Study of Combined Decompressive Spine Radiosurgery and Pembrolizumab

Study Purpose

The purpose of this research study is to find out what effects (good and bad) Pembrolizumab and radiosurgery have on participants with high-grade epidural disease of the spine.

Recruitment Criteria

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Healthy volunteers are participants who do not have a disease or condition, or related conditions or symptoms

No
Study Type

An interventional clinical study is where participants are assigned to receive one or more interventions (or no intervention) so that researchers can evaluate the effects of the interventions on biomedical or health-related outcomes.


An observational clinical study is where participants identified as belonging to study groups are assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.


Searching Both is inclusive of interventional and observational studies.

Interventional
Eligible Ages 18 Years and Over
Gender All
More Inclusion & Exclusion Criteria

Inclusion Criteria :

  • - Pathologic diagnosis of cancer, confirmed by review of pathology report.
  • - Epidural disease seen on MRI at 1 vertebral level or 2 contiguous vertebral level.
  • - Synchronous and metachronous sites of disease allowed.
  • - Patient with expected life span of ≥ 3 months.
  • - Deemed eligible for stereotactic body radiation therapy and pembrolizumab after multi-disciplinary review.
The multi-disciplinary review will be conducted virtually via our Spinal Oncology Group (SPOG) Wake Forest e-mail listserv. Members of the distribution list include neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, interventional radiologists, radiologists, and radiation oncologists. This group meets monthly via Webex and in the interim, cases are routinely reviewed using encrypted emails via the listserv. Because we will not be able to wait for a month meeting to enroll patients on study, we anticipate needing to review these patients via the listserv. The electronic review will serve as documentation of multi-disciplinary review.
  • - Patients currently being treated with pembrolizumab or anticipated to receive at least one dose of pembrolizumab within six weeks after finishing stereotactic body radiation therapy.
  • - Patients who have received prior immunotherapy are allowed.
  • - Age equal or greater than 18.
  • - Ability to understand and the willingness to sign an IRB-approved informed consent document (either directly or via a legally authorized representative).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • - Prior radiation therapy or surgery to index lesion.
  • - Patients with lymphoma, multiple myeloma, germinomas, seminomas, Wilm's tumors, and Ewing's sarcomas will be excluded.
  • - Muscle strength of ≤ 3 out of 5 on neurologic exam that correlates with level of the involved spinal cord.
  • - Retropulsed compression fracture.
  • - Patients with a contraindication to pembrolizumab.
  • - Patients may not be receiving any other investigational agents.
  • - Patients with symptomatic, brain metastases, as determined by the study PI, that could confound the neurologic exam, should be excluded.
  • - 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 both radiation and pembrolizumab can be harmful to the developing fetus.
Because there is an unknown but potential risk for adverse events, pregnant women are not allowed to participate in this study, in nursing infants secondary to treatment of the mother with pembrolizumab, breastfeeding should be discontinued.

Trial Details

Trial ID:

This trial id was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, providing information on publicly and privately supported clinical studies of human participants with locations in all 50 States and in 196 countries.

NCT05204290
Phase

Phase 1: Studies that emphasize safety and how the drug is metabolized and excreted in humans.

Phase 2: Studies that gather preliminary data on effectiveness (whether the drug works in people who have a certain disease or condition) and additional safety data.

Phase 3: Studies that gather more information about safety and effectiveness by studying different populations and different dosages and by using the drug in combination with other drugs.

Phase 4: Studies occurring after FDA has approved a drug for marketing, efficacy, or optimal use.

Early Phase 1
Lead Sponsor

The sponsor is the organization or person who oversees the clinical study and is responsible for analyzing the study data.

Wake Forest University Health Sciences
Principal Investigator

The person who is responsible for the scientific and technical direction of the entire clinical study.

Christina K Cramer, MD
Principal Investigator Affiliation Wake Forest Baptist Health Sciences
Agency Class

Category of organization(s) involved as sponsor (and collaborator) supporting the trial.

Other
Overall Status Recruiting
Countries United States
Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied.

Epidural Spinal Tumors, Cancer
Additional Details

Primary Objective: To determine the feasibility of patients completing stereotactic body radiation therapy and at least one

  • (1) cycle of Pembrolizumab.
Secondary Objectives:
  • - Evaluate the radiographic response after decompressive stereotactic body radiation therapy and Pembrolizumab by calculating the improvement in thecal sac patency (see 5.2.1).
  • - Evaluate accrual rate, - Evaluate pain relief.
  • - Evaluate quality of life.
  • - Evaluate cumulative incidence of adverse events.
  • - Evaluate potential correlative blood biomarkers.

Arms & Interventions

Arms

Experimental: Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy and Pembrolizumab Treatment

MRI scans of your spine (before treatment, 2 months after treatment, and 6 months after treatment) and immunotherapy with Pembrolizumab

Interventions

Drug: - Pembrolizumab

Pembrolizumab will be delivered at the discretion of the patient's medical oncologist within 6 weeks after finishing SBRT. If a patient is already receiving pembrolizumab at the time of enrollment, then SBRT should not start sooner than 5 days after the last pembrolizumab infusion.

Radiation: - Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy

patients will undergo CT simulation and will be immobilized in either a BodyFix® or long thermoplastic mask depending on the location of the lesion. 1.25mm slices will be acquired. Dose and fractionation will be at the discretion of the treating radiation oncologist (as will the constraint to the spinal cord).

Other: - Blood draws

Patients will have a blood draw at baseline and at 2-months post-SBRT, and 6 months post-stereotactic body radiation therapy.

Contact a Trial Team

If you are interested in learning more about this trial, find the trial site nearest to your location and contact the site coordinator via email or phone. We also strongly recommend that you consult with your healthcare provider about the trials that may interest you and refer to our terms of service below.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Status

Recruiting

Address

Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27157

Site Contact

Study Coordinator

[email protected]

336-713-8457

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