Trial in progress: Neoadjuvant immune checkpoint blockade in resectable malignant pleural mesothelioma.

TPS9078 Background: While the role of surgery in limited-stage (stage I-III) malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is controversial, many centers have adopted an aggressive tri-modality approach incorporating (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy, surgical resection and radiotherapy. Despite this, most patients relapse and die from their disease. Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has shown promise in advanced MPM, but the mechanisms of response and resistance remain elusive. Improving the mechanistic understanding of ICB in MPM while concurrently optimizing the treatment strategy for limited-stage MPM are two urgent unmet needs. This multicenter multi-arm phase I/II study seeks to evaluate the safety and feasibility of neoadjuvant ICB in resectable MPM, incorporating novel genomic and immunologic analyses to deliver mechanistic insight into the biology of ICB in MPM. Methods: Patients with surgically resectable stage I-III treatment-naïve epithelioid or biphasic MPM receive neoadjuvant treatment with nivolumab every 2 weeks for 3 doses with or without 1 dose of ipilimumab (arm A: nivolumab monotherapy; arm B: nivolumab + ipilimumab). After macroscopic complete resection, patients receive optional investigator-choice adjuvant chemotherapy +/- radiation. Following this, patients will receive up to 1 year of adjuvant nivolumab. Feasibility and safety are co-primary endpoints of this study with feasibility defined by a delay in surgery of ≤24 days from the preplanned surgical date and safety defined by adverse events according to CTCAE v5.0. Bayesian-designed stopping rules have been implemented for feasibility and safety. Secondary endpoints include assessment of pathologic response and radiographic response using RECIST 1.1 for MPM. Correlative analyses will be performed on tissue specimens obtained pre- and post-ICB, as well as blood obtained pre, during, and post-ICB. Key correlates include multiplex immunofluorescence and longitudinal ctDNA assessment. Whole exome sequencing, T-cell receptor sequencing, and the MANAFEST functional neoantigen assay will be utilized to identify neoantigen-specific T-cell clonotypes and track these clonotypes temporally (during/post ICB) and spatially (across immune compartments). Single-cell RNA sequencing will be used to characterize the functionality of expanded T-cell clonotypes. Accrual to arm B will commence following complete accrual to arm A with a planned total enrollment of 30 patients. This study is open with 1 patient enrolled at the time of submission. Clinical trial information: NCT03918252.