Jonathan Thompson, MD, MS, on the Impact of the Phase 2 BGBC008 Study Results

Results from the ongoing phase 2 study BGBC008 trial (NCT03184571) of bemcentinib (BGB324) and pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in patients with checkpoint inhibitor (CPI)–naïve and CPI-refractory composite AXL (cAXL)–positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) support the continued development of AXL inhibition with bemcentinib in order to extend the efficacy of immunotherapy in biomarker-selected refractory NSCLC.

Overall, the trial demonstrated that combination treatment with bemcentinib and pembrolizumab was well tolerated and clinically active in this patient population.

In this single-arm, 2-stage study, patients were treated with bemcentinib at a dose of 200mg per day and pembrolizumab at a dose of 200 mg every 3 weeks. The study includes 3 patient cohorts. Cohort A consists of immunotherapy-naïve patients who failed on prior chemotherapy; cohort B includes patients progressing on prior CPI therapy; and cohort C is made up of patients treated with platinum-doublet chemotherapy in combination with pembrolizumab.

As of August 2020, enrollment in cohort A and stage 1 of cohort B had been completed. Stage 2 of cohort B and stage 1 of cohort C continue to recruit. Currently, 48 patients have been enrolled in cohort A, 29 have been enrolled in cohort B, and 29 have been enrolled in cohort C.

In an interview with CancerNetwork®, Jonathan Thompson, MD, MS, assistant professor in the division of Hematology/Oncology at the Medical College of Wisconsin, discussed the implications of the current study findings.

Transcription:

This study, particularly the cohort B, is looking to answer an important question in the field of oncology and immuno-oncology. Particularly for non—small cell lung cancer, once a patient has progressed on an immune checkpoint inhibitor, the remaining therapeutic options remain generally suboptimal with chemotherapy, providing relatively short progression-free [survival] and overall survival. This population is a very important one in the field right now in determining how we can better enhance potentially immunotherapeutic efficacy after checkpoint inhibitor failure, which is why it was at least encouraging to see at least 1 response in the group. In a patient who had previous checkpoint inhibitor exposure, we were able to reinduce the tumor response by adding that incentive to the checkpoint inhibitor.

Reference:

Krebs MG, Helland Å, Carcereny Costa E, et al. A phase II study of the oral selective AXL inhibitor bemcentinib with pembrolizumab in patients with advanced NSCLC. Presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 2020 World Conference on Lung Cancer Singapore; January 28-31, 2021; Virtual. Abstract OA01.07