Patients with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) or lymphoblastic lymphoma (LL) have poor outcomes compared with newly diagnosed, treatment-naïve patients. The phase 2, open-label DELPHINUS study evaluated daratumumab (16 mg/kg IV) plus backbone chemotherapy in children with relapsed/refractory B-cell ALL (n = 7) after ≥2 relapses, and children and young adults with T-cell ALL (children, n = 24; young adults, n = 5) or LL (n = 10) after first relapse. The primary end point was complete response (CR) in the B-cell ALL (end of cycle 2) and T-cell ALL (end of cycle 1) cohorts, after which patients could proceed off study to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). Seven patients with advanced B-cell ALL received daratumumab with no CRs achieved; this cohort was closed because of futility. For the childhood T-cell ALL, young adult T-cell ALL, and T-cell LL cohorts, the CR (end of cycle 1) rates were 41.7%, 60.0%, and 30.0%, respectively; overall response rates (any time point) were 83.3% (CR + CR with incomplete count recovery [CRi]), 80.0% (CR + CRi), and 50.0% (CR + partial response), respectively; minimal residual disease negativity (<0.01%) rates were 45.8%, 20.0%, and 50.0%, respectively; observed 24-month event-free survival rates were 36.1%, 20.0%, and 20.0%, respectively; observed 24-month overall survival rates were 41.3%, 25.0%, and 20.0%, respectively; and allogeneic HSCT rates were 75.0%, 60.0%, and 30.0%, respectively. No new safety concerns with daratumumab were observed. In conclusion, daratumumab was safely combined with backbone chemotherapy in children and young adults with T-cell ALL/LL and contributed to successful bridging to HSCT. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03384654.

Survival rates for patients with medulloblastoma have improved in the last decades but for those who relapse outcome is dismal and new approaches are needed. Emerging drugs have been tested in the last two decades within the context of phase I/II trials. In parallel, advances in genetic profiling have permitted to identify key molecular alterations for which new strategies are being developed. We performed a systematic review focused on the design and outcome of early‐phase trials evaluating new agents in patients with relapsed medulloblastoma. PubMed, clinicaltrials.gov, and references from selected studies were screened to identify phase I/II studies with reported results between 2000 and 2015 including patients with medulloblastoma aged <18 years. A total of 718 studies were reviewed and 78 satisfied eligibility criteria. Of those, 69% were phase I; 31% phase II. Half evaluated conventional chemotherapeutics and 35% targeted agents. Overall, 662 patients with medulloblastoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumors were included. The study designs and the response assessments were heterogeneous, limiting the comparisons among trials and the correct identification of active drugs. Median (range) objective response rate (ORR) for patients with medulloblastoma in phase I/II studies was 0% (0–100) and 6.5% (0–50), respectively. Temozolomide containing regimens had a median ORR of 16.5% (0–100). Smoothened inhibitors trials had a median ORR of 8% (3–8). Novel drugs have shown limited activity against relapsed medulloblastoma. Temozolomide might serve as backbone for new combinations. Novel and more homogenous trial designs might facilitate the development of new drugs.

PURPOSE: AcSé-ESMART is a proof-of-concept, phase I or II, platform trial, designed to explore targeted agents in a molecularly enriched cancer population. Arms A and B aimed to define the recommended phase II dose and activity of the CDK4/6 inhibitor ribociclib with topotecan and temozolomide (TOTEM) or everolimus, respectively, in children with recurrent or refractory malignancies. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ribociclib was administered orally once daily for 16 days after TOTEM for 5 days (arm A) or for 21 days with everolimus orally once daily continuously in a 28-day cycle (arm B). Dose escalation followed the continuous reassessment method, and activity assessment the Ensign design. Arms were enriched on the basis of molecular alterations in the cell cycle or PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathways. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients were included, 14 in arm A and 18 in arm B, and 31 were treated. Fourteen patients had sarcomas (43.8%), and 13 brain tumors (40.6%). Main toxicities were leukopenia, neutropenia, and lymphopenia. The recommended phase II dose was ribociclib 260 mg/m² once a day, temozolomide 100 mg/m² once a day, and topotecan 0.5 mg/m² once a day (arm A) and ribociclib 175 mg/m² once a day and everolimus 2.5 mg/m² once a day (arm B). Pharmacokinetic analyses confirmed the drug-drug interaction of ribociclib on everolimus exposure. Two patients (14.3%) had stable disease as best response in arm A, and seven (41.2%) in arm B, including one patient with T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia with significant blast count reduction. Alterations considered for enrichment were present in 25 patients (81%) and in eight of nine patients with stable disease; the leukemia exhibited CDKN2A/B and PTEN deficiency. CONCLUSION: Ribociclib in combination with TOTEM or everolimus was well-tolerated. The observed activity signals initiated a follow-up study of the ribociclib-everolimus combination in a population enriched with molecular alterations within both pathways.

Purpose: This phase Ib study defined the safety, MTD, and recommended phase II dose (RP2D) of regorafenib combined with vincristine and irinotecan (VI). Secondary objectives were evaluation of antitumor activity and pharmacokinetics (PK) of regorafenib and irinotecan. Patients and Methods: Patients aged 6 months to 30% of patients) AEs were neutropenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, and leukopenia. The overall response rate was 48% and disease control rate [complete response (CR)/partial response/stable disease/non-CR/non-progressive disease] was 86%. Median progression-free survival was 7.0 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 2.9–14.8] and median overall survival was 8.7 months (95% CI, 5.5–16.3). When combined with VI, regorafenib PK was similar to single-agent PK in children and adults (treated with regorafenib 160 mg/day). Conclusions: Regorafenib can be combined sequentially with standard dose VI in pediatric patients with relapsed/refractory solid tumors with appropriate dose modifications. Clinical activity was observed in patients with RMS and EWS (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02085148).

The recent identification of rearrangements of neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase (NTRK) genes and the development of specific fusion protein inhibitors, such as larotrectinib and entrectinib, have revolutionised the diagnostic and clinical management of patients presenting with tumours with these alterations. Tumours that harbour NTRK fusions are found in both adults and children; and they are either rare tumours with common NTRK fusions that may be diagnostic, or more prevalent tumours with rare NTRK fusions. To assess currently available evidence on this matter, three key Spanish medical societies (the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM), the Spanish Society of Pathological Anatomy (SEAP), and the Spanish Society of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology (SEHOP) have brought together a group of experts to develop a consensus document that includes guidelines on the diagnostic, clinical, and therapeutic aspects of NTRK-fusion tumours. This document also discusses the challenges related to the routine detection of these genetic alterations in a mostly public Health Care System.