Veliparib, Cisplatin, and Gemcitabine Hydrochloride in Treating Patients With Advanced Biliary, Pancreatic, Urothelial, or Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the maximum-tolerated dose of veliparib (ABT-888) (days 1-12 of a 21-day schedule) in combination with cisplatin (day 3) and gemcitabine (days 3, 10) in patients with advanced, previously untreated carcinoma of the bile ducts, gallbladder or pancreas, non-small cell lung cancer, or transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder/urothelial tract. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. Describe the dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) and other toxicities associated with veliparib in combination with cisplatin plus gemcitabine as assessed by CTCAE v4.0. II. Determine the recommended phase 2 dose of veliparib (ABT-888) (RP2D) in combination with cisplatin plus gemcitabine. III. Document anti-tumor activity of veliparib (ABT-888), cisplatin, and gemcitabine as assessed by RECIST 1.1. IV. Determine the plasma pharmacokinetics of veliparib (ABT-888), cisplatin, and gemcitabine. V. Determine the abundance of gemcitabine triphosphate in PBMCs following gemcitabine administration. VI. Measure the abundance of DNA-platinum adducts in tumor tissue following cisplatin administration. VII. Measure PARP enzymatic activity in PBMC and tumor tissue following study treatment. VIII. Perform an exploratory correlation between abundance of BRCA and other proteins assessed by tumor immunohistochemistry and clinical response. OUTLINE: This is a multicenter, dose-escalation study of veliparib and gemcitabine hydrochloride. Patients are stratified according to presence of suspected or known BRCA mutations (no vs yes). Patients receive veliparib orally every 12 hours on days 1-12, gemcitabine hydrochloride IV over 30 minutes on days 3 and 10, and cisplatin IV over 60-120 minutes on day 3. Courses repeat every 21 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients with suspected or known germline BRCA mutations may continue to receive single-agent veliparib continuously in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients may undergo blood, tumor tissue, and hair follicle sample collection periodically for pharmacokinetic and correlative studies. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up for 4 weeks.