ClinicalTrials.gg
TerminatedNCT03332355Updated May 24, 2023

Procaspase Activating Compound-1 (PAC-1) in the Treatment of Advanced Malignancies - Component 2

A Phase 1 interventional study of PAC-1 Compound in Glioblastoma Multiforme and Anaplastic Astrocytoma, sponsored by Vanquish Oncology, Inc.. Terminated at 3 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 85 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2023-05-24.

Sponsored by Vanquish Oncology, Inc. · Phase 1, Interventional, and Treatment

Why this study was terminated
Business Reasons

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was Dec 2021, 4 years 10 months ago, and no results have been posted to the registry.
Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
18
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years to 85 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The primary objectives of this study are to determine the maximal tolerated dose (MTD) of PAC-1 in combination with temozolomide in patients with high grade glioma: glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) or anaplastic astrocytoma after progression following standard first line therapy (Component 2), by evaluation of toxicity and tolerability.

Read the detailed description

PAC-1 in combination with temozolomide (Component 2): after the MTD is established for single agent PAC-1 in Component 1, a modified-Fibonacci dose-escalation 3+3 design starts in Component 2, at a PAC-1 dose one level lower than the MTD of PAC-1 established in the single agent PAC-1 component (i.e., Component 1) and 150 mg/m2 dose of temozolomide given for the 5 days starting at day 8 of cycle 1 in cohorts of 3-6 patients. The combination cohort that reaches MTD will expanded to at least 9 patients, similar to the PAC-1 alone cohort at MTD. For all dose cohorts, pharmacokinetics of PAC-1 will be assessed following doses administered on days 1 and 11 of the first cycle. Temozolomide pharmacokinetics will be performed on Day 11 of the first cycle.

02

Conditions studied

  • Glioblastoma Multiforme
  • Anaplastic Astrocytoma

Keywords

  • glioblastoma multiforme
  • anaplastic astrocytoma
  • high grade glioma
  • temozolomide
  • PROCASPASE ACTIVATING COMPOUND-1 (PAC-1)
  • advanced malignancy
  • maximal tolerated dose (MTD)
03

In context

Glioblastoma

2,132 studies on the registry are indexed under Glioblastoma; 464 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 18 is below the median of 36 across 1,753 interventional studies indexed under Glioblastoma.

Browse Glioblastoma studies →

Lead sponsor

Vanquish Oncology, Inc. is the lead sponsor of 2 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 85 Years
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

  1. Male or female ≥ 18 years of age
  2. Diagnosis of advanced solid tumor or hematologic (limited to lymphoma) that has failed or become intolerant to standard therapy (Component 1 - single agent PAC-1) Note: Gliomas are excluded from Component 1 (see exclusion #19)
  3. Diagnosis of high grade glioma: glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) or anaplastic astrocytoma after progression following treatment with standard therapy (Component 2 - PAC-1 in combination with temozolomide).
  4. Has , defined as at least 1 tumor that fulfills the criteria for a target lesion according to 1.1 (Component 1).
  5. For patients in study Component 2 measurable disease RANO criteria will be used.
  6. Has an (ECOG) performance status of 0, 1, or 2 (see Appendix 4)
  7. Has adequate hepatic function defined as total \< 1.5 mg/dL, serum albumin > 3.0 gm/dL, (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) \< 1.5 × (ULN) or \< 3 x ULN for subjects with known hepatic
  8. Has adequate renal function defined as serum creatinine \< 1.5 × ULN
  9. Has adequate bone marrow function defined as a ≥ 10 g/dL, (ANC) ≥ 1.5 × 109/L, and count ≥ 100 × 109/L
  10. Patients taking antiepileptic drugs (AED) must be on stable doses of AED for at least two weeks prior to registration and have no episode of seizures for at least 14 days prior to registration. Because some AEDs enhance or inhibit enzymes that may affect PAC-1 metabolism, those AEDs will not be permitted in this study. The AEDs that are and are not permissible are in Appendix 6.
  11. Patient must be able to take oral medication and to maintain a fast as required for 2 hours before and 1 hour after capsule(s) administration
  12. Must be willing and able to comply with study visits and procedures
  13. Has read, understood and signed the form (ICF) approved by the Institutional Review Board/Independent Ethics Committee (IRB/IEC)
  14. Women of (WOCP) must not be pregnant (confirmed by a negative pregnancy test, with a serum B-HCG with a sensitivity of 50 mL U/L within 7 days of study treatment) or breast-feeding. In addition, a medically acceptable method of must be used such as an oral, implantable, injectable, or transdermal hormonal contraceptive, an intrauterine device (IUD), use of a double barrier method (condoms, sponge, diaphragm, or vaginal ring with spermicidal jellies or cream), or total abstinence during the study participation and for one month after last dose of study drug(s). Women who are for at least 1 year or surgically sterile (bilateral tubal ligation, bilateral oophorectomy, or hysterectomy) are not considered to be WOCP.
  15. Men who are not surgically or medically sterile must agree to use an acceptable method of contraception. Male patients with female sexual partners who are pregnant, possibly pregnant, or who could become pregnant during the study must agree to use condoms at least one month after the last dose of study drug. Total abstinence for the same study period is an acceptable alternative.
  16. Prior systemic treatments for metastatic disease are permitted but may not be ongoing, including targeted therapies, biologic response modifiers, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, or therapy (see Exclusion #20).
  17. Willingness to donate blood for biomarker studies related to the type of therapies used in this trial and the tumor types being treated

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Had surgery within 4 weeks prior to study treatment except for minor procedures (hepatic biliary stent placement is allowed)
  2. For Component 1 (PAC-1 alone), gliomas are excluded, as well as any history of , seizures or underlying brain injury (e.g., traumatic brain injury, or hemorrhagic or ischemic stroke)
  3. Patients may not have received cytotoxic chemotherapy, targeted therapies, biologic response modifiers, chemotherapy, and hormonal therapy within the last 3 weeks, or nitrosureas within the last 6 weeks prior to study treatment.
  4. Has a known to temozolomide (this criterion applies only in Component 2)
  5. Has a history of blood clots, pulmonary embolism, or deep vein thrombosis unless controlled by anticoagulant treatment (patient must be on stable dose for 2 weeks)
  6. Has a history of an arterial thromboembolic event within the prior six months including cerebrovascular accident, , myocardial infarction, or unstable angina.
  7. Has uncontrolled (HIV) (defined as HIV RNA >500 copies/ml and \<200/mm3 on antiretroviral therapy) infection or (defined as > 1 x , and HBV DNA >2000 IU/ml) or (defined as ALT > 1 x ULN, persistent viremia on antiviral therapy) infections.
  8. Has any infection, i.e., any acute viral, bacterial, or fungal infection that requires specific treatment (anti-infective treatment has to be completed ≥ 7 days prior to study entry)
  9. Has any other severe, uncontrolled medical condition, including uncontrolled diabetes mellitus (defined as a ≥ 9% in patients with a prior history of diabetes, 28 days prior to study ) or clinical signs of unstable congestive heart failure (Stage III-IV of the Functional Classification) (Appendix 5).
  10. Radiation therapy to more than 25% of the bone marrow. Whole pelvic radiation is considered to be over 25%.
  11. Prior allogeneic bone marrow or organ transplantation.
  12. > Grade 1 peripheral neuropathy within 14 days before enrollment.
  13. Pregnant or breastfeeding - temozolomide is Pregnancy Category D - can cause fetal harm. Confirmation that the subject is not pregnant must be established by a negative serum beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (beta-hCG) pregnancy test result obtained during screening. Pregnancy testing is not required for or surgically sterilized women.
  14. Patient has received other drugs within 14 days prior to study treatment.
  15. Other severe acute or chronic medical or psychiatric conditions or laboratory abnormality that may increase the risk associated with study participation or investigational product administration or may interfere with the interpretation of study results and, in the judgment of the investigator, would make the patient inappropriate for enrollment in this study.
  16. Abnormalities on 12-lead (ECG) considered by the investigator to be clinically significant (such as acute ischemia, left bundle branch block, ventricular arrhythmias) or baseline prolongation of the rate- interval (e.g., repeated demonstration of QTc interval > 480 milliseconds).
  17. Presence of any non-healing wound, fracture, or ulcer within 28 days prior to the first dose of study drug.
  18. Has any condition that, in the opinion of the investigator, might jeopardize the safety of the patient or interfere with protocol compliance
  19. Has any mental or medical condition that prevents the patient from giving or participating in the trial
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(29)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Cancer (malignancy)

Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.

Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.

Line of therapy

A line of therapy is one course of treatment, which may combine several drugs. First-line is the first course given; second-line follows when that stops working or is not tolerated.

“Two prior lines” means two courses that count separately under the study’s rules — not simply two drugs. Ask the study team if you are unsure how yours are counted.

Measurable disease

The amount of disease can be tracked with a defined measurement, so the study can see whether it shrinks or grows. It might be a tumour measured on a scan or, in some blood cancers such as myeloma, a marker measured in blood or urine.

The criteria or the study team say which measurement counts — having no tumour visible on a scan does not by itself rule you out.

RECIST

The standard rules for measuring tumours on CT or MRI scans, to tell whether a cancer is shrinking, stable or growing during treatment.

“Measurable disease per RECIST 1.1” usually means at least one tumour 10 mm or more at its longest on a CT scan, or a lymph node 15 mm or more across its short axis.

ECOG performance status

A scale of how much an illness limits everyday activity. For people being assessed to join a study, scores run from 0 (fully active) to 4; lower is more active.

0
Fully active, no restrictions.
1
Limited in strenuous activity, but walking and able to do light work, such as housework or office work.
2
Walking and able to look after yourself, but unable to work; up and about more than half of waking hours.
3
Able to look after yourself only in part; in bed or a chair more than half of waking hours.
4
Unable to look after yourself at all; in bed or a chair all day.

Studies most often ask for 0–1 or 0–2. Your doctor gives the score; the WHO scale uses the same steps. The full scale also has 5, which records death.

Bilirubin

A yellow substance made when red blood cells are broken down, which the liver clears. A high level can mean a problem with the liver or the bile ducts.

Criteria often allow more for people with Gilbert’s syndrome, a harmless inherited condition that raises bilirubin.

ALT and AST (liver enzymes)

Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.

Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.

ULN (upper limit of normal)

The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.

“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.

Metastases

Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.

Hemoglobin (Hb)

The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).

Absolute neutrophil count (ANC)

The number of neutrophils, white blood cells that help fight infection, in a given amount of blood. Too few raises the risk of infection.

It is a count, not a percentage of the white cells. Limits are written in units that mean the same: ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L is ≥ 1,500 per mm³ (µL). Each lab has its own reference range.

Platelets

Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Childbearing potential

Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).

Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.

Contraception

Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.

Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.

Postmenopausal

Periods have stopped for good: usually no period for 12 months in a row without another medical reason, sometimes confirmed by a blood test (FSH).

Investigational drug or device

A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.

It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.

Brain metastases

Cancer deposits in the brain from a cancer that started elsewhere in the body (CNS metastases include the spinal cord).

Studies differ: some leave out any brain metastases, some accept ones treated and stable for some weeks. Check what this study allows.

Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

TIA (transient ischaemic attack)

A “mini-stroke”: temporary stroke-like symptoms caused by reduced blood flow to part of the brain, spinal cord or eye, without signs of a new stroke on a scan.

Stroke symptoms need emergency care at once, even if they go away.

HIV

The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.

Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.

CD4 count

The number of CD4 cells, a type of white blood cell, in a given amount of blood. It is used to follow how well the immune system is doing in HIV.

Hepatitis B tests

Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. These are separate tests: HBsAg positive usually means a current infection (a recent vaccination can briefly cause it too); total anti-HBc (HBcAb) positive means an infection now or in the past; HBV DNA measures how much virus is in the blood.

Some studies accept a past infection if HBV DNA is undetectable, sometimes with antiviral medicine during the study. Check what this study allows.

Hepatitis C tests

Hepatitis C is a virus that infects the liver. An HCV antibody test can stay positive after an infection has cleared (and is occasionally positive without one); an HCV RNA test shows whether the virus is there now.

After treatment, hepatitis C counts as cured when HCV RNA is still undetectable 12 weeks or more after the treatment ended. Studies often accept people cured this way.

Clinically significant

Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.

HbA1c

A blood test of average blood sugar over the past two to three months, given as a percentage or in mmol/mol. 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) or more is the usual threshold for diabetes, normally confirmed by a second test.

NYHA class (heart failure)

The New York Heart Association’s four classes of how much heart failure limits physical activity.

I
No limits: ordinary activity causes no undue tiredness or breathlessness.
II
Slight limits: comfortable at rest, ordinary activity causes symptoms.
III
Marked limits: comfortable at rest, less than ordinary activity causes symptoms.
IV
Symptoms even at rest; any activity makes them worse.

Studies set their own limit — many outside heart failure leave out class III–IV, while heart failure studies may ask for a particular class. Check the class this study names.

ECG (electrocardiogram)

A recording of the heart’s electrical activity, taken with stickers on the chest, arms and legs. It takes a few minutes and does not hurt.

QT and QTc

On an ECG, the QT interval is the time the heart’s lower chambers take to activate electrically and recover in each beat. QTc is that time adjusted for heart rate (QTcF by Fridericia’s formula, QTcB by Bazett’s). Some medicines lengthen it, and a long QTc can raise the risk of a dangerous heart rhythm.

The study may name a correction formula and a limit in milliseconds, often around 450–480.

05

Study design

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

Study arms

  • Experimental
    PAC-1 in combination with temozolomide

    Temozolomide (PO) will be dosed at 150 mg (adjusted for body size area \[m2\]) daily for 5 days starting on day 8 at cycle 1, and then for each successive cycle. In Component 2, the first PAC-1 dose will be 1 dose level lower than the PAC-1 MTD established in Component 1, and the maximum dose will not exceed 450 mg. PAC-1 will be taken in the morning on days 1-21 in each 28-day cycle.

    Drug: PAC-1 Compound

Interventions

  • DrugPAC-1 Compound

    PAC-1 in combination with temozolomide (Component 2): after the MTD is established for single agent PAC-1 in Component 1, a modified-Fibonacci dose-escalation 3+3 design starts in Component 2, at a PAC-1 dose one level lower than the MTD of PAC-1 established in the single agent PAC-1 component (i.e., Component 1). PAC-1 will be taken in the morning on days 1-21 in each 28 day cycle. Temozolomide 150 mg/m2 dose is given for the 5 days starting at day 8 of cycle 1 in cohorts of 3-6 patients. The combination cohort that reaches MTD will expanded to at least 9 patients, similar to the PAC-1 alone cohort at MTD.

    Also known as: Temozolamide

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Maximum Tolerated Dose (MTD)

    MTD, defined as the highest tolerated dose of PAC-1 tested in combination with temozolomide in patients with high grade glioma.

    Time frame: During treatment cycle 1 (first 28 days)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Adverse Effects

    Toxicity will be graded using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4 (CTCAE v4)

    Time frame: Up to 30 days post final dose

  2. Disease Response

    Disease response will be assessed by RANO criteria.

    Time frame: Through study completion, an average of one year

07

Study locations

3 sites
  • University of Illinois at Chicago
    Chicago, Illinois 60612, United States
  • Johns Hopkins Cancer Center
    Baltimore, Maryland 21231, United States
  • Regions Hospital
    Saint Paul, Minnesota 55101, United States
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Ran from Oct 2017 to primary completion in Dec 2021, 50 months.

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

Registered
Oct 16, 2017
First posted
Nov 6, 2017
StartActual
Oct 1, 2017
Primary completionActual
Dec 31, 2021
CompletionActual
Dec 31, 2021
Last update
May 24, 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 May 24, 2023, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03332355
Lead sponsor
Vanquish Oncology, Inc.
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Nov 6, 2017
Start date
Oct 1, 2017
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2021
Completion
Dec 31, 2021
Last update
May 24, 2023

Study contacts

Oana C Danciu, M.D.
principal investigator · Unversity of Illinois at Chicago

Oversight

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

Not currently enrolling

This study is terminated, as verified in Jun 2022. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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