A phase II trial of naxitamab plus stepped-up dosing of GM-CSF for patients with high-risk neuroblastoma in second or later complete remission.
This phase II trial enrolled 60 patients with high-risk neuroblastoma in second or later complete remission and reported 2- and 5-year progression-free survival rates of 55% and 50% after five cycles of naxitamab plus stepped-up GM-CSF, while acknowledging potential confounding from subsequent investigational therapies.
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This phase II trial enrolled 60 patients with high-risk neuroblastoma in second or later complete remission and reported 2- and 5-year progression-free survival rates of 55% and 50% after five cycles of naxitamab plus stepped-up GM-CSF, while acknowledging potential confounding from subsequent investigational therapies.
Research significance
The trial provides clinical evidence that naxitamab plus stepped-up GM-CSF can be administered as post-relapse remission consolidation with encouraging long-term progression-free survival; it remains an inference, rather than a controlled conclusion, that this regimen itself prolongs remission because no comparator is reported and many patients received post-protocol vaccine therapy.
Source abstract
Relapse of high-risk neuroblastoma (HR-NB) poses a challenge to cure. Increasing numbers of HR-NB patients achieve post-relapse complete remission (CR) because close monitoring can detect localized disease and novel effective salvage therapies have emerged. We report outcome with immunotherapy using the anti-GD2 monoclonal antibody (mAb) naxitamab and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) for consolidation of second or later CR in a phase II trial (Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01757626). Cycles included GM-CSF 250 μg/m2/day on days -4-to-0 and increased to 500 μg/m2/day on days +1-to-5, and 3 doses of naxitamab infused (30-to-90 min) on days +1/+3/+5, 3 mg/kg/infusion (9 mg/kg/cycle, i.e., ~270 mg/m2/cycle). Cycles were monthly ×5. Clinical factors assessed regarding prognosis were: MYCN amplification; localized versus widespread prior relapse; 1 versus ≥2 prior relapse(s); previous treatment with anti-GD2 mAb; and time from diagnosis to 1st relapse. Sixty patients were enrolled after 1 (n = 42) or ≥2 (n = 18) prior relapse(s); 27 (45%) had MYCN amplification. Progression-free survival (PFS) rates at 2/5 years were 55%/50%. Prior treatment with naxitamab and prior widespread relapse had significant negative impacts on PFS. Post-protocol patients in CR routinely received an investigational anti-NB vaccine. Two other patients, both with 1 prior relapse, took DFMO. Naxitamb+GM-CSF is a good option to consolidate post-relapse CR of HR-NB. The encouraging long-term outcome cannot be attributed solely to naxitamab+GM-CSF given post-protocol therapies.