In Situ Vaccine for Low-Grade Lymphoma: Combination of Intratumoral Flt3L and Poly-ICLC With Low-Dose Radiotherapy

Summary

Our recent trials combining local radiotherapy with intratumoral administration of TLR agonists - referred to as 'in situ vaccination' - for patients with low-grade lymphoma demonstrated safety, induction of anti-tumor CD8 T cell responses and partial and complete remissions of patients' non-irradiated sites of disease with complete remissions lasting from months to more than three years. This iteration of the in situ vaccine approach builds on our prior work in ways that should improve its efficacy, by adding Flt3L and changing the toll-like receptors (TLR) agonist to poly-ICLC -an optimal TLR agonist for the type of dendritic cells (DC) recruited by Flt3L. The vaccine is thus in 3 phases: 1. intratumoral Flt3L administration recruits DC to the tumor 2. low-dose radiotherapy to release tumor antigens 3. intratumoral poly-ICLC administration activates tumor-antigen loaded DC

Timeline

Start

2014-01-03

Primary completion

2020-11-20

Completion

2020-11-20

Publications

• Background Brody JD, Ai WZ, Czerwinski DK, Torchia JA, Levy M, Advani RH, Kim YH, Hoppe RT, Knox SJ, Shin LK, Wapnir I, Tibshirani RJ, Levy R. In situ vaccination with a TLR9 agonist induces systemic lymphoma regression: a phase I/II study. J Clin Oncol. 2010 Oct 1;28(28):4324-32. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2010.28.9793. Epub 2010 Aug 9.
• Background Kim YH, Gratzinger D, Harrison C, Brody JD, Czerwinski DK, Ai WZ, Morales A, Abdulla F, Xing L, Navi D, Tibshirani RJ, Advani RH, Lingala B, Shah S, Hoppe RT, Levy R. In situ vaccination against mycosis fungoides by intratumoral injection of a TLR9 agonist combined with radiation: a phase 1/2 study. Blood. 2012 Jan 12;119(2):355-63. doi: 10.1182/blood-2011-05-355222. Epub 2011 Nov 1.
• Background Li J, Song W, Czerwinski DK, Varghese B, Uematsu S, Akira S, Krieg AM, Levy R. Lymphoma immunotherapy with CpG oligodeoxynucleotides requires TLR9 either in the host or in the tumor itself. J Immunol. 2007 Aug 15;179(4):2493-500. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.179.4.2493.
• Background Link BK, Ballas ZK, Weisdorf D, Wooldridge JE, Bossler AD, Shannon M, Rasmussen WL, Krieg AM, Weiner GJ. Oligodeoxynucleotide CpG 7909 delivered as intravenous infusion demonstrates immunologic modulation in patients with previously treated non-Hodgkin lymphoma. J Immunother. 2006 Sep-Oct;29(5):558-68. doi: 10.1097/01.cji.0000211304.60126.8f.
• Background Chen W, Chan AS, Dawson AJ, Liang X, Blazar BR, Miller JS. FLT3 ligand administration after hematopoietic cell transplantation increases circulating dendritic cell precursors that can be activated by CpG oligodeoxynucleotides to enhance T-cell and natural killer cell function. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2005 Jan;11(1):23-34. doi: 10.1016/j.bbmt.2004.08.004.
• Background Zhang YL, Wei YJ, Deng YC, Wang YD, Liu CZ, Su L, Yang KG, Chen SS. Human Flt3 ligand from Pichia pastoris inhibits growth of lymphoma and colon adenocarcinoma in mice. J Exp Ther Oncol. 2006;5(3):161-6.
• Background Esche C, Subbotin VM, Maliszewski C, Lotze MT, Shurin MR. FLT3 ligand administration inhibits tumor growth in murine melanoma and lymphoma. Cancer Res. 1998 Feb 1;58(3):380-3.
• Background Giantonio BJ, Hochster H, Blum R, Wiernik PH, Hudes GR, Kirkwood J, Trump D, Oken MM. Toxicity and response evaluation of the interferon inducer poly ICLC administered at low dose in advanced renal carcinoma and relapsed or refractory lymphoma: a report of two clinical trials of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group. Invest New Drugs. 2001;19(1):89-92. doi: 10.1023/a:1006458232384.
• Background Black PL, Hartmann D, Pennington R, Phillips H, Schneider M, Tribble HR, Talmadge JE. Effect of tumor burden and route of administration on the immunotherapeutic properties of polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid stabilized with poly-L-lysine in carboxymethyl cellulose [Poly(I,C)-LC]. Int J Immunopharmacol. 1992 Nov;14(8):1341-53. doi: 10.1016/0192-0561(92)90005-6.
• Background Storch E, Kirchner H, Schirrmacher V. Prolongation of survival of mice bearing the Eb and ESb lymphoma by treatment with interferon inducers alone or in combination with Corynebacterium parvum. Cancer Immunol Immunother. 1986;23(3):179-84. doi: 10.1007/BF00205647.
• Background Fresa KL, Korngold R, Murasko DM. Induction of natural killer cell activity of thoracic duct lymphocytes by polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C)) or interferon. Cell Immunol. 1985 Apr 1;91(2):336-43. doi: 10.1016/0008-8749(85)90231-x.

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