Clinical Trials /

A Trial of Pembrolizumab and Metformin Versus Pembrolizumab Alone in Advanced Melanoma

NCT03311308

Description:

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the combination of Pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA®) and the investigational drug, Metformin.

Related Conditions:
  • Melanoma
Recruiting Status:

Recruiting

Phase:

Phase 1

Trial Eligibility

Document

Title

  • Brief Title: A Trial of Pembrolizumab and Metformin Versus Pembrolizumab Alone in Advanced Melanoma
  • Official Title: Profiling and Reversing Metabolic Insufficiency in the Tumor Microenvironment in Advanced Melanoma: A Trial of Pembrolizumab and Metformin Versus Pembrolizumab Alone in Advanced Melanoma

Clinical Trial IDs

  • ORG STUDY ID: 16-196
  • NCT ID: NCT03311308

Conditions

  • Advanced Melanoma

Interventions

DrugSynonymsArms
Pembrolizumab Injection [Keytruda]KeytrudaPembrolizumab
MetforminPembrolizumab and Metformin Combination

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the combination of Pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA®) and the investigational drug, Metformin.

Detailed Description

      Patients are being asked to take part in this clinical research study because they have
      advanced, un-resectable stage III or IV Melanoma. If they participate they will be randomized
      to receive Pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA®) or the combination of Pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA®) plus
      Metformin.

      This research study will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the combination of
      Pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA®) and the investigational drug, Metformin.

      Patients will be randomized into one of two groups - either Arm A or Arm B. In Arm A,
      patients will receive pembrolizumab alone. In Arm B, patients will receive both pembrolizumab
      and metformin.

      If patients are randomized to Arm A, they will be administered pembrolizumab (200 mg), by IV,
      every three weeks. After the first three doses, pembrolizumab dosing can be changed to 400mg
      IV every 6 weeks, at the treating physician's discretion. Pembrolizumab can be administered
      up to two years, if disease does not progress or have unacceptable toxicity. However, if the
      disease progresses the patient may continue on the study if they are clinically stable or
      clinically improved.

      If patients are randomized to Arm B, they will be administered pembrolizumab (200 mg), by IV,
      every three weeks, plus metformin (500 mg), twice a day for nine weeks. Metformin will be
      taken in the morning and evening, 12hrs apart, with food. After the first three doses,
      pembrolizumab dosing can be changed to 400mg IV every 6 weeks, at the treating physician's
      discretion.

      Discontinuation of treatment may be considered for patients who have attained a confirmed
      complete response that have been treated for at least 24 weeks with pembrolizumab and had at
      least two treatments with pembrolizumab beyond the date when the initial complete response
      was declared.

      Patients will be followed for 5 years after removal from study or until death, whichever
      occurs first, through standard of care visits, phone call or by medical records review.
    

Trial Arms

NameTypeDescriptionInterventions
PembrolizumabActive ComparatorPembrolizumab (Keytruda), 200 mg, by IV, every three weeks, for up to 2 years; after the first three doses, dosing can be changed to 400mg IV every 6 weeks, at the treating physician's discretion.
  • Pembrolizumab Injection [Keytruda]
Pembrolizumab and Metformin CombinationExperimentalPembrolizumab (Keytruda), 200mg, by IV, every three weeks, for up to 2 years will be taken in combination with Metformin, 500mg, twice a day, for nine weeks; after the first three doses, pembrolizumab dosing can be changed to 400mg IV every 6 weeks, at the treating physician's discretion.
  • Pembrolizumab Injection [Keytruda]
  • Metformin

Eligibility Criteria

        Inclusion Criteria:

          -  Be willing and able to provide written informed consent for the trial.

          -  Have un-resectable (stage III) or advanced (stage IV) melanoma.

          -  Be 18 years of age or older on day of signing informed consent

          -  Have measurable disease based on RECIST 1.1. Patients without measurable disease may
             be included on study after discussion with the Sponsor, given that the primary
             endpoint of the study is Ki-67 of TIL (flow cytometry)

          -  Have biopsiable disease. Be willing to provide tissue from a newly obtained biopsy of
             a tumor lesion. Newly-obtained is defined as a specimen obtained up to 30 days prior
             to initiation of treatment on Day 1.

          -  Patients may have received prior adjuvant therapy with anti-PD-1, anti-CTLA-4, or
             BRAF/MEK inhibitors.

          -  Patients may be immunotherapy treatment naïve in the advanced setting or may be on
             anti-PD-1 therapy with SD or PR for at least 12 weeks. Patients may have received
             ipilimumab plus nivolumab in the metastatic setting with SD or PR for at least 12
             weeks on maintenance anti-PD1.

          -  Have a performance status of 0, 1 or 2 on the ECOG Performance Scale.

          -  Have a baseline HbA1c ≤ 6.4.

          -  Demonstrate adequate organ function. All screening labs should be performed within 14
             days of treatment initiation.

               1. Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥1,500 /mcL

               2. Platelets ≥100,000 / mcL

               3. Hemoglobin ≥9 g/dL or ≥5.6 mmol/L without transfusion or EPO dependency (within 7
                  days of assessment)

               4. Serum creatinine OR Measured or calculateda creatinine clearance ≤1.5 X upper
                  limit of normal (ULN) (GFR can also be used in place of creatinine or CrCl ≥60
                  mL/min for subject with creatinine levels > 1.5 X institutional ULN)

               5. Serum total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 X ULN OR Direct bilirubin ≤ ULN for subjects with
                  total bilirubin levels > 1.5 ULN

               6. AST (SGOT) and ALT (SGPT) ≤ 2.5 X ULN OR ≤ 5 X ULN for subjects with liver
                  metastases

               7. Albumin >2.5 mg/dL

               8. International Normalized Ratio (INR) or Prothrombin Time (PT) ≤1.5 X ULN unless
                  subject is receiving anticoagulant therapy as long as PT or PTT is within
                  therapeutic range of intended use of anticoagulants; Activated Partial
                  Thromboplastin Time (aPTT) ≤1.5 X ULN unless subject is receiving anticoagulant
                  therapy as long as PT or PTT is within therapeutic range of intended use of
                  anticoagulants

          -  Patients must be free of active brain metastases by contrast-enhanced CT/MRI scans
             within 2 weeks prior to starting the study drugs. If known to have prior brain
             metastases, must not have evidence of active (enlarging and/or symptomatic lesions)
             brain disease on MRI evaluation within 4 weeks from SRS or WBRT treatment.

          -  Patients who have received radiation may be enrolled if the treating physician
             determines that they have recovered from radiation and are not experiencing radiation
             related clinically significant adverse events.

          -  Female patients of child bearing potential must have a negative urine or serum
             pregnancy test within 7 days from the time of registration.

          -  Female subject of childbearing potential should have a negative urine or serum
             pregnancy within 72 hours prior to receiving the first dose of study medication. If
             the urine test is positive or cannot be confirmed as negative, a serum pregnancy test
             will be required.

          -  Female subjects of childbearing potential should be willing to use 2 methods of birth
             control or be surgically sterile, or abstain from heterosexual activity for the course
             of the study through 120 days after the last dose of study medication. Subjects of
             childbearing potential are those who have not been surgically sterilized or have not
             been free from menses for > 1 year.

          -  Male subjects should agree to use an adequate method of contraception starting with
             the first dose of study therapy through 120 days after the last dose of study therapy.

        Exclusion Criteria:

          -  Has a current confirmed diagnosis of type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes that has been
             diagnosed by an HbA1c ≥6.5, or is on any hypoglycemic medications (insulin, metformin,
             etc). Patients with a screening HbA1c 6.5-7.0 may be included after discussion with
             the principal investigator. Patients currently on metformin will be excluded.

          -  Has a diagnosis of immunodeficiency or is receiving systemic steroid therapy or any
             other form of immunosuppressive therapy within 7 days prior to the first dose of trial
             treatment.

          -  Has a known history of active TB (Bacillus Tuberculosis).

          -  Hypersensitivity to pembrolizumab or any of its excipients.

          -  Has had a prior anti-cancer monoclonal antibody (mAb) within 4 weeks prior to study
             Day 1 (this excludes patients on anti-PD1) 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 had prior chemotherapy, targeted small molecule therapy, or radiation therapy
             within 2 weeks prior to study Day 1 or who has not recovered (i.e., ≤ Grade 1 or at
             baseline) from adverse events due to a previously administered agent. Note: Subjects
             with ≤ Grade 2 neuropathy are an exception to this criterion and may qualify for the
             study. If subject received major surgery, they must have recovered adequately from the
             toxicity and/or complications from the intervention prior to starting therapy.

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

          -  Has known active central nervous system (CNS) metastases and/or carcinomatous
             meningitis. Subjects with previously treated brain metastases may participate provided
             they are stable (without evidence of progression by imaging for at least two weeks
             prior to the first dose of trial treatment and any neurologic symptoms have returned
             to baseline), have no evidence of new or enlarging brain metastases, and are not using
             steroids for at least 7 days prior to trial treatment. This exception does not include
             carcinomatous meningitis which is excluded regardless of clinical stability.

          -  Has active autoimmune disease that has required systemic treatment in the past 2 years
             (i.e. with use of disease modifying agents, corticosteroids or immunosuppressive
             drugs). Replacement therapy (eg., thyroxineor physiologic corticosteroid replacement
             therapy for adrenal or pituitary insufficiency, etc.) is not considered a form of
             systemic treatment.

          -  Has a history of (non-infectious) pneumonitis that required steroids or current
             pneumonitis.

          -  Has an active infection requiring systemic IV antibiotic therapy.

          -  Has a history or current evidence of any condition, therapy, or laboratory abnormality
             that might confound the results of the trial, interfere with the subject's
             participation for the full duration of the trial, or is not in the best interest of
             the subject to participate, in the opinion of the treating investigator.

          -  Has known psychiatric or substance abuse disorders that would interfere with
             cooperation with the requirements of the trial.

          -  Is pregnant or breastfeeding, or expecting to conceive or father children within the
             projected duration of the trial, starting with the pre-screening or screening visit
             through 120 days after the last dose of trial treatment.

          -  Has a known history of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) (HIV 1/2 antibodies).

          -  Has a known history of or is positive for hepatitis B (hepatitis B surface antigen
             [HBsAg] reactive) or hepatitis C (hepatitis C virus [HCV] RNA [qualitative] is
             detected). Note: Without known history, testing only needs to be performed if there is
             clinical suspicion for Hepatitis B or C.

          -  Has received a live vaccine within 30 days of planned start of study therapy. Note:
             Seasonal influenza vaccines for injection are generally inactivated flu vaccines and
             are allowed; however intranasal influenza vaccines (e.g., Flu-Mist®) are live
             attenuated vaccines, and are not allowed.
      
Maximum Eligible Age:N/A
Minimum Eligible Age:18 Years
Eligible Gender:All
Healthy Volunteers:No

Primary Outcome Measures

Measure:Ki-67 proliferation index in T cell
Time Frame:up to 4 years
Safety Issue:
Description:determine the cell cycle status

Secondary Outcome Measures

Measure:Number of participants experiencing adverse events
Time Frame:up to 4 years
Safety Issue:
Description:Number of participants that received a combination of Pembrolizumab and Metformin who experience treatment-related adverse events as assessed by CTCAE v4.0
Measure:Hypoxia in the primary tumor by IHC Staining
Time Frame:up to 4 years
Safety Issue:
Description:
Measure:Mitochondrial functional restoration in Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes by mitochondrial mass
Time Frame:up to 4 years
Safety Issue:
Description:patients treated with metformin and pembrolizumab compared to pembrolizumab alone
Measure:Cell cycle status of peripheral blood T lymphocytes by Flow Cytometry
Time Frame:up to 4 years
Safety Issue:
Description:patients treated with pembrolizumab and metformin compared to patients treated with pembrolizumab alone
Measure:overall tumor response rate
Time Frame:up to 4 years
Safety Issue:
Description:patients treated with metformin and pembrolizumab compared to pembrolizumab alone, as measured by clinical tumor measurement and radiological tumor measurement on PET/CT scans.
Measure:Mitochondrial functional restoration in Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes by Seahorse metabolic profiling
Time Frame:up to 4 years
Safety Issue:
Description:patients treated with metformin and pembrolizumab compared to pembrolizumab alone

Details

Phase:Phase 1
Primary Purpose:Interventional
Overall Status:Recruiting
Lead Sponsor:Yana Najjar

Trial Keywords

  • Melanoma
  • Unresectable
  • Stage III
  • Stage IV

Last Updated

November 27, 2020