Avelumab And Cetuximab In Combination With Folfox In Patients With Previously Untreated Metastatic Colorectal Cancer (Mcrc): The Phase Ii Avetux-Crc Trial (Aio Krk 0216).

TPS3620 Background: Inhibition of the PD-1/L1 axis has shown to improve survival as single agent in a variety of tumor types. The efficacy of single agent PD-1/L1 inhibition in patients with treatment refractory MCRC seems to be limited to hypermutated tumors characterized by mismatch repair deficiency. 1st line chemotherapy (e.g. FOLFOX) with cetuximab for patients with RAS/BRAF wildtype MCRC result in objective response rates of about 60%, thus substantial antigen release will likely occur triggering immune control. Furthermore, the induction of immunogenic cell death has been recently shown for cetuximab-based regimen. Thus, the evaluation of FOLFOX and cetuximab in combination with avelumab in 1st line MCRC is of particular interest. Methods: AVETUX is a single arm exploratory phase II investigator initiated trial. Patients with RAS/BRAF wildtype MCRC will be included independent of mismatch repair status to receive mFOLFOX6 and cetuximab in combination with avelumab (10mg/kg from day 1 of cycle 2 onwards). Treatment with avelumab is limited to a maximum of 18 months. Primary endpoint is 12month progression-free survival rate, which should be increased from 40% to 57%, with type I error of 10% and 80% power, leading to a sample size of 43 patients. An early stopping rule will be applied in case of an increase in toxicity after the first 15 patients received at least two months of treatment. The trial is flanked by a large translational program including immunoprofiling to determine and correlate the respective immune response signatures with clonal dynamics (RAS/EGFR). Recruitment will start in 11 German sites early 2017. Clinical trial information: EudraCT No 2016-004434-26. Conclusion: The AVETUX trial will determine the feasibility and early efficacy of FOLFOX and cetuximab combined with avelumab in 1st line MCRC. The translational research program will shed light on the potential mode of action of this novel combination. Clinical trial information: 2016-004434-26.