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CompletedNCT03109353Updated Jan 13, 2023

Modification of Extracorporeal Photopheresis in Cutaneous T-cell Lymphoma or Chronic Graft-versus-host Disease

A Phase 1/2 interventional study of ECP with 5-aminolevulinic acid in Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma, Unspecified and Chronic Graft Versus Host Disease in Skin, sponsored by St. Olavs Hospital. Completed at 1 site in Norway. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2023-01-13.

Sponsored by St. Olavs Hospital · Phase 1/2, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 1/2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
7
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP), is commonly used for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) and chronic graft-versus-host disease. ECP (cGVHD) is an immune modulating treatment. White blood cells from the patient are standardized activated by a photosensitizer psoralen (8-MOP) and irradiated with visible ultraviolet light (UV-A). The purpose is to induce programmed cell death (apoptosis). Disadvantage of current treatment is that 8-MOP targets both diseased and normal cells with no selectivity.

The purpose of this study is to improve the current ECP technology using aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and UV light. ECP will be carried out in conventional manner except that 8-MOP will be replaced with ALA. Systemic ALA / UV light is already approved and used in the detection and treatment of disease in humans. The primary objective is to assess its safety and tolerability after single and multiple treatment in patients with CTCL or cGvHD.

Read the detailed description

The main advantages of using ALA for ECP are (1) highly effective and selective apoptotic destruction of transformed/activated hyper-proliferative T-cells through an endogenously selective production of the potent photosensitiser, protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) from ALA via heme biosynthetic pathway; (2) ALA/PpIX only targets membranous structures outside of the cell nucleus thus causing no risk of carcinogenesis and (3) induces systemic anti-tumour immunity.

02

Conditions studied

  • Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma, Unspecified
  • Chronic Graft Versus Host Disease in Skin

Keywords

  • Photopheresis
  • 5-aminolevulinic acid
  • Extracorporeal Circulation
03

In context

Lymphoma, T-Cell, Cutaneous

342 studies on the registry are indexed under Lymphoma, T-Cell, Cutaneous; 61 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 7 is below the median of 33 across 279 interventional studies indexed under Lymphoma, T-Cell, Cutaneous.

Browse Lymphoma, T-Cell, Cutaneous studies →

Lead sponsor

St. Olavs Hospital is the lead sponsor of 171 studies on the registry; 29 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

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

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Informed consent
  • cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) (Mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome)
  • considered to respond inadequately to 8-MOP-ECP therapy. Inadequate response is defined as:

    1. progressive disease: disease progression from baseline in skin score, blood or lymph nodes after 3-6 months or
    2. stable disease: No- response after 3-6 months or
    3. minimal response \< 50% (from baseline) reduction of skin scores and/or CD4/CD8 ratio or a loss of peripheral blood clone after 3-6 months.
  • (or) chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD) and considered to respond inadequately to 8-MOP-ECP therapy. Chronic GvHD is defined as

    1. presence of at least 1 clinical sign of cGvHD or
    2. at least one distinct manifestation confirmed by pertinent biopsy or other relevant tests.
    3. steroid dependence, intolerance or steroid refractoriness considered to respond inadequately to 8-MOP-ECP therapy with at least monthly intervals.

Inadequate response is defined as:

  1. progression of cutaneous cGvHD defined as >25% worsening from baseline as measured by the percent change in the total skin score or
  2. after 3 months had an inadequate response of cutaneous cGvHD as defined by \<15% improvement in the total skin score compared with baseline, or a ≤25% reduction in corticosteroid dose.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Photosensitive comorbidities, porphyria or known hypersensitivity to 5-aminolevulinic acid or porphyrins
  • Aphakia
  • Pregnancy or breast feeding. (A negative urine pregnancy test must be demonstrated in female patients of child-bearing potential at the Screening Visit)
  • Ongoing cardiac and pulmonary diseases or ASAT, ALAT, Bilirubin or INR value ≥ 3x upper limit of normal or clinically significant ECG findings
  • Polyneuropathy
  • Uncontrolled infection or fever
  • History of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, absolute neutrophil count \<1x10-9 L-, platelet count \<20x10-9 L-1
  • Body weight below 40 kg
  • Investigator considers subject unlikely to comply with study procedures, restrictions and requirements.
  • History of any clinically significant disease or disorder which in the opinion of the investigator, may either put the patient at risk because of participation in the study, or influence the result or the patient's ability to participate in the study.
05

Study design

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

Study arms

  • Experimental
    ALA-ECP

    Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) with 5-aminolevulinic acid replacing psoralen

    Drug: ECP with 5-aminolevulinic acid

Interventions

  • DrugECP with 5-aminolevulinic acid

    Drug page: Aminolevulinic Acid

    extracorporeal photopheresis (ALA-ECP) using 5-aminolevulinic acid instead of psoralen (8-MOP) in a maximum of 10 treatment cycles

    Also known as: 5-ALA

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Treatment safety: Monitored through recordings of ECG, vital signs and safety laboratory measurements including haematology, clinical chemistry and urinalysis.

    Monitored through recordings of ECG, vital signs and safety laboratory measurements including haematology, clinical chemistry and urinalysis.

    Time frame: up to 1 year

Secondary outcomes

  1. Main efficacy for CTCL

    Response of skin disease and reduction in immunosuppression. Response will be evaluated with study baseline as reference as: complete response, partial response, minimal response, stable disease, progressive disease or maximal response based on set definitions.

    Time frame: up to 1 year

  2. Main efficacy for cGvHD

    Response of skin disease and reduction in immunosuppression. Response will be evaluated with study baseline as reference as: complete response, partial response, minimal response, stable disease, progressive disease or maximal response based on set definitions.

    Time frame: up to 1 year

07

Study locations

1 site
  • St Olavs Hospital
    Trondheim, Norway
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Ran from Sep 2017 to primary completion in Dec 2022, 63 months.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Apr 6, 2017
First posted
Apr 12, 2017
StartActual
Sep 20, 2017
Primary completionActual
Dec 31, 2022
CompletionActual
Dec 31, 2022
Last update
Jan 13, 2023
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jan 13, 2023, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03109353
Lead sponsor
St. Olavs Hospital
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Apr 12, 2017
Start date
Sep 20, 2017
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2022
Completion
Dec 31, 2022
Last update
Jan 13, 2023

Study contacts

Vigleik Jessen, md
study director · St Olavs Hospital, Trondheim Unversity Hospital
Torstein Baade Rø, md phd
study director · Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Jan 2023. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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Studies of the drug tested here: Aminolevulinic Acid

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