Randomized phase 2 study of gemcitabine with or without ATR inhibitor berzosertib in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer: Final overall survival (OS) and biomarker analyses.
Authors: Konstantinopoulos Panagiotis A. , Lee Elizabeth Katherine , Cheng SuChun , Da Costa Alexandre Andre B. A. , Wahner Hendrickson Andrea Elisabeth , Gulhan Doga , Kochupurakkal Bose , Kolin David , Kohn Elise C. , Liu Joyce F. , Stover Elizabeth , Curtis Jennifer , Sawyer Hannah , Polak Madeline , Chowdhury Dipanjan , Färkkilä Anniina , D'Andrea Alan D. , Shapiro Geoffrey , Matulonis Ursula A. 
Published: June 2023

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Background: The multicenter, open-label, randomized phase 2 NCI-9944 study (NCT02595892) demonstrated that addition of ATR inhibitor (ATRi) berzosertib to gemcitabine increased progression-free survival (PFS) compared to gemcitabine alone (HR = 0.57, one-sided log-rank p = 0.044, which met the one-sided significance level of 0.1 used for sample size calculation). Final overall survival (OS) and corresponding biomarker analyses are reported here. Methods: Patients (pts) with platinum-resistant high-grade serous ovarian cancer and unlimited previous lines of cytotoxic therapy in the platinum-sensitive setting but no more than one line of cytotoxic therapy in the platinum-resistant setting, were randomized 1:1 to gemcitabine/berzosertib versus gemcitabine alone. Randomization was stratified based on platinum free interval (PFI), PFI≤3 months versus > 3 months. Crossover from gemcitabine to gemcitabine/berzosertib was allowed upon disease progression by RECIST 1.1. OS was a secondary endpoint while preplanned exploratory correlative studies included assessment of DNA repair pathways and replication stress (RS) alterations by targeted gene sequencing and/or immunohistochemistry (IHC). Results: Seventy pts were randomly assigned to treatment with gemcitabine/berzosertib (34 pts) or gemcitabine alone (36 pts); 15 pts crossed over from gemcitabine to gemcitabine/berzosertib. At the final OS analysis (92.9% maturity), median follow-up was 53.2 weeks in the gemcitabine/berzosertib and 43 weeks in the gemcitabine alone groups. Median OS in the intent-to-treat (ITT) population was 59.4 weeks in the gemcitabine/berzosertib group versus 43.0 weeks in the gemcitabine alone group (HR 0.79, 90% CI 0.52-1.2, one-sided p = 0.18). However, when patients who crossed over to gemcitabine/berzosertib were excluded from analysis, a significant OS benefit was observed with gemcitabine/berzosertib (HR 0.60, 90%CI 0.37−0.97); HR was 0.26 (90% CI 0.1−0.7) in pts with PFI≤3 months and 0.89 (90%CI 0.50−1.59) in pts with PFI > 3 months. Furthermore, significant OS benefit was observed in pts with RS-low tumors (HR 0.39, 90%CI 0.17−0.91, defined as tumors harboring no genomic RS alterations related to loss of RB pathway regulation and/or oncogene-induced RS) but not in pts with RS-high tumors (HR 0.74, 90%CI 0.35−1.56). Additional targeted gene sequencing and IHC analyses as well as analyses adjusting for patient crossover will be reported at the meeting. Conclusions: In the ITT population, gemcitabine/berzosertib did not significantly improve OS versus gemcitabine alone. Pts with PFI≤3 months and pts with RS-low tumors may derive a survival advantage from addition of berzosertib to gemcitabine in the platinum-resistant setting. Clinical trial information: NCT02595892 .