CRS-207 With Keytruda in Previously Treated Pleural Mesothelioma

CRS-207 & Keytruda Treatment Plan

Patients will receive their treatment in 3 week cycles. For the first 4 cycles, patients will receive both CRS-207 and Keytruda every three weeks. After the first 4 cycles, patients will receive Keytruda every 3 weeks but CRS-207 every 6 weeks.

Treatment Administration:

• 1
  Keytruda is administered by IV (intravenous infusion) for 30 minutes.
• 2
  CRS-207 is administered by IV for 1 hour.

For the first treatment cycle, patients will receive the treatments on separate days. If the treatments are well tolerated in the first cycle, patients can receive both in one day.

Drugs in This Trial

• Keytruda (pembrolizumab, MK-3475)

  Keytruda is an immunotherapy drug. Some cancers are able to hide from the immune system, but Keytruda helps the immune system recognize cancer so that it can attack. Keytruda is FDA approved for several cancers, including some types of lung cancer. Researchers hope that Keytruda will eventually be approved for pleural mesothelioma treatment.

  Keytruda blocks the PD-1 receptor on T cells. T cells are the part of the immune system responsible for fighting infections and diseases. Some cancer cells release PD-L1, a protein that is absorbed by the PD-1 receptor. PD-L1 can trick the T cell into ignoring cancer cells instead of attacking them. Keytruda blocks the PD-1 receptor, allowing the T cells to identify and attack the cancer cells.

• CRS-207

  CRS-207 is an altered form of a the Listeria virus. Listeria is a bacteria that sometimes contaminates food. The goal of CRS-207 is to induce an immune response. Researchers alter the virus so that it is no longer infectious and so that it expresses mesothelin, an antigen that is often expressed by mesothelioma tumors.

  The immune system sees the CRS-207 virus and responds to it. In this way, CRS-207 trains the immune system to target mesothelin. Once the immune system begins targeting mesothelin, it will recognize the cancer cells expressing it as a threat and attack them.

Who Is This Trial For?

This trial is for pleural mesothelioma patients looking for a second line treatment after their first treatment failed. Patients’ cell type should be epithelial or biphasic as long it is at least 50% epithelial cell type. They must have previously been treated with chemotherapy, including pemetrexed and a platinum based drug, without success.

Locations

• UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center
  San Francisco, California, 94115
  Principal Investigator: Thierry M Jahan, MD
• H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center
  Tampa, Florida, 33602
  Principal Investigator: Tawee Tanvetyanon, MD
• University of Chicago Medical Center
  Chicago, Illinois, 60637
  Principal Investigator: Hedy Kindler, MD
• NIH National Cancer Institute
  Bethesda, Maryland, 20892
  Principal Investigator: Raffit Hassan, MD
• Laura & Isaac Perlmutter Cancer at NYU Langone
  New York, New York, 10016
  Principal Investigator: Leena Gandhi, MD, PhD
• Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania
  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104
  Principal Investigator: Evan Alley, MD

Get Enrolled in This Trial

Both immunotherapy drugs in this trial have had impressive results in previous mesothelioma clinical trials. Pleural mesothelioma patients who have undergone chemotherapy unsuccessfully should consider this trial as a second line treatment. Get more information and get connected to this trial.