TPS219 Background: Talimogene laherparepvec, a modified herpes virus agent, induces a response in 65% of injected melanoma tumors. The combination of talimogene laherparepvec with ipilimumab or pembrolizumab appears promising in clinical trials of advanced melanoma. Talimogene laherparepvec-based therapy may be effective in other cancers of the skin and lymph nodes that are anatomically accessible for intratumoral injection. Methods: This phase II study will evaluate intratumoral talimogene laherparepvec monotherapy in 4 parallel disease cohorts: 1) Refractory T cell and NK cell lymphomas including cutaneous T cell lymphoma, 2) Merkel cell carcinoma 3) Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and 4) Other advanced/refractory non-melanoma skin cancers. Lymphoma patients must be refractory to or intolerant of all standard life-prolonging therapies. Skin cancer patients must be advanced/unresectable or refractory to one or more treatments including surgery, radiation therapy, or medical therapy. Prior PD-1-directed therapy is allowed. If an objective response is not achieved by Week 12, the PD-1 blocking antibody nivolumab will be added. The primary endpoint is the response rate with talimogene laherparepvec and secondary endpoints include response rate with the combination and overall survival. Using a two-stage design, if 1 or more response is observed in the first 9 patients in each parallel cohort, 8 additional patients will be accrued for a total sample size of 36 to 68 patients across the 4 disease cohorts. Tumor biopsies of injected lesions are mandatory at baseline and Week 6, and optional at Week 16 and the time of progression. Optional biopsies of non-injected lesions (when applicable) at Week 6 and 16 will be analyzed to identify biomarkers of systemic immunity. Tumor tissue and/or blood will be assayed for PD-L1 expression, RNA profiling, immune cell profiling, HVEM, NECTIN 1/2, IDO, tryptophan and L-kynurenine, mutational load, TIL TCR clonality, and prior exposure to herpes simplex type 1 virus and Merkel cell polyomavirus. Clinical trial information: NCT02978625.
Clinical and dermoscopic features of combined cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC)/neuroendocrine [Merkel cell] carcinoma (MCC)