NCI-Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice (NCI-MATCH) Trial

Dear Mary,

Many thanks for your comments. Spain is an option we are evaluating. Until then we hope the standard chemo results as much as posible.

Best regards

Dear Marion and all,

My father was diagnosed with Cholangiocarcinoma stage IV in July 2017. He started chemo with gemcitabine/oxaliplatin one month later. We live in Portugal and he is being treated there. There is only a clinical trial for solid tumors including Cholangiocarcinoma and at this time nobody suggested for a genetic test.

We knew that is posible to do the FoundationOne test with the samples of the biopsy however we were advised that the samples can be lost if we want to do a new genetic test (for example before starting a specific clinical trial) and also that more validation is needed to accept FoundationOne test as routine work-up at the hospital.

Based on this I would like that someone comment and also if there is a genetic test/genome profile more valid that we should use instead?

Thanks in advance for all the help given!

• This reply was modified 7 years ago by Malepi.

The NCI-MATCH clinical trial is open at more than 1,000 sites, and about 6,000 patients will be screened http://cancer.gov/nci-match #NCIMATCH

googily….agree with your comments. Although the trial is to end sometime in 2017, I think that MATCH will make changes along the way. Feedback such as this from people involved in the process is of incredible importance not only to the global patient/caregiver community, but to the trial coordinators as well.
Thank you for always responding. Moderators are here to help guide conversations, but the real value of this blog lies in the value that patient/caregivers provide to us all.

Hugs,
Marion

Here is a brief update on the NCI MATCH INTERIM ANALYSES

Physicians are encouraged to select only those patients able to tolerate being off treatment for up to six weeks

This is a nationwide trial that is not only available at large cancer centers, but it is available LOCALLY at COMMUNITY HOSPITALS. In fact, the majority of patients are enrolled in the local community hospitals. MATCH is hoping to increase participation of cancer centers currently performing currently performing tumor testing in people with advanced cancer. Additionally, there are plans for collaboration with commercial sequencing labs to notify physicians of relevant NCI-MATCH treatment arms for their patients who have matching mutations.

To conduct clinical trials for the treatment of cancer in a consistent manner across many participating hospitals, cancer centers, and clinics requires the use of standard criteria for measuring how the disease impacts a patient’s daily living abilities (known to physicians and researchers as a patient’s performance status). The ECOG Scale of Performance Status is one such measurement. It describes a patient’s level of functioning in terms of their ability to care for themselves, daily activity, and physical ability (walking, working, etc.).
http://ecog-acrin.org/resources/ecog-performance-status

In order to be considered for enrollment, patients have to have a good health status as defined in ECOG.
Patients must be fully active, able to carry on all pre-disease performance with out restriction (ECOG status 0)
or
patients may be restricted in physically strenuous activity but ambulatory and able to carry out work of a light or sedentary nature, e.g., light house work, office work (ECOG performance status 1)

The NCI MATCH enrollment status, as of October 16, 2016, consists of 230 patients of which 47 are cholangiocarcinoma patients, representing 2.7% of all patients.

Recent changes to the trial include allowance of tumor tissue obtained 6 months prior to registration. This is development is particularly beneficial to our patients, as tumor tissue can be difficult to retrieve and often times patients had to undergo an additional biopsy in order to register for this trial.

As of now, the trial mandates needle aspiration as well. The latter will be a lesser problem, as the majority of cholangiocarcinoma patients have this procedure done for diagnostic purpose.

Resources for NCI MATCH

Main webpages: cancer.gov/nci-match
ecog-acrin.org/nci-match-eay131
Spanish: cancer.gov/espanol/nci-match

For e-mail inquiries contact: match@jimmy.harvard.edu

Here is the official MATCH interim analyses:
http://ecog-acrin.org/wp-content/uploads/materials/EAY131/NCI-MATCH-EAY131-Interim-Analysis-Executive-Summary.pdf

the link also allows for downloading of slide deck

Hugs
Marion

Thanks, Marion. We are proceeding with paperwork to get Bill enrolled locally in MATCH’s arm for the FGFR mutation/AZD4547 drug.

We are being told that they won’t have to do a new biopsy, though they will do the testing themselves, even with a just-completed Foundation One test.

And we will be avoiding FOLFOX if at all possible before the trial. But uncertainty on the timing of the restart of enrollments is making this even more uncertain than I assume trial enrollments usually are.

We were told by our oncologist today that, at least in the Johns Hopkins system and also at Georgetown University, enrollments in MATCH are currently on hold. I guess it has something to do with changes in the program that then require the hospitals to have the protocols go through their administrative approvals again?

Our plan is for Bill, with his FGFR2 mutation, to go into the AZD4547 arm. if they accept him. But if they don’t get enrollments started up again by the end of his four weeks off of chemo (he’s at two weeks right now), he will begin FOLFOX.

Marion, do you have any additional information on this?

Also, I have not found on the boards anyone who seems to have experience with this AZD drug, though it’s in Phase 2. I had hoped for BGJ398 or ARQ 087, but openings for those would require travel or Phase 1. We’re not ruling that out (especially if MATCH continues to be on hold), but of course would prefer staying close to home.

In the meantime, his liver functions continue to be normal and/or normalizing (ALP dropped again on today’s blood work). Our oncologist admitted to being as absolutely shocked as we were that gem/cis didn’t work, given how well he seemed to be responding. But that’s why the scans are the only real arbiters….