Purpose: Appendiceal adenocarcinoma (AA) remains an orphan disease with limited treatment options for patients unable to undergo surgical resection. Evidence supporting the efficacy of combined VEGF and PD-1 inhibition in other tumor types provided a compelling rationale for investigating this combination in AA, where immune checkpoint inhibitors have not been explored previously.
Experimental design: We conducted a prospective, single-arm phase II study evaluating efficacy and safety of atezolizumab in conjunction with bevacizumab (Atezo+Bev) in advanced, unresectable AA.
Results: Patients treated with the Atezo+Bev combination had 100% disease control rate (1 partial response, 15 stable disease) with progression-free survival (PFS) of 18.3 months and overall survival not-yet-reached with median duration of follow-up of 40 months. These survival intervals were significantly longer relative to a clinically and molecularly matched synthetic control cohort treated with cytotoxic chemotherapy designed for colorectal cancer (PFS of 4.4 months, P = 0.041).
Conclusions: In light of recent data demonstrating a lack of efficacy of 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy, Atezo+Bev is a promising treatment option for patients with low-grade unresectable AA; further study is warranted.
Significance: AA remains an orphan disease with limited systemic therapy options for patients who are not candidates for surgical resection. These data suggest activity from combined VEGF and PD-L1 inhibition that warrants further study.
© 2024 The Authors; Published by the American Association for Cancer Research.