Vaccine Therapy Compared With Interferon Alfa in Treating Patients With Stage III Melanoma

December 2, 2015 updated by: AVAX Technologies

A Prospective, Randomized, Open-Label, Comparative Clinical Trial in Post-Surgical Melanoma Patients With Either DNP-Modified Autologous Tumor Vaccine or Interferon Alpha-2b

RATIONALE: Vaccines made from a person's melanoma cells may make the body build an immune response to kill tumor cells. Interferon alfa may interfere with the growth of the cancer cells.

PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of melanoma vaccine with that of interferon alfa-2b in treating patients who have stage III melanoma that has spread to regional lymph nodes following surgery.

Study Overview

Status

Terminated

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

OBJECTIVES: I. Compare the relapse-free and overall survival rates in patients with stage III melanoma treated with autologous tumor vaccine versus interferon alfa-2b as postsurgical adjuvant therapy. II. Compare the safety and tolerability of these regimens in this patient population.

OUTLINE: This is a randomized, open-label, multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to number of metastatic lymph node sites (1 vs more than 1), number of positive lymph nodes in a single site (none vs 1 or more), presence of intransit metastases (yes vs no), and evidence of extranodal extension (yes vs no). Patients are randomized to one of two treatment arms. Arm I: Patients receive autologous tumor cell vaccine intradermally once a week for 7 weeks followed by a booster injection at 6 months. BCG is given concurrently with vaccine as an immune-stimulator for doses 2-8. Patients also receive cyclophosphamide 6 days after the first vaccine injection. Arm II: Patients receive interferon alfa-2b IV for 5 consecutive days a week for 4 weeks followed by maintenance doses given subcutaneously 3 times a week for 48 weeks. Patients are followed monthly for 1 year, every 2 months for 1 year, every 3 months for 1 year, and then every 6 months for 2 years.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 386-425 patients will be accrued for this study.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

425

Phase

  • 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
    • California
      • Rancho Mirage, California, United States, 92270
        • Cancer and Blood Institute of the Desert
    • Connecticut
      • New Haven, Connecticut, United States, 06520-8028
        • Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center
    • Florida
      • North Miami Beach, Florida, United States, 33180
        • Columbia - HCA Cancer Research Network
      • Tampa, Florida, United States, 33612
        • H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute
    • Georgia
      • Decatur, Georgia, United States, 30033
        • Georgia Cancer Specialists
    • Illinois
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60612
        • University of Illinois at Chicago
      • Park Ridge, Illinois, United States, 60068
        • Lutheran General Cancer Care Center
    • Kentucky
      • Louisville, Kentucky, United States, 40202
        • James Graham Brown Cancer Center
    • Michigan
      • Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States, 49546
        • Cancer and Hematology Centers of Western Michigan
    • Minnesota
      • Robbinsdale, Minnesota, United States, 55422
        • Hubert H. Humphrey Cancer Center
    • Missouri
      • Kansas City, Missouri, United States, 64111
        • Midwest Oncology Consortium
    • New Jersey
      • Neptune, New Jersey, United States, 07753
        • Jersey Shore Cancer Center
      • New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States, 08901
        • Cancer Institute Of New Jersey
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10032
        • Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center
    • Pennsylvania
      • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
        • University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center
      • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19107
        • Kimmel Cancer Center of Thomas Jefferson University - Philadelphia
    • South Carolina
      • Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States, 29303
        • Palmetto Hematology/Oncology Associates

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

18 years to 120 years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Histologically confirmed melanoma metastatic to regional lymph nodes with a clinically palpable mass Must have clinical evidence of the following: Metastases in 1 nodal site All other nodes microscopically negative No intransit metastases No extranodal extension OR Metastases in more than 1 nodal site More than 1 positive lymph node in a single site Intransit metastases Extranodal extension Must have undergone complete resection of tumor, measuring at least 2 cm in diameter, within the past 6 weeks No distant metastases

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age: 18 and over Performance status: Karnofsky 80-100% Life expectancy: At least 6 months Hematopoietic: Hematocrit at least 30% WBC at least 3,000/mm3 Hepatic: Hepatitis B and C negative Renal: Not specified Other: Not pregnant or nursing No active serious infection No active autoimmune disease HIV negative No other malignancy within the last 5 years except squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, carcinoma in situ of the cervix, superficial bladder carcinoma, early stage prostate cancer, or noninvasive melanoma No active severe depression or psychiatric disorder with psychotic symptoms No uncontrolled thyroid abnormalities

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: Biologic therapy: Not specified Chemotherapy: At least 6 weeks since prior cytotoxic drugs (except for isolated limb perfusion) Endocrine therapy: No concurrent systemic corticosteroids Radiotherapy: At least 6 months since prior radiotherapy Surgery: See Disease Characteristics Other: At least 30 days since prior investigational drugs

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: RANDOMIZED

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

AVAX Technologies

Investigators

  • Study Chair: Karen Doak, AVAX Technologies

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

December 1, 1998

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 1, 1999

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 22, 2004

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

April 23, 2004

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE)

December 3, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 2, 2015

Last Verified

December 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CDR0000066824
  • AVAX-A/100/0101

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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