The evolution of precision oncology: The ongoing impact of the Drug Rediscovery Protocol (DRUP)

Authors

  • Soemeya F. Haj Mohammad Department of Medical Oncology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands; Department of Molecular Oncology & Immunology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7339-1714
  • Hans J.L. Timmer Department of Medical Oncology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands; Department of Molecular Oncology & Immunology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3822-7326
  • Laurien J. Zeverijn Department of Molecular Oncology & Immunology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
  • Birgit S. Geurts Department of Molecular Oncology & Immunology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
  • Ilse A.C. Spiekman Department of Medical Oncology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands https://orcid.org/0009-0008-9827-1138
  • Karlijn Verkerk Department of Molecular Oncology & Immunology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5882-4980
  • Florentine A.J. Verbeek Department of Molecular Oncology & Immunology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7406-8748
  • Henk M.W. Verheul Department of Medical Oncology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5981-922X
  • Emile E. Voest Department of Molecular Oncology & Immunology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8249-9586
  • Hans Gelderblom Department of Medical Oncology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9270-8636

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2340/1651-226X.2024.34885

Keywords:

targeted therapy, immunotherapy, whole genome sequencing, precision medicine

Abstract

Background and purpose: The Drug Rediscovery Protocol (DRUP) is a Dutch, pan-cancer, nonrandomized clinical trial that aims to investigate the efficacy and safety of targeted and immunotherapies outside their registered indication in patients with advanced or metastatic cancer.

Patients: Patients with advanced or metastatic cancer are eligible when there are no standard of care treatment options left and the tumor possesses a molecular genomic variant for which commercially available anticancer treatment is accessible off-label in DRUP. Clinical benefit is the study’s primary endpoint, characterized by a confirmed objective response or stable disease after at least 16 weeks of treatment.

Results: More than 2,500 patients have undergone evaluation, of which over 1,500 have started treatment in DRUP. The overall clinical benefit rate (CBR) remains 33%. The nivolumab cohort for patients with microsatellite instable metastatic tumors proved highly successful with a CBR of 63%, while palbociclib or ribociclib in patients with tumors harboring CDK4/6 pathway alterations showed limited efficacy, with a CBR of 15%. The formation of two European initiatives (PCM4EU and PRIME-ROSE) strives to accelerate implementation and enhance data collection to broaden equitable access to anticancer treatments and gather more evidence.

Conclusion: DRUP persists in improving patients access to off-label targeted or immunotherapy in the Netherlands and beyond. The expansion of DRUP-like clinical trials across Europe provides countless opportunities for broadening the horizon of precision oncology.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Bins S, Cirkel GA, Gadellaa-Van Hooijdonk CG, et al. Implementation of a multicenter biobanking collaboration for next-generation sequencing-based biomarker discovery based on fresh frozen pretreatment tumor tissue diopsies. Oncologist. 2017;22(1):33–40.

https://doi.org/10.1634/theoncologist.2016-0085 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1634/theoncologist.2016-0085

About Hartwig Medical Foundation [Internet]. 2023. Available from: [Cited date: 22th of November 2023] https://www.hartwigmedicalfoundation.nl/over-ons/anbi/

Priestley P, Baber J, Lolkema MP, et al. Pan-cancer whole-genome analyses of metastatic solid tumours. Nature. 2019;575(7781): 210–16.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1689-y DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1689-y

van der Velden DL, Hoes LR, van der Wijngaart H, et al. The drug rediscovery protocol facilitates the expanded use of existing anticancer drugs. Nature. 2019;574(7776):127–31.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1600-x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1600-x

Eisenhauer EA, Therasse P, Bogaerts J, et al. New response evaluation criteria in solid tumours: revised RECIST guideline (version 1.1). Eur J Cancer. 2009;45(2):228–47.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2008.10.026 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2008.10.026

Freedman AN, Klabunde CN, Wiant K, et al. Use of next-generation sequencing tests to guide cancer treatment: results From a nationally representative survey of oncologists in the United States. JCO Precis Oncol. 2018;2:PO.18.00169.

https://doi.org/10.1200/PO.18.00169 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1200/PO.18.00169

Rajkumar SV, Dimopoulos MA, Palumbo A, et al. International Myeloma Working Group updated criteria for the diagnosis of multiple myeloma. Lancet Oncol. 2014;15(12):e538–48.

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(14)70442-5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(14)70442-5

Cheson BD, Fisher RI, Barrington SF, et al. Recommendations for initial evaluation, staging, and response assessment of Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma: the Lugano classification. J Clin Oncol. 2014;32(27):3059–68.

https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2013.54.8800 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2013.54.8800

Meric-Bernstam F, Johnson A, Holla V, et al. A decision support framework for genomically informed investigational cancer therapy. JNCI. 2015;107(7):djv098.

https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djv098 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djv098

Roepman P, de Bruijn E, van Lieshout S, et al. Clinical validation of whole genome sequencing for cancer diagnostics. J Mol Diagn. 2021;23(7):816–33.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmoldx.2021.04.011 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmoldx.2021.04.011

Simon R. Optimal two-stage designs for phase II ­clinical trials. Control Clin Trials. 1989;10(1):1–10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0197-2456(89)90015-9

https://doi.org/10.1016/0197-2456 (89)90015-9

Geurts BS, Battaglia TW, van Berge Henegouwen JM, et al. Efficacy, safety and biomarker analysis of durvalumab in patients with mismatch-repair deficient or microsatellite instability-high solid tumours. BMC Cancer. 2023;23(1):205.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-023-10663-2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-023-10663-2

van Berge Henegouwen JM, Jebbink M, Hoes LR, et al. Trastuzumab and pertuzumab combination therapy for advanced pre-treated HER2 exon 20-mutated non-small cell lung cancer. Eur J Cancer. 2022;171:114–23.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2022.05.009 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2022.05.009

Hoes LR, van Berge Henegouwen JM, van der Wijngaart H, et al. Patients with rare cancers in the drug rediscovery protocol (DRUP) benefit from genomics-guided treatment. Clin Cancer Res. 2022;28(7): 1402–11.

https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-21-3752 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-21-3752

Geurts B, Zeverijn LJ, Battaglia TW, et al. Efficacy and predictors of response of nivolumab in treatment-refractory MSI solid tumors: results of a tumor-agnostic DRUP cohort. J Clin Oncol. 2023;41(16_Suppl):2590.

https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2023.41.16_suppl.2590 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2023.41.16_suppl.2590

van Waalwijk van Doorn-Khosrovani SB, Pisters-van Roy A, van Saase L, et al. Personalised reimbursement: a risk-sharing model for biomarker-driven treatment of rare subgroups of cancer patients. Ann Oncol. 2019;30(5):663–5.

https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdz119 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdz119

Diemer F. Farmacotherapeutisch rapport nivolumab (Opdivo®) bij de behandeling van dMMR/MSI solide tumoren na standaardbehandeling.: Zorginstituut, Diemen, Nederland; 2022.

van der Wijngaart H, Hoes LR, van Berge Henegouwen JM, et al. Patients with biallelic BRCA1/2 inactivation respond to olaparib treatment across histologic tumor types. Clin Cancer Res. 2021;27(22):6106–14.

https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-21-1104 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-21-1104

Verkerk K, van der Wel T, Zeverijn LJ, et al. 1392P Safety and efficacy of crizotinib in MET mutated (METmut) advanced non-small cell lung Cancer (aNSCLC): results from the drug rediscovery protocol (DRUP). Ann Oncol. 2023;34:S797–8.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annonc.2023.09.2425 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annonc.2023.09.2425

Zeverijn LJ, Looze EJ, Thavaneswaran S, et al. Limited clinical activity of palbociclib and ribociclib monotherapy in advanced cancers with cyclin D-CDK4/6 pathway alterations in the Dutch DRUP and Australian MoST trials. Int J Cancer. 2023;153(7):1413–22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2023.41.16_suppl.3101

https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.34649 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.34649

Dutch-Nordic Alliance for Precision Cancer Medicine launched [Internet]. 2021. Available from: [Cited date: 21th of November 2023] https://www.nki.nl/news-events/news/dutch-nordic-alliance-for-precision-cancer-medicine-launched/

Gelderblom H, Edsjö A, Russnes HEG, et al. 1711P The DRUP-like clinical trials family: a distributed European trial network for equitable access to precision medicine. Ann Oncol. 2023;34:S933–4.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annonc.2023.09.2665 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annonc.2023.09.2665

Jin H, Wang L, Bernards R. Rational combinations of targeted cancer therapies: background, advances and challenges. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2023;22(3):213–34.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41573-022-00615-z DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41573-022-00615-z

Sachdeva A, Tiwari RC, Guha S. A novel approach to augment single-arm clinical studies with real-world data. J Biopharm Stat. 2022;32(1):141–57.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10543406.2021.2011902 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10543406.2021.2011902

Published

2024-05-23

How to Cite

Haj Mohammad, S. F., Timmer, H. J. ., Zeverijn, L. J., Geurts, B. S., Spiekman, I. A., Verkerk, K., … Gelderblom, H. (2024). The evolution of precision oncology: The ongoing impact of the Drug Rediscovery Protocol (DRUP). Acta Oncologica, 63(1), 368–372. https://doi.org/10.2340/1651-226X.2024.34885