CINOVA: a phase II study of CPC634 (nanoparticulate docetaxel) in patients with platinum resistant recurrent ovarian cancer

Recurrent platinum-resistant ovarian cancer has a poor prognosis with limited therapeutic options. Sub-therapeutic intra-tumoral drug concentrations may add to therapy resistance. CPC634 (docetaxel entrapped in CriPec nanoparticles) was designed to enhance tumor accumulation of drug with localized drug release at the target site to increase therapeutic efficacy. This study investigated the therapeutic effect of CPC634 in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.According to a Simon 2-stage design trial, the first stage included 13 patients, and 12 patients were enrolled in the second stage. Eligible patients had measurable disease and had progressed ≤6 months after the last platinum-based therapy. Platinum-refractory disease was excluded. In stage 1, the number of previous treatment lines was unlimited; in the second stage, a maximum of two prior lines altogether were allowed. The primary endpoint was the objective response rate by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumor (RECIST) V1.1. Secondary endpoints included safety, progression-free survival at 6 months, cancer antigen 125 (CA125) response, and disease control rate.The patients' median age was 66 years (range 22-77) and most were International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage III (56%). The median number of previous treatment lines was 3 (range 3-5) in stage I and 2 (range 1-4) in stage II of the study. None of the patients had an objective response, one patient had a CA125 response (5%), and seven patients had stable disease at first evaluation (35%). Median progression-free survival was 1.4 months in stage 1 and 3.0 months in stage 2. Adverse events (all grades) were mainly gastrointestinal in 24 patients (96%), fatigue in 11 (44%), dyspnea in 10 (40%), and infections in 10 (40%) of patients. Grade 3 or higher adverse events occurred in 14 patients (36%), including gastrointestinal in 4 (16%), anemia in 3 (12%), and febrile neutropenia, fatigue, chronic kidney disease, dehydration, and hypertension each in 1 (4%) patient. The trial was stopped prematurely due to futility.Treatment with CPC634 was feasible, but without apparent clinical activity in patients with recurrent platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. Side effects were mainly gastrointestinal in 24 (96%) patients, including nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite, fatigue, anemia, and dyspnea.