In many cancers, early stage diagnosis and early treatment offers the best chance of a prolonged recurrence free- and overall survival. Neoadjuvant immunotherapy involves administering immune checkpoint inhibitors before surgical resection in high-risk resectable disease, such as mucosal melanoma. In resectable cancers, immune checkpoint inhibitors can enhance anti-tumour immunity by exploiting a competent immune system prior to surgery. Activating antigen-specific T cells found in the primary or baseline tumour continue to exert anti-tumour effects on remaining neoplastic cells after the resection of the original tumour, potentially preventing recurrences from occurring. In resectable mucosal melanoma, an opportunity exists to improve clinical outcomes with the addition of neoadjuvant and adjuvant systemic therapy with nivolumab and lenvatinib as an adjunct to surgery.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
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
Wollstonecraft, New South Wales, Australia
Change in immune cell expression of HIF1 and immune cell densities
Tumour and immune cell expression of HIF1a and immune cell densities will be compared between baseline and day 8 melanoma tissue biopsies.
Time frame: Baseline, week 1 week 6
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: 6 weeks
RECIST response rate
Proportion of patients with a complete or partial RECIST response; patients with no RECIST response and patients who have RECIST confirmed disease progression in the neoadjuvant period.
Time frame: 6 weeks
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