Frontiers in Oncology (Dec 2022)

Identification of HMGA2 as a predictive biomarker of response to bintrafusp alfa in a phase 1 trial in patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer

  • Alexander Spira,
  • Alexander Spira,
  • Ahmad Awada,
  • Nicolas Isambert,
  • David Lorente,
  • Nicolas Penel,
  • Nicolas Penel,
  • Yue Zhang,
  • Laureen S. Ojalvo,
  • Christine Hicking,
  • P. Alexander Rolfe,
  • Christian Ihling,
  • Isabelle Dussault,
  • George Locke,
  • Christian Borel

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2022.981940
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12

Abstract

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BackgroundWe report the clinical activity, safety, and identification of a predictive biomarker for bintrafusp alfa, a first-in-class bifunctional fusion protein composed of the extracellular domain of TGFβRII (a TGF-β “trap”) fused to a human IgG1 mAb blocking PD-L1, in patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).MethodsIn this expansion cohort of a global phase 1 study, patients with pretreated, advanced TNBC received bintrafusp alfa 1200 mg every 2 weeks intravenously until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, or withdrawal. The primary objective was confirmed best overall response by RECIST 1.1 assessed per independent review committee (IRC).ResultsAs of May 15, 2020, a total of 33 patients had received bintrafusp alfa, for a median of 6.0 (range, 2.0-48.1) weeks. The objective response rate was 9.1% (95% CI, 1.9%-24.3%) by IRC and investigator assessment. The median progression-free survival per IRC was 1.3 (95% CI, 1.2-1.4) months, and median overall survival was 7.7 (95% CI, 2.1-10.9) months. Twenty-five patients (75.8%) experienced treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs). Grade 3 TRAEs occurred in 5 patients (15.2%); no patients had a grade 4 TRAE. There was 1 treatment-related death (dyspnea, hemolysis, and thrombocytopenia in a patient with extensive disease at trial entry). Responses occurred independently of PD-L1 expression, and tumor RNAseq data identified HMGA2 as a potential biomarker of response.ConclusionsBintrafusp alfa showed clinical activity and manageable safety in patients with heavily pretreated advanced TNBC. HMGA2 was identified as a potential predictive biomarker of response.ClinicalTrials.gov identifierNCT02517398

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