Dr. Meric-Bernstam on the Activity of Telaglenastat and Cabozantinib in mRCC

Funda Meric-Bernstam, MD, chair of the Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics, medical director of the Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy, and a professor in the Divisions of Cancer Medicine and Surgery at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the activity of the combination of telaglenastat (CB-839) and cabozantinib (Cabometyx) in heavily pretreated patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC).

Overall, the combination of telaglenastat and cabozantinib was well tolerated, says Meric-Bernstam. The recommended phase II dose of telaglenastat was 800 mg twice daily, which is the same as the recommended dose for the monotherapy. The adverse event profile was in line with what has been seen with cabozantinib alone. Notably, preliminary efficacy with the regimen was promising, she adds. Among 12 of 13 evaluable patients, 2 had papillary carcinoma. In the overall population, the objective response rate (ORR) was 42%. In the 10 patients with clear cell RCC, the ORR was 50% with the regimen.

In terms of response trends, investigators noted some deep responses in patients who were heavily pretreated. Regarding the duration of response, 5 patients received 14 months of treatment or more. At the time of data cut-off, 3 patients were still on treatment. The time to treatment response was more varied; some patients had early responses to the treatment, whereas others had delayed responses. This underscores the need for further follow-up, concludes Meric-Bernstam.