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Clinical Research. W A L E S C A N C E R P A R T N E R S H I P C O N F E R E N C E. What’s special about ‘clinical’ research. Patients Clinical research is based on patients agreeing to enter research or trials
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Clinical Research W A L E S C A N C E R P A R T N E R S H I P C O N F E R E N C E
What’s special about ‘clinical’ research • Patients • Clinical research is based on patients agreeing to enter research or trials • Hope that the patients themselves will derive benefit, but the likelihood of this varies considerably between studies • They may be exposed to more risks or side effects than standard of care • They usually end up spending more time within the healthcare sector and this may have financial implications • The people most likely to benefit are other (future) patients • For many years the most effective clinical research is done via collaborations • Clinicians and scientists • Clinicians from different specialities • Multiple clinicians across different centres or countries • Clinicians and patients
Today’s agenda • Dr Sahar Iqbal – Wales Cancer Research Centre Clinical Research Fellow – Neurocognitive Function after Stereotactic Radiosurgery • Dr Paul Shaw – Consultant Oncologist, Velindre Cancer Centre – Early phase drug-radiotherapy trials • Dr Rob Jones and Dr Steve Knapper – co-leads Workpackage 2 – developments in early phase trials in solid tumours and haematology
WCRC Clinical Workshop Sahar Iqbal Clinical Research Fellow
Brain metastases • Most common cause of intracranial malignancy • Lung, Breast, Renal, Melanoma • Treatment
Neurocognition and Radiotherapy • Rates are high with WBRT • 52 - 91% reported in studies (Chang et al., 2009; Brown et al., 2016) • Lower rates with SRS • 24 - 63.5% (Chang et al., 2009; Brown et al., 2016) • Structures Involved? • Hippocampus • Amygdala • Entorhinal Cortex • Limbic Lobe • Fornix • Pre-frontal Cortex
WCRC Early Phase Trials Work PackageDr Rob Jones Senior Lecturer and Consultant Medical Oncologist Cardiff University and Velindre Cancer Centre
WCRC Early Phase Trials Work Package • CARdiffBcl3 inhibitor ONcology project • FAKTION
CARdiffBcl3 inhibitor ONcology project • Preclinical work from Richard Clarkson lab identified Bcl3 as important determinant in metastatic spread in breast cancer • Andrea Brancale and Andy Westwell groups designed and synthesised Bcl3 inhibitor that inhibits metastatic spread and acts as a cytostatic in animal TNBC models • Compound currently in clinical development undergoing full toxicity assessment. WCRC funded Luke Piggott is project manager • We plan to open First in Class Phase 1 trial in Cardiff Q3/4 next year
FAKTION Background • All ER+ve metastatic breast cancers will develop resistance to endocrine therapy • Most common endocrine therapy in post-menopausal women are Aromatase Inhibitors (AI’s) • Activation of PIK3CA pathway associated with resistance to endocrine therapy • Akt is a downstream target of PIK3CA • Fulvestrant(Selective Estrogen Receptor Degrader, SERD) is approved for use in patients who have progressed on AI’s
Cell free tumour DNA (ctDNA) Liquid Biopsy • Tumour DNA that has been shed into the bloodstream • By apoptosis, necrosis or secretion • Small (ave. 160-180bp), unstable DNA fragments, associated with proteins • Short half life Diaz and Bardelli, 2014 Journal of Clincial Oncology 32
Schedule of FAKTION Treatment and Assessments ctDNActDNA/CTCT/ctDNA C1D1 C3D1 Progression Diagnostic paraffin tissue block, blood from entry, 8 weeks, and progression for PIK3CA, AKT and other biomarker, analysis. Each treatment cycle is 28 days
Cell free tumour DNA (ctDNA) Liquid Biopsy • Compare mutational status of key genes from archival specimen (first diagnosis), trial baseline (resistance to AI), on treatment, progression (resistance to therapy) • Correlation of mutations with treatment outcomes may define biomarkers which determine success or failure of treatment. • Refine which patient groups should be given therapy • Provides new targets to drug to help improve treatments in resistant groups
Early Phase Trials for Patients with Haematological CancersSteve Knapper Cardiff University and University Hospital of Wales
AML: Many targets for therapy • Mutations • TP53 • RUNX1 • DNMT3A • GATA2 (?) • Relative gene expression • EVI1 • BAALC • ERG • MN1 • LEF1 • HBG1 • PIM1 • Modulators of drug response • MDR status • Polymorphisms in drug • metabolism/ detoxification genes • BCL2/BAX, ARC, pFOXO3A • “Stem cell phenotype” • BM microenvironment • VEGF • CXCR4 • ALK5 • Array profile • mRNA • miRs Slide courtesy of David Grimwade • Impaired Host Response • CD47
‘Phagocytosis’ is the name of the process by which cells are ‘eaten’ by the immune system • AML cells avoid phagocytosis by expressing CD47 that delivers a “don’t-eat me” signal. • Anti-CD47 antibodies block the “don’t eat me” signal allowing phagocytosis of cancer cells. Anti-CD47 antibodies CD47 eat me don’t eat me eat me X Phagocyte cancer cell phagocytosis phagocytosis No phagocytosis
Phase I dose escalation trial of the Humanized Anti-CD47 Monoclonal Antibody Hu5F9-G4 in Acute Myeloid Leukaemia • ‘3+3’ design – 5 planned dose cohorts (up to 30 patients) • For patients with Relapsed or ‘Refractory’ AML • Patients treated in Cardiff, Manchester (Christie), Oxford
Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukaemia (CMML) • Rare cancer of ‘monocytoid’ cells in the bone marrow and blood • Generally elderly patients • Wide range of features including anaemia, disabling symptoms and transformation to AML • Very limited current treatments and very few clinical trials
Monocyte-directed therapy - Tefinostat • Tefinostatis a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor that is only converted to its active form by the enzyme hCE-1 in monocytoid cells • Pre-clinical work by Jo Zabkiewicz and Marie Gilmour confirmed selective activity of tefinostat against monocytic tumours such as CMML or monocytoid AMLs • European phase 1 study established safety in patients with haematological malignancies • MONOCLE will assess the safety and clinical efficacy of tefinostat in CMML Neutral, Φ-targeted esters cell cell Molecular target ester Molecular target ester acid hCE-1 Monocytes, macrophages Other cells
A phase 2 study of the MONOcyte-targeted HDAC inhibitor tefinostatin Chronic MyelomonocyticLEukaemia • About to open at 17 hospital sites around the UK • 40 CMML patients will each be treated with tefinostat for 24 weeks • Clinical efficacy and safety will be assessed • Translational lab studies to assess: hCE-1 expression differential acetylation changes targeted gene sequencing ‘acetylomics’