Efficacy and safety of surufatinib plus toripalimab, a chemotherapy-free regimen, in patients with advanced gastric/gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, or biliary tract cancer

Cancer Immunol Immunother. 2024 May 7;73(7):119. doi: 10.1007/s00262-024-03677-7.

Abstract

Background: The programmed death 1 inhibitor toripalimab plus the angio-immuno kinase inhibitor surufatinib showed a tolerable safety profile and preliminary efficacy in patients with advanced solid tumors in a phase I study.

Methods: This open-label, multi-cohort study in China enrolled patients with advanced solid tumors who had failed or were intolerable to standard treatment into tumor-specific cohorts. Patients received surufatinib (250 mg orally, once daily) plus toripalimab (240 mg intravenously, once every three weeks). Results for three cohorts (gastric/gastroesophageal junction [GC/GEJ] adenocarcinoma, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma [ESCC], and biliary tract carcinoma [BTC]) are reported here. The primary endpoint was investigator-assessed objective response rate (ORR) per Response Evaluation criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1.

Results: Between December 17, 2019, and January 29, 2021, 60 patients were enrolled (GC/GEJ, n = 20; ESCC, n = 20; BTC, n = 20). At data cutoff (February 28, 2023), ORRs were 31.6%, 30.0%, and 11.1%, respectively. Median progression-free survival was 4.1, 2.7, and 2.9 months, respectively. Median overall survival was 13.7, 10.4, and 7.0 months, respectively. Overall, grade ≥ 3 treatment-related adverse events occurred in 28 (46.7%) patients.

Conclusions: Surufatinib plus toripalimab showed promising antitumor activity and a tolerable safety profile in immunotherapy-naïve patients with GC/GEJ adenocarcinoma, ESCC, or BTC. These findings warrant further study in larger randomized trials comparing surufatinib plus toripalimab with standard therapies in these tumors.

Clinicaltrials: gov NCT04169672.

Keywords: Biliary tract carcinoma; Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; Gastric cancer; Surufatinib; Toripalimab.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Clinical Trial, Phase I

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma* / drug therapy
  • Adenocarcinoma* / mortality
  • Adenocarcinoma* / pathology
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized* / administration & dosage
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized* / adverse effects
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized* / therapeutic use
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols* / adverse effects
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols* / therapeutic use
  • Biliary Tract Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Biliary Tract Neoplasms* / mortality
  • Biliary Tract Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Cohort Studies
  • Esophageal Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Esophageal Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma* / drug therapy
  • Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma* / pathology
  • Esophagogastric Junction / pathology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Imidazoles / administration & dosage
  • Imidazoles / adverse effects
  • Imidazoles / therapeutic use
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Stomach Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Stomach Neoplasms / mortality
  • Stomach Neoplasms / pathology

Substances

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized
  • toripalimab
  • Imidazoles

Associated data

  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT04169672