Nivolumab Alone or in Combination with Ipilimumab before Surgery for the Treatment of Surgically Accessible Relapsed IDH-Wildtype Glioblastoma
This phase Ib trial identifies the side effects and evaluates the effect of nivolumab alone or in combination with ipilimumab before surgery in treating patients with IDH-wildtype glioblastoma that has come back (relapsed) and can be removed by surgery. Nivolumab and ipilimumab are antibodies (types of human protein) that work to stop tumor cells from growing and multiplying by immunotherapy. Immunotherapy uses the body’s own immune system to work against tumor cells. Giving nivolumab with or without ipilimumab before surgery may make the tumor smaller. Giving nivolumab alone or in combination with ipilimumab after surgery may kill any remaining tumor cells.
Inclusion Criteria
- Have histologically confirmed World Health Organization grade IV IDH wildtype glioblastoma or variants including gliosarcoma or IDH wildtype glioma with molecularly features of glioblastoma
- Previous first line therapy with at least radiotherapy
- Patients must be undergoing surgery that is clinically indicated as determined by their care providers
- Be at first or second relapse. Note: Relapse is defined as progression following initial therapy (i.e., radiation +/- chemotherapy)
- Participants must have shown unequivocal evidence for tumor progression by MRI per RANO criteria
- Participants must have confirmation of availability of sufficient tissue from prior surgery revealing glioblastoma or variants for submission following registration. The following amount of tissue is required: * 1 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor tissue block (preferred) OR * 10 FFPE unstained slides (5 um thick)
- An interval of at least 12 weeks from the completion of radiation therapy to registration unless there is unequivocal histologic confirmation of tumor progression
- Participants must have recovered to grade 0 or 1 or pre-treatment baseline from clinically significant toxic effects of prior therapy (including but not limited to exceptions of alopecia, laboratory values listed per inclusion criteria, and lymphopenia which is common after therapy with temozolomide)
- An interval of at least 4 weeks (to registration) between prior surgical resection or one week for stereotactic biopsy
- From registration, the following time periods must have elapsed: 5 half-lives from any investigational agent, 4 weeks from cytotoxic therapy (except 23 days for temozolomide and 6 weeks from nitrosoureas), 4 weeks from antibodies, or 4 weeks (or 5 half-lives, whichever is shorter) from other anti-tumor therapies (including vaccines). No wash-out period required from tumor treating fields (TTF)
- Be willing and able to provide written informed consent/assent for the trial
- Be >= 18 years of age on day of signing informed consent
- Have a Karnofsky performance status (KPS) >= 70
- MRI within 14 days prior of registration
- Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) >= 1,500 /mcL (performed within 14 days of registration)
- Platelets >= 100,000 / mcL (performed within 14 days of registration)
- Hemoglobin >= 9 g/dL or >= 5.6 mmol/L without transfusion or erythropoietin (EPO) dependency (within 7 days of assessment) (performed within 14 days of registration)
- Serum creatinine =< 1.5 X institutional upper limit of normal (ULN) OR measured or calculated a creatinine clearance >= 60 mL/min for subject with creatinine levels > 1.5 X institutional ULN (glomerular filtration rate [GFR] can be used in place of creatinine or creatinine clearance [CrCl]) (performed within 14 days of registration) * Creatinine clearance should be calculated per institutional standard.
- Serum total bilirubin =< 1.5 X institutional ULN OR direct bilirubin =< institutional ULN for subjects with total bilirubin levels > 1.5 institutional ULN (performed within 14 days of registration)
- Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase [SGOT]) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase [SGPT]) =< 2.5 X institutional ULN OR =< 5 X institutional ULN for subjects with Gilberts syndrome (performed within 14 days of registration)
- Albumin >= 2.5 mg/dL (performed within 14 days of registration)
- International normalized ratio (INR) or prothrombin time (PT) =< 1.5 X institutional ULN unless subject is receiving anticoagulant therapy as long as prothrombin time (PT) or partial thromboplastin time (PTT) is within therapeutic range of intended use of anticoagulants (performed within 14 days of registration)
- Activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) =< 1.5 X institutional ULN unless subject is receiving anticoagulant therapy as long as PT or PTT is within therapeutic range of intended use of anticoagulants (performed within 14 days of registration)
- Female subject of childbearing potential should have a negative urine or serum pregnancy within 72 hours prior to registration. If the urine test is positive or cannot be confirmed as negative, a serum pregnancy test will be required. Women are considered post-menopausal and not of child bearing potential if they have had 12 months of natural (spontaneous) amenorrhea with an appropriate clinical profile (e.g., age appropriate, history of vasomotor symptoms) or six months of spontaneous amenorrhea with serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels > 40 mIU/mL and estradiol < 20 pg/mL or have had surgical bilateral oophorectomy (with or without hysterectomy) at least six weeks ago. In the case of oophorectomy alone, only when the reproductive status of the woman has been confirmed by follow up hormone level assessment is she considered not of child bearing potential
- Women of child-bearing potential (WOCBP), defined as all women physiologically capable of becoming pregnant, must use highly effective contraception during study treatment and for 5 months after study discontinuation. Highly effective contraception is defined as either: * True Abstinence: When this is in line with the preferred and usual lifestyle of the subject. Periodic abstinence (e.g., calendar, ovulation, symptothermal, post-ovulation methods) and withdrawal are not acceptable methods of contraception. * Sterilization: Surgical bilateral oophorectomy (with or without hysterectomy) or tubal ligation at least six weeks ago. In case of oophorectomy alone, only when the reproductive status of the woman has been confirmed by follow up hormone level assessment (as described in item 12 above) * Male Partner Sterilization (with the appropriate post-vasectomy documentation of the absence of sperm in the ejaculate). For female subjects on the study, the vasectomized male partner should be the sole partner for that participant. * Use of a combination of any two of the following: ** Placement of an intrauterine device (IUD) or intrauterine system (IUS) ** Barrier methods of contraception: Condom or Occlusive cap (diaphragm or cervical/vault caps) with spermicidal foam/gel/film/cream/vaginal suppository ** Appropriate hormonal contraceptives (including any registered and marketed contraceptive agent that contains an estrogen and/or a progesterone agent – including oral, subcutaneous, intrauterine, or intramuscular agents)
- Male subjects should agree to use adequate method of contraception starting with the first dose of study therapy through 7 months after the last dose of therapy
Exclusion Criteria
- IDH mutation by immunohistochemistry
- Current or planned participation in a study of an investigational agent or using an investigational device
- Has a diagnosis of immunodeficiency
- Has tumor primarily localized to the brainstem or spinal cord
- Has presence of diffuse leptomeningeal disease or extracranial disease
- Has received systemic immunosuppressive treatments, aside from systemic corticosteroids (such as methotrexate, chloroquine, azathioprine, etc.) within six months of registration
- Has received bevacizumab or aflibercept, vandetanib. VEGFR inhibitors are allowed
- Requires treatment with high dose systemic corticosteroids defined as dexamethasone > 2 mg/day or bioequivalent at the time of registration
- Has received prior interstitial brachytherapy, implanted chemotherapy, stereotactic radiosurgery or therapeutics delivered by local injection or convection enhanced delivery
- Has history of known coagulopathy that increases risk of bleeding or a history of clinically significant hemorrhage within 12 months of registration
- Has a known history of active TB (Bacillus tuberculosis).
- Has gastrointestinal bleeding or any other hemorrhage/bleeding event Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) grade > 3 within 6 months of registration
- Has a known additional malignancy that is progressing or requires active treatment. Those patients whose natural history or treatment does not have the potential to interfere with the safety or efficacy assessment of the investigational regimen will be eligible including, but not limited to, basal cell carcinoma of the skin, squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, localized prostate cancer not requiring treatment, or in situ cervical cancer that has undergone potentially curative therapy
- Has active autoimmune disease that has required systemic treatment in the past 2 years (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
- Has known history of, or any evidence of active non-infectious pneumonitis
- Has an active infection requiring systemic therapy
- Has a history or current evidence of any condition, therapy, or laboratory abnormality that might confound the results of the trial, interfere with the subject’s participation for the full duration of the trial, or is not in the best interest of the subject to participate, in the opinion of the treating investigator. Examples include but are not limited to symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements
- Has known psychiatric or substance abuse disorders that would interfere with cooperation with the requirements of the trial
- Is pregnant, breastfeeding, or expecting to conceive within the projected duration of the trial, starting with the screening visit through 5 months after the last dose of trial treatment. It is unknown whether nivolumab and/or ipilimumab is excreted in human milk or may have adverse effects on a fetus in utero. Since many drugs are excreted in human milk, and because of the potential for serious adverse reactions in the nursing infant or fetus, these subjects are not eligible for enrollment
- Has received prior therapy with an anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, anti-PD-L2, anti-CD137, or anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) antibody (including ipilimumab or any other antibody or drug specifically targeting T-cell co-stimulation or checkpoint pathways)
- Has a known history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (HIV 1/2 antibodies)
- Has known active hepatitis B (e.g., hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg] reactive) or hepatitis C (e.g., hepatitis C virus [HCV] ribonucleic acid [RNA] [qualitative] is detected)
- Has received a live vaccine within 30 days prior to registration
- Has a known hypersensitivity to any of the study therapy products
Study sponsor and potential other locations can be found on ClinicalTrials.gov for NCT04606316.
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:
I. To test the hypothesis that administration of neoadjuvant immune checkpoint therapy with nivolumab, or the combination of nivolumab plus ipilimumab will induce statistically significant increases in tumor infiltrating T lymphocyte (TIL) density in glioblastoma patients compared to an untreated concurrent control versus the null hypothesis of no difference between the treatment and control groups.
II. To evaluate safety of study drug therapy in this patient population.
SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:
I. To evaluate the influence of the neoadjuvant administration on the cell cycle-related genetic signature within the tumor microenvironment of recurrent glioblastoma.
II. To estimate therapeutic benefit of nivolumab and ipilimumab or nivolumab alone in recurrent glioblastoma patient population as measured by percent 6-month progression-free survival (PFS6) and by overall survival (OS).
EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES:
I. To evaluate the associations between exploratory biomarkers and clinical outcomes and adverse events.
Ia. Estimating the correlation of quantitative assessments of TIL density or the interferon (IFN)-gamma associated genetic signature with clinical responses.
Ib. Estimating correlation of quantitative assessments of TIL density or clonality with clinical responses to neoadjuvant immune checkpoint therapy in glioblastoma patients.
Ic. Estimating efficacy of neoadjuvant immune checkpoint therapy by PFS, second PFS and OS-12 as defined by Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (RANO) and immunotherapy (i)RANO.
Id. Exploring effect of neoadjuvant immune checkpoint therapy on TIL proliferation (CD8+KI-67+ staining).
Ie. Estimating difference in PD-1 and PDL-1 immunohistochemistry (IHC) expression between patients receiving neoadjuvant immune checkpoint therapy and those who do not as well as between archived and study samples.
If. Exploring whether oligoclonal T cell populations within tumor tissue are similarly expanded in peripheral blood after neoadjuvant immune checkpoint therapy, the magnitude of which correlates with clinical responses.
Ig. Exploring if changes in specific magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters correlate with tumor and peripheral blood immune responses.
Ih. Estimating and comparing PFS6 between randomized arms.
Ii. Assessing the potential change in Zr-Crefmirlimab berdoxam uptake in tumor tissue between baseline and after neoadjuvant immune checkpoint blockade and correlation with CD8 infiltrate in tumor tissue.
Ij. Explore the correlation of visual and semi-quantitative Zr-Crefmirlimab berdoxam positron emission tomography (PET) measurements with clinical outcome.
OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 3 groups.
GROUP A:
NEOADJUVANT: Within 14 days before scheduled surgery, patients receive nivolumab intravenously (IV) over 30 minutes and ipilimumab IV over 90 minutes.
SURGERY: Patients undergo surgery.
POST-OPERATIVE THERAPY: Beginning 14 days after surgery, patients receive nivolumab over 30 minutes and ipilimumab over 90 minutes on day 1. Treatment repeats every 3 weeks for 3 cycles in the absence of disease progression and unacceptable toxicity. Beginning cycle 4, patients receive nivolumab IV over 30 minutes every 4 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
GROUP B:
NEOADJUVANT: Within 14 days before scheduled surgery, patients receive nivolumab IV over 30 minutes and ipilimumab-placebo IV over 90 minutes.
SURGERY: Patients undergo surgery.
POST-OPERATIVE THERAPY: Beginning 14 days after surgery, patients receive nivolumab over 30 minutes and ipilimumab over 90 minutes on day 1. Treatment repeats every 3 weeks for 3 cycles in the absence of disease progression and unacceptable toxicity. Beginning cycle 4, patients receive nivolumab IV over 30 minutes every 4 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
GROUP C:
NEOADJUVANT: Within 14 days before scheduled surgery, patients receive nivolumab-placebo IV over 30 minutes and ipilimumab-placebo IV over 90 minutes.
SURGERY: Patients undergo surgery.
POST-OPERATIVE THERAPY: Beginning 14 days after surgery, patients receive nivolumab over 30 minutes and ipilimumab over 90 minutes on day 1. Treatment repeats every 3 weeks for 3 cycles in the absence of disease progression and unacceptable toxicity. Beginning cycle 4, patients receive nivolumab IV over 30 minutes every 4 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
All patients undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and blood sample collection throughout the study, receive Zr-89 Crefmirlimab berdoxam IV and undergo PET and tissue sample collection during screening and on study.
After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up for 30 and 100 days.
Trial PhasePhase I
Trial Typetreatment
Lead OrganizationDana-Farber Harvard Cancer Center
Principal InvestigatorPatrick Yung Chih Wen
- Primary ID20-494
- Secondary IDsNCI-2021-01686
- ClinicalTrials.gov IDNCT04606316