Repotrectinib in ROS1 Fusion–Positive Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Author(s): Alexander Drilon, M.D., D. Ross Camidge, M.D., Ph.D., Jessica J. Lin, M.D., Sang-We Kim, M.D., Ph.D., Benjamin J. Solomon, M.B., B.S., Ph.D., Rafal Dziadziuszko, M.D., Ph.D., Benjamin Besse, M.D., Ph.D., Koichi Goto, M.D., Ph.D., Adrianus Johannes de Langen, M.D., Ph.D., Jürgen Wolf, M.D., Ki Hyeong Lee, M.D., Ph.D., Sanjay Popat, M.B., B.S., Ph.D., Christoph Springfeld, M.D., Ph.D., Misako Nagasaka, M.D., Ph.D., Enriqueta Felip, M.D., Ph.D., Nong Yang, M.D., Vamsidhar Velcheti, M.D., Shun Lu, M.D., Ph.D., Steven Kao, M.B., Ch.B., Ph.D., Christophe Dooms, M.D., Ph.D., Matthew G. Krebs, M.D., Ph.D., Wenxiu Yao, Ph.D., Muhammad Shaalan Beg, M.S., M.D., Xiufeng Hu, M.D., Denis Moro-Sibilot, M.D., Parneet Cheema, M.D., Shanna Stopatschinskaja, M.D., Minal Mehta, M.B., B.S., Denise Trone, M.S., Armin Graber, Ph.D., Gregory Sims, Ph.D., Yong Yuan, Ph.D., and Byoung Chul Cho, M.D., Ph.D. for the TRIDENT-1 Investigators*
Source: N Engl J Med 2024; 390:118-131 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2302299

Dr. Anjan Patel's Thoughts

The old cliche of more agents than patients seems to be true in the small group of ROS1+ NSCLC. Repotrectinib is one of the newer ones out there and worthy of our consideration.

BACKGROUND

The early-generation ROS1 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) that are approved for the treatment of ROS1 fusion–positive non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have antitumor activity, but resistance develops in tumors, and intracranial activity is suboptimal. Repotrectinib is a next-generation ROS1 TKI with preclinical activity against ROS1 fusion–positive cancers, including those with resistance mutations such as ROS1 G2032R.

METHODS

In this registrational phase 1–2 trial, we assessed the efficacy and safety of repotrectinib in patients with advanced solid tumors, including ROS1 fusion–positive NSCLC. The primary efficacy end point in the phase 2 trial was confirmed objective response; efficacy analyses included patients from phase 1 and phase 2. Duration of response, progression-free survival, and safety were secondary end points in phase 2.

RESULTS

On the basis of results from the phase 1 trial, the recommended phase 2 dose of repotrectinib was 160 mg daily for 14 days, followed by 160 mg twice daily. Response occurred in 56 of the 71 patients (79%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 68 to 88) with ROS1 fusion–positive NSCLC who had not previously received a ROS1 TKI; the median duration of response was 34.1 months (95% CI, 25.6 to could not be estimated), and median progression-free survival was 35.7 months (95% CI, 27.4 to could not be estimated). Response occurred in 21 of the 56 patients (38%; 95% CI, 25 to 52) with ROS1 fusion–positive NSCLC who had previously received one ROS1 TKI and had never received chemotherapy; the median duration of response was 14.8 months (95% CI, 7.6 to could not be estimated), and median progression-free survival was 9.0 months (95% CI, 6.8 to 19.6). Ten of the 17 patients (59%; 95% CI, 33 to 82) with the ROS1 G2032R mutation had a response. A total of 426 patients received the phase 2 dose; the most common treatment-related adverse events were dizziness (in 58% of the patients), dysgeusia (in 50%), and paresthesia (in 30%), and 3% discontinued repotrectinib owing to treatment-related adverse events.

CONCLUSIONS

Repotrectinib had durable clinical activity in patients with ROS1 fusion–positive NSCLC, regardless of whether they had previously received a ROS1 TKI. Adverse events were mainly of low grade and compatible with long-term administration. (Funded by Turning Point Therapeutics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bristol Myers Squibb; TRIDENT-1 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03093116. opens in new tab.)

Author Affiliations

From Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Cornell Medical College (A.D.) and the NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center (V.V.) — all in New York; the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora (D.R.C.); Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston (J.J.L.); Asan Medical Center (S.-W.K.) and Yonsei Cancer Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine (B.C.C.), Seoul, and Chungbuk National University Hospital, Cheongju-si (K.H.L.) — all in South Korea; the Peter MacCallum Cancer Center, Melbourne, VIC (B.J.S.), and the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Camperdown, NSW (S.K.) — both in Australia; the Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy and Early Clinical Trials Center, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland (R.D.); Paris-Saclay University, Gustave Roussy Cancer Center, Villejuif (B.B.), and Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Grenoble–Alpes, La Tronche (D.M.-S.) — both in France; National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan (K.G.); the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam (A.J.L.); the Center for Integrated Oncology, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne (J.W.), and the Department of Medical Oncology, Heidelberg University Hospital, National Center for Tumor Diseases, Heidelberg (C.S.) — both in Germany; the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and the Institute of Cancer Research, London (S.P.), and the University of Manchester and the Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester (M.G.K.) — all in the United Kingdom; the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Orange (M.N.), and Turning Point Therapeutics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bristol Myers Squibb, San Diego (S.S., M.M., D.T., A.G., G.S.) — both in California; Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona (E.F.); Hunan Cancer Hospital, Hunan (N.Y.), the Department of Oncology, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai (S.L.), Sichuan Cancer Hospital and Institute, Chengdu (W.Y.), and Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou (X.H.) — all in China; the Respiratory Oncology Unit, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium (C.D.); UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas (M.S.B.); William Osler Health System, University of Toronto, Toronto (P.C.); and Bristol Myers Squibb, Princeton, NJ (Y.Y.).

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Articles

Neoadjuvant Osimertinib for Resectable EGFR-Mutated Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer

The phase III NeoADAURA trial evaluated neoadjuvant osimertinib (OSI) with or without platinum-based chemotherapy (CT) versus CT alone in resectable, EGFR-mutated stage II-IIIB non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Both OSI+CT and OSI monotherapy significantly improved major pathologic response (MPR: 26% and 25% vs 2%), and 12-month event-free survival (EFS) rates were higher with OSI-containing regimens (OSI+CT 93%, OSI 95%, CT 83%). Nodal downstaging was also more frequent with OSI arms (53% vs 21%). Neoadjuvant OSI—with or without CT—looks like a real step forward for our EGFR-mutant NSCLC patients, especially given the robust pathologic responses and high rates of surgical completion.

Read More »

Phase III Study of Mediastinal Lymph Node Dissection for Ground Glass Opacity–Dominant Lung Adenocarcinoma

This large, well-done study compared systematic mediastinal lymph node dissection (LND) versus no LND in patients with GGO-dominant invasive lung adenocarcinoma (CTR ≤0.5, ≤3 cm, cT1N0M0). Interim analysis of 302 patients showed no lymph node metastases in either arm, with both groups achieving 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) of 100% at the time of analysis. The no LND arm had significantly shorter surgery duration (74 vs 109 min), less blood loss (44 vs 82 mL), shorter hospital stays (3.9 vs 4.5 days), and fewer grade ≥2 complications (3.3% vs 9.3%). Based on these findings, the trial was terminated early for nonmaleficence, and the authors recommend omitting systematic mediastinal LND in this population. In short, for carefully selected GGO-dominant lung adenocarcinoma, skipping mediastinal LND appears safe and spares patients’ unnecessary morbidity—this could be a real practice-changer for our early-stage, node-negative cases.

Read More »

Overall Survival with Amivantamab–Lazertinib in EGFR-Mutated Advanced NSCLC

The phase 3 MARIPOSA trial compared amivantamab–lazertinib (Ami-Laz) to osimertinib (Osi) in untreated EGFR-mutated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), showing a significant overall survival (OS) benefit for Ami-Laz (3-yr OS was 60% vs 51%). Median OS was not reached for Ami-Laz vs 36.7 months for Osi, with a projected >12-month median OS advantage. Ami-Laz also improved time to symptomatic progression (43.6 vs 29.3 months) and showed durable intracranial control, though grade ≥3 adverse events (AEs) were higher (80% vs 52%), notably skin, venous thromboembolism (VTE), and infusion reactions. In short, Ami-Laz is emerging as a new standard for first-line EGFRm NSCLC, but we’ll need to be proactive about managing its toxicity profile in clinic and whether this is superior or equivalent to Osi + chemo is currently unclear.

Read More »

Adagrasib versus docetaxel in KRASG12C-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer (KRYSTAL-12): a randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial

Adagrasib demonstrated a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 5.5 months compared to 3.8 months with docetaxel in patients with KRAS G12C-mutated tumors. Treatment-related adverse events occurred in 47% of patients receiving Adagrasib and 46% in the docetaxel group. In my experience, Adagrasib is also more tolerable, making it a favorable option for this patient population.

Read More »