Tazemetostat, an orally available, first-in-class EZH2 inhibitor, may become a new treatment option for patients with epithelioid sarcoma, according to interim data from an ongoing phase 2 study presented by Epizyme at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2018 Congress in Munich, Germany.1
Lead study lead investigator, Mrinal Gounder, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, said in a press release that as of August 21, 2018, the trial was fully enrolled with 62 patients.1
Initial findings showed tazemetostat produced clinically meaningful activity for patients with epithelioid sarcoma and was generally well tolerated. Twice daily dosing resulted in durable objective responses and encouraging overall survival in both treatment-naive patients and patients who had been previously treated.
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Currently, there are few treatment options for patients with this rare and aggressive form of soft tissue sarcoma. Dr Gounder said it is highly encouraging to see these updated efficacy and tolerability data with tazemetostat, suggesting this agent has the potential to be an important treatment option.
The cohort included 24 treatment-naive patients and 38 relapsed and/or refractory patients. Dr Gounder said there have been 6 responders (~25%) in the treatment-naive group and 9 responders (15%) in the overall population. Several patients experienced stable disease and remained on treatment. Only 13% of patients experienced a grade 3 or higher treatment-related adverse event (AE). The most common treatment-related AEs were fatigue (26%), nausea (26%), decreased appetite (16%), vomiting (16%), diarrhea and weight decrease (13%), and anemia (10%).
Reference
- Epizyme reports positive data on tazemetostat in epithelioid sarcoma from its phase 2 trial cohort at ESMO [press release]. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181022005063/en/Epizyme-Reports-Positive-Data-Tazemetostat-Epithelioid-Sarcoma. Published October 22, 2018. Accessed November 6, 2018.
