Project description:TARGET (Tumour characterisation to Guide Experimental Targeted therapy) seeks to optimise the pathway for molecular characterisation of all patients entering early phase cancer trials to inform clinical decision-making on optimal therapy. Performance status (PS) was developed to assess a patient’s ability to perform a variety of activities to further inform clinical decision making on optimal therapy including appropriate inclusion in clinical trials. However, the quality of present algorithms to assess performance status are limited and based on a semi-quantitative clinician assessment. In particular, a common eligibility criterion for entry into early phase cancer clinical trials is a life expectancy of >3 or 6 months. Here we investigate proteomics as a means of more objective and quantitative assessment of both performance status and thus likely prognosis prior to clinical trial enrolment. Improved patient stratification at enrolment would reduce the number of patients unnecessarily exposed to potentially toxic drugs and decrease withdrawal from trials. Plasma samples from patients enrolled into the TARGET trial were analysed using the mass spectrometry (MS) technique: Sequential window acquisition of all theoretical fragment ion spectra (SWATH) MS. SWATH-MS was used on a discovery cohort of 73 patients to identify proteins that could differentiate patients into either a good or poor prognosis. A three-protein panel showed a stronger prediction of overall survival (p = 0.000086) compared to PS (p = 0.001). This panel was then tested against a validation cohort of 77 patients. The panel was determined as being a significant (p = 0.000451) predictor of overall survival whereas PS was not significant. The panel had a receiver operating characteristic curve area under the curve (AUC) of 0.73 in the validation set; the AUC of PS was 0.54. This signature can now be developed further in larger patient populations to assess its utility in a clinical setting.

Project description:The modern era of drug development for Alzheimer's disease began with the proposal of the cholinergic hypothesis of memory impairment and the 1984 research criteria for Alzheimer's disease. Since then, despite the evaluation of numerous potential treatments in clinical trials, only four cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine have shown sufficient safety and efficacy to allow marketing approval at an international level. Although this is probably because the other drugs tested were ineffective, inadequate clinical development methods have also been blamed for the failures. Here, we review the development of treatments for Alzheimer's disease during the past 30 years, considering the drugs, potential targets, late-stage clinical trials, development methods, emerging use of biomarkers and evolution of regulatory considerations in order to summarize advances and anticipate future developments. We have considered late-stage Alzheimer's disease drug development from 1984 to 2013, including individual clinical trials, systematic and qualitative reviews, meta-analyses, methods, commentaries, position papers and guidelines. We then review the evolution of drugs in late clinical development, methods, biomarkers and regulatory issues. Although a range of small molecules and biological products against many targets have been investigated in clinical trials, the predominant drug targets have been the cholinergic system and the amyloid cascade. Trial methods have evolved incrementally: inclusion criteria have largely remained focused on mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease criteria, recently extending to early or prodromal Alzheimer disease or 'mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease', for drugs considered to be disease modifying. The duration of trials has remained at 6-12 months for drugs intended to improve symptoms; 18- to 24-month trials have been established for drugs expected to attenuate clinical course. Cognitive performance, activities of daily living, global change and severity ratings have persisted as the primary clinically relevant outcomes. Regulatory guidance and oversight have evolved to allow for enrichment of early-stage Alzheimer's disease trial samples using biomarkers and phase-specific outcomes. In conclusion, validated drug targets for Alzheimer's disease remain to be developed. Only drugs that affect an aspect of cholinergic function have shown consistent, but modest, clinical effects in late-phase trials. There is opportunity for substantial improvements in drug discovery and clinical development methods.

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Late Breaking Clinical Trials

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