TLR9 Immunotherapy for Peritoneal Carcinomatosis (TIPC)

June 16, 2026 updated by: Brown University

TLR9 Immunotherapy for Peritoneal Carcinomatosis (TIPC) - Phase 1 Study of the Safety and Efficacy of ACM-CpG Intraperitoneal Injections for Treatment in Patients With Colorectal or Appendiceal Adenocarcinoma Peritoneal Metastases or Malignant Ascites

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine the safety and efficacy of of ACM-CpG for inoperable peritoneal metastases or malignant ascites. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• To determine the safety and maximum tolerated dose (MTD) or optimal biologic dose (OBD) of intraperitoneal injection(s) of ACM-CpG for inoperable peritoneal metastases or malignant ascites? Researchers will assign treatment levels using escalating doses of ACM-CpG Therapy.

Participants will:

  • Will receive at least one dose of ACM-CpG therapy on Day 1 of a 28-day treatment cycle.
  • May receive up to 2 additional injections if they have clinically stable or responsive disease.
  • Must visit the clinic on Days 1, 4, 7, 10, 14, 21, and 28 for checkups and tests.
  • Will have a CT scan or MRI performed every 8 weeks for 3 scans and then continue to receive scans every 12 weeks to monitor their disease.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Escalating doses of ACM-CpG Therapy will use a standard 3+3 design.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

24

Phase

  • 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 Locations

    • Rhode Island
      • Providence, Rhode Island, United States, 02903/02906
        • Rhode Island and the Miriam Hospitals (Brown University Health)
        • 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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients eligible for inclusion in this study must meet all of the following criteria:

    1. Male or female patients age ≥ 18 years of age at the time of informed consent
    2. Must be able to provide written informed consent, stating an understanding of the procedures and investigational nature of the study treatment, and willingness to comply with study requirements
    3. Must have documented CRC or appendiceal adenocarcinoma peritoneal carcinomatosis or malignant ascites. Primary tumor may be intact and limited liver and/or lung disease is permitted
    4. Must have evaluable disease by physical examination, serum tumor markers, radiologic assessment, or laparoscopic visual assessment
    5. Must have a life expectancy of ≥ 12 weeks as estimated by the investigator
    6. Must have an ECOG status of ≤ 2
    7. Patients with acceptable laboratory values defined as:

      • Estimated creatinine clearance (calculated using Cockcroft-Gault formula, or measured) ≥ 60 mL/min, not dialysis dependent
      • Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 mg/dl, unless elevated bilirubin is clearly related to Gilbert syndrome (and total bilirubin < 6.0 mg/dl)
      • Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤ 3.5 x upper limit of normal (ULN)
      • Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ≤ 3.5 x ULN
      • Absolute neutrophil count > 1.0 x 109/L (must be independent of blood product administration)
      • Platelet count > 100 x 109/L (must be independent of blood product administration)
      • Hemoglobin ≥ 8 g/dL (must be independent of blood product administration)
    8. Surgically sterile patients or patients of childbearing potential (CBP) who agree to use highly effective methods of contraception during study dosing and for 6 months after last dose of study drug
    9. All other relevant medical conditions must be well-managed and stable, in the opinion of the investigator, for at least 28 days prior to administration of study drug

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Has received prior TLR9 therapy
  2. Has received chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or biological cancer therapy within 21 days or 5 half-lives (whichever is shorter) of the start of treatment
  3. Has received an investigational agent within 28 days of the start of treatment
  4. Has received a commercial vaccine (flu, COVID, etc.) within 2 weeks of C1D1
  5. Has any unresolved toxicity ≥ Grade 2 from previous anti-cancer therapy, except for stable chronic toxicities (≤ Grade 3) that are not expected to resolve
  6. Has a history of histologically confirmed metastases outside of the peritoneal cavity, liver, or lungs
  7. Has high volume liver or lung metastases, defined as > 50% replacement of the liver volume by metastatic disease or > 5 lung lesions greater than 1 cm in size
  8. Tumor causing biliary obstruction not amenable to stenting or percutaneous drainage
  9. Ongoing or untreated intra-abdominal infection or bowel obstruction
  10. Has known, clinically active Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), or Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) (Note: Testing is not required)
  11. Receiving continuous systemic corticosteroid therapy (≥ 10 mg/day of prednisolone or equivalent)
  12. Clinically significant cardiac disease or impaired cardiac function, including any of the following:

    • A history of newly diagnosed transmural myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction, or pulmonary embolism within 6 months, except those approved by the medical monitor
    • A history of newly diagnosed deep vein thrombosis (DVT) within 3 months
    • Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 50%
    • QTc >480 msec
  13. Active bacterial, viral, or fungal infection: patients with ongoing use of prophylactic antibiotics, antiviral agents, or antifungal agents remain eligible as long as there is no evidence of active infection
  14. Other active malignancy within 2 years excluding cutaneous squamous or basal cell carcinomas
  15. Any medical condition that would, in the investigator's judgment, prevent the patient's participation in the clinical study due to safety concerns, compliance with clinical study procedures or interpretation of study results
  16. History of hypersensitivity to TLR9 agonists
  17. Pregnant, likely to become pregnant, or lactating women (where pregnancy is defined as the state of a female after conception and until the termination of gestation)

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: Sequential Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: ACM-CpG

The dose of ACM-CpG therapy to be infused by intraperitoneal injection will be dependent upon the dose level being delivered at the time of patient enrollment.

Dose Levels C1D1 ACM-CpG Dose

-1a (step down dose) 0.1 mg

  1. (starting dose) 0.25 mg
  2. 0.5 mg
  3. 1.0 mg
  4. 2.0 mg
  5. 4.0 mg
  6. 8.0 mg
  7. (optional) 10.0 mg

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Incidence of Treatment-Emergent Adverse Events [Safety and Tolerability]
Time Frame: From enrollment to 30 days post the last dose of ACM-CpG
includes dose limiting toxicities (DLTs), Serious adverse events (SAEs), hospitalizations, CRS, neurotoxicity, and clinically significant laboratory abnormalities
From enrollment to 30 days post the last dose of ACM-CpG

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Progression Free Survival (PFS)
Time Frame: From enrollment to disease progression up to 6 months post end of treatment
From enrollment to disease progression up to 6 months post end of treatment
Disease control rate (DCR)
Time Frame: From enrollment to End of follow-up (up to 6 months post end of treatment)
The percentage of patients who have achieved complete response, partial response and stable disease
From enrollment to End of follow-up (up to 6 months post end of treatment)
Overall Survival (OS)
Time Frame: From enrollment to End of follow-up (up to 6 months post end of treatment)
From enrollment to End of follow-up (up to 6 months post end of treatment)
Quality of life composite index
Time Frame: From enrollment to 30 days post the last dose of ACM-CpG
From enrollment to 30 days post the last dose of ACM-CpG

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Khaldoun Almhanna, MD, Brown University Health

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 (Estimated)

July 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2030

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 6, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 16, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 18, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 18, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 16, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • BrUOG 452 (ACM-002)

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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