Lerapolturev (PVSRIPO) in GBM

The study will be conducted in two stages: Approximately twelve patients with recurrent supratentorial glioblastoma will enroll in stage 1.

Stage 1 is a safety lead-in which will assess the safety of lerapolturev when infused twice, 4 days apart, via Convection Enhanced Delivery (CED) in the residual disease of recurrent Glioblastoma (GBM) patients following maximal safe resection of the enhancing/necrotic portion of the disease recurrence.

A tissue biopsy of the area infused will be recommended 5 weeks (± 1 week) after the 2nd lerapolturev infusion via CED, if imaging changes suggest tumor progression vs. immune effect on the MRI obtained 4-5 weeks after the 2nd lerapolturev infusion via CED.

Stage 2 is a Phase 2 randomized clinical trial to compare the efficacy and safety of two treatment regimens for recurrent GBM patients who undergo maximal safe resection for their recurrence. Approximately eighty patients with recurrent supratentorial glioblastoma will enroll in stage 2 of the study.

Stage 2 has 2 arms and is randomized, like the flip of a coin. Arm 1 is Lerapolturev and Arm 2 is Lomustine. After the recurrent tumor has been removed by surgery, subjects will be randomly assigned to receive either the FDA-approved chemotherapy (lomustine) or the study drug (lerapolturev). Subjects receive lerapolturev infused in the residual disease via CED twice, 4-day apart. About 1 week after the 2nd lerapolturev infusion, subjects will start subcutaneous (under the skin) injections of lerapolturev into the area of the cervical lymph nodes (head and neck) nearest to their tumor weekly for 4 weeks and afterward every 3 weeks for about a year.

Subjects assigned to receive lomustine will begin taking it 3-4 weeks after surgery to remove their recurrent tumor. One prescribed dose of lomustine will be taken no more than once every 6 weeks, for no more than 1 year or up to 9 cycles.

Subjects will be followed for serious adverse events (side effects) for 30 days after stopping the study. Subjects' medical records will be reviewed for the remainder of their life, in order to collect data on subsequent treatments, disease progression, tumor size/volume, and survival.

There are risks to the study drug, lerapolturev, and the chemotherapy drug, lomustine. The most common risks of lerapolturev are headache, seizure, weakness on one side of the body, difficulty thinking or processing, difficulty receiving or responding to sensory information, fatigue, and difficulty speaking or comprehending. Risks associated with infusion procedure include mild discomfort at the infusion site, bleeding in the brain, pain, infection, and swelling of the brain. The study drug and procedures used together could also potentially cause more serious side effects. The most common risks of lomustine are changes in your red blood cell count, changes in platelets, changes in your liver, feeling confused and tired, poor appetite, and loss of ability to conceive or father a child.

Inclusion criteria

• Age ≥ 18 years old at the time of entry into the study.
• Histopathologically confirmed recurrent supratentorial glioblastoma (WHO grade 4) (high grade glioma with molecular features of glioblastoma will be eligible).
• Karnofsky Performance Score (KPS) ≥ 70%
• Hemoglobin ≥ 9 g/dl prior to biopsy
• Platelet count ≥ 100,000/µl unsupported is necessary for eligibility on the study; however, because of risks of intracranial hemorrhage with catheter placement, platelet count ≥ 125,000/µl is required for the patient to undergo biopsy and catheter insertion, which can be attained with the help of platelet transfusion.
• Neutrophil count ≥ 1000 prior to biopsy
• Creatinine ≤ 1.5 x normal range prior to biopsy
• Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 x ULN prior to biopsy (Exception: Participant has known or suspected Gilbert's Syndrome for which additional lab testing of direct and/or indirect bilirubin supports this diagnosis. In these instances, a total bilirubin of ≤ 3.0 x ULN is acceptable.)
• AST/ALT ≤ 2.5 x ULN
• Prothrombin and Partial Thromboplastin Times ≤ 1.2 x normal prior to biopsy. Patients with prior history of thrombosis/embolism are allowed to be on anticoagulation, understanding that anticoagulation will be held in the perioperative period per the neurosurgical team's recommendations. Low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) is preferred. If a patient is on warfarin, the international normalized ratio (INR) is to be obtained and value should be below 2.0 prior to biopsy.
• At the time of biopsy, prior to administration of the 1st infusion of lerapolturev via CED, the presence of recurrent tumor must be confirmed by histopathological analysis.
• Able to undergo brain MRI with and without contrast
• Prior CDC-recommended vaccination series against PV and has received a boost immunization with trivalent Poliovirus Vaccine Inactivated (IPOL®) (Sanofi-Pasteur SA) at least 1 week, but less than 6 weeks, prior to administration of lerapolturev. Note: Patients who are unsure of their prior vaccination status must provide evidence of anti-PV immunity prior to enrollment, as applicable.
• Patient or partner(s) meets one of the following criteria:

• Non-childbearing potential (i.e., not sexually active, physiologically incapable of becoming pregnant, including any female who is post-menopausal or surgically sterile, or any male who has had a vasectomy). Surgically sterile females are defined as those with a documented hysterectomy and/or bilateral oophorectomy or tubal ligation. Postmenopausal for purposes of this study is defined as 1 year without menses.; or
• Childbearing potential and agrees to use one of the following methods of birth control: approved hormonal contraceptives (e.g. birth control pills, patches, implants, or infusions), an intrauterine device, or a barrier method of contraception (e.g., a condom or diaphragm) used with spermicide.
• A signed informed consent form approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) will be required for patient enrollment into the study. Patients must be able to read and understand the informed consent document and must sign the informed consent indicating that they are aware of the investigational nature of this study

Exclusion criteria

• Females who are pregnant or breast-feeding
• Patients with an impending, life-threatening cerebral herniation syndrome, based on the assessment of the study neurosurgeons or their designate
• Patients with severe, active co-morbidity, defined as follow:

• Patients with an active infection requiring intravenous treatment or having an unexplained febrile illness (Tmax > 99.5°F/37.5°C)
• Patients with known immunosuppressive disease or known human immunodeficiency virus infection
• Patients with unstable or severe intercurrent medical conditions such as severe heart disease (New York Heart Association Class 3 or 4)
• Patients with known lung (forced expiratory volume in the first second of expiration (FEV1) < 50%) disease or uncontrolled diabetes mellitus
• Known albumin allergy
• History of agammaglobulinemia
• Patients may not have received chemotherapy or bevacizumab ≤ 4 weeks [except for nitrosourea (6 weeks), or metronomic dosed chemotherapy such as daily etoposide or cyclophosphamide (1 week)] prior to starting the study drug unless patients have recovered from side effects of such therapy
• Patients may not have received immunotherapy ≤ 4 weeks prior to starting the study drug unless patients have recovered from side effects of such therapy
• Patients may not have received treatment with tumor treating fields (e.g., Optune®) ≤ 1 week prior to starting the study drug
• Patients may not be less than 12 weeks from radiation therapy, unless progressive disease outside of the radiation field or 2 progressive scans at least 4 weeks apart or histopathologic confirmation
• Patients who have not completed all standard of care treatments, including surgical procedure and radiation therapy (Please note: For patients under 65 years old, standard radiation therapy is typically at least 59 Gy in 30 fractions over 6 weeks. For patients 65 years or older, standard RT is often reduced to a minimum 40 Gy in 15 fractions over 3 weeks.)

• If the MGMT promoter in their tumor is known to be unmethylated, patients are not mandated to have received chemotherapy prior to participating in this trial
• If the MGMT promoter in their tumor is known to be methylated or the MGMT promoter methylation status is unknown at time of screening, patients must have received at least one chemotherapy regimen prior to participating in this trial
• Patients with neoplastic lesions in the brainstem, cerebellum, or spinal cord; radiological evidence of active (growing) disease (active multifocal disease); extensive subependymal disease (tumor touching subependymal space is allowed); tumor crossing the midline or leptomeningeal disease
• Patients on greater than 4 mg per day of dexamethasone within the 2 weeks prior to the 1st lerapolturev infusion via CED
• Patients with worsening steroid myopathy (history of gradual progression of bilateral proximal muscle weakness, and atrophy of proximal muscle groups)
• Patients with prior, unrelated malignancy requiring current active treatment with the exception of cervical carcinoma in situ and adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin
• Patients with active autoimmune disease requiring systemic immunomodulatory treatment within the past 3 months
• Patients with known history of hypersensitivity to lomustine, dacarbazine, or any components of lomustine