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Published on: January 19, 2019
An adaptive dose-finding design incorporating both toxicity and efficacy
Wei Zhang1, Daniel J Sargent, Sumithra Mandrekar
1Department of Biostatistics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
Abstract:
Novel therapies are challenging the standards of drug development. Agents with specific biologic targets and limited toxicity require novel designs to determine doses to be taken forward into larger studies. In this paper, we describe an approach that incorporates both toxicity and efficacy data into the estimation of the biologically optimal dose of an agent in a phase I trial. The approach is based on the flexible continuation-ratio model, and uses straightforward optimal dose selection criteria. Dose selection is based on all patients treated up until that time point, using a continual reassessment method approach. Dose-outcome curves considered include monotonically increasing, monotonically decreasing, and unimodal curves. Our simulation studies demonstrate that the proposed design, which we call TriCRM, has favourable operating characteristics.
Insights
This study introduces TriCRM, a novel approach for phase I clinical trials. TriCRM optimizes drug dose selection by integrating both toxicity and efficacy data, improving novel therapy development.
Area of Science:
- Clinical Pharmacology
- Biostatistics
- Drug Development
Background:
- Novel therapies require innovative drug development strategies.
- Determining optimal doses for targeted agents with low toxicity is challenging.
- Phase I trials need efficient designs to advance promising treatments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a novel dose-finding approach for phase I trials.
- To integrate both toxicity and efficacy data for optimal dose estimation.
- To introduce the TriCRM design for biologically optimal dose selection.
Main Methods:
- Utilizes a flexible continuation-ratio model.
- Employs straightforward optimal dose selection criteria.
- Incorporates a continual reassessment method (CRM) for adaptive dose adjustments.
Main Results:
- The TriCRM design effectively estimates the biologically optimal dose.
- Considers various dose-outcome relationships (increasing, decreasing, unimodal).
- Simulation studies confirm favorable operating characteristics of TriCRM.
Conclusions:
- TriCRM offers an improved method for dose selection in early-phase drug development.
- This approach enhances the efficiency of identifying optimal doses for novel agents.
- The integration of toxicity and efficacy data leads to more robust dose determination.
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