The phosphotidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K)/serine–threonine kinase (AKT)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway is frequently altered in head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC). PX-866 is an oral, irreversible, pan-isoform inhibitor of PI3K. Preclinical models revealed synergy with docetaxel and a phase 1 trial demonstrated tolerability of this combination. This randomized phase 2 study evaluated PX-866 combined with docetaxel in patients with advanced, refractory HNSCC.

Patients with locally advanced, recurrent or metastatic HNSCC who had received at least one and no more than two prior systemic treatment regimens were randomized (1:1) to a combination of docetaxel (75 mg/m² IV every 21 days) with or without PX-866 (8 mg PO daily; Arms A and B, respectively). The primary endpoint was progression free survival (PFS). Secondary endpoints included objective response rate (RR), overall survival (OS), toxicity, and correlation of biomarker analyses with efficacy outcomes.

85 patients were enrolled. There was a non-significant improvement in response rate in the combination arm (14% vs. 5%; P = 0.13). Median PFS was 92 days in Arm A and 82 days in Arm B (P = 0.42). There was no difference in OS between the two arms (263 vs. 195 days; P = 0.62). Grade 3 or higher adverse events were infrequent, but more common in the combination arm with respect to diarrhea (17% vs. 2%), nausea (7% vs. 0%), and febrile neutropenia (21% vs. 5%); grade 3 or higher anemia was more frequent in arm B (7% vs. 27%). PIK3CA mutations or PTEN loss were infrequently observed.

The addition of PX-866 to docetaxel did not improve PFS, RR, or OS in patients with advanced, refractory HNSCC without molecular pre-selection.