This research study is studying an immunotherapy drug (pembrolizumab or KEYTRUDA) as a possible treatment for pediatric hepatocellular carcinoma or hepatocellular neoplasm not otherwise specified (HCN NOS).
Patients who fulfill eligibility criteria will be entered into the trial to receive pembrolizumab or KEYTRUDA This research study is a Phase II clinical trial. Phase II clinical trials test the safety and effectiveness of an investigational drug to learn whether the drug works in treating a specific disease. "Investigational" means that the drug is being studied. In the case of this trial, the investigators are studying whether pembrolizumab can treat pediatric hepatocellular carcinoma. The FDA (the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) has not approved pembrolizumab for your specific disease but it has been approved for other uses in adults. Checkpoint inhibitors are in early-phase study in pediatric patients across diagnoses. In this research study, the investigators plan to investigate whether pediatric patients with hepatocellular carcinoma experience stable disease or response to pembrolizumab. In addition, the investigators would like to explore different biological factors of the tumor and immune system that might help us predict whether pediatric patients with HCC may benefit from treatment with pembrolizumab.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
18
Pembrolizumab will be administered every 3 weeks, at predetermined dose with 21 consecutive days defined as a treatment cycle.
University of California San Francisco
San Francisco, California, United States
RECRUITINGChildren's Hospital Boston
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
RECRUITINGDana Farber Cancer Institute
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Immune-related best overall response (irBOR)
irRECIST criteria
Time frame: 63 Days
Progression-free survival (PFS)
irRECIST criteria
Time frame: enrollment to progression (defined by irRECIST criteria) or death (whichever event occurs first), or to date of last contact up to 100 months
Expression levels of infiltrating immune cells and markers of checkpoint inhibition on pre-treatment specimens
Expression levels of infiltrating immune cells and markers of checkpoint inhibition, as assessed by immunohistochemistry on pre-treatment specimens, quantified using a semi-quantitative scoring system based on percent of cells showing positive staining.
Time frame: 2 Years
Percent change immune cell phenotype, cytokines, and circulating tumor DNA
summarized using descriptive statistics.
Time frame: 2 Years
Number of Participants with DLT
organ affected or laboratory determination, severity (by NCI CTCAE v5.0), and attribution.
Time frame: 2 Years
DNA sequencing of specimens
Descriptive analysis of gene mutation patterns correlating with disease response to checkpoint inhibition
Time frame: 2 Years
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Cincinnati Children's Medical Center
Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
RECRUITINGBaylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas, United States
RECRUITING