Clinical trial NCT00000135: Studies of the Ocular Complications of AIDS (SOCA)--Monoclonal Antibody CMV Retinitis Trial (MACRT)
Official title: Monoclonal Antibody CMV Retinitis Trial (MACRT)
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: PHASE2
PHASE3
Conditions: HIV Infections
Cytomegalovirus Retinitis
Lead sponsor: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 1999-09-24
Enrollment: 209
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 13
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a human anti-CMV monoclonal antibody, MSL-109, as adjunct therapy for controlling CMV retinitis.

Detailed description: CMV retinitis is the most common intraocular infection in patients with AIDS and is estimated to affect 35 to 40 percent of patients with AIDS. Untreated CMV retinitis is a progressive disorder, the end result of which is total retinal destruction and blindness. As of September 1996, drugs approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of CMV retinitis were ganciclovir (Cytovene), foscarnet (Foscavir), and cidofovir (Vistide). All systemically administered anti-CMV drugs are given in a similar fashion consisting of initial 2-week high-dose treatment (induction) to control the infection followed by long-term lower dose treatment (maintenance) to prevent relapse. Ganciclovir is available in both intravenous and oral formulations, foscarnet only in an intravenous formulation, and cidofovir is given by intermittent intravenous administration. A surgically implanted intraocular sustained-release ganciclovir device (Vitrasert) is also approved by the FDA for the treatment of CMV retinitis.

Despite the use of continuous maintenance therapy, given enough time, all patients with CMV retinitis on systemically administered drugs relapse. Preliminary studies suggested that the anti-CMV monoclonal antibody, MSL-109, when administered in conjunction with ganciclovir, markedly prolonged the time to relapse. Therefore, a randomized controlled clinical trial evaluating MSL-109 as adjunct therapy was conducted.

The MACRT was a randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of MSL-109 as adjunct therapy for the treatment of CMV retinitis. Patients with CMV retinitis, both those newly diagnosed and those suffering a relapse with active retinitis, were eligible. Primary therapy (e.g., ganciclovir, foscarnet, etc.) was determined by the treating local physician. The patients enrolled in the trial were randomized to either MSL-109 or placebo, administered as a rapid intravenous infusion every 2 weeks. Outcomes included survival, retinitis progression, change in amount of retinal area involved by CMV, loss of visual function (acuity and field), and morbidity.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion criteria:

* 13 years or older at entry
* Diagnosis of AIDS according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) definition
* Diagnosis of active CMV retinitis as determined by a SOCA-certified ophthalmologist at time of enrollment
* At least one lesion whose size is one-quarter or more optic disc area
* Currently receiving (for relapsed patients) or scheduled to receive (for newly diagnosed patients) drugs for primary treatment of CMV retinitis that are not contraindicated for use with MSL-109
* Visual acuity, in at least one eye that meets other eligibility criteria, of 3 or more letters on ETDRS chart at 1 meter distance (Snellen equivalent 5/200). Patients with poorer visual acuity may be enrolled if the visual acuity impairment is possibly reversible (eg, due to optic disc edema) and vision is at least light perception in that eye
* Karnofsky score of 60 or more
* Willingness and ability, with the assistance of a caregiver if necessary, to comply with treatment and follow up procedures
* signed consent statement

Exclusion criteria:

* Current treatment with intravenous immune globulin (IVIG), CMV immune globulin (CMVIG), alpha-interferon (alpha-IFN), gamma-interferon (gamma-IFN) or interleukin-2 (IL-2)
* Media opacity that precludes visualization of the fundus in all eyes meeting eligibility criteria
* Active medical problems, including drug or alcohol abuse, that are considered sufficient to hinder compliance with treatment or follow up procedures
* Retinal detachment, not scheduled for surgical repair, in all eyes meeting other eligibility criteria

Primary outcomes:
measure: Mortality Rate
timeFrame: All patients enrolled were followed for a 17 month period or until a common study closing date
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
Study officials:
References:
citation: MSL-109 adjuvant therapy for cytomegalovirus retinitis in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: the Monoclonal Antibody Cytomegalovirus Retinitis Trial. The Studies of Ocular Complications of AIDS Research Group. AIDS Clinical Trials Group. Arch Ophthalmol. 1997 Dec;115(12):1528-36.
citation: Jabs DA, Gilpin AM, Min YI, Erice A, Kempen JH, Quinn TC; Studies of Ocular Complications of AIDS Research Group. HIV and cytomegalovirus viral load and clinical outcomes in AIDS and cytomegalovirus retinitis patients: Monoclonal Antibody Cytomegalovirus Retinitis Trial. AIDS. 2002 Apr 12;16(6):877-87. doi: 10.1097/00002030-200204120-00007.
citation: Davidson M, Min YI, Holbrook JT, Van Natta M, Quinn TC, Murphy RL, Welch W, Jabs DA, Meinert CL; Studies of Ocular Complications of AIDS Research Group. Influence of filgrastim (granulocyte colony-stimulating factor) on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 RNA in patients with cytomegalovirus retinitis. J Infect Dis. 2002 Oct 1;186(7):1013-8. doi: 10.1086/342956. Epub 2002 Aug 29.
citation: Gilpin AM, Holbrook JT, Jabs DA, Meinert CL; Studies of Ocular Complications of AIDS Research Group. Data and safety monitoring board deliberations resulting in the early termination of the Monoclonal Antibody Cytomegalovirus Retinitis Trial. Control Clin Trials. 2003 Feb;24(1):92-8. doi: 10.1016/s0197-2456(02)00268-4.
citation: Holland GN, Van Natta ML, Goldenberg DT, Ritts R Jr, Danis RP, Jabs DA; Studies of Ocular Complications of AIDS Research Group. Relationship Between Opacity of Cytomegalovirus Retinitis Lesion Borders and Severity of Immunodeficiency Among People With AIDS. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2019 May 1;60(6):1853-1862. doi: 10.1167/iovs.18-26517.