Chemoradiation With or Without Atezolizumab in Treating Patients With Limited Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer

Overview

About this study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate how well chemotherapy and radiation therapy (chemoradiation) with or without atezolizumab works in treating patients with limited stage small cell lung cancer. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as etoposide, cisplatin, and carboplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Radiation therapy uses high energy x-rays to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as atezolizumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Giving chemoradiation with or without atezolizumab may work better in treating patients with limited stage small cell lung cancer.

Participation eligibility

Participant eligibility includes age, gender, type and stage of disease, and previous treatments or health concerns. Guidelines differ from study to study, and identify who can or cannot participate. There is no guarantee that every individual who qualifies and wants to participate in a trial will be enrolled. Contact the study team to discuss study eligibility and potential participation.

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Pathologically (histologically or cytologically) proven diagnosis of limited stage small cell lung cancer (Stage Tx, T1-T4, N0-3, M0, American Joint Committee on Cancer [AJCC] staging, 8th edition [Ed.]), within 60 days prior to registration.
  • Patients must have received one pre-registration cycle of platinum/etoposide chemotherapy prior to study entry, with study registration required within 21 days from day 1 of the pre-registration cycle of chemotherapy and protocol treatment designed to begin 21 days after. If patient has not recovered from pre-registration cycle chemotherapy toxicities, then an additional 14 days is permitted.
  • Patients must have had measurable disease (per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors [RECIST], version 1.1) prior to the required cycle of platinum/etoposide chemotherapy.
  • Minimal staging requirements include:
    • History/physical examination within 30 days prior to registration;
    • Positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) scan for staging within 45 days prior to registration;
    • CT chest/abdomen with IV contrast (unless contraindicated based on kidney function) within 45 days prior to registration - this can be obtained as part of PET/CT if CT imaging is of diagnostic quality.
      • Note: If contrast allergy exists, premedication per institutional guidelines should be performed prior to obtaining CT with contrast. The only exception to this is a documented life-threatening allergy.
    • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the brain with contrast (preferred) or CT scan of the brain with contrast (allowable if there is a contraindication with MRI with contrast) within 30 days prior to registration. 
    • Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0-2 within 30 days prior to registration.
    • Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1, 500/cells/mm^3 (pre-registration cycle)
    • Platelet count ≥ 100,000 cells/mm^3 (pre-registration cycle).
    • Hemoglobin ≥ 9 g/dL (pre-registration cycle).
    • Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 x upper limit of normal (ULN) (pre-registration cycle).
    • Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase [SGOT]) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase [SGPT]) ≤ 2.0 x ULN (pre-registration cycle).
    • Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) ≥ 50 mL/min/1.73 m^2 (within 30 days prior to registration).
    • Patients presenting with a pleural effusion will be eligible if thoracentesis is cytologically negative and non-bloody or if pleural fluid is too small a volume to effectively sample by thoracentesis and does not show increased metabolic activity on CT/PET imaging.
    • Negative serum pregnancy test within 14 days of registration for pre-menopausal women of childbearing potential.
    • The patient or a legally authorized representative must provide study-specific informed consent prior to study entry.

Exclusion Criteria: 

  • Definitive clinical or radiologic evidence of metastatic disease.
  • Definitive surgical resection of small cell lung cancer.
  • Prior invasive malignancy (except non-melanomatous skin cancer, localized prostate cancer, or any early stage cancer treated with curative intent resection) unless disease free for a minimum of 2 years (carcinoma in situ of the breast, oral cavity, or cervix are all permissible).
  • More than 1 cycle of prior platinum-based chemotherapy for SCLC prior to enrollment; note that prior chemotherapy for a different cancer is allowable.
  • Any prior atezolizumab or other immunotherapy agent.
  • Prior radiotherapy to the lungs or mediastinum that would result in clinically significant overlap of radiation therapy fields; prior tangent fields for breast cancer with minimal overlap with target volumes are allowed per approval of study principal investigators (PIs).
  • Patients with cytologically positive pleural or pericardial fluid are not eligible. 
  • An active, known or suspected autoimmune disease. Patients are permitted to enroll if they have vitiligo, type I diabetes mellitus, residual hypothyroidism due to autoimmune condition only requiring hormone replacement, psoriasis not requiring systemic treatment, or conditions not expected to recur in the absence of an external trigger.
  • Active or prior documented inflammatory bowel disease (e.g., Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis).
  • History of allogeneic organ transplant
  • History of primary immunodeficiency.
  • Severe, active co-morbidity defined as follows: 
    • Known clinically significant liver disease, including active viral, alcoholic, or other hepatitis, cirrhosis, fatty liver, and inherited liver disease;
    • Any other diseases, metabolic dysfunction, physical examination finding, or clinical laboratory finding giving reasonable suspicion of a disease or condition that contraindicates the use of an investigational drug or that may affect the interpretation of the results or render the patient at high risk from treatment complications;
    • Active tuberculosis;
    • Active hepatitis B (chronic or acute) or hepatitis C infection.
      • Note that if hepatitis status is unknown, hepatitis B/C testing is required:
        • Patients with past or resolved hepatitis B infection (defined as having a negative hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg]) test, a positive anti-HBc (antibody to hepatitis B core antigen), and a negative viral deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) test (only obtained if HBsAg is found positive) are eligible.  Patients positive for hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody are eligible only if polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is negative for HCV ribonucleic acid (RNA). (The HCV RNA test must be performed for patients who have a positive HCV antibody test).
    • Known immunosuppressive disease, for example history of bone marrow transplant or chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL):
      • CD4 count < 200 cells/microliter.
        • Note that patients who are human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive are eligible, provided they are under treatment with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and have a CD4 count ≥ 200 cells/microliter within 30 days prior to registration. Note also that HIV testing is not required for eligibility for this protocol.
    • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) requiring chronic oral steroid therapy of > 10 mg prednisone daily or equivalent at the time of registration. Inhaled corticosteroids are not exclusionary. 
    • Unstable angina and/or congestive heart failure requiring hospitalization within the last 3 months. 
    • Transmural myocardial infarction within the last 3 months.
    • Clinically significant interstitial lung disease. 
  • A condition requiring systemic treatment with either corticosteroids (> 10 mg daily prednisone equivalents) or other immunosuppressive medications within 14 days of study drug administration. Inhaled or topical steroids and adrenal replacement doses > 10 mg daily prednisone equivalents are permitted in the absence of active autoimmune disease.
  • Pregnancy or women of childbearing potential and men who are sexually active and not willing/able to use medically acceptable forms of contraception for the duration of study treatment and for 150 days after the last dose of study drug (Arm 2); this exclusion is necessary because the treatment involved in this study may be significantly teratogenic.

Participating Mayo Clinic locations

Study statuses change often. Please contact the study team for the most up-to-date information regarding possible participation.

Mayo Clinic Location Status Contact

Mankato, Minn.

Mayo Clinic principal investigator

Amrit Singh, M.B.B.S.

Closed for enrollment

Contact information:

Cancer Center Clinical Trials Referral Office

(855) 776-0015

Rochester, Minn.

Mayo Clinic principal investigator

Konstantinos Leventakos, M.D., Ph.D.

Closed for enrollment

Contact information:

Cancer Center Clinical Trials Referral Office

(855) 776-0015

La Crosse, Wis.

Mayo Clinic principal investigator

Konstantinos Leventakos, M.D., Ph.D.

Closed for enrollment

Contact information:

Cancer Center Clinical Trials Referral Office

(855) 776-0015

Eau Claire, Wis.

Mayo Clinic principal investigator

Eyad Al-Hattab, M.D.

Closed for enrollment

Contact information:

Cancer Center Clinical Trials Referral Office

(855) 776-0015

Albert Lea, Minn.

Mayo Clinic principal investigator

Mina Hanna, M.D.

Closed for enrollment

Contact information:

Cancer Center Clinical Trials Referral Office

(855) 776-0015

More information

Publications

Publications are currently not available

Additional contact information

Cancer-related trials contact form

Phone: 855-776-0015 (toll-free)

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