A Feasibility Study Utilizing Immune Recall to Increase Response to Checkpoint Therapy (TdVax)

July 7, 2026 updated by: Duke University
The purpose of this study is to determine the safety and feasibility of administering the Tetanus Diptheria Vaccine (Td) or Polio Boost Immunization (IPOL) to patients with metastatic melanoma who are receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor (IO) therapy per standard of care. Subjects will have the vaccine at cycle 4 of IO therapy and will have research blood and tissue samples collected prior to starting IO therapy, at cycle 4 prior to vaccine administration, and at 12-17 days post vaccine.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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.

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 (Estimated)

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.
25

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 1

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • North Carolina
      • Durham, North Carolina, United States, 27710
        • Recruiting
        • Duke University Medical Center
        • Contact:

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

14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Histologically confirmed advanced metastatic melanoma
  2. Male or female participants who are at least 18 years of age on the day of signing informed consent
  3. Participants must be planned or scheduled by their treating physician to receive PD-1 therapy or PD-1 plus anti CTLA-4 therapy as standard of care
  4. Participant (or legally acceptable representative if applicable) provides written informed consent for the trial
  5. Participant must have at least 1 lesion that is at least 8 mm in size and is cutaneous, subcutaneous, palpable, or amenable to ultrasound guided core biopsy. The lesion chosen for biopsy can also be a target lesion but does not have to be a target lesion

  6. Adequate organ function as defined below. Standard of care labs drawn within 45 days prior to consent may be used for the purposes of determining eligibility

    1. ANC >/= 1500/uL
    2. platelets >/=100,000/uL
    3. Hemoglobin >/= 9.0 g/dL

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Uveal or mucosal melanoma
  2. Any women known to be pregnant or breastfeeding
  3. Any prior systemic therapy for metastatic melanoma (prior surgery is allowed)
  4. Known diagnosis of immunodeficiency or receiving chronic systemic steroid therapy (in doses exceeding 10 mg daily of prednisone or equivalent), or any other form of immunosuppressive therapy within 7 days prior to first research biopsy

  5. Patients with symptomatic CNS metastases and/or carcinomatous meningitis

    a) Patients with asymptomatic, stable CNS metastases are allowed provided that they are not on >10mg prednisone daily

  6. History of or active (non-infectious) pneumonitis that required steroids
  7. Active infection requiring systemic therapy
  8. Known history of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection
  9. Known history of Hepatitis B (defined as Hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg] reactive) or known active Hepatitis C virus (defined as HCV RNA [qualitative] is detected) infection. NOTE: no testing for Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C is required
  10. Known history of active TB (Bacillus Tuberculosis)
  11. History or current evidence of any condition, therapy, or laboratory abnormality that might confound the results of the study, interfere with subject's participation for the full duration of the study, or make it not in the best interest of the subject to participate, in the opinion of the treating physician
  12. Known psychiatric or substance abuse disorders that would interfere with cooperation with the requirements of the trial
  13. History of allogenic tissue or solid organ transplant
  14. History of allergic reaction to IPOL or Td vaccine
  15. Receipt of Td vaccine within 30 days prior to starting IO therapy

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: Sequential 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: Td Vaccine
The first 15 subjects enrolled will receive the Td (tetanus diphtheria) vaccine at cycle 4 of IO therapy. The Td vaccine is administered as 0.5 mL intramuscular injection in the extremity (thigh or upper arm) in closest proximity to the largest tumor.
Biological: Tetanus Diptheria Vaccine
tetanus and diphtheria toxoids
Other Names:
  • Tenivac
Experimental: IPOL Vaccine
Subjects 16 through 25 will receive the IPOL (polio booster) vaccine at cycle 4 of IO therapy. The IPOL vaccine is administered as 0.5 mL intramuscular or subcutaneous injection in the extremity (thigh or upper arm) in closest proximity to the largest tumor
Biological: Polio Boost Immunization
trivalent inactivated polio vaccine
Other Names:
  • IPOL

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
Number of subjects out of the proposed 25 that successfully receive the vaccine after 4 cycles of IO therapy
Time Frame: informed consent through date of vaccine (est apx 4-5 months)
Evaluable patients are defined as those who receive four cycles of IO therapy and then receive a Td or IPOL vaccine
informed consent through date of vaccine (est apx 4-5 months)
Safety, as measured by the change in the number and severity of adverse events deemed related to the vaccine or study procedures (blood draw and biopsies)
Time Frame: Baseline, cycle 4 of IO therapy (apx 12-16 weeks), 12-17 days post vaccine, SOC scan following vaccine (apx 8-12 weeks post vaccine)
Adverse events will only include those that are determined to be related to the study vaccine or study procedures (blood draw and biopsies)
Baseline, cycle 4 of IO therapy (apx 12-16 weeks), 12-17 days post vaccine, SOC scan following vaccine (apx 8-12 weeks post vaccine)

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
Preliminary efficacy, as measured by objective response rate
Time Frame: up to 36 months
Number of patients that experience tumor response vs. stable disease vs. progression as determined by PI assessment of standard of care scans
up to 36 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.
Duke University

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: Georgia Beasley, MD, Duke University

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 (Actual)

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 7, 2021

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
July 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
July 1, 2027

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).
September 13, 2021

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.
September 30, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

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 14, 2021

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.
July 8, 2026

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.
July 7, 2026

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.
June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • Pro00108367

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

IPD will only be used internally by the study team

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

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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