Phase II studies with Refametinib or Refametinib plus Sorafenib in patients with RAS-mutated Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Ho Yeong Lim, Philippe Merle, Karl-Heinz Weiss, Thomas CC Yau, Paul Ross, Jean-Frederic Blanc, Vincenzo Mazzaferro, Yuk Ma, Chia-Jui Yen, Judit Kocsis, Su Pin Choo, Wattana Sukeepaisarnjaroen, René Gérolami, Jean-François Dufour, Edward J Gane, Baek-Yeol Ryoo, Markus Peck-Radosavljevic, Thong Dao, Winnie Yeo, Wisut LamlertthonSatawat Thongsawat, Michael Teufel, Katrin Roth, Diego Reis, Barrett H Childs, Heiko Krissel, Josep M Llovet

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Citations (Scopus)
167 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Purpose: Refametinib, an oral MEK inhibitor, has demonstrated antitumor activity in combination with sorafenib in patients with RAS-mutated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Two phase II studies evaluated the efficacy of refametinib monotherapy and refametinib plus sorafenib in patients with RAS-mutant unresectable or metastatic HCC. Methods: Eligible patients with RAS mutations of cell-free circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) determined by beads, emulsion, amplification, and magnetics technology received twice-daily refametinib 50 mg ± sorafenib 400 mg. Potential biomarkers were assessed in ctDNA via next-generation sequencing (NGS). Results: Of 1318 patients screened, 59 (4.4%) had a RAS mutation, of whom 16 received refametinib and 16 received refametinib plus sorafenib. With refametinib monotherapy, the objective response rate (ORR) was 0%, the disease control rate (DCR) was 56.3%, overall survival (OS) was 5.8 months, and progression-free survival (PFS) was 1.9 months. With refametinib plus sorafenib, the ORR was 6.3%, the DCR was 43.8%, OS was 12.7 months, and PFS was 1.5 months. In both studies, time to progression was 2.8 months. Treatment-emergent toxicities included fatigue, hypertension, and acneiform rash. Twenty-seven patients had ctDNA samples available for NGS. The most frequently detected mutations were in TERT (63.0%), TP53 (48.1%), and β-catenin (CTNNB1; 37.0%). Conclusions: Prospective testing for RAS family mutations using ctDNA was a feasible, non-invasive approach for large-scale mutational testing in HCC patients. A median OS of 12.7 months with refametinib plus sorafenib in this small population of RAS-mutant patients may indicate a synergistic effect between sorafenib and refametinib - this preliminary finding should be further explored.
Original languageEnglish
JournalClinical Cancer Research
Early online date27 Jun 2018
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 27 Jun 2018

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Phase II studies with Refametinib or Refametinib plus Sorafenib in patients with RAS-mutated Hepatocellular Carcinoma'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this