Talimogene laherparepvec before Surgery for the Treatment of High-Risk and Treatment-Naive Recurrent Melanoma
The phase II trial investigates a viral therapy called talimogene laherparepvec to see how well it works as a first step to shrink a tumor before the main treatment (surgical removal of the tumor) in patients with melanoma that has come back after a period of treatment (recurrent). Talimogene laherparepvec is a modified herpes virus designed to enhance the immune system to destroy melanoma cells. The information learned from this study may help researchers to improve currently poor outcomes associated with early intervention for melanoma care.
Inclusion Criteria
- Ability to understand and willingness to sign an informed consent form
- Ability to adhere to the study visit schedule and other protocol requirements
- Men and women >= 18 years of age
- Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status score of 0-1
- Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) of 60% or greater
- Life expectancy >= 3 months
- Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) >= 1.5 x 10^9/L
- Platelet count >= 75 x 10^9/L
- Hemoglobin >= 8 g/dL (may have been transfused)
- Total bilirubin level =< 1.5 x the upper limit of normal (ULN) range
- Aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transferase (ALT) levels =< 2.5 x ULN or AST and ALT levels =< 5 x ULN (for subjects with documented metastatic disease to the liver)
- International normalized ratio (INR) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) =< 1.5 x ULN (for patients on anticoagulation they must be receiving a stable dose for at least 1 week prior to first treatment)
- Creatinine clearance > 30 mL/min by Cockcroft-Gault formula
- Subjects with active hepatitis B virus (hep B) and with untreated hepatitis C virus (HCV) are allowed
- Willingness to undergo mandatory pre-treatment biopsy (unless there is adequate archival tumor specimen available) and mandatory on-treatment biopsy
- Female subjects who are of non-reproductive potential (i.e., post-menopausal by history - no menses for >= 1 year; OR history of hysterectomy; OR history of bilateral tubal ligation; OR history of bilateral oophorectomy). Or, female subjects of childbearing potential must have a negative serum or urine pregnancy test within 72 hours prior to the first study drug administration
- Male and female subjects who agree to use highly effective method of birth control (e.g., implants, injectables, birth control pills with two hormones, intrauterine devices [IUDs], complete abstinence or sterilized partner, and female sterilization) and a barrier method (e.g., condoms, vaginal ring, sponge, etc.) during the period of therapy and for 90 days after the last dose of study drug
- Biopsy-proven resectable primary cutaneous melanoma > 2.0 mm in depth with residual tumor or local, in-transit, or dermal oligometastatic resectable recurrence in a treatment-naive patient not otherwise eligible for systemic therapy
- Residual pigmented cutaneous lesion accessible to intralesional injection
Exclusion Criteria
- Pregnant or lactating women
- Any psychiatric condition that would prohibit the understanding or rendering of informed consent
- Any significant medical condition including additional malignancies, laboratory abnormalities, or psychiatric illness that would prevent the subject from participating and adhering to study related procedures
- Uncontrolled concomitant disease that in the opinion of the investigator would interfere with the patient’s safety or compliance on trial
- Severe infection that in the opinion of the investigator would interfere with patient safety or compliance on trial within 4 weeks prior to enrollment
- Melanoma >= 2.0 mm in depth without residual disease following biopsy
- Previous exposure to talimogene laherparepvec or systemic therapies
- Concurrent cancer or treatment for a concurrent cancer, except treated non-melanoma skin cancer
- Regional or systemic metastases
- History of evidence of symptomatic autoimmune disease requires systemic treatment (i.e., with use of disease modifying agents, corticosteroids or immunosuppressive drugs). Replacement therapy (e.g., thyroxine, insulin, or physiologic corticosteroid replacement therapy for adrenal or pituitary insufficiency, etc.) is not considered a form of systemic treatment
- Immunosuppressed state, including the following: * Primary immunodeficiency state such as severe combined immunodeficiency disease, concurrent opportunistic infection, receiving systemic immunosuppressive therapy (> 2 weeks) including oral steroid doses > 10 mg/day of prednisone or equivalent within 7 days prior to enrollment * Prior immunosuppressive, chemotherapy, radiotherapy (in which the field encompassed a planned injection site), biological cancer therapy, or major surgery within 28 days prior to enrollment or has not recovered to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) grade 1 or better from adverse event due to cancer therapy administered more than 28 days prior to enrollment * Active human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
- Active herpetic skin lesions or prior complication of herpes simplex virus-1 infection (e.g., herpetic keratitis or encephalitis)
- Current enrollment in another clinical trial
- Patients who are known to be sensitive to any of the products or components of T-VEC
- Requires intermittent or chronic systemic (intravenous or oral) treatment with an antiherpetic drug (e.g., acyclovir), other than intermittent topical use
- Previous treatment with talimogene laherparepvec or any other oncolytic virus
- Prior therapy with tumor vaccine or received live vaccine within 28 days prior to enrollment
- Adjuvant hormonal therapy is allowed if appropriate for planned study
- Prior radiotherapy in which the field does not overlap the injection sites or non-immunosuppressive targeted therapy within 14 days prior to enrollment or has not recovered to CTCAE grade 1 or better from adverse event due to cancer therapy administered more than 14 days prior to enrollment
- History of other malignancy within the past 5 years with the following exceptions: * Adequately treated non melanoma skin cancer without evidence of disease at the time of enrollment * Adequately treated cervical carcinoma in situ without evidence of disease at the time of enrollment * Adequately treated breast ductal carcinoma in situ without evidence of disease at the time of enrollment * Prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia without evidence of prostate cancer at the time of enrollment
- Subjects who are unwilling to minimize exposure with his/her blood or other body fluids to individuals who are at higher risks for herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) induced complications such as immunosuppressed individuals, individuals known to have HIV infection, pregnant women, or infants under the age of 3 months, during talimogene laherparepvec treatment and through 30 days after the last dose of treatment
Study sponsor and potential other locations can be found on ClinicalTrials.gov for NCT04427306.
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:
I. Evaluate pathologic response of melanoma following intralesional talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC) in the neoadjuvant setting prior to resection of a primary cutaneous melanoma and sentinel lymph node biopsy or in treatment naive local, in-transit, or dermal oligometastatic recurrence.
SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:
I. Determine the changes in the immune infiltrate in the primary tumor and in the draining sentinel lymph node.
II. Correlate immune phenotype with response rate, disease stage, sentinel node positivity.
III. Evaluate overall and recurrence-free survival.
CORRELATIVE AND EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES:
I. Correlate molecular and inflammatory signature of primary tumors with response rate as well as changes in mutational burden in partial or non-responding tumors.
II. Determine changes in serum biomarkers associated with actionable targets as well as inflammatory signaling to evaluate feasibility and accuracy of serum protein analysis.
III. Determine changes in sentinel lymph node disease burden and subsequent rates of locoregional disease control, recurrence-free survival, melanoma specific survival and overall survival.
IV. Correlate molecular signature, immune phenotype and pattern of response in injected lesions to recurrence rate.
OUTLINE:
Patients receive T-VEC intratumorally (IT) over 30 minutes on days 1, 21, 35, and 49. Patients then undergo surgical resection of the tumor on day 56.
After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up at day 28 or 30, then every 3-6 months up to 24 months. If the patient discontinues treatment without disease progression, they are followed for 100 days.
Trial PhasePhase II
Trial Typetreatment
Lead OrganizationUniversity of California Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center
Principal InvestigatorSepideh Gholami
- Primary IDCCSO034
- Secondary IDsNCI-2020-04098
- ClinicalTrials.gov IDNCT04427306