 inhibitor treatment. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03087448.