Clinical Research Directory

A Feasibility Study Evaluating Surgery for Mesothelioma After Radiation Therapy Using Extensive Pleural Resection

This study aims to find the maximum tolerated dose level for malignant pleural mesothelioma patients receiving background radiation + boost radiation, and surgery. Boost radiation is an experimental form of radiation that involves targeting non-uniform high doses of radiation to bulky pleural masses. We hypothesize the immunologic abscopal effect is an important component in controlling disease, and may be stimulated with highly hypofractionated doses. Doses will increase with every three patients who will be enrolled in the study until the background radiation reaches 1800 cGy or the maximum tolerated dose, whichever is lower.

Partial Pleurectomy (Surgery) for Unresectable Pleural Mesothelioma

Purpose of the study: The main purpose of this research study is to see if a surgery procedure (limited partial pleurectomy and decortication) helps symptoms in people who have cancer that is unresectable that might not be able to be removed completely. This is called unresectable cancer. This study will also help the research team learn more about the types of symptoms and quality of life for people who have undergone this surgery, the number of complications following , and the time from surgery to starting other therapy. Th e study team also wants to see see the overall survival of people who have had this procedure as part of their care. What will be done as part of research on this study: * Surgery (Partial Pleurectomy - surgery to remove lining of lungs) * The research team will also ask study participants questions about their symptoms through questionnaires at certain times after surgery. How long this study will last: Participation in this research (pre-surgery, surgery and follow-up) will last for about 2 years. Confidentiality: All personal information will be kept confidential, and data will be used only for research purposes. Contact Information: For more information about this study, please contact PhaseIICRA@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu

Solid Tumor Analysis for HLA Loss of Heterozygosity (LOH) and Apheresis for CAR T- Cell Manufacturing

Objective: To collect information on how often a solid tumor cancer might lose the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) by next generation sequencing and perform apheresis to collect and store an eligible participant's own T cells for future use to make CAR T-Cell therapy for their disease treatment. Design: This is a non-interventional, observational study to evaluate participants with solid tumors with a high risk of relapse for incurable disease. No interventional therapy will be administered on this study. Some of the information regarding the participant's tumor analysis may be beneficial to management of their disease. Participants that meet all criteria may be enrolled and leukapheresed (blood cells collected). The participant's cells will be processed and stored for potential manufacture of CAR T-cell therapy upon relapse of their cancer.

Immune Microenvironment and Gene Expression Profiling in Mesothelioma

Pleural and peritoneal mesotheliomas (PPM) are rare cancers mostly related to asbestos-exposure, which are characterized by a complex histopathological diagnosis and staging, few therapeutic options and a dismal prognosis. The main unmet medical need in PPM is the lack of a treatment sequence for affected patients. The advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors has changed the first line treatment of PPM, thanks to the improvement in survival achieved by the combination of ipilimumab and nivolumab that are currently approved for non-epithelioid histology in our Country. PPM is characterized by a large heterogeneity of the genomic landscape, which is mainly characterized by the loss of tumour suppressor genes and mutations in DNA repair genes and by an "altered- suppressed" or "excluded" tumor immune microenvironment (TIME). The goal of this project is to improve the immune-biological and molecular stratification of PPM subgroups that can lead to the identification of different personalized treatment approaches. PPM patients (N=220) will be retrospectively (N=150) and prospectively (N=70) recruited from the coordinator center and 6 participating Italian centers. Treatment-naïve tumor samples will be collected and analyzed by bulk gene expression and spatial whole transcriptome analysis, and by 9-color multiplex immunofluorescence. New targets or actionable pathways potentially emerging from such studies will be finally assessed and validated in patient-derived organoids/xenografts that accurately reflect PPM tumorigenesis.

Exercise to Boost Immunity in Advanced Cancer

The trial is a prospective feasibility trial conducted in Sheffield. Recruitment will include twenty patients receiving first line palliative immunotherapy for advanced, unresectable or metastatic mesothelioma and patients receiving first line systemic anti-cancer treatment for pancreatic cancer. Patients will attend the AWRC for a supervised exercise session once a week to include aerobic exercise along with an unsupervised weekly exercise session for 3 months. Blood samples will be collected at baseline and then monthly for 3 months, pre and post the supervised exercise session. Cytokine, myokine and immune cell concentration will be analysed using cytokine bead-based multiplex immune assays and RNA-seq to full profile changes in gene and protein expression

Nivolumab and Ipilimumab +/- UV1 Vaccination as Second Line Treatment in Patients With Malignant Mesothelioma

The objective of the study is to induce a meaningful progression-free survival benefit in patients with Malign Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) after progression on first line standard platinum doublet chemotherapy, by treating with nivolumab and ipilimumab with or without UV1 vaccine.