Study to Assess Enzastaurin + R-CHOP in Subjects With DLBCL With the Genomic Biomarker DGM1™

A Randomized Phase 3 Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Enzastaurin Plus R-CHOP Versus R-CHOP in Treatment-Naive Subjects With High-Risk Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Who Possess the Novel Genomic Biomarker DGM1™

This randomized, placebo-controlled phase 3 study planned to enroll approximately 235 treatment-naïve subjects with high-risk Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL). Subjects were randomized 1:1 to R-CHOP plus enzastaurin or R-CHOP (plus placebo during induction). All subjects received up to 6 cycles (3 weeks per cycle) of treatment. PET/ CT was used to assess radiographic response at the end of treatment. Each subject's treatment assignment was unblinded after combination phase tumor response assessment. Subjects randomized to the enzastaurin arm who have a complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) (at investigator's discretion) by Lugano Classification had the opportunity to continue in the single-agent phase of the study and receive single-agent enzastaurin for up to 2 additional years.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Enzastaurin Hydrochloride; Other: R-CHOP + placebo

Detailed Description

Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common of the Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas, accounting for between 30%-40% of all cases. The incidence of DLBCL generally increases with age and roughly half of all patients are over the age of 60 at the time of diagnosis.

DLBCL is classified as an aggressive lymphoma meaning that its clinical course can progress rapidly to death. Nevertheless, patients with DLBCL can be cured with the appropriate treatment. The current standard of care treatment for DLBCL consists of rituximab added to the anthracycline-containing combination chemotherapy regimen of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone (NCCN Treatment Guidelines). This regimen is referred to as R-CHOP immunochemotherapy. For DLBCL as a whole, R-CHOP immunochemotherapy has resulted in cure rates of approximately 60%. However, for individual patients 5-year survival rates can range from 90% for low-risk patients to less than 50% for high-risk patients.

Most important, for those subjects refractory to R-CHOP therapy less than 10% achieve a durable remission with secondary therapy. Thus, while R-CHOP remains the standard treatment for high-risk, advanced-stage DLBCL, approximately 30-40% of patients fail front-line therapy with most not achieving complete response or with early relapse. An essential step to move forward and improve the outcomes of these patients is to increase the rate of complete response to front-line R-CHOP therapy.

For this reason, there has been a great deal of effort placed on attempting to define disease characteristics that predispose patients to a poorer prognosis with R-CHOP therapy. Molecular and gene expression profiling of tumors and a variety of clinical prognostic indices have been used to identify patients at higher risk of failing R-CHOP immunochemotherapy. While this work has identified subgroups of patients who do not respond well to R-CHOP, to date these efforts have not resulted in substantial gains in response to front-line therapy.

Denovo Biopharma (Denovo) has pioneered an alternative approach to this challenging problem. Denovo has developed a model that employs sophisticated pharmacogenomic testing to detect somatic biomarkers that identify those subjects who responded to a particular study treatment with the aim of re-studying the drug of interest, in this case enzastaurin, in an enriched population.

Applying this technology to archived DNA samples from completed studies of enzastaurin in subjects with DLBCL, Denovo has identified a somatic biomarker that reliably identified subjects for whom the study treatment significantly prolonged survival. Enzastaurin is an oral serine/threonine kinase inhibitor, that targets the PKC, and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and AKT pathways to inhibit tumor cell proliferation, induce tumor cell apoptosis, and suppress tumor-induced angiogenesis.

The purpose of the current study is to prospectively assess the effect on survival of adding enzastaurin to R-CHOP immunochemotherapy in the front-line treatment of an enriched population of subjects with DLBCL.

Enzastaurin, an acyclic bisindolylmaleimide, is a potent and selective inhibitor of PKC-beta. At plasma concentrations achieved clinically, enzastaurin and its metabolites suppress signaling not only through PKC, but also through the PI3K/AKT pathway; these pathways promote tumor-induced angiogenesis, as well as tumor cell survival and proliferation. Accordingly, inhibition of signaling pathways by enzastaurin suppresses the phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3-beta) at ser9, induces cell death (apoptosis), and suppresses proliferation in cultured cell lines from human colon cancers, glioblastoma and lymphomas. Oral dosing with enzastaurin to achieve exposure levels similar to that in human clinical studies suppresses vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-induced angiogenesis and the growth of human colon cancer and glioblastoma xenografts. These studies have demonstrated that enzastaurin can suppress tumor growth through multiple mechanisms: the direct effect of inducing tumor cell death, suppressing tumor cell proliferation, and the indirect effect of suppressing tumor-induced angiogenesis.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 256
• Phase: Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• China
  • Beijing, China, 100142
    • Beijing Cancer Hospital
  • Beijing, China, 100191
    • Peking University Third Hospital (Hematology Dept)
  • Changchun, China, 130012
    • JiLin Cancer Hospital（Lymphoma hematology Dept)
  • Chengdu, China, 637400
    • West China Hospital of Sichuan University (Hematology Dept)
  • Dalian, China, 116044
    • Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University
  • Guangzhou, China, 510080
    • Guangdong General Hospital
  • Hangzhou, China, 310022
    • ZheJiang Cancer Hospital ( Lymphoma Dept)
  • Harbin, China, 150081
    • Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital (Oncology Internal)
  • Shanghai, China, 200032
    • Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Hospital
  • Tianjin, China, 300060
    • Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital
  • Zhengzhou, China, 450003
    • HeNan Cancer Hospital (Hematology Dept)
  • Zhengzhou, China, 450052
    • The First Affiliated Hospital of ZhengZhou University (Oncology Dept)
• United States
  • Alabama
    • Huntsville, Alabama, United States, 35805
      • Oncology Specialties: Clearview Cancer Institute
  • Arizona
    • Tucson, Arizona, United States, 85719
      • University of Arizona
  • Arkansas
    • Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, 72205
      • Central Arkansas Radiation Therapy Institute
  • California
    • Rancho Mirage, California, United States, 92270
      • Desert Hematology
  • Illinois
    • Maywood, Illinois, United States, 60153
      • Loyola University Medical Center
    • Peoria, Illinois, United States, 61615
      • Illinois CancerCare
  • Indiana
    • Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, 46202
      • Indiana University
  • Kentucky
    • Louisville, Kentucky, United States, 40241
      • Norton Cancer Institute Oncology Practices - St. Matthews Location
  • Minnesota
    • Rochester, Minnesota, United States, 55905
      • Mayo Clinic, Rochester
  • Missouri
    • Saint Louis, Missouri, United States, 63104
      • Saint Louis University
    • Springfield, Missouri, United States, 65806
      • Mercy Research
  • Nevada
    • Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, 89169
      • Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada
  • New Hampshire
    • Lebanon, New Hampshire, United States, 03766
      • Norris Cotton Cancer Center Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
  • New Jersey
    • Morristown, New Jersey, United States, 07960
      • Summit Medical Group
    • Morristown, New Jersey, United States, 07972
      • Atlantic Health System/ Morristown Meeical Center
  • New York
    • Hawthorne, New York, United States, 10595
      • New York Medical College
    • New York, New York, United States, 10029
      • Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
    • Stony Brook, New York, United States, 11794
      • Stony Brook Cancer Center
  • Ohio
    • Canton, Ohio, United States, 44708
      • Hematology & Oncology Associates, Inc.
    • Massillon, Ohio, United States, 44646
      • Tri-County Hematology & Oncology Associates, Inc.
    • Toledo, Ohio, United States, 43623
      • Toledo Clinic Cancer Centers
  • Texas
    • Dallas, Texas, United States, 75235
      • University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center - Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center
    • Houston, Texas, United States, 77024
      • Oncology Consultants: Memorial City
  • Washington
    • Seattle, Washington, United States, 98104
      • Swedish Cancer Institute
    • Seattle, Washington, United States, 98109
      • Seattle Cancer Center Alliance
  • Wisconsin
    • Madison, Wisconsin, United States, 53792
      • University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics
    • Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, 53215
      • Vince Lombardi Cancer Center (Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center)

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria

1. Male or female at least 18 years of age and able to provide informed consent.
2. Histologically confirmed diagnosis of CD20-positive DLBCL based on the WHO classification (2016); the diagnosis must be confirmed at the enrolling site. Subjects with high-grade B-cell lymphoma with MYC and BCL2 and/or BCL6 rearrangements and high-grade B-cell lymphoma, NOS are eligible.
3. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0, 1 or 2.
4. International Prognostic Index (IPI) score of at least 3.
5. Estimated life expectancy of at least 12 weeks.

6. Adequate organ function as follows (within 14 days prior to randomization):

   1. Hepatic: total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN) (≤ 5 times ULN in the case of Gilberts Syndrome, liver or pancreatic involvement by lymphoma); alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) ≤ 2.5 times ULN (≤ 5 times ULN if liver involvement)
   2. Renal: creatinine clearance of ≥ 40 mL/min by Cockcroft- Gault equation
   3. Bone marrow: platelets ≥75 x 109/L, absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1.5 x 109/L, hemoglobin ≥8 g/dL. (Platelets ≥50 x 109/L, ANC ≥ 1.0 x 109/L, hemoglobin ≥ 7 g/dL permitted if documented bone marrow involvement)

7. Male or female with reproductive potential, must be willing to use an approved contraceptive method (for example, intrauterine device (IUD), birth control pills, or barrier device) during and for 3 months after discontinuation of study treatment. Women of childbearing potential must have a negative serum pregnancy test within 7 days prior to randomization.

   1. Men are considered of reproductive potential unless they have undergone a vasectomy and confirmed sterile by a post-vasectomy semen analysis.
   2. Women are considered of reproductive potential unless they have undergone hysterectomy and/or surgical sterilization (at least 6 weeks following a bilateral oophorectomy, bilateral tubal ligation, or bilateral tubal occlusive procedure that has been confirmed in accordance with the device's label) or achieved postmenopausal status (defined as cessation of regular menses for greater than 12 consecutive months in women at least 45 years of age).
8. Left ventricular ejection fraction ≥50% by echocardiography or nuclear medicine multi-gated scan.
9. Must be able to swallow tablets.
10. Must be able to comply with study protocol procedures.
11. Willing to consent to have blood stored for possible future biomarker and disease analysis.
12. Must have available and willing to submit pre-systemic treatment DLBCL tumor biopsy tissue/slides for central pathology review.

Exclusion Criteria

1. Received treatment with an investigational drug within the last 30 days.
2. Receiving or has received radiation or any other systemic anticancer treatment for lymphoma (Up to 7 days of corticosteroids are permitted but must be administered after eligibility IPI determination and imaging scans).
3. History of indolent lymphoma or follicular Grade 3b lymphoma.
4. Primary mediastinal (thymic) large B-cell lymphoma.
5. B-cell lymphoma, unclassifiable, with features. intermediate between DLBCL and classical Hodgkin lymphoma.
6. Burkitt lymphoma.
7. Pregnancy or breastfeeding.
8. Known central nervous system (CNS) involvement.
9. Any significant concomitant disorder based on the discretion of the investigator, including but not limited to active bacterial, fungal, or viral infection, incompatible with participation in the study.
10. A second primary malignancy (except adequately treated non-melanoma skin cancer); subjects who have had another malignancy in the past, but have been disease-free for more than 5 years, and subjects who have had a localized malignancy treated with curative intent and disease free for more than 2 years are eligible.
11. Use of a strong inducer or moderate or strong inhibitor of CYP3A4 within 7 days prior to start of study therapy or expected requirement for use on study therapy.
12. Personal or immediate family history of long QT syndrome, QTc interval >450 msec (males) or >470 msec (females) at screening (recommended that QTc be calculated using Fridericia correction formula, QTcF: see Section 6.2.1), or a history of unexplained syncope.
13. Use of any medication that can prolong the QT/QTc interval within 7 days prior to start of study therapy or expected requirement for use on study therapy.
14. History of severe allergic or anaphylactic reaction to monoclonal antibody therapy.
15. Confirmed diagnosis of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy.
16. Ongoing grade 2 or higher peripheral neuropathy.
17. Have any of the following cardiac disorders: uncontrolled hypertension, unstable angina, myocardial infarction within 8 weeks of randomization, New York Heart Association (NYHA) Grade 2 or higher congestive heart failure, ventricular arrhythmia requiring medication within 1 year of randomization, Fontaine Classification stage III or higher peripheral arterial disease.
18. Received a live vaccine within 28 days of study Day 1.
19. HIV positive.
20. Evidence of chronic hepatitis C infection as indicated by antibody to HCV with positive HCV-RNA.

21. Evidence of chronic hepatitis B infection as indicated by either:

    1. HBsAg+ or
    2. HBcAb+ with HBV-DNA+ (any detectable amount is considered positive)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: R-CHOP + enzastaurin; Subjects in the R-CHOP + enzastaurin Arm will receive R-CHOP (Rituximab-375 mg/m2 i.v., Cyclophosphamide-750 mg/m2 i.v., Doxorubicin-50 mg/m2 i.v., Vincristine-1.4 mg/m2 i.v. (2 mg max), and Prednisone-100 mg p.o.), as directed, plus a 1125 mg loading dose of enzastaurin on Day 2 followed by 500 mg daily. After completion of the combination phase of treatment, subjects will be reassessed using PET-CT and subsequently each subject's treatment assignment will be unblinded. Subjects randomized to the enzastaurin arm who have CR or PR at investigator's discretion by the Lugano Classification will be offered single-agent enzastaurin at 500 mg/day (4 tablets once daily) continuously for up to 2 additional years. All other subjects on the enzastaurin arm will receive no further study treatment and transition into the follow up phase of the study; these subjects will receive standard of care based on their response assessment.	Drug: Enzastaurin Hydrochloride; R-CHOP + Enzastaurin (Kinenza®) 125 mg; Other Names: Kinenza®
Placebo Comparator: R-CHOP + placebo; Subjects in the R-CHOP + placebo Arm will receive R-CHOP (Rituximab-375 mg/m2 i.v., Cyclophosphamide-750 mg/m2 i.v., Doxorubicin-50 mg/m2 i.v., Vincristine-1.4 mg/m2 i.v. (2 mg max), and Prednisone-100 mg p.o.), as directed, plus an identical number of tablets as the subjects in the enzastaurin Arm. After completion of the combination phase of treatment, subjects will be reassessed using PET-CT and subsequently each subject's treatment assignment will be unblinded. All subjects randomized to the placebo arm will receive no further study treatment and transition into the follow up phase of the study; these subjects will receive standard of care based on their response assessment.	Other: R-CHOP + placebo; R-CHOP + placebo; Other Names: Placebo

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Overall Survival in Subjects Who Possess the DGM1™ Biomarker	The primary objective of this study is to compare the effect of R-CHOP/enzastaurin versus R-CHOP alone on overall survival in treatment naive, high-risk subjects with DLBCL who possess the DGM1™ biomarker.	Primary Outcome evaluated at 12 months.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
To Determine the Effect on Overall Survivor of Adding Enzastaurin to R-CHOP in Treatment naïve Subjects With High-risk DLBCL Regardless of DGM1 Biomarker Status.	The secondary outcome of this study is to determine the effect on OS of adding enzastaurin to R-CHOP in treatment naïve subjects with high-risk DLBCL regardless of DGM1 biomarker status.	Secondary Outcome evaluated at 12 months.

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Presence of Chromaturia as a Predictor of Efficacy	Urine color will be analyzed by the central lab and overall survival will be determined for subjects with reddish discoloration of the urine. Testing may be performed to define the chemical profile of the urine.	3.5 years

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Denovo Biopharma LLC

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Nowakowski GS, Zhu J, Zhang Q, Brody J, Sun X, Maly J, Song Y, Rizvi S, Song Y, Lansigan F, Jing H, Cao J, Lue JK, Luo W, Zhang L, Li L, Han I, Sun J, Jivani M, Liu Y, Heineman T, Smith SD. ENGINE: a Phase III randomized placebo controlled study of enzastaurin/R-CHOP as frontline therapy in high-risk diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients with the genomic biomarker DGM1. Future Oncol. 2020 May;16(15):991-999. doi: 10.2217/fon-2020-0176. Epub 2020 Apr 6.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 20, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): August 11, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): August 11, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 18, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 23, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): August 28, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 21, 2025
• Last Verified: November 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Lymphoma; Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma; enzastaurin
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms; Immune System Diseases; Neoplasms by Histologic Type; Lymphatic Diseases; Lymphoproliferative Disorders; Immunoproliferative Disorders; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin; Lymphoma; Lymphoma, B-Cell; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse
• Other Study ID Numbers: DB102-02

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No