Oncolytic adenoviral therapy plus pembrolizumab in BCG-unresponsive non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer: the phase 2 CORE-001 trial
In this phase 2 study, we assessed the potential synergistic efficacy between intravesical cretostimogene and systemic pembrolizumab in patients with BCG-unresponsive non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer with carcinoma in situ (CIS). Thirty-five patients were treated with intravesical cretostimogene with systemic pembrolizumab. Induction cretostimogene was administered weekly for 6 weeks followed by three weekly maintenance infusions at months 3, 6, 9, 12 and 18 in patients maintaining complete response (CR). Patients with persistent CIS/high-grade Ta at the 3-month assessment were eligible for re-induction. Pembrolizumab was administered for up to 24 months. The primary endpoint was CR at 12 months as assessed by cystoscopy, urine cytology, cross-sectional imaging and mandatory bladder mapping biopsies. Secondary endpoints included CR at any time, duration of response, progression-free survival and safety. The CR rate in the intention-to-treat population at 12 months was 57.1% (20 out of 35, 95% confidence interval (CI) 40.7–73.5%), meeting the primary endpoint. A total of 29 out of 35 patients (82.9%, 95% CI 70.4–95.3%) derived a CR at 3 months. With a median follow-up of 26.5 months, the median duration of response has not been reached (95% CI 15.7 to not reached). The CR rate at 24 months was 51.4% (18 out of 35) (95% CI 34.9–68.0%). No patient progressed to muscle-invasive bladder cancer in this trial. Adverse events attributed to cretostimogene were low grade, self-limiting and predominantly limited to bladder-related symptoms. Immune-related adverse effects were exclusively associated with pembrolizumab. A total of 5 out of 35 patients (14.3%) developed grade 3 treatment-related adverse effects, all related to pembrolizumab. There was no evidence of overlapping or synergistic toxicities. Combination intravesical cretostimogene and systemic pembrolizumab demonstrated enduring efficacy. With a toxicity profile similar to its monotherapy components, this combination may shift the benefit-to-risk ratio for patients with BCG-unresponsive CIS. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04387461
Source: Li, R., Shah, P.H., Stewart, T.F. et al. Oncolytic adenoviral therapy plus pembrolizumab in BCG-unresponsive non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer: the phase 2 CORE-001 trial. Nat Med (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03025-3
Related Content: ASCO 2024: Final Results of CORE-001: A Phase-2, Single Arm Study of Cretostimogene Grenadenorepvec in Combination with Pembrolizumab in Patients with BCG-Unresponsive, Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer with Carcinoma in Situ