Clinical trial NCT02275533: Testing Nivolumab to Prevent Disease From Coming Back After Treatment in Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia, REMAIN Trial
Official title: Randomized Phase II Study to Assess the Role of Nivolumab as Single Agent to Eliminate Minimal Residual Disease and Maintain Remission in Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) Patients After Chemotherapy (REMAIN TRIAL)
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
Phase: PHASE2
Conditions: Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Lead sponsor: National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Sponsor class: NIH
First posted: 2014-10-27
Enrollment: 82
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: CROSSOVER
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: This phase II trial studies how well nivolumab works in eliminating any remaining cancer cells and preventing cancer from returning in patients with acute myeloid leukemia that had a decrease in or disappearance of signs and symptoms of cancer after receiving chemotherapy. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as nivolumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread.

Detailed description: PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

I. To evaluate and compare the progression free survival rate after randomization in the two treatment arms (nivolumab versus \[vs.\] observation).

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To determine and compare the overall survival rates in the two arms. II. To determine and compare the incidence of non-relapse mortality in the two arms.

III. To evaluate the toxicities of nivolumab as maintenance.

EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES:

I. To analyze PD-L1 expression on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells from peripheral blood and/or bone marrow samples at diagnosis if available and at the time of study enrollment.

II. To monitor AML minimal residual disease (MRD) by Wilms tumor 1 (WT1) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) at enrollment and at subsequent defined time points in the nivolumab-treated and control groups.

III. To perform an exploratory analysis on the frequencies, absolute numbers and subsets of T cells (including regulatory T cells) in the nivolumab-treated and control groups with an emphasis on activation markers.

IV. To perform deep sequencing of T cell receptor (TCR)-alpha and TCR-beta chains on polyclonal T cells at baseline and at subsequent time points in the nivolumab and control groups.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms.

ARM I: Patients receive nivolumab intravenously (IV) over 30 minutes once every 2 weeks. Treatment repeats every 2 weeks for 46 cycles in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients also undergo bone marrow biopsy at screening, months 3, 6, and 12, as clinically indicated, and at the time off study. Patients also undergo collection of blood samples at screening, weeks 9, 13, 25, and 53, and during off-study evaluation or at time of clinically suspected relapse. Patients may undergo echocardiography (ECHO) as clinically indicated.

ARM II: Patients undergo standard of care clinical observation for up to 2 years. Upon disease relapse, patients may cross-over to Arm I. Patients also undergo bone marrow biopsy at screening, months 3, 6, and 12, as clinically indicated, and during off-study evaluation. Patients also undergo collection of blood samples at screening, weeks 9, 13, 25, and 53, and during off-study evaluation or at time of clinically suspected relapse. Patients may undergo ECHO as clinically indicated.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up periodically for 2 years, every 6 months for 1 year, and then yearly thereafter.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* AML patients in first complete remission (CR) (CR1) or first complete remission with incomplete blood count recovery (CRi) after induction and/or consolidation chemotherapy; except young (\< 60 years) AML patients in European LeukemiaNet favorable group; (Since young AML patients in the European LeukemiaNet favorable group have excellent 2 year progression free survival \[PFS\] at around 64%, further maintenance therapy might not provide additional benefit; thus the current trial will exclude young favorable group AML patients), patients could receive any cycle consolidation or no consolidation per the discretion by the treating physician
* Within 60 days after bone marrow biopsy confirmed remission after the patients recover from their last course of chemotherapy, the goal to consent the eligible patient prior to the remission confirmation bone marrow biopsy at the end of the planned chemotherapy); ideally, the research samples will be collected during the bone marrow biopsy, and the patient will be enrolled to the study within 2 weeks of the bone marrow biopsy; if there is delay to enroll the patient after the bone marrow biopsy and research sample collection, it is ok not to repeat bone marrow biopsy within 4 weeks, after the last bone marrow biopsy, if there is no sign of disease relapse; a repeat bone marrow biopsy should be done if the delay of enrollment is more than 4 weeks after the last bone marrow biopsy; patients with confirmed remission within 60 days after the last bone marrow biopsy, without research samples collection, should have a repeat bone marrow biopsy conducted within two weeks prior to enrolling on the study
* Patient is not a candidate for stem cell transplant due to advanced age or co-morbidities; or the enrollee does not have donor available; or the enrollee declines stem cell transplant due to personal belief; or stem cell transplant is not standard of care based on the risk category of disease
* Age \>= 18 years. Because no dosing or adverse event data are currently available on the use of nivolumab in patients \< 18 years of age, children are excluded from this study, but will be eligible for future pediatric trials
* Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG)/Karnofsky performance status of 0 or 1 (Karnofsky \>= 70%)
* Life expectancy of greater than 6 months
* Leukocytes \>= 1,500/mcL
* Absolute neutrophil count \>= 1,000/mcL
* Platelets \>= 50,000/mcL or recovery to the baseline count
* Total bilirubin =\< 1.5 x institutional upper limit of normal (ULN) (except patients with Gilbert syndrome, who can have total bilirubin \< 3.0 mg/dL)
* Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase \[SGOT\])/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase \[SGPT\]) =\< 2.5 x ULN
* Amylase and lipase =\< 1.5 x ULN without any symptoms of pancreatitis
* Serum creatinine =\< 1.5 x ULN OR creatinine clearance (CrCl) \>= 50 mL/min (if using the Cockcroft-Gault formula)
* The effects of nivolumab on the developing human fetus are unknown; for this reason, women of child-bearing potential (WOCBP) and men must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation; WOCBP should use an adequate method to avoid pregnancy for 23 weeks after the last dose of investigational drug nivolumab; women of childbearing potential must have a negative serum or urine pregnancy test (minimum sensitivity 25 IU/L or equivalent units of human chorionic gonadotropin \[HCG\]) within 24 hours prior to the start of nivolumab; women must not be breastfeeding; men who are sexually active with WOCBP must use any contraceptive method with a failure rate of less than 1% per year; men receiving nivolumab and who are sexually active with WOCBP will be instructed to adhere to contraception for a period of 31 weeks after the last dose of investigational product; women who are not of childbearing potential (i.e., who are postmenopausal or surgically sterile as well as azoospermic men) do not require contraception
* Women of childbearing potential (WOCBP) is defined as any female who has experienced menarche and who has not undergone surgical sterilization (hysterectomy or bilateral oophorectomy) or who is not postmenopausal; menopause is defined clinically as 12 months of amenorrhea in a woman over 45 in the absence of other biological or physiological causes; in addition, women under the age of 55 must have a documented serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) level less than 40 mIU/mL
* WOCBP receiving nivolumab will be instructed to adhere to contraception for a period of 23 weeks after the last dose of investigational product; men receiving nivolumab and who are sexually active with WOCBP will be instructed to adhere to contraception for a period of 31 weeks after the last dose of investigational product; these durations have been calculated using the upper limit of the half-life for nivolumab (25 days) and are based on the protocol requirement that WOCBP use contraception for 5 half-lives plus 30 days and men who are sexually active with WOCBP use contraception for 5 half-lives plus 90 days
* Should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while she or her partner is participating in this study, she (or the participating partner) should inform the treating physician immediately
* Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients who have had chemotherapy or radiotherapy within 4 weeks (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin C) prior to entering the study or those who have not recovered from adverse events (AEs) due to agents administered more than 4 weeks earlier
* Patients who are receiving any other investigational agents
* Patients should be excluded if they have had prior treatment with an anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, anti-PD-L2, anti-CTLA-4 antibody, or any other antibody or drug specifically targeting T-cell co-stimulation or immune checkpoint pathways
* Patients with known central nervous system (CNS) involvement may be excluded because of poor prognosis and concerns regarding progressive neurologic dysfunction that would confound the evaluation of neurologic and other adverse events; however, if CNS disease is cleared before the treatment with nivolumab, patients could be allowed if no permanent CNS damage
* History of severe hypersensitivity reaction to any monoclonal antibody
* Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements
* Pregnant women are excluded from this study because nivolumab is an agent with the potential for teratogenic or abortifacient effects; because there is an unknown but potential risk for adverse events in nursing infants secondary to treatment of the mother with nivolumab, breastfeeding should be discontinued if the mother is treated with nivolumab
* Patients with known history of testing positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or known acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) might be enrolled if the viral load by PCR is undetectable with/without active treatment and absolute lymphocyte count \>= 350/ul
* Patients with a positive test for hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBV sAg) or hepatitis C virus ribonucleic acid (hepatitis C virus \[HCV\] antibody) indicating acute or chronic infection might be enrolled if the viral load by PCR is undetectable with/without active treatment
* Patients with active autoimmune disease or history of autoimmune disease that might recur, which may affect vital organ function or require immune suppressive treatment including systemic corticosteroids, should be excluded; these include but are not limited to patients with a history of immune related neurologic disease, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune (demyelinating) neuropathy, Guillain-Barre syndrome, myasthenia gravis; systemic autoimmune disease such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), connective tissue diseases, scleroderma, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Crohn's, ulcerative colitis, hepatitis; and patients with a history of toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), Stevens-Johnson syndrome, or phospholipid syndrome should be excluded because of the risk of recurrence or exacerbation of disease; patients with vitiligo, endocrine deficiencies including thyroiditis managed with replacement hormones including physiologic corticosteroids are eligible; patients with rheumatoid arthritis and other arthropathies, Sjögren's syndrome and psoriasis controlled with topical medication and patients with positive serology, such as antinuclear antibodies (ANA), anti-thyroid antibodies should be evaluated for the presence of target organ involvement and potential need for systemic treatment but should otherwise be eligible
* Patients are permitted to enroll if they have vitiligo, type I diabetes mellitus, residual hypothyroidism due to autoimmune condition only requiring hormone replacement, psoriasis not requiring systemic treatment, or conditions not expected to recur in the absence of an external trigger (precipitating event)
* Patients should be excluded if they have a condition requiring systemic treatment with either corticosteroids (\> 10 mg daily prednisone equivalents) or other immunosuppressive medications within 14 days of study drug administration; inhaled or topical steroids and adrenal replacement doses =\< 10 mg daily prednisone equivalents are permitted in the absence of active autoimmune disease; patients are permitted to use topical, ocular, intra-articular, intranasal, and inhalational corticosteroids (with minimal systemic absorption); physiologic replacement doses of systemic corticosteroids are permitted, even if =\< 10 mg/day prednisone equivalents; a brief course of corticosteroids for prophylaxis (e.g., contrast dye allergy) or for treatment of non-autoimmune conditions (e.g., delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction caused by contact allergen) is permitted
* Patients who have had evidence of active or acute diverticulitis, intra-abdominal abscess, gastrointestinal (GI) obstruction and abdominal carcinomatosis which are known risk factors for bowel perforation should be evaluated for the potential need for additional treatment before coming on study

Primary outcomes:
measure: Progression free survival (PFS)
timeFrame: Time from randomization to disease relapse or death from any cause, assessed up to 2 years post-treatment
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Overall survival (OS)
timeFrame: Time from randomization to the date of death from any cause, assessed up to 2 years post-treatment
measure: Non-relapse mortality (NRM)
timeFrame: Duration between the date of randomization and the date of patient death due to reasons other than relapse, assessed up to 2 years post-treatment
measure: Incidence of adverse effects of nivolumab
timeFrame: Up to 100 days post-treatment
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Birmingham
country: United States
facility: University of Alabama at Birmingham Cancer Center
state: Alabama
city: Tucson
country: United States
facility: Banner University Medical Center - Tucson
state: Arizona
city: Tucson
country: United States
facility: University of Arizona Cancer Center-North Campus
state: Arizona
city: Duarte
country: United States
facility: City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center
state: California
city: La Jolla
country: United States
facility: UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center
state: California
city: Los Angeles
country: United States
facility: Los Angeles General Medical Center
state: California
city: Los Angeles
country: United States
facility: USC / Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
state: California
city: Sacramento
country: United States
facility: University of California Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center
state: California
city: New Haven
country: United States
facility: Smilow Cancer Center/Yale-New Haven Hospital
state: Connecticut
city: New Haven
country: United States
facility: Yale University
state: Connecticut
city: Washington
country: United States
facility: MedStar Georgetown University Hospital
state: District of Columbia
city: Tampa
country: United States
facility: Moffitt Cancer Center-International Plaza
state: Florida
city: Tampa
country: United States
facility: Moffitt Cancer Center
state: Florida
city: Chicago
country: United States
facility: University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center
state: Illinois
city: Decatur
country: United States
facility: Decatur Memorial Hospital
state: Illinois
city: New Lenox
country: United States
facility: UC Comprehensive Cancer Center at Silver Cross
state: Illinois
city: Orland Park
country: United States
facility: University of Chicago Medicine-Orland Park
state: Illinois
city: Peoria
country: United States
facility: Illinois CancerCare-Peoria
state: Illinois
city: Indianapolis
country: United States
facility: Indiana University/Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center
state: Indiana
city: Fairway
country: United States
facility: University of Kansas Clinical Research Center
state: Kansas
city: Kansas City
country: United States
facility: University of Kansas Cancer Center
state: Kansas
city: Westwood
country: United States
facility: University of Kansas Hospital-Westwood Cancer Center
state: Kansas
city: Lexington
country: United States
facility: University of Kentucky/Markey Cancer Center
state: Kentucky
city: Baltimore
country: United States
facility: University of Maryland/Greenebaum Cancer Center
state: Maryland
city: Bethesda
country: United States
facility: National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
state: Maryland
city: Bethesda
country: United States
facility: NCI - Center for Cancer Research
state: Maryland
city: Detroit
country: United States
facility: Wayne State University/Karmanos Cancer Institute
state: Michigan
city: Farmington Hills
country: United States
facility: Weisberg Cancer Treatment Center
state: Michigan
city: Omaha
country: United States
facility: University of Nebraska Medical Center
state: Nebraska
city: Lebanon
country: United States
facility: Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center/Dartmouth Cancer Center
state: New Hampshire
city: New Brunswick
country: United States
facility: Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
state: New Jersey
city: New Brunswick
country: United States
facility: Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey
state: New Jersey
city: Bronx
country: United States
facility: Montefiore Medical Center-Einstein Campus
state: New York
city: Bronx
country: United States
facility: Montefiore Medical Center - Moses Campus
state: New York
city: Buffalo
country: United States
facility: Roswell Park Cancer Institute
state: New York
city: New York
country: United States
facility: Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone
state: New York
city: Cleveland
country: United States
facility: Case Western Reserve University
state: Ohio
city: Hershey
country: United States
facility: Penn State Milton S Hershey Medical Center
state: Pennsylvania
city: Philadelphia
country: United States
facility: Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
state: Pennsylvania
city: Dallas
country: United States
facility: UT Southwestern/Simmons Cancer Center-Dallas
state: Texas
city: Houston
country: United States
facility: Baylor College of Medicine/Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center
state: Texas
city: Houston
country: United States
facility: Ben Taub General Hospital
state: Texas
city: Salt Lake City
country: United States
facility: Huntsman Cancer Institute/University of Utah
state: Utah
city: Richmond
country: United States
facility: Virginia Commonwealth University/Massey Cancer Center
state: Virginia
city: Madison
country: United States
facility: University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center - University Hospital
state: Wisconsin
city: Toronto
country: Canada
facility: University Health Network-Princess Margaret Hospital
state: Ontario
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center EDDOP
name: Wendy Stock
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Shallis RM, Podoltsev NA. Maintenance therapy for acute myeloid leukemia: sustaining the pursuit for sustained remission. Curr Opin Hematol. 2021 Mar 1;28(2):110-121. doi: 10.1097/MOH.0000000000000637.