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ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Results of a Phase IIa clinical trial of a RAS-GTPase inhibitor (Ing-Ras) for the treatment of gastrointestinal tumors
Russian Scientific Center for Roentgenoradiology, Moscow, Russia
Correspondence should be addressed: Ilya A. Puchkov
Profsoyuznaya, 86, 117997, Moscow, Russia; ur.liam@vokhctuop
Funding: the study was conducted with financial support from the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, the State Task project EGISU No. 1023021500033- 4-3.2.21;3.1.5.
Author contribution: Kulinich TM — research concept and design, material collection and processing, data analysis, manuscript writing; Kukoleva EA — formation of patient groups, a set of clinical material, analysis of results, manuscript writing; Goncharov SV — design of the experimental part of the study, formation of patient groups, a set of clinical material, analysis of results; Kudinova EA, Goncharova OI — analysis of the clinical and experimental research results, manuscript writing and editing; Puchkov IA, Kaminsky VV — formation of patient groups, analysis of results, manuscript writing and editing; Bozhenko VK — research concept and design, manuscript editing and approval.
Compliance with ethical standards: the study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Russian Scientific Center of Roentgenoradiology (protocol No. 4 dated 28 April 2023). The 2022-1-“Инг-Рас” trial was approved by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (approval No. 177 for the clinical trial dated 30.03.2023). It was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles set out in the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki.
Peritoneal carcinomatosis remains one of the most challenging forms of dissemination in gastric and colorectal cancer. It directly determines the disease prognosis and is highly resistant to treatment. The use of the existing therapeutic approaches is often limited by low benefit-risk ratio. It is necessary to develop innovative strategies aimed at overcoming the molecular mechanisms of tumor progression associated with RAS mutations, which play a crucial role in the carcinogenesis of both colorectal and gastric cancer. The study aimed to estimate safety and preliminary efficacy of the novel peptide RAS-GTPase inhibitor «Ing-Ras» when included in the treatment regimen of patients with stage III–IV gastric and colorectal cancer, including patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis. A total of 35 patients with the confirmed diagnosis of stage III–IV gastric and colorectal cancer were included in the study. The «Ing-Ras» drug was administered at a dose of 1.8 mg/kg twice with a 7-day interval using the Pressurized Intraperitoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC) technique. Primary efficacy was assessed by comparing the overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates of the clinical trial patients with historical control groups. The OS and PFS rates for patients in the clinical trials were 92.1% and 84.22%, respectively, which significantly (p < 0.05) exceeded the values of these rates for the historical control group (50.8% and 65.25%). Thus, the use of «Ing-Ras» can significantly improve the treatment results for patients with advanced forms of colorectal and gastric cancer.
Keywords: safety, peritoneal carcinomatosis, RAS-GTPase inhibitor, PIPAC therapy, progression-free survival, KRAS G12C mutation, KRAS, HRAS, NRAS