Dr. von Mehren on Outcomes With Ribociclib/Everolimus in Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma

Margaret von Mehren, MD, chief of the Division of Sarcoma Medical Oncology, physician director of the Clinical Trials Office, associate director of Clinical Research, and professor of the Department of Hematology/Oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, discusses outcomes with ribociclib (Kisqali) and everolimus (Afinitor) in dedifferentiated liposarcoma, as seen in the phase 2 SAR-096 trial (NCT03114527).

In this patient population, interesting activity was observed in terms of disease stabilization, von Mehren says. Two patients of the 21 best responders experienced a complete response or partial response, which has not been observed in previous studies examining CDK inhibitors in this patient population, she explains.

When a small study at 2 institutions is being conducted, it is difficult to call the results significant, although the finding is notably interesting and raises the question as to how future research efforts should proceed, von Mehren says. Additionally, while the combination of ribociclib and everolimus was not excessively toxic, certain patients developed neutropenia and lymphocytopenia, which limited their ability to take the regimen on a consistent basis. The dosing schema and how it was done is feasible in the long term for this patient population, von Mehren concludes.