Platform study of genotyping-guided precision medicine for rare solid tumours: a study protocol for a phase II, non-randomised, 18-month, open-label, multiarm, single-centre clinical trial testing the safety and efficacy of multiple Chinese-approved targeted drugs and PD-1 inhibitors in the treatment of metastatic rare tumours

Abstract

Introduction: Limited clinical studies have been conducted on rare solid tumours, and there are few guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment, including experiences with targeted therapy and immunotherapy, of rare solid tumours in China, resulting in limited treatment options and poor outcomes. This study first proposes a definition of rare tumours and is designed to test the preliminary efficacy of targeted and immunotherapy drugs for the treatment of rare tumours.

Methods and analysis: This is a phase II, open-label, non-randomised, multiarm, single-centre clinical trial in patients with advanced rare solid tumours who failed standard treatment; the study aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of targeted drugs in patients with advanced rare solid tumours with corresponding actionable alterations, as well as the safety and efficacy of immune checkpoint (programmed death receptor inhibitor 1, PD-1) inhibitors in patients with advanced rare solid tumours without actionable alterations. Patients with advanced rare tumours who fail standardised treatment and carry actionable alterations (Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations, ALK gene fusions, ROS-1 gene fusions, C-MET gene amplifications/mutations, BRAF mutations, CDKN2A mutations, BRCA1/2 mutations, HER-2 mutations/overexpressions/amplifications or C-KIT mutations) will be enrolled in the targeted therapy arm and be given the corresponding targeted drugs. Patients without actionable alterations will be enrolled in the PD-1 inhibitor arm and be treated with sintilimab. After the patients treated with vemurafenib, niraparib and palbociclib acquire resistance, they will receive combination treatment with sintilimab or atezolizumab. With the use of Simon's two-stage Minimax design, and the sample size was estimated to be 770. The primary endpoint of this study is the objective response rate. The secondary endpoints are progression-free survival in the targeted treatment group and single-agent immunotherapy group; the duration of response in the targeted therapy and single-agent immunotherapy groups; durable clinical benefit in the single-agent immunotherapy group; and the incidence of adverse events.

Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval was obtained from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (ID: 20/132-2328). The results from this study will be actively disseminated through manuscript publications and conference presentations.

Trial registration numbers: NCT04423185; ChiCTR2000039310.

Keywords: cancer genetics; clinical trials; oncology.

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

Figures

Figure 1

Flow chart of the study. Blue blocks: single-agent targeted therapy; green blocks: single-agent PD-1 inhibitor; red blocks: combination of targeted drugs with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. DCB, durable clinical benefit; DCR, disease control rate; DOR, duration of response; ECOG, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group; ORR, objective response rate; OS, overall survival; PD-1, programmed death receptor 1; PFS, progression-free survival; RECIST, response evaluation criteria in solid tumours.

Figure 2

Investigational drugs and applied dosages in the study.