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In this study we aim to test the efficacy of a combined and novel approach including induction chemotherapy (per standard of care) followed by SBRT and maintenance ipililumab + nivolumab in the first line setting of stage IV PDAC.
Study Hypothesis:
Cytotoxic chemotherapy followed by hypofractionated radiotherapy will sensitize pancreatic cancer to immunotherapy consisting of combined PD-1 and CTLA4 blockade. We hypothesize that direct targeting of the pancreatic cancer cells by chemotherapy and hypofractionated radiotherapy is necessary for initial anti-tumor response. Furthermore, the combination of immunotherapy as a maintenance strategy will have profound anti-tumor efficacy in this setting.
Implications of hypothesis:
Exploratory Hypothesis:
We hypothesize that baseline markers of immune activation such as Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes and CD8+ lymphocytes will correlate with response to ipililumab + nivolumab and that responders will have distinct tumor immune phenotype as determined by immunohistochemistry and gene expression profiling compared to nonresponders.
Full description
This is a single arm, single institution study, which aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of combination therapy with radiosurgery nivolumab and ipilimumab as a maintenance regimen following first line induction chemotherapy in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.
Chemotherapy will be administrated for a minimum of 4 cycles. Patients who have not progressed on chemotherapy will receive SBRT to one primary/metastatic tumor, followed by ipilimumab (1mg/kg every six weeks) + nivolumab (360mg every three weeks). After a further 8 weeks patients will be assessed for response; responders will continue ipilimumab + nivolumab until disease progression, non-responders will receive very low dose radiation to metastatic sites (this will only be allowed once) prior to continuing ipilimumab + nivolumab until disease progression. Immunotherapy will be continued until disease progression or up to 24 months in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
Study rationale Overall rational in Brief Although there is evidence for that the immune system plays an active role in pancreatic cancer, until now checkpoint inhibitors have yet to demonstrate efficacy in this population. We hypothesize that combining irradiation along with checkpoint inhibition in a patient population demonstrating stable disease in a first line setting will be a novel approach towards the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
Rationale for Combining Nivolumab and Ipilimumab The roles of CTLA-4 and PD-1 in inhibiting antitumor responses are largely distinct. Whereas CTLA-4 is thought to regulate T-cell proliferation early in the immune response, primarily in lymph nodes, PD-1 suppresses T cells at a later stage in the immune response, primarily in peripheral tissues.
Preclinical data indicate that the combination of PD-1 and CTLA-4 receptor blockade may improve antitumor activity.
Encouraging response rates for the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab have been demonstrated in several types of cancer such as melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, and non-small cell lung cancer.
Due to toxicity concerns regarding the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab, several different doses and schedules were evaluated in a phase 1 study as first-line therapy in patients with advanced NSCLC (CA209012). This study identified an alternative schedule with an acceptable tolerability profile (28% grade 3-4 toxicity) and encouraging activity (31% overall response rate) - nivolumab 360 mg/kg every 3 weeks plus ipilimumab 1 mg/kg every 6 weeks, and has therefore been adopted in this protocol.
Rationale for Combining Radiosurgery with anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 High-dose radiation (such as used in stereotactic radiation body therapy - SBRT) induces DNA damage and cell death. Radiation alone appears to induce a systemic immune response.
The biologic rationale behind the strategy is that radiation will cause release of immunogenic tumor-antigens from dying tumor cells, which will be processed by cells of the adaptive immune system, eventually promoting tumor-specific targeting of the tumor by the immune system. Success of this strategy will hopefully induce and augment the rarely seen abscopal effect. One possible explanation is that radiation alone rarely induces a rich immune infiltrate into the dying tumor.
Radiation dose and fractionation schedules for optimal synergy between radiotherapy and immunotherapy are not well defined. Three fractions of 8 Gy has been successfully combined with anti-CTLA-4 therapy in mice, and has emerged as a popular regimen for radiation - immunotherapy trials, and has therefore been adopted in this protocol.
Study Population Estimated accrual - 10 patients. The patients for the study will be identified from the pancreatic cancer clinics at Sheba Medical Center with advanced pancreatic cancer (stage IV) in the first-line setting.
Approximately 17 patients will be initially evaluated in the first line setting. We estimate that approximately 50-60% will not progress at three months and they will continue to receive the study treatment. Only the non-progressors who receive SBRT and combination immunotherapy will be evaluated in the ITT population.
TREATMENT PLAN:
Stereotactic radiosurgery Simulation will be performed in accordance with the target lesion location, with 3D or 4D CT as appropriate. Three fractions of 8 Gy, treated on alternate days (in exceptional circumstances, may treat on consecutive days).
Nivolumab and Ipilimumab Nivolumab administered IV over 30 minutes at a dose of 360mg every 3 weeks. Ipilimumab administered IV over 30 minutes at 1 mg/kg every 6 weeks following the administration of nivolumab. On the day of infusion, nivolumab is to be administered first. Ipilimumab will start at least 30 minutes after completion of the nivolumab infusion. Nivolumab and ipilimumab will be continued until the progression of disease, discontinuation due to toxicity, withdrawal of consent, or study closure. In any event medication will not be continued beyond 24 months. Subjects may discontinue only ipilimumab and continue treatment with nivolumab if certain circumstances are met. Treatment beyond initial investigator assessed RECIST v1.1 defined progression 2 is permitted if the subject has investigator assessed clinical benefit and is tolerating nivolumab and ipilimumab.
Low dose irradiation at first progression At time of 1st progression, at physician's discretion, a single fraction of low dose irradiation (2Gy) will be given to the metastatic lesions. These patients will continue with immunotherapy - Nivolumab and Ipilimumab in accordance with treatment protocol. Approximately one week prior to irradiation a simulation scan will be required. The extent of the low radiation field will depend on the number and location of the metastases, as well as the feasibility and safety of the treatment.
Duration of Therapy
In the absence of treatment delays due to adverse event(s), treatment may continue until one of the following criteria applies:
Duration of Follow-Up After removal from study treatment patients will return to the clinic for a short-term FU visit 28 days after the last dose of study treatment.
First long term FU should be performed 100days after the last dose of study drug, and every 90 days thereafter, until death, termination of the study or withdrawal of consent, whichever occurs first. In addition, patients in survival follow-up will be contacted following the data cut-off for the primary analysis and all subsequent survival analyses to provide complete survival data. These contacts should generally occur within 7 days of the data cut off.
Dose Delay Criteria: Tumor assessments for all subjects should continue as per protocol even if dosing is delayed.
Nivolumab and ipilimumab administration should be delayed for the following:
Any Grade ≥ 2 non-skin, drug-related adverse event, except for fatigue and laboratory abnormalities
Any Grade ≥ 3 skin drug-related AE
Any Grade ≥ 3 drug-related laboratory abnormality with the following exceptions for lymphopenia, AST, ALT, or total bilirubin or asymptomatic amylase or lipase:
Any AE, laboratory abnormality or inter-current illness which, in the judgment of the investigator, warrants delaying the dose of study medication.
Subjects receiving ipilimumab in combination with nivolumab that have drug-related toxicities that meet the criteria for dose delay, should have both drugs (ipilimumab and nivolumab) delayed until retreatment criteria are met. Exceptions apply to the retreatment criteria after dose delay of ipilimumab and nivolumab for Grade ≥ 3 amylase and lipase abnormalities that are not associated with symptoms or clinical manifestations of pancreatitis and that are attributed to ipilimumab alone.
Rescheduling
Dose reductions There will be no dose reductions for nivolumab or ipilimumab.
Criteria to Resume Dosing
Subjects may resume treatment with nivolumab and/or ipilimumab when the drug-related AE(s) resolve(s) to Grade ≤ 1 or baseline, with the following exceptions:
Nivolumab Treatment Discontinuation Criteria:
Any Grade 2 drug-related uveitis or eye pain or blurred vision that does not respond to topical therapy and does not improve to Grade 1 severity within the re-treatment period OR requires systemic treatment.
Any Grade ≥ 2 drug-related pneumonitis or interstitial lung disease that does not resolve to dose delay and systemic steroids (also see Pulmonary Adverse Event Management Algorithm).
Any Grade 3 drug-related bronchospasm, hypersensitivity reaction, or infusion reaction, regardless of duration.
Any Grade 3 non-skin, drug-related adverse event lasting > 7 days, with the following exceptions for uveitis, pneumonitis, bronchospasm, diarrhea, colitis, neurologic toxicity, hypersensitivity reactions, infusion reactions, endocrinopathies, and laboratory abnormalities:
Grade 3 drug-related uveitis, pneumonitis, bronchospasm, diarrhea, colitis, neurologic toxicity, hypersensitivity reaction, or infusion reaction of any duration requires discontinuation.
Grade 3 drug-related endocrinopathies adequately controlled with only physiologic hormone replacement do not require discontinuation.
Grade 3 drug-related laboratory abnormalities do not require treatment discontinuation except:
Grade 3 drug-related thrombocytopenia > 7 days or associated with bleeding requires discontinuation.
Any drug-related liver function test (LFT) abnormality that meets the following criteria require discontinuation (also see Hepatic Adverse Event Management Algorithm):
Any Grade 4 drug-related adverse event or laboratory abnormality, except for the following events, which do not require discontinuation:
Any adverse event, laboratory abnormality, or intercurrent illness which, in the judgment of the Investigator, presents a substantial clinical risk to the subject with continued ivolumab dosing.
If discontinuation criteria are met for ipilimumab but not for nivolumab, treatment with nivolumab may continue.
Ipilimumab Treatment Discontinuation Criteria:
AST or ALT > 8 x ULN Total bilirubin > 5 x ULN Concurrent AST or ALT > 3 x ULN and total bilirubin > 2 x ULN
Any Grade 4 drug-related adverse event or laboratory abnormality, except for the following events, which do not require discontinuation:
Dosing delays resulting in no ipilimumab dosing for > 12 weeks that occur for non-drug-related reasons may be allowed if approved by the Principal Investigator.
Any adverse event, laboratory abnormality, or intercurrent illness which, in the judgment of the Investigator, presents a substantial clinical risk to the subject with continued ipilimumab dosing
Treatment Beyond Disease Progression 2
Subjects will be permitted to continue on nivolumab and ipilimumab for treatment beyond initial RECIST v1.1 defined PD as long as they meet the following criteria:
Study treatment should be discontinued permanently upon further progression.
ADVERSE EVENTS: LIST AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS AEs will be graded and recorded throughout the trial and during the follow-up period according to NCI CTCAE Version 5.0. Toxicities will be characterized in terms regarding seriousness, causality, toxicity grading, and action taken with regard to trial treatment.
Identifying the adverse event:
Any inflammatory event, especially those that may respond to steroids, should be considered a possible adverse event. Most such events cannot be identified on physical examination. It should be appreciated that patients may not report these symptoms, or may present to other specialists, who may give inappropriate treatment, e.g potent anti-diarrheal to control a resistant diarrhea. Furthermore, physicians should be aware that some side effects may appear many weeks after treatment initiation.
Early diagnosis and treatment intervention for inflammatory events can help prevent the occurrence of complications, such as GI perforation. Toxicities related to GI (diarrhea and colitis) and skin (rash and pruritus) are the most common inflammatory events reported in studies with ipilimumab.
The combination of both Nivolumab+ipilimumab results in a safety profile with similar types of AEs as either agent alone, but in some cases, with a greater frequency. In general, dose delays and observation are adequate for low-grade AEs. For moderate- and high-grade AEs, immunosuppression with corticosteroids should be utilized. Once the AE has begun to improve, corticosteroids can be tapered over approximately 3 weeks to 6 weeks (depending on the severity of the AE). The management of AEs considered related to any combination treatment is similar to the management of AEs caused by either agent alone and utilizes the same safety management algorithms.
Patients should be assessed for signs and symptoms of enterocolitis, dermatitis, neuropathy, and endocrinopathy; and clinical chemistries (including liver function and thyroid function tests) should be evaluated at baseline and at regular intervals.
Overview of management of adverse event Aside from very mild side effects, the first step should be to hold all study immunotherapies. Early intervention with steroids is to be considered in the majority of cases, followed possibly by re-starting the study therapeutic agents.
During evaluation of a suspected immune-mediated AE, all efforts should be made to rule out neoplastic, infectious, metabolic, toxic, or other etiologic causes. Serological, immunological, imaging, and occasionally biopsy with histology (e.g., biopsy-proven lymphocytic) data may be used to support the diagnosis of an immune-mediated toxicity or support an alternative cause of the AE.
In general, for severe immune-mediated AEs, nivolumab and/or ipilimumab should be permanently discontinued, and systematic high-dose corticosteroid therapy should be initiated. For moderate immune-mediated AEs, ipilimumab should be held or delayed, and moderate-dose corticosteroids should be considered. Upon improvement, corticosteroids should be tapered gradually over at least 1 month.
The causal relationship to study drug is determined by a physician and should be used to assess all adverse events (AE).
Definition of Serious Adverse Event Serious events include, but are not limited to, intensive treatment in an emergency room or at home for allergic bronchospasm; blood dyscrasias or convulsions that do not result in hospitalization.) Potential drug induced liver injury (DILI) is also considered an important medical event.
Suspected transmission of an infectious agent via the study drug is an SAE. Although pregnancy, overdose, cancer, and potential drug induced liver injury (DILI) are not always serious by regulatory definition, these events must be handled as SAEs. Any component of a study endpoint that is considered related to study therapy should be reported as SAE.
NOTE: The following hospitalizations are not considered SAEs:
Serious Adverse Event Collection and Reporting All SAEs must be collected that occur during the screening period and within 100 days of the last dose of study drug. Subjects, who are randomized and never treated with study drug, must have SAEs collected for 30 days from the date of randomization. If applicable, SAEs that relate to any later protocol-specified procedure (eg, a follow-up skin biopsy) must be collected.
The investigator should report any SAE that occurs after these time periods and that is believed to be related to study drug or protocol-specified procedure.
An SAE report should be completed for any event where doubt exists regarding its seriousness.
If the investigator believes that an SAE is potentially related to the conditions of the study (such as withdrawal of previous therapy or a complication of a study procedure), the relationship should be specified.
SAEs, whether related or not related to study drug, and pregnancies must be reported to BMS (or designee) within 24 hours of awareness of event. SAEs must be recorded on the SAE Report Form; pregnancies on a Pregnancy Surveillance Form. Paper forms are to be transmitted via email or confirmed facsimile (fax). In addition, the local IRB will be informed per local regulations.
If only limited information is initially available, follow-up reports are required. (Note: Follow-up SAE reports should include the same investigator term(s) initially reported.) If an ongoing SAE changes in its intensity or relationship to study drug or if new information becomes available, a follow-up SAE report should be sent within 24 hours to BMS (or designee) using the same procedure.
All SAEs should be followed to resolution or stabilization. The Investigator will request from BMS the SAE reconciliation report and include the BMS protocol number every 3 months and prior to data base lock or final data summary.
Nonserious Adverse Event Collection and Reporting The collection of non-serious AE information should begin following the subject's written consent to participate in the study And should be followed to resolution or stabilization of the adverse event to grade 1, or reported as SAEs if they become serious. Follow-up is also required for nonserious AEs that cause interruption or discontinuation of study drug and for those present at the end of study treatment as appropriate. All AEs must be recorded on the CRF.
All nonserious adverse events are to be collected continuously during the treatment period and for a minimum of 28 days following the last dose of study treatment.
Pregnancy Investigator must immediately notify BMS of Pregnancy event and complete and forward a Pregnancy Surveillance Form within 24 hours of awareness of the event and in accordance with SAE reporting procedures.
In the rare event that the benefit of continuing study drug is thought to outweigh the risk, the pregnant subject may continue study drug after a thorough discussion, if allowed by local regulations.
Protocol-required procedures for study discontinuation and follow-up must be performed on the subject unless contraindicated by pregnancy (eg, x-ray studies). Other appropriate pregnancy follow-up procedures should be considered if indicated.
Follow-up information regarding the course of the pregnancy, including perinatal and neonatal outcome and, where applicable, offspring information must be reported on the Pregnancy Surveillance Form.
Men receiving nivolumab and who are sexually active with women of childbearing potential will be instructed to adhere to contraception for a period of 7 months after the last dose of nivolumab.
In order to collect any pregnancy surveillance information from the female partner, the female partner must sign an informed consent form for disclosure of this information. Information on this pregnancy will be collected on the Pregnancy Surveillance Form and reported to BMS.
Overdose An overdose is defined as the accidental or intentional administration of any dose of a product that is considered both excessive and medically important. All occurrences of overdose must be reported as SAEs.
Potential Drug Induced Liver Injury (DILI) All occurrences of potential DILIs, meeting the defined criteria, must be reported as SAEs .
Potential DILI is defined as: ALT or AST elevation > 3 times upper limit of normal (ULN) AND Total bilirubin > 2 times ULN, without initial findings of cholestasis (elevated serum alkaline phosphatase), AND No other immediately causes of AT elevation and hyperbilirubinemia.
A hepatic AE management algorithm has been established (and is indicated in the protocol).
CORRELATIVE STUDIES During IO therapy Blood, Stool and Saliva samples for correlative study will be taken cycle 1 Day 1 of and every 8 weeks thereafter. Biopsies of the disease lesion will be obtained prior to start of treatment and at 8 weeks. Specific permission will therefore be included in the consent form. Local regulations for tissue banking and storage will be followed.
Fresh biopsy specimens from disease lesion during screening (preferably, at site of SBRT) and at 8 weeks imaging assessment are mandatory. Optional tissue biopsy will be requested at progression. (For patients that have stopped treatment for other reasons than PD, tissue biopsy will be requested at the time of PD.
In addition, Tissue samples will be submitted from existing archived biopsy (diagnostic specimen), if available.
STATISTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Study populations will include safety and efficacy:
Event rates will be summarized, and Kaplan-Meier estimates for PFS and OS may also be provided where sample size is adequate.
Safety data, including vital signs, laboratory test results, physical examinations, and adverse events (AEs), will be summarized by dose and assessment time points, as appropriate. Change from baseline will be included in summary tables for laboratory, and vital sign parameters.
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Central trial contact
Tali Aviv; Talia Golan, Prof.
Data sourced from clinicaltrials.gov
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