In many cancers, early stage diagnosis and early treatment offers the best chance of a prolonged recurrence free- and overall survival. In stage III/IV resectable melanoma, an opportunity exists to improve outcomes with the addition of neoadjuvant and adjuvant systemic therapy as an adjunct to surgery. Neoadjuvant clinical trials for resectable but bulky stage III/IV melanoma allows for the efficient and rapid evaluation of drug activity in humans utilising multiple clinical endpoints of metabolic, radiological and pathological response; relapse-free survival; overall survival.
New therapeutic strategies for melanoma come as a result of significant advances in the understanding of the immunomodulatory mechanisms and molecular biology. The resulting new therapeutic strategies include oncogene-targeted therapy and immune checkpoint blockade, and these are now approved therapies that have transformed the routine clinical management for patients with metastatic disease. However, most patients with advanced melanoma still die of their disease, and thus, there remains an urgent need to improve upon current therapies. Most patients with advanced disease eventually progress, and the question as to whether earlier treatment with systemic therapy after resection of all macroscopic melanoma (adjuvant therapy) improves long term survival is under investigation in melanoma and other solid malignancies. Furthermore, with the increased number of therapies utilised in melanoma, the question of optimal sequencing and selection of single or combination therapy remains unanswered. Neoadjuvant clinical trials in patients with resectable but bulky stage III/IV melanoma allows for the rapid evaluation of drug activity in humans utilising multiple clinical endpoints (metabolic response with Positron Emission Tomography \[PET\], clinical response with Computed Tomography \[CT\] imaging, pathological response, relapse-free survival and overall survival) and translational endpoints (morphological, genetic and immunophenotyping of tumour and blood). This trial will test the combination of pembrolizumab and lenvatinib as neoadjuvant and pembrolizumab as adjuvant therapy for twenty adult patients with histologically confirmed RECIST 1.1 measurable and resectable AJCC (8th edition) Stage IIIB, IIIC or IIID cutaneous or unknown primary melanoma. The PD-1 receptor-ligand interaction is a major pathway hijacked by tumors to suppress immune control. Pembrolizumab is a potent humanized immunoglobulin G4 monoclonal antibody with high specificity of binding to the programmed cell death 1 receptor, thus inhibiting its interaction with programmed cell death ligand 1 and programmed cell death ligand 2. Pembrolizumab is indicated for the treatment of patients across a number of indications because of its mechanism of action to bind the PD-1 receptor on the T cell. Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from a pre-existing vascular network, is essential for tumour growth and metastasis. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors play a major role in tumour angiogenesis. Lenvatinib is an oral potent multiple RTK inhibitor that selectively inhibits VEGF receptors. In clinical use, lenvatinib is one of the only inhibitors currently labelled with a mechanism of action as an inhibitor of not only VEGFRs but also fibroblast growth factor receptors, both of which are currently believed to very important for tumour angiogenesis. Tumour blood vessels are abnormal, both structurally and functionally, relative to those of non-malignant tissues. Normalizing the tumour vasculature with antiangiogenic agents could potentially be used to improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy, particularly immune checkpoint blockade. The evidence indicates that the potential benefit of such combinations will be manifested though modulation of both the tumour vasculature and the tumour immune microenvironment. The development of combination therapy of lenvatinib and an anti-PD-1 antibody pembrolizumab is ongoing for various solid tumours. In addition to efficacy and safety endpoints, testing this combination in the neoadjuvant setting provides a valuable opportunity to investigate potential biomarkers and mechanisms of responsiveness, resistance, toxicity and relapse. Limiting the combination of drugs to the neoadjuvant period only, limits the toxicity that may be experienced by patients whilst maintaining an effective treatment regimen. In many cancers, early stage diagnosis and early treatment offers the best chance of a prolonged recurrence free- and overall survival. In stage III/IV resectable melanoma, an opportunity exists to improve outcomes with the addition of neoadjuvant and adjuvant systemic therapy as an adjunct to surgery. Neoadjuvant clinical trials for resectable but bulky stage III/IV melanoma allows for the efficient and rapid evaluation of drug activity in humans utilising multiple clinical endpoints of metabolic, radiological and pathological response; relapse-free survival; overall survival. Recent clinical trials of neoadjuvant ipilimumab combined with nivolumab (OPACIN-NEO) and neoadjuvant dabrafenib combined with trametinib (NeoCombi) in resectable stage III melanoma showed that a pathological response (\< 50% viable tumour at tumour bed in the former trial, and complete response in the latter) was associated with a longer relapse-free survival The rationale for this study design is therefore based on the hypothesis that six weeks of combined pembrolizumab and lenvatinib may be sufficient to induce an enhanced tumoral immunity to result in a higher pathological and clinical response at the time of definitive surgery. The clinical and translational findings from this study have the potential to inform rational decisions regarding combinations of treatment both in the metastatic and the adjuvant settings. This is a critical study to inform future practice and future phase 3 clinical trials. The neoadjuvant design provides an important opportunity to address critical translational endpoints from multiple blood draws and tissue biopsies during treatment. From this, the evaluation of potential biomarkers and mechanisms of responsiveness, resistance, toxicity and relapse is possible, beyond the traditional clinical, pathological and radiological parameters. Baseline and serial blood, and tissue samples will be analysed at MIA translational research facilities. The biomarker component of this study will require blood samples and core biopsies of tumour tissue at the following time points: Baseline (PRE) Week 1 (EDT 1) Week 6 - complete lymph node dissection specimen (POST) At Relapse (RELAPSE) if applicable and available Neoadjuvant treatment will be administered for 6 weeks, followed by complete resection of tumour to no evidence of disease. Surveillance of disease during the 6 week neoadjuvant period will be undertaken with surgical assessments and with ultrasounds of the affected lymph node basin. Surgery is followed by 46 weeks of pembrolizumab adjuvant therapy or until disease relapse, death, intolerable adverse drug reactions or by withdrawal of patient consent. After 52 weeks of the study treatment phase, patients will be followed 3 monthly for relapse (and progression, following relapse) and survival for 5 years. The efficacy endpoints for this study have been used across the International Neoadjuvant Melanoma Consortium.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
21
Pembrolizumab is a potent and highly selective humanized monoclonal antibody (mAb) of the IgG4/kappa isotype designed to directly block the interaction between PD-1 and its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2.
Lenvatinib is an oral potent multiple RTK inhibitor that selectively inhibits VEGF receptors, VEGFR1 (FLT1), VEGFR2 (KDR), and VEGFR3 (FLT4), fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR1-4), platelet derived growth factor (PDGFRα), stem cell factor receptor (KIT), and rearranged during transfection (RET).
Melanoma Institute Australia
North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Pathological response rate
Proportion of patients with complete absence of residual melanoma cells in the the planned resected tumour site(s) at week 6 surgery.
Time frame: From baseline to 6 weeks planned resected tumour site(s) at week 6 surgery
The anti-tumoural immune response
Changes in T cell tumour infiltration, tumour PD-L1 expression, melanoma antigen expression, presence of regulatory T cells, immunosuppressive cytokines, VEGF signalling and modulation of the tumour vasculature.
Time frame: Baseline, week 1 week 6
Objective clinical (RECIST) response rate
Proportion of patients with complete and partial responses at 6 weeks compared to baseline per RECIST guidelines for each treatment arm.
Time frame: From baseline to 6 weeks
Metabolic response rate
Proportion of patients with complete and partial metabolic responses assessed by PET scan at 6 weeks compared to baseline for each treatment arm.
Time frame: From baseline to 6 weeks
Relapse free survival
The amount of time that patients are disease free from the time of surgery at 6 weeks from study entry.
Time frame: 10 years
Treatment free survival
The proportion of patients who have not had a relapse of disease during study treatment and who have no requirement for new melanoma treatment from the end of adjuvant treatment period.
Time frame: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 years from the end of adjuvant treatment
Overall survival
The proportion of patients who are alive from the time of study entry
Time frame: 10 years
Incidence of post operative infection
The number of patients (and the number of episodes) who develop a post operative infection of the surgical wound requiring intravenous antibiotics and/or wound drainage.
Time frame: 6 weeks
Incidence of post operative seroma formation
The number of patients (and the number of episodes) who develop a seroma at the surgical site that requires any intervention and the volume of seroma drainage.
Time frame: 6 weeks
Duration of post operative wound drainage time
The number of days that a wound drain remains in situ from the time of surgery.
Time frame: 6 weeks
Incidence of post operative bleeding requiring return to theatre or transfusion
The number of patients (and the number of episodes) who have a bleed from the post operative surgical wound that requires a blood transfusion or return to theatre to stop the bleeding.
Time frame: 6 weeks
Comparison of surgeon's opinion of operability evaluated at baseline to time of surgery
The change, if any, in the surgeon's assessment of 'operability' from baseline opinion (based on clinical and imaging examination) to time of operation.
Time frame: 6 weeks
Incidence of any treatment-emergent adverse events
The number of study treatment related adverse events of all Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) grades from the time of starting study treatment to the time of permanent discontinuation of study treatment.
Time frame: 52 weeks
Description of the morphological assessment of melanoma tissue
The effects of study treatment on the degree of necrosis and genetic markers in tumour tissue prior to surgery.
Time frame: Baseline, week 1, week 6
Description of the RNA expression profile of melanoma tumour
The effects of study treatment on the baseline function of RNA expression in tumour tissue prior to surgery.
Time frame: Baseline, week 1, week 6
Measurement of leucocyte subpopulations in peripheral blood
The effects of study treatment on the number and type of white cells in the blood.
Time frame: Baseline, week 1, week 6
Measurement of circulating tumour DNA
The levels of melanoma DNA that is circulating in the blood stream and the changes during study treatment.
Time frame: Baseline, week 1, week 6
Concordance of metabolic response measured by pathological response
The activity of melanoma tissue assessed by the uptake of fludeoxyglucose (18F) in tumour cells viewed using positron emission tomography (PET) and how well this corresponds to the findings from the pathological examination of completely excised tumour tissue.
Time frame: 6 weeks
Concordance of metabolic response measured by RECIST response
The activity of melanoma tissue assessed by the uptake of fludeoxyglucose (18F) in tumour cells viewed using positron emission tomography (PET) and how well this corresponds to the assessment of tumour size and extent using computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans.
Time frame: 52 weeks
Concordance of pathological response measured by RECIST response
The findings from the pathological examination of completely excised tumour tissue and how well this corresponds to the assessment of tumour size and extent using computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans
Time frame: 6 weeks
Concordance of metabolic response with RECIST response at relapse
The activity of recurrent melanoma tissue assessed by the uptake of fludeoxyglucose (18F) in tumour cells viewed using positron emission tomography (PET) and how well this corresponds to the assessment of tumour size and extent using computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans.
Time frame: 52 weeks
Quality of life scores
The individual, summary and composite scores obtained from the validated EUROQOL QLQ-C30, EQ-5D and FACT-M questionnaires
Time frame: At baseline, weeks 6, 15, 21, 27, 33, 39, 45, 51
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