[18F]F-AraG/Total Body PET Imaging and Healthy Subjects and Lung Cancer Patients

January 24, 2024 updated by: Simon R. Cherry, University of California, Davis

A Pilot Study of [18F]F-AraG Pharmacokinetics in Tumors and Non-Malignant Tissue Using Dynamic Total Body PET Imaging in Healthy Subjects and in Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

In this pilot study, healthy volunteers and patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer will undergo [18F]F-AraG dynamic imaging on the uEXPLORER total body Positron Emission Tomography/Computerized Tomography scanner to obtain preliminary data regarding pharmacokinetics and early biodistribution images.

Study Overview

Status

Enrolling by invitation

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

[18F]F-AraG, a fluorine-18 labeled analog of an FDA approved drug (Nelarabine) is a new imaging tracer targeted at imaging activated T-cells. Given that immunotherapeutic strategies, in particular immune checkpoint antibodies, focus on the generation of T-cell-based antitumor immunity, uptake of [18F]F-AraG within the tumor is hypothesized to correlate with T-cell mediated immune response seen in the biopsy samples of cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint blockade. Correlation of pre- and post-treatment intratumoral immune infiltration by means of PET imaging will guide the development of future clinical trials investigating the role of [18F]F-AraG in the monitoring of anti-tumor immune responses. Therefore, proper quantification of [18F]F-AraG uptake in tumor lesions, and understanding its relation with physiologic uptake in background tissues is important. Note: checkpoint therapy in this study is standard-of-care and is not under investigation.

Available PET/CT scanners can obtain dynamic images only on a portion of the body as large as their axial field of view, generally anywhere between 15-30 cm. The 194 cm long uEXPLORER total-body PET scanner is the world's first device to offer the ability to tomographically image all parts of the body simultaneously. Thus, the uEXPLORER PET/CT (now commercially available and with FDA 510(k) clearance) is the only scanner in the world capable of acquiring total-body dynamic images.

In this pilot study, 2-4 healthy volunteers will undergo [18F]F-AraG dynamic imaging on the uEXPLORER total body PET/CT scanner to obtain preliminary data regarding pharmacokinetics and early biodistribution images. In addition, 2-4 patients with NSCLC and planned for standard-of-care PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy will undergo [18F]F-AraG dynamic imaging similarly on the uEXPLORER total body PET/CT scanner to obtain data regarding pharmacokinetics of the tracer in tumor lesions in the context of normal tissue uptake. An optional second similar scan will be performed 7-14 days after the first dose of immunotherapy to explore and document any treatment related changes in [18F]F-AraG uptake and kinetics.

The study and data collected will be important to recommend an ideal time to acquire a whole body static scan using conventional and widely available PET/CT scanners for adequate tumor to background contrast and quantification, which in turn, will be essential for further clinical development of [18F]F-AraG to aid the monitoring of anti tumor immune responses.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

8

Phase

  • Early 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

    • California
      • Sacramento, California, United States, 95816
        • UC Davis EXPLORER Molecular Imaging 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

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Age ≥ 18 years.
  2. Ability to understand the purposes and risks of the trial and has signed an IRB-approved informed consent form.
  3. Willingness and ability to comply with all protocol required procedures.
  4. For men and women of child-producing potential, willingness to use of effective double barrier contraceptive methods during the study, up to 1 day after the last administration of the investigational product.

    For NSCLC subjects only:

  5. Patients with histologically confirmed advanced, locally advanced, or localized NSCLC.
  6. Planned to undergo treatment with a PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor either as 1) monotherapy or as combination therapy with concurrent chemotherapy as treatment for advanced/metastatic disease; 2) As consolidation therapy following chemoradiation for locally advanced disease or 3) As induction therapy either as monotherapy or combination therapy with chemotherapy prior to planned surgical resection
  7. At least 1 tumor lesion > 1 cm (cannot be only in liver) documented on CT or MRI or FDG-PET/CT (RECIST criteria 1.1; >1.5 cm for nodal lesions) within 45 days prior to scan date.
  8. Per investigator's assessment and in consultation with oncologists, at least one eligible lesion must be sufficiently separated from tissues with known high [18F]F-AraG uptake, such as salivary glands, bladder, liver and kidneys so that quantification will be feasible.
  9. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status ≤ 2
  10. Meeting all clinical safety lab values per institution's standard of care, or Investigator's discretion, for patients receiving cancer treatment.

Exclusion Criteria:

Subjects are not eligible if they meet ANY of the following criteria:

  1. Serious comorbidities (nonmalignant disease or other conditions) that in the opinion of the investigator could compromise protocol objectives.
  2. History of recent COVID-19 infection within the last 2 months OR history of COVID requiring hospitalization with lung injury at Investigator's discretion
  3. Subjects with a diagnosis of immunodeficiency or receiving systemic steroid therapy or any other form of immunosuppressive therapy within 7 days prior to the scan
  4. Subjects receiving therapy with nucleoside analogs including but not limited to: acyclovir, valaclovir, penciclovir, famciclovir, ganciclovir, ribavirin, valganciclovir, glanciclovir
  5. Pregnant women or nursing mothers.
  6. Body weight more than 240 kg (529 pounds)

    For NSCLC subjects only:

  7. Prior Treatment with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy.

    For Healthy subjects

  8. No primary care physician

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: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Healthy Volunteers
Study participants will undergo a single dynamic [18F]F-AraG PET/CT scan (of duration up to 90-minutes) on the uEXPLORER PET/CT scanner. There will be a follow-up visit or call 7 days after the scan to assess any adverse events that could be attributed to either the scan or the administration of [18F]F-AraG.
Total body PET imaging using [18F]F-AraG
Experimental: Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients (NSCLC)
Study participants with NSCLC who are planned to receive PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy will undergo a pre-therapy dynamic [18F]F-AraG PET/CT scan, and an optional post-therapy (first dose only) dynamic [18F]F-AraG PET/CT scan on the uEXPLORER total-body scanner.
Total body PET imaging using [18F]F-AraG

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Data on whole-body pharmacokinetics of [18F]F-AraG physiologic uptake in various healthy tissues
Time Frame: Baseline
Data on [18F]F-AraG uptake in several tissue types will be collected from healthy subjects. This data will be presented in the form of time-activity curves (TAC) generated for each tissue type.
Baseline
Data on whole-body pharmacokinetics of [18F]F-AraG pathologic uptake in tumor lesions relative to uptake in background tissues in NSCLC subjects
Time Frame: Baseline and 7-14 days after first dose of PD-1/PD-L1
Data on [18F]F AraG uptake in tumor lesions and background activity in the same tissues as in Outcome 1 will be collected. This data will be similarly presented in the form of time-activity curves (TAC) generated for each tissue type, as well as for tumor lesions against their background tissues.
Baseline and 7-14 days after first dose of PD-1/PD-L1
Develop recommendations for ideal time post [18F]F-AraG infusion to acquire static whole-body scans using standard PET scanners
Time Frame: Baseline and 7-14 days after first dose of PD-1/PD-L1
Time-Activity Curves analysis of [18F]F-AraG uptake will provide insight into the earliest time to achieve adequate tumor versus non-malignant background tissue activity, as well as time to reach and remain in steady state up to 90 minutes.
Baseline and 7-14 days after first dose of PD-1/PD-L1

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Data on [18F]F-AraG uptake in advanced NSCLC before and after the first dose of PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy
Time Frame: Baseline and 7-14 days after first dose of PD-1/PD-L1
For NSCLC subjects who undergo two [18F]F AraG PET/CT scans, the signal at a static time point post [18F]F-AraG infusion (obtained from the result of one of the outcome measures) from both scans will be observed for trends.
Baseline and 7-14 days after first dose of PD-1/PD-L1

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Simon R Cherry, PhD, UC Davis

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

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 (Actual)

March 31, 2021

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2024

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 16, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 16, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

December 22, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 25, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 24, 2024

Last Verified

August 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

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

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.

Clinical Trials on Lung Cancer, Nonsmall Cell

Clinical Trials on [18F]F-AraG Imaging

3
Subscribe