The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved cabozantinib for the treatment of previously treated, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic, well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNET) and extra-pancreatic NET (epNET), in adults and children over the age of 12. The drug, called CABOMETYX, was tested in the pivotal CABINET trial. It is produced by Exelixis, Inc.
Study participants with extra-pancreatic NETs, cabozantinib had extended progression-free survival to 8.4 months, compared to just 3.9 months for those receiving a placebo. For those with pancreatic NETs, progression-free survival increased to 13.8 months with cabozantinib compared to 4.4 months with placebo.
“It was encouraging to see that cabozantinib resulted in significant delays in disease progression in the CABINET trial—regardless of primary tumor site and grade. This FDA approval marks a meaningful advancement, which may establish an important new treatment option for patients, without limitations based on somatostatin receptor expression and functional status,” said Jennifer Chan, M.D., M.P.H., study chair for the CABINET trial, Clinical Director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Center and Director of the Program in Carcinoid and Neuroendocrine Tumors at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Chan was the clinical trial’s principal investigator.Dr. Chan also studied biomarkers of response to cabozantinib, through a 2018 NETRF Pilot Award.
Read more from Exelixis about the clinical trial and the drug.
NETRF celebrates this great work, with gratitude to all the patients, physicians, and partners who made it possible.