This phase Ib trial tests the safety, side effects and best dose of tumor membrane vesicle (TMV) vaccine therapy alone and in combination with pembrolizumab and evaluates how well it works in treating patients with head and neck squamous cell cancer that has come back after a period of improvement (recurrent) or that has spread from where it first started (primary site) to other places in the body (metastatic). Vaccines made from a person's tumor cells, such as TMV vaccines, may help the body build an effective immune response to kill tumor cells. 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. Giving TMV vaccine therapy alone or with pembrolizumab may be safe, tolerable and/or effective in treating patients with recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck squamous cell cancer.
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: I. To determine the safety, tolerability, and recommended dose and schedule of TMV vaccine alone or TMV vaccine plus pembrolizumab in patients with surgically resected, recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: I. To assess vaccine-induce immune activity, antitumor response, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in adult patients with recurrent and/or metastatic HNSCC administered TMV vaccine alone and TMV vaccine plus pembrolizumab. TERTIARY/EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES: I. Determine whether TMV vaccine induces immune response and the magnitude of the response. II. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) will be performed using patients' tumor samples and peripheral blood mononuclear cells to assess tumor mutational burden and identify potential neoantigens. OUTLINE: This is a dose-escalation study of TMV vaccine alone and in combination with (fixed-dose) pembrolizumab. Patients are assigned to 1 of 2 cohorts. COHORT 1: Patients provide tissue from standard of care surgery to generate vaccine. The tumor tissue will be banked. When the patient's cancer recurs or metastasis occurs the patient will be treated as indicated. If the cancer progresses, TMV vaccine will be formulated using the banked tumor tissue. Patients receive TMV vaccine intradermally once every 2 weeks for up to 3 doses. Patients undergo echocardiography at baseline and at end of treatment and blood sample collection throughout the study. Patients may also undergo additional computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or positron emission tomography (PET) on study. COHORT 2: Patients provide tissue from standard of care surgery to generate vaccine. The tumor tissue will be banked. When the patient's cancer recurs or metastasis occurs the patient will be treated as indicated. If the cancer progresses, TMV vaccine will be formulated using the banked tumor tissue. Patients receive TMV vaccine intradermally once every 2 weeks for up to 3 doses. Patients also receive pembrolizumab intravenously (IV) on day 1 of each cycle. Cycles repeat every 3 weeks for up to 1 year in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients undergo echocardiography at baseline and at end of treatment and blood sample collection throughout the study. Patients may also undergo additional CT, MRI or PET on study. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up on day 90 then every 3 weeks for up to 12 months.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
12
Given intradermally
Undergo blood sample collection
Undergo CT
Undergo echocardiography
Undergo MRI
Given IV
Undergo PET
Provide tissue from standard of care surgery
Emory University Hospital Midtown
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
RECRUITINGEmory University Hospital/Winship Cancer Institute
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
RECRUITINGDose-limiting toxicity (DLT)
DLT will be defined as treatment-related adverse event that is hematologic grade 4 or non-hematologic of grade 3 or higher severity using National Cancer Institute (NCI) Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version (v) 5.0. DLTs will be summarized as frequency and percentage by dose levels for cohort 1 and 2 separately.
Time frame: From first dose of treatment up to 7 weeks
Incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAE)
Adverse events will be assessed and graded according to NCI CTCAE v 5.0. TEAEs will be summarized based on the number (percentage) of patients experiencing events. Summaries of treatment-related TEAEs, grade 3 or higher TEAEs, serious TEAEs, and TEAEs leading to discontinuation of study drug will be provided. TEAEs and the treatment-related TEAEs will also be summarized by severity.
Time frame: Up to 30 days after last dose of treatment
Recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D)
Will be determined by the principal investigator based upon all available safety and immune response data by dose levels from both cohorts 1 and 2. The RP2D may not exceed the maximum tolerated dose as estimated in cohort 2.
Time frame: Up to 7 weeks
Vaccine-induced immune response
Response will be defined as the fold-change of IFNg+CD4/CD8 T cells by fluorescence activated cell sorting from peripheral blood before and after each vaccination. Summary statistics (mean, median, quartile \[Q\]1-Q3) will be used to describe it by dose level and time points.
Time frame: Before and after each vaccination up to 6 weeks
Tumor response rate
Will be assessed using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors 1.1 criteria. Tumor response will be summarized descriptively using frequencies and percentages. Response rate will be calculated as proportion along with 95% confidence intervals using the Clopper-Pearson method.
Time frame: Up to 12 months
Progression-free survival (PFS)
PFS rates will be estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method and compared between different groups using the log-rank test.
Time frame: From start of treatment to time of progression or death up to 12 months
Overall survival (OS)
OS rates will be estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method and compared between different groups using the log-rank test.
Time frame: From start of treatment to time of death up to 12 months
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.