A Phase I/II first-line study of R-CHOP plus B-cell receptor/NF-κB-double-targeting to molecularly assess therapy response

Sophy Denker, Aitomi Bittner, Il-Kang Na, Julia Kase, Mareike Frick, Ioannis Anagnostopoulos, Michael Hummel, Clemens A Schmitt, Sophy Denker, Aitomi Bittner, Il-Kang Na, Julia Kase, Mareike Frick, Ioannis Anagnostopoulos, Michael Hummel, Clemens A Schmitt

Abstract

The ImbruVeRCHOP trial is an investigator-initiated, multicenter, single-arm, open label Phase I/II study for patients 61-80 years of age with newly diagnosed CD20+ diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and a higher risk profile (International Prognostic Index ≥2). Patients receive standard chemotherapy (CHOP) plus immunotherapy (Rituximab), a biological agent (the proteasome inhibitor Bortezomib) and a signaling inhibitor (the Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase-targeting therapeutic Ibrutinib). Using an all-comers approach, but subjecting patients to another lymphoma biopsy acutely under first-cycle immune-chemo drug exposure, ImbruVeRCHOP seeks to identify an unbiased molecular responder signature that marks diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients at risk and likely to benefit from this regimen as a double, proximal and distal B-cell receptor/NF-κB-co-targeting extension of the current R-CHOP standard of care. EudraCT-Number: 2015-003429-32; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03129828.

Keywords: Bortezomib; CHOP; Ibrutinib; Rituximab; biomarkers; chemotherapy; diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; non-Hodgkin lymphoma; novel study design; prediction; targeted therapy.

Conflict of interest statement

Financial & competing interests disclosure CA Schmitt receives honoraria for medical advice from Roche and Janssen-Cilag, and coordinates clinical research (namely the ImbruVeRCHOP trial) partly funded by Janssen-Cilag. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

© 2019 Clemens A Schmitt.

Figures

Figure 1.. Flow chart of the trial…
Figure 1.. Flow chart of the trial sequence and time points of scientific program.
(A) Flow chart showing the course of the study and when material for molecular analysis will be collected. (B) Study logo with double scissors for twofold target in B-cell receptor signaling. (C) Listing of molecular analyses. *Scientific program. CT: Computed tomography; DLBCL: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; FISH: Fluorescence in situ hybridization; MRD: Minimal residual disease; PDX: Patient-derived xenograft; PET: Positron emission tomography; sc.: Subcutaneous; TCR-seq: T cell receptor sequencing.

References

    1. Coiffier B, Lepage E, Briere J. et al. CHOP chemotherapy plus rituximab compared with CHOP alone in elderly patients with diffuse large-B-cell lymphoma. N. Engl. J. Med. 346(4), 235–242 (2002).
    1. Pfreundschuh M, Trümper L, Osterborg A. et al. CHOP-like chemotherapy plus rituximab versus CHOPlike chemotherapy alone in young patients with good-prognosis diffuse large-Bcell lymphoma: a randomised controlled trial by the MabThera International Trial (MInT) Group. Lancet Oncol. 7(5), 379–391 (2006).
    1. The International Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Prognostic Factors Project. A predictive model for aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. N. Engl. J. Med. 329(14), 987–994 (1993).
    1. Fisher RI, Gaynor ER, Dahlberg S. et al. Comparison of a standard regimen (CHOP) with three intensive chemotherapy regimens for advanced non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. N. Engl. J. Med. 328(14), 1002–1006 (1993).
    1. Pfreundschuh M, Schubert J, Ziepert M. et al. Six versus eight cycles of bi-weekly CHOP-14 with or without rituximab in elderly patients with aggressive CD20+ B-cell lymphomas: a randomised controlled trial (RICOVER-60). Lancet Oncol. 9(2), 105–116 (2008).
    1. Delarue R, Tilly H, Mounier N. et al. Dose-dense rituximab-CHOP compared with standard rituximab-CHOP in elderly patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (the LNH03-6B study): a randomised phase 3 trial. Lancet Oncol. 14(6), 525–533 (2013).
    1. Cunningham D, Hawkes EA, Jack A. et al. Rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone in patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma: a phase 3 comparison of dose intensification with 14-day versus 21-day cycles. Lancet 381(9880), 1817–1826 (2013).
    1. Alizadeh AA, Eisen MB, Davis RE. et al. Distinct types of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma identified by gene expression profiling. Nature 403(6769), 503–511 (2000).
    1. Monti S, Savage KJ, Kutok JL. et al. Molecular profiling of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma identifies robust subtypes including one characterized by host inflammatory response. Blood 105(5), 1851–1861 (2005).
    1. Lenz G, Wright G, Dave SS. et al. Stromal gene signatures in large-B-cell lymphomas. N. Engl. J. Med. 359(22), 2313–2323 (2008).
    1. Reddy A. Genetic and functional drivers of diffuse large b cell lymphoma. Cell 171(2), 481–494.e15 (2017).
    2. •• These three papers (references 11–13) represent major efforts to scrutinize the molecular heterogeneity of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) by DNA/RNA next-generation sequencing, copy number analyzes and sophisticated bioinformatics analyzes in a large number of primary patient samples.

    1. Schmitz R, Wright GW, Huang DW. et al. Genetics and pathogenesis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. N. Engl. J. Med. 378(15), 1396–1407 (2018).
    2. •• These three papers (references 11–13) represent major efforts to scrutinize the molecular heterogeneity of DLBCL by DNA/RNA next-generation sequencing, copy number analyzes and sophisticated bioinformatics analyzes in a large number of primary patient samples.

    1. Chapuy B, Stewart C, Dunford AJ. et al. Molecular subtypes of diffuse large B cell lymphoma are associated with distinct pathogenic mechanisms and outcomes. Nat. Med. 24(5), 679–690 (2018).
    2. •• These three papers (references 11–13) represent major efforts to scrutinize the molecular heterogeneity of DLBCL by DNA/RNA next-generation sequencing, copy number analyzes and sophisticated bioinformatics analyzes in a large number of primary patient samples.

    1. Alizadeh AA. et al. Distinct types of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma identified by gene expression profiling. Nature 403, 503–511 (2000).
    2. •• One of the first microarray-based studies on genome-wide transcript expression profiling in a tumor entity, and the inaugural paper on the distinct transcriptome-based cell-of-origin (COO) subtypes (germinal center B-cell [GCB] vs activated B-cell [ABC]) in DLBCL.

    1. Lenz G. et al. Stromal gene signatures in large-B-cell lymphomas. N. Engl. J. Med. 359, 2313–2323 (2008).
    2. •• A key publication on the contribution of stromal cell components interfering with DLBCL outcome, and, in particular, the unfavorable impact of the ABC-subtype cell-of-origin signature under CHOP-like and R-CHOP-like induction regimens.

    1. Rosenwald A, Wright G, Chan WC. et al. The use of molecular profiling to predict survival after chemotherapy for diffuse large-B-cell lymphoma. N. Engl. J. Med. 346(25), 1937–1947 (2002).
    1. Scott DW, Wright GW, Williams PM. et al. Determining cell-of-origin subtypes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma using gene expression in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue. Blood 123(8), 1214–1217 (2014).
    1. Alizadeh AA, Gentles AJ, Alencar AJ. et al. Prediction of survival in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma based on the expression of 2 genes reflecting tumor and microenvironment. Blood 118(5), 1350–1358 (2011).
    1. Choi WW, Weisenburger DD, Greiner TC. et al. A new immunostain algorithm classifies diffuse large B-cell lymphoma into molecular subtypes with high accuracy. Clin. Cancer Res. 15(17), 5494–5502 (2009).
    1. Gutierrez-Garcia G, Cardesa-Salzmann T, Climent F. et al. Gene-expression profiling and not immunophenotypic algorithms predicts prognosis in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated with immunochemotherapy. Blood 117(18), 4836–4843 (2011).
    1. Hans CP, Weisenburger DD, Greiner TC. et al. Confirmation of the molecular classification of diffuse large Bcell lymphoma by immunohistochemistry using a tissue microarray. Blood 103(1), 275–282 (2004).
    1. Lossos IS, Czerwinski DK, Alizadeh AA. et al. Prediction of survival in diffuse large-B-cell lymphoma based on the expression of six genes. N. Engl. J. Med. 350(18), 1828–1837 (2004).
    1. Meyer PN, Fu K, Greiner TC. et al. Immunohistochemical methods for predicting cell of origin and survival in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated with rituximab. J. Clin. Oncol. 29(2), 200–207 (2011).
    1. Schenkein D. Proteasome inhibitors in the treatment of B-cell malignancies. Clin. Lymphoma 3(1), 49–55 (2002).
    1. Compagno M, Lim WK, Grunn A. et al. Mutations of multiple genes cause deregulation of NFkappaB in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Nature 459(7247), 717–721 (2009).
    1. Davis RE, Ngo VN, Lenz G. et al. Chronic active B-cell-receptor signaling in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Nature 463(7277), 88–92 (2010).
    1. Lenz G, Davis RE, Ngo VN. et al. Oncogenic CARD11 mutations in human diffuse large B cell lymphoma. Science 319(5870), 1676–1679 (2008).
    1. Lenz G, Staudt LM. Aggressive lymphomas. N. Engl. J. Med. 362(15), 1417–1429 (2010).
    1. Ngo VN, Young RM, Schmitz R. et al. Oncogenically active MYD88 mutations in human lymphoma. Nature 470(7332), 115–119 (2011).
    1. Jing H, Kase J, Dörr JR. et al. Opposing roles of NF-κB in anti-cancer treatment outcome unveiled by cross-species investigations. Genes Dev. 25(20), 2137–2146 (2011).
    2. • A first of its kind study demonstrates the power of mouse functional genetics to dissect biological principles that apply across species to the clinical course of human DLBCL, especially help to elucidate apoptosis and senescence in minimalistic two-factor NF-κb/Bcl2 oncogenic networks reminiscent of GCB- versus ABC-like subtypes.

    1. Davis RE, Brown KD, Siebenlist U, Staudt LM. Constitutive nuclear factor kappaB activity is required for survival of activated B cell-like diffuse large B cell lymphoma cells. J. Exp. Med. 194(12), 1861–1874 (2001).
    1. Feuerhake F, Kutok JL, Monti S. et al. NFkappaB activity, function, and target-gene signatures in primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma subtypes. Blood 106(4), 1392–1399 (2005).
    1. Vilimas T, Mascarenhas J, Palomero T. et al. Targeting the NF-kappaB signaling pathway in Notch1-induced T-cell leukemia. Nat. Med. 13(1), 70–77 (2007).
    1. Lee J, Suh C, Kang HJ. et al. Phase I study of proteasome inhibitor bortezomib plus CHOP in patients with advanced, aggressive T-cell or NK/T-cell lymphoma. Ann. Oncol. 19(12), 2079–2083 (2008).
    1. Orlowski RZ, Stinchcombe TE, Mitchell BS. et al. Phase I trial of the proteasome inhibitor PS-341 in patients with refractory hematologic malignancies. J. Clin. Oncol. 20(22), 4420–4427 (2002).
    1. Orlowski RZ, Voorhees PM, Garcia RA. et al. Phase 1 trial of the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib and pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in patients with advanced hematologic malignancies. Blood 105(8), 3058–3065 (2005).
    1. Dunleavy K, Pittaluga S, Czuczman MS. et al. Differential efficacy of bortezomib plus chemotherapy within molecular subtypes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Blood 113(24), 6069–6076 (2009).
    1. Ruan J, Martin P, Furman RR. et al. Bortezomib plus CHOP-rituximab for previously untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma. J. Clin. Oncol. 29(6), 690–697 (2011).
    1. Davis A, Cummin TE, Barrans S. et al. Gene-expression profiling of bortezomib added to standard chemoimmunotherapy for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (REMoDL-B): an open-label, randomised, phase 3 trial. Lancet Oncol. 20(5), 649–662 (2019).
    2. • A pivotal all-comer randomized first-line Phase III trial for DLBCL patients failing to demonstrate a significant advantage of adding the proteasome blocker Bortezomib to an R-CHOP induction backbone.

    1. Leonard JP, Kolibaba KS, Reeves JA. et al. Randomized Phase II study of R-CHOP with or without Bortezomib in previously untreated patients with non-germinal center B-cell-like diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. J. Clin. Oncol. 35(31), 3538–3546 (2017).
    1. Wilson WH, Young RM, Schmitz R. et al. Targeting B cell receptor signaling with ibrutinib in diffuse large B cell lymphoma. Nat. Med. 21(8), 922–926 (2015).
    1. Younes A, Thieblemont C, Morschhauser F. et al. Combination of ibrutinib with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) for treatment-naive patients with CD20-positive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma: a non-randomised, phase 1b study. Lancet Oncol. 15(9), 1019–1026 (2014).
    1. Younes A, Sehn LH, Johnson P. et al. A global, randomized, placebo-controlled, Phase 3 study of Ibrutinib plus rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (RCHOP) in patients with previously untreated non- germinal center B-cell-like (GCB) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Presented at: ASH 60th Annual Meeting and Exposition. CA, USA, 1–4 December (2018).
    1. Younes A, Sehn LH, Johnson P. et al. Randomized Phase III Trial of Ibrutinib and Rituximab Plus Cyclophosphamide, Doxorubicin, Vincristine, and Prednisone in Non-Germinal Center B-Cell Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma. J. Clin. Oncol. 37(15), 1285–1295 (2019).
    2. • Another formally failed pivotal randomized first-line Phase III trial for non-GCB-pre-selected DLBCL patients testing the addition of Ibrutinib to R-CHOP, but producing highly encouraging results in preplanned age subgroups (i.e., patients <60 years), and indicating a role for the Ibrutinib extension in transcriptome-confirmed GCB patients, too.

    1. Seymour JF, Pfreundschuh M, Trněný M. et al. R-CHOP with or without bevacizumab in patients with previously untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: final MAIN study outcomes. Haematologica 99(8), 1343–1349 (2014).
    1. Vitolo U, Witzig TE, Gascoune RD. et al. ROBUST: first report of phase III randomized study of lenalidomide/R-CHOP (R2-CHOP) vs placebo/R-CHOP in previously untreated ABC-type diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Presented at: 15th International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma. Lugano, Switzerland, 18–22 June (2019).
    1. Bartlett NL, Wilson WH, Jung SH. et al. Dose-adjusted EPOCH-R compared with R-CHOP as frontline therapy for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: clinical outcomes of the Phase III Intergroup Trial Alliance/CALGB 50303. J. Clin. Oncol. 37(21), 1790–1799 (2019).
    1. Vitolo U, Trněný M, Belada D. et al. Obinutuzumab or rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone in previously untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. J. Clin. Oncol. 35(31), 3529–3537 (2017).
    1. Westin JR, Nastoupil L, Hagemeister F. et al. Smart start: rituximab, lenalidomide, and ibrutinib alone prior to combination with chemotherapy for patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Presented at: 15th International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma. Lugano, Switzerland, 18–22 Jun (2019).
    1. Dasmahapatra G, Patel H, Dent P, Fisher RI, Friedberg J, Grant S. The Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor PCI-32765 synergistically increases proteasome inhibitor activity in diffuse large-B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) cells sensitive or resistant to bortezomib. Br. J. Haematol. 161(1), 43–56 (2013).
    1. Mathews Griner LA, Guha R, Shinn P. et al. High-throughput combinatorial screening identifies drugs that cooperate with ibrutinib to kill activated B-cell-like diffuse large B-cell lymphoma cells. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 111(6), 2349–2354 (2014).
    1. Park SR, Davis M, Doroshow JH, Kummar S. Safety and feasibility of targeted agent combinations in solid tumours. Nat. Rev. Clin. Oncol. 10(3), 154–168 (2013).
    1. Robert C, Grob JJ, Stroyakovskiy D. et al. Five-year outcomes with dabrafenib plus trametinib in metastatic melanoma. N. Engl. J. Med. 381(7), 626–636 (2019).
    1. Schmitt CA. Senescence, apoptosis and therapy – cutting the lifelines of cancer. Nat. Rev. Cancer 3(4), 286–295 (2003).
    1. Milanovic M, Fan DNY, Belenki D. et al. Senescence-associated reprogramming promotes cancer stemness. Nature 553(7686), 96–100 (2018).
    1. Radich JP, Zelenetz AD, Chan WC. et al. NCCN task force report: molecular markers in leukemias and lymphomas. J. Natl Compr. Canc. Netw. 7(Suppl. 4), S1–S36 (2009).

Source: PubMed

3
구독하다