This phase II trial tests what effects the addition of propranolol to pembrolizumab and standard chemotherapy (mFOLFOX) may have on response to treatment in patients with esophageal or gastroesophageal junction cancer that cannot be removed by surgery and has spread to nearby tissue or lymph nodes (unresectable locally advanced) or has spread from where it first started (primary site) to other places in the body (metastatic). Propranolol is a drug that is classified as a beta-blocker. Beta-blockers affect the heart and circulation (blood flow through arteries and veins). Cancer patients may be under a tremendous amount of stress with elevated levels of norepinephrine (a hormone produced by the adrenal glands in response to stress). Increased adrenergic stress may dampen the immune system, which beta-blockers, like propranolol, may be able to counteract. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as pembrolizumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Drugs used in the standard chemotherapy regimen, mFOLFOX (leucovorin, fluorouracil and oxaliplatin) work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Adding propranolol to pembrolizumab and standard mFOLFOX chemotherapy may increase the effectiveness of the pembrolizumab + mFOLFOX regimen.
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: I. To determine the clinical efficacy of propranolol in combination with pembrolizumab and standard chemotherapy in frontline metastatic esophageal or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma. SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: I. To evaluate the progression-free survival, overall survival, overall response rate, and safety profile of the combination of pembrolizumab and propranolol with standard chemotherapy. EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVE: I. To correlate baseline or changes in the levels of biomarkers (e.g., like, peripheral T-cell subsets/myeloid-derived suppressor cells \[MDSC\]/cytokines), perceived stress and exercise Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) with efficacy (overall response rate \[ORR\], progression-free survival \[PFS\], overall survival \[OS\]), and chronotropic effect of exercise. OUTLINE: Patients receive mFOLFOX6 (leucovorin intravenously \[IV\], oxaliplatin IV, and fluorouracil IV), pembrolizumab IV, and propranolol orally (PO) on study. Patients also undergo tumor biopsy during screening and computed tomography (CT) scans and collection of blood samples during screening and on study.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
40
Undergo tissue collection
Undergo collection of blood samples
Undergo CT scans
Given IV
Given IV
Given IV
Given IV
Given PO
Perceived Stress Scale
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Buffalo, New York, United States
RECRUITINGOverall response rate (ORR)
Efficacy of pembrolizumab in combination with propranolol with standard chemotherapy measured by ORR by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.1, which is treated as a dichotomous variable and will be summarized using frequencies and relative frequencies.
Time frame: Within 6 months of initiating combination therapy
Incidence of toxicities and adverse events
Will be assessed as per Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version (v) 5.0.
Time frame: Up to 30 days after the last intervention
Progression-free survival
Will be summarized using standard Kaplan Meier methods.
Time frame: Initiation of the study treatment regimen to disease progression or death from any cause, assessed up to 2 years
Overall survival
Will be summarized using standard Kaplan Meier methods.
Time frame: Treatment initiation until death from any cause, assessed up to 2 years
ORR
ORR as determined by Immune-Modified (i)RECIST.
Time frame: Within 6 months of initiating combination therapy
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