A Phase I/IIa Study of UV1 Vaccination in Patients With Non Small Cell Lung Cancer. (UV1-hTERT2012L)

In this study, up to 21 patients with lung cancer will receive UV1 (a therapeutic synthetic peptide vaccine) at different dose levels. The safety and tolerability of UV1 as well as immunological response will be assessed. The purpose of this study is to select a biological dose of peptides for further clinical trials. Study recruitment completed at 6 patients in every dose level.

The main study treatment phase of this study is completed and will be reported separately.

Follow-up is ongoing

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Non-small Cell Lung Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Biological: UV1 synthetic peptide vaccine and GM-CSF

Detailed Description

This is an open label dose-escalating phase I/IIa study of UV1 peptide vaccination in patients with NSCLC after completion of radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy. Patients will be enrolled in this study if they have achieved complete response (CR), partial response (PR) or stable disease (SD) at least 4 weeks after completion of standard first line therapy.

The following 2-step design will be used:

1. Conventional dose escalation with at least 3 patients per dose level (3 selected dose levels).
2. Expansion of each dose level to a total of 6 patients for assessment of immune response levels.

13 UV1 vaccinations will be given during the first 6 months (week 26) of treatment, unless clinical deterioration or unacceptable toxicity is encountered. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) (Leukine ®) will be used as adjuvant for 11 of the 13 doses of UV1.

After completion of the main study treatment period at week 26, if the patient agrees, additional vaccinations may be considered for the following patients:

• Immune responders within first 6 months
• Immune non-responders providing they have at least SD

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 18
• Phase: Phase 2; Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Norway
  • Oslo, Norway, 0424
    • Oslo University Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patient with Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) who has been treated with palliative radiotherapy and/or at least three courses of chemotherapy, and has achieved stable disease (SD), partial response (PR) or complete response (CR) confirmed by CT scan at least 4 weeks after end of treatment. Previous curative radiotherapy is allowed as long as the patient has relapsed and received palliative chemotherapy.
• No evidence of disease progression at the time of inclusion
• Must be ambulatory with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0, 1 or 2
• Must be at least 18 years of age.
• Must have lab values as follows:
• White Blood Cells ≥ 1.5 x 109/L
• Platelets ≥ 100 x 109/L
• Hemoglobin ≥ 9g/dL (≥ 5.6 mmol/L)
• Creatinine ≥ 140 µmol/L
• Bilirubin < 20% above the upper limit of normal
• ASAT and ALAT ≤ 2.5 the upper limit of normal
• Albumin ≥ 2.5 g/L
• Signed informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of other prior malignancy, with the exception of curatively treated basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, cervical cancer stage IB or effectively treated malignancy that has been in remission for over 5 years and is highly likely to have been cured.
• Treatment with any other investigational medicinal product (IMP) within 4 weeks prior to first administration of study drug.
• Adverse reactions to vaccines such as anaphylaxis or other serious reactions.
• History of immunodeficiency or autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, sclerodermia, polymyositis-dermatomyositis, juvenile onset insulin-dependent diabetes, or a vasculitic syndrome.
• Significant cardiac or other medical illness that would limit activity or survival, such as severe congestive heart failure, unstable angina, or serious cardiac arrhythmia.

• Known active CNS metastases and/or carcinomatous meningitis. Patients with previously treated brain metastases may however participate provided they meet the following criteria:

  1. Inactive metastases (without evidence of progression which is documented by CT or MRI within 4 weeks prior to the planned study treatment date), and
  2. If prednisolone or equivalent treatment is required; no more </=10mg/day is permitted.
• Active infection requiring antibiotic therapy.
• Pregnancy or lactation.
• Woman of childbearing potential not using any reliable and adequate contraceptive methods defined as use of oral, implanted, injectable, and mechanical or barrier products for the prevention of pregnancy.
• Known hypersensitivity to any of the components of the vaccine
• Known hypersensitivity to Leukine®, yeast derived products or any component of the product
• Patients who test positive for hepatitis B, C or HIV.
• Any other anti-tumor treatment within 4 weeks of study entry (including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, endocrine therapy, cytokines, interferons, protease inhibitors and gene therapy).
• Use of not permitted concomitant medication:
• chronic corticosteroids except for asthma inhalers / topical use
• any agent with a known effect on the immune system, unless it is being given at dose levels that are not immunosuppressive, e.g. prednisone at 10mg/day or less.
• any alternative and complementary drugs that may affect the immune system or be potentially harmful to patients participating in phase I studies.
• Any reason why, in the opinion of the investigator, the patient should not participate.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: UV1 synthetic peptide vaccine and GM-CSF; GM-CSF (Leukine) followed by UV1 peptide vaccine with escalating concentrations (100, 300 and 700 microgram) will be injected intradermally in the lower abdomen.	Biological: UV1 synthetic peptide vaccine and GM-CSF; Other Names: Leukine; UV1

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Assessment of safety and tolerability of UV1.	Frequency and severity of adverse events and serious adverse events. Biochemistry and hematology results, vital signs and ECOG performance status will be assessed.	up to 2 years and 3 months.
Immunological response	Number of T-cell responses including time to T-cell responses (up to 6 months), level of response and duration of response.	Up to 2 years and 3 months.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Assessment of anti tumor activity	Tumor response and progression free survival (PFS)	Up to 2 years and 3 months
Selection of biological dose of peptides for further clinical trials.	Safety profile and immunological responses of each dose level.	Up to 2 years and 3 months

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Potential correlation between human cytomegalovirus status and immune response	Determination of human cytomegalovirus (CMV) status	Up to 2 years and 3 months
Further characterization of the immune reaction triggered by the treatment.	Extended immunological analysis.	Up to 2 years and 3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Ultimovacs ASA
• Collaborators: Oslo University Hospital
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Paal F. Brunsvig, MD PhD, Oslo University Hospital

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Brunsvig PF, Guren TK, Nyakas M, Steinfeldt-Reisse CH, Rasch W, Kyte JA, Juul HV, Aamdal S, Gaudernack G, Inderberg EM. Long-Term Outcomes of a Phase I Study With UV1, a Second Generation Telomerase Based Vaccine, in Patients With Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Front Immunol. 2020 Nov 26;11:572172. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.572172. eCollection 2020.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 8, 2013
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 29, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): June 12, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 8, 2013
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 8, 2013
• First Posted (Estimated): February 11, 2013

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 11, 2024
• Last Verified: December 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Lung cancer; Peptide vaccine
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Lung Diseases; Respiratory Tract Neoplasms; Thoracic Neoplasms; Carcinoma, Bronchogenic; Bronchial Neoplasms; Lung Neoplasms; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung; Immunologic Factors; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Sargramostim
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2012-001852-20