Cancerify Logo
Log inSign up
Back to clinical trials
RecruitingInterventionalPhase 2

A Phase II Study of STEMVAC Vaccine Therapy for Patients With Hormone Receptor Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer

NCT ID: NCT07112053Sponsor: University of WashingtonLast updated: 2026-04-06

Summary

This phase II trial studies how well a vaccine, STEMVAC, works in combination with standard endocrine-based therapy (ET) with a CDK4/6 targeted drug therapy, or with the chemotherapy drug capecitabine, in treating patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer that has spread from where it first started (primary site) to other places in the body (metastatic). STEMVAC is designed to target proteins that cancer cells use when they become more aggressive and start to spread, and it is believed to work by boosting the immune system to recognize and destroy the invader tumor cells that are causing the disease. Standard ET is treatment that adds, blocks, or removes hormones in order to slow or stop the growth of cancer. Standard CDK4/6 inhibitors, including abemaciclib, may stop the growth of tumor cells and may kill them by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Capecitabine is in a class of medications called antimetabolites. It is taken up by tumor cells and breaks down into fluorouracil, a substance that kills tumor cells. Giving STEMVAC in combination with standard ET or chemotherapy may be an effective treatment for metastatic HR positive, HER2 negative breast cancer.

Detailed description

OUTLINE: Patients with ET-sensitive disease are assigned to Cohort 1, while patients with ET-resistant disease are assigned to Cohort 2. COHORT 1: After completion of 2 cycles of standard of care (SOC) ET + CDK4/6 inhibitor (CDK4/6i) therapy or abemaciclib alone, patients receive STEMVAC intradermally (ID) on the following schedule: 1) Three "priming" doses every 28 days; 2) Two "booster" doses at 6 and 9 months after "priming" dose #1; and 3) Additional "booster" doses every 6 months in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients also undergo image-guided biopsies for research purposes, as well as collection of blood samples and computed tomography (CT) or positron emission tomography (PET) scans throughout the trial. COHORT 2: After completion of 1 cycle of SOC capecitabine treatment, patients receive STEMVAC ID on the following schedule: 1) Three "priming" doses every 28 days; 2) Two "booster" doses at 6 and 9 months after "priming" dose #1; and 3) Additional "booster" doses every 6 months in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients also undergo image-guided biopsies for research purposes, collection of blood samples, and fluoroestradiol (FES) positron emission tomography (PET) scans, as well as CT or PET scans throughout the trial. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed every 6 months for 3 years.

Arms & interventions

  • BiologicalCD105/Yb-1/SOX2/CDH3/MDM2-polyepitope Plasmid DNA Vaccine

    Given ID

  • DrugCapecitabine

    Given SOC capecitabine

  • ProcedureComputed Tomography

    Undergo CT or ultrasound-guided biopsies

  • DrugCyclin-Dependent Kinase 4 Inhibitor

    Given SOC CDK4/6i

  • DrugCyclin-Dependent Kinase 6 Inhibitor

    Given SOC CDK4/6i

  • DrugF-18 16 Alpha-Fluoroestradiol

    Undergo FES PET

  • DrugHormone Therapy

    Given SOC ET

  • ProcedurePositron Emission Tomography

    Undergo PET or FES PET

  • ProcedureBiopsy Procedure

    Undergo image-guided biopsies

  • ProcedureBiospecimen Collection

    Undergo collection of blood samples

  • DrugAbemaciclib

    Given SOC abemaciclib

Outcome measures

Primary

  • Incidence of adverse events (AEs)

    Safety and systemic toxicity will be determined by chemical and clinical parameters evaluated at various time points. Toxicity grading will be evaluated according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 6.0 and monitoring of AEs will be done per Food and Drug Administration and NCI guidelines. The type and grade of toxicities noted during the immunization regimen will be summarized. The duration of toxicities will also be summarized using descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation. All AEs noted by the investigator will be tabulated according to the affected body system. The frequency and severity of adverse events will be summarized with a proportion and a 95% confidence interval (CI).

    Time frame: Up to 3 years after completion of study treatment

  • Incidence of immunogenicity

    Will be defined as the sum of the interferon gamma enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot of all STEMVAC antigens on blood samples collected pre-vaccine as compared to 1-month post dose #3 of the STEMVAC vaccine and again after 2 booster doses of STEMVAC vaccine. Both incidence and magnitude will be assessed. Immune responses will be summarized with mean and standard deviation or median and range (if skewness is observed) over time, the change over time will be summarized with graphs, and also analyzed using linear mixed-effects regression models with normalizing transformation if necessary.

    Time frame: Pre-vaccine up to after 2 booster doses of STEMVAC vaccine (Up to 40 weeks)

Secondary

  • Progression-free survival (PFS)

    Time frame: From the start of treatment to the worsening of cancer as determined by primary treating oncologist or death whichever occurs first, assessed up to 3 years after completion of study treatment

  • Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)

    Time frame: Up to 3 years after completion of study treatment

  • Elimination of cancer cells associated with epithelial to mesenchymal transformation (EMT)

    Time frame: Up to 3 years after completion of study treatment

Eligibility criteria

Sex: AllAge: 18 Years and olderHealthy volunteers: No
Inclusion Criteria: * Patients must be at least ≥ 18 years of age * Histologically confirmed hormone receptor positive metastatic breast cancer: Tumors that are positive for estrogen receptor (ER) and/or progesterone receptor (PR) * HER2-negative or HER2-low will be included and defined as: * 0-1+ HER2 expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC) OR * Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) negative OR * HER2 2+ and FISH negative * HER2 low per standard of care in breast cancer * Patients should be receiving the following therapies to be eligible for the study: * Cohort 1: First or second line of endocrine therapy in the metastatic setting, in combination with a CDK4/6 inhibitor. Patients must have completed at least 2 cycles of CDK4/6 inhibitor. Patients who have stopped endocrine therapy for intolerance but remain on abemaciclib monotherapy will be considered for enrollment at the PI's discretion * Cohort 2: Progressed on endocrine-based therapies and after completion of at least 1 cycle of capecitabine * Subjects with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status Score of 0 or 1 * Willing to undergo up to two serial biopsies while on study * Have at least 1 site of disease confirmed by the treating oncologist that could be biopsied during treatment * White blood cell (WBC) ≥ 2000/mm\^3 (within 28 days of receiving the study vaccine) * Lymphocyte count ≥ 500/mm\^3 (within 28 days of receiving the study vaccine) * Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 800/µL (within 28 days of receiving the study vaccine) * Platelets ≥ 75,000/µL (within 28 days of receiving the study vaccine) * Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 x institutional upper limit of normal (ULN), except patients with Gilbert's syndrome in whom total bilirubin must be ≤ 3.0 mg/dL (within 28 days of receiving the study vaccine) * Aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤ 3 x institutional upper limit of normal (ULN) (within 28 days of receiving the study vaccine) * Creatinine ≤ 2.0 mg/dL or creatinine clearance \> 30 mL/min (within 28 days of receiving the study vaccine) * Patients of child-bearing potential must agree to use dual methods of contraception and have a negative urine pregnancy test at screening, and male patients must use an effective barrier method of contraception if sexually active with a female of child-bearing potential. Acceptable methods of contraception are condoms with contraceptive foam, oral, implantable or injectable contraceptives, contraceptive patch, intrauterine device, diaphragm with spermicidal gel, or a sexual partner who is surgically sterilized or postmenopausal. Effective methods of contraception must be used throughout the study and until the end of treatment on study * Must have recovered from major infections and/or surgical procedures; and in the opinion of the investigator, not have any significant active concurrent medical illnesses or condition precluding protocol treatment Exclusion Criteria: * Patients with any of the following cardiac conditions: * Symptomatic restrictive cardiomyopathy * Dilated cardiomyopathy * Unstable angina within 4 months prior to enrollment * New York Heart Association functional class III-IV heart failure on active treatment * Symptomatic pericardial effusion * Uncontrolled hypertension * Uncontrolled cardiac arrhythmias * Patients with any autoimmune disease/comorbidity that require chronic steroids or immunosuppressants * A non-breast malignancy requiring radiation or systemic therapy within last 5 years * Known hypersensitivity reaction to the granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) adjuvant; any known contra-indication to GM-CSF * Pregnant or breast feeding * Known history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, hepatitis B (e.g., hepatitis B virus surface antigen \[HBsAg\] reactive), or hepatitis C (e.g., hepatitis C virus \[HCV\] ribonucleic acid \[RNA\] \[qualitative\] is detected) * Major surgery within the 4 weeks prior to initiation of study vaccine * Current use of immunosuppressive agents or systemic corticosteroids. Topical, ocular, intra-articular, intranasal, and inhalational corticosteroids (with minimal systemic absorption) are allowed. Patients who have received systemic corticosteroids ≤ 30 days prior to starting study drug will be excluded * Patient is currently enrolled in any other clinical protocol or investigational trial that involves administration of experimental therapy and/or therapeutic devices, or investigational drug * NOTE: Biomarker or tissue collection or any other non-interventional clinical trial enrollment is allowed * Must be 14 days between a non-study vaccine and any STEMVAC vaccination * NOTE: The minimum of 14 days does not apply to the tetanus and diphtheria (Td) vaccine * Any condition that may interfere with the patient's participation in the study per treating oncologist

Study locations (1)

Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium

Seattle, Washington, 98109

Recruiting
Research Coordinator(s) · Contact
Natasha Hunter, MD · Principal Investigator
A Vaccine (STEMVAC) With Standard Endocrine-Based Therapy or Chemotherapy for the Treatment of Metastatic Hormone Receptor Positive, HER2 Negative Breast Cancer | Cancerify