Novel small-molecule RORγ agonist immuno-oncology agent LYC-55716: Tumor selection and evaluation of renal cell and bladder cancer for inclusion in phase 2a expansion.

424Background: The master transcription factor retinoic acid receptor–related orphan receptor γt (RORγ) controls Type 17 effector T cell differentiation and function. Synthetic RORγ agonists modulate gene expression to enhance immune effector functions and decrease regulatory T cell (Treg) development and expression of checkpoint pathways. RORγ agonists have shown promise as mono- and combination therapy in syngeneic tumor models. Translational and bioinformatics analyses were performed to evaluate renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and bladder cancer (BC) for inclusion in a Phase 2a expansion trial of the investigational RORγ agonist LYC-55716 (NCT02929862). Methods: A gene signature was identified through transcriptional profiling of murine and human T cells treated ± RORγ agonists. Bioinformatics analyses were then conducted using data on RCC and BC patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) to determine (a) RORγ and RORγ-inducing cytokine expression; (b) signature genes associated with RORγ biology, biomark...