Pembrolizumab and Trifluridine/Tipiracil With Previously Treated Advanced Gastric Cancer

Open-label Phase II Study With Lead-in Safety Cohort of Pembrolizumab (Keytruda®) and Trifluridine/Tipiracil (Lonsurf®) Combination Treatment in Patients With Previously Treated Advanced Gastric Cancer

This is a two-part, Phase II, open-label, single arm, multi-center study to determine the efficacy of pembrolizumab in combination with TAS-102 (trifluridine/tipiracil) in patients with advanced gastric cancer who have progressed after prior treatment with or without anti-PD-1/PD-L1 agent, and to further assess the safety and tolerability of this combination treatment.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Gastric and Gastroesophageal Junction Adenocarcinoma
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Pembrolizumab (Keytruda®), Trifluridine/Tipiracil (Lonsurf®)

Detailed Description

This is a two-part, Phase II, open-label, single arm, multi-center study to determine the efficacy of pembrolizumab in combination with TAS-102 (trifluridine/tipiracil) in patients with advanced gastric cancer who have progressed after prior treatment with or without anti-PD-1/PD-L1 agent, and to further assess the safety and tolerability of this combination treatment. In lead-in-safety cohort, recommended dose of trifluridine/tipiracil combined with pembrolizumab will be determined with dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) and safety. Pembrolizumab dose will be fixed with current recommended dose of 400mg IV every 6 weeks (Q6W). There will be 2 dose cohort for trifluridine/tipiracil; dose level 1 is trifluridine/tipiracil 35mg/m2 BID, D1-5, D8-12, every 4 weeks (Q4W) and dose level 0 is trifluridine/tipiracil 30mg/m2 BID, D1-5, D8-12, every 4 weeks (Q4W). DLT will be evaluated during first 6 weeks. In the subsequent expansion Phase II part, patients will be recruited from four sites to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combination therapy in 2 cohorts, anti-PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor naive and exposure cohorts.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 75
• Phase: Phase 2; Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Korea, Republic of
  • Seoul, Korea, Republic of, 03722
    • Severance Hospital
  • Seoul, Korea, Republic of
    • Severance Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 15 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Has provided written informed consent fo the trial.
2. Is male or female at least 18 years of age.
3. Has a histologically or cytologically confirmed diagnosis of advanced or metastatic gastric/gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma.
4. Has previously received at least 2 prior regiments.
5. Has a life expectancy of at least 3 months.
6. Has an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1.
7. Have 1 or more measurable disease as determined by RECIST 1.1.
8. Is able to take medications orally.
9. Has adequate organ function as defined by the following criteria.
10. Is willing to follow and follow research procedures.
11. A male participant must agree to use a contraception of this protocol during the treatment period and for at least 120 days post TAS-102.
12. A female participant is eligible to participate if she is not pregnant or breastfeeding.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Has other concurrently active malignancies.
2. Has received prior therapy with TAS-102.
3. Is contraindicated for pembrolizumab and/or TAS-102, or have severe hypersensitivity to any of those drugs and/or their excipients.
4. Has any unresolved ≥Grade 2 toxicity (per CTCAE v5.0) attributed to any prior therapies at the time of enrollment.
5. Has had major surgery within 2 weeks prior to first dose of study interventions.
6. Has known active central nervous system (CNS) metastases.
7. Has received radiotherapy for gastric cancer treatment within 2 weeks prior to the first dose of study drugs.
8. Has received a live vaccine or live-attenuated vaccine within 30 days prior to the first dose of study drug.
9. Has a diagnosis of immunodeficiency or is receiving chronic systemic steroid therapy or any other form of immunosuppressive therapy within 7 days prior to the first dose of study drug.
10. Has participated has used an investigational device within 4 weeks prior to the first dose of study intervention.
11. Has a history of uncontrollable or significant cardiovascular disease.
12. Has active (significant or uncontrolled) gastrointestinal bleeding.
13. Has active autoimmune disease that has required systemic treatment in the past 2 years.
14. Has a history of (non-infectious) pneumonitis/interstitial lung disease that required steroids or has current pneumonitis/interstitial lung disease.
15. Has an active, unresolved infection requiring systemic therapy.
16. Has a known history of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection.
17. Has a known history of Hepatitis B (defined as Hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg] reactive) or known active Hepatitis C virus infection.
18. Has known psychiatric or substance abuse disorders that would interfere with cooperation with the requirements of the trial.
19. Has had an allogenic tissue/solid organ transplant.
20. Has a history or current evidence of any condition, therapy, or laboratory abnormality that might confound the results of the study.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: IO experienced; Pembrolizumab 400 mg every 6 weeks (Q6W), trifluridine/tipiracil at 35 or 30 mg/m2 twice daily (BID) for 5 days a week (D1-5, D8-12) with 2 days rest for 2 weeks, followed by a 14-day rest, repeated every 4 weeks (Q4W)	Drug: Pembrolizumab (Keytruda®), Trifluridine/Tipiracil (Lonsurf®); arms : Pembrolizumab 400 mg every 6 weeks (Q6W), trifluridine/tipiracil at 35 or 30 mg/m2 twice daily (BID) for 5 days a week (D1-5, D8-12) with 2 days rest for 2 weeks, followed by a 14-day rest, repeated every 4 weeks (Q4W); Other Names: Pembrolizumab (Keytruda®); Trifluridine/Tipiracil (Lonsurf®)
Experimental: IO non-experienced; Pembrolizumab 400 mg every 6 weeks (Q6W), trifluridine/tipiracil at 35 or 30 mg/m2 twice daily (BID) for 5 days a week (D1-5, D8-12) with 2 days rest for 2 weeks, followed by a 14-day rest, repeated every 4 weeks (Q4W)	Drug: Pembrolizumab (Keytruda®), Trifluridine/Tipiracil (Lonsurf®); arms : Pembrolizumab 400 mg every 6 weeks (Q6W), trifluridine/tipiracil at 35 or 30 mg/m2 twice daily (BID) for 5 days a week (D1-5, D8-12) with 2 days rest for 2 weeks, followed by a 14-day rest, repeated every 4 weeks (Q4W); Other Names: Pembrolizumab (Keytruda®); Trifluridine/Tipiracil (Lonsurf®)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Objective response rate (ORR)	The proportion of patients in complete remission (CR) or partial remission (PR) among the best response (BOR) assessed by the investigator according to RECIST 1.1.	6months after the last treatment of the last subject
Phase Ib (DLT)	Phase Ib (Lead-in safety cohort): Dose-limiting toxicity (DLT)	within first 6weeks
Phase Ib (RP2D)	Phase Ib (Lead-in safety cohort): Recommended Phase 2 dose (RP2D)	within first 6weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Overall survival (OS)	Defined as the time start of study treatment until death by cause. Any subject not known to have died at the time of the analysis will be censored on the last recorded date on which the subject was known to be alive.	6months after the last treatment of the last subject
Progression-free survival (PFS) as assessed per RECIST 1.1	Defined as the time from start of study treatment until the date of objective disease progression or death. Progression is defined in accordance with RECIST v1.1 criteria.	6months after the last treatment of the last subject
Disease control rate (DCR) as assessed per RECIST 1.1	Defined as the proportion of subjects with a best objective response (BOR) of complete response (CR) or Partial response (PR), or stable disease maintained for a minium of twelve weeks from start of treatment, as defined by the RECIST 1.1.	6months after the last treatment of the last subject
Duration of response (DOR) as assessed per RECIST 1.1	Defined as the time from the investigator's first determination of objective response to the first of disease progression or death according to RECIST 1.1.	6months after the last treatment of the last subject
Number of participants with Adverse Events that are related to treatment	Safety and tolerability of the pembrolizumab and TAS-120 combination therapy as determined by adverse events categorized in accordance with CTCAE 5.0 Criteria.	Throughout the overall trial period as well as up to 3months after the last dose study treatment for each subject

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Yonsei University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: SUN YOUNG Rha, Yonsei Cancer Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 1, 2022
• Primary Completion (Estimated): November 2, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 7, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 17, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): August 19, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 11, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 9, 2025
• Last Verified: July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Pembrolizumab(Keytruda®); Trifluridine/Tipiracil (Lonsurf®)
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Histologic Type; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial; Carcinoma; Adenocarcinoma; Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors; Anti-Infective Agents; Antineoplastic Agents; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Antimetabolites; Antiviral Agents; Pembrolizumab; Trifluridine
• Other Study ID Numbers: 4-2022-0582

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: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No