Multicenter placebo-controlled phase 2 study of nanvuranlat for previously treated advanced biliary tract cancer

Nanvuranlat is a selective inhibitor of L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT 1). A placebo-controlled phase 2 trial at 14 centers in Japan evaluated nanvuranlat monotherapy for patients with advanced biliary tract cancer (aBTC) who previouly received systemic chemotherapy. As compared to placebo, nanvuranlat significantly improved the progression-free survival (HR 0.56; p=0.02). Grade 3 or higher adverse events were reported in 30.0% of patients with nanvuranlat versus 22.9% of patients with placebo.The overall survival was not statistically different between the nanvuranlat and placebo groups. The authors conclude that, compared with placebo, nanvuranlat improved PFS in previously treated aBTC, with an acceptable safety profile.