Phase I Trial of Regorafenib, Hydroxychloroquine, and Entinostat in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

Background: The antiangiogenic tyrosine kinase inhibitor regorafenib provides a survival benefit in patients with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). Antiangiogenic therapy causes hypoxic stress within tumor cells, which activates autophagy as a survival mechanism. The histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDAC) entinostat increases dependence on autophagy through epigenetic mechanisms. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) blocks autophagy by blunting lysosomal acidification. We hypothesized that HCQ and entinostat would be tolerable with regorafenib and potentiate the antitumor response.

Methods: This was a 3+3 phase I trial of HCQ and entinostat with regorafenib in patients with metastatic CRC. The primary objective was safety, and the secondary objective was clinical efficacy.

Results: Twenty patients received study therapy. Six evaluable patients were enrolled at each of the three planned dose levels, one patient at an intermediate dose level, and one additional patient withdrew consent after 4 days to receive treatment closer to home. One dose-limiting toxicity was noted in the study at dose level 2 (grade 3 fatigue). Seven patients discontinued therapy due to related toxicities; rapid weight loss was near universal, with a median weight loss of 4.4 kg (range 1.5-12.2 kg) in the first 2 weeks of treatment. No objective responses were observed.

Conclusion: The combination of regorafenib, HCQ, and entinostat was poorly tolerated without evident activity in metastatic CRC.

Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT03215264.

Keywords: antiangiogenesis; autophagy; colorectal cancer; epigenetics; phase I.

Figure 1.

Kaplan-Meier plot of progression-free survival.

Figure 2.

Graph of weight loss by dose level for each patient.