Vaccine Therapy in Treating Patients With Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma Multiforme (ACTIVATe)

December 2, 2016 updated by: John Sampson

A Complementary Trial of an Immunotherapy Vaccine Against Tumor-Specific EGFRvIII

RATIONALE: Vaccines made from a peptide may help the body build an effective immune response to kill tumor cells. Colony-stimulating factors, such as GM-CSF, increase the number of white blood cells and platelets found in bone marrow or peripheral blood. Giving vaccine therapy after surgery may kill any tumor cells that remain after surgery.

PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well vaccine therapy works in treating patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

OBJECTIVES:

Primary

  • To assess humoral and cellular immune responses to adjuvant PEP-3-KLH conjugate vaccine in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).
  • To assess the clinical efficacy of the PEP-3-KLH conjugate vaccine, in terms of progression-free survival, in patients with newly diagnosed GBM.

Secondary

  • To determine whether patients with GBM, who are known to be at least mildly immunosuppressed, can respond to standard and proven vaccine strategies.
  • To assess for any potential toxicity to the PEP-3-KLH conjugate vaccine in patients with newly diagnosed GBM.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to participating center.

At the time the study was initiated, standard of care temozolomide was not established, therefore, Arm I (ACTIVATE)was given without monthly cycles of temozolomide. At the point of interim analysis, monthly cycles of temozolomide had become standard of care. Arm II was then given the standard of care 5-day cycles of monthly temozolomide and during this time, dose-intensified temozolomide was in trials to compare with the 5-day temozolomide. Therefore, Arm III was initiated to determine the immunologic effects of 21-day monthly cycles of temozolomide with vaccine.

  • Arm I (ACTIVATE): Patients receive PEP-3-KLH conjugate vaccine and sargramostim (GM-CSF) intradermally on days 1, 15, and 29 and then monthly in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
  • Arm II (ACT II Standard (STD)): Patients first receive 3 initial vaccinations of an epidermal growth factor receptor variant III (EGRRvIII)- specific peptide (PEP-3) keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) conjugate vaccine and sargramostim (GM-CSF) biweekly starting within 6 weeks of completing radiation. Additional vaccinations are given until clinical or radiographic evidence of progression or death. Patients subsequently receive temozolomide at a targeted dose of 200 mg/m2 for the first 5 days of a 28 day cycle.

  • Arm III (ACT II Dose-intensified (DI)): Patients first receive 3 initial vaccinations of an epidermal growth factor receptor variant III (EGRRvIII)- specific peptide (PEP-3) keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) conjugate vaccine and sargramostim (GM-CSF) biweekly starting within 6 weeks of completing radiation. Additional vaccinations are given until clinical or radiographic evidence of progression or death. Patients subsequently receive temozolomide at a targeted dose of 100 mg/m2 for the first 21 days of a 28 day cycle.

    • Patients undergo delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) skin testing* at baseline, after the third vaccination, and then monthly thereafter. Patients also undergo leukapheresis to obtain sufficient peripheral blood lymphocytes for immunologic monitoring at baseline, after the third vaccination, and then, if applicable, at the time of positive DTH response, disease progression, or after the sixth course of post-radiotherapy temozolomide. Methods used for immunologic monitoring include Enzyme-linked Immunospot(ELISPOT) assays, cytotoxicity assays, fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS), and ELISA.

NOTE: *Patients with positive DTH skin testing, also undergo skin punch biopsies.

After completion of study therapy, patients are followed periodically.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
40

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • North Carolina
      • Durham, North Carolina, United States, 27710
        • Duke University Medical Center
    • Texas
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030-4009
        • M. D. Anderson Cancer Center at University of Texas

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Histologically confirmed newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme

  • Has undergone prior gross total resection (GTR) followed by conformal radiotherapy* with or without concurrent chemotherapy

    • GTR is defined as ≥ 95% volumetric resection of the contrast-enhancing component on the preoperative MRI
    • Residual radiographic contrast enhancement on post-resection CT scan or MRI must be ≤ 1 cm in maximal diameter in any two perpendicular axial planes
    • No evidence of disease progression after completion of radiotherapy* NOTE: *Patients may enroll in part 2 of the study within 2 weeks after surgery; these patients will receive radiotherapy with concurrent chemotherapy during the study
  • EGFRvIII-positive tumor by immunohistochemistry, polymerase chain reaction, or related molecular techniques
  • Karnofsky performance status 80-100%
  • Curran group status I-IV
  • Signed informed consent form

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) < 1,000/mm³
  • Platelet count < 50,000/mm³
  • Prothrombin Time/Partial Thromboplastin Time (PT/PTT) > 1.5 times normal
  • Positive hepatitis B (HB) surface antigen (HbsAg), antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs), and antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc)
  • Pregnant or nursing
  • Positive pregnancy test
  • Active infection requiring treatment
  • Unexplained febrile illness (T max > 101.5 F)
  • Inflammatory bowel disease, lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, or other autoimmune disease
  • Known immunosuppressive disease
  • Known HIV infection
  • Diffuse leptomeningeal disease
  • Unstable or severe concurrent medical condition, such as severe heart and lung disease or active hepatitis
  • Demonstrated allergy to temozolomide or inability to tolerate temozolomide for reasons other than lymphopenia
  • Concurrent corticosteroids (except for nasal or inhaled steroids) at a dose above physiologic levels (> 2 mg of dexamethasone/day).

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Arm I (ACTIVATE)
Patients first receive 3 initial vaccinations of an epidermal growth factor receptor variant III (EGRRvIII)-specific peptide (PEP-3) keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) conjugate vaccine and sargramostim (GM-CSF), referred to as PEP-3 vaccine, every 2 weeks starting 4 weeks after the completion of radiation. Subsequent vaccinations were given once a month until clinical or radiographic evidence of progression or death.
Biological: sargramostim
Given intradermally
Biological: PEP-3 vaccine
Given intradermally
Drug: Temozolomide
Standard of care chemotherapy
Other Names:
  • Temodar
  • TMZ
Experimental: Arm II (ACT II STD)
Patients first receive 3 initial vaccinations of an epidermal growth factor receptor variant III (EGRRvIII)- specific peptide (PEP-3) keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) conjugate vaccine and sargramostim (GM-CSF), referred to as PEP-3 vaccine, biweekly starting within 6 weeks of completing radiation. Additional vaccinations were given until clinical or radiographic evidence of progression or death. Patients subsequently receive temozolomide at a targeted dose of 200 mg/m2 for the first 5 days of a 28 day cycle.
Biological: sargramostim
Given intradermally
Biological: PEP-3 vaccine
Given intradermally
Drug: Temozolomide
Standard of care chemotherapy
Other Names:
  • Temodar
  • TMZ
Experimental: Arm III (ACT II DI)
Patients first receive 3 initial vaccinations of an epidermal growth factor receptor variant III (EGRRvIII)- specific peptide (PEP-3) keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) conjugate vaccine and sargramostim (GM-CSF), referred to as PEP-3 vaccine, biweekly starting within 6 weeks of completing radiation. Additional vaccinations were given until clinical or radiographic evidence of progression or death. Patients subsequently receive temozolomide at a targeted dose of 100 mg/m2 for the first 21 days of a 28 day cycle.
Biological: sargramostim
Given intradermally
Biological: PEP-3 vaccine
Given intradermally
Drug: Temozolomide
Standard of care chemotherapy
Other Names:
  • Temodar
  • TMZ

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Humoral and Cellular Immune Response
Time Frame: 26 months
Number of patients that developed a delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) response at following vaccination. Any skin reaction in response to the intradermal injection of the antigen was measured and recorded. A positive skin test was defined as > 5 mm induration (swelling).
26 months
Clinical Efficacy of Vaccination, in Terms of Progression-free Survival (PFS)
Time Frame: 58 months

Time in months from the start of study treatment to the date of first progression according to Macdonald criteria, or to death due to any cause. Patients alive who had not progressed as of the last follow-up had PFS censored at the last follow-up date. Median PFS was estimated using a Kaplan-Meier curve.

Macdonald criteria are standard criteria in neuro-oncology. Tumor assessment was made according to the adapted MacDonald criteria based on the combined evaluation of: 1) assessment of the MRI scan for measurable, evaluable, and new lesions (made by the independent external expert too), 2) overall assessment of neurological performance (made by the investigator), 3) concomitant steroid use (as reported by the investigator).
58 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Response to Vaccination
Time Frame: 26 months
The objective is to assess the duration of immunosuppressive cytokine secretion and to identify a receptive interval for active immunotherapy. Immunosuppression will determined by monitoring a panel of immunosuppressive serum/plasma cytokines longitudinally and by determining the response of each patient to Recombivax Hepatitis B (HB) vaccination. Response is defined as seropositive or seronegative to the Hepatitis B surface antigen.
26 months
Toxicity to PEP-3 Vaccine Immunization
Time Frame: 26 months
To assess for any potential toxicity to the PEP-3 vaccine immunization in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma, Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 3.0 was used to tabulate any toxicities attributable to PEP-3. The number of patients with toxicity attributable to vaccine while on study are tabulated.
26 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
John Sampson

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Gordana Vlahovic, MD, Duke University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 1, 2007

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
January 1, 2012

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
November 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 25, 2008

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 25, 2008

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 26, 2008

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
February 1, 2017

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 2, 2016

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
December 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • Pro00004040
  • P50NS020023 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • CDR0000589632 (Other Identifier: National Cancer Institute)
  • DUMC-5421 (Registry Identifier: DUMC IRB)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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