Phase I Study of Autologous Tumor-Draining Lymph Node-Derived Lymphocytes as Neoadjuvant Therapy for HER2-Negative Breast Cancer

NCT ID: NCT06121570

Last Updated: 2023-11-08

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

PHASE1

Total Enrollment

24 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2023-11-01

Study Completion Date

2031-08-31

Brief Summary

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RATIONALE: Patients with HER2-negative breast cancer not responding to initial neoadjuvant chemotherapy might have lower chances for a pathologic complete response (pCR) at definitive surgery, indicating worse prognosis. Adoptive cell therapy has demonstrated efficacy in advanced breast cancer, but whether the addition of adoptive cell therapy to neoadjuvant chemotherapy could increase the pCR rate remains unclear. Tumor-draining lymph node-derived lymphocytes (LNLs) that have abundant tumor-reactive T cells, but not exhausted T cells, are easy to produce. It is not yet known whether LNL treatment is safe and effective in patients with HER2-negative breast cancer not responding to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

PURPOSE: This phase I trial is mainly to investigate the safety of autologous LNL in patients with HER2-negative breast cancer not responding to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Breast Neoplasms

Study Design

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Allocation Method

NA

Intervention Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Chemotherapy + LNL treatment

Participants receive two cycles of doxorubicin or epirubicin, plus cyclophosphamide (AC or EC), followed by neoadjuvant LNL treatment, which consists of non-myeloablative lymphocyte depleting regimen of chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide and fludarabine, followed by infusion of LNL and interleukin-2. After LNL treatment, participants receive four-cycles of nab-paclitaxel as neoadjuvant therapy prior to definitive surgery. The choice of doxorubicin or epirubicin should be the same as the prior neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy (SLNB)

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

A sample of the participant's tumor-draining lymph nodes will be collected and sent to the biotherapy center for LNL isolation and expansion.

Doxorubicin

Intervention Type DRUG

Doxorubicin will be administered at 60 mg/m\^2 IV on Day 1 of Cycles 1-2 of the neoadjuvant chemotherapy of the study.

Epirubicin

Intervention Type DRUG

Epirubicin will be administered at 100 mg/m\^2 IV on Day 1 of Cycles 1-2 of the neoadjuvant chemotherapy of the study.

Cyclophosphamide

Intervention Type DRUG

Cyclophosphamide will be administered at 600 mg/m\^2 IV on Day 1 of Cycles 1-2 of the neoadjuvant chemotherapy of the study.

Cyclophosphamide

Intervention Type DRUG

Cyclophosphamide will be administered at 500 mg/m\^2 IV daily for three days. Cyclophosphamide will be initiated five days prior to the anticipated LNL transfer, and the precise timing will depend on the rate of in vitro LNL growth.

Fludarabine

Intervention Type DRUG

Fludarabine will be administered at 30 mg/m\^2 IV daily for three days. Fludarabine will be initiated five days prior to the anticipated LNL transfer, and the precise timing will depend on the rate of in vitro LNL growth.

Tumor-draining lymph node-derived lymphocyte (LNL)

Intervention Type BIOLOGICAL

Participants receive single infusion of LNL at the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D).

Interleukin-2

Intervention Type BIOLOGICAL

Eight to twelve hours after completing the LNL infusion, all participants will receive intermediate-dose decrescendo IL-2 IV.

Nab-paclitaxel

Intervention Type DRUG

Nab-paclitaxel will be administered at 260 mg/m\^2 IV on Day 1 of Cycles 3-6 of the neoadjuvant chemotherapy of the study.

Interventions

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Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy (SLNB)

A sample of the participant's tumor-draining lymph nodes will be collected and sent to the biotherapy center for LNL isolation and expansion.

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Doxorubicin

Doxorubicin will be administered at 60 mg/m\^2 IV on Day 1 of Cycles 1-2 of the neoadjuvant chemotherapy of the study.

Intervention Type DRUG

Epirubicin

Epirubicin will be administered at 100 mg/m\^2 IV on Day 1 of Cycles 1-2 of the neoadjuvant chemotherapy of the study.

Intervention Type DRUG

Cyclophosphamide

Cyclophosphamide will be administered at 600 mg/m\^2 IV on Day 1 of Cycles 1-2 of the neoadjuvant chemotherapy of the study.

Intervention Type DRUG

Cyclophosphamide

Cyclophosphamide will be administered at 500 mg/m\^2 IV daily for three days. Cyclophosphamide will be initiated five days prior to the anticipated LNL transfer, and the precise timing will depend on the rate of in vitro LNL growth.

Intervention Type DRUG

Fludarabine

Fludarabine will be administered at 30 mg/m\^2 IV daily for three days. Fludarabine will be initiated five days prior to the anticipated LNL transfer, and the precise timing will depend on the rate of in vitro LNL growth.

Intervention Type DRUG

Tumor-draining lymph node-derived lymphocyte (LNL)

Participants receive single infusion of LNL at the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D).

Intervention Type BIOLOGICAL

Interleukin-2

Eight to twelve hours after completing the LNL infusion, all participants will receive intermediate-dose decrescendo IL-2 IV.

Intervention Type BIOLOGICAL

Nab-paclitaxel

Nab-paclitaxel will be administered at 260 mg/m\^2 IV on Day 1 of Cycles 3-6 of the neoadjuvant chemotherapy of the study.

Intervention Type DRUG

Other Intervention Names

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SLNB LNL IL-2

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

In order to be eligible for participation in this trial, the participant must:

1. Have signed the informed consent to study participation.
2. Be a female subject and aged between 18 and 70 years.
3. Provide a core needle biopsy which is histologically confirmed as invasive breast cancer. Excisional biopsy or surgical biopsy is not allowed.
4. Have received two cycles of doxorubicin or epirubicin, plus cyclophosphamide, and had stable disease (SD) confirmed by breast MRI.
5. Have breast cancer defined as the following combined primary tumor (T), regional lymph node (N), and distant metastasis (M) staging per AJCC for breast cancer staging criteria version 8 based on breast MRI assessment before receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy:

The minimum size of the primary tumor was 1 cm in largest diameter by breast MRI, N0-3, M0.
6. Have HER2-negative breast cancer, defined as 0-1+ by immunohistochemistry or 2+ by immunohistochemistry without HER2 amplification by FISH.
7. Have known hormone receptor status (estrogen receptor \[ER\], progesterone receptor \[PgR\]), Ki67 value and, if institutional standard permits, known tumor grade.
8. Have not received prior therapies for breast cancer, including but not limited to, chemotherapy (except two cycles of doxorubicin or epirubicin, plus cyclophosphamide), radiotherapy, hormonal therapy, targeted therapy, biological therapy, immunotherapy and surgery.
9. Have accessible tumor-draining lymph nodes by surgery to grow LNL. Participants have not received sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) and ipsilateral axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) for the breast cancer lesion.
10. Have an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1.
11. Demonstrate adequate normal organ function:

NOTE: Blood component or cytokine therapy is not allowed within 14 days before surgery.
1. Routine blood test:

* Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥1.5×10\^9/L
* Lymphocyte count (LC) \>0.5×10\^9/L
* Platelets (PLT) ≥100×10\^9/L
* Hemoglobin (Hb) ≥90 g/L
2. Liver function test:

* AST and ALT ≤2.5×ULN (≤5×ULN for participants with liver metastases)
* ALP ≤2.5×ULN (≤5×ULN for participants with liver or bone metastases)
* Total bilirubin ≤1.5×ULN (≤3.0 mg/dL for participants with Gilbert's syndrome)
3. Renal function test:

• Calculated creatinine clearance (CrCL) ≥45 mL/min OR creatinine ≤1.5×ULN
4. Coagulation function test:

* APTT ≤1.5×ULN
* INR or PT ≤1.5×ULN
5. Doppler echocardiography:

• Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥50%
6. Pulmonary function test:

* FEV1 ≥60%
12. Female participants of childbearing potential must be willing to use an adequate method of contraception for the course of the study through one year (or longer as specified by local institutional guidelines) after the last dose of study treatment. Female subjects of childbearing potential must have a negative serum pregnancy test within 7 days prior to LNL infusion.
13. Have recovered from prior therapy-related adverse events to Grade≤1 per CTCAE version 5.0 criteria or met the criteria of normal organ function specified above prior to the surgery for obtaining the lymph nodes, except for second-degree peripheral nerve injury, alopecia, leukoderma, hypothyroidism controlled by thyroid hormone replacement therapy, type 1 diabetes controlled by insulin therapy, and other irreversible toxic events that would not be exacerbated by LNL infusion as judged by the investigator (e.g., hearing loss).

Exclusion Criteria

The participant must be excluded from participating in this trial if the participant:

1. Has metastatic breast cancer.
2. Has a known additional malignancy that is progressing or requires active treatment within the last 5 years. Exceptions include basal or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, and thyroid cancer that has undergone potentially curative therapy or in situ cervical cancer.
3. Has a known history of cardiovascular disease, including but not limited to, (1) congestive heart failure (New York Heart Association \[NYHA\] functional classification Class \> 2), (2) unstable angina pectoris, (3) myocardial infarction in the past 3 months, (4) supraventricular arrhythmia or ventricular arrhythmia that requires treatments.
4. Has interstitial pneumonia or active pneumonia that has clinical implications, or other respiratory diseases that seriously affect pulmonary function.
5. Has an active infection requiring systemic therapy or has an unexplained fever of \>38.5℃ except fevers caused by cancer.
6. Has arterial and/or venous thrombotic events in the past 5 months, e.g., cerebrovascular accident, deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism.
7. Has a known psychiatric, alcohol abuse or substance abuse disorders.
8. Is pregnant or breastfeeding.
9. Has an active autoimmune disease, a history of autoimmune disease, or autoimmune disease that has required systemic treatment (e.g., with use of prednisone at a dose of \>10 mg per day or other corticosteroids at an equivalent dose). Replacement therapy (e.g., thyroxine, insulin, or physiologic corticosteroid replacement therapy for adrenal or pituitary insufficiency) is allowed.
10. Has a history of congenital immunodeficiency or acquired immunodeficiency (e.g., positive serology test for HIV).
11. Has tuberculosis in the past one year, or has a history of active tuberculosis more than one year but did not receive regular treatments.
12. Has known active hepatitis B or hepatitis C. Participants that are hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) or hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) positive may participate provided that the HBV DNA level is normal. Participants that are hepatitis C antibody positive may participate provided that the HCV DNA level is normal. Carriers of HBV or HCV must receive anti-virus therapy, and take regular DNA copy number tests during this trial.
13. Has received a live vaccine within 4 weeks prior to enrollment, or plans to receive a live vaccine during this trial.
14. Has a history of allogeneic bone marrow or organ transplant.
15. Has received the study-related drugs including anthracycline, cyclophosphamide, taxane, fludarabine, interleukin-2, except two-cycle neoadjuvant chemotherapy of doxorubicin or epirubicin, plus cyclophosphamide.
16. Has a history of hypersensitivity or allergy to the drugs in this study and any of their components including but not limited to, LNL, doxorubicin/epirubicin, cyclophosphamide, nab-paclitaxel, fludarabine, interleukin-2, dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO), human serum albumin (HSA), dextran-40 and antibiotics (β-lactam antibiotics, gentamicin).
17. Has contraindication for use of IL-2, including but not limited to, refractory or intractable epilepsy, and active gastrointestinal bleeding.
18. Has a history of Grade≥2 neuropathy.
19. Has received long half-life angiogenesis inhibitors within four weeks prior to enrollment, e.g., bevacizumab.
20. Is receiving any medication prohibited in combination with study treatments as described in the respective product labels, unless medication was stopped within 7 days prior to enrollment.
21. Has a history or current evidence of any condition, therapy, or laboratory abnormality that might confound the results of the study, interfere with participation for the full duration of the study, or render study participation not compatible with the participant's best interest, in the opinion of the investigator.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

70 Years

Eligible Sex

FEMALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Erwei Song, M.D., Ph.D.

Director of Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Erwei Song, M.D., Ph.D.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University

Locations

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Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University

Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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China

Central Contacts

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Shicheng Su, M.D., Ph.D.

Role: CONTACT

+86 13632394954

Erwei Song, M.D., Ph.D.

Role: CONTACT

+86 13719237746

Facility Contacts

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Shicheng Su, M.D., Ph.D.

Role: primary

+86 13632394954

Erwei Song, M.D., Ph.D.

Role: backup

+86 13719237746

Other Identifiers

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[2021] 04-01

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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