Cetuximab With or Without Tivantinib in Treating Patients With Head and Neck Cancer That Is Recurrent, Metastatic, or Cannot Be Removed By Surgery

• Change in tumor burden, measured using the sum of longest diameters of target lesion [ Time Frame: From baseline to 8 weeks ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  Early change in tumor burden will be compared between groups using two-sample t-tests. Waterfall plots will be constructed for graphical comparison.
• PFS [ Time Frame: Up to 8 weeks after completion of study treatment ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  Kaplan-Meier curves will be generated for PFS and the treatment arms compared via logrank tests.
• OS [ Time Frame: Up to 8 weeks after completion of study treatment ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  Kaplan-Meier curves will be generated for OS and the treatment arms compared via logrank tests.
• Change in tumor burden, PFS, and OS in subgroup of patients with high c-MET expression and/or high c-MET copy number [ Time Frame: Up to 8 weeks after completion of study treatment ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
• Activity of single-agent tivantinib after failure of cetuximab [ Time Frame: Up to 8 weeks after completion of study treatment ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

• Change in tumor burden, measured using the sum of longest diameters of target lesion [ Time Frame: From baseline to 8 weeks ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  Early change in tumor burden will be compared between groups using two-sample t-tests. Waterfall plots will be constructed for graphical comparison.
• PFS [ Time Frame: Up to 8 weeks after completion of study treatment ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  Kaplan-Meier curves will be generated for PFS and the treatment arms compared via logrank tests.
• OS [ Time Frame: Up to 8 weeks after completion of study treatment ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  Kaplan-Meier curves will be generated for OS and the treatment arms compared via logrank tests.
• Activity of sing-agent tivantinib after failure of cetuximab [ Time Frame: Up to 8 weeks after completion of study treatment ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

This randomized phase II trial studies how well cetuximab with or without tivantinib works in treating patients with head and neck cancer that is recurrent, metastatic, or cannot be removed by surgery. Monoclonal antibodies, such as cetuximab, can block tumor growth in different ways. Some block the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Others find tumor cells and help kill them or carry tumor-killing substances to them. Tivantinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. It is not yet known whether cetuximab is more effective with or without tivantinib in patients with head and neck cancer

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Response rate. We will compare the cetuximab/ARQ 197 (tivantinib) combination with cetuximab single agent activity.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Continuous tumor shrinkage. II. Progression-free survival (PFS). III. Overall survival (OS). IV. Endpoints I), II), and III) above, as well as response rates, will be assessed and compared between treatment arms in the subgroup of patients with high c-MET expression (anticipated to be ~84% of patients, and/or high c-MET copy number (anticipated >10% and largely overlapping with MET IHC).

V. Single agent activity for ARQ 197 (tivantinib) in patients who have failed cetuximab.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms.

ARM I: Patients receive cetuximab intravenously (IV) over 60-120 minutes on days 1 and 15 and tivantinib orally (PO) twice daily (BID) on days 1-28.

ARM II: Patients receive cetuximab IV over 60-120 minutes on days 1 and 15. Patients who fail cetuximab as a single agent may receive single agent tivantinib PO BID on days 1-28.

In both arms, courses repeat every 4 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up for 8 weeks.

• Metastatic Squamous Neck Cancer With Occult Primary Squamous Cell Carcinoma
• Recurrent Metastatic Squamous Neck Cancer With Occult Primary
• Recurrent Salivary Gland Cancer
• Recurrent Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Hypopharynx
• Recurrent Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Larynx
• Recurrent Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lip and Oral Cavity
• Recurrent Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Nasopharynx
• Recurrent Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oropharynx
• Recurrent Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Paranasal Sinus and Nasal Cavity
• Recurrent Verrucous Carcinoma of the Larynx
• Recurrent Verrucous Carcinoma of the Oral Cavity
• Salivary Gland Squamous Cell Carcinoma
• Stage III Salivary Gland Cancer
• Stage III Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Hypopharynx
• Stage III Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Larynx
• Stage III Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lip and Oral Cavity
• Stage III Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Nasopharynx
• Stage III Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oropharynx
• Stage III Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Paranasal Sinus and Nasal Cavity
• Stage III Verrucous Carcinoma of the Larynx
• Stage III Verrucous Carcinoma of the Oral Cavity
• Stage IV Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Hypopharynx
• Stage IV Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Nasopharynx
• Stage IVA Salivary Gland Cancer
• Stage IVA Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Larynx
• Stage IVA Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lip and Oral Cavity
• Stage IVA Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oropharynx
• Stage IVA Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Paranasal Sinus and Nasal Cavity
• Stage IVA Verrucous Carcinoma of the Larynx
• Stage IVA Verrucous Carcinoma of the Oral Cavity
• Stage IVB Salivary Gland Cancer
• Stage IVB Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Larynx
• Stage IVB Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lip and Oral Cavity
• Stage IVB Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oropharynx
• Stage IVB Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Paranasal Sinus and Nasal Cavity
• Stage IVB Verrucous Carcinoma of the Larynx
• Stage IVB Verrucous Carcinoma of the Oral Cavity
• Stage IVC Salivary Gland Cancer
• Stage IVC Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Larynx
• Stage IVC Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lip and Oral Cavity
• Stage IVC Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oropharynx
• Stage IVC Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Paranasal Sinus and Nasal Cavity
• Stage IVC Verrucous Carcinoma of the Larynx
• Stage IVC Verrucous Carcinoma of the Oral Cavity
• Tongue Cancer
• Untreated Metastatic Squamous Neck Cancer With Occult Primary

• Drug: tivantinib
  Given PO
  Other Name: ARQ 197
• Biological: cetuximab
  Given IV
  Other Names:

  • C225
  • C225 monoclonal antibody
  • IMC-C225
  • MOAB C225
  • monoclonal antibody C225
• Other: laboratory biomarker analysis
  Correlative studies

• Experimental: Arm I (cetuximab and tivantinib)
  Patients receive cetuximab IV over 60-120 minutes on days 1 and 15 and tivantinib PO BID on days 1-28.
  Interventions:

  • Drug: tivantinib
  • Biological: cetuximab
  • Other: laboratory biomarker analysis
• Experimental: Arm II (cetuximab)
  Patients receive cetuximab IV over 60-120 minutes on days 1 and 15. Patients who fail cetuximab as a single agent may receive single agent tivantinib PO BID on days 1-28.
  Interventions:

  • Biological: cetuximab
  • Other: laboratory biomarker analysis

Inclusion Criteria:

• Histologically/cytologically confirmed diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck origin not amenable to curative intent therapy; both human papillomavirus (HPV) positive (+) and HPV negative (-) are eligible, but status has to be known prior to randomization; any type of tissue based HPV assessment is acceptable (e.g. p16 immunohistochemistry [IHC] or in situ hybridization [ISH]); if local HPV testing is not available slides can be sent to the University of Chicago for HPV testing using p16 IHC or comparable
• Presence of measurable lesions (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors [RECIST])
• Availability of tissue (>= 17 tumor containing formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded [FFPE] slides/sections)
• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0, 1
• Patients who have received cetuximab or another inhibitor of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in the curative intent treatment setting (e.g. with radiation or during induction chemotherapy [prior to definitive, curative intent therapy]) are eligible for the study
• Life expectancy of greater than 8 weeks
• Hemoglobin >= 9.0 g/dL
• Leukocytes >= 3,000/mcL
• Absolute neutrophil count >= 1,500/mcL
• Platelets >=100,000/mcL
• Total bilirubin =< 1.5 X institutional upper limit of normal
• Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase [SGOT])/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase [SGPT]) =< 2.5 X institutional upper limit of normal
• Serum creatinine =< 1.5 X institutional upper limit of normal OR creatinine clearance >= 60 mL/min/1.73 m^2 for patients with creatinine levels above institutional normal
• Presence of measurable lesions by RECIST: patients must have measurable disease, defined as at least one lesion that can be accurately measured in at least one dimension (longest diameter to be recorded) as >= 20 mm with conventional techniques or as >= 10 mm with spiral computed tomography (CT) scan
• Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients with normal immune function (cluster of differentiation [CD]4 count > 200) are eligible if there are no drug interactions with ARQ 197 (tivantinib) or cetuximab
• Women of child-bearing potential and men must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation; should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while she or her partner is participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately; men treated or enrolled on this protocol must also agree to use adequate contraception prior to the study, for the duration of study participation, and 4 months after completion of ARQ 197 (tivantinib) administration
• Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document
• Patients must be able to swallow ARQ 197 (tivantinib) by mouth, unless adequate data about administration by gastronomy tube (G-tube) becomes available

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients who have ad chemotherapy or radiotherapy within 2 weeks (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin C) prior to entering the study or those who have not recovered from adverse events due to agents administered more than 2 weeks earlier
• Patients with tumors that progress within 3 months of definitive treatment (typically chemoradiation or radiation) are ineligible
• Patients who have received more than 2 prior cytotoxic treatments in the palliative treatment setting are ineligible
• Patients who have received treatment with an EGFR or MET inhibitor in the palliative treatment setting are ineligible
• Patients with known, active brain metastases should be excluded from this clinical trial; patients with treated brain metastases stable for >= 12 weeks are eligible; use of corticosteroids is acceptable on a low maintenance or tapering dose schedule
• History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to ARQ 197 (tivantinib) or cetuximab
• Concurrent life-threatening diseases: patients with diseases which with reasonable certainty do not limit life expectancy to 12 months or less are eligible; assessment of such concurrent illnesses should be by the principal investigator
• Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements
• Pregnant women are excluded from this study; breastfeeding should be discontinued if the mother is treated with ARQ 197 (tivantinib)
• Concurrent use of warfarin (therapeutic use) is allowed, but requires close monitoring of prothrombin time (PT)/international normalized ratio (INR)
• ARQ 197 (tivantinib) is metabolized by cytochrome P450 2C19 (CYP2C19), and to a lesser extent cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4); the metabolism and consequently overall pharmacokinetics of ARQ 197 (tivantinib) could be altered by inhibitors and/or inducers or other substrates of CYP2C19 and CYP3A4; while inhibitors/inducers of these cytochrome P450 isoenzymes are not specifically excluded, investigators should be aware that ARQ 197 (tivantinib) exposure may be altered by the concomitant administration of these drugs
• History of congestive heart failure defined as class II to IV per New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification; clinically significant bradycardia or other uncontrolled, cardiac arrhythmia defined as >= grade 3 according to National Cancer Institute (NCI) Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE), version 4.0, or uncontrolled hypertension; myocardial infarction occurring within 6 months prior to study entry (myocardial infarction occurring > 6 months prior to study entry is permitted)
• Patients may not be receiving any other investigational agents