ERBITUX® Followed by Adjuvant Treatment With Chemoradiation and ERBITUX® for Locally Advanced Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

August 14, 2018 updated by: Robert Ferris

Phase II Study of Neoadjuvant Immune Biomarker Modulation With Cetuximab Followed by Adjuvant Therapy With Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy or Radiotherapy With or Without Cetuximab for Locally Advanced Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

There are currently no useful tests to identify patients who will respond to cetuximab therapy, notably because EGFR levels do not correlate with the clinical responses observed. Thus, the investigators are investigating the role of cellular immunity and immune escape mechanisms to explain the differential clinical response to cetuximab.

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

This prospective phase II clinical trial of preoperative, single-agent cetuximab treated patients is being conducted in order to obtain specimens before and after 4 weeks of cetuximab for immune biomarker studies. Stage III/IV HNC patients will be treated with definitive surgical resection and observed for disease recurrence. Cetuximab will be administered for a 3-4 week preoperative period to study biomarker modulation in correlation clinical response by CT scan and tumor apoptosis/proliferation after tumor excision, immediately after neoadjuvant cetuximab but before surgery. We will biopsy the skin/acneiform rash in all patients to correlate rash with biomarker modulation and clinical response. Cetuximab may also be given in the adjuvant setting. A primary scientific hypothesis will be tested: does short term pre-operative exposure to cetuximab modulate blood immune biomarkers and is immune modulation associated with anti-tumor effect? Forty (n=40) patients with complete specimens (tumor, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and serum) are necessary to enable adequate statistical power to be reached using paired specimens. A secondary set of hypotheses will evaluate the association between pre-operative biomarker levels and modulation with disease recurrence. The proposed trial will accrue stage II, III or IV surgical candidates without distant metastasis.

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
    • Pennsylvania
      • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15232
        • UPCI - Hillman Cancer Center

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 or cytologically confirmed, previously untreated HNC. Clinical stage III or IVA disease without distant metastases as determined by CT, and as defined by the American Joint Committee on Cancer Staging System, Sixth edition (See Appendix I).
  • Primary tumors of the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, or larynx will be included. Primary tumors of the sinuses, paranasal sinuses, or nasopharynx, or unknown primary tumors are NOT allowed.
  • Macroscopic complete resection of the primary tumor must be planned.
  • Age greater than or equal to 18 years.
  • ECOG performance status 0-1.

  • Adequate hematologic, renal and hepatic function, as defined by:

    • Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) greater than or equal to 1,500/ul, platelets greater than or equal to 100,000/ul.
    • Creatinine clearance > 40
    • Bilirubin less than or equal to 1.5 x ULN, AST or ALT less than or equal to 2.5 x ULN.
  • Have signed written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Subjects who fail to meet the above criteria.
  • Prior severe infusion reaction to a monoclonal antibody.
  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding. Women of childbearing potential (WOCBP) must practice acceptable methods of birth control to prevent pregnancy. Prior to study enrollment, WOCBP must be advised of the importance of avoiding pregnancy during trial participation and the potential risk factors for an unintentional pregnancy. In addition, men enrolled on this study should understand the risks to any sexual partner of childbearing potential and should practice an effective method of birth control.
  • All WOCBP MUST have a negative pregnancy test within 7 days prior to first receiving investigational product. If the pregnancy test is positive, the patient must not receive investigational product and must not be enrolled in the study. In addition, all WOCBP should be instructed to contact the Investigator immediately if they suspect they might be pregnant (e.g., missed or late menstrual period) at any time during study participation. The Investigator must immediately notify BMS in the event of a confirmed pregnancy in a patient participating in the study.
  • Subjects with an ECOG performance status of 2 or worse.
  • Evidence of distant metastasis.
  • Any other malignancy active within 5 years except for non-melanoma skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix, DCIS or LCIS of the breast.
  • Prior history of HNC.
  • Prior therapy targeting the EGFR pathway.
  • Any unresolved chronic toxicity greater than or equal to grade 2 from previous anticancer therapy (except alopecia), according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v4.0 (CTCAE).
  • Acute hepatitis, known HIV, or active uncontrolled infection.
  • History of uncontrolled cardiac disease; i.e., uncontrolled hypertension, unstable angina, myocardial infarction within prior 6 months, untreated known coronary artery disease, uncontrolled congestive heart failure, and cardiomyopathy with decreased ejection fraction.
  • Uncontrolled peptic or gastric ulcer disease, or gastrointestinal bleeding within prior 6 months.
  • Active alcohol abuse or other illness that carries a likelihood of inability to comply with study treatment and follow-up.
  • Treatment with a non-approved or investigational drug within 30 days prior to Day 1 of study treatment.

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: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group 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: Neo-Adjuvant Cetuximab

Neo-Adjuvant Cetuximab + Surgery + Post-Surgical Radiation + Cisplatin (or Carboplatin)

NOTE: Based the results of surgery if the treating physician feels patient is not a candidate for chemotherapy, radiation can be given alone or with cetuximab.
Drug: Cetuximab
Pre-Surgery: IV, 400 mg/m2 day 1 then 250 mg/m2 alone days 8 and 15; Post-surgery: IV, 250 mg/m2 weekly concurrent with RT
Other Names:
  • ERBITUX®
Procedure: Surgery
Surgery for tumor
Radiation: Post-surgical radiation
Radiation (2 Gy/d) to min of 60 Gy + max of 66 Gy post-surgery
Drug: Cisplatin or carboplatin
Cisplatin 30 mg/m2 or carboplatin AUC 1.5-2/week weekly, Concurrent with radiotherapy

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
NK Cell Activation
Time Frame: Prior to each weekly cetuximab treatment (up to 4 weeks); at the time of surgery (at 3-4 weeks after first cetuximab treatments)
Cetuximab-mediated NK cell activation (percentage of activity) measures at pre-/post-cetuximab exposure for patients in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) and in those patients that did and did not respond to treatment.
Prior to each weekly cetuximab treatment (up to 4 weeks); at the time of surgery (at 3-4 weeks after first cetuximab treatments)
Serum Cytokines Levels
Time Frame: Prior to each weekly cetuximab treatment (up to 4 weeks); at the time of surgery (at 3-4 weeks after first cetuximab treatments)
Serum cytokines levels measured at pre-/post-cetuximab, exposure measured in picogram per milliliter of plasma (pg/ml)
Prior to each weekly cetuximab treatment (up to 4 weeks); at the time of surgery (at 3-4 weeks after first cetuximab treatments)
T Cell Activation
Time Frame: Prior to each weekly cetuximab treatment (up to 4 weeks); at the time of surgery (at 3-4 weeks after first cetuximab treatments)
T cell activation measured at pre-/post-cetuximab exposure
Prior to each weekly cetuximab treatment (up to 4 weeks); at the time of surgery (at 3-4 weeks after first cetuximab treatments)

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
Frequency of EGFR-specific T Cells (EGFR853-861 Peptide-specific Tetramer+ CD8+T Cells)
Time Frame: Prior to each weekly cetuximab treatment (up to 4 weeks); at the time of surgery (at 3-4 weeks after first cetuximab treatments)
Difference in frequency of circulating EGFR-specific T cells between cetuximab-treated and cetuximab-naive patients
Prior to each weekly cetuximab treatment (up to 4 weeks); at the time of surgery (at 3-4 weeks after first cetuximab treatments)
Progression-free Survival (PFS)
Time Frame: Up to 54 months
The length of time during and after study treatment that participants lived with disease that did not progress per RECIST 1.0. Progression per RECIST 1.0 is defined as a 20% increase the in longest dimension (LD) lesion from Nadir.
Up to 54 months
Overall Survival (OS)
Time Frame: Up to 2 years
Number of patients remaining alive.
Up to 2 years
Objective Response (Rate)
Time Frame: Up to 2 years
The percentage of participants that experienced a response to study treatment, per RECIST 1.0: Number of participant with (Complete Response (CR) + number of participants with Partial Response (PR) / Total number of participants evaluable for response.
Up to 2 years
3-year Progression-free Survival (PFS)
Time Frame: 3 years
Percentage of participants alive at 3 years that did not experience disease progression per RECIST 1.0. Progression per RECIST 1.0 is defined as a 20% increase the in longest dimension (LD) lesion from Nadir.
3 years
Change in Tumor Size
Time Frame: Prior to each weekly cetuximab treatment (up to 4 weeks); at the time of surgery (at 3-4 weeks after first cetuximab treatments)
Largest percent change (decrease) in tumor size before and after neoadjuvant cetuximab.
Prior to each weekly cetuximab treatment (up to 4 weeks); at the time of surgery (at 3-4 weeks after first cetuximab treatments)

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.
Robert Ferris

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.
Bristol-Myers Squibb

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: Rober L Ferris, MD, PhD, University of Pittsburgh Med Ctr (UPCI)

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.
February 1, 2011

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.
November 4, 2015

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.
February 14, 2017

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).
October 7, 2010

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.
October 7, 2010

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.
October 8, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

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.
August 16, 2018

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.
August 14, 2018

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.
July 1, 2018

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.
  • UPCI 08-013

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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