Phase I Trial of the Oral Poly (ADP-ribose) Polymerase (PARP) Inhibitor Veliparib (ABT-888, V) Combined Wtih Topoecan (T) and Carboplatin (C) for Adults with Relapsed and Refractory Acute Leukemias

Abstract 3276

PARP is activated in response to DNA single strand (SS) breaks and is pivotal to the base excisional repair pathway for chemotherapy-damaged DNA. The orally bioavailable PARP inhibitor V delays DNA repair and potentiates the cytotoxicity of multiple classes of chemotherapy drugs including topoisomerase I inhibitors and platinating agents in leukemia cell lines. A previous clinical trial of T+C yielded promising results in adults with refractory acute leukemia at the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of T 1.6 mg/m²/d + C 150 mg/m²/d by intravenous continuous infusion (IVCI) × 120 hrs. We are conducting a Phase I dose-escalation trial of V given orally twice daily Days 1–8 with T+C given by 120 hr IVCI Days 3–7.

Deaths due to myocardial infarct and splenic infarcts with ascites occurred in one pt each when C 150 mg/m² was added to V 10 mg BID and T 1.3 mg/m², resulting in adjustment of the dose escalation schema for C and T. Of 27 pts treated at doses of V 10–20 mg orally BID Days1-8 and T 1.0–1.2 mg/m²/d + C 120–150 mg/m²/d for 120 hrs IVCI Days 3–7, 8 (30%) have experienced > grade 3 non-hematologic toxicity, 4 (15%) have had grade 4 toxicity and 1 (4%) died from sepsis with multi-organ failure. Overall response rate is 22% (2 CR, 1 CRi, 3 PR), with 4 in relapsed AML, 1 each in refractory AML and refractory ALL. Pharmacokinetic (PK) studies in pt plasma, marrow supernatant, and marrow blasts demonstrated that V does not accumulate with multiple dose administrations in plasma but does in marrow, is not altered by T or C administration, and is detectable in marrow supernatant and cells. Nuclear staining for phosphorylated histone H2AX (γH2AX) demonstrated that V 10 mg BID increased DNA damage by > 2-fold in 11/22 (50%) on Day 1 and 13/18 (72 %) on Day 4 after 24 hrs of T+C. A PAR ELISA demonstrated that V suppresses PAR levels to <50% of pretreatment values in 21/29 (72%) blood and 9/13 (69%) marrow samples. The MTD has not been reached and dose escalation is ongoing.