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CompletedNCT03658967AdeLEUpdated Jul 9, 2025

Clinical Study With Lymfactin® in the Treatment of Patients With Secondary Lymphedema (AdeLE)

A Phase 2 interventional study of Lymfactin® (1x10E11 vp) and Placebo in Secondary Lymphedema, sponsored by Herantis Pharma Plc.. Completed at 5 sites in 2 countries. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 70 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-07-09.

Sponsored by Herantis Pharma Plc. · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
39
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 70 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This study evaluates the efficacy of Lymfactin® in patients with secondary lymphedema associated with the treatment of breast cancer by comparing the effects of active study treatment Lymfactin® to placebo. The study product will be administered in combination with a surgical lymph node transfer operation. In addition, the safety and tolerability of the Lymfactin® treatment will be evaluated.

Read the detailed description

This is a Phase II, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-centre clinical study, in which 40 patients with breast cancer associated secondary lymphedema will be randomized 1:1 either to Lymfactin® (1 x 10E11 viral particles, vp) or placebo (0.9% physiological saline) group.

The study product (Lymfactin® or placebo solution) will be administered as a single dose in a volume of two (2) mL, by ex vivo perinodal injection into the fat pad of a flap of tissue containing lymph nodes from the patient's own abdominal wall or the groin area. This flap of tissue will then be surgically implanted into the axillary region of the affected arm. This treatment with the study product is performed in combination with a surgical lymph node transfer, in conjunction with or without breast reconstruction surgery.

Patients will be followed-up for efficacy and safety according to a specified schedule up to 5 years post-treatment.

02

Conditions studied

  • Secondary Lymphedema

Keywords

  • Lymphedema
  • Breast cancer
  • Adenoviral vector
  • VEGF-C
03

In context

Lymphedema

560 studies on the registry are indexed under Lymphedema; 135 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 39 is below the median of 50 across 403 interventional studies indexed under Lymphedema.

Browse Lymphedema studies →

Lead sponsor

Herantis Pharma Plc. is the lead sponsor of 7 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 70 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  1. Female or male patients with secondary lymphedema associated with the treatment of breast cancer and

    • Has undergone sentinel lymph node biopsies and/or lymph node resection in the axilla on the affected side of their breast cancer with initial N1-N2a staging and lymph node metastasis in ≤ 9 axillary lymph nodes.
    • Requires garment use as a compression treatment for the lymphedema in the affected arm.
    • Has the volume of the affected arm at least 10% greater than the unaffected arm following 7 days without compression garment.
    • Has the presence of pitting edema in the affected arm without compression garment.
    • Has had lymphedema for less than 5 years.
  2. No evidence of recurrent or active breast cancer for at least 2 years after the breast cancer surgery and/or the end of chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy (excluding endocrine treatment).
  3. Patient understands and voluntarily signs the written informed consent prior to any screening procedure.
  4. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status of 0 or 1.
  5. Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18 and 32 inclusive.
  6. Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography (PET CT) scan of the chest and the abdomen within 45 days before the study treatment without signs of active breast cancer or any other malignancy.
  7. Adequate hematologic and end-organ function.

    • Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤ 2.5 x the institutional upper limit of normal (ULN)
    • Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 x ULN (except in patients with previously documented Gilbert's syndrome, in which case total bilirubin ≤ 3 x ULN)
    • International Normalized ratio (INR) and Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (aPTT) ≤ 1.5 x ULN (for patients requiring therapeutic anticoagulation therapy, a stable INR ≤ 2,5)
    • Serum creatinine ≤ 1,5 x ULN or creatinine clearance ≥ 50 ml/min
    • Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1,5 E9/l
    • Platelet count ≥ 100 E9/l
    • Hemoglobin ≥ 100 g/l
  8. Willingness to comply with scheduled visits, laboratory assessments, and other study-related procedures due to the regulatory requirements related to gene based therapies.
  9. Non-smoker or willing to stop smoking or use of nicotine-containing products for at least 4 weeks prior to the study entry.
  10. Negative urine pregnancy test (only patients with childbearing potential) at screening and use of adequate contraceptive measures from screening until six months after the study treatment administration:

    • A patient with childbearing potential should be using a reliable contraception method: combined (estrogen and progestogen containing) hormonal contraception associated with inhibition of ovulation (oral, intravaginal or transdermal, progestogen-only hormonal contraception associated with inhibition of ovulation (oral, injectable or implantable), intrauterine device (IUD), intrauterine hormone releasing system (IUS), bilateral tubal occlusion, vasectomised partner or sexual abstinence defined as refraining from heterosexual intercourse during the entire period of risk associated with the study treatments.
    • A male patient is not allowed to donate sperm.
    • A patient with no current heterosexual relationship may be included according to the judgement of the Investigator.
    • For patient in postmenopausal state neither contraception nor a pregnancy test is required. A postmenopausal state is defined as no menses for 12 months without an alternative medical cause. A high follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) level in the postmenopausal range may be used to confirm a postmenopausal state in women not using hormonal contraception or hormonal replacement therapy.
    • For permanently sterile patient neither contraception nor a pregnancy test is required. A permanently sterile is defined by history of hysterectomy, bilateral salpingectomy or bilateral oophorectomy.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Diagnosed for T4 and/or N2b/N3 stage breast cancer at the time of the original diagnosis.
  2. Evidence (clinical, laboratory or imaging) or history of a neoplasm other than breast cancer (except basal cell carcinoma or cervical in situ carcinoma).
  3. Diagnosed for metastatic breast cancer.
  4. Pregnancy, lactation or a positive or indeterminate pregnancy test.
  5. Current treatment with Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors should be interrupted from 2 weeks prior until 4 weeks post-treatment.
  6. Previous treatment with, or participation in a trial of a gene therapy product.
  7. Participation in a clinical trial, which has included interventions in the preceding 6 months or will involve future interventions. Participation in a non-interventional clinical trial, or in a non-interventional follow-up of any clinical trial, does not make the patient inappropriate for the entry into this study.
  8. Current treatment with immunosuppressive drugs.
  9. Current history of drug abuse, including nicotine-containing products, or alcohol abuse.
  10. Known human immunodeficiency virus- or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-related illness.
  11. History of hepatic dysfunction, cirrhosis, or hepatitis.
  12. Allergy to any ingredients of the Lymfactin® solution for injection.
  13. Other concurrent severe acute and/or chronic medical or psychiatric condition or laboratory abnormality that may increase the risk associated with the study participation or study drug administration, that would, in the Investigator's judgement, affect the patient's ability to follow study-related procedures, or that may interfere with the interpretation of study results and would make the patient inappropriate for the entry into this study.
  14. Doubtful availability, in the opinion of the Investigator, to complete the study.
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
39 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Lymfactin® (1x10E11 vp)

    Lymfactin® will be administered as a single dose via perinodal injection in a volume of 2 mL.

    Drug: Lymfactin® (1x10E11 vp)

  • Placebo comparator
    Placebo (0.9% physiological saline)

    Placebo will be administered as a single dose via perinodal injection in a volume of 2 mL.

    Drug: Placebo

Interventions

  • DrugLymfactin® (1x10E11 vp)

    Lymfactin® will be administered as a single dose via perinodal injection in a volume of 2 mL.

    Also known as: LX-1101, AdAptVEGF-C adenoviral vector

  • DrugPlacebo

    Placebo will be administered as a single dose via perinodal injection in a volume of 2 mL.

    Also known as: 0.9% Physiological saline

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Measurement of the volume of the arms

    Changes in the volume of the affected arm and comparison to the unaffected arm.

    Time frame: 24 Months

  2. Measurement of the lymphatic flow of the affected arm by quantitative lymphoscintigraphy (99Tc-nanocolloid clearance rate with calculation of transport index).

    Assessment of the changes in the lymphatic flow.

    Time frame: 24 Months

  3. Questionnaire according to the Lymphedema Quality of Life Inventory (LQOLI)

    Assessment of changes in the quality of life using Lymphedema Quality of Life Inventory (LQOLI) in which the patients assess how their lymphedema is affecting the activities of daily living. LQOLI consists of three dimensions: Physical, psychosocial and practical, which are reported separately as the mean score of that part. Each part of the LQOLI is scored from 0 to 3, where score 0 means "no impact", 1 means "a little bit impact", 2 means "somewhat impact" and score 3 means "significant impact" on the quality of life of the patient, the smaller score thus being the better.

    Time frame: 24 Months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Number of participants with treatment-related adverse events as assessed by CTCAE v4.0

    Adverse Events as assessed by CTCAE v4.0 to evaluate the safety profile after administration of Lymfactin.

    Time frame: 24 Months

  2. CT scan of chest and abdomen

    Changes in CT scans of chest and abdomen in order to detect malignancies.

    Time frame: 60 Months

  3. Lymfactin genome copy number in blood

    Changes in Lymfactin genome copy number in blood.

    Time frame: 30 Days

  4. Lymfactin genome copy number in wound secretion

    Changes in Lymfactin genome copy number in wound secretion.

    Time frame: 7 Days

  5. Formation of anti-Lymfactin antibodies

    Changes in anti-Lymfactin antibody titer in blood.

    Time frame: 12 Months

  6. Systemic concentration of vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C)

    Changes in the VEGF-C concentration in blood.

    Time frame: 30 Days

Other outcomes

  1. Optional evaluation of the anatomy and functionality of lymphatic vessels by MRI lymphangiography

    Changes in anatomy and functionality of lymphatic vessels by newly developed MRI lymphangiography and comparison of the correlation of the method to the already established lymphoscintigraphy in the assessment of lymphedema.

    Time frame: 24 Months

  2. Percentage Water Content (PWC) measurement of water content and edema

    Changes in PWC measurement of water content and edema in affected arm and comparison to the unaffected arm.

    Time frame: 24 months

07

Study locations

5 sites
  • Töölö Hospital, Department of Plastic Surgery
    Helsinki, Finland
  • Tampere University Hospital, Department of Plastic Surgery
    Tampere, Finland
  • Turku University Hospital, Department of Plastic Surgery
    Turku, Finland
  • Karolinska University Hospital, Department of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery
    Stockholm, Sweden
  • Uppsala University Hospital, Department of Plastic Surgery
    Uppsala, Sweden
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jul 9, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03658967
Lead sponsor
Herantis Pharma Plc.
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Sep 6, 2018
Start date
Jun 7, 2018
Primary completion
Dec 16, 2019
Completion
Oct 23, 2024
Last update
Jul 9, 2025

Study contacts

Anne Saarikko, MD, PhD
principal investigator · Helsinki University Central Hospital
Maria Mani, MD, PhD
principal investigator · Uppsala University Hospital

Oversight

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

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