This study evaluates the clinical safety and tolerability, and the immunological effects of local intradermal injection of tremelimumab in patients with clinical stage I/II melanoma patients undergoing a sentinel node biopsy (SNB). Patients will be treated by local intradermal injections around the excision site of the primary tumor with escalating doses of 2, 5, 10 or 20 mg tremelimumab.
Although of limited therapeutic value, the SLN procedure has proven a useful prognostic tool for the assessment of melanoma relapse and mortality risk. Moreover, the SLN is of great value for the assessment of immunological interventions for melanoma. Since early melanoma development is accompanied by impaired immune effector functions primarily in the SLN, there is a strong rationale for therapeutic immune modulation of the SLN aimed at strengthening cellular immune functions. The investigator now propose a phase I dose escalation study to administer intradermally a single clinical dose of tremelimumab/anti-CTLA-4 locally at the primary tumor excision site of patients with clinical stage I/II melanoma. Such a single local administration aimed at conditioning of the SLN should allow for the use of relatively low anti-CTLA-4 dosages without excess risk of autoimmune effects.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
13
Intradermal injection of tremelimumab 7 days prior to sentinel node biopsy, with escalating doses of 2, 5, 10 or 20 mg tremelimumab (3 patients per dose level with an expansion at the optimal dose level with an additional 5 patients).
Number of participants with adverse events as assessed by CTCAE V3.0
The descriptions and grading scales of CTCAE V 3.0 will be utilized for all toxicity reporting
Time frame: From the time of injection until 28 days after injection of tremelimumab
Change in frequency of immune cell populations (compared to baseline) assessed by immune monitoring through flow cytometry,
Blood samples and sentinel lymph node material will be collected and then analyzed by flow cytometry. Changes in frequency of tumor-specific T-cells, Tregs and dendritic subsets will be assesess and compared to baseline (time of the injection of the intradermal injection)
Time frame: 7 days after the intradermal injection of tremelimumab
Change in activation status of immune cell populations (compared to baseline) assessed by immune monitoring through flow cytometry,
Blood samples and sentinel lymph node material will be collected and then analyzed by flow cytometry. Changes in expression level of surface antigens for tumor-specific T-cells, Tregs and dendritic subsets are analyzed and compared to baseline (time of injection of tremelimumab)
Time frame: 7 days after the intradermal injection of tremelimumab
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