This phase II trial compares the effect of chemotherapy (carboplatin and paclitaxel) with versus without cemiplimab given before surgery (neoadjuvant) in patients with sinonasal squamous cell cancer. Carboplatin is in a class of medications known as platinum-containing compounds. Carboplatin works by killing, stopping or slowing the growth of cancer cells. Paclitaxel is in a class of medications called antimicrotubule agents. It stops cancer cells from growing and dividing and may kill them. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as cemiplimab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. The usual approach for patients with sinonasal squamous cell cancer is surgery followed by radiation therapy, with or without chemotherapy. Recently, some patients have also been treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery. Adding cemiplimab to chemotherapy before surgery may be more effective at stopping the cancer from growing or spreading, compared to chemotherapy alone.
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: I. To assess whether neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) with cemiplimab (REGN2810)/carboplatin/paclitaxel (Arm 1) results in improved event free survival (EFS) compared to carboplatin/paclitaxel (Arm 2) in participants with sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma (SNSCC). SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To compare objective response rate (ORR) between neoadjuvant cemiplimab (REGN2810)/carboplatin/paclitaxel (Arm 1) and neoadjuvant carboplatin/paclitaxel (Arm 2) and to historical standard of care (SOC) in participants with SNSCC. II. To compare overall survival (OS) between neoadjuvant cemiplimab (REGN2810)/carboplatin/paclitaxel (Arm 1) and carboplatin/paclitaxel (Arm 2) and to historical SOC in participants with SNSCC. III. To characterize toxicity with NAT in SNSCC. IV. To measure changes in T-cell clonality/diversity using ribonucleic acid (RNA) sequencing (RNAseq) and correlate with NAT response and EFS. V. To evaluate organ preservation (orbital and skull base) rate with NAT in SNSCC. CORRELATIVE OBJECTIVES: I. To correlate human papillomavirus (HPV) status with ORR and OS after NAT. II. To correlate combined positive score (CPS) for PD-L1 expression with OS and EFS. III. To measure the kinetics of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) pre- and post-NAT and correlate with ORR and OS after NAT. IV. To conduct DNA sequencing on pre-treatment tumor biopsies to determine whether features of the tumor genomic landscape are associated with response to NAT. OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms. ARM 1: NAT: Patients receive cemiplimab intravenously (IV) over 30 minutes on day 1 of each cycle, carboplatin IV over 30 minutes on day 1 of each cycle, and paclitaxel IV over 180 minutes on day 1 of each cycle. Cycles repeat every 21 days (3 weeks) for up to 2 cycles (6 weeks) in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. At the discretion of the investigator, patients may alternatively receive carboplatin IV over 30 minutes and paclitaxel IV over 60 minutes weekly during the 2, 3-week cycles. Up to 14 days after completion of NAT, patients are evaluated for response and proceed to definitive therapy. DEFINITIVE THERAPY: Patients with complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) receive concurrent SOC chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Patients with stable disease (SD) or progressive disease (PD) undergo surgery within 6 weeks of completion of NAT followed by SOC adjuvant therapy. ADJUVANT THERAPY: Within 4-6 weeks of surgery, patients undergo radiation therapy (RT) once daily, 5 days per week for a total of 30 fractions over 6 weeks and receive cisplatin or carboplatin weekly during RT. Patients also undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT), CT, and collection of blood samples throughout the trial. Patients may undergo biopsy pre-treatment and/or on study. ARM 2: NAT: Patients receive carboplatin IV over 30 minutes on day 1 of each cycle and paclitaxel IV over 180 minutes on day 1 of each cycle. Cycles repeat every 21 days (3 weeks) for up to 2 cycles (6 weeks) in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. At the discretion of the investigator, patients may alternatively receive carboplatin IV over 30 minutes and paclitaxel IV over 60 minutes weekly during the 2, 3-week cycles. Up to 14 days after completion of NAT, patients are evaluated for response and proceed to definitive therapy. DEFINITIVE THERAPY: Patients with CR or PR receive concurrent SOC CRT. Patients with SD or PD undergo surgery within 6 weeks of completion of NAT followed by SOC adjuvant therapy. ADJUVANT THERAPY: Within 4-6 weeks of surgery, patients undergo RT once daily, 5 days per week for a total of 30 fractions over 6 weeks and receive cisplatin or carboplatin weekly during RT. Patients also undergo MRI, PET/CT, CT, and collection of blood samples throughout the trial. Patients may undergo biopsy pre-treatment and/or on study. After completion of definitive therapy, patients are followed up at 3, 9, 15, 21, and 27 months and then every 12 months for an additional 3 years (5 years total follow up).
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
108
Undergo biopsy
Undergo collection of blood samples
Given IV
Given carboplatin
Given IV
Undergo SOC CRT
Given cisplatin
Undergo PET/CT and CT
Undergo MRI
Given IV
Undergo PET/CT
Undergo radiation therapy
Undergo surgery
Event free survival (EFS)
Progression will be assessed per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1. To evaluate EFS, survival functions will be computed using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared between groups using the stratified log-rank test. Adjustment for additional covariates will be performed using Cox proportional hazards regression analysis if numbers allow.
Time frame: From randomization to first occurrence of progression of disease or death, assessed up to 5 years
Overall response rate (ORR)
ORR will be defined as complete response + partial response (≥ 30% decrease in tumor volume) per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1 criteria. ORR will be estimated with a 95% confidence interval using the exact Clopper Pearson method. The ORR will be compared between with neoadjuvant cemiplimab (REGN2810)/carboplatin/paclitaxel (Arm 1) to carboplatin/paclitaxel (Arm 2) using the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test, stratified by the same factors used for the primary endpoint. ORR for the aggregate study cohort (Arm 1 + Arm 2) will be compared to historical standard of care using the same analysis plan.
Time frame: Up to 5 years
Incidence of adverse events (AEs) associated with neoadjuvant therapy (NAT)
Both acute toxicities and chronic toxicities will be graded by the treating investigator using the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 5.0. The frequency of participants experiencing a specific AE will be tabulated by dose level, cycle, seriousness, worst severity, timing of occurrence, outcome, and relationship to study drug. In addition, the number and percentage of participants experiencing a specific toxicity will be tabulated similarly. Accrual will be halted if excessive numbers of unacceptable toxicities are observed. This is defined as \> 30% grade 4 treatment-related AEs, which are directly attributable to NAT.
Time frame: Up to 5 years
Changes in T-cell clonality/diversity
The changes in T-cell clonality/diversity will be assessed using ribonucleic acid sequencing (RNAseq) and correlated with NAT response and EFS. RNAseq data will undergo quality control, alignment to the human reference genome, and transcript quantification using standard bioinformatics pipelines. T-cell receptor sequences will be reconstructed using tools such as MiXCR or TRUST4. Measures of T-cell clonality and diversity (e.g., Shannon entropy, clonality index) will be calculated. Changes in T-cell clonality/diversity pre- and post-treatment will be assessed using paired t-tests or Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Associations with NAT response and EFS will be analyzed using logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards models, adjusting for relevant covariates. Multiple testing correction using the Benjamini-Hochberg method will be applied where appropriate.
Time frame: Up to 5 years
Organ preservation rates
Organ preservation in the post-treatment setting is defined as physical and functional preservation of the organ. For example, orbital preservation would imply maintenance of the entirety of the orbit and preservation of vision and motion. Orbital preservation rates will be summarized using descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, median, and range. At the time of enrollment the treating team, with the guidance of the surgical team, will indicate what major anatomic locations would have to be resected if the patient elected initial primary surgical therapy (palate, orbit, and/or skull base). This prospective information will allow concrete subsequent secondary analyses of organ preservation rates without the bias of outcome or recall.
Time frame: Up to 5 years
Overall survival (OS)
The Kaplan-Meier method will be used to estimate OS and 95% confidence intervals will be reported. OS for the aggregate study cohort (Arm 1 + Arm 2) will be compared to historical standard of care using the same analysis plan.
Time frame: From the start of NAT to death, assessed up to 5 years
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