NCT04116320

Brief Summary

This study evaluates whether it is safe to Focused Ultrasound Ablation (FUSA) treatments with and without PD-1 blockade and with and without intratumoral poly-ICLC. A device called the Echopulse will be used for the FUSA therapy. Patients will be assigned to 1 of 2 cohorts depending on their disease and treatment status. In Cohort 1, patients will receive FUSA therapy while receiving PD-1 blockade therapy as part of standard clinical care treatment. In Cohort 2, patients who discontinue or are ineligible for PD-1 blockade therapy will undergo FUSA without concurrent systemic therapy, with the goal of utilizing the FUSA to boost the innate immune response. The optional secondary regimen will combine FUSA (+/- PD-1 blockade) with intratumoral poly-ICLC.

Trial Health

57
Monitor

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
5

participants targeted

Target at below P25 for phase_1

Timeline
Completed

Started Nov 2019

Typical duration for phase_1

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
terminated

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

October 3, 2019

Completed
1 day until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

October 4, 2019

Completed
2 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

November 21, 2019

Completed
3.7 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

August 15, 2023

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

August 15, 2023

Completed
Last Updated

July 14, 2025

Status Verified

August 1, 2023

Enrollment Period

3.7 years

First QC Date

October 3, 2019

Last Update Submit

July 10, 2025

Conditions

Keywords

EchopulseFocused Ultrasound AblationFUSAPembrolizumabKeytrudaAtezolizumabTecentriqpolyICLCpoly-ICLCHiltonol

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

  • To assess the safety and toxicity of FUSA administered alone or in combination with PD-1 antibody blockade.

    Incidence and severity of adverse events and incidence of dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs).

    30 days after the last study intervention

  • To estimate the proportion of patients with increased CD8+ T cell infiltration of spot FUSA-treated metastasis.

    Proportion of participants achieving at least a 2-fold increase in CD8+ T cell infiltration per mm2.

    Day 43 (cohort 1) or Day 36 (cohort 2)

Secondary Outcomes (1)

  • To estimate the proportion of patients with increased CD8+ T cell infiltration, after spot FUSA, in untreated metastasis, when available.

    Day 43 (cohort 1) or Day 36 (cohort 2)

Study Arms (4)

Cohort 1, primary regimen (Regimen 1a)

EXPERIMENTAL

FUSA therapy and standard of care PD-1 blockade. FUSA therapy will be administered on day 8.

Device: EchopulseDrug: Standard of Care PD-1 Therapy

Cohort 1, secondary regimen (Regimen 2a)

EXPERIMENTAL

FUSA therapy, standard of care PD-1 blockade, and intratumoral poly-ICLC will be administered on day 8.

Device: EchopulseDrug: Poly ICLCDrug: Standard of Care PD-1 Therapy

Cohort 2, primary regimen (Regimen 1b)

EXPERIMENTAL

FUSA therapy will be administered on day 1.

Device: Echopulse

Cohort 2, secondary regimen (Regimen 2b)

EXPERIMENTAL

FUSA therapy and intratumoral poly-ICLC will be administered on day 1.

Device: EchopulseDrug: Poly ICLC

Interventions

EchopulseDEVICE

The Echopulse device delivers focused ultrasound ablation (FUSA) therapy. FUSA is a technology that delivers continuous high-intensity focused ultrasound to ablate tissue.

Also known as: Focused Ultrasound Ablation, FUSA
Cohort 1, primary regimen (Regimen 1a)Cohort 1, secondary regimen (Regimen 2a)Cohort 2, primary regimen (Regimen 1b)Cohort 2, secondary regimen (Regimen 2b)

Poly-ICLC is a TLR3 agonist.

Also known as: Hiltonol
Cohort 1, secondary regimen (Regimen 2a)Cohort 2, secondary regimen (Regimen 2b)

PD-1 therapy FDA approved for use on a 3-week schedule will be used per standard of care.

Cohort 1, primary regimen (Regimen 1a)Cohort 1, secondary regimen (Regimen 2a)

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Age ≥18 years.
  • Advanced solid tumor with measurable disease.
  • Subject must have failed or have contraindication to standard therapies.
  • For Cohort 1, primary regimen (Regimen 1a): Patients with advanced solid malignancy for which PD1 or PDL1 antibody monotherapy administered on a 3-week schedule is FDA-approved for treatment, who have one or more tumor deposits that are accessible to focused ultrasound treatment, and who are eligible to receive (or to continue to receive) PD1 or PDL1 blockade therapy. Uveal melanoma patients are not eligible for Regimen 1a.
  • Note: Participants eligible for this regimen may receive the primary protocol therapy (Regimen 1a) concurrent with PD1/PDL1 antibody therapy if:
  • Progressive Disease: subjects with progressive disease following PD1/PDL1 antibody therapy are eligible for this cohort if it is clinically appropriate for them to continue on systemic PD1/PDL1 antibody per the treating clinician even if they did not begin treatment on this trial. Examples may include a patient with a small new lesion but stable disease in other sites, or very slight tumor growth in multiple sites, in a patient without other approved therapy options. Participants who progress following PD1/PDL1 antibody therapy may undergo interval resection of enlarging lesions and still be included in this cohort as long as they have persistent unresectable disease that is accessible to FUSA treatment.
  • Response with persistent disease: subjects who have a clinical response (SD or PR) and have residual lesion(s) accessible to FUSA treatment. Participants with PR are only eligible if it is clinically appropriate for them to continue on PD1/PDL1 therapy per the judgement of the treating clinician.
  • Stable disease: The majority of clinical responses to PD1/PDL1 blockade occur within 12 weeks but may occur much later. Routine clinical practice commonly includes continuation of PD1 antibody therapy for 1-2 years for patients with stable disease on that therapy. Thus, patients with SD after 12 weeks of PD1/PDL1 therapy per RECIST criteria may be eligible for Regimen 1a if their disease has remained stable on therapy and if their treating provider recommends continuation of PD1/PDL1 therapy even if they were not treated on this trial.
  • For Cohort 1, secondary regimen (Regimen 2a): For those patients treated with primary regimen 1a, select participants may be enrolled in a secondary regimen. This would include participants in the following scenarios:
  • Stable disease.
  • Response in lesion treated in regimen 1, but persistent disease or progression in a separate lesion.
  • Initial partial response but still persistent disease at the treated lesion.
  • Patients enrolling to Regimen 2a must have a target lesion amenable to intratumoral injection with polyICLC per the treating clinician's discretion. The lesion(s) to be FUSA treated in regimen 2 do not need to include the lesion targeted in regimen 1. The patient must remain eligible for PD1/PDL1 Ab therapy.
  • For Cohort 2, primary regimen (Regimen 1b): The following patient subsets would be eligible for the Cohort 2 primary regimen, as long as they have failed (progressed or not tolerated) or are not eligible for all effective available approved therapies known to confer clinical benefit:
  • Patients with advanced solid malignancy for which PD1 or PDL1 blockade is not FDA-approved.
  • +32 more criteria

You may not qualify if:

  • A subject will be excluded from participating in the trial if the subject:
  • Has received the following medications or treatments at any time within 3 weeks of study day 1:
  • Immune therapies including:
  • interferon (e.g. Intron-A®),
  • checkpoint blockade therapies other than anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies,
  • antibodies to costimulatory molecules (e.g. CD27, CD137),
  • small molecule immune therapies (e.g. IDO1 inhibitor)
  • Cytotoxic chemotherapy for cancer
  • Has received the following medications or treatments at any time within 4 weeks of study day 1:
  • Radiation therapy (Note: Stereotactic radiotherapy, such as gamma knife, can be used ≥ 1 week prior to registration)
  • Allergy desensitization injections
  • High doses of systemic corticosteroids, with the following qualifications and exceptions:
  • Daily doses of 10 mg or less prednisone (or equivalent) per day administered parenterally or orally are allowed in patients with normal adrenal and pituitary function.
  • In patients with adrenal or pituitary insufficiency replacement steroid doses are allowed.
  • Inhaled steroids (e.g.: Advair®, Flovent®, Azmacort®) are permitted at low doses (less than 500 mcg fluticasone per day, or equivalent)
  • +28 more criteria

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

University of Virginia

Charlottesville, Virginia, 22908, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

  • Sheybani ND, Witter AR, Thim EA, Yagita H, Bullock TNJ, Price RJ. Combination of thermally ablative focused ultrasound with gemcitabine controls breast cancer via adaptive immunity. J Immunother Cancer. 2020 Aug;8(2):e001008. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2020-001008.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

MelanomaBreast NeoplasmsCarcinoma, Merkel CellNeoplasms, Squamous CellCarcinoma, Non-Small-Cell LungUterine Cervical NeoplasmsCarcinoma, Transitional CellOvarian NeoplasmsCarcinoma, HepatocellularSmall Cell Lung CarcinomaStomach NeoplasmsEsophageal Neoplasms

Interventions

High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Ablationpoly ICLC

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Neuroendocrine TumorsNeuroectodermal TumorsNeoplasms, Germ Cell and EmbryonalNeoplasms by Histologic TypeNeoplasmsNeoplasms, Nerve TissueNevi and MelanomasSkin NeoplasmsNeoplasms by SiteSkin DiseasesSkin and Connective Tissue DiseasesBreast DiseasesPolyomavirus InfectionsDNA Virus InfectionsVirus DiseasesInfectionsTumor Virus InfectionsCarcinoma, NeuroendocrineAdenocarcinomaCarcinomaNeoplasms, Glandular and EpithelialCarcinoma, BronchogenicBronchial NeoplasmsLung NeoplasmsRespiratory Tract NeoplasmsThoracic NeoplasmsLung DiseasesRespiratory Tract DiseasesUterine NeoplasmsGenital Neoplasms, FemaleUrogenital NeoplasmsUterine Cervical DiseasesUterine DiseasesGenital Diseases, FemaleFemale Urogenital DiseasesFemale Urogenital Diseases and Pregnancy ComplicationsUrogenital DiseasesGenital DiseasesEndocrine Gland NeoplasmsOvarian DiseasesAdnexal DiseasesEndocrine System DiseasesGonadal DisordersLiver NeoplasmsDigestive System NeoplasmsDigestive System DiseasesLiver DiseasesGastrointestinal NeoplasmsGastrointestinal DiseasesStomach DiseasesHead and Neck NeoplasmsEsophageal Diseases

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Ultrasonic TherapyDiathermyHyperthermia, InducedTherapeuticsAblation TechniquesSurgical Procedures, Operative

Study Officials

  • Lynn Dengel, MD, MSc

    University of Virginia

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
phase 1
Allocation
NON RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Professor of Surgery; Director, Human Immune Therapy Center

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

October 3, 2019

First Posted

October 4, 2019

Study Start

November 21, 2019

Primary Completion

August 15, 2023

Study Completion

August 15, 2023

Last Updated

July 14, 2025

Record last verified: 2023-08

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will share

De-identified individual participant data that underlie the results of this study may be shared.

Shared Documents
STUDY PROTOCOL
Time Frame
Data may be available after the main findings from the final research data set have been accepted for publication.
Access Criteria
Requests for data access will be accepted only with an accompanying signed Data Access Agreement.

Locations