ASCO Conference Highlights: Metastatic Colorectal Cancer, Bladder Cancer

[John]

ASCO conference emerged out to be a breakthrough platform for several oncology abstracts including Colorectal Cancer, Metastatic Colorectal Cancer, and Bladder Cancer. Here are a few abstracts covered from the field. 

Olympia Trial - PARP inhibitors demonstrated activity in multiple cancers which are related to BRCA mutations. AstraZeneca’s Lynparza (olaparib), one such PARP inhibitor, is indicated for various advanced cancer types. Lynparza label was approved in 2017, for the treatment of patients with germline BRCA-mutated (gBRCAm), HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer previously treated with chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant, adjuvant, or metastatic setting, it is still not approved for use in high-risk HER2 negative early breast cancer with gBRCAm.

The Olympia trial study evaluated Lynparza in patients with gBRCA1/2 mutated HER2 negative early breast cancer who have completed definitive local treatment and neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy. Olympia trial results were based on a randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled multicenter Phase III trial, which, once complete, can provide Lynparza with the commercial opportunity in the adjuvant setting.

As per MSD the analysis of the Olympia trial breast cancer study, based upon the IDMC recommendation, could be able to represent a potential step forward for patients with early-stage, high-risk primary breast cancer with a germline BRCA mutation. Thus, the successful attainment of primary endpoints makes Olympiad Lynparza the first PARP inhibitor to demonstrate clinical benefit as an adjuvant treatment in early breast cancer.

BEACON encorafenib + cetuximab with or without binimetinib (Abstract No. 4001) - Assessment of the BEACON CRC study confirmed that encorafenib + cetuximab with or without binimetinib improved OS and ORR in previously treated patients with BRAF V600E mCRC compared with standard chemotherapy. Pfizer's intervention encorafenib plus cetuximab with or without binimetinib is a small molecule technology-based therapy for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer with BRAF V600E mutation. As per the published results at ASCO, encorafenib + cetuximab significantly improved OS, PF, and ORR relative to standard of care (control) in previously treated pts with BRAF V600E mCRC, a sub-population with historically dismal outcomes.

Merck’s anti-LAG-3 antibody, MK4280 (favezelimab) in combination with PD-1, Pembrolizumab (Abstract No. 3584): LAG-3 has been turned out to be a novel target in oncology which is expressed in some of the tumor types. Merck, one of them, has brought its anti-LAG-3 antibody MK4280- favezelimab to investigate it both as monotherapy and in combination with its own lead candidate Keytruda in previously treated, advanced microsatellite stable colorectal cancer.

20 patients participated in the study including the favezelimab arm (mono) and 80 patients in the favezelimab + pembrolizumab arm (combo). More than 85 percent of the patients have received ≥3 prior lines of therapy in the mono arm and 72.5% in the combo arm. 60 percent of the patients had PDL1 CPS ≥ 1 in the mono arm vs 45% in the combo arm. The cut-off data date of the study was October 2020. The early study results demonstrated a manageable safety profile in the mono and combo arm with promising anti-tumor activity in the combo arm, notably in patients with PDL1 CPS ≥1. 

Check in-depth Information- Olympia Lynparza