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Pembrolizumab and GM-CSF in Biliary Cancer

Phase II Trial of Pembrolizumab (MK-3475) With GM-CSF Induction in Advanced Biliary Cancers

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT02703714
Enrollment
42
Registered
2016-03-09
Start date
2016-05-06
Completion date
2020-12-31
Last updated
2022-01-25

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Biliary Cancer

Keywords

Advanced, Locally-advanced, Not eligible for resection, Prior chemotherapy treatment

Brief summary

This is an open label phase II trial to examine efficacy and safety of a novel combination of pembrolizumab plus induction GM-CSF in patients with advanced biliary cancers treated at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). This phase II study will examine the efficacy and safety of the novel combination of pembrolizumab plus induction GM-CSF in advanced biliary cancer patients with the hypotheses that the combination may increase proportion of patients with overall response compared to contemporary historical controls, with acceptable safety.

Interventions

DRUGPembrolizumab

200 mg given intravenously (IV)

DRUGSargramostim

250 µg given subcutaneously (SC)

Sponsors

American Society of Clinical Oncology
CollaboratorOTHER
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
CollaboratorINDUSTRY
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
CollaboratorNIH
Robin Kate Kelley
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Be willing and able to provide written informed consent for the trial. * Have a performance status of 0 or 1 on the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Scale. * Demonstrate adequate organ function * Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) \>= 1,000/microliter (mcL)(performed within 28 days of treatment initiation) * Platelets \>= 60,000/mcL (\>= 75,000/mcL in expansion cohort) (performed within 28 days of treatment initiation) * Hemoglobin \>= 9 g/dL or \>= 5.6 mmol/L without transfusion or erythropoietin (EPO) dependency (within 7 days of assessment) (performed within 28 days of treatment initiation) * Serum creatinine =\< 1.5 X upper limit of normal (ULN) OR measured or calculated creatinine clearance (glomerular filtration rate (GFR) can also be used in place of creatinine or creatinine clearance (CrCl)) \>= 60 mL/min for subject with creatinine levels \> 1.5 X institutional ULN (performed within 28 days of treatment initiation) * Serum total bilirubin =\< 1.5 X ULN OR direct bilirubin =\< ULN for subjects with total bilirubin levels \> 1.5 ULN (performed within 28 days of treatment initiation) * Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT)) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT)) =\< 5 X ULN (performed within 28 days of treatment initiation) * Albumin \>= 2.5 mg/dL (performed within 28 days of treatment initiation) * International normalized ratio (INR) or prothrombin time (PT) =\< 1.5 X ULN unless subject is receiving anticoagulant therapy as long as prothrombin time (PT) or partial thromboplastin time (PTT) is within therapeutic range of intended use of anticoagulants (performed within 28 days of treatment initiation) * 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 (performed within 28 days of treatment initiation) * Patients with known hepatitis B (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are eligible provided liver function parameters meet laboratory eligibility criteria * 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 * 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. ADDITIONAL EXPANSION COHORT SUBJECT INCLUSION CRITERIA * Tumor measurable by RECIST 1.1 including \>= 1 target lesion not planned for biopsy * Presence of \>= 1 tumor lesion not included as a RECIST 1.1 target lesion which is assessed by investigator and/or radiologist as likely to be amenable to percutaneous biopsy by punch, computed tomography (CT)-, or ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy for serial sampling on treatment * Platelet count \>= 75,000/mcL * No contraindication to tumor biopsy at time of study enrollment * Consent for on-treatment paired biopsies

Exclusion criteria

* Is currently participating and receiving study therapy or has participated and received study therapy in a study of an investigational agent, or used an investigational device within 4 weeks of the first dose of treatment. * Has a diagnosis of immunodeficiency or is receiving systemic steroid therapy for purposes of immunosuppression or any other form of immunosuppressive therapy within 7 days prior to the first dose of trial treatment. * Has a known history of active Bacillus Tuberculosis (TB). * Has a known history of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) (HIV 1/2 antibodies). * Has untreated active Hepatitis B (e.g., HBsAg reactive). * Has an active infection requiring systemic antibiotic therapy at time of enrollment. • Treatment with antibiotic prophylaxis for indwelling biliary stent(s) or peri-procedural antibiotics for uncomplicated biliary stent exchanges is allowed and not an exclusion * Hypersensitivity to pembrolizumab or any of its excipients. * Has received treatment with an anti-cancer monoclonal antibody (mAb) 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 received treatment with chemotherapy, targeted small molecule therapy, or radiation therapy to non-liver sites 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 administered more than 2 weeks earlier. * Has had prior chemoembolization, bland embolization, radioembolization, local ablative therapies, radiation to liver tumors, or major surgery such as liver resection within 4 weeks prior to study enrollment or who has not recovered (i.e., ≤ Grade 1 or at baseline) from adverse events due to intervention 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 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 four 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. * 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 (e.g., thyroxine, insulin, or physiologic corticosteroid replacement therapy for adrenal or pituitary insufficiency, etc.) is not considered a form of systemic treatment. * Has known history of or any evidence of active, non-infectious pneumonitis. * Has had prior liver or other organ transplantation. * 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 received prior therapy with an anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, or anti-PD-L2 agent. * Has received a live vaccine within 30 days of planned start of study therapy.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Overall Response Rate (ORR)Up to 2 yearsProportion of subjects with measurable disease at study entry who obtained either a complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) (confirmed + unconfirmed) using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) version 1.1 at any time during the course of treatment.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Proportion of Participants With PD-L1 Positive StatusUp to 4 yearsPD-L1 expression will be measured by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and classified as positive or negative by central laboratory testing (QualTek Laboratories) using pre-specified cut-points; will be reported along with 95% confidence interval (CI)
Proportion of Participants With Progression-Free Survival (PFS) at 6 Months6 months after start of study treatmentProportion of participants with PFS Time from date of first dose of protocol therapy to date of first documented radiographic and/or clinical disease progression per RECIST version 1.1 or death from any cause
Median Duration of ResponseWithin 4 years after start of study treatmentTime from first documented evidence of CR or PR until the first documented sign of disease progression or death
Median Duration of Response Stratified by Sub-type of Biliary CancerWithin 4 years after start of study treatmentTime from first documented evidence of CR or PR until the first documented sign of disease progression or death stratified by sub-type of biliary cancer
Proportion of Participants With Treatment-related AEsDuring study treatment and for 30 days after last dose or until start of new treatment (up to 2 years)Safety events will be summarized based on proportion of total subjects, by preferred term. Only treatment-related \>=grade 3 Adverse Events (AE)s will be reported.
Median PFS Stratified by Sub-type of Biliary CancerWithin 4 years after start of study treatmentTime from date of first dose of protocol therapy to date of first documented radiographic and/or clinical disease progression per RECIST version 1.1 or death from any cause stratified by sub-type of biliary cancer
Median Overall Survival (OS)Within 4 years after start of treatmentTime from first dose of protocol therapy to the date of death due to any cause
Median Overall Survival (OS) Stratified by Sub-type of Biliary CancerWithin 4 years after start of treatmentTime from first dose of protocol therapy to the date of death due to any cause stratified by sub-type of biliary cancer.
Median Progression Free-Survival (PFS)Within 4 years after start of study treatmentTime from date of first dose of protocol therapy to date of first documented radiographic and/or clinical disease progression per RECIST version 1.1 or death from any cause

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Pembrolizumab and GM-CSF
Patients receive pembrolizumab IV over 30 minutes on day 1. Patients also receive sargramostim subcutaneous injection (SC) on days 1-14 of courses 1-2 or 2-3. Treatment repeats every 21 days for up to 2 courses for sargramostim and for up to 35 courses (24 months) for pembrolizumab in the absence of disease or unaccepted toxicity.
42
Total42

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicPembrolizumab and GM-CSF
Age, Customized
30-39 years old
1 Participants
Age, Customized
40-49 years old
3 Participants
Age, Customized
50-59 years old
15 Participants
Age, Customized
60-69 years old
12 Participants
Age, Customized
70-79 years old
10 Participants
Age, Customized
80-89 years old
1 Participants
Biliary Cancer Sub-types
Extrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma (ECC)
11 Participants
Biliary Cancer Sub-types
Gallbladder Cancers (GBC)
3 Participants
Biliary Cancer Sub-types
Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma (ICC)
28 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Hispanic or Latino
3 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Not Hispanic or Latino
39 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
9 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
2 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
30 Participants
Region of Enrollment
United States
42 participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
24 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
18 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
37 / 42
other
Total, other adverse events
42 / 42
serious
Total, serious adverse events
18 / 42

Outcome results

Primary

Overall Response Rate (ORR)

Proportion of subjects with measurable disease at study entry who obtained either a complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) (confirmed + unconfirmed) using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) version 1.1 at any time during the course of treatment.

Time frame: Up to 2 years

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Pembrolizumab and GM-CSFOverall Response Rate (ORR)0.12 proportion of participants
Secondary

Median Duration of Response

Time from first documented evidence of CR or PR until the first documented sign of disease progression or death

Time frame: Within 4 years after start of study treatment

Population: Only 5 participants demonstrated an overall response

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
Pembrolizumab and GM-CSFMedian Duration of Response294 days
Secondary

Median Duration of Response Stratified by Sub-type of Biliary Cancer

Time from first documented evidence of CR or PR until the first documented sign of disease progression or death stratified by sub-type of biliary cancer

Time frame: Within 4 years after start of study treatment

Population: Only 5 participants demonstrated a response of CR or PR, and all participants were diagnosed with Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma (ICC)

ArmMeasureGroupValue (MEDIAN)
Pembrolizumab and GM-CSFMedian Duration of Response Stratified by Sub-type of Biliary CancerIntrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma (ICC)294 days
Secondary

Median Overall Survival (OS)

Time from first dose of protocol therapy to the date of death due to any cause

Time frame: Within 4 years after start of treatment

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
Pembrolizumab and GM-CSFMedian Overall Survival (OS)393 days
Secondary

Median Overall Survival (OS) Stratified by Sub-type of Biliary Cancer

Time from first dose of protocol therapy to the date of death due to any cause stratified by sub-type of biliary cancer.

Time frame: Within 4 years after start of treatment

Population: Results are reported by sub-type of biliary cancer

ArmMeasureGroupValue (MEDIAN)
Pembrolizumab and GM-CSFMedian Overall Survival (OS) Stratified by Sub-type of Biliary CancerGallbladder Cancers (GBC)165 days
Pembrolizumab and GM-CSFMedian Overall Survival (OS) Stratified by Sub-type of Biliary CancerIntrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma (ICC)424 days
Pembrolizumab and GM-CSFMedian Overall Survival (OS) Stratified by Sub-type of Biliary CancerExtrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma (ECC)286 days
Secondary

Median PFS Stratified by Sub-type of Biliary Cancer

Time from date of first dose of protocol therapy to date of first documented radiographic and/or clinical disease progression per RECIST version 1.1 or death from any cause stratified by sub-type of biliary cancer

Time frame: Within 4 years after start of study treatment

Population: Results are reported by sub-type of biliary cancer

ArmMeasureGroupValue (MEDIAN)
Pembrolizumab and GM-CSFMedian PFS Stratified by Sub-type of Biliary CancerIntrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma (ICC)63 days
Pembrolizumab and GM-CSFMedian PFS Stratified by Sub-type of Biliary CancerExtrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma (ECC)58 days
Pembrolizumab and GM-CSFMedian PFS Stratified by Sub-type of Biliary CancerGallbladder Cancer (GBC)121 days
Secondary

Median Progression Free-Survival (PFS)

Time from date of first dose of protocol therapy to date of first documented radiographic and/or clinical disease progression per RECIST version 1.1 or death from any cause

Time frame: Within 4 years after start of study treatment

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
Pembrolizumab and GM-CSFMedian Progression Free-Survival (PFS)63 days
Secondary

Proportion of Participants With PD-L1 Positive Status

PD-L1 expression will be measured by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and classified as positive or negative by central laboratory testing (QualTek Laboratories) using pre-specified cut-points; will be reported along with 95% confidence interval (CI)

Time frame: Up to 4 years

Population: Only 28 participants had lab data collected for this endpoint

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Pembrolizumab and GM-CSFProportion of Participants With PD-L1 Positive Status0.36 proportion of participants
Secondary

Proportion of Participants With Progression-Free Survival (PFS) at 6 Months

Proportion of participants with PFS Time from date of first dose of protocol therapy to date of first documented radiographic and/or clinical disease progression per RECIST version 1.1 or death from any cause

Time frame: 6 months after start of study treatment

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Pembrolizumab and GM-CSFProportion of Participants With Progression-Free Survival (PFS) at 6 Months0.26 proportion of participants
Secondary

Proportion of Participants With Treatment-related AEs

Safety events will be summarized based on proportion of total subjects, by preferred term. Only treatment-related \>=grade 3 Adverse Events (AE)s will be reported.

Time frame: During study treatment and for 30 days after last dose or until start of new treatment (up to 2 years)

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Pembrolizumab and GM-CSFProportion of Participants With Treatment-related AEs0.095 proportion of participants

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 24, 2026