AKT Inhibition in Solid Tumors With AKT1 Mutations

J Clin Oncol. 2017 Jul 10;35(20):2251-2259. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2017.73.0143. Epub 2017 May 10.

Abstract

Purpose AKT1 E17K mutations are oncogenic and occur in many cancers at a low prevalence. We performed a multihistology basket study of AZD5363, an ATP-competitive pan-AKT kinase inhibitor, to determine the preliminary activity of AKT inhibition in AKT-mutant cancers. Patients and Methods Fifty-eight patients with advanced solid tumors were treated. The primary end point was safety; secondary end points were progression-free survival (PFS) and response according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST). Tumor biopsies and plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) were collected in the majority of patients to identify predictive biomarkers of response. Results In patients with AKT1 E17K-mutant tumors (n = 52) and a median of five lines of prior therapy, the median PFS was 5.5 months (95% CI, 2.9 to 6.9 months), 6.6 months (95% CI, 1.5 to 8.3 months), and 4.2 months (95% CI, 2.1 to 12.8 months) in patients with estrogen receptor-positive breast, gynecologic, and other solid tumors, respectively. In an exploratory biomarker analysis, imbalance of the AKT1 E17K-mutant allele, most frequently caused by copy-neutral loss-of-heterozygosity targeting the wild-type allele, was associated with longer PFS (hazard ratio [HR], 0.41; P = .04), as was the presence of coincident PI3K pathway hotspot mutations (HR, 0.21; P = .045). Persistent declines in AKT1 E17K in cfDNA were associated with improved PFS (HR, 0.18; P = .004) and response ( P = .025). Responses were not restricted to patients with detectable AKT1 E17K in pretreatment cfDNA. The most common grade ≥ 3 adverse events were hyperglycemia (24%), diarrhea (17%), and rash (15.5%). Conclusion This study provides the first clinical data that AKT1 E17K is a therapeutic target in human cancer. The genomic context of the AKT1 E17K mutation further conditioned response to AZD5363.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Alleles
  • Antineoplastic Agents / adverse effects*
  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / blood
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / genetics
  • DNA, Neoplasm / blood*
  • Diarrhea / chemically induced
  • Disease-Free Survival
  • Drug Eruptions / etiology
  • Exanthema / chemically induced
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Hyperglycemia / chemically induced
  • Loss of Heterozygosity
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mutation*
  • Neoplasms / blood
  • Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / metabolism
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / adverse effects*
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / genetics*
  • Pyrimidines / adverse effects*
  • Pyrimidines / therapeutic use
  • Pyrroles / adverse effects*
  • Pyrroles / therapeutic use
  • Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors
  • Signal Transduction / genetics

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • DNA, Neoplasm
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors
  • Pyrimidines
  • Pyrroles
  • AKT1 protein, human
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
  • capivasertib