The Hoosier Cancer Research Network study, HCRN ESO17-325, a phase II study for adults with previously treated metastatic esophageal cancer, with one of three genetic mutations, including homologous recombination (HR) in tumor tissue; defective or loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in tumor tissue; or a germline mutation in the blood, was featured as a trials in progress poster during the American Society of Clinical Oncology‘s 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium on Jan. 23, 2020. The study, which is open to accrual at Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center and Moffitt Cancer Center, tests the safety and efficacy of the PARP inhibitor, niraparib, versus the current standard of care.

“The main goal of this trial is to assess the chance of metastatic esophageal cancer shrinking when we give patients niraparib, and to assess whether or not patients with the abnormality in the homologous recombination genes respond to niraparib,” said Shadia Jalal, MD (pictured), sponsor-investigator of the study and a medical oncologist and researcher at the IU Simon Cancer Center.

Researchers also want to determine whether participants with this type of metastatic esophageal cancer respond for a longer period using niraparib versus the standard second-line treatment.

“You’re using a drug in a smart way to overcome a cancer,” Dr. Jalal said. “It’s trying to develop a targeted treatment for esophageal cancer. If their tumor shows a lot of genome instability, and it seems like a very genetically smart tumor, then they could qualify for this DNA repair inhibitor.”

Abstract Title: A phase II study evaluating the safety and efficacy of niraparib in patients with previously treated homologous recombination (HR) defective or loss of heterozygosity (LOH) high-metastatic esophageal/GEJ/proximal gastric adenocarcinoma.

Authors:

• Hirva Mamdani, Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit, MI
• Rutika Mehta, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY
• Christos Fountzilas, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY
• Milan Radovich, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
• Susan Perkins, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
• Shadia Ibrahim Jalal, Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, Indianapolis, IN

See full abstract.

For more information about this research study, including full eligibility requirements, visit clinicaltrials.gov (study #NCT03840967).

About Hoosier Cancer Research Network:

Hoosier Cancer Research Network (formerly known as Hoosier Oncology Group) conducts innovative cancer research in collaboration with academic and community physicians and scientists across the United States. The organization provides comprehensive clinical trial management and support, from conception through publication. Created in 1984 as a program of the Walther Cancer Institute, Hoosier Cancer Research Network became an independent nonprofit clinical research organization in 2007. Since its founding, Hoosier Cancer Research Network has conducted more than 210 trials in a variety of cancer types and supportive care, resulting in more than 350 publications. More than 8,500 subjects have participated in Hoosier Cancer Research Network clinical trials.