Conditions: Melanoma
Keywords: metastatic melanoma
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 17
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
The purpose of this study is to determine if an experimental melanoma vaccine can produce an immune response in patients with metastatic melanoma, and if combining this vaccine with the drug Ontak can improve these immune responses. It is also hoped that this will lead to tumor shrinkage.

Detailed description:
This is an open-label, randomized phase II, single institution study comparing administration of a 4-peptide melanoma vaccine alone or post-Ontak, in patients with metastatic melanoma.

Treatment:

1. Cohort A: Vaccine alone. Patients will receive immunization with an emulsion of 4 melanoma peptides (250 mcg each)/GM-CSF/Montanide injected intradermally/subcutaneously on day 1. A second vaccination will be given 2 weeks later and a third vaccination 2 weeks after that. Patients will be re-evaluated around week 6 and can continue courses of 3 vaccinations (one every 2 weeks) until disease progression.
2. Cohort B: Ontak plus vaccine. Patients will receive Ontak (18 mcg/kg) intravenously on day -4 for one dose. On day 0, they will receive the first immunization with an emulsion of 4 melanoma peptides (250 mcg each)/GM-CSF/Montanide injected intradermally/subcutaneously. A second vaccination will be given 2 weeks later and a third vaccination 2 weeks after that. Patients will be re-evaluated around week 6 and can continue courses of 3 vaccinations (one every 2 weeks) until disease progression. However, no further Ontak will be given.

Duration: Patients may remain on study until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, patient choice to withdraw, or physician decision to discontinue therapy (due to intervening illness, poor patient compliance, or other situation that would increase patient risk).

Arms:
arm 1: Subjects received vaccine immunization injected intra-dermally or subcutaneously on day 1. The vaccine was an emulsification consisting of 250 mcg each of the following peptides: Melan-A, gp100, MAGE-3, and NA17 as well as GM-CSF 125 mcg and Montanide. A second and third vaccination was given at 2 weeks and 4 weeks after the first. If there was no evidence of cancer progression, additional courses of three vaccinations administered at 2 week intervals were administered until disease progression. arm 2: Subjects in Vaccine plus Ontak received the same vaccination strategy as Vaccine alone group but additionally received a single dose of denileukin diftitox(18 mcg/kg) 4 days prior to the first vaccine administration

Interventions: intervention 1: 4-peptide melanoma vaccine intervention 2: Ontak
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Experimental cancer vaccine given as a shot under the skin once every two weeks intervention 2: A single dose of Ontak given as an intravenous infusion over 30 minutes, 4 days before the first vaccine is given.

Protocol document: