Clinical Trial: Avelumab in Chemo-resistant Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasias

Study Status: Recruiting
Recruit Status: Recruiting
Study Type: Interventional



Official Title: A Phase II Trial of Avelumab in Chemo-resistant Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasias (GTN)

Brief Summary:

Gestational trophoblastic neoplasias (GTN) are characterized by the persistence of elevated hCG titers after complete uterine evacuation of a partial hydatidiform mole (PHM) or a complete hydatidiform mole. GTN patients are commonly treated with single agent treatment (methotrexate or actinomycine-D) or polychemotherapy (first line treatment EMA-CO) according to the predicted risk of resistance to single agent treatment by FIGO score. GTN patients with resistance to these treatments are treated with another single agent drug or polychemotherapy regimens.

Chemotherapy standard regimens are old and toxic for these young lady patients, with potential long term effects detrimental for further maternity and quality of life. There is a need for modern targeted agents with better benefit/toxicity profiles.

There is a strong rational for investigating the anti-PDL1 monoclonal antibody avelumab in chemoresistant GTN patients. Several elements suggest that the normal pregnancy immune tolerance is "hijacked" by GTN cell for proliferating :

  • Spontaneous regressions of metastasic GTN are regularly observed, thereby the role of immune system for rejecting GTN cells.
  • Strong and constant overexpression of PDL1 and NK cells has been found in all subtypes and settings of GTN tumors from French reference gestational trophoblastic center.
  • The case of complete and durable response to pembrolizumab was reported in a patient with multi chemo-resistant GTN.