Safety and Efficacy of RRx-001 in the Attenuation of Oral Mucositis in Patients Receiving Chemoradiation for the Treatment of Oral Cancers (PREVLAR)

A Phase 2a Randomized, Parallel Group, Open Label, Multicenter Study to Assess the Safety and Efficacy of RRx-001 in the Attenuation of Oral Mucositis in Patients Receiving Chemoradiation for the Treatment of Locally Advanced Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oral Cavity or Oropharynx

The purpose of this study is to determine if RRx-001, which is added on to the cisplatin and radiation treatment, reduces the duration or length of severe oral mucositis in patients with head and neck cancers. All patients in this study will receive 7 weeks of standard of care radiation therapy given with the chemotherapy agent, cisplatin. Patients in arms 1, 2 and 3 will also receive RRx-001 on different schedules.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Oral Mucositis
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: RRx-001; Drug: Cisplatin for injection; Radiation: Radiation Therapy

Detailed Description

The standard treatment for head and neck cancer currently includes a chemotherapy drug called cisplatin that is given by intravenous (IV) infusion and radiation, which is delivered from a machine that precisely targets the tumor. One common and unfortunate side effect of treatment with cisplatin and radiation is oral mucositis, which refers to irritation of the lining of the mouth. Oral mucositis is a serious problem 1) because the open mouth sores from oral mucositis may lead to severe pain, nutritional problems and dehydration from an inability to eat and drink, an increased risk of infection from bacteria and fungus and delay or discontinuation of treatment and 2) because there is only one approved therapy to treat or prevent it.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 53
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Santa Monica, California, United States, 90401
      • John Wayne Cancer Institute @ Providence St. John's Health Center
  • Colorado
    • Denver, Colorado, United States, 80210
      • Centura Health Research Center
  • District of Columbia
    • Washington, District of Columbia, United States, 20037
      • George Washington University
  • Florida
    • Orlando, Florida, United States, 32804
      • Florida Hospital
  • New York
    • Bronx, New York, United States, 10467
      • Montefiore Medical Center
  • North Carolina
    • Greenville, North Carolina, United States, 27834
      • East Carolina University
  • Ohio
    • Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, 45267
      • University of Cincinnati Medical Center
    • Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43210
      • Ohio State University
  • Pennsylvania
    • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19107
      • Thomas Jefferson University
  • Tennessee
    • Johnson City, Tennessee, United States, 37604
      • Ballad Health
    • Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37232
      • Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
  • Texas
    • Dallas, Texas, United States, 75390
      • UT Southwestern

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Pathologically confirmed diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oral cavity and oropharynx Note: Patients with unknown primary tumors whose treatment plan matches the requirements specified in Inclusion Criterion #3 below are eligible for the trial
2. Treatment planned to include standard cisplatin monotherapy administered either every three weeks (100 mg/m2 for 3 doses) with concomitant radiation delivered as a continuous course of IMRT with single daily fractions of 2.0 to 2.2 Gy with a cumulative radiation dose between 60 Gy and 72 Gy. Planned radiation treatment fields must include at least two oral sites (buccal mucosa, floor of mouth, tongue, soft palate) that are each planned to receive a total of > 55 Gy. Patients who have had prior surgery are eligible, provided they have fully recovered from surgery, and patients who may have surgery in the future are eligible.
3. ECOG performance status ≤ 2.

4. Participants must have adequate organ and marrow function as defined below:

   A. Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) >1,500 / mm3 B. Platelets > 100,000 / mm3 C. Hemoglobin ≥ 9.0 g/dL

5. Adequate renal and liver function as indicated by:

   A. Serum creatinine acceptable for treatment with cisplatin per institutional guidelines) B. Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 x upper-normal limit (ULN) C. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤ 2.5 x ULN D. Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2.5 x ULN

6. Human papilloma virus (HPV) status in tumor has been documented using tumor immunohistochemistry for HPV-p16 or other accepted test for patients with cancers of the oropharynx, base of tongue, or unknown primary.
7. Age 18 years or older
8. Patient must consent to the access, review and analysis of previous medical and cancer history, including imaging data by the sponsor or a third party nominated by the sponsor.
9. Ability to understand and sign a written informed consent document.

10. Women of child-bearing potential and men with partners of child-bearing potential must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry, for the duration of study participation, and for 90 days following completion of therapy.

    Note: A woman of child-bearing potential is any female (regardless of sexual orientation, having undergone a tubal ligation, or remaining celibate by choice) who meets the following criteria:

    • Has not undergone a hysterectomy or bilateral oophorectomy; or
    • Has not been postmenopausal for at least 12 consecutive months
11. Adequate visual access to permit examination of the following oral cavity sites: lips, buccal mucosa, floor of mouth, ventral and lateral tongue and soft palate.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Prior radiation to the head and neck
2. Tumor of the lips, nasopharynx, hypopharynx, larynx, or salivary glands
3. Patients with simultaneous primaries or bilateral tumors
4. Metastatic disease (M1) Stage IV
5. Malignant tumors other than HNC within the last 5 years, unless treated definitively and with low risk of recurrence in the judgment of the treating investigator
6. Presence of oral mucositis (WHO Score ≥ Grade 1) or other oral mucosal ulceration at study entry
7. Grade 3 or 4 dysphagia or odynophagia (National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria, version 5.0) or inability to eat a normal diet
8. Requirement at baseline for parenteral or gastrointestinal tube-delivered nutrition for any reason
9. Known history of HIV or active hepatitis B/C (patients who have been vaccinated for hepatitis B and do not have a history of infection are eligible)
10. Any significant medical diseases or conditions, as assessed by the investigators and sponsor that would substantially increase the medical risks of participating in this study (i.e., uncontrolled diabetes, NYHA II-IV congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction within 6 months of study, severe chronic pulmonary disease or active uncontrolled infection, uncontrolled or clinically relevant pulmonary edema).
11. Pregnant or nursing
12. Untreated active oral or dental infection, including severe tooth decay (caries)
13. Known allergies or intolerance to cisplatin and similar platinum-containing compounds
14. Evidence of immediate life-threatening disease or a life expectancy of less than 3 months
15. Receipt of unapproved or off-label medication within 30 days prior to start of study treatment
16. Sjogren syndrome

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: RRx-001 Pre-Treatment plus SOC; Two infusions of RRx-001 will be given each week during the two weeks prior to the start of RT/cisplatin SOC (four doses total). No additional RRx-001 will be given during the course of RT/cisplatin	Drug: RRx-001; RRx-001 for injection; Drug: Cisplatin for injection; Patients will receive 3 doses of cisplatin at 100 mg/m2 in accordance with applicable guidelines such as NCCN; however, these guidelines are not intended to supersede or replace institutional guidelines with respect to appropriate and necessary care for individual patients; Radiation: Radiation Therapy; Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) in accordance with the American College of Radiology (ACR) and American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Practice Guideline for IMRT) is mandatory for this study
Experimental: RRx-001 Pre-Treatment, 2 Concurrent Doses plus SOC; Two infusions of RRx-001 will be given each week during the two weeks prior to the start of RT/cisplatin SOC. In addition, one dose of RRx-001 will be given on the last radiation day in each of weeks 2 and 5 during RT/cisplatin administration	Drug: RRx-001; RRx-001 for injection; Drug: Cisplatin for injection; Patients will receive 3 doses of cisplatin at 100 mg/m2 in accordance with applicable guidelines such as NCCN; however, these guidelines are not intended to supersede or replace institutional guidelines with respect to appropriate and necessary care for individual patients; Radiation: Radiation Therapy; Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) in accordance with the American College of Radiology (ACR) and American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Practice Guideline for IMRT) is mandatory for this study
Experimental: RRx-001 Pre-Treatment, 6 Concurrent Doses plus SOC; Two infusions of RRx-001 will be given each week during the two weeks prior to the start of RT/cisplatin SOC. In addition, one dose of RRx-001 will be given on the last radiation day of each of the first 6 weeks during RT/cisplatin administration	Drug: RRx-001; RRx-001 for injection; Drug: Cisplatin for injection; Patients will receive 3 doses of cisplatin at 100 mg/m2 in accordance with applicable guidelines such as NCCN; however, these guidelines are not intended to supersede or replace institutional guidelines with respect to appropriate and necessary care for individual patients; Radiation: Radiation Therapy; Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) in accordance with the American College of Radiology (ACR) and American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Practice Guideline for IMRT) is mandatory for this study
Active Comparator: Standard of Care; No doses of RRx-001 will be administered. Patients assigned to this arm will receive only standard of care in the form of a 7-week course of fractionated radiation therapy concurrent with a high-dose cisplatin regimen (100 mg/m2 dose in each of RT weeks 1, 4, and 7).	Drug: Cisplatin for injection; Patients will receive 3 doses of cisplatin at 100 mg/m2 in accordance with applicable guidelines such as NCCN; however, these guidelines are not intended to supersede or replace institutional guidelines with respect to appropriate and necessary care for individual patients; Radiation: Radiation Therapy; Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) in accordance with the American College of Radiology (ACR) and American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Practice Guideline for IMRT) is mandatory for this study

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Duration of Severe Oral Mucositis (SOM)	Duration in days of severe oral mucositis (SOM). Defined as oral mucositis grade 3 or 4 on the WHO Mucositis Grading Scale which comprises 5 grades: 0 = none, 1= oral soreness, erythema, 2 = oral erythema, ulcers, solid diet tolerated, 3 = oral ulcers, liquid diet only, and 4 = oral alimentation impossible. Severe Oral Mucositis duration is obtained by totaling the number of days a given patient experiences oral mucositis grade 3 or 4 during the randomized treatment period. Higher Severe Oral Mucositis duration numbers are indicative of worst outcomes. The total Severe Oral Mucositis duration for a given patient will range between 0 days and the maximum number of days the patient participated in the randomized treatment period.	From start of treatment through 28 days post treatment for up to 11 weeks from Start of Treatment

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Time to Onset of Severe Oral Mucositis	Time to onset of Severe Oral Mucositis defined as time (in days) from randomization to the first observed Severe Oral Mucositis. Longer Severe Oral Mucositis onset times are indicative of a better outcome. The time to onset of Severe Oral Mucositis for a given patient will range between 0 days and the maximum number of days the patient participated in the randomized treatment period.	Time from Day 1 to Oral Mucositis Onset (up to 8 weeks)
Incidence of Severe Oral Mucositis	Incidence of Severe Oral Mucositis defined as the number of patients who experienced a Severe Oral Mucositis grade 4 during the randomized treatment period.	Baseline through end of treatment (up to 11 weeks). Data collected every week.
Opioid Use	Opioid use from the time to onset (TTO) and duration of opioid use among patients who were not taking opioids at radiation start or who required a second opioid during active treatment.	Baseline through end of radiation treatment (through 8 weeks). Data collected every week.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: EpicentRx, Inc.
• Collaborators: Prothex Pharma, Inc.
• Investigators: Study Director: Bryan Oronsky, MD, PhD, EpicentRx, Inc.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 12, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 22, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): October 8, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 18, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 2, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): May 3, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): November 4, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 31, 2024
• Last Verified: October 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: head and neck cancer; mucositis; oral cancer; squamous; mouth; neck cancer; sores
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mouth Diseases; Stomatognathic Diseases; Digestive System Diseases; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Gastroenteritis; Mucositis; Stomatitis; Antineoplastic Agents; Cisplatin
• Other Study ID Numbers: PR-001

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