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Purpose: AT13148 is an oral AGC kinase inhibitor, which potently inhibits ROCK and AKT kinases. In preclinical models, AT13148 has been shown to have antimetastatic and antiproliferative activity. Patients and Methods: The trial followed a rolling six design during dose escalation. An intrapatient dose escalation arm to evaluate tolerability and a biopsy cohort to study pharmacodynamic effects were later added. AT13148 was administered orally three days a week (Mon–Wed–Fri) in 28-day cycles. Pharmacokinetic profiles were assessed using mass spectrometry and pharmacodynamic studies included quantifying p-GSK3β levels in platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and p-cofilin and p-MLC2 levels in tumor biopsies. Results: Fifty-one patients were treated on study. The safety of 5–300 mg of AT13148 was studied. Further, the doses of 120–180–240 mg were studied in an intrapatient dose escalation cohort. The dose-limiting toxicities included hypotension (300 mg), pneumonitis, and elevated liver enzymes (240 mg), and skin rash (180 mg). The most common side effects were fatigue, nausea, headaches, and hypotension. On the basis of tolerability, 180 mg was considered the maximally tolerated dose. At 180 mg, mean Cmax and AUC were 400 nmol/L and 13,000 nmol/L/hour, respectively. At 180 mg, ≥50% reduction of p-cofilin was observed in 3 of 8 posttreatment biopsies. Conclusions: AT13148 was the first dual potent ROCK-AKT inhibitor to be investigated for the treatment of solid tumors. The narrow therapeutic index and the pharmacokinetic profile led to recommend not developing this compound further. There are significant lessons learned in designing and testing agents that simultaneously inhibit multiple kinases including AGC kinases in cancer.

Introduction: Immunotherapy has revolutionized the treatment of cancer. Given this growing success, at the same time, there are significant limitations and unanswered questions concerning response rates, duration of therapy, why some patients respond and others do not, and if combining different immune-agents would overcome this lack of response, increase the chance of success and postpone acquired resistance. Areas covered: The comprehension of how to properly modulate the immune pathways, the molecular and the immunological bases of the disease, will be fundamental to guide the development of therapeutic interventions and combinations that will be more suitable for treatment of cancer patients. In this review, we discuss the strategies of immunotherapy combinations in order to develop more effective immunotherapy programs, with a particular focus on melanoma and renal cancer patients, as well as the combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy. Expert Opinion: Given the complexity of immune activation, combinatorial approaches are needed, and due to the considerable variability in tumor biology across patients and tumor types, patient selection and biomarkers need to be further explored. In summary, combined therapies have shown promising success, but additional and continuous research to identify the safety, efficacy, optimal combination, dosage and timing are still required.

Melanoma therapies have evolved rapidly, and initial successes have translated into survival gains for patients with advanced melanoma. Both targeted and immune-therapy now have evidence in earlier stage disease. There are many new agents and combinations of treatments in development as potential future treatment options. This highlights the need for a reflection on current treatment practice trends that are guiding the development of potential new therapies.In this review, the authors discuss the evidence for currently approved therapies for cutaneous melanoma, including adjuvant therapy, potential new biomarkers, and emerging treatments with early phase clinical trial data. The authors have searched both the PubMed and clinicaltrials.gov databases for published clinical trials and discuss selected landmark trials of current therapies and of investigational treatment strategies with early evidence for the treatment of melanoma.Significant efficacy has been demonstrated with both immune checkpoint inhibitors and targeted therapies in treating advanced melanoma. A multitude of novel therapies are in development and there is need for instructive biomarker assessment to identify patients likely to respond or be refractory to current therapies, to identify mechanisms of resistance and to direct further treatment options to patients based on individual disease biology.

Cervical carcinomas are almost universally associated with high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infections, and are a leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. Since the late 1990s, when a spate of studies reported the benefit of cisplatin-based chemotherapy, there had been a dearth of clinical trials in cervical cancer (CC). More effective therapies in locally advanced and recurrent or metastatic CC are an urgent clinical need. In the era of molecular oncology one should look beyond conventional chemoradiation and chemotherapy for locally advanced and advanced CC. The fact that the initiating oncogenic insult, infection with a high-risk HPV and viral oncoprotein expression is common to almost all CC offers unique opportunities for disease control. Diverse biologic pathways with an implication in the development and progression of CC are being explored. For the first time, increase in overall survival has recently been obtained for advanced CC patients with a target drug, the antiangiogenic agent bevacizumab, and durable complete responses after HPV-targeted adoptive T cell therapy in metastatic CC patients were achieved. In this review, we will summarize molecular aspects of HPV infection focusing on potential targets to stop the carcinogenic process, present updated drug development data, and discuss challenges and prospects for the future.

The treatment of advanced gynecologic cancers remains palliative in most of cases. Although systemic treatment has entered into the era of targeted drugs the antitumor efficacies of current therapies are still limited. In this context there is a great need for more active treatment and rationally designed targeted therapies. The PI3K/AKT/mTOR is a signaling pathway in mammal cells that coordinates important cell activities. It has a critical function in the survival, growth, and proliferation of malignant cells and was object of important research in the last two decades. The mTOR pathway emerges as an attractive therapeutic target in cancer because it serves as a convergence point for many growth stimuli and, through its downstream substrates, controls cellular processes that contribute to the initiation and maintenance of cancer. Aberrant PI3K-dependent signaling occurs frequently in a wide range of tumor types, including endometrial, cervical, and ovarian cancers. The present study reviewed the available evidence regarding the potential impact of some mTOR pathway inhibitors in the treatment of gynecological cancer. Few advances in medical management have occurred in recent years in the treatment of advanced or recurrent gynecological malignancies, and a poor prognosis remains. Rationally designed molecularly targeted therapy is an emerging and important option in this setting; then more investigation in PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway-targeted therapies is warranted.

Cervix cancer (CC) represents the fourth most common cancer in women. Treatment involving cisplatin and radiotherapy has been the standard for locally advanced disease. Everolimus inhibits the aberrant activity of mTOR that is part of carcinogenesis in CC. Further everolimus inactivates the HPV E7 oncoprotein and inhibits its proliferation. Preclinical models have suggested that everolimus sensitizes tumoral cells and vasculature to cisplatin and radiotherapy. In a 3 + 3 design, the trial aimed to treat three dose levels of at least three patients with daily doses of everolimus (2.5, 5 and 10 mg/day), cisplatin and radiotherapy delivered in a 9-week interval in CC patients, stage IIB, IIIA or IIIB. Patients received everolimus from day −7 up to the last day of brachytherapy. Primary objective was to evaluate safety, toxicity and the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD) of everolimus in association with cisplatin and radiotherapy. Pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters and response rates were analyzed as secondary objectives. Thirteen patients were enrolled, 6 at 2.5 mg, 3 at 5 mg and 4 at 10 mg. Four patients did not complete the planned schedule, 1 at 2.5 mg presented grade 4 acute renal failure interpreted as dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) and 3 at 10 mg: 1 with disease progression, and 2 with DLTs—1 grade 3 rash and 1 grade 4 neutropenia. PK results were characterized by dose-dependent increases in AUC and C max. The MTD of everolimus in combination with cisplatin and radiotherapy has been defined as 5 mg/day. The data regarding safety and response rates support further studies.

2542 Background: The use of oral anticancer therapies has increased substantially in recent years. Nonadherence can impair the efficacy of such therapies as well as confound the interpretation of toxicity and pharmacokinetic data in phase I trials. However, there is a paucity of data regarding adherence patterns and barriers in this specific setting. Methods: We included patients treated in Phase I trials involving oral investigational medicinal products (IMPs) in the Drug Development Unit, Royal Marsden Hospital, UK, between 2012 and 2014. Patient, disease and treatment characteristics as well as compliance data from prospectively collected trial diary cards and drug accountability were recorded. Relationships between adherence rate and other variables were explored using logistic regression. Results: We collected data for 2819 patient-weeks, pertaining to 169 patients treated on 18 different phase I trials. Median age was 61 years (range 18-79), females predominated (60%), median number of previous systemic therapy was 3 (0-12) and median time on trial was 9 weeks (0.3-212.4). Hundred-percent adherence rate was 88% in the first cycle and 79% overall. Nonadherence occurred in 83 of 2819 patient-weeks (3.0%); including 75 (2.7 %) missed doses and 8 (0.3 %) overdoses. In univariate analysis, longer time on trial and a continuous treatment schedule were associated with poorer adherence, whereas fasting requirements pre- or post-dosing was associated with improved adherence. Known intracranial metastases, number of concomitant medications and opiates or anti-emetics use were not significantly associated to adherence. In multivariate analysis, fasting requirements (OR 5.347, 95%CI : 1.443-20.019, p = 0.012) and longer time on trial (OR 0.98, 95%IC : 0.961-0.996, p = 0.017) were statistically significant. Conclusions: This is the first report on adherence rates to oral anticancer IMPs in a large phase I trial population. Our observed adherence rates are at the higher end of published data in the general cancer population. Factors influencing adherence in phase I trials appear to be distinct, with fasting requirements being a unique finding. These findings may impact future early-phase trial design and conduct.

2532 Background: BAL101553 (prodrug of BAL27862) is a small molecule TCC that binds microtubules and promotes tumor cell death by activation of the spindle assembly checkpoint. In a previous study (NCT01397929, Lopez et al. JCO 34, 2016; abstr 2525), 2-h IV infusion on Days 1, 8, 15 (q28d) of BAL101553 up to 80 mg/m2 (maximum administered dose, MAD) showed vascular toxicities, including transient hypertension, which appeared to be Cmax related. The recommended Phase 2 dose (RP2D) was 30 mg/m2 weekly IV. Based on nonclinical models, antiproliferative effects of BAL27862 are driven by AUC. This trial explores whether once daily oral administration of BAL101553 reduces Cmax-related toxicity and improves the therapeutic window (NCT02490800). Methods: Patients (pts) with advanced solid tumors who failed standard therapy, received QD oral BAL101553 (28-d cycles) in a 3+3 dose-escalation design to determine the MTD. Adverse events were assessed by CTCAEv4 grade (G); tumor response by RECIST 1.1; serial PK on Day 1 of Cycles 1 and 2. Results: In the ongoing study, 19 pts (9M/10F; median age 67 y) received doses of 2, 4, 8, 16 or 30 mg oral BAL101553 QD. The MAD was 30 mg with DLTs of reversible G2 hallucination and asymptomatic, reversible G3 electrolyte imbalances. No DLTs were observed at ≤ 16 mg. Dosing is ongoing between 16 and 30 mg QD to determine the MTD. BAL27862 exposures after oral QD dosing of BAL101553 compared to weekly 2-h infusions suggested high relative oral bioavailability. The BAL27862 weekly AUC at the oral MAD (30 mg QD) compared to the RP2D of 30 mg/m2 for 2-h IV was more than 5-fold higher (19,656 vs 3,584 ng*h/mL) and Cmax was 1.5-fold lower (171 vs 266 ng/mL). Both Cmaxand AUC were dose-proportional, with low/moderate variability. Oral BAL101553 had no effects on blood pressure and showed no vascular toxicity. 5 pts had stable disease (2 pts [cholangiocarcinoma, neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer] > 4 cycles). Conclusions: Daily oral BAL101553 enables higher weekly exposures of BAL27862 with lower Cmax levels compared with a 2-h weekly infusion, due to the absence of Cmax related vascular toxicity. Doses up to 16 mg QD are well tolerated. The MAD has been identified as 30 mg QD; definition of the MTD is ongoing. Clinical trial information: NCT02490800.

2503 Background: ONX-0801 is a first-in-class alpha folate receptor (AFR) targeted thymidylate synthase inhibitor, engineered to differentially accumulate 6000-fold in AFR overexpressing cancer cells. Methods: A 3+3 dose escalation design was used and two IV schedules were explored. Schedule A, weekly dosing (QW) and schedule B, once every 2 weeks dosing (Q2W). A cycle consisted of 4 weeks and treatment was stopped after 6 cycles in both schedules. An expansion cohort to evaluate clinical activity in patients with AFR overexpressing high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) was planned. Results: 21 patients each were treated in schedule A and B exploring doses ranging from 1-6 mg/m2 and 2-12 mg/m2, respectively. The dose limiting toxicity on schedule A was G3 cellulitis; no dose limiting toxicity was seen on schedule B. The most common toxicities were fatigue 15/42 (36%), nausea 9/42 (21%) and dysgeusia 5/42 (12%). Within schedule A at 4 mg/m2, 2 patients developed suspected drug-related changes on pulmonary function tests (drop in Dlco > 15%) at cycles 5 and 6, respectively. No cases of suspected drug-related drop in Dlco were noted in patients treated in schedule B. No grade 3-4 diarrhea, mucositis or neutropenia were seen in either cohort. The Cmax, AUC and half-life at 12 mg/m2 were 4952 ng/mL, 85170 h*ng/mL and 26 h, respectively. Pre-clinical PK-PD modelling aimed to achieve concentrations between 0.05-1 µM and this was achieved for periods of 48 h at doses of 4 mg/m2and above. Based on safety and PK, the recommended phase II dose (RP2D) of ONX-0801 was 12 mg/m2 Q2W and an expansion in patients with HGSOC is ongoing. 5 patients with HGSOC had partial responses (PRs) in the dose escalation cohort. In the current expansion cohort in patients with HGSOC, 5/11 patients had PRs. Archival samples have been analyzed from 8/11 patients in the expansion cohort. 4/4 AFR+ve and 4/4 AFR-ve patients did and did not have a PR following treatment with ONX-0801, respectively. Conclusions: The RP2D of ONX-0801 is 12 mg/m2 Q2W. At the RP2D, multiple patients with AFR overexpressing HGSOC have had PRs and further randomized biomarker prespecified phase II trials are warranted. Clinical trial information: NCT02360345.

TPS2607 Background: SRA737 is a highly selective, orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of Checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1), a key cell cycle checkpoint and central regulator of the DNA Damage Response (DDR) network. In cancer cells, replication stress induced by genomic alterations in oncogenes (eg, MYC and RAS) combined with loss of function in tumor suppressors (eg, TP53 and ATM) results in persistent DNA damage and genomic instability. Targeted inhibition of components of the DDR network such as Chk1 by SRA737 may be synthetically lethal to cancer cells and have utility as a monotherapy in a range of tumor indications. SRA737 is currently being investigated in two Phase 1 trials in patients with advanced cancer. We now describe the Phase 1 multicenter, dose-escalation, monotherapy study of SRA737 (NCT02797964). Methods: Up to 40 patients with advanced cancer will receive oral SRA737 administered daily on a 28-day schedule. For dose-escalation, an accelerated titration design with 100% dose escalation and single patient cohorts is allowed until Grade 2 related toxicity is observed, followed by a rolling-6 design. Dose expansion will include 6 patients with any solid tumor treated at the recommended Phase 2 dose (RP2D). Eligibility criteria include WHO performance status of 0-1 and ≤ 3 prior lines of cytotoxic chemotherapy for metastatic disease. Primary objectives are to assess the safety profile of monotherapy SRA737 and to establish a RP2D. The PK profile and PD biomarkers will be investigated. The study was opened to enrollment in mid-2016. An amendment, which includes the addition of indication specific expansion cohorts of subjects with genetically-defined tumors known to have Chk1-sensitizing aberrations such as gene mutations and amplifications/deletions, has been submitted and is pending regulatory review while enrollment continues. At the Annual Meeting, the amended design will be described. The dose and schedule identified in this trial will inform the design and conduct of Phase 2 studies of SRA737 as a single agent and in combination with other targeted or immunomodulatory agents. Clinical trial information: NCT02797964.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide among women, and, in developed countries, it is the leading cause of mortality among gynecological malignancies. With an overall cure rate of