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ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA

Preclinical characterization and clinical trial of CFI-400945, a polo-like kinase 4 inhibitor, in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia and higher-risk myelodysplastic neoplasms

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Abstract

CFI-400945 is a selective oral polo-like kinase 4 (PLK4) inhibitor that regulates centriole duplication. PLK4 is aberrantly expressed in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Preclinical studies indicate that CFI-400945 has potent in vivo efficacy in hematological malignancies and xenograft models, with activity in cells harboring TP53 mutations. In this phase 1 study in very high-risk patients with relapsed/refractory AML and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) (NCT03187288), 13 patients were treated with CFI-400945 continuously in dose escalation from 64 mg/day to 128 mg/day. Three of the 9 efficacy evaluable AML patients achieved complete remission (CR). Two of 4 AML patients (50%) with TP53 mutations and complex monosomal karyotype achieved a CR with 1 patient proceeding to allogenic stem cell transplant. A third patient with TP53 mutated AML had a significant reduction in marrow blasts by > 50% with an improvement in neutrophil and platelet counts. Responses were observed after 1 cycle of therapy. Dose-limiting toxicity was enteritis/colitis. A monotherapy and combination therapy study with a newer crystal form of CFI-400945 in patients with AML, MDS and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) is ongoing (NCT04730258).

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Fig. 1: Response profile of CFI-400945 in human leukemia cell lines.
Fig. 2: In vivo characterization of the anticancer potential CFI-400945 on human AML xenograft tumors.
Fig. 3: Oncoprint representing distribution of oncogenic and variants of uncertain significance (VUS) in responders and nonresponders.

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Data availability

Proposals for data access should be submitted to KWLY (karen.yee@uhn.ca) and MRB (m.bray@treadwelltx.com) for consideration. Access to de-identified participant data can be granted if the proposal is approved by the Ontario Cancer Research Ethics Board (OCREB).

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Hans de Haan (Synteract) as the medical monitor for the study; Ritu Kushwaha (UHN/Princess Margaret Cancer Centre) and Trisha Denny (Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, UHN/Princess Margaret Cancer Centre) for providing support with this submission; and Emily Roberts-Thomson, Roger Sidhu and Glenn Michelson (Treadwell Therapeutics) for reviewing the manuscript. This work was supported by Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation (PMCF).

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Authors

Contributions

Conception and design: TM, JMM, MRB, MDM, KWLY; Collection and assembly of data: JMM, LN, XL, KWLY; Provision of study materials or patients: all authors; Data analysis and interpretation: TM, JMM, MRB, LN, XL, KWLY; Manuscript writing: All authors; Final approval of manuscript: All authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Karen W. L. Yee.

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Competing interests

The authors declare the following potential conflicts of interest: JMM is an employee of Treadwell Therapeutics. BL was a consultant for AbbVie, Novartis, and Pfizer; and has received speakers’ fees or honoraria from AbbVie, Alexion, Amgen, Astellas, Astex, Bristol Myers Squibb/Celgene, Gilead/KITE, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Janssen, Novartis, Otsuka, Paladin, Pfizer, Roche, and Treadwell Therapeutics. MRB is a co-founder and an employee of Treadwell Therapeutics. SMC has received research funding from AbbVie, Agios, Bristol Myers Squibb/Celgene, and Servier. VG has received research funding through his institution and honoraria from Novartis; and has served on the advisory board of AbbVie, Bristol Myers Squibb/Celgene, GSK, Incyte, Morphosys, Novartis, and Pfizer. DM has received research support from Bristol Myers Squibb/Celgene, Novartis, PharmaEsentia, and Takeda; has participated in advisory boards and received honoraria from Bristol Myers Squibb/Celgene, Jazz, and Novartis; and has participated in consultancy for Pfizer. ADS has received research funding from Takeda Pharmaceuticals, BMS and Medivir AB, and consulting fees/honorarium from Takeda, Novartis, Jazz, and Otsuka Pharmaceuticals; is named on a patent application for the use of DNT cells to treat AML; and is a member of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Board of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada. ACS has consulted for and/or received honoraria from and/or received research support from AbbVie, Agios, Amgen, Astellas, Celgene/BMS, GlycoMimetics, Jazz, Novartis, Paladin, Phebra, Pfizer, Servier, and Teva. MT has received research funding from Jazz. LN is an employee of Treadwell Therapeutics. TWM is a co-founder of Treadwell Therapeutics. KWLY was a consultant for Bristol Myers Squibb/Celgene, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, GSK, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, Pfizer, Shattuck Labs, Taiho Oncology, and Takeda; received research funding from Astex Pharmaceuticals, Forma Therapeutics, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Forma Therapeutics, Genentech, Geron Corporation, Gilead Sciences, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, Shattuck Labs, and Treadwell Therapeutics; and received honoraria from AbbVie, TaiHo, and Novartis. TM, DK, CJM, HS, DV, KM, XL, and MDM declare no competing interests.

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Murphy, T., Mason, J.M., Leber, B. et al. Preclinical characterization and clinical trial of CFI-400945, a polo-like kinase 4 inhibitor, in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia and higher-risk myelodysplastic neoplasms. Leukemia 38, 502–512 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41375-023-02110-9

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