Immunotherapy for Recurrent Glioblastoma

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Phase 2

Sponsor: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Must not be taking: Bevacizumab, Monoclonal antibodies

Disqualifiers: Brainstem tumor, Immunodeficiency, Autoimmune, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Prior Safety Data This treatment has passed at least one previous human trial

Breakthrough Therapy This drug has been fast-tracked for approval by the FDA given its high promise

Approved in 3 Jurisdictions This treatment is already approved in other countries

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 9

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial examines how pembrolizumab, a type of immunotherapy, might help the immune system combat glioblastoma, a recurrent brain cancer. The goal is to determine if this treatment can halt tumor cell growth and spread. Participants will receive the drug through an IV and undergo surgery to assess its effects. The trial seeks individuals with glioblastoma that has returned after initial treatment and requires another surgery due to tumor growth. As a Phase 2 trial, the research focuses on evaluating the treatment's effectiveness in a smaller group, providing participants an opportunity to contribute to significant findings.

Do I need to stop my current medications to join the trial?

The trial does not specify if you need to stop taking your current medications. However, you cannot be on certain treatments like high-dose steroids or have had recent chemotherapy or radiation. It's best to discuss your specific medications with the trial team.

Is there any evidence suggesting that pembrolizumab is likely to be safe for humans?

Research has shown that pembrolizumab is generally well-tolerated by patients with recurrent glioblastoma. In one study, patients mostly experienced mild to moderate side effects, indicating that the side effects were manageable and not severe. Another study found that pembrolizumab helped control the disease in a small group of patients, with some showing a near complete response.

Overall, these findings suggest that pembrolizumab is safe for people with recurrent glioblastoma. However, participants should discuss potential risks and benefits with their healthcare provider before joining a clinical trial. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why do researchers think this study treatment might be promising?

Unlike the standard of care for recurrent glioblastoma, which typically involves chemotherapy and radiation, pembrolizumab is an immunotherapy treatment that works by unleashing the immune system to fight the tumor. Most treatments for glioblastoma focus on destroying cancer cells directly, but pembrolizumab targets a protein called PD-1 on immune cells, effectively taking the brakes off the immune system so it can better attack the cancer. Researchers are excited about pembrolizumab because it offers a novel approach that could potentially improve outcomes for patients with this aggressive brain cancer.

What evidence suggests that pembrolizumab might be an effective treatment for recurrent glioblastoma?

Research has shown that pembrolizumab, which participants in this trial will receive, may effectively treat recurrent glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer. In one study, patients who received pembrolizumab lived for a median of 20 months, with 63% surviving at least one year. Another study found that 37.7% of patients did not experience cancer progression for six months, and the median survival was 13.1 months. These findings suggest that pembrolizumab might help control tumor growth and extend the lives of glioblastoma patients. Pembrolizumab works by helping the immune system attack cancer cells, potentially slowing or stopping the cancer from spreading. ^{2 3 6 7 8}

Who Is on the Research Team?

Vinay Puduvalli, MD

Principal Investigator

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for adults with recurrent glioblastoma or gliosarcoma who need reoperation. They must have a certain level of physical function, stable steroid use, and adequate organ function. Women of childbearing age must test negative for pregnancy and agree to contraception; men also need to commit to birth control methods.

Inclusion Criteria

Be willing and able to provide written informed consent/assent for the trial

Have histologically confirmed World Health Organization grade IV malignant glioma (glioblastoma or gliosarcoma); participants will be eligible if the original histology was low-grade glioma and a subsequent histological diagnosis of glioblastoma or variants is made

Patients must be at first or second relapse and clinically require reoperation for tumor progression within 4 to 6 weeks; Note: relapse is defined as progression following initial therapy (i.e., radiation, chemotherapy, or radiation + chemotherapy); if the participant had a surgical resection for relapsed disease and no anti-tumor therapy instituted for up to 12 weeks, this is considered one relapse; for participants who had prior therapy for a low grade glioma, the surgical diagnosis of a high grade glioma will be considered first relapse

Exclusion Criteria

Has had a prior monoclonal antibody within 4 weeks prior to study day 1 or who has not recovered (i.e., =< grade 1 or at baseline) from adverse events due to agents administered more than 4 weeks earlier

Has a known additional malignancy that is progressing or requires active treatment; exceptions include basal cell carcinoma of the skin, squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, or in situ cervical cancer that has undergone potentially curative therapy

Has known carcinomatous meningitis, extracranial disease, or multifocal disease

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Neoadjuvant Treatment

Participants receive pembrolizumab intravenously on day -21 and day -1 before surgery

3 weeks

2 visits (in-person)

Surgery

Participants undergo surgery on day 0

1 day

1 visit (in-person)

Adjuvant Treatment

After recovery from surgery, participants continue to receive pembrolizumab every 3 weeks for up to 24 months

24 months

Every 3 weeks (in-person)

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for safety and effectiveness after treatment

Up to 2 years

Every 3 months (in-person)

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Pembrolizumab

Trial Overview

The study tests pembrolizumab's effects on recurrent brain tumors after surgery. Pembrolizumab is an immunotherapy drug that may help the immune system fight cancer by blocking tumor growth. The trial includes pharmacological studies and lab biomarker analysis.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Treatment (pembrolizumab, surgery) Experimental Treatment 4 Interventions

Patients receive pembrolizumab IV over 30 minutes on day -21 and day -1, and then undergo surgery on day 0. After 2-3 weeks or recovery from surgery, patients continue to receive pembrolizumab IV over 30 minutes every 3 weeks. Courses repeat every 42 days for up to 24 months in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Pembrolizumab is already approved in United States, European Union, United Kingdom for the following indications:

Approved in United States as KEYTRUDA for:

• Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) with PD-L1 CPS ≥1
• Melanoma
• Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
• Urothelial carcinoma
• Colorectal cancer
• Gastric cancer
• Hepatocellular carcinoma
• Renal cell carcinoma
• Cervical cancer
• Endometrial carcinoma

Approved in European Union as KEYTRUDA for:

• Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) with PD-L1 CPS ≥1
• Melanoma
• Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
• Urothelial carcinoma
• Colorectal cancer
• Gastric cancer
• Hepatocellular carcinoma
• Renal cell carcinoma
• Cervical cancer
• Endometrial carcinoma

Approved in United Kingdom as KEYTRUDA for:

• Untreated metastatic or unresectable recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) with PD-L1 CPS ≥1

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Lead Sponsor

Trials

3,107

Recruited

1,813,000+

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Collaborator

Trials

14,080

Recruited

41,180,000+

Published Research Related to This Trial

In a study of 26 patients with recurrent glioblastoma, pembrolizumab showed an overall response rate of 8%, with two patients experiencing partial responses lasting up to 22.8 months, indicating some durable antitumor activity.

While 73% of patients experienced treatment-related adverse events, most were manageable, suggesting that pembrolizumab has a safety profile that allows for further exploration in combination therapies to enhance efficacy.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Treatment with pembrolizumab in programmed death ligand 1-positive recurrent glioblastoma: Results from the multicohort phase 1 KEYNOTE-028 trial. Reardon, DA., Kim, TM., Frenel, JS., et al.[2021]

In a phase II trial involving 15 patients with recurrent glioblastoma, pembrolizumab treatment did not lead to significant immune activation within the tumor microenvironment, which was characterized by a lack of T cells and a predominance of CD68+ macrophages.

Despite no treatment-related deaths and a median overall survival of 20 months, the study found that pembrolizumab alone was insufficient to induce a robust immune response in most patients, suggesting that additional strategies may be needed to enhance its efficacy in glioblastoma.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Window-of-opportunity clinical trial of pembrolizumab in patients with recurrent glioblastoma reveals predominance of immune-suppressive macrophages. de Groot, J., Penas-Prado, M., Alfaro-Munoz, K., et al.[2021]

In a phase II study involving 80 patients with recurrent glioblastoma, pembrolizumab combined with bevacizumab showed a 6-month progression-free survival (PFS-6) of 26% and a median overall survival (OS) of 8.8 months, indicating limited efficacy despite being well tolerated.

Pembrolizumab alone had a much lower PFS-6 of 6.7% and no objective responses, suggesting that while the combination therapy had some durable responses, neither treatment was effective enough for significant clinical benefit.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Randomized Phase II and Biomarker Study of Pembrolizumab plus Bevacizumab versus Pembrolizumab Alone for Patients with Recurrent Glioblastoma. Nayak, L., Molinaro, AM., Peters, K., et al.[2022]

Pembrolizumab, a PD-1 inhibitor, has demonstrated clinical effectiveness in treating various solid tumors, particularly in patients with PD-L1-positive non-small-cell lung cancer and unresectable/metastatic melanoma.

Early-phase trials and ongoing studies are focused on further confirming the clinical benefits of pembrolizumab in thoracic malignancies, highlighting its potential as a significant treatment option in cancer therapy.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Pembrolizumab for the treatment of thoracic malignancies: current landscape and future directions. Karim, S., Leighl, N.[2017]

Pembrolizumab is a monoclonal antibody that effectively blocks the PD-1 receptor on T cells, enhancing their ability to attack cancer cells, particularly in melanoma patients.

In a Phase I study involving 411 patients, pembrolizumab demonstrated high durable response rates with minimal toxicity, indicating its potential as a safe and effective treatment option for melanoma.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Pembrolizumab joins the anti-PD-1 armamentarium in the treatment of melanoma. Hersey, P., Gowrishankar, K.[2017]

Pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA) was approved by the FDA for treating unresectable or metastatic melanoma based on two clinical trials involving 1,374 patients, showing significant improvements in overall survival compared to ipilimumab, with hazard ratios indicating a reduced risk of death.

Patients receiving pembrolizumab also experienced significant improvements in progression-free survival, although some immune-mediated adverse reactions like hypothyroidism and pneumonitis were noted, highlighting the importance of monitoring for side effects.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

FDA Approval Summary: Pembrolizumab for the Treatment of Patients with Unresectable or Metastatic Melanoma. Barone, A., Hazarika, M., Theoret, MR., et al.[2022]

A patient with a hypermutated glioblastoma showed significant immune responses after treatment with pembrolizumab, including increased lymphocyte infiltration and a positive radiographic response in brain lesions, indicating potential effectiveness of immunotherapy in this context.

The study suggests that glioblastomas with DNA-repair defects may benefit from checkpoint blockade therapy, highlighting a possible new avenue for treatment in patients with specific genetic profiles.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Immunogenomics of Hypermutated Glioblastoma: A Patient with Germline POLE Deficiency Treated with Checkpoint Blockade Immunotherapy. Johanns, TM., Miller, CA., Dorward, IG., et al.[2022]

Pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA) was approved by the FDA for treating advanced melanoma, showing an overall response rate of 24% in a trial of 89 patients, with 86% of responses lasting at least 6 months.

While there are potential immune-mediated side effects, the benefits of prolonged tumor response durations were deemed to outweigh these risks, marking an improvement over existing treatments.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

FDA Approval Summary: Accelerated Approval of Pembrolizumab for Second-Line Treatment of Metastatic Melanoma. Chuk, MK., Chang, JT., Theoret, MR., et al.[2021]

Pembrolizumab, a PD-1 inhibitor used in cancer treatment, can lead to rare but serious immune-related adverse events, including type 1 diabetes mellitus, occurring in about 0.2% of cases.

A review of 42 cases revealed that patients may develop diabetic ketoacidosis during treatment, highlighting the need for blood glucose monitoring and awareness of this potential side effect among clinicians.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Programmed Cell Death-1 Inhibitor-Induced Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. Clotman, K., Janssens, K., Specenier, P., et al.[2022]

In a study of 31 adult patients with recurrent high-grade gliomas, salvage therapy using PD-1-blocking antibodies nivolumab or pembrolizumab, with or without bevacizumab, showed a median progression-free survival of only 3.2 months, indicating limited efficacy.

The study found no significant survival benefit from these treatments in this patient population, suggesting that PD-1-blocking antibodies should be used cautiously and only in selected cases until further clinical trial results are available.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

PD-1 inhibition has only limited clinical benefit in patients with recurrent high-grade glioma. Kurz, SC., Cabrera, LP., Hastie, D., et al.[2019]

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