Efficacy and safety of trabectedin for the treatment of advanced uterine or ovarian carcinosarcoma: Results of a phase II multicenter clinical trial (MITO-26)

Objective: This open-label phase II clinical trial evaluated the antitumor activity and safety of trabectedin in patients with advanced ovarian (OC) or uterine carcinosarcomas (UC). Methods: Eligible patients were adults (≥18 years) with histologically proven recurrent OC/UC not amenable to surgery or radiotherapy who received up to two prior chemotherapy lines. Trabectedin 1.3 mg/m2 was administered as a 3-h infusion every three weeks. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR) as per RECIST v.1.1. If at least 8 of 43 patients (18.6%) achieve an objective response, trabectedin would be declared worthy for further investigations. Results: Forty-five patients with either OC (n = 32) or UC (n = 13) from seven MITO centers across Italy were enrolled. The ORR was 11.9% (90% CI: 6–23) and included two patients with a complete response and three with a partial response. Eight patients (19.0%) had disease stabilization for a disease control rate of 31.0% (90% CI: 20–44). Median progression-free survival was 2.01 months (95% CI: 1.78–2.30) and median overall survival was 4.64 months (95% CI: 3.19–8.29). Neutrophil count decreases (n = 8, 18.2%) and transaminase increases (n = 6, 13.6%) were the most common grade 3–5 adverse events related with trabectedin. Two patients died due to trabectedin-related grade 5 hematological toxicity. Conclusion: Although trabectedin did not meet the prespecified activity criteria, it confers modest but clinically meaningful benefit to patients with advanced OC/UC as being as effective as any other available treatment for this indication. The toxicity profile appears in line with that previously reported for the drug.