Clinical trial NCT04188951: HFHS-1801-A Pilot Study of Immunotherapy As Consolidation Therapy for Patients with Recurrent Head and Neck Cancer
Official title: HFHS-1801-A Pilot Study of Immunotherapy As Consolidation Therapy for Patients with Recurrent Head and Neck Cancer High Risk Pathologic Features Following Surgical Salvage and Are Not Eligible for Post-operative Radiation Therapy
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: EARLY_PHASE1
Conditions: Head and Neck Neoplasms
Keywords: Recurrent Head and Neck Cancer
Recurrent Head and Neck Neoplasms
Lead sponsor: Henry Ford Health System
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2019-12-06
Enrollment: 10
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 85
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: NA
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Intervention model description: Pilot study
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: The study is a pilot study to explore the feasibility and efficacy of immunotherapy following salvage surgery for recurrent head and neck cancer.

Detailed description: Approximately 30-40% of patients treated with a curative intent for locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck cancer will experience an isolated loco-regional recurrence or a second primary tumor in the previously radiated tissues1-5. Patients with recurrent head and neck cancer frequently recur locally and are still amenable for curative interventions. The current recommendations for treatment of these recurrent and second primary tumors includes surgical resection whenever possible as this has been shown to have a significantly better outcome as compared to patients treated non-surgically with radiation therapy with or without concurrent chemotherapy.

Immunotherapy is expected to be more effective with smaller amounts of disease and application of therapy when disease burden is minimal is expected to yield improved outcomes. Many trials underway at the present time explore the use of immunotherapy in earlier stages of head and neck cancer than the ones already studied. However, patients undergoing salvage therapy are understudied and no major cooperative group or industry trial is addressing this group of patients.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients must be 18 years or older, of either gender, with the ability to consent to participation in the study.
* Patients must have a history of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck involving any sub-site in the head and neck area except nasopharynx, paranasal sinuses, and salivary gland tumors.
* All patients must have recurred following definitive therapy with any combination of surgery, radiation, and/or chemotherapy.
* All patients must have undergone salvage surgery in an attempt to excise all recurrent disease.
* Salvage radiation therapy must not be an option available to the patient.
* Patients must have high risk features such extra nodal invasion, positive margins, perineural invasion or vascular embolism.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients with macroscopic residual disease
* Patient is eligible for radiation therapy.
* Performance status more than 2.
* Contraindications for immunotherapy, autoimmune disease, allergy to medication, steroid use at baseline.
* Patients with other previous cancers excluding CIN, DCIS, non-melanoma skin cancers
* Patients previously treated with immunotherapy \<12months prior
* Patients with synchronous cancers "not included in the inclusion criteria"

Primary outcomes:
measure: Rate of recurrence at 1 year, will be measured by RECIST 1.1 as the primary measure for assessment of tumor, date of disease progression, and as a basis for all protocol guidelines related to disease status (e.g., discontinuation of study treatment).
timeFrame: 1 year
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Determine the feasibility of immunotherapy for head and neck cancer following salvage surgery to produce preliminary data for 15 patients regarding efficacy. All side effects and symptoms will be assessed by CTCAE v5.0.
timeFrame: 1 year
measure: Rate of completion of all planned therapy. All drug related toxicities will be graded by CTCAE v5.0.
timeFrame: through study completion, an average of 1 year
measure: Toxicity rates measured by laboratory assessments and all adverse events and serious adverse events will be assessed by CTCAE v5.0.
timeFrame: through study completion, an average of 1 year
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Detroit
country: United States
facility: Henry Ford Health System
state: Michigan
Study officials:
affiliation: Henry Ford Health System
name: Haythem Ali, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: