Personalized Antibodies for Gastroesophageal Adenocarcinoma (PANGEA): A Phase II Study Evaluating an Individualized Treatment Strategy for Metastatic Disease

Cancer Discov. 2021 Feb;11(2):308-325. doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-20-1408. Epub 2020 Nov 24.

Abstract

The one-year and median overall survival (mOS) rates of advanced gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas (GEA) are ∼50% and <12 months, respectively. Baseline spatial and temporal molecular heterogeneity of targetable alterations may be a cause of failure of targeted/immunooncologic therapies. This heterogeneity, coupled with infrequent incidence of some biomarkers, has resulted in stalled therapeutic progress. We hypothesized that a personalized treatment strategy, applied at first diagnosis then serially over up to three treatment lines using monoclonal antibodies combined with optimally sequenced chemotherapy, could contend with these hurdles. This was tested using a novel clinical expansion-platform type II design with a survival primary endpoint. Of 68 patients by intention-to-treat, the one-year survival rate was 66% and mOS was 15.7 months, meeting the primary efficacy endpoint (one-sided P = 0.0024). First-line response rate (74%), disease control rate (99%), and median progression-free survival (8.2 months) were superior to historical controls. The PANGEA strategy led to improved outcomes warranting a larger randomized study. SIGNIFICANCE: This study highlights excellent outcomes achieved by individually optimizing chemotherapy, biomarker profiling, and matching of targeted therapies at baseline and over time for GEA. Testing a predefined treatment strategy resulted in improved outcomes versus historical controls. Therapeutic resistance observed in correlative analyses suggests that dual targeted inhibition may be beneficial.This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 211.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial, Phase II
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma / drug therapy*
  • Adenocarcinoma / secondary
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized / therapeutic use*
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological / therapeutic use*
  • Chicago
  • Esophageal Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Esophageal Neoplasms / pathology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Molecular Targeted Therapy
  • Progression-Free Survival
  • Stomach Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Stomach Neoplasms / pathology
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological