A Prospective Randomized and Phase 2 Trial for Metastatic Melanoma Using Adoptive Cell Therapy With Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes Plus IL-2 Either Alone or Following the Administration of Pembrolizumab

• Status: Suspended
• Trial end date: 2026-06-16
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

Background:

Cell therapy is an experimental cancer therapy. It takes young tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (Young TIL) cells from a person s tumors and grows them in a lab. Then they are returned to the person. Researchers think adding the drug pembrolizumab might make the therapy more effective.

Objective:

To test if adding pembrolizumab to cell therapy is safe and effective to shrink melanoma tumors.

Eligibility:

People ages 18 70 years with metastatic melanoma

Design:

Participants will be screened with:

Physical exam

CT, MRI, or PET scans

X-rays

Heart and lung function tests

Blood and urine tests

Before treatment, participants will have:

A piece of tumor taken from a biopsy or during surgery in order to grow TIL cells

Leukapheresis: Blood flows through a needle in one arm and into a machine that removes white blood cells.

The rest of the blood returns through a needle in the other arm.

An IV catheter placed in the chest for getting TIL cells, aldesleukin, and pembrolizumab (if assigned)

Participants will stay in the hospital for treatment. This includes:

Daily chemotherapy for 1 week

For some participants, pembrolizumab infusion 1 day after chemotherapy

TIL cell infusion 2 4 days after chemotherapy, then aldesleukin infusion every 8 hours for up to 12 doses

Possible filgrastim injection

Recovery for 1 2 weeks

After treatment, participants will:

Take an antibiotic and antiviral for at least 6 months

If assigned, have pembrolizumab treatment every 3 weeks for 3 more doses. They may have another round.

Have 2-day follow-up visits every 1 3 months for 1 year and then every 6 months

• Phase: Phase 2
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: No

Details

• Lead Sponsor: National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• Treatments: Cyclophosphamide; Fludarabine; Fludarabine phosphate; Pembrolizumab

Criteria

-INCLUSION CRITERIA:

1. Measurable metastatic melanoma with at least one lesion that is resectable for TIL generation.

2. Confirmation of diagnosis of metastatic melanoma by the Laboratory of Pathology of NCI.

3. Patients must have received at least one prior therapy for metastatic melanoma.

4. Patients with 3 or fewer brain metastases that are less than 1 cm in diameter and asymptomatic are eligible. Lesions that have been treated with stereotactic radiosurgery must be clinically stable for 1 month after treatment for the patient to be eligible. Patients with surgically resected brain metastases are eligible.

5. Greater than or equal to 16 years of age and less than or equal to 70 years of age.

6. All participants and/or their parents or legally authorized representatives must sign a written informed consent. Assent will be obtained for all participants under the age of 18 years.

7. All participants greater than or equal to 18 years of age or older must be willing to sign a durable power of attorney

8. Clinical performance status of ECOG 0 or 1.

9. Patients of both genders must be willing to practice birth control from the time of enrollment on this study and for up to four months after treatment.

10. Serology:

• Seronegative for HIV antibody. (The experimental treatment being evaluated in this protocol depends on an intact immune system. Patients who are HIV seropositive can have decreased immune-competence and thus are less responsive to the experimental treatment and more susceptible to its toxicities.)

• Seronegative for hepatitis B antigen, and seronegative for hepatitis C antibody. If hepatitis C antibody test is positive, then patient must be tested for the presence of antigen by RT-PCR and be HCV RNA negative.

11. Women of child-bearing potential must have a negative pregnancy test because of the potentially dangerous effects of the treatment on the fetus.

12. Hematology

• Absolute neutrophil count greater than 1000/mm3 without the support of filgrastim

• WBC greater than or equal to 3000/mm3

• Platelet count greater than or equal to 100,000/mm3

• Hemoglobin > 8.0 g/dl

13. Chemistry:

• Serum ALT/AST less than or equal to 2.5 times the upper limit of normal

• Serum Creatinine less than or equal to 1.6 mg/dl

• Total bilirubin less than or equal to 1.5 mg/dl, except in patients with Gilbert s Syndrome who musthave a total bilirubin less than 3.0 mg/dl.

14. More than four weeks must have elapsed since any prior systemic therapy at the time the patient receives the preparative regimen, and patients toxicities must have recovered to a grade 1 or less (except for toxicities such as alopecia or vitiligo). (Note: Patients may

have undergone minor surgical procedures within the past 3 weeks, as long as all toxicities have recovered to grade 1 or less)

15. Patients must demonstrate progressive disease at the time of treatment. (Note:

Patients who have received tyrosine kinase inhibitors (e.g. vemurafinib) may be treated if they present with stable disease at the time of treatment).

16. Subjects must be co-enrolled in protocol 03-C-0277.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

1. Women of child-bearing potential who are pregnant or breastfeeding because of the potentially dangerous effects of the treatment on the fetus or infant.

2. Any form of primary immunodeficiency (such as Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease).

3. Concurrent opportunistic infections (The experimental treatment being evaluated in this protocol depends on an intact immune system. Patients who have decreased immune competence may be less responsive to the experimental treatment and more susceptible to its toxicities).

4. Active systemic infections (e.g.: requiring anti-infective treatment), coagulation disorders or any other active major medical illnesses.

5. History of major organ autoimmune disease

6. Concurrent systemic steroid therapy.

7. History of severe immediate hypersensitivity reaction to any of the agents used in this study.

8. Grade 3 or 4 Major organ Immune-related Adverse Events (IRAEs) following treatment with anti PD-1/PD-L1.

9. History of coronary revascularization or ischemic symptoms.

10. Documented LVEF of less than or equal to 45%; note: testing is required in patients with:

• Age greater than or equal to 65 years old

• Clinically significant atrial and or ventricular arrhythmias including but not limited to: atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, second or third degree heart block or have a history of ischemic heart disease, chest pain.

11. Documented FEV1 less than or equal to 60% predicted tested in patients with:

• A prolonged history of cigarette smoking (20 pk/year of smoking within the past 2 years).

• Symptoms of respiratory dysfunction

12. Patients who are receiving any other investigational agents.