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The Alliance AMBUSH Trial: Rationale and Design

Anita Mahajan1, Helen Shih2, Marta Penas-Prado3

  • 1Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.

Cancers
|January 21, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Adult and adolescent medulloblastoma (MB) treatment lacks trials. The AMBUSH trial investigates sonic hedgehog (SHH) pathway inhibitors for SHH-subtype MB in patients aged 18+, aiming to improve outcomes for this rare adult cancer.

Area of Science:

  • Neuro-oncology
  • Clinical trial design
  • Molecular oncology

Background:

  • Medulloblastoma (MB) treatment for adults and adolescent and young adults (AYA) is largely based on pediatric protocols due to low incidence, despite potential differences in applicability.
  • Molecular classification, particularly the sonic hedgehog (SHH) pathway activation (found in ~60% of MB in patients >16 years), offers improved prognostication and targeted therapy potential.
  • SHH pathway inhibitors show promise, with over 80% of SHH-subtype MB patients potentially responding.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the efficacy of sonic hedgehog (SHH) pathway inhibition in adult and AYA patients with SHH-subtype medulloblastoma (MB).
  • To establish a robust clinical trial framework for adult/AYA MB, addressing the lack of specific prospective studies.
  • To compare SHH pathway inhibitor maintenance therapy against placebo in average-risk SHH-MB patients.

Main Methods:

  • The AMBUSH trial (Adult & Adolescent MedulloBlastoma Using Sonic Hedgehog Trial) is a Phase II randomized, placebo-controlled study.
  • Enrollment includes patients aged 18+ with MB (any subgroup/risk) or pineal embryonal tumors, stratified into three cohorts.
  • Average-risk SHH-MB patients (Cohort 1) are randomized to receive either a smoothened inhibitor or placebo as maintenance therapy for one year, alongside standard radiation and chemotherapy.

Main Results:

  • This section details the methodology and planned analysis of the AMBUSH trial, as the results are not yet available from the provided abstract.
  • The trial is designed to generate crucial data on the effectiveness of SHH pathway inhibition in a previously understudied adult/AYA MB population.
  • Key outcome measures will likely include progression-free survival, overall survival, and response rates within the SHH-MB cohort.

Conclusions:

  • The AMBUSH trial represents a significant step towards personalized treatment for adult and AYA medulloblastoma, particularly for the SHH molecular subgroup.
  • Findings from this trial are expected to inform future treatment guidelines for this rare cancer in older patient populations.
  • Targeting the SHH pathway with inhibitors offers a promising therapeutic strategy for a substantial subset of adult/AYA MB patients.
Keywords:
clinical trialmedulloblastomapineal parenchymal tumorradiotherapysonic hedgehogsonidegibtargeted therapy

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