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Testing Whether Cancers With Specific Mutations Respond Better to Glutaminase Inhibitor, Telaglenastat Hydrochloride, Anti-Cancer Treatment, BeGIN Study

A Phase II Basket Trial of Glutaminase Inhibitor (BEGIN) Telaglenastat (CB-839) HCL in Patients With NF1 Aberrations, NF1 Mutant Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors (MPNST), KEAP1/NRF2 and LKB1 Aberrant Tumors

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03872427
Enrollment
54
Registered
2019-03-13
Start date
2019-12-14
Completion date
2026-04-16
Last updated
2025-11-14

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Advanced Malignant Solid Neoplasm, Metastatic Malignant Solid Neoplasm, NF1 Mutation Positive Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor, Unresectable Malignant Solid Neoplasm

Brief summary

This phase II trial studies how well glutaminase inhibitor telaglenastat hydrochloride (CB-839 HCl) works in treating patients with specific genetic mutations and solid tumors or malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors that have spread to other places in the body (metastatic) or cannot be removed by surgery (unresectable). Glutaminase converts an amino acid (building block of proteins) called glutamine to glutamate, which can support several cellular pathways. Telaglenastat hydrochloride works by blocking glutamine activity needed for the growth of cells. When this activity is blocked, the growth of cancer cells may stop and the cancer cells may then die. Cancer is caused by changes (mutations) to genes that control the way cells function and uncontrolled cell growth may result in tumor formation. Specific genetic mutations studied in this clinical trial are NF1 mutation for malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors, and NF1, KEAP1/NRF2, or STK11/LKB1 mutation for other solid tumors. Telaglenastat hydrochloride may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth.

Detailed description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: I. To assess the best overall response rate (BORR) achieved by 6 months of telaglenastat (CB-839) hydrochloride (HCl) treatment in specific pathway aberrant tumors (MPNST, NF1, KEAP1/NRF2 & STK11/ LKB1). SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To determine the safety, progression-free survival (PFS), time to progression (TTP) and overall survival (OS). II. To determine the overall response rate (ORR) (highest objective response achieved between start of therapy and progression), time to response (TTR) and clinical benefit rate (CBR) of telaglenastat (CB-839)HCl. III. To assess pharmacodynamic changes and adaptive responses and correlate with response to treatment as well as disease progression (correlative objective). EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES: I. Correlate fludeoxyglucose F-18 (18-F FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) pre-therapy and 8-weeks post-therapy response to telaglenastat (CB-839) HCl therapy. II. Evaluate changes in level of circulating tumor deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) at baseline, one month on-treatment and time of progression (Molecular Characterization Laboratory \[MoCHA Labs\]) to treatment response. III. Quantify the peripheral blood concentrations of the metabolites: aspartate, glutamate, glutamine and arginine (@Mayo clinic Oncometabolomics core) and correlate with response. IV. Evaluate the pharmacodynamic (PD) effect of telaglenastat (CB-839) HCl on systemic levels of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle metabolites in peripheral blood (baseline and one month) as part of the protocol. V. Evaluate tumor by reverse phase protein array (@core facility at MD Anderson) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) sequencing (seq) to evaluate changes from pre-treatment, during treatment and post treatment specimens. VI. Perform patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDX) modelling-co-clinical trials (@Dr. Funda Meric-Bernstam's lab MD Anderson) to understand response/resistance mechanisms and also evaluate combination therapies for future development. OUTLINE: Patients receive telaglenastat hydrochloride orally (PO) twice daily (BID) on days 1-28. Cycles repeat every 28 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients also undergo CT, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or PET/CT during screening and on study, and collection of blood samples during screening and on study. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up every 3 months thereafter.

Interventions

PROCEDUREBiospecimen Collection

Undergo collection of blood

PROCEDUREComputed Tomography

Undergo CT or PET/CT

PROCEDUREMagnetic Resonance Imaging

Undergo MRI

Correlative studies

PROCEDUREPositron Emission Tomography

Undergo PET/CT

Sponsors

National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Lead SponsorNIH

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Patients must have histologically confirmed malignancy that is metastatic or unresectable * Patient must have histopathologic confirmation of advanced solid tumor with NF1 mutation, NF1 mutant MPNST, KEAP1/NRF2 mutant and STK11/LKB1 mutant tumors (molecular profiling performed in any Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act \[CLIA\] certified lab \[including tumor and circulating cell-free (cf)DNA\], e.g. Caris, FoundationOne, FoundationAct, Oncomine, Guardant etc.) * NOTE: For all cohorts annotation for actionability will be performed by the PRECISION ONCOLOGY DECISION SUPPORT (PODS) TEAM SHEIKH KHALIFA BIN ZAYED AL NAHYAN INSTITUTE FOR PERSONALIZED CANCER THERAPY (IPCT) THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER 6565 MD ANDERSON BLVD, HOUSTON, TX 77030 * Patient must have no standard therapies available * Patient must be aged greater than 18 years old for all cohorts * Patients for NF1 mutant MPNST and NF1 mutant non-MPNST cohorts must be \>= 40 kg * Patient must be at least 4 weeks since any prior surgery or radiotherapy * Females of childbearing potential must have a negative serum pregnancy test (=\< 14 days) prior to start of trial treatment * Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) measurable disease and biopsiable targetable lesion * Patients must have measurable disease, defined as at least one lesion that can be accurately measured in at least one dimension (longest diameter to be recorded for non-nodal lesions and short axis for nodal lesions) as \>= 20 mm (\>= 2 cm) by chest x-ray or as \>= 10 mm (\>= 1 cm) with CT scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or calipers by clinical exam * Patients with treated brain metastases are eligible if there is no evidence of progression for at least 4 weeks after central nervous system (CNS)-directed treatment, as ascertained by clinical examination and brain imaging (MRI or CT) during the screening period * Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients on effective anti-retroviral therapy with undetectable viral load within 6 months are eligible for this trial * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status =\< 2 (Karnofsky \>= 60%) * Leukocytes \>= 3,000/mcL * Absolute neutrophil count \>= 1,000/mcL * Platelets \>= 100,000/mcL * Total bilirubin =\< 1.5 x institutional upper limit of normal (ULN) and up to 3 ml/dL for patients with Gilbert's disease * Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase \[SGOT\])/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase \[SGPT\]) =\< 3 x institutional ULN and =\< 5 x institutional ULN for patients with liver metastases * Creatinine =\< institutional ULN, as age appropriate OR * Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) \>= 30 mL/min/1.73 m\^2 for patients with creatinine levels above institutional normal * The effects of telaglenastat (CB-839) HCl on the developing human fetus are unknown. For this reason and because anti-metabolic agents like telaglenastat (CB-839) HCl are known to be teratogenic, women of child-bearing potential and men must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation. Should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while she or her partner is participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately. Men treated or enrolled on this protocol must also agree to use adequate contraception prior to the study, for the duration of study participation, and 4 months after completion of telaglenastat (CB-839) HCl administration * Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document

Exclusion criteria

* Patients who have had chemotherapy or radiotherapy within 4 weeks (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin C) prior to entering the study * Patients who have not recovered from adverse events due to prior anti-cancer therapy (i.e., have residual toxicities \> grade 1) * Patients who are receiving any other investigational agents * History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to telaglenastat (CB-839) HCl * Patients with glioma will be excluded * Patients with active or prior history of hepatitis B or C will be excluded * Telaglenastat (CB-839) HCl is a weak in vitro inhibitor of CYP2C9. Therefore, patients receiving any medications or substances that are substrates of CYP2C9 are eligible, but should use caution with substrates that have a narrow therapeutic index. Because the lists of these agents are constantly changing, it is important to regularly consult a frequently-updated medical reference. As part of the enrollment/informed consent procedures, the patient will be counseled on the risk of interactions with other agents, and what to do if new medications need to be prescribed or if the patient is considering a new over-the-counter medicine or herbal product * Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements * Pregnant women are excluded from this study because telaglenastat (CB-839) HCl is anti-metabolic agent with the potential for teratogenic or abortifacient effects. Because there is an unknown but potential risk for adverse events in nursing infants secondary to treatment of the mother with telaglenastat (CB-839) HCl, breastfeeding should be discontinued if the mother is treated with telaglenastat (CB-839) HCl

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Best Overall Response Rate by 6 MonthsUp to 6 months from treatment start dateBest overall response rate (BORR) based on RECIST V1.1 achieved by 6 months of CB-839 HCl treatment

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Time to ProgressionTime to progression starting at C1D1, assessed up to 2 years from treatment start dateWill estimate the medians and select probabilities along with 95% confidence intervals. If more than a handful of patients die without progression, will use Aalen-Johansen estimates to adjust for the competing risk of death.
Overall SurvivalTime to death from any cause, assessed up to 2 years from treatment start dateWill estimate using the Kaplan-Meier method with time zero set to C1D1. Will estimate the medians and select probabilities along with 95% confidence intervals. If more than a handful of patients die without progression, will use Aalen-Johansen estimates to adjust for the competing risk of death.
Overall Response RateFrom start of treatment until disease progression/recurrence, assessed up to 2 years
Clinical Benefit RateUp to 2 years from treatment start date
Incidence of Adverse EventsUp to 2 years from treatment start dateWill be assessed by Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 5.0. Will tabulate toxicity by cohort, type, severity and attribution.
Progression-free SurvivalTime to progression or death whichever comes first, assessed up to 2 years from treatment start dateWill estimate using the Kaplan-Meier method with time zero set to cycle 1, day 1 (C1D1). Will estimate the medians and select probabilities along with 95% confidence intervals. If more than a handful of patients die without progression, will use Aalen-Johansen estimates to adjust for the competing risk of death.

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
PD Tumor Oncometabolite Levels of AspartateBaseline up to between 0-8 hours post-glutaminase inhibitor CB-839 hydrochloride doseWill assess PD changes before and after treatment using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Will correlate these changes with response to treatment using Wilcoxon rank sum test. Will also perform a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.
Pharmacodynamic (PD) Tumor Oncometabolite Levels of GlutamineBaseline up to between 0-8 hours post-glutaminase inhibitor CB-839 hydrochloride doseWill assess PD changes before and after treatment using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Will correlate these changes with response to treatment using Wilcoxon rank sum test. Will also perform a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.
PD Tumor Oncometabolite Levels of GlutamateBaseline up to between 0-8 hours post-glutaminase inhibitor CB-839 hydrochloride doseWill assess PD changes before and after treatment using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Will correlate these changes with response to treatment using Wilcoxon rank sum test. Will also perform a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Pre-assignment details

Out of the 55 patients enrolled, one patient did not receive treatment due to a death before starting the trial.

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Cohort 1
NF1 mutant malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST)
9
Cohort 2
NF1 mutant other cancers
26
Cohort 3
KEAP1/NRF2 mutant cancers
9
Cohort 4
STK11/LKB1 mutant cancers
10
Total54

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicCohort 3Cohort 4TotalCohort 1Cohort 2
Age, Categorical
<=18 years
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Age, Categorical
>=65 years
2 Participants2 Participants20 Participants2 Participants14 Participants
Age, Categorical
Between 18 and 65 years
7 Participants8 Participants34 Participants7 Participants12 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Hispanic or Latino
0 Participants1 Participants2 Participants1 Participants0 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Not Hispanic or Latino
9 Participants9 Participants52 Participants8 Participants26 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
1 Participants1 Participants2 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
1 Participants1 Participants9 Participants5 Participants2 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants1 Participants1 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
7 Participants7 Participants42 Participants4 Participants24 Participants
Region of Enrollment
United States
9 participants10 participants54 participants9 participants26 participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
4 Participants5 Participants30 Participants4 Participants17 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
5 Participants5 Participants24 Participants5 Participants9 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
EG002
affected / at risk
EG003
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
7 / 920 / 266 / 98 / 10
other
Total, other adverse events
9 / 924 / 268 / 910 / 10
serious
Total, serious adverse events
5 / 97 / 264 / 96 / 10

Outcome results

Primary

Best Overall Response Rate by 6 Months

Best overall response rate (BORR) based on RECIST V1.1 achieved by 6 months of CB-839 HCl treatment

Time frame: Up to 6 months from treatment start date

ArmMeasureGroupValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
Cohort 1Best Overall Response Rate by 6 MonthsComplete Response (CR)/Partial response (PR)0 Participants
Cohort 1Best Overall Response Rate by 6 MonthsStable Disease (SD)4 Participants
Cohort 1Best Overall Response Rate by 6 MonthsProgressive disease (PD)4 Participants
Cohort 1Best Overall Response Rate by 6 MonthsTreatment Failure1 Participants
Cohort 2Best Overall Response Rate by 6 MonthsStable Disease (SD)10 Participants
Cohort 2Best Overall Response Rate by 6 MonthsProgressive disease (PD)14 Participants
Cohort 2Best Overall Response Rate by 6 MonthsTreatment Failure1 Participants
Cohort 2Best Overall Response Rate by 6 MonthsComplete Response (CR)/Partial response (PR)1 Participants
Cohort 3Best Overall Response Rate by 6 MonthsProgressive disease (PD)6 Participants
Cohort 3Best Overall Response Rate by 6 MonthsStable Disease (SD)2 Participants
Cohort 3Best Overall Response Rate by 6 MonthsTreatment Failure1 Participants
Cohort 3Best Overall Response Rate by 6 MonthsComplete Response (CR)/Partial response (PR)0 Participants
Cohort 4Best Overall Response Rate by 6 MonthsTreatment Failure1 Participants
Cohort 4Best Overall Response Rate by 6 MonthsStable Disease (SD)4 Participants
Cohort 4Best Overall Response Rate by 6 MonthsComplete Response (CR)/Partial response (PR)0 Participants
Cohort 4Best Overall Response Rate by 6 MonthsProgressive disease (PD)5 Participants
Secondary

Clinical Benefit Rate

Time frame: Up to 2 years from treatment start date

Secondary

Incidence of Adverse Events

Will be assessed by Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 5.0. Will tabulate toxicity by cohort, type, severity and attribution.

Time frame: Up to 2 years from treatment start date

Secondary

Overall Response Rate

Time frame: From start of treatment until disease progression/recurrence, assessed up to 2 years

Secondary

Overall Survival

Will estimate using the Kaplan-Meier method with time zero set to C1D1. Will estimate the medians and select probabilities along with 95% confidence intervals. If more than a handful of patients die without progression, will use Aalen-Johansen estimates to adjust for the competing risk of death.

Time frame: Time to death from any cause, assessed up to 2 years from treatment start date

Secondary

Progression-free Survival

Will estimate using the Kaplan-Meier method with time zero set to cycle 1, day 1 (C1D1). Will estimate the medians and select probabilities along with 95% confidence intervals. If more than a handful of patients die without progression, will use Aalen-Johansen estimates to adjust for the competing risk of death.

Time frame: Time to progression or death whichever comes first, assessed up to 2 years from treatment start date

Secondary

Time to Progression

Will estimate the medians and select probabilities along with 95% confidence intervals. If more than a handful of patients die without progression, will use Aalen-Johansen estimates to adjust for the competing risk of death.

Time frame: Time to progression starting at C1D1, assessed up to 2 years from treatment start date

Other Pre-specified

PD Tumor Oncometabolite Levels of Aspartate

Will assess PD changes before and after treatment using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Will correlate these changes with response to treatment using Wilcoxon rank sum test. Will also perform a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.

Time frame: Baseline up to between 0-8 hours post-glutaminase inhibitor CB-839 hydrochloride dose

Other Pre-specified

PD Tumor Oncometabolite Levels of Glutamate

Will assess PD changes before and after treatment using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Will correlate these changes with response to treatment using Wilcoxon rank sum test. Will also perform a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.

Time frame: Baseline up to between 0-8 hours post-glutaminase inhibitor CB-839 hydrochloride dose

Other Pre-specified

Pharmacodynamic (PD) Tumor Oncometabolite Levels of Glutamine

Will assess PD changes before and after treatment using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Will correlate these changes with response to treatment using Wilcoxon rank sum test. Will also perform a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.

Time frame: Baseline up to between 0-8 hours post-glutaminase inhibitor CB-839 hydrochloride dose

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026