Cancer Research and Treatment

Original Article

Gastrointestinal cancer

Varlitinib and Paclitaxel for EGFR/HER2 Co-expressing Advanced Gastric Cancer: A Multicenter Phase Ib/II Study (K-MASTER-13): Dong-Hoe Koo, Minkyu Jung, Yeul Hong Kim, Hei-Cheul Jeung, Dae Young Zang, Woo Kyun Bae, Hyunki Kim, Hyo Song Kim, Choong-kun Lee, Woo Sun Kwon, Hyun Cheol Chung, Sun Young Rha; Cancer Res Treat. 2024;56(4):1136-1145. Published online April 29, 2024; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4143/crt.2023.1324

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Purpose
Varlitinib is a pan-human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) inhibitor targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), and HER4. We present a phase Ib/II study of a combination of varlitinib and weekly paclitaxel as a second-line treatment for patients with EGFR/HER2 co-expressing advanced gastric cancer (AGC).
Materials and Methods
Patients whose tumors with EGFR and HER2 overexpression by immunohistochemistry (≥ 1+) were enrolled. Varlitinib and paclitaxel were investigated every 4 weeks. After determining the recommended phase II dose (RP2D) in phase Ib, a phase II study was conducted to evaluate the antitumor activity.
Results
RP2D was treated with a combination of varlitinib (300 mg twice daily) and paclitaxel. Among 27 patients treated with RP2D, the median progression-free survival and overall survival (OS) were 3.3 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.7 to 4.9) and 7.9 months (95% CI, 5.0 to 10.8), respectively, with a median follow-up of 15.7 months. Among 16 patients with measurable disease, the objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate were 31% and 88%, respectively. Patients with strong HER2 expression (n=8) had a higher ORR and longer OS, whereas those with strong EGFR expression (n=3) had poorer outcomes. The most common adverse events (AEs) of any grade were neutropenia (52%), diarrhea (27%), aspartate aminotransferase/alanine transaminase elevation (22%), and nausea (19%). No treatment-related deaths or unexpected AEs resulting from treatment cessation were observed in patients with RP2D.
Conclusion
A combination of varlitinib and paclitaxel displayed manageable toxicity and modest antitumor activity in patients with EGFR/HER2 co-expressing AGC who progressed after first-line chemotherapy.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Unraveling the future: Innovative design strategies and emerging challenges in HER2-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors for cancer therapy
Sixiang Zheng, Ruixian Chen, Lele Zhang, Lun Tan, Lintao Li, Fangyi Long, Ting Wang
European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.2024; 276: 116702. CrossRef

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