A Randomized, Double-Blind Noninferiority Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of the Cabozantinib Tablet at 60 mg Per Day Compared with the Cabozantinib Capsule at 140 mg Per Day in Patients with Progressive, Metastatic Medullary Thyroid Cancer

Cabozantinib; Medullary thyroid cancer; Tyrosine kinase inhibitor Cabozantinib; Càncer medul·lar de tiroides; Inhibidor de la tirosina cinasa Cabozantinib; Cáncer medular de tiroides; Inhibidor de la tirosina cinasa Background: Cabozantinib inhibits pathways involved in medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). Cabozantinib is approved as 140 mg/day in capsules for MTC and 60 mg/day in tablets for other solid tumors. This study compared the two doses in progressive metastatic MTC. Methods: In this Phase 4, randomized, double-blind noninferiority (NI) trial (NCT01896479), patients with progressive metastatic MTC were randomized 1:1 to cabozantinib 60 mg/day tablet or 140 mg/day capsules. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS) by blinded independent radiology committee (BIRC) per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) v1.1. NI would be concluded if the upper 95% confidence interval [CI] for the PFS hazard ratio (HR) was less than the NI margin, 1.58. The secondary end point was objective response rate (ORR) by BIRC per RECIST v1.1; additional end points included safety and pharmacokinetics. Results: At data cutoff (July 15, 2020), 247 patients were randomized to the 60 mg/day tablet arm (n = 123) and the 140 mg/day capsules arm (n = 124). NI was not met (median PFS 11.0 months vs. 13.9 months in the 60 and 140 mg/day arms [HR 1.24; CI 0.90–1.70; p = 0.19]). The ORR was 33% in both arms. Generally, adverse event (AE) incidence was lower in the 60 mg/day arm (Grade 3/4, 63% vs. 72%), as were dose reductions (69% vs. 81%) and treatment discontinuations due to AEs (23% vs. 36%). Initially, cabozantinib plasma concentrations were higher in the 140 mg/day arm but became similar between arms at later time points. Conclusions: PFS NI of the cabozantinib 60 mg/day tablet vs. 140 mg/day capsules was not met. The 60 mg/day tablet had the same ORR and lower rates of AEs. This work was supported by Exelixis, Inc., Alameda, CA, USA (no grant number). Exelixis was involved in the study design, the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, the writing of the report, and the decision to submit for publication.