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Lessons Learned This study evaluating first-line crizotinib plus pembrolizumab in patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)–positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was terminated early because increased availability of second-generation ALK inhibitors resulted in difficulty identifying and accruing eligible patients. In the small number of patients enrolled, elevated transaminases were the most common treatment-related toxicity. No other relevant toxicities were observed. Although no definitive conclusions could be drawn because of the small number of patients studied, the higher frequency of severe transaminase increases noted in this sample should be of concern if ALK inhibitor and PD-L1/PD-1 inhibitor combinations are tested in future studies. Background Previous research suggests single-agent crizotinib is efficacious for the treatment of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)–rearranged advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods This study evaluated the safety and preliminary antitumor activity of crizotinib plus pembrolizumab as first-line therapy in patients with ALK-rearranged NSCLC. Patients were initially treated at dose level 0 (DL0) with crizotinib 250 mg twice daily and pembrolizumab 200 mg every 3 weeks (cycle duration was 3 weeks). If a dose-limiting toxicity occurred, subsequent patients were enrolled at a lower dose level (dose level −1 [DL−1]: 3 weeks of crizotinib monotherapy 250 mg twice daily, followed by crizotinib 250 mg twice daily with the addition of pembrolizumab 200 mg every 3 weeks). The primary endpoint was dose-limiting toxicity. Antitumor activity was assessed. Results Nine patients were enrolled: two at DL0, then seven at DL−1. Dose-limiting toxicities occurred in four patients (grade 3 increases in alanine aminotransferase [ALT] and aspartate aminotransferase [AST] and grade 3 fatigue at DL0; grade 3 increase in ALT and grade 3 increases in both ALT and AST at DL−1). Conclusion The maximum tolerated dose was not determined because slow accrual resulted in early study termination.

Background This phase Ib study used a parallel, multi-arm design to examine tasisulam-sodium (hereafter tasisulam), a drug with complex pharmacology, combined with standard chemotherapies in patients with advanced solid tumors, with the ultimate goal of accelerating drug development. Methods Patients received escalating doses of tasisulam (3 + 3 schema; target Cmax 300–400 μg/mL) every 28 days plus 1,000 mg/m2 gemcitabine HCl (days 1 and 15), 60 mg/m2 docetaxel, 200 mg/m2/day temozolomide, 75 mg/m2 cisplatin, or 150 mg/day erlotinib. Following dose-escalation, patients were enrolled into specific tumor subtype arms, chosen based on the established activity of the standard agent. Because tasisulam is highly albumin-bound, patients in the tumor-specific confirmation arms were dosed targeting specific albumin-corrected exposure ranges (AUCalb) identified during dose-escalation (3,500 h*μg/mL [75th percentile] for docetaxel, temozolomide, and cisplatin; 4,000 h*μg/mL for gemcitabine and erlotinib). Results A total of 234 patients were enrolled. The safety profile of tasisulam with standard chemotherapies was sufficient to allow enrollment into the dose-confirmation phase in all arms. The primary dose-limiting toxicities were hematologic (thrombocytopenia and neutropenia). The most common grade ≥3 drug-related treatment-emergent adverse event was neutropenia, with the highest incidence in the docetaxel arm. Conclusions The multi-arm design allowed the efficient determination of the maximum tolerated dose of tasisulam across multiple combinations, and a preliminary characterization of pharmacokinetics, safety, and potential efficacy. Although enrollment into all planned groups was not completed due to termination of compound development, these data support the feasibility of this approach for accelerated cancer drug development, even for drugs with complex pharmacology.