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An exploratory phase II biomarker-embedded trial (LPT109747; NCT00526669) designed to determine the association of lapatinib-induced fluoropyrimidine gene changes with efficacy of lapatinib plus capecitabine as first-line treatment for advanced gastric cancer or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma independent of tumor HER2 status. Tumor biopsies obtained before and after 7-day lapatinib (1,250 mg) to analyze changes in gene expression, followed by a 14-day course of capecitabine (1,000 mg/m(2) twice daily, 14/21 days) plus lapatinib 1,250 mg daily. Blood samples were acquired for pharmacokinetic analysis. Primary clinical objectives were response rate (RR) and 5-month progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary objectives were overall survival (OS), PFS, time to response, duration of response, toxicity, and identification of associations between lapatinib pharmacokinetics and biomarker endpoints. Primary biomarker objectives were modulation of 5-FU-pathway genes by lapatinib, effects of germline SNPs on treatment outcome, and trough steady-state plasma lapatinib concentrations. Sixty-eight patients were enrolled; (75% gastric cancer, 25% gastroesophageal junction). Twelve patients (17.9%) had confirmed partial response, 31 (46.3%) had stable disease, and 16 (23.9%) had progressive disease. Median PFS and OS were 3.3 and 6.3 months, respectively. Frequent adverse events included diarrhea (45%), decreased appetite (39%), nausea (36%), and fatigue (36%). Lapatinib induced no changes in gene expression from baseline and no significant associations were found for SNPs analyzed. Elevated baseline HER3 mRNA expression was associated with a higher RR (33% vs. 0%; P = 0.008). Lapatinib plus capecitabine was well tolerated, demonstrating modest antitumor activity in patients with advanced gastric cancer. The association of elevated HER3 and RR warrants further investigation as an important player for HER-targeted regimens in combination with capecitabine. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(9); 2251-8. ©2016 AACR., (©2016 American Association for Cancer Research.)

Background: To define protein molecular characteristics of tumor cells prior to, and immediately following, preoperative human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-targeted therapy that correlate with pathologic complete response (pCR) or non response (no pCR) to preoperative HER2-directed therapy and chemotherapy., Methods: This open-label, phase II study randomized patients with HER2-positive stage II or III invasive breast cancer to trastuzumab, lapatinib, or both, 2 weeks prior to and during chemotherapy with FEC75 for 4 courses; then paclitaxel 80 mg/m2 weekly for 12 courses, then surgery. Core needle biopsies were collected at baseline and after 2 weeks of anti-HER2 therapy prior to chemotherapy. Data were correlated with pCR, defined as absence of invasive tumor in breast and lymph nodes., Results: Of 100 enrolled patients, the analysis population included those who had surgery and received ≥75% chemotherapy (78% [n=78]). pCRs by arm are: trastuzumab (n=26), 54% [n=14]; lapatinib (n=29), 45% [n=13]; trastuzumab plus lapatinib (n=23), 74% [n=17]). Paired biopsy specimens were available for 49 patients (63%). Tumor cells of patients with pCR in the trastuzumab or lapatinib treatment arms showed nonphosphorylated FOXO, phosphorylated Stat5, and sparse signal-transduction protein network crosstalk representing different patterns of connections with PI3K and autophagy proteins compared with no pCR., Conclusion: In this exploratory study, pCR with preoperative anti-HER2 therapy and chemotherapy correlated with the levels and phosphorylation status of specific baseline signal pathway proteins in tumor cells. These data may provide candidate biomarkers to stratify initial treatment and potential combination therapies for future study. Tissue preservation technology introduced here makes this procedure widely feasible., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00524303.