Phase Ib dose-finding study of abiraterone acetate plus buparlisib (BKM120) or dactolisib (BEZ235) in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer

The phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) signalling axis and androgen receptor (AR) pathways exhibit reciprocal feedback regulation in phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN)-deficient metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) in preclinical models. This phase Ib study evaluated the pan-PI3K inhibitor buparlisib (BKM120) and the dual pan-PI3K/ mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor dactolisib (BEZ235) in combination with abiraterone acetate (AA) in patients with CRPC.

Patients with CRPC who had progressed on AA therapy received escalating doses of either buparlisib or dactolisib, along with fixed doses of AA (1000 mg once daily (qd)) and prednisone (5 mg twice daily (bid)). The primary objective was to define the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and/or the recommended dose for expansion (RDE) of either buparlisib or dactolisib in combination with AA. Secondary objectives included safety, antitumour activity (Prostate Cancer Working Group 2 (PCWG2) criteria; 30% of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) decline at ≥week 12) and pharmacokinetic (PK) profile.

In buparlisib + AA arm, 25 patients received buparlisib + AA (median age, 67 years; Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS) of 0/1/2 for 7/17/1 patients, respectively). At 100 mg qd; two patients experienced dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) (grade 3 hyperglycaemia; grade 2 asthenia), and this was the maximum buparlisib dose explored. Buparlisib + AA showed a 26% lower median area under the curve from time zero to 24°h (AUC0-24) and 48% lower median maximum serum concentration (Cmax) versus the single-agent buparlisib assessed in first-in-human study. No objective response and few PSA decreases were reported. In dactolisib + AA arm, 18 patients (median age, 71 years; ECOG PS of 0/1 for 6/12 patients, respectively) received dactolisib + AA at the first dose level (200 mg bid). Five patients had 9 DLTs (grades 2&3 stomatitis; grade 3 hyperglycaemia; grades 2& 3 diarrhoea; grades 1& 2 pyrexia, grade 2 vomiting, and grade 2 chills).

Based on the assessment of available pharmacokinetics, safety, and efficacy data, no further study is planned for either buparlisib or dactolisib in combination with AA in CRPC.

European journal of cancer (Oxford, England : 1990). 2017 Mar 03 [Epub ahead of print]

Christophe Massard, Kim Nguyen Chi, Daniel Castellano, Johann de Bono, Gwenaelle Gravis, Luc Dirix, Jean-Pascal Machiels, Alain Mita, Begona Mellado Gonzalez, Sabine Turri, Joan Maier, Denes Csonka, Arunava Chakravartty, Karim Fizazi

Drug Development Department, Gustave Roussy, University of Paris Sud, Villejuif, France; Department of Cancer Medicine, Gustave Roussy, University of Paris Sud, Villejuif, France. Electronic address: ., BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver, Canada., University Hospital 12 de Octubre, CIBER-ONC, Madrid, Spain., Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK., Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille, France., St. Augustinus Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium., Institut Roi Albert II, Service d'Oncologie Médicale, Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc and Institut de Recherche Clinique et Expérimentale, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium., Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA., Medical Oncology Department, Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain., Novartis Pharma S.A.S, Rueil-Malmaison, France., Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland., Novartis Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad, India., Department of Cancer Medicine, Gustave Roussy, University of Paris Sud, France.