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CompletedNCT02650999Updated Jul 22, 2021Results posted

Pembrolizumab in Patients Failing to Respond to or Relapsing After CAR T Cell Therapy for Relapsed or Refractory Lymphomas

A Phase 1/2 interventional study of Pembrolizumab in CD19+ Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphomas, Follicular Lymphomas and Mantle Cell Lymphomas, sponsored by Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2021-07-22.

Sponsored by Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine · Phase 1/2, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 1/2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
12
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
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Study summary

Single center, phase I/II trial of pembrolizumab after CTL019 for CD19+ lymphomas. Patients will have CD19+ diffuse large B-cell, follicular, or mantle cell lymphomas relapsed/refractory after CTL019. 12 total patients will be enrolled. Safety of pembrolizumab (primary endpoint) will be determined using a Bayesian monitoring rule for treatment-related adverse events causing drug discontinuation. Secondary efficacy endpoints include overall response rate and progression-free survival.

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Conditions studied

  • CD19+ Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphomas
  • Follicular Lymphomas
  • Mantle Cell Lymphomas
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In context

Lymphoma

5,578 studies on the registry are indexed under Lymphoma; 825 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 12 is below the median of 40 across 4,508 interventional studies indexed under Lymphoma.

Browse Lymphoma studies →

Lead sponsor

Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine is the lead sponsor of 446 studies on the registry; 86 are open to participants now.

Of its 32 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 14 (44%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Histologically confirmed follicular lymphoma grade 1-3A, diffuse large B cell lymphoma, and mantle cell lymphoma by World Health Organization 2009 classification
  • Relapsed/refractory lymphoma after CTL019 - Be willing and able to provide written informed consent/assent for the trial.
  • Age 18 years or older on day of signing informed consent.
  • Have baseline imaging within 6 weeks of enrollment (CT, MR or PET/CT imaging) and have measurable disease on physical examination or imaging studies.

    -- Not pregnant or breastfeeding

  • Any lesion 1.5 cm in long axis dimension is considered measurable.
  • Performance status of 0-2 on the ECOG Performance Scale
  • Demonstrate adequate organ function.
  • Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥1,000 /mcL
  • Platelets≥50,000 / mcL
  • Hemoglobin ≥8 g/dL without transfusion or EPO dependency (within 7 days of assessment)
  • Serum creatinine OR Measured or calculated a creatinine clearance (aCreatinine clearance should be estimated per institutional standard) (GFR can also be used in place of creatinine or CrCl) ≤1.5 X upper limit of normal (ULN) OR ≥60 mL/min for subject with creatinine levels > 1.5 X institutional ULN
  • Serum total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 X ULN OR Direct bilirubin ≤ ULN for subjects with total bilirubin levels > 1.5 ULN.
  • AST (SGOT) and ALT (SGPT) ≤ 2.5 X ULN OR ≤ 5 X ULN for subjects with liver metastases
  • International Normalized Ratio (INR) or Prothrombin Time (PT) ≤1.5 X ULN unless subject is receiving anticoagulant therapy as long as PT or PTT is within therapeutic range of intended use of anticoagulants
  • Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (aPTT) ≤1.5 X ULN unless subject is receiving anticoagulant therapy as long as PT or PTT is within therapeutic range of intended use of anticoagulants.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Is currently participating and receiving study therapy or has participated in a study of an investigational agent and received study therapy or used an investigational device within 4 weeks of the first dose of treatment. An exception will be made for patients who have received CTL019/CTL119 on experimental protocol; these patients will be eligible to enroll once progression of disease or failure to respond is documented by clinical or radiologic assessment.
  2. Patient has received intervening therapy for lymphoma after CTL019/CTL119 infusion.
  3. Has active cytokine release syndrome from CTL019/CTL119 infusion.
  4. Has a known history of active TB (Bacillus Tuberculosis).
  5. Hypersensitivity to pembrolizumab or any of its excipients.
  6. Has had a prior anti-cancer monoclonal antibody (mAb) within 4 weeks prior to study Day 1 or who has not recovered (i.e., ≤ Grade 1 or at baseline) from adverse events due to agents administered more than 4 weeks earlier. Toxicities that are disease related will not exclude patients.
  7. Has had prior chemotherapy, targeted small molecule therapy, or radiation therapy within 2 weeks prior to study Day 1 or who has not recovered (i.e., ≤ Grade 1 or at baseline) from adverse events due to a previously administered agent.

    • Note: Subjects with ≤ Grade 2 neuropathy are an exception to this criterion and may qualify for the study.
    • Note: If subject received major surgery, they must have recovered adequately from the toxicity and/or complications from the intervention in the opinion of the Principal Investigator prior to starting therapy.
  8. Has a known additional malignancy that is progressing or requires active treatment. Exceptions include basal cell carcinoma of the skin or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin that has undergone potentially curative therapy or in situ cervical cancer.
  9. Has known active central nervous system (CNS) metastases and/or carcinomatous meningitis. Subjects with previously treated brain metastases may participate provided they are stable (without evidence of progression by imaging for at least four weeks prior to the first dose of trial treatment and any neurologic symptoms have returned to baseline), have no evidence of new or enlarging brain metastases, and are not using steroids for at least 7 days prior to trial treatment.
  10. Has active autoimmune disease that has required systemic treatment in the past 2 years (i.e. use of disease modifying agents, corticosteroids or immunosuppressive drugs). Replacement therapy (eg., thyroxine, insulin, or physiologic corticosteroid replacement therapy for adrenal or pituitary insufficiency, etc.) is not considered a form of systemic treatment.
  11. Has known history of, or any evidence of active, non-infectious pneumonitis.
  12. Has an active infection requiring systemic therapy.
  13. Has a history or current evidence of any condition, therapy, or laboratory abnormality that might confound the results of the trial, interfere with the subject's participation for the full duration of the trial, or is not in the best interest of the subject to participate, in the opinion of the treating investigator.
  14. Has known psychiatric or substance abuse disorders that would interfere with cooperation with the requirements of the trial.
  15. Is pregnant or breastfeeding, or expecting to conceive or father children within the projected duration of the trial, starting with the pre-screening or screening visit through 120 days after the last dose of trial treatment.
  16. Has received prior therapy with an anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, or anti-PD-L2 agent.
  17. Has a known history of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) (HIV 1/2 antibodies).
  18. Has known active Hepatitis B (e.g., HBsAg reactive) or Hepatitis C (e.g., HCV RNA [qualitative] is detected).
  19. Has received a live vaccine within 30 days of planned start of study therapy. Note: Seasonal influenza vaccines for injection are generally inactivated flu vaccines and are allowed; however intranasal influenza vaccines (e.g., Flu-Mist®) are live attenuated vaccines, and are not allowed.
  20. Has a history of (non-infectious pneumonitis that required steroids or has current pneumonitis.
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Study design

Phase
Phase 1 / Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
12 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Pembrolizumab

    Single arm, pembrolizumab 200mg IV every 3 weeks until progression/toxicity

    Drug: Pembrolizumab

Interventions

  • DrugPembrolizumab

    200mg intravenously (IV)

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Dose-limiting Toxicity

    Percentage of subjects who discontinued therapy due to dose-limiting toxicity

    Time frame: 3 years

Secondary outcomes

  1. Overall Response Rates

    3 months Overall response rates

    Time frame: 3 months

07

Results

Posted May 12, 2020

Participant flow

Participant flow — Overall Study
MilestonePembrolizumab
Started12
Completed12
Not completed0

Outcome measures

PrimaryDose-limiting Toxicity

Percentage of subjects who discontinued therapy due to dose-limiting toxicity

Time frame:
3 years
Reported as:
Number · percentage of subjects
Dose-limiting Toxicity
percentage of subjectsSingle Arm
Dose-limiting Toxicity8.33 (0.4 to 40.2)
SecondaryOverall Response Rates

3 months Overall response rates

Time frame:
3 months
Reported as:
Number · percentage of subjects
Overall Response Rates
percentage of subjectsSingle Arm
Overall Response Rates25 (6.7 to 57.2)

Adverse events

Collected over Adverse events were collected over 2.5 years, from the initiation of the first patient on therapy (June 7, 2016) through treatment of the last patient (January 11, 2019). All adverse events on individual patients were recorded from the time of first dose of pembrolizumab through completion of the Safety Follow Up Visit. SAEs that occured within 90 days of the end of treatment or before initiation of a new anti-cancer treatment were also followed and recorded.. Non-serious events are listed at a 5% frequency threshold.

Adverse event summary by group
GroupDeathsSeriousOther
Single Arm0/12 (0%)8/12 (66.7%)12/12 (100%)
Most frequent serious events
Showing 10 of 14
Most frequent serious events
EventSingle Arm
pleural effusionRespiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders1/12
acidosisMetabolism and nutrition disorders1/12
hypoxiaRespiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders1/12
Cytokine Release SyndromeImmune system disorders1/12
blood bilirubin increasedHepatobiliary disorders1/12
sepsisInfections and infestations1/12
hypercalcemiaInvestigations1/12
deliriumPsychiatric disorders1/12
feverGeneral disorders1/12
other: odynophagiaGastrointestinal disorders1/12
Most frequent other events
Showing 10 of 81
Most frequent other events
EventSingle Arm
Lymphocyte count decreasedInvestigations7/12
fatigueGeneral disorders6/12
CoughRespiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders6/12
nauseaGastrointestinal disorders5/12
AST elevatedInvestigations5/12
feverGeneral disorders4/12
NeutropeniaInvestigations4/12
AnemiaInvestigations4/12
ALT elevatedInvestigations4/12
hyperglycemiaMetabolism and nutrition disorders4/12

Baseline characteristics

Age, Categorical
Age, Categorical(Participants)Single Arm
<=18 years0
Between 18 and 65 years6
>=65 years6
Sex: Female, Male
Sex: Female, Male(Participants)Single Arm
Female1
Male11
Race (NIH/OMB)
Race (NIH/OMB)(Participants)Single Arm
American Indian or Alaska Native0
Asian0
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander0
Black or African American0
White12
More than one race0
Unknown or Not Reported0
Region of Enrollment
Region of Enrollment(participants)Single Arm
United States12
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Study locations

1 site
  • Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
09

References and documents

Publications

  • Chong EA, Alanio C, Svoboda J, Nasta SD, Landsburg DJ, Lacey SF, Ruella M, Bhattacharyya S, Wherry EJ, Schuster SJ. Pembrolizumab for B-cell lymphomas relapsing after or refractory to CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy. Blood. 2022 Feb 17;139(7):1026-1038. doi: 10.1182/blood.2021012634. PubMed 34496014 ↗

Study documents

  • Protocol and statistical analysis plan · Oct 21, 2018
  • Informed consent form · Dec 20, 2018

Documents are hosted by the registry — open the source record to download them.

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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jul 22, 2021, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT02650999
Lead sponsor
Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jan 8, 2016
Start date
Jan 2016
Primary completion
Feb 25, 2019
Completion
Jun 12, 2020
Results posted
May 12, 2020
Last update
Jul 22, 2021

Study contacts

Stephen Schuster, MD
principal investigator · Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Jul 2021. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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