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Systemic mastocytosis (SM) is a rare hematologic clonal neoplasm characterized by the infiltration of excessive numbers of mast cells in various organs, resulting in severe pathological features including organ damage and mast cell-related mediator symptoms. 1 The etiology remains uncertain, however mutations of the KIT D816V gene within mast cells present in 95% of cases. Additionally, treatment for advanced SM (AdvSM)—which encompasses aggressive SM (ASM), SM with associated hematologic neoplasm (SM-AHN), and mast cell leukemia (MCL)—has proven challenging. Patients with these disorders currently have poor prognosis, with a decreased survival.
The development of KIT inhibitors has improved the therapeutic landscape for AdvSM. Midostaurin was the first inhibitor approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2017 for the treatment of AdvSM in adult patients after demonstrating durable responses. Recently, a second KIT inhibitor, avapritinib, was also approved by the FDA for AdvSM.2 This approval followed results from the phase I EXPLORER trial (NCT02561988) and phase II PATHFINDER trial (NCT03580655), both of which investigated the efficacy and safety of avapritinib for treatment-naïve and pretreated patients with AdvSM.2,3
Andreas Reiter1 presented a pre-specified interim analysis for the PATHFINDER trial at the 26th European Hematology Association (EHA) Annual Congress. Key results that supported the decision for approval are summarized below.
The PATHFINDER study was a phase II, open-label, single-arm study in adult patients with AdvSM. The study design is summarized in Figure 1.
Figure 1. PATHFINDER study design*
ORR, overall response rate; QoL; quality of life.
*Adapted from Reiter, et al.1
ⴕEvaluable C-findings: Absolute neutrophil count <1000/µL, hemoglobin value <10 g/µL, platelet count <100,000/µL, hepatomegaly with ascites and impaired liver function, palpable splenomegaly with hypersplenism.
†† Two patients were treated with 100 mg avapritinib oral daily.
Patient characteristics for the safety (n = 62) and efficacy (n = 32) cohort are summarized in Table 1.
Table 1. Patient characteristics*
AdvSM, advanced systemic mastocytosis; ASM, aggressive systemic mastocytosis; BM, bone marrow; CMML, chronic myelomonocytic leukemia; ECOG, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, MC, mast cell; MCL, mast cell leukemia; MDS, myelodysplastic syndrome; MPN-U, myeloproliferative neoplasm unclassifiable; SM-AHN, systemic mastocytosis with associated hematologic neoplasm. |
||
Characteristic |
Safety population |
Efficacy population |
---|---|---|
Median age, years (range) |
69 (31–88) |
68 (37–85) |
Female, % |
45 |
44 |
ECOG performance status 2–3, % |
31 |
34 |
AdvSM subtype, % |
||
ASM |
15 |
6 |
SM-AHN |
69 |
81 |
MCL |
16 |
13 |
KIT D816V mutation positive in blood, % |
95 |
94 |
Prior neo-plastic therapy, % |
||
Midostaurin |
55 |
53 |
Cladribine |
13 |
13 |
BM biopsy MC burden, median % (range) |
45 (1–95) |
50 (10–95) |
Serum tryptase level, median ng/ml (range) |
283 (24–1,600) |
293 (24–1,600) |
Table 2. Summary of response to avapritinib across AdvSM subtypes and prior or no prior therapy*
ASM, aggressive systemic mastocytosis; CI, clinical improvement; CRh, complete remission with partial hematologic recovery; MCL, mast cell leukemia; NE, not evaluable; ORR, overall response rate; PD, progressive disease; PR, partial remission; SD, stable disease; SM-AHN, systemic mastocytosis with associated hematologic neoplasm. |
||||||
Response, % |
|
Subtypes |
Prior therapy |
|||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ASM |
SM-AHN |
MCL |
Yes |
No |
||
ORR |
75 |
100 |
81 |
25 |
74 |
78 |
CRh |
19 |
50 |
19 |
0 |
13 |
33 |
PR |
31 |
50 |
31 |
25 |
30 |
33 |
CI |
25 |
0 |
31 |
0 |
30 |
11 |
SD |
13 |
0 |
8 |
50 |
9 |
22 |
PD |
3 |
0 |
0 |
25 |
4 |
0 |
NE |
9 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
13 |
0 |
When assessing the safety population (n = 62), 84% of patients remained on treatment while 5% discontinued treatment due to adverse events (AEs). No treatment-related deaths were reported. A summary of AEs is shown in Table 3.
Table 3. AEs reported in ≥ 15% of patients*
AE, adverse event |
|
AEs in ≥15% of patients |
Grade 3/4 |
---|---|
Non-hematologic, % |
|
Peripheral edema |
3 |
Periorbital edema |
3 |
Diarrhea |
2 |
Nausea |
2 |
Vomiting |
2 |
Fatigue |
3 |
Hematologic, % |
|
Thrombocytopenia |
16 |
Anemia |
16 |
Neutropenia |
24 |
The PATHFINDER interim analysis demonstrated promising efficacy and safety outcomes with avapritinib treatment across all subtypes of advanced systemic mastocytosis, irrespective of pre-treatment status. A high overall response rate (75%) was reported, which appears to be durable with responses ongoing. Using molecular response to gauge efficacy, avapritinib reduced mast cell burden for all subtypes, and for SM-AHN, reduced the burden of KIT D816V mutations in the blood. Finally, the safety profile was favorable, with no treatment-related deaths, few discontinuations, and low incidence of intracranial bleeding.
References
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