MAIN-CAV: Phase III randomized trial of maintenance cabozantinib and avelumab versus avelumab after first-line platinum-based chemotherapy (PBC) in patients (pts) with locally advanced/metastatic urothelial cancer (la/mUC; Alliance A032001).
4514 Background: Maintenance avelumab is a standard of care in patients (pts) with la/mUC who do not progress after first-line PBC. Cabozantinib (CABO) is an oral inhibitor of MET, VEGFR and TAM, active in multiple solid tumors. We hypothesized that an avelumab (Av)-CABO combination would improve outcomes in pts with mUC with an acceptable safety profile compared to avelumab maintenance alone. Methods: MAIN-CAV (NCT05092958) is a phase III randomized, multicenter, international trial for la/mUC pts who did not progress after 4-6 cycles of any PBC (gemcitabine-cisplatin, gemcitabine-carboplatin, MVAC, ddMVAC). Pts were randomized 1:1 to Av 800 mg IV every 2 weeks alone or with CABO 40 mg daily for ≤2 years. Stratification factors were response to first-line PBC (complete response [CR] vs partial response [PR] vs stable disease [SD]) and visceral metastases. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS); secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), safety and quality of life. The target accrual was 654 pts; the trial closed early after enrollment of 68 pts following adoption of enfortumab vedotin plus pembrolizumab as the new preferred first-line standard in the US. Results: From 3/2022 to 3/2024, 68 pts were randomized (Av n = 33; CABO-Av n = 35). Median OS was 24.8 months (mo) with Av and 23.0 mo with Avb-CABO (Hazard ratio 1.41; 95% CI 0.66–3.01; p = 0.186). Median PFS was 4.6 mo with Av vs 6.0 mo with Av-CABO (p = 0.343). Objective response rate among pts with PR or SD after first-line PBC was 20.8% with Av vs 11.5% with Av-CABO (p = 0.424). Grade ≥3 treatment-related adverse events occurred in 24.2% pts on the Av arm vs 39.4% of pts on the Av-CABO arm and CABO dose reductions occurred in 63% of pts. Conclusions: Addition of CABO to Av did not improve OS or PFS compared with Av alone in this underpowered, prematurely closed phase III trial; safety was consistent with known profiles. U10CA180821,U10CA180882; U24CA196171, U10CA180863. (CCTG);U10CA180888 (SWOG); https://acknowledgments.alliancefound.org. Clinical trial information: NCT05092958 .
Authors
- Shiva Baghaie
- S. Berg
- Aihua Edward Yen
- Yujia Wen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5398-4494)
- Karla V. Ballman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4492-0357)
- S Gupta
- M J Morris
- Andrea B. Apolo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9409-1836)
- Parminder Singh
- Srikala S. Sridhar
- Melissa A. Reimers
- Timothy An-thy Chan
- Jonathan E. Rosenberg
- Matthew D. Galsky
- Ronald C. Chen
Institutions
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- Cleveland Clinic (US)
- Mayo Clinic (US)
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (US)
- Baylor College of Medicine (US)
- Washington University in St. Louis (US)
- WinnMed (US)
- Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (CA)
- Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine (US)
- University of Chicago (US)
- Tisch Hospital (US)
- Mayo Clinic Hospital (US)
- University of Kansas Medical Center (US)
- National Cancer Institute (US)
- Children's Cancer Center (US)
- Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Clinical Oncology
- Published
- 2026-05-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2026.44.16_suppl.4514
- Primary Topic
- Bladder and Urothelial Cancer Treatments
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00