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Use of BALVERSA in Salivary Gland Cancer

Last Updated: 08/28/2024

SUMMARY

  • RAGNAR (NCT04083976) is an ongoing, phase 2, open-label, single-arm, global, multicenter study evaluating the efficacy and safety of BALVERSA in adult and pediatric patients with unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic solid tumor malignancies (tumor agnostic), fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) mutations or fusions, and documented disease progression.1 For complete study details, refer to https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04083976.
    • Preliminary results of molecular eligibility screening for the RAGNAR study included  2 patients (2%) with salivary gland cancer (FGFR2 mutation [50%] with FGFR1 and FGFR2 mutations/fusions as the most frequent variant).2
    • Pant et al (2023)3 reported primary analysis results after a median follow-up of    17.9 months from a primary cohort of patients (N=217) with 16 different solid tumor types in the RAGNAR study. For 5 patients with salivary gland cancer, the objective response rate (ORR) assessed by independent review committee (IRC) was 100%. In the overall population, BALVERSA-related grade ≥3 treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were reported in 46% (100/217) of patients. The most common grade ≥3 TEAEs were stomatitis (12%), palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia syndrome (6%), and hyperphosphatemia (5%). Safety was not separately evaluated for patients with salivary gland cancer.

CLinical DATA

Phase 2 Study

Pant et al (2023)3 reported primary analysis results of the broad panel cohort of the RAGNAR study (NCT04083976; N=217), including patients with salivary gland cancer (n=5).

Study Design/Methods

  • Ongoing, phase 2, open-label, single-arm, global, multicenter study evaluating the efficacy and safety of BALVERSA in adult and pediatric patients (children ≥6 years) with unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic solid tumor malignancies (tumor agnostic), FGFR mutations or gene fusions, and documented disease progression.
  • The primary cohort consisted of patients ≥12 years of age with unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors (except urothelial carcinoma), predefined FGFR1-4 alterations (mutations/fusions), documented disease progression, who received ≥1 prior line of systemic therapy and no alternative standard therapy.
  • Patients received BALVERSA orally once daily on a 21-day cycle until disease progression or intolerable toxicity.
    • Adults and adolescent patients (≥15 to <18 years of age) were initiated with BALVERSA 8 mg with possible up-titration to 9 mg based on cycle 1 day 14 serum phosphate levels.
    • Adolescent patients (≥12 to <15 years of age) were initiated with BALVERSA 5 mg with possible up-titration to 6 mg or further to 8 mg based on cycle 1 day 14 and cycle 2 day 7 serum phosphate levels.
  • Efficacy for patients with non-central nervous system tumors was assessed using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) v1.1.
    • Primary endpoint: IRC-assessed ORR.
    • Secondary endpoints: Investigator-assessed ORR, duration of response (DOR), disease control rate (DCR), clinical benefit rate, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), safety, health-related quality of life, and pharmacokinetics.

Results

Efficacy
  • The primary cohort included 217 patients with 16 solid tumor types.
    • Median follow-up for efficacy was 17.9 months (interquartile range [IQR], 13.6-23.9) and median treatment duration was 4.3 months (IQR, 2.1-9.2)
    • IRC-assessed ORR was 30% (64/217; 95% confidence interval [CI], 24-36).
    • Investigator-assessed ORR was 25% (95% CI, 20-32), median DOR was 6.9 months (95% CI, 4.4-7.1; investigator-assessed median DOR, 7 months [95% CI, 5.5-8.5]), DCR was 74% (95% CI, 67-80), clinical benefit rate was 46% (95% CI, 39-53), median PFS was 4.2 months (95% CI, 4.1-5.5; PFS events, n=160), and median OS was 10.7 months (95% CI, 8.7-12.1).
  • Responses were observed in 16 solid tumor types, including salivary gland cancer. The ORR for patients with salivary gland cancer (n=5) was 100% and DCR was 100%.
Safety
  • Safety was not separately evaluated for patients with salivary gland cancer.
  • At a median treatment exposure of 4.3 (IQR, 2.1-9.2) months, 99.5% (216/217) of patients experienced ≥1 TEAE.
  • BALVERSA-related grade ≥3 TEAEs occurred in 46% (100/217) of patients. The most common grade ≥3 TEAEs were stomatitis (12%), palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia syndrome (6%), and hyperphosphatemia (5%).
  • Serious TEAEs occurred in 39% (85/217) of patients. The most common grade
    ≥3 serious treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were stomatitis (4/217; 2%) and diarrhea (2/217; 1%).
  • The most common TRAEs that led to discontinuation were palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia syndrome and stomatitis (3/217; 2% each).
  • Central serous retinopathy events occurred in 14% (31/217) of patients.
    • Grade 1-2: Chorioretinopathy (8/217; 4%), detachment of retinal pigment epithelium occurred (7/217; 3%), and retinal detachment (6/217; 3%).
    • Grade 3: Retinal edema (<1%).  
  • TEAEs leading to death were reported in 4% (8/217) patients (multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, pyrexia, coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19], sepsis, pulmonary embolism, respiratory failure, cardiac arrest, and subdural hematoma), all were considered unrelated to BALVERSA by investigator assessment.

Literature Search

A literature search of MEDLINE®, Embase®, BIOSIS Previews®, and DerwentDrug File (and/or other resources, including internal/external databases) was conducted on 12 August 2024.

References

1 Janssen Research & Development LLC. A study of erdafitinib in participants with advanced solid tumors and fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) gene alterations. In: ClinicalTrials.gov [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US). 2000- [cited 2024 Aug 12]. Available from: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04083976 NLM Identifier: NCT04083976.  
2 Massard C, Pant S, Iyer G, et al. Preliminary results of molecular screening for FGFR alterations in the RAGNAR histology-agnostic study with the FGFR inhibitor (FGFRi) erdafitinib. Poster presented at: American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting; June 4-8, 2021; Virtual.  
3 Pant S, Schuler M, Iyer G, et al. Erdafitinib in patients with advanced solid tumours with FGFR alterations (RAGNAR): an international, single-arm, phase 2 study. Lancet Oncol. 2023;24(8):925-935.