Immunization With 8 Peptides Mixed With CpG 7909 or Montanide ISA51 in Patients With Metastatic Cutaneous Melanoma

The purposes of this study are to describe the immune response to individual peptides after immunization with a combination of 8 peptides and CpG 7909 or Montanide ISA51; to determine the safety of the vaccines and; to document the tumor response in patients receiving the vaccines.

Patients received six sequential immunizations with 8 peptides presented by HLA-A2 and mixed with either CpG 7909 or Montanide ISA51, at 2-week intervals. The 8 peptides were injected at 8 distinct injection sites. These peptides are the following: MAGE-1.A2, MAGE-3.A2, MAGE-4.A2, MAGE-10.A2, MAGE-C2.A2 (ALKD), and NA17.A2 (20% intradermally and 80% subcutaneously); NY-ESO-1.A2 and Tyrosinase.A2 (100% subcutaneously).

300 µg of each peptide (except MAGE-10.A2 150 µg) was mixed with 4 mg CpG 7909 (Cohort 1) or 0.5ml of Montanide ISA51 (Cohort 2). In Cohort 2, the Tyrosinase.A2 was administered without Montanide ISA51.

Tumor staging was performed before inclusion and at week 13. Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes (PBL) collections were performed before starting the treatment, and at weeks 3, 7 and 13. They provided the T lymphocytes for the immunological analysis.

At week 13, the PCR results of the pre-immune tumor biopsy must be available. Additional cycles of immunization, ONLY with the peptides expressed by the tumor, mixed with Montanide ISA51, will be proposed to patients without tumor progression requiring another treatment. A second cycle of 3 injections at 6-week intervals will be started at week 17, followed by a third cycle of 12 injections at 3-month intervals, starting at month 11. At any time, progression of the disease necessitating any treatment not allowed during the study will result in withdrawal.

The immune response may well be a limiting factor to the therapeutic efficacy of the vaccine. If this is the case, it then becomes crucial to understand why some patients develop a cytotoxic t-lymphocyte (CTL) response against the vaccine, while the majority of them do not. One possible explanation for the low frequency of clinical responses is that each injection of a single peptide has a low probability to provide the adequate stimulus to activate very rare CTL precursors. This probability should be increased if several peptides known to be undoubtedly associated with tumor regressions were used together to immunize patients.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria

1. Histologically proven cutaneous melanoma, or clear cell sarcoma, which is considered as a subtype of melanoma.
2. Melanoma must be at one of the following AJCC 2002 stages:

   * Regional metastatic disease (any T; N2b, N2c or N3; M0).
   * Distant metastatic disease (any T; any N; M1a, M1b or M1c), except brain or leptomeningeal localizations, and except elevated LDH.
3. Patients must be HLA-A2.
4. A pre-immune tumor biopsy must be kept frozen for post-study PCR analysis.
5. Presence of at least one measurable or non-measurable tumor lesion.
6. Expected survival of at least 3 months.
7. Karnofsky performance scale ≥70 or WHO performance status of 0 or 1.
8. Within the last 4 weeks prior to study day 1, vital laboratory parameters should be within normal range, except for the following laboratory parameters, which must be within the ranges specified:

   Lab Parameter Range
   * Hemoglobin ≥ 10 g/dl or ≥ 6,25 mmol/l
   * Granulocytes ≥ 1,500/µl
   * Lymphocytes ≥ 700/µl
   * Platelets ≥ 100,000/µl
   * Serum creatinine ≤ 2.0 mg/dl or ≤ 177 μmol/l
   * Serum bilirubin ≤ 2.0 mg/dl or ≤ 34.2 μmol/l
   * ASAT and ALAT ≤ 2 x the normal upper limits
   * LDH ≤ the normal upper limit.
9. Viral tests:

   * HIV (human immunodeficiency virus): negative antibodies.
   * HBV (hepatitis B virus): negative antigens; antibodies may be positive.
   * HCV (hepatitis C virus): negative antibodies.
10. Age ≥ 18 years.
11. Able and willing to give valid written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria

1. Previous treatment with more than one regimen of systemic chemotherapy, combined or not with non-specific immunotherapy such as interferon alpha or interleukins. Chemoimmunotherapy or radiotherapy must be stopped within the preceding 4 weeks (6 weeks for nitrosoureas and mitomycin C).
2. Clinically significant heart disease (NYHA Class III or IV) i.e. NYHA class 3 congestive heart failure; myocardial infarction within the past six months; unstable angina; coronary angioplasty within the past 6 months; uncontrolled atrial or ventricular cardiac arrhythmias.
3. Active immunodeficiency or autoimmune disease. Vitiligo was not an exclusion criterion.
4. Other serious acute or chronic illnesses, e.g. active infections requiring antibiotics, bleeding disorders, or other conditions requiring concurrent medications not allowed during this study.
5. Other malignancy within 3 years prior to entry into the study, except for treated non-melanoma skin cancer and cervical carcinoma in situ.
6. Lack of availability for immunological and clinical follow-up assessments.
7. Participation in any other clinical trial involving another investigational agent within 4 weeks prior to enrollment.
8. Pregnancy or breastfeeding.
9. Women of childbearing potential: Refusal or inability to use effective means of contraception.