Dr. Subbiah on the Clinical Activity of Pralsetinib in RET+ Cholangiocarcinoma

Vivek Subbiah, MD, associate professor in the Investigational Cancer Therapeutics Department and center clinical medical director of the Clinical Center for Targeted Therapy, of the Cancer Medicine Division, at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the clinical activity of pralsetinib (Gavreto) in RET fusion-positive pancreatic cancer and cholangiocarcinoma.

During the 2021 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, findings from the phase 1/2 ARROW study were presented in a virtual poster. The results showed that pralsetinib induced responses in all patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma (n = 3) and cholangiocarcinoma (n = 2). Moreover, an overall response rate of 50% was reported among all patients (n = 12), comprised of all partial responses. The rate of stable disease was 42% and the rate of progressive disease was 8%; the disease control rate was 92%.

With these findings, a case study of a 51-year-old woman with cholangiocarcinoma who harbored an NCOA4-RET fusion was presented. The woman had 64% shrinkage of target lesions within 20 months of starting pralsetinib. Additionally, the pretreated patient obtained rapid clearance of NCOA4-RET fusion circulating tumor DNA and a decline in tumor markers, Subbiah concludes.