A Pilot Study Assessing Intra-Metastasis Administration of Autologous KLH-pulsed Dendritic Cells With Tumoral Radiation Therapy in Patients With Metastatic Pancreatic Carcinoma

November 6, 2015 updated by: University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center

This study is being done to determine whether it is possible to use an investigational vaccine that consists of dendritic cells in patients with pancreas cancer. Dendritic cells are immune cells that are obtained from your blood that are important in the body's immune response to foreign substances. The vaccine would be injected directly into a tumor that has spread to the liver after a short course of radiation therapy has been given to that tumor. The study will try to determine if this treatment would be safe and effective in treating this cancer.

This is a phase 1 pilot study of this treatment. Phase 1 trials test the best way to give a treatment where little is known about its possible risks or benefits. Phase 2 studies then test the possible benefits of a treatment and may show the specific situations where they are seen. Promising treatments are then tested in Phase 3 trials which compare the new treatment to standard treatment in a larger group of patients. Phase 4 trials are those conducted on a treatment after it has been approved for general use outside of research. A pilot study tests a treatment in a small number of patients to learn if and how the treatment could be tested in a larger group. Pilot studies can be performed at any phase but are commonly performed in the earliest phases of research on a treatment.

Study Overview

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

4

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 Locations

    • Michigan
      • Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 48109
        • Universtiy of Michigan Comprehensive 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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Pathologic diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma
  • Radiologic evidence of hepatic metastasis with at least one lesion > 2.0 cm that is amenable to ultrasound or CT guided intra-tumoral DC injection
  • Age > 18
  • Life expectancy > 3 months
  • Karnofsky Performance Status > 70%
  • Patients must not have received any anti-neoplastic chemotherapy, immunotherapy or radiotherapy for the four weeks preceding entry onto the study (six weeks for nitrosoureas and mitomycin C).
  • Adequate baseline hematopoietic function defined as WBC (white blood cell) > 3000/mm3, hemoglobin > 9g/dl, and platelet count > 100,000/mm3.
  • Adequate baseline organ function defined as creatinine < 2.0, total bilirubin < 2.0 mg/dl
  • Patients taking warfarin are not eligible. Adequate coagulation function defined as PT (prothrombin time) < 15, INR < 1.5 and PTT (partial thromboplastin time) < 35.
  • Ability to give informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Previous anti-tumor vaccine therapy
  • Prior hepatic irradiation
  • Known brain metastases
  • History of prior autoimmune diseases (e.g. SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus), rheumatoid arthritis, myasthenia gravis)
  • Regular corticosteroid use within the past one year or any corticosteroid use in the four weeks preceding study entry
  • Evidence of HIV infection, AIDS, Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C infection
  • Active bacterial, fungal or viral infection
  • Pregnancy or lactation; women of childbearing potential and men must agree to use effective contraception during the course of this clinical trial
  • Uncontrolled or unstable medical conditions including angina, arrhythmias, bleeding, or thromboembolic conditions,
  • Any medical or psychiatric illness that might compromise the patients ability to tolerate 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
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Treatment Arm
Participants will receive tumoral irradiation and dendritic cell vaccination.
On day 1 of the study treatment, patients will begin tumoral irradiation, which will be given daily for 4 days in 6Gy fractions (days 1 through 4)
Three intra-tumoral injections of 1 ml cell suspensions of KLH (keyhole limpet hemocyanin)- pulsed DC (dendritic cells) will be delivered percutaneously under ultrasound into a selected hepatic metastasis in the outpatient setting.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The Percentage of Participants That Patients Complete Radiation Therapy, All Three Vaccinations, and Evaluation for Tumor Response Four Weeks After the Third Vaccination.
Time Frame: 10 weeks
The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and feasibility of this combined modality protocol in patients with metastatic pancreatic carcinoma. The treatment will be deemed feasible if 80% or more patients complete radiation therapy, all three vaccinations, and evaluation for tumor response four weeks after the third vaccination.
10 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of Patients That Respond to Treatment
Time Frame: 10 weeks
To evaluate the anti-tumor response as determined by RECIST criteria
10 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Mark M. Zalupski, M.D., Universtiy of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center

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

October 1, 2006

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2008

Study Completion (Actual)

April 1, 2010

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 12, 2009

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 12, 2009

First Posted (Estimate)

February 13, 2009

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

December 8, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 6, 2015

Last Verified

November 1, 2015

More Information

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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