A Phase I Trial of AZD3965 in Patients With Advanced Cancer

Summary

The main aims of this clinical study are to find out the maximum dose that can be given safely to patients, the potential side effects of the drug and how they can be managed and what happens to AZD3965 inside the body. AZD3965 is a type of drug called a monocarboxylate transporter 1 inhibitor which is being used to stop the growth of cancer cells and kill cancer cells by blocking the action of one of the proteins involved in moving chemical compounds in and out of the cells of the body. This will be the first time that this type of drug has been given to patients. The drug is a capsule and is taken daily. The study is in two parts. In Part 1 of the study, small groups of patients are treated at increasing doses to find the highest safe dose and best dose to give to patients in Part 2 of the study. It is planned that 40 patients will be entered into Part 1 of the trial. In Part 2, the dose found to be safe in Part 1 is given to patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and Burkitt's lymphoma (BL). It is planned that 20 patients will be entered into Part 2 of the trial. Patients will need to visit the hospital weekly for two months and then every fortnight. Patients will have regular blood and urine tests, scans, heart traces and eye tests amongst other clinical tests. Research blood samples will also be taken to look at what happens to the drug inside the body. Treatment is planned to be given for up to 6 months, but patients benefiting from treatment will be able to keep having it for as long as they continue to benefit. It is important to explain that this is the first study of this drug and patients will have advanced cancer so it is unlikely that patients will benefit directly from taking part but the study may help improve future treatment of cancer.

Timeline

Start

2013-04-23

Primary completion

2020-11-17

Completion

2020-11-17

Publications

• Background Noble RA, Bell N, Blair H, Sikka A, Thomas H, Phillips N, Nakjang S, Miwa S, Crossland R, Rand V, Televantou D, Long A, Keun HC, Bacon CM, Bomken S, Critchlow SE, Wedge SR. Inhibition of monocarboxyate transporter 1 by AZD3965 as a novel therapeutic approach for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and Burkitt lymphoma. Haematologica. 2017 Jul;102(7):1247-1257. doi: 10.3324/haematol.2016.163030. Epub 2017 Apr 6.
• Chen Z, Li K, Wei Y, Zhu Q. Decoding lactylation landscapes: Metabolic-epigenetic crosstalk through histone/non-histone modifications as drivers of disease progression and treatment resistance. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2025 Nov 28;791:152957. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2025.152957. Epub 2025 Nov 10.
• McNeillis R, Greystoke A, Walton J, Bacon C, Keun H, Siskos A, Petrides G, Leech N, Jenkinson F, Bowron A, Halford S, Plummer R. A case of malignant hyperlactaemic acidosis appearing upon treatment with the mono-carboxylase transporter 1 inhibitor AZD3965. Br J Cancer. 2020 Apr;122(8):1141-1145. doi: 10.1038/s41416-020-0727-8. Epub 2020 Feb 20.
• Kershaw S, Cummings J, Morris K, Tugwood J, Dive C. Optimisation of immunofluorescence methods to determine MCT1 and MCT4 expression in circulating tumour cells. BMC Cancer. 2015 May 10;15:387. doi: 10.1186/s12885-015-1382-y.
• Lamb R, Harrison H, Hulit J, Smith DL, Lisanti MP, Sotgia F. Mitochondria as new therapeutic targets for eradicating cancer stem cells: Quantitative proteomics and functional validation via MCT1/2 inhibition. Oncotarget. 2014 Nov 30;5(22):11029-37. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.2789.

Drugs

Indications