2022 ASH: Prolonged Survival in Bi-Allelic TP53-Mutated (TP53mut) MDS Subjects Treated with Oral Decitabine/Cedazuridine in the Ascertain Trial (ASTX727-02)

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View Presentation: Prolonged Survival in Bi-Allelic TP53-Mutated (TP53mut) MDS Subjects Treated with Oral Decitabine/Cedazuridine in the Ascertain Trial (ASTX727-02)

Abstract:

Introduction: TP53 mutations (TP53mut) in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients have been characterized as an independent prognostic factor for poor outcome. These patients may have similar response rates to hypomethylating agents (HMAs) but markedly diminished overall survival (05) compared to those with wild-type (WT) TP53 status (9.4 vs. 20.7 months [mo.]; Takahashi, K, et al. Oncotarget. 2016). Further analyses have defined monoallelic (MA) and bi allelic (BA)/multi-hit TP53mut populations with very different survival outcomes (8.4 vs. 30 mo.; Bernard, et al. Nat Med. 2020). Oral decitabine/cedazuridine (ASTX727) is a fixed dose combination of decitabine (35 mg) and the cytidine deaminase inhibitor cedazuridine (100 mg) with pharmacokinetic (PK) exposure equivalent to the standard intravenous (IV) decitabine regimen of 20 mg/m2 daily X 5 days on a 28-day cycle. The ASCERTAIN study enrolled MDS and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) subjects and the primary endpoint demonstrating PK (AUC) equivalence of oral decitabine/cedazuridine compared with IV decitabine was met (Garcia-Manero, ASH 2019); median overall survival (mOS) was 31.7 mo. (Savona, et al. MDS symposium 2021). Here we present preliminary analysis of the mutation profile of subjects enrolled on ASCERTAIN and evaluate the impact on overall and leukemia-free survival based on the NCCN MDS panel with a focus on the TP53 mutant population.

Methods: 133 subjects with MDS/CMML were enrolled to ASCERTAIN and were randomly assigned either IV decitabine for cycle 1 and oral decitabine/cedazuridine for cycle 2 or the opposite treatment sequence. All subjects continuing beyond cycle 2 received oral decitabine/cedazuridine for all subsequent cycles until treatment discontinuation for disease progression, toxicity, patient’s decision, or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Whole blood collected prior to treatment was used for DNA isolation and molecular abnormalities identified using next generation sequencing (NGS) hematologic malignancy panel of 179 genes including 30 genes from the NCCN MDS panel.

Results: Of the 133 treated subjects, NGS analysis was available for 125 subjects. The percentage of subjects with mutations in the following genes were: TET2 (36.8%), TP53 (35.2%), ASXL1 (28%), DNMT3A (25.6%), SRSF2_MFSD11 (17.6%), SF381 (15.2%), STAG2 (12.8%), EZH2 (11.2%), RUNX1 (11.2%), U2AF1 (10.4%), BCOR (10.4%), CBL (8.8%). TP53, EZH2, RUNX1, CBL, DNMT3A, SF381, and ASXL1 were selected for further analysis
based on their reported negative impact on OS and leukemia-free survival (LFS). TP53 and CBL mutations were closely associated with a worse OS (Hazard Ratio[HR] and 95% Cl: 1.70 (1.00, 2.87) and 2.54 (1.19, 5.43), respectively) and LFS (HR and 95% Cl: 1.63 (0.98, 2.72) and 2.01 (0.95, 4.26), respectively) compared with WT gene status, while subjects with DNMT3A mutation showed a trending advantageous relationship with OS and LFS over WT gene status. The TP53mut population (N=44) was characterized by median age 70.5 years, 63.6% M: 36.4% F, 91% MDS: 9% CMML, IPSS categories: 20% HR, 30% lnt-2, 39% lnt-1, 2% LR, 9% N/A, Cytogenetics: 27% Better-risk, 18% Intermediate risk, 48%
Poor risk, 5% N/A, ECOG 0: 39%, 1: 61%, MA 68%, BA/multi-hit 32%. The median OS and LFS of the TP53mut population were 25.5 and 22.1 mo., respectively, compared to the TP53 WT group with mOS and LFS estimates 33.7 and 31.7 months, respectively (Figure 1). The TP53mut population was further characterized by allelic status and found to have 14 subjects with BA mutations and 30 subjects with MA TP53 mutations without other chromosomal deletions. The respective estimated mOS and 95% Cl in the BA vs MA were 13.0 (5.3, 29.1) months vs. 29.2 (19.8, NE) mo. (Figure 2).

Conclusion: The NGS mutational profile of MDS and CMML subjects in the ASCERTAIN trial included 35% with TP53mut and this group had a worse survival than those with WT TP53 apparently driven by the poor outcome of those with BA TP53mut. Further LOH studies will help refine this analysis, but in this conservative estimate, treatment with oral decitabine/cedazuridine in the ASCERTAIN study resulted in an estimated survival of 13 months for BA TP53mut which compares favorably with historical results.

2022 ASH: ASTX727-03: Phase 1 Study Evaluating Oral Decitabine/Cedazuridine (ASTX727) Low-Dose (LD) in Lower-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes (LR-MDS) Patients

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View Presentation: ASTX727-03: Phase 1 Study Evaluating Oral Decitabine/Cedazuridine (ASTX727) Low-Dose (LD) in Lower-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes (LR-MDS) Patients

Abstract:

Introduction: The safety and clinical activity of low-dose hypomethylating agents (HMAs; parenteral decitabine or azacitdine) for patients with LR-MDS has been reported (Jabbour et al, 2017). Oral decitabine/cedazuridine (ASTX727; fixed-dose combination of 35 mg decitabine/100 mg cedazuridine) is an oral DNMTi that provides equivalent exposure to intravenous decitabine at a standard dosing (SD) regimen (20 mg/m2 days 1-5 every 28 days; Garcia-Manero et al, 2020). An effective oral HMA therapy for patients with LR-MDS that reduces the number of transfusions while avoiding the toxicity associated with both myelosuppression and parenteral administration could ease the burden of HMA administration on patients and caregivers with potential improvement of quality of life. The Phase 1 part of this study explores the optimal dosing schedule of LD oral decitabine/cedazuridine in patients with LR-MDS.

Methods: A two-part Phase 1/2 study (Phase 2 ongoing) is being conducted at US and EU medical centers in subjects with LR-MDS (IPSS low risk and Int-1). Dose selection for the ASTX727-03 Phase 1 study was divided into two phases (Stage A and Stage B). Phase 1 Stage A was designed to approximate the total dose of intravenous (IV) DEC (20 mg/m2 for 5 days) over a longer dosing period and randomized subjects to 3 Cohort regimens of 5 (Cohort A1), 10 (Cohort A2), or 15 mg (Cohort A3) DEC /100 mg CED daily for 10 days in 28-day cycles. In Phase 1 Stage B, subjects were treated with the following 3 LD oral decitabine/cedazuridine regimens of shorter duration; Cohort B1: 10 mg DEC / 100 mg CED daily for 5 days, Cohort B2: 10 mg DEC / 100 mg CED daily for 7 days, Cohort B3: 20 mg DEC / 100 mg CED daily for 5 days. Primary endpoints include determination of dose-limiting toxicity (DLT), frequency and severity of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs), and the recommended Phase 2 dose (RP2D). Secondary endpoints include: pharmacodynamic (PD) activity, pharmacokinetics (PK), and clinical activity based on International Working Group (IWG) 2006 MDS response criteria and transfusion independence, Leukemia Free survival (LFS), and overall survival (OS).

Results: At the data cut-off date of June 17, 2022, 48 LR-MDS subjects were enrolled, and 47 received study treatment. Characteristics were: median age: 76 years (range 51 – 88), male: 31 (65%), and IPSS LR: 15 (31%) and Int-1: 33 (69%), respectively. The median duration of exposure is 9 cycles (range 1-34).

In Stage A, cohort A2 (10 mg, 10-day) was closed due to hematologic DLT (see Table 1) in all four treated subjects, hence cohort A3 (15 mg, 10-day) was closed prior to any subjects being randomized to that regimen. The final number of subjects treated in cohorts A1 (5 mg, 10-day), A2, and A3 were 10, 4, and 0, respectively. In Stage B, 33 subjects were randomly assigned to cohorts B1 (10 mg, 5-day), B2 (10 mg, 7-day), or B3 (20 mg, 5-day), with 11 subjects each treated with the respective dosing schedules. DLT was observed in 3 (30%), 4 (100%), 3 (27%), 7 (70%), and 7 (64%) subjects in Cohorts A1, A2, B1, B2, and B3, respectively. The DLT incidences were proportional to the dose intensity (total DEC dose per cycle) and number of days of study drug administration. All DLTs were related to neutropenia and in general regimens with higher total doses of DEC per cycle (Cohorts A2 and B3) had deeper neutrophil nadirs while regimens with longer dosing periods (7-10 days; Cohorts A1, A2, and B2) required longer to recover neutrophil counts to baseline and dose reductions and dose delays were observed more frequently than in Cohort B1. Adverse events were similar to those reported for standard dose oral decitabine/cedazuridine, with the most common grade ≥ 3 TEAEs being neutropenia (36%), anemia (28%), and febrile neutropenia (19%).

Clinical activity by dosing schedule is shown in Table 1, and bioavailability was confirmed by PK analysis. Of the 47 treated subjects, 22 subjects (47%) had reached the event of death as of the data cutoff date and median OS time was 929 days (95% CI: 526, NE). Median LFS was 690 days (95% CI: 428, 934).

Conclusions: Based on the results of the Phase 1 study, the dosing schedule of 10 mg DEC / 100 mg CED daily for 5 days, that balanced clinical efficacy

with an acceptable and manageable safety profile was selected as the RP2D. This regimen will be compared to 35 mg DEC / 100 mg CED for 3 days in a 28-day

cycle in the ongoing Phase 2 study.

2022 ASH: Phase 2 Study of Oral Decitabine/Cedazuridine in Combination with Magrolimab for Previously Untreated Subjects with Intermediate to Very High-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS)

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View Poster: Phase 2 Study of Oral Decitabine/Cedazuridine in Combination with Magrolimab for Previously Untreated Subjects with Intermediate to Very High-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS)

Abstract:
Rationale
Hypomethylating agents (HMAs) are approved for higher risk MDS (azacitidine, decitabine, oral decitabine/cedazuridine US package insert). Parenteral therapy (subcutaneous or intravenous) is required 5-7 days each month, often resulting in hospital or clinic visits on a chronic basis and represents a substantial burden for this primarily elderly population and their caregivers. Not surprisingly, patients with higher risk MDS are often not started and/or have low compliance with parenteral HMAs, with patients preferring oral medications (Zeidan et al., CLML 2022). Magrolimab has demonstrated encouraging preliminary data in the higher-risk MDS population in combination with azacitidine and is currently being evaluated in a randomized Phase 3 study (ENHANCE, NCT04313881), comparing the efficacy and safety of magrolimab plus azacitidine with that of azacitidine plus placebo in previously untreated patients with higher-risk MDS. This phase 2 study examines the possibility of using an oral HMA (oral decitabine/cedazuridine) in combination with magrolimab which may provide the benefits without the burden of significant parenteral therapy (4-6 additional clinic days each month).

Study Design
ASTX727-10 is a phase 2, international, single-arm, open-label study investigating the safety and efficacy of combination oral decitabine/cedazuridine and magrolimab treatment in intermediate to very high-risk MDS, based on the MDS International Prognostic Scoring System – Revised (IPSS-R). Secondary objectives include evaluating the pharmacokinetic profiles of oral decitabine/cedazuridine and magrolimab, other clinical efficacy of the combination, and safety and efficacy in prespecified subgroups (e.g. IPSS-Molecular, p53 mutant status). To be eligible, subjects with ECOG Performance Status ≤2 must have previously untreated MDS per WHO 2016 classification with < 20% bone marrow blasts and be willing to undergo red blood cell transfusions to achieve a hemoglobin >9 gm/dl at the start of study treatment. Subjects must also be willing to undergo blood transfusions as per the parameters of the protocol and as clinically necessary. Key exclusion criteria include significant medical issues (including uncontrolled diabetes and New York Heart Association Class III-IV heart failure), creatinine clearance < 50 ml/min, immediate eligibility for hematopoietic stem cell transplant, secondary MDS, or MDS / (myeloproliferative neoplasm) overlap syndromes.
As part of the study, tolerability of the combination regimen will be confirmed in the first 6-18 subjects. Dose and/or dosing decreases identified during this dose limiting toxicity assessment will be applied to the entire study.

Approximately 100 subjects will be enrolled.

Anticipated study opening is November 2022.

2022 EHA: PHARMACOKINETIC EXPOSURE EQUIVALENCE AND PRELIMINARY EFFICACY AND SAFETY FROM A RANDOMIZED CROSSOVER PHASE 3 STUDY OF AN ORAL HYPOMETHYLATING AGENT, ASTX727 (DEC-C), COMPARED TO IV DECITABINE IN AML PATIENTS

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PHARMACOKINETIC EXPOSURE EQUIVALENCE AND PRELIMINARY EFFICACY AND SAFETY FROM A RANDOMIZED CROSSOVER PHASE 3 STUDY OF AN ORAL HYPOMETHYLATING AGENT, ASTX727 (DEC-C), COMPARED TO IV DECITABINE IN AML PATIENTS

Abstract:

Background: Parenterally administered hypomethylating agents (HMAs), decitabine (DEC) and azacitidine (AZA), are approved in Europe for adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who are not candidates for standard induction chemotherapy as single agent or in combination with venetoclax. ASTX727 (DEC-C) is a fixed dose combination (FDC) tablet of 35 mg DEC and 100 mg cedazuridine, a novel cytidine deaminase inhibitor (CDAi). In clinical trials with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS)/chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) patients, DEC-C provides DEC exposures that are equivalent to IV DEC at the approved dose of 20 mg/m2 daily×5 and is approved as INQOVI® in the US, Canada, and Australia.

Aims: To demonstrate DEC exposure bioequivalence of oral DEC-C and IV-DEC and generate clinical data using DEC-C in AML patients.

Methods: The ASCERTAIN study was a randomized cross over design. Patients were randomized 1:1 to either Sequence A: DEC-C (35 mg DEC/100 mg cedazuridine) in Cycle 1 followed by IV-DEC at 20 mg/m2 in Cycle 2, or Sequence B: receiving IV-DEC in Cycle 1 followed by DEC-C on Cycle 2 to compare PK [primary endpoint Area Under the Curve (AUC) equivalence over 5 days of dosing]. All patients received DEC-C from Cycle 3 onwards until treatment discontinuation to assess safety and clinical efficacy. Patients were eligible as per the EMA-approved decitabine label (newly diagnosed AML who are not candidates for standard induction chemotherapy). Clinical responses were assessed according to modified International Working Group (IWG) 2003 response criteria.

Results: 89 patients were randomized, of whom 87 were treated. The median age of patients was 78.0 years (range, 61 to 92) with 31 (35.6%) males and 56 (64.4%) females. Cytogenetic risk classification was poor-risk in 33 (37.9%) and intermediate-risk in 45 (51.7%) patients. For the primary endpoint, preliminary PK data was available from 69 patients who successfully completed PK assessments for both IV DEC and DEC-C cycles, and the DEC AUC0-24 (h*ng/mL) 5-Day geometric mean estimate was 904 for DEC-C and 907 for IV-DEC resulting in an oral/IV geometric LSM AUC ratio of 99.64% (90% CI of 91.23-108.8%). Safety findings were consistent with those anticipated for IV-DEC (related Grade ≥ 3 AEs in more than 10% were thrombocytopenia, anemia, febrile neutropenia, neutropenia, and pneumonia). As of the data cutoff date (10 SEP 2021), median follow up was 7.95 months (IQR 6.11-11.86). Of the 77 patients who had ≥6 months of follow up or discontinued treatment, the best response was complete response (CR) in 17 (22.1%, 95% CI: 13.4, 33.0%). In addition, 4 patients (5.2%) had CR with incomplete blood cell count recovery (CRi), with 1 patient (1.3%) who had CR with incomplete platelet recovery (CRp), resulting in composite response rate [CR + CRp] of 23.4% [18/77 patients, 95% CI: 14.5, 34.4%]. These results obtained with DEC-C are consistent with those observed for IV DEC. Based on preliminary and limited study follow-up with ~46% censored observations, the median survival was approximately 7.9 months (95% CI: 5.9, 13.0).

Summary/Conclusion: This randomized phase 3 study in AML patients not candidates for standard induction chemotherapy demonstrates that the oral FDC of DEC-C (35mg/100 mg) resulted in an equivalent DEC AUC exposure to IV-DEC at 20 mg/m2 over 5 days. In addition, safety findings and preliminary clinical activity is also consistent with published data from IV-DEC, suggesting that DEC-C has the potential to be an oral alternative to the standard IV decitabine Daily×5 regimen.