A phase II trial with copanlisib plus avelumab as maintenance therapy for metastatic bladder cancer after platinum-based chemotherapy.

TPS4610 Background: Bladder cancer is the tenth most common malignancy and the fourteenth most common cause of cancer death worldwide. Currently, platinum-based chemotherapy followed by avelumab maintenance immunotherapy is the first-line standard of care for advanced bladder cancer (aBC). Even though maintenance avelumab therapy has improved overall survival, its efficacy is still disappointing with a response rate of less than 10% and progression-free survival benefit of 1.7 months. The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway harbors more activating alterations than any other growth signaling pathway in aBC. Furthermore, PI3K δ and γ are expressed by immune cells and regulate their function. Activation alterations along the PI3K pathway are putative molecular drivers and can possibly be targeted for the treatment of aBC. In preclinical studies, we found that a pan-PI3K class I inhibitor, copanlisib, potentiates anti-programmed cell death 1 (PD1) antibody in syngeneic bladder cancer mouse models with or without activation alterations along the PI3K pathway (Zhu S, J Immunother Cancer. 2021). We hypothesize that copanlisib potentiates avelumab as maintenance therapy for aBC. Methods: This is a multi-center, single-arm, open-label Phase II trial with a lead-in safety phase to determine the efficacy and toxicity of combination copanlisib and avelumab maintenance therapy in aBC. The major inclusion criteria are patients with aBC without disease progression after platinum-based chemotherapy and no contraindication for avelumab and copanlisib. With a type I error of 5% and power of 80% with a log-rank test, we will need 26 patients for this study. With an attrition rate of 10%, we will enroll 29 patients from four US Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers. Copanlisib will be administered through intravenous infusion (IV) at 60 mg on Day 1, 8 and 15, and avelumab will be administered 800 mg IV on Day 1 and 15 of each 4-week treatment cycle for up to 26 cycles. Imaging will be repeated every two cycles during first year of therapy and thereafter every 3 cycles or clinically indicated. The primary endpoint is progression-free survival (PFS). The secondary endpoints include CT or MRI determined radiographic overall response rate, toxicity, overall survival, and molecular correlative studies. Kaplan-Meier estimates will be presented together with median PFS with 2-sided 95% confidence intervals (CI). In particular, the PFS rates at 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 months will be estimated with corresponding 2-sided 95% CIs. Adverse events will be assessed according to CTCAE v5. Tumor response is determined according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version (RECIST) 1.1 criteria. This study is currently open for enrollment. Clinical trial information: NCT05687721 .