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Rituximab With or Without Ibrutinib for Patients With Advanced Follicular Lymphoma

Phase 2
Terminated
Conditions
Follicular Lymphoma
Interventions
Registration Number
NCT02451111
Lead Sponsor
Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research
Brief Summary

Follicular lymphomas FL has been traditionally approached either by an initial watch and wait policy in the asymptomatic patient, or with single agent treatments with the purpose of maintaining a good quality of life for a prolonged time.The combination of rituximab and ibrutinib has been tested in clinical trials and appeared to be well tolerated and active. Since ibrutinib seems to achieve better results when administered for prolonged time as shown in CLL, the investigators have chosen to compare its combination with rituximab to the prolonged rituximab-only schedule that was already shown to be very active in the SAKK 35/03 trial.

The aim of the study is to investigate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of the treatment combination of Ibrutinib and Rituximab for patients with advanced follicular lymphoma in need of therapy.

Detailed Description

Follicular lymphomas FL has been traditionally approached either by an initial watch and wait policy in the asymptomatic patient, or with single agent treatments with the purpose of maintaining a good quality of life for a prolonged time.

During the last decades, treatment strategies have changed due to the continuous development and introduction of novel therapeutic approaches (including immunotherapy with interferon-alpha or monoclonal antibodies, the combination of immunotherapy with chemotherapy, and radioimmunotherapy with radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies).

For the asymptomatic patients with advanced-stage, but low tumor burden, randomized studies have confirmed that systemic treatment can be deferred until development of symptoms or organ failure (which generally occurred within 2-3 years from diagnosis) without any overall survival impairment and a watchful waiting policy has long remained a widely accepted approach.

For the symptomatic patients with more advanced tumor burden, in need of initial treatment, the combination of rituximab and chemotherapy, possibly followed by rituximab maintenance became a new standard in many countries.

In this setting of a chemotherapy-free strategy, the clinical study of rituximab combinations with other immunotherapies or with novel targeted agents is obvious relevant. Promising results have also been reported with the combination of rituximab and lenalidomide.

The combination of rituximab and ibrutinib has been tested in clinical trials and appeared to be well tolerated and active. Since ibrutinib seems to achieve better results when administered for prolonged time as shown in CLL, the investigators have chosen to compare its combination with rituximab to the prolonged rituximab-only schedule that was already shown to be very active in the SAKK 35/03 trial.

SAKK has a long tradition in treatment of FL patients with chemotherapy-free treatment based on rituximab. This is a worldwide special situation, which creates cooperation between important partners for clinical trials in this area.

The aim of the study is to investigate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of the treatment combination of Ibrutinib and Rituximab for patients with advanced follicular lymphoma in need of therapy.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
TERMINATED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
190
Inclusion Criteria
  • Written informed consent according to ICH/GCP guidelines

  • Histologically confirmed FL CD20+; grade 1, 2, 3a; stage III+IV; stage II not suitable for radiotherapy; all FLIPI

  • Tumor specimens (slides or block) available for pathological review

  • In need of systemic therapy (at least one of the following indications must be fulfilled):

    • Symptomatic disease
    • Bulky disease (≥ 6 cm)
    • Steady, clinically significant progression over at least 3 months of any tumor lesion
    • B-symptoms (weight loss > 10% in 6 months, drenching night sweats, fever > 38°C not due to infection)
    • Anemia (hemoglobin < 100 g/L) or thrombocytopenia (platelets 50-100 x 109/L) due to lymphoma
  • At least one two-dimensionally measurable lesion with a longest diameter (LDi) ≥ 15 mm in contrast-enhanced 18F-FDG PET/CT* scan

  • FDG-avid tumor lesion in contrast-enhanced 18F-FDG PET/CT* scan

  • Age 18-85 years

  • WHO performance status 0-2

  • Adequate bone marrow function:

    • Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) > 1.0 x 109/L independent of growth factor support
    • Platelets ≥ 100 x 109/L or ≥ 50 x 109/L if bone marrow involvement independent of transfusion support in either situation
  • Adequate hepatic function:

    • Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ≤ 3 x upper limit of normal (ULN)
    • Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 x ULN unless bilirubin rise is due to Gilbert's syndrome or of non-hepatic origin
  • Adequate renal function:

    • Serum creatinine ≤ 2 x ULN and corrected calculated creatinine clearance ≥ 40 mL/min/1.73m2.

  • Women of childbearing potential have a negative serum (beta-human chorionic gonadotropin) or urine pregnancy test at Screening.

  • Patient compliance and geographic proximity allow proper staging and follow-up.

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Exclusion Criteria
  • Tumor bulk requiring fast response
  • Known central nervous system lymphoma
  • Previous systemic FL therapies
  • Major surgery 4 weeks prior to randomization
  • Previous or concomitant malignancy diagnosed within 3 years with the exception of adequately treated cervical carcinoma in situ or localized non-melanoma skin cancer
  • History of stroke or intracranial hemorrhage within 6 months prior to randomization
  • Clinically significant cardiovascular diseases such as uncontrolled or symptomatic arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, or myocardial infarction within 6 months of screening, or any Class 3 (moderate) or Class 4 (severe) cardiac disease as defined by the New York Heart Association Functional Classification
  • Known history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or active Hepatitis C Virus or active Hepatitis B Virus infection or any uncontrolled active systemic infection requiring intravenous (i.v.) antibiotics
  • Concomitant diseases that require anticoagulation with warfarin or equivalent vitamin K antagonists (eg. phenprocoumon), factor Xa inhibitors (e.g. rivaroxaban, apixaban), direct thrombin inhibitors (e.g. dabigatran) or platelet inhibitors/antiplatelet agents. Aspirin is allowed (up to 300 mg/d).
  • Concomitant diseases that require treatment with strong or moderate CYP3A inhibitors (see http://medicine.iupui.edu/clinpharm/ddis/clinical-table/)
  • Any concomitant drugs contraindicated for use with the trial drugs according to the approved product information or known hypersensitivity to trial drugs
  • Concurrent treatment with other experimental drugs or other anticancer therapy, treatment in a clinical trial within 30 days prior to trial entry
  • Vaccinated with live, attenuated vaccines 4 weeks prior to randomization
  • Any life-threatening illness, medical condition, or organ system dysfunction which, in the Investigator's opinion, could compromise the subject's safety, interfere with the absorption or metabolism of Ibrutinib capsules, or put the study outcomes at undue risk
  • Psychiatric disorder precluding understanding information of trial related topics, giving informed consent or interfering with compliance for oral drug intake
  • Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding
  • Patients regularly taking corticosteroids during the last 4 weeks, unless administered at a dose equivalent to Prednisone ≤ 15 mg/day for indications other than lymphoma or lymphoma-related symptoms
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Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Rituximab/IbrutinibIbrutinibIbrutinib capsules for 24 months (104 weeks) daily (always at the same time) in a dose of 560 mg (4 x 140 mg capsules)
Rituximab/PlaceboRituximabPlacebo as comparator for 24 months (4 capsules daily always at the same time)
Rituximab/IbrutinibRituximabIbrutinib capsules for 24 months (104 weeks) daily (always at the same time) in a dose of 560 mg (4 x 140 mg capsules)
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
CR at 24 months determined by PET/CT scan by the IRR panelat 24 months

The evaluation of CR is outlined according to Cheson Criteria.. Any assessment within a window of week 102 to week 118 (inclusive) will be considered as the 24 months response assessment for determining the CR status. In addition, the CR status will be determined as follows for these specific cases:

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
CR at 30 months determined by PET/CT scan by the IRR panelat 30 months
Event-free survival (EFS)12, 24 or 52 weeks

Event-free survival (time to treatment failure) will be calculated from randomization to premature discontinuation of trial treatment for any reason (e.g., insufficient response at first or second restaging at 12 or 24 weeks or at the third assessment at 52 weeks, disease progression, toxicity, patient preference, initiation of new treatment without documented progression, secondary malignancy or death).

Time to next anti-lymphoma therapy (TTNT)at 12 or 24 weeks or thereafter

This will be calculated from randomization until the start of the first off-trial anti-lymphoma treatment. Patients not receiving any off-trial anti-lymphoma treatment will be censored at the last follow-up visit.

MRD evaluationbaseline and week 106

MRD evaluation will be performed using real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) based methods in peripheral blood and bone marrow at baseline and week 106. The proportion of patients achieving MRD negativity will be calculated for each time point of interest.

Overall response (OR)at 24 weeks

OR is defined as either:

* the disappearance of all evidence of disease (CR)

* the regression of measurable disease with no new sites (PR)

Progression-free survival (PFS) (PFS)at 12 or 24 weeks or thereafter

PFS will be calculated from randomization until the first event of interest:

* disease progression or relapse according to criteria of Cheson et al. 2014

* death from any cause

Adverse Events (AEs)record throughout treatment phase (until 30 days after last drug administration)

AEs will be evaluated using the NCI CTCAE v4.0

Duration of complete response (DUR)at 12 or 24 weeks or thereafter

The duration of CR will be calculated from when the criteria for CR are met, until documentation of relapse thereafter. Only patients with a CR will be included in this analysis.

Trial Locations

Locations (41)

Akademisches Lehrkrankenhaus Feldkirch

🇦🇹

Feldkirch, Austria

Aalborg Universitetshospital

🇩🇰

Aalborg, Denmark

Helsinki University Hospital

🇫🇮

Helsinki, Finland

Turku University Hospital

🇫🇮

Turku, Finland

Rigshospitalet

🇩🇰

Copenhagen, Denmark

Odense Universitetshospital

🇩🇰

Odense C, Denmark

Stavanger University Hospital

🇳🇴

Stavanger, Norway

Sunderby Hospital

🇸🇪

Luleå, Sweden

Universitetssykehuset i Nord-Norge

🇳🇴

Tromsø, Norway

Karolinska University Hospital

🇸🇪

Stockholm, Sweden

Skanes Universitetssjukhus

🇸🇪

Lund, Sweden

Örebro University Hospital

🇸🇪

Örebro, Sweden

Hirslanden Klinik Aarau

🇨🇭

Aarau, Switzerland

Kantonsspital Baden

🇨🇭

Baden, Switzerland

Kantonspital Aarau

🇨🇭

Aarau, Switzerland

Zuger Kantonsspital

🇨🇭

Baar, Switzerland

St. Claraspital AG

🇨🇭

Basel, Switzerland

Inselspital, Bern

🇨🇭

Bern, Switzerland

Kantonsspital Baselland

🇨🇭

Liestal, Switzerland

Spital Thurgau (Kantonsspital Münserlingen und Frauenfeld)

🇨🇭

Münsterlingen, Switzerland

Centre de Chimiothérapie Anti-Cancéreuse SA (CCAC)

🇨🇭

Lausanne, Switzerland

Stadtspital Triemli

🇨🇭

Zürich, Switzerland

Kantonsspital - St. Gallen

🇨🇭

St. Gallen, Switzerland

Spital STS AG

🇨🇭

Thun, Switzerland

Hôpital du Valais - CHCVR

🇨🇭

Sion, Switzerland

Kantonsspital Winterthur

🇨🇭

Winterthur, Switzerland

University Hospital Tampere Radius

🇫🇮

Tampere, Finland

Aarhus University Hospital

🇩🇰

Aarhus, Denmark

University Hospital of Umeå

🇸🇪

Umeå, Sweden

Hopitaux Universitaires de Geneve

🇨🇭

Genève 14, Switzerland

Universitaetsspital Basel

🇨🇭

Basel, Switzerland

Istituto Oncologico della Svizzera Italiana - Ospedale Regionale Bellinzona e Valli

🇨🇭

Bellinzona, Switzerland

Kantonsspital Olten

🇨🇭

Olten, Switzerland

Haukeland University Hospital

🇳🇴

Bergen, Norway

Kuopio University Hospital

🇫🇮

Kuopio, Finland

Spitalzentrum Oberwallis - Brig

🇨🇭

Brig, Switzerland

Kantonsspital Luzern

🇨🇭

Luzerne, Switzerland

Oslo University Hospital

🇳🇴

Oslo, Norway

Kantonsspital Bruderholz

🇨🇭

Bruderholz, Switzerland

UniversitätsSpital Zürich

🇨🇭

Zürich, Switzerland

Onkozentrum Hirslanden

🇨🇭

Zürich, Switzerland

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