Patrick Wen, MD,
Brigham and Women’s
Hospital, Dana-Farber
Institute, Harvard
Medical School

In 2010, the BSF will continue its support of correlative studies critical to a phase II study of Sunitinib in patients with recurrent or inoperable meningiomas.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) play an important role in the biology of meningiomas. Sunitinib (Sutent) is an oral small molecule inhibitor of the VEGF and PDGF receptors and has therapeutic potential in these tumors. Dr. Wen is leading a phase II clinical trial of Sunitinib in patients with recurrent meningiomas in collaboration with colleagues at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). The trial will be stratified into a Grade I meningioma group and a combined Grade II/III meningioma group. The primary endpoints are response rates and 6-month progression free survival. A total of 50 patients will be evaluated.

The correlative studies funded by the BSF are critical to this clinical trial. as they aim to: 1) Correlate the genotype of the tumors with response i.e. we will determine whether specific genetic changes in the tumor predict which patient will best respond to this drug; 2) Perform dynamic-contrast enhanced MRIs to determine the effect of Sunitinib on tumor blood vessels and whether this will help predict who will respond to treatment; 3) Measure serum angiogenic peptides to determine the effect of Sunitinib on these angiogenic factors. In addition, these studies will help Dr. Wen and his team determine what factors are turned on when the tumor becomes resistant to therapy. This will help decide the best strategies to pursue in the next generation of studies.