Anal Cancer Stage III A Clinical Trial
Official title:
Phase 1b/II Trial of Checkpoint Inhibitor (Pembrolizumab an Anti PD-1 Antibody) Plus Standard IMRT in HPV Induced Stage III/IV Carcinoma of Anus
The CORINTH trial is for patients with more advanced (stage 3 and 4) anal cancer. The numbers of patients with anal cancer is increasing and only 65% patients with this later stage anal cancer have not had a recurrence 3 years after treatment. Anal cancer responds well to chemo-radiation (CRT) and this would be the treatment used for standard clinical care. The chemotherapy in CORINTH will be the same as standard of care (Mitomycin and 5FU or capecitabine) and the radiotherapy (RT) will be delivered using a technique where the dose intensity of RT can be modulated for different areas of the tumor (Intensity Modulated RT - IMRT). Translational samples (tissue blocks and blood) will be collected at baseline with further blood and tissue samples during and after treatment. Pembrolizumab, a relatively new drug, is a monoclonal antibody that enhances the body's immune response to cancer cells by acting on a receptor on the surface of T-cells called Programmed Death -1 (PD-1). The CORINTH study aims to see whether pembrolizumab, can be added safely to standard CRT. We will explore how safe the combination is and how well tolerated it is for patients with stage 3 and 4 anal cancer. If it is tolerable more patients will be treated to see if there is a similar or better clinical response. The trial is designed in 3 groups of patients. All patients will receive eight infusions of pembrolizumab at three weekly intervals. Each infusion lasts approximately 1 hour. The first group will not get pembrolizumab until they have already had 4 weeks of CRT (Day 29). As long as this is not found to cause too many extra side effects, the next group will have infusions at the beginning of the third week of CRT. The final group (cohort 3) will start their pembrolizumab with the first day of CRT i.e. Day 1. Initially each group will have 6 patients. Provided each group of patients finds the treatment tolerable and it is safe, more patients will be recruited into the group that receives the pembrolizumab earliest during their CRT. This will add further credence to the safety and tolerability of the combination and may provide a signal of how effective this treatment might be in improving outcomes for patients with more advanced anal cancer.
CORINTH is a multi center trial with a single arm. Patients will be recruited into 3 successive cohorts followed by an expansion of the final cohort. For each cohort the first dose of Pembrolizumab will be given at an earlier time point during the chemo-radiation (CRT). Pemrolizumab will be given as an IV infusion every 21 days, and a total of 8 infusions per patient at 200mg per infusion. The first dose of Pemrolizumab will be given at the following times: COHORT 1: beginning at Week 5 day 1 of CRT schedule COHORT 2: beginning at Week 3 day 1 of CRT schedule COHORT 3: beginning at Week 1 day 1 of CRT schedule** Cohort 2 will be dependent on a Safety Review Committee (SRC) recommendation. If the SRC are concerned about toxicity in Cohort 1 but not sufficiently to stop the study, they are able to recommend that Cohort 2 can change to commence pembrolizumab at week 4. If the SRC are concerned about toxicity in Cohort 2 but not sufficiently to stop the study, they are able to recommend that Cohort 3 can change to commence pembrolizumab at week 2. Potential participants will be under the care of a consultant who specializes in the treatment of anal cancer and the patient will have been identified as requiring CRT treatment for their anal cancer. They will be assessed for eligibility before being consented and allocated to the current cohort. # Patients will be monitored for Adverse Events which will be assessed according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) 4.03. Treatment guidelines are given for any immune related or infusion related events. Adverse Event review will take place weekly during CRT and at every Pembrolizumab visit as well as key time during follow up. Patient reported outcomes will be assessed using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) tool during CRT, pembrolizumab treatment and follow up. Patients will be followed up for 12 months. ;