A Phase II Randomized Trial of Adjuvant Therapy With Pembrolizumab After Resection of Recurrent/Second Primary Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma With High Risk Features

  • STATUS
    Recruiting
  • End date
    Feb 28, 2026
  • participants needed
    282
  • sponsor
    National Cancer Institute (NCI)
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Updated on 28 October 2022
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Sanford Joe Lueken Cancer Center (0.0 mi away) Contact
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Summary

This phase II trial studies the effect of pembrolizumab in combination with radiation therapy or pembrolizumab alone compared to the usual approach (chemotherapy plus radiation therapy) after surgery in treating patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma that has come back (recurrent) or patients with a second head and neck cancer that is not from metastasis (primary). Radiation therapy uses high energy radiation or protons to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. Chemotherapy drugs, such as cisplatin and carboplatin kill tumor cells by stopping them from dividing. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as pembrolizumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Giving pembrolizumab in combination with radiation therapy or pembrolizumab alone after surgery may work better than the usual approach in shrinking recurrent or primary head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To evaluate overall survival (OS) of adjuvant reirradiation plus concurrent pembrolizumab followed by pembrolizumab to complete 12 months total of pembrolizumab to adjuvant reirradiation plus concurrent platinum chemotherapy in high risk head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients.

II. To evaluate OS of adjuvant pembrolizumab for 12 months compared to adjuvant reirradiation plus concurrent platinum chemotherapy in high risk HNSCC patients.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To evaluate the following endpoints in all arms: disease free survival (DFS), locoregional control, rates of distant metastasis, toxicity.

II. To evaluate whether high PD-L1 expression (defined as Combined Positive Score [CPS] >= 20) is predictive of increased efficacy in the experimental groups compared to control.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 3 arms.

ARM A: Patients receive pembrolizumab intravenously (IV) over 30 minutes on day 1. Treatment repeats every 6 weeks for 9 cycles in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients also undergo intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) or proton beam radiation therapy (PBRT) once daily (QD) for a total of 30 fractions in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

ARM B: Patients receive cisplatin or carboplatin IV on day 1. Treatment repeats every 7 days for 6 cycles in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients also undergo IMRT or PBRT QD for a total of 30 fractions in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

ARM C: Patients receive pembrolizumab IV over 30 minutes on day 1. Treatment repeats every 6 weeks for 9 cycles in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up at 30 days, and then every 6 months for up to 5 years from the date of registration

Details
Condition Recurrent Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Recurrent Hypopharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Recurrent Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Recurrent Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Recurrent Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Treatment cisplatin, carboplatin, Pembrolizumab, intensity-modulated radiation therapy, Proton Beam Radiation Therapy
Clinical Study IdentifierNCT04671667
SponsorNational Cancer Institute (NCI)
Last Modified on28 October 2022

Eligibility

 Yes No Not Sure

Inclusion Criteria

Patient must be between 18 and 79 years of age
Patient must have locoregionally recurrent or second primary HNSCC (oral cavity, oropharynx, larynx, hypopharynx) in a previously radiated field
Patient must have undergone surgery with gross total resection and must be randomized within 8 weeks of surgery
Patients must have high risk disease defined as
Positive margins and/or extra nodal extension (ENE)
Positive margins are defined as malignancy at or within 1 mm of the margin. High grade dysplasia (i.e. carcinoma in situ) at the margin is also considered positive
ENE may be either gross or microscopic
Patient must have a PD-L1 Combined Positive Score (CPS) >= 1 in a Clinical Laboratory
Patient must have had prior radiation to the area of recurrent or second primary tumor. This is defined as > 50% of the presurgical tumor volume having previously received a dose of > 45 Gy as determined by the treating radiation oncologist
Improvement Act (CLIA) certified laboratory. Testing can be done locally as
Patient must have completed prior radiation a minimum of 6 months prior to randomization
long as it is done in a CLIA certified laboratory. This testing must be on the
Patient must have an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-1
tumor specimen from the resection of the patient's recurrent or second primary
Patient must have the ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document. Patients with impaired decision-making capacity (IDMC) who have a legally authorized representative (LAR) or caregiver and/or family member available will also be considered eligible
HNSCC
Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) >= 1,500/mcL (obtained =< 28 days prior to protocol randomization)
Platelets >= 100,000/mcL (obtained =< 28 days prior to protocol randomization)
Total bilirubin =< 1.5 x institutional upper limit of normal (ULN) (obtained =< 28 days prior to protocol randomization)
Patient must not expect to conceive or father children by using by using accepted and effective method(s) of contraception or by abstaining from sexual intercourse while on study treatment, and continue for 120 days after the last dose of study treatment
Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase [SGOT])/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase [SGPT]) =< 3.0 x institutional ULN (obtained =< 28 days prior to protocol randomization)
Creatinine clearance > 30 ml/min using the Cockcroft-Gault formula (obtained =< 28 days prior to protocol randomization)
Patients with known history or current symptoms of cardiac disease, or history of treatment with cardiotoxic agents, should have a clinical risk assessment of cardiac function using the New York Heart Association Functional classification. Patients with New York Heart Association class III or IV heart failure are not eligible
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients on effective anti-retroviral therapy with undetectable viral load within 6 months are eligible for this trial as long as they have not been HIV-infected with a history of Kaposi sarcoma and/or multicentric Castleman disease

Exclusion Criteria

Patient must not have received anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy for recurrent disease. If the patient received anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy as part of initial upfront curative intent treatment (either as part of definitive non-surgical therapy or in the adjuvant setting) in the past, the last dosage of anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy must have been given greater than one year prior to randomization
Patient must not have any evidence of distant disease based on baseline imaging done within 28 days prior to randomization
NOTE: No testing for hepatitis B and hepatitis C is required unless mandated by a local health authority
Patient must not have a current active infection that requires systemic treatment at time of randomization
Patient must not be pregnant or breast-feeding due to the potential harm to an unborn fetus and possible risk for adverse events in nursing infants with the treatment regimens being used. All patients of childbearing potential must have a blood test or urine study within 14 days prior to randomization to rule out pregnancy. A urine or serum pregnancy test must be repeated within 72 hours prior to receiving the first dose of pembrolizumab or chemotherapy if the test done for eligibility/randomization is done outside of this 72 hour window. If the urine test is positive or cannot be confirmed as negative, a serum pregnancy test will be required. A patient of childbearing potential is defined as anyone, regardless of sexual orientation or whether they have undergone tubal ligation, who meets the following criteria: 1) has achieved menarche at some point, 2) has not undergone a hysterectomy or bilateral oophorectomy; or 3) has not been naturally postmenopausal (amenorrhea following cancer therapy does not rule out childbearing potential) for at least 24 consecutive months (i.e., has had menses at any time in the preceding 24 consecutive months)
Patient must not have a history of non-infectious pneumonitis requiring steroids within 3 years prior to randomization
Patient must not have a history of solid organ transplant or stem cell transplant
Patient must not be on immunosuppressive medication within 7 days prior to randomization, EXCEPT for the following: a) intranasal, inhaled, topical steroids, or local steroid injection (e.g., intra-articular injection); b) systemic corticosteroids at physiologic doses =< 10 mg/day of prednisone or equivalent; c) steroids as premedication for hypersensitivity reactions (e.g., computed tomography [CT] scan premedication)
Patient must not have received a live vaccine within 30 days prior to the first dose of study drug. Examples of live vaccines include, but are not limited to, the following: measles, mumps, rubella, varicella/zoster (chicken pox), yellow fever, rabies, Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), and typhoid vaccine. Seasonal influenza vaccines for injection are generally killed virus vaccines and are allowed; however, intranasal influenza vaccines (e.g., FluMist) are live attenuated vaccines and are not allowed
Patient must not have severe hypersensitivity (>= grade 3) to pembrolizumab and/or any of its excipients
Patient must not have an active autoimmune disease that has required systemic treatment in 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) is not considered a form of systemic treatment and is allowed
Patient must not have a known history of hepatitis B (defined as hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg] reactive) or known active hepatitis C virus (defined as HCV ribonucleic acid [RNA] [qualitative] is detected) infection
Patient must not have a known psychiatric or substance abuse disorder that would interfere with the participant's ability to cooperate with the requirements of the study
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