H3.3K27M Peptide Vaccine With Nivolumab for Children With Newly Diagnosed DIPG and Other Gliomas

H3.3K27M Specific Peptide Vaccine Combined With Poly-ICLC With and Without PD-1 Inhibition Using Nivolumab for the Treatment of Newly Diagnosed HLA-A2 (02:01)+ H3.3K27M Positive Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) and Newly Diagnosed HLA-A2 (02:01)+ H3.3K27M Positive Gliomas

This is 3-arm, multicenter study that will be conducted through the Pacific Pediatric Neuro-oncology Consortium (PNOC). This study will assess the safety and immune activity of a synthetic peptide vaccine specific for the Histone 3 lysine27-to-methionine (H3.3K27M) epitope given in combination with poly-ICLC and the H3.3K27M epitope given in combination with poly-ICLC and the PD-1 inhibitor, nivolumab, in HLA-A2 (02:01)+ children with newly diagnosed diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) or other midline gliomas that are positive for H3.3K27M.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Glioma; Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma; Diffuse Midline Glioma, H3 K27M-Mutant
• Intervention / Treatment: Biological: K27M peptide; Drug: Nivolumab

Detailed Description

Participants who are eligible will receive a specific peptide vaccine, along with a helper drug called poly-ICLC, in combination with nivolumab, every 3 weeks for the first 6 months of treatment. Participants will be monitored routinely by laboratory assessments, physical evaluation, vital signs, and MRI. Participants who tolerate therapy well and have stable or improved disease after 6 months of treatment can continue to receive treatment, nivolumab continuing every 3 weeks but vaccine and poly-ICLC now every 6 weeks, for a total of 96 weeks of treatment.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 50
• Phase: Phase 2; Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Switzerland
  • Zurich
    • Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland, 8032
      • The University Children's Hospital in Zurich
• United States
  • California
    • San Diego, California, United States, 92123
      • Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego
    • San Francisco, California, United States, 94158
      • University of California, San Francisco
  • District of Columbia
    • Washington, District of Columbia, United States, 20010
      • Children's National Medical Center
  • Illinois
    • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60611
      • Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215
      • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
  • Minnesota
    • Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55455
      • Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota
  • Missouri
    • Saint Louis, Missouri, United States, 63110
      • St. Louis Children's Hospital
  • Ohio
    • Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43205
      • Nationwide Children's Hospital
  • Oregon
    • Portland, Oregon, United States, 97239
      • Oregon Health & Science University
  • Pennsylvania
    • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
      • Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
  • Tennessee
    • Memphis, Tennessee, United States, 38105
      • St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
  • Texas
    • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
      • Texas Children's Hospital
  • Utah
    • Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, 84112
      • University of Utah
  • Washington
    • Seattle, Washington, United States, 98105
      • Seattle Children's Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 3 years to 21 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Stratum A:

  • Newly diagnosed children (3-21 years old) with DIPG who are positive for the H3.3K27M mutation (positive testing in Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) laboratory) that underwent standard radiation therapy.

• Stratum B:

  • Newly diagnosed children (3-21 years old) with diagnosis of glioma other than DIPG who are positive for the H3.3K27M mutation (positive testing in CLIA laboratory) including spinal cord gliomas that underwent standard radiation therapy.

• Stratum C:

  • Newly diagnosed children 3-21 years of age with diagnosis of DIPG or midline glioma other than DIPG (excluding primary spinal cord gliomas) who are positive for the H3.3K27M mutation (positive testing from a CLIA or equivalent laboratory required), that underwent standard radiation therapy.

The following eligibility criteria apply to strata A, B and C:

• The patient must test positive for HLA-A*02:01 (positive testing from a CLIA or equivalent laboratory required; only the HLA A*02:01 subtype is eligible; other subtypes are excluded)
• The patient must be either off systemic steroids or be on stable dose of dexamethasone or equivalent (max 0.1 mg/kg/day; maximum 4mg/day) at time of enrollment.
• Patients must not have received any prior chemotherapy, immunotherapy or bone marrow transplant for the treatment of their tumor. Prior use of temozolomide during radiation at maximum of the standard pediatric dosing (defined as 90 mg/m^2/dose continuously during radiation therapy for 42 days) or dexamethasone is allowed.

• Patients must have undergone radiation therapy and surgery as part of their standard of care.

  • Stratum A: Radiation therapy must have started within 4 weeks of diagnosis by imaging or surgery, whichever is later.
  • Stratum B: For subjects undergoing surgery for more extensive resection, radiation therapy should be started within 4-6 weeks from surgery.
  • Stratum C: Radiation therapy must have started within 4 weeks of diagnosis by imaging or surgery, whichever is later. For subjects undergoing surgery for more extensive resection, radiation therapy should be started within 4-6 weeks from surgery.
• Karnofsky ≥ 50 for patients ≥ 16 years of age, and Lansky ≥ 50 for patients < 16 years of age (See Appendix A). Patients who are unable to walk because of paralysis, but who are up in a wheelchair, will be considered ambulatory for the purpose of assessing the performance score.
• The patient must have adequate organ function defined as

Adequate Bone Marrow Function Defined as:

• Peripheral absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1000/mm3 and
• Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm3 (transfusion independent, defined as not receiving platelet transfusions for at least 7 days prior to enrollment).

Adequate Renal Function Defined as:

• Creatinine clearance or radioisotope glomerular filtration rate (GFR) ≥ 70 mL/min/1.73 m2 or
• A serum creatinine based on age/gender as follows:

Age Maximum Serum Creatinine (mg/dL) Male Female 3 to < 6 years 0.8 0.8 6 to < 10 years 1 1 10 to < 13 years 1.2 1.2 13 to < 16 years 1.5 1.4 The threshold creatinine values in this table were derived from the Schwartz formula for estimating GFR utilizing child length and stature data published by the Center for Disease Control (CDC).

Adequate Liver Function Defined as:

• Bilirubin (sum of conjugated + unconjugated) ≤ 1.5 x upper limit of normal (ULN) for age and
• serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (SGPT)/ alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤ 110 U/L and
• Serum albumin ≥ 2 g/dL.

Adequate Pancreatic Function Defined as:

• Serum lipase ≤ ULN at baseline.

Adequate Pulmonary Function Defined as:

• No evidence of dyspnea at rest, no exercise intolerance due to pulmonary insufficiency, and a pulse oximetry of > 92% while breathing room air.

Adequate Neurologic Function Defined as:

• Patients with seizure disorder may be enrolled if seizure disorder is well controlled.
• The effects of the H3.3K27M vaccine and nivolumab on the developing human fetus are unknown. For this reason, females of child-bearing potential and males must agree to use adequate contraception. Adequate methods include: hormonal or barrier method of birth control; or abstinence prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation. Should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while she or her partner is participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately. Males treated or enrolled on this protocol must also agree to use adequate contraception prior to the study and for the duration of study participation.
• Ability to understand a written informed consent document, and the willingness to sign it. Assent will be obtained when appropriate based on the subjects age.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Investigational Drugs

  • Patients who are currently receiving another investigational drug are not eligible.
  • Prior treatment with another investigational drug.

• Anti-cancer Agents

  • Patients who are currently receiving other anti-cancer agents are not eligible.
  • Prior treatment with other anti-cancer agents.
• Patients who have received a live / attenuated vaccine within 30 days of first treatment.
• Patients with evidence of disseminated or leptomeningeal disease.
• Patients with a known disorder that affects their immune system, such as HIV or Hepatitis B or C, or an auto-immune disorder requiring systemic cytotoxic or immunosuppressive therapy are not eligible. Note: Patients that are currently using inhaled, intranasal, ocular, topical or other non-oral or non-IV steroids are not necessarily excluded from the study but need to be discussed with the study chair.
• Patients with a ≥ Grade 2 hypothyroidism due to history of autoimmunity are not eligible. (Note: Hypothyroidism due to previous irradiation or thyroidectomy will not impact eligibility).
• Patients who have received prior solid organ or bone marrow transplantation are not eligible.
• Patients with uncontrolled infection.
• Female patients of childbearing potential must not be pregnant or breast-feeding. Female patients of childbearing potential must have a negative serum or urine pregnancy test prior to the start of therapy (as clinically indicated).

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Stratum A: Newly Diagnosed DIPG; Newly diagnosed children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma who are positive for HLA-A2 and the H3.3K27M mutation that underwent radiation therapy will receive the specific H3.3K27M peptide vaccine, combined with the tetanus toxoid (TT) peptide, emulsified in Montanide. Poly-ICLC, which is a synthetic nucleic acid, will be given concurrently to improve the therapeutic effects of the vaccine. Vaccine will be given every 3 weeks for the first 24 weeks, then if there is stable or improved disease, will be given every 6 weeks for a total treatment period of 96 weeks.	Biological: K27M peptide; K27M peptide vaccine, combined with Tetanus Toxoid peptide, emulsified in montanide. Poly-ICLC will be given concurrently
Experimental: Stratum B: Newly Diagnosed Glioma (non-DIPG); Newly diagnosed children with gliomas other than DIPG who are positive for HLA-A2 and the H3.3K27M mutation that underwent radiation therapy will receive the specific H3.3K27M peptide vaccine, combined with the tetanus toxoid peptide, emulsified in Montanide. Poly-ICLC, which is a synthetic nucleic acid, will be given concurrently to improve the therapeutic effects of the vaccine. Vaccine will be given every 3 weeks for the first 24 weeks, then if there is stable or improved disease, will be given every 6 weeks for a total treatment period of 96 weeks.	Biological: K27M peptide; K27M peptide vaccine, combined with Tetanus Toxoid peptide, emulsified in montanide. Poly-ICLC will be given concurrently
Experimental: Stratum C: Newly Diagnosed DIPG or other Midline Glioma; Newly diagnosed children with DIPG or other midline gliomas (excluding primary spinal cord tumors) who are positive for HLA-A2 (02:01) and the H3.3K27M mutation that underwent radiation therapy will receive the specific H3.3K27M peptide vaccine, combined with the tetanus toxoid peptide, emulsified in Montanide. Poly-ICLC, which is a synthetic nucleic acid, will be given concurrently to improve the therapeutic effects of the vaccine. Nivolumab will also be given via IV. Vaccine will be given every 3 weeks for the first 24 weeks, then if there is stable or improved disease, will be given every 6 weeks for a total treatment period of 96 weeks. Nivolumab will continue to be given every 3 weeks throughout all of treatment.	Biological: K27M peptide; K27M peptide vaccine, combined with Tetanus Toxoid peptide, emulsified in montanide. Poly-ICLC will be given concurrently; Drug: Nivolumab; anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) monoclonal antibody; Other Names: Keytruda

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Percentage of Participants With Adverse Events (AE) Related to Treatment	Safety of the vaccine (Strata A and B) or vaccine in combination with nivolumab (Stratum C) will be assessed for participants who received the vaccination. The severity of toxicities will be graded according to the NCI Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE)version 5.0. and include any clinically-significant lab abnormalities meeting Grade 3, 4, or 5 criteria according to CTCAE. Grade 1 & 2 AEs will be summarized if probably, possible, or definitely related to study therapy. Descriptive statistics will be utilized to display the data on toxicity reported by participants.	24 months
Overall Survival Rate at 12 Months (OS12) (Stratum A Only)	OS12 is defined as the percentage of participants still alive at 12 months, and is the clinical efficacy, primary endpoint for Stratum A. Any eligible participant that received at least one dose of the K27M/TT vaccine will be considered evaluable for clinical efficacy. OS12 will be censored at the last contact date and estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method.	12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Sabine Mueller, MD, PhD
• Collaborators: Bristol-Myers Squibb; Pacific Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium; The V Foundation for Cancer Research
• Investigators: Study Chair: Hideho Okada, MD, PhD, University of California, San Francisco; Study Chair: Sabine Mueller, MD, PhD, MAS, University of California, San Francisco

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Mueller S, Taitt JM, Villanueva-Meyer JE, Bonner ER, Nejo T, Lulla RR, Goldman S, Banerjee A, Chi SN, Whipple NS, Crawford JR, Gauvain K, Nazemi KJ, Watchmaker PB, Almeida ND, Okada K, Salazar AM, Gilbert RD, Nazarian J, Molinaro AM, Butterfield LH, Prados MD, Okada H. Mass cytometry detects H3.3K27M-specific vaccine responses in diffuse midline glioma. J Clin Invest. 2020 Dec 1;130(12):6325-6337. doi: 10.1172/JCI140378. Erratum In: J Clin Invest. 2022 Jun 15;132(12):e162283. doi: 10.1172/JCI162283.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 18, 2016
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 31, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): December 31, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 2, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 8, 2016
• First Posted (Estimated): November 9, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 30, 2024
• Last Verified: December 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: immunotherapy; vaccine; nivolumab; peptide vaccine; DIPG
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Histologic Type; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial; Neoplasms, Neuroepithelial; Neuroectodermal Tumors; Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal; Neoplasms, Nerve Tissue; Nervous System Neoplasms; Central Nervous System Neoplasms; Brain Neoplasms; Brain Stem Neoplasms; Infratentorial Neoplasms; Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma; Glioma; Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors; Antineoplastic Agents; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Nivolumab
• Other Study ID Numbers: PNOC 007; 150819 (Other Identifier: University of California, San Francisco); NCI-2017-01830 (Other Identifier: Clinical Trials Reporting Program (CTRP)); CA209-8TX (Other Identifier: Bristol-Meyers Squibb)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No