Neoadjuvant Immunoradiotherapy With Evorpacept and Pembrolizumab in HPVOPC (Human Papilloma Virus Oropharynx Cancer)

Phase 2

Recruiting

• Conditions: Oropharynx Cancer
• Interventions: Drug: Evorpacept

• Registration Number: NCT05787639
• Lead Sponsor: University of California, San Diego

Brief Summary

The majority of head and neck cancer patients do not respond to immunotherapies, and clinical responses are often not durable. However, targeting tumors with stereotactic radiation in combination with immunotherapy while sparing draining lymphatics enhances anticancer immunity, resulting in dramatic response in HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) virus related cancers of the throat. This trial will leverage targeted tumor radiation and immunotherapy in advance of standard surgical therapy to improve the response of HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) throat cancer to radiation and immunotherapy.

Detailed Description

This is a prospective, multi-center, open-label, one-arm, two-stage, Phase II study to evaluate the efficacy of neoadjuvant immunoradiotherapy (NIRT) in patients with stage I HPVOPC (Human Papilloma Virus Oropharynx Cancer) amenable to surgical resection, including AJCC (American Joint Committee on Cancer) VIII T1-2N1M0 HPVOPC (Human Papilloma Virus Oropharynx Cancer) and excluding patients with solitary lymph nodes less than 3 cm. A Simon's two-stage optimal design is used for this study. We will test the hypothesis that neoadjuvant stereotactic tumor targeting radiation along with CD47 inhibition (evorpacept) and PD-1 inhibition (pembrolizumab) provides pathologic response compared to current standard of care rates of locoregional control.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2023-02-28
• Study First Submitted QC: 2023-03-14
• Study First Posted: 2023-03-28
• Study Start: 2024-02-20
• Status Verified: 2025-03
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-03-24
• Last Update Posted: 2025-03-26
• Primary Completion: 2026-08-20
• Study Completion: 2028-05-30

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 29

Inclusion Criteria

• Histologically confirmed diagnosis of Stage I T1-2N1M0 HPVOPC (Human Papilloma Virus Oropharynx Cancer)
• Amenable to surgical resection
• Are able to safely receive neoadjuvant radiation and Evorpacept/Pembrolizumab

Exclusion Criteria

• Patients with solitary lymph nodes less than 3 cm

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Treatment	Evorpacept	Stereotactic radiation therapy (SBRT (8GyX3)) will be delivered to gross tumor volume (GTV) +3mm, followed by Pembrolizumab 200 mg IV and Evorpacept 45 mg/kg IV every three weeks x 2 cycles followed by surgical resection of primary tumor and neck dissection.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Pathologic complete response	week 7-10	Pathologic response is determined when surgery is performed at week 7-10 of study
Major pathologic response	week 7-10	Major pathologic response is defined as \<10% viable tumor cells in the resection specimen) after surgical resection

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
clinical response	week 7	clinical response will be determined by clinical and radiographic criteria by comparison of pretreatment and post-treatment assessment prior to surgery
clinical to pathologic down-staging	week 7-10	clinical to pathologic down-staging will be assessed by comparing pretreatment AJCC (American Joint Committee on Cancer) VIII stage to pathologic stage determined by surgical pathology results. And decrease in overall Stage or decrease in T or N category will be defined as down staging.
disease free survival	3 years	subjects will be assessed for presence of disease after completion of treatment and up to three years
Patient-reported quality of life and functional outcomes (score 20-100 with 100 being best possible score)	post treatment at 7, 11 weeks and at 3 and 12 months	MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI) to assess standard penetration-aspiration score (PAS) will be used to assess patient and observer-reported quality of life and functional outcomes.
Observer-reported quality of life and functional outcomes	post treatment at 7, 11 weeks and at 3 and 12 months	Video Fluoroscopic Swallow Study (VFSS) to assess standard penetration-aspiration score (PAS) will be used to assess patient and observer-reported quality of life and functional outcomes.
overall survival	3 years	survival will be determined based on intent to treat analysis at conclusion of study after 3 years
Patient-reported quality of life and functional outcomes (score 0-100 with 100 being best possible score)	post treatment at 7, 11 weeks and at 3 and 12 months	The University of Washington-Quality of Life (UW-QOL) to assess standard penetration-aspiration score (PAS) will be used to assess patient and observer-reported quality of life and functional outcomes.
Immune Correlates (T-cell infiltration)	7-11 weeks	Patients will undergo assessment of T-cell infiltration into primary tumors expressed as % staining in primary tumor sections on immunohistochemical staining.
Safety and toxicity	11 months to three years	Safety and toxicity will be assessed by CTCAE for overall toxicity and safety and Clavien-Dindo for toxicity related to surgery.
Immune Correlates (shared tumor and sentinel node T-cell clones)	7-11 weeks	Patients will undergo assessment of frequency of shared tumor and sentinel node T-cell clones as defined by absolute number of shared clones,
Immune Correlates (B-cell germinal centers)	7-11 weeks	Patients will undergo assessment of number of B-cell germinal centers in draining sentinel lymph nodes compared to non-sentinel nodes as defined by average number of B-cell germinal centers per high powered field with random sampling of at least 10 high powered fields on microscopy.

Trial Locations

Locations (2)

UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center; 🇺🇸 La Jolla, California, United States

Providence Health & Services; 🇺🇸 Portland, Oregon, United States