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RecruitingNCT07694986Updated Jul 10, 2026

Trial of Therapies With IT cDC1s Combined w/ IT Trastuzamab for Her+ or IT Nivolumab for Her- BC LMD

A Phase 2 interventional study of cDC1 Vaccine and Trastuzumab in Breast Cancer and Leptomeningeal Disease, sponsored by H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-07-10.

Sponsored by H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
30
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this study is to learn about the effects of the study treatment, Dendritic Cell Vaccine (DCV), in combination with trastuzumab or nivolumab to confirm the highest dose of the study treatment that can be given safely to participants with Breast Cancer (BC) with Leptomeningeal Disease (LMD).

02

Conditions studied

  • Breast Cancer
  • Leptomeningeal Disease
03

In context

Breast Neoplasms

12,544 studies on the registry are indexed under Breast Neoplasms; 2,892 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 30 is below the median of 72 across 9,303 interventional studies indexed under Breast Neoplasms.

Browse Breast Neoplasms studies →

Lead sponsor

H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute is the lead sponsor of 533 studies on the registry; 74 are open to participants now.

Of its 99 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 57 (58%) have results posted.

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Histologically or cytologically confirmed diagnosis of BC by ASCO/CAP guidelines (Wolff et al, 2018), or radiographically definite LMD from BC.
  • Trial participants must have a diagnosis of LMD. They must have the presence of malignant cells in the CSF (CSF+; note now cytology is considered diagnostic of LMD if the cytology is read as positive or suspicious; [Chamberlain et al., 2017] OR characteristic radiographic abnormalities of LMD). Signs and symptoms of LMD in and of themselves are not sufficient for inclusion.
  • Patients must have an ECOG performance scale of ≤2.
  • Proton cranial spinal RT OR cranial spinal RT using IMRT are the preferred modalities of RT to treat LMD if possible, before study. At least WBRT is required for participation.
  • Coincident brain or spinal cord metastases are allowed if these are stable and do not require local therapy at the time of enrollment. Individuals with previously treated stable brain metastases are eligible to participate.
  • Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and/or prior radiotherapy is permitted ≥2 weeks before the initial dendritic cell (DC) vaccine dose. A follow-up brain MRI should be obtained before the DC vaccine to determine the stability of the lesions. An interval of at least 2 weeks after the end of brain radiation or surgical resection of brain lesions or cytotoxic, targeted, immune, or investigational agent is required.
  • Must be ≥18 years of age on the day of signing the consent.
  • Life expectancy of ≥8 weeks.
  • Demonstrate adequate organ function as defined in Table 5. All screening labs should be performed within 14 days of treatment initiation.
  • Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document.
  • Corticosteroids at doses equivalent to ≤4 mg of dexamethasone daily or equivalent for symptom control are acceptable. This should be minimized when possible.
  • If the disease has progressed on current treatment before consent, patients may continue current systemic cancer therapies by PI discretion see Section 7.7.5 (Systemic Therapies Allowed) and Section 5.2, 1 and 2 (Exclusion Criteria).
  • Patients with systemic disease are eligible and will be managed as detailed in Section 7.7.5.
  • Pregnancy test: negative serum or urine pregnancy test at screening for women of childbearing potential. Must be repeated once a month during treatment.
  • Contraception: Highly effective contraception for both male and female subjects throughout the study, and for the following specified durations after the last treatment administration as follows: highly effective contraception must be used by males for at least 90 days after the last treatment administration, if the risk of conception exists, to cover the spermatogenesis Cycle, and at least 5 months after the last dose of nivolumab or 7 months after the last dose of trastuzumab for females.
  • The patient has an Ommaya reservoir or equivalent device that allows routine access to CSF and administration of DC1s.
  • Patient must be able to tolerate MRIs of brain with contrast for routine disease assessments.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Receiving other treatments specifically administered to treat LMD within the last 2 weeks or 5 half-lives of the agent, whichever is less. However, all other treatments to control systemic disease or bulk CNS disease will be eligible, provided the therapy is not a Phase I agent, an agent that significantly and unequivocally penetrates the CSF (eg, high-dose methotrexate, thiotepa, high-dose ara-C) by PI discretion. H \& P section: Patients may continue on IV trastuzumab, fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki, pertuzumab, tucatinib, or other HER2-directed, hormonal, or other therapeutic agents if controlling systemic disease and leptomeningeal metastases developed while on these therapies. In addition, at time of systemic progression, patients may start additional agents at the discretion of the treating physician according to criteria in Section 6.7.1. and not start on new systemic therapies until LMD disease assessment.
  • Use of any immunotherapy within the last 4 weeks.
  • Unable or unwilling to have a contrast-enhanced brain MRI.
  • Known additional malignancy that is progressing or requires active treatment. Exceptions include basal cell carcinoma of the skin, squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, or in situ cervical cancer that has undergone potentially curative therapy.
  • Has an active infection requiring systemic therapy which in the investigator's opinion will increase the risk to the patient.
  • Had major surgical procedure, or significant traumatic injury within 2 weeks. Ommaya placement is allowed.
  • Patients with shunts are excluded from the study (including but not limited to ventriculoperitoneal and ventriculoatrial shunts).
  • History of an intracranial thrombosis or thrombi extending up to the skull base. The choice of modality is at the investigator or provider's discretion.
  • Has a history of 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.
  • Has known psychiatric or substance abuse disorders that would interfere with cooperation with the requirements of the trial.
  • 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 90 days after the last dose of trial treatment.
  • Has a known history of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) (HIV 1, 2 antibodies). Testing is not mandatory.
  • Has known active or chronic hepatitis B (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV). Testing is not mandatory.
  • ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION: Prior organ transplantation including allogenic stem-cell transplantation.
  • Other severe acute or chronic medical conditions or psychiatric conditions including recent (within the past year) or active suicidal ideation or behavior; or laboratory abnormalities that may increase the risk associated with study participation or study treatment administration or may interfere with the interpretation of study results and, in the judgment of the investigator, would make the patient inappropriate for entry into this study.
  • Has received a live vaccine within 30 days before the first dose of study drug. Examples of live vaccines include, but are not limited to, the following: measles, mumps, rubella, varicella/zoster (chicken pox), yellow fever, rabies, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), and typhoid vaccine. Seasonal influenza vaccines for injection are generally killed virus vaccines and are allowed; however, intranasal influenza vaccines (eg, FluMist) are live attenuated vaccines and are not allowed. Current COVID vaccines are not live vaccines.
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Sequential assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
30 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Safety Run-In HER2- Cohort

    Participants with HER2-negative breast cancer leptomeningeal disease (TNBC or HR-positive) receive intrathecal HER3-pulsed cDC1 vaccines in combination with IT nivolumab.

    Biological: cDC1 Vaccine · Drug: Nivolumab

  • Experimental
    Safety Run-In HER2+ Cohort

    Participants with HER2-positive breast cancer leptomeningeal disease receive intrathecal (IT) HER2/HER3 peptide-pulsed cDC1 vaccines in combination with IT trastuzumab.

    Biological: cDC1 Vaccine · Drug: Trastuzumab

  • Experimental
    Phase 2 Efficacy Cohort

    Following completion of the safety run-in and confirmation of the RP2D, participants will receive treatment based on HER2 status: HER2-positive participants will receive IT cDC1 vaccines plus IT trastuzumab. HER2-negative participants will receive IT cDC1 vaccines plus IT nivolumab.

    Biological: cDC1 Vaccine · Drug: Trastuzumab · Drug: Nivolumab

Interventions

  • BiologicalcDC1 Vaccine

    Autologous peptide-pulsed cDC1 vaccine administered intrathecally.

    Also known as: Dendritic Cell Vaccine

  • DrugTrastuzumab

    150 mg intrathecal weekly for HER2-positive participants.

  • DrugNivolumab

    50 mg intrathecal every 2 weeks for HER2-negative participants.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Safety Run-In: Maximum Tolerated Dose (MTD)

    MTD of IT cDC1s combined with IT trastuzumab for HER2+ patients or with IT nivolumab for HER2- patients.

    Time frame: Up to 28 days

  2. Phase 2: Median Overall Survival

    Median survival from initiation of study treatment.

    Time frame: Up to 1 year

  3. Phase 2: One-Year Survival Rate

    Proportion of participants alive at one year after treatment initiation.

    Time frame: Up to 1 year

Secondary outcomes

  1. Progression Free Survival (PFS)

    Progression-free survival is defined as the time from first study treatment (Cycle 1 Day 1) until documented disease progression or death from any cause, whichever occurs first.

    Time frame: Up to 1 year

  2. Objective Response Rate (ORR)

    The proportion of participants achieving an objective response during study treatment. Response in leptomeningeal/CNS disease will be assessed using Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology Leptomeningeal Metastases (RANO-LM) criteria, and response in non-CNS/systemic disease will be assessed using RECIST version 1.1 criteria.

    Time frame: Up to 1 Year

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • Moffitt Cancer Center
    Tampa, Florida 33612, United States
    • Peter Forsyth, MD · Principal investigator
    • Kamran Ahmed, MD · Sub investigator
    • Andre Beer Furlan, MD · Sub investigator
    • Brian Czerniecki, MD · Sub investigator
    • Arnold Etame, MD · Sub investigator
    • Joaquim Farinhas, MD · Sub investigator
    • Alisha Fell, ARNP · Sub investigator
    • Patrick Grogan, MD · Sub investigator
    • Hyo Han, MD · Sub investigator
    • Hien Liu, MD · Sub investigator
    • James Liu, MD · Sub investigator
    • Sepideh Mokhtari, MD · Sub investigator
    • Yolanda Pina, MD · Sub investigator
    • Aixa Soyano Muller, MD · Sub investigator
    • Nam Tran, MD · Sub investigator
    • Michael Vogelbaum, MD · Sub investigator
    • Michael Yu, MD · Sub investigator
    Recruiting
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jul 10, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07694986
Lead sponsor
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute
Collaborators
United States Department of Defense
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jul 10, 2026
Start date
Aug 2026 (estimated)
Primary completion
Aug 2029 (estimated)
Completion
Aug 2030 (estimated)
Last update
Jul 10, 2026

Study contacts

Julianne Hardesty
Contact
Julianne.Hardesty@moffitt.org
813-745-4098
Peter Forsyth, MD
principal investigator · Moffitt Cancer Center

Oversight

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

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