Immunotherapy engagement in pancreatic adenocarcinoma: Provisional results of iLSTA study— Durvalumab, LSTA1 (certepetide), gemcitabine, and nab-paclitaxel for locally advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Abstract

746 Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterised by a dense, extracellular matrix-rich stroma, which creates a physical barrier against drug penetration. Evidence suggests that the iRGD peptide, LSTA-1, can increase the penetration of anti-cancer drugs to tumours through selective targeting of tumour endothelial cell receptors. Additionally, LSTA-1 administration promotes CD8+ immune cell tumour infiltration, potentially enabling immunotherapy as a treatment modality. iLSTA examined safety, tolerability and effect of the combination. Methods: Participants diagnosed with locally advanced PDAC were divided into 3 cohorts in a 1:1:4 ratio. Cohort 1 (n=5) received gemcitabine (1000mg/m 2 ), nab-paclitaxel (125mg/m 2 ), placebo LSTA-1 (3.2mg/kg) and placebo durvalumab (750mg). Cohort 2 (n=5) received gemcitabine, nab-paclitaxel, active and placebo LSTA-1, and placebo durvalumab. Cohort 3 (n=20) received gemcitabine, nab-paclitaxel, LSTA-1 and durvalumab. Tissue biopsies via endoscopic ultrasound were obtained pre-treatment and between weeks 12 and 16 for analysis of tumour infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). Patient tumour sizes were assessed every 8 weeks using radiological imaging according to RECIST v1.1, and serum CA19-9 levels were analysed monthly. Results: 6/17 patients showed significant RECIST partial response after 2 cycles of treatment (5 patients in cohort 3), with the remaining 11 patients exhibiting stable disease. After 4 cycles of treatment, 10/17 patients demonstrated partial response (9 patients in cohort 3). Of the remaining 7 patients, 6 demonstrated stable disease, and 1 patient (cohort 2) exhibited a RECIST complete response. 13/17 patients who completed 4 treatment cycles showed a decrease in CA19-9 levels. 6 patients demonstrated >90% reduction in CA19-9 (5 in cohort 3), with the remaining 7 patients showing a >50% reduction in CA19-9 levels (5 in cohort 3). 12 patients underwent repeat biopsies 12-16 weeks post-treatment to assess TILs. 10 patients showed immune cell infiltration (5% to 50% stroma infiltration), 2 had no tumour found (Cohort 3). The combination was safe with no unexpected toxicities. Conclusions: The preliminary results of this study suggest that the combination of gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel with LSTA-1 and durvalumab is safe and potentially induces tumour infiltrating lymphocytes and RECIST response in locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinomas. Clinical trial information: ACTRN12623000223639 .