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© 2022 Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ . Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Background

Preclinical data suggest that concurrent treatment of anti-CD38 and antiprogrammed death 1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) antibodies substantially reduce primary tumor growth by reversing T-cell exhaustion and thus enhancing anti-PD-1/PD-L1 efficacy.

Methods

This phase I/II study enrolled patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) or advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The primary objectives of phase I were to investigate the safety and tolerability of isatuximab (anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody)+cemiplimab (anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody, Isa+Cemi) in patients with mCRPC (naïve to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy) or NSCLC (progressed on anti-PD-1/PD-L1-containing therapy). Phase II used Simon’s two-stage design with response rate as the primary endpoint. An interim analysis was planned after the first 24 (mCRPC) and 20 (NSCLC) patients receiving Isa+Cemi were enrolled in phase II. Safety, immunogenicity, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and antitumor activity were assessed, including CD38, PD-L1, and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in the tumor microenvironment (TME), and peripheral immune cell phenotyping.

Results

Isa+Cemi demonstrated a manageable safety profile with no new safety signals. All patients experienced ≥1 treatment-emergent adverse event. Grade≥3 events occurred in 13 (54.2%) patients with mCRPC and 12 (60.0%) patients with NSCLC. Based on PCWG3 criteria, assessment of best overall response with Isa+Cemi in mCRPC revealed no complete responses (CRs), one (4.2%) unconfirmed partial response (PR), and five (20.8%) patients with stable disease (SD). Per RECIST V.1.1, patients with NSCLC receiving Isa+Cemi achieved no CR or PR, and 13 (65%) achieved SD. In post-therapy biopsies obtained from patients with mCRPC or NSCLC, Isa+Cemi treatment resulted in a reduction in median CD38+ tumor-infiltrating immune cells from 40% to 3%, with no consistent modulation of PD-L1 on tumor cells or T regulatory cells in the TME. The combination triggered a significant increase in peripheral activated and cytolytic T cells but, interestingly, decreased natural killer cells.

Conclusions

The present study suggests that CD38 and PD-1 modulation by Isa+Cemi has a manageable safety profile, reduces CD38+ immune cells in the TME, and activates peripheral T cells; however, such CD38 inhibition was not associated with significant antitumor activity. A lack of efficacy was observed in these small cohorts of patients with mCRPC or NSCLC.

Trial registration numbers

NCT03367819.

Details

Title
Targeting CD38 and PD-1 with isatuximab plus cemiplimab in patients with advanced solid malignancies: results from a phase I/II open-label, multicenter study
Author
Zucali, Paolo Andrea 1 ; Chia-Chi, Lin 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Carthon, Bradley C 3 ; Bauer, Todd M 4 ; Tucci, Marcello 5 ; Italiano, Antoine 6   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Iacovelli, Roberto 7 ; Wu-Chou, Su 8 ; Massard, Christophe 9 ; Saleh, Mansoor 10 ; Gennaro Daniele 11 ; Greystoke, Alastair 12 ; Gutierrez, Martin 13 ; Pant, Shubham 14 ; Ying-Chun, Shen 2 ; Perrino, Matteo 1 ; Meng, Robin 15 ; Abbadessa, Giovanni 15 ; Lee, Helen 15 ; Dong, Yingwen 16 ; Chiron, Marielle 17 ; Wang, Rui 18 ; Loumagne, Laure 19 ; Lépine, Lucie 20 ; de Bono, Johann 21 

 Department of Biomedical Sciences, IRCCS Istituto Clinico Humanitas, Rozzano, Italy 
 Department of Oncology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan 
 Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University Winship Cancer Institute, Atlanta, Georgia, USA 
 Drug Development, Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Medical Oncology, Tennessee Oncology, Nashville, Tennessee, USA 
 Medical Oncology, Cardinal Massaia Hospital of Asti, Asti, Italy 
 Precision Medicine, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France 
 Medical and Surgical Sciences, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Roma, Italy 
 Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University College of Medicine, Tainan, Taiwan 
 DITEP, University Paris-Saclay, Faculty of Medicine, Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, Villejuif, France; DITEP, Institut Gustave-Roussy, Villejuif, France 
10  Department of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA 
11  Early Phase Trials Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS Fondazione Pascale, Napoli, Italy 
12  Newcastle University Centre for Cancer, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK 
13  Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Thoracic Medical Oncology, Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, New Jersey, USA 
14  Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA 
15  Oncology Early Development, Sanofi Genzyme, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA 
16  Biostatistics Oncology Late Phase, Sanofi, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA 
17  Research and Development, Sanofi-Aventis, Vitry-sur-Seine, France 
18  Precision Medicine, Sanofi Genzyme, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA 
19  Translational Medicine, Sanofi-Aventis, Paris, France 
20  Pharmacokinetics, Excelya on behalf of Sanofi, Alfortville, France 
21  Experimental Cancer Medicine, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK; Experimental Cancer Medicine, Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust, London, UK 
Section
Clinical/translational cancer immunotherapy
Publication year
2022
Publication date
Jan 2022
Publisher
BMJ Publishing Group LTD
e-ISSN
20511426
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2621455464
Copyright
© 2022 Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ . Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.