Fostrox Plus Lenvatinib vs Lenvatinib in Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma After First-line Immunotherapy

Summary

This is a Phase 2, multicenter, randomized, open-label study designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of fostrox in combination with lenvatinib compared with lenvatinib alone in patients with locally advanced or unresectable advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have experienced radiologically confirmed disease progression following first-line combination immunotherapy. Approximately 80 patients will be enrolled at 9 study sites and randomized in a 1:1 ratio to 1 of 2 treatment arms: fostrox plus lenvatinib or lenvatinib alone. Patients assigned to the investigational arm will receive fostrox orally once daily on Days 1 through 5 of each 21-day cycle in combination with continuous daily lenvatinib. Patients assigned to the control arm will receive lenvatinib alone according to the approved weight-based dosing regimen. Treatment will continue until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, withdrawal of consent, or other protocol-defined discontinuation criteria are met. The study population includes adult patients with locally advanced or unresectable metastatic HCC who have received at least 2 cycles of first-line systemic therapy with an immunotherapy combination and have radiologically confirmed disease progression. Eligible patients must have measurable disease according to RECIST version 1.1 and mRECIST, adequate organ function, and Child-Pugh class A liver function. The primary objective is to assess objective response rate (ORR) as determined by an Independent Review Facility (IRF) according to RECIST v1.1. Secondary objectives include evaluation of ORR by investigator assessment according to RECIST v1.1 and mRECIST, duration of response, disease control rate, progression-free survival, time to progression, overall survival, and safety and tolerability. Safety evaluations will include assessment of adverse events, serious adverse events, laboratory parameters, vital signs, and other clinical assessments. Exploratory objectives include evaluation of peripheral blood-based biomarkers, metabolic changes associated with study treatment, collection and storage of DNA and RNA for exploratory analyses, and pharmacokinetic assessment of fostrox and its metabolite troxacitabine in patients receiving fostrox in combination with lenvatinib. Tumor assessments will be performed at protocol-defined intervals using radiologic imaging. The primary efficacy analysis will be based on IRF assessment according to RECIST v1.1. This study is intended to characterize the clinical activity and safety profile of fostrox plus lenvatinib compared with lenvatinib alone in this patient population and to generate data to inform future clinical development.

Timeline

Start

2026-05-14

Primary completion

2028-04-27

Completion

2029-04-27

Publications

• Background Evans TRJ, Chon HJ, Kim DY, et al. (Poster) Final safety and efficacy results from the phase 1b/2a study of fostrox plus lenvatinib in second/third line patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma who progressed on immunotherapy. EASL Liver Cancer Summit. 2025.
• Background Chon HJ, Heo J, Reig Monzon ME, et al. 176P - Liver pharmacodynamics in an open-label phase Ib/IIa study of fostroxacitabine bralpamide (fostrox, MIV-818) in combination with lenvatinib in 2L/3L hepatocellular carcinoma. Ann Oncol. 2024;35(S1):S80.
• Background Oberg F, Bhoi S, Wallberg H, et al. PO-221 - Liver biopsy biomarkers in a phase 1 study of the prodrug MIV-818 demonstrates proof-of-concept for cancer in the liver. EASL. 2022.
• Background Sarker D, Evans J, Van Cutsem, et al. 527P - Phase I study of the novel prodrug MIV-818 in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) or liver metastases (LM). Ann Oncol. 2021;32(S5):S594.
• Background Bethell R, Tunblad K, Rizoska B, et al. SAT-123 - Liver-targeting with the novel nucleotide prodrug MIV-818 designed for the treatment of liver cancers. EASL The International Liver Congress. 2017.
• Background NCCN Guidelines 2023. NCCN Guidelines for Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma.
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• Background Senthilnathan S, Memon K, Lewandowski RJ, Kulik L, Mulcahy MF, Riaz A, Miller FH, Yaghmai V, Nikolaidis P, Wang E, Baker T, Abecassis M, Benson AB 3rd, Omary RA, Salem R. Extrahepatic metastases occur in a minority of hepatocellular carcinoma patients treated with locoregional therapies: analyzing patterns of progression in 285 patients. Hepatology. 2012 May;55(5):1432-42. doi: 10.1002/hep.24812. Epub 2012 Apr 4.
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• Background Reig M, Forner A, Rimola J, Ferrer-Fabrega J, Burrel M, Garcia-Criado A, Kelley RK, Galle PR, Mazzaferro V, Salem R, Sangro B, Singal AG, Vogel A, Fuster J, Ayuso C, Bruix J. BCLC strategy for prognosis prediction and treatment recommendation: The 2022 update. J Hepatol. 2022 Mar;76(3):681-693. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2021.11.018. Epub 2021 Nov 19.
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• Background Singal AG, Llovet JM, Yarchoan M, Mehta N, Heimbach JK, Dawson LA, Jou JH, Kulik LM, Agopian VG, Marrero JA, Mendiratta-Lala M, Brown DB, Rilling WS, Goyal L, Wei AC, Taddei TH. AASLD Practice Guidance on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatology. 2023 Dec 1;78(6):1922-1965. doi: 10.1097/HEP.0000000000000466. Epub 2023 May 22. No abstract available.

Drugs

Indications