Propylene Glycol-Free Melphalan HCl (EVOMELA®) in Combination With Fludarabine and Total Body Irradiation Based Reduced Intensity Conditioning for Haploidentical Transplantation
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ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03159702 |
Recruitment Status :
Recruiting
First Posted : May 19, 2017
Last Update Posted : June 14, 2022
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Condition or disease | Intervention/treatment | Phase |
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Hematological Malignancy Leukemia Multiple Myeloma Lymphoma | Drug: Evomela Drug: Fludarabine Radiation: Total Body Irradiation | Phase 2 |
OVERVIEW:
Elderly and infirm patients with hematological malignancies often cannot undergo allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) because of high-toxicity rates and nonrelapse mortality (NRM) associated with higher-intensity conditioning allografts.
Reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) transplantation has emerged as an attractive alternative for these populations.
FLUDARABINE/MELPHALAN. In RIC, fludarabine is often used as the lymphocyte-depleting component to facilitate donor-cell engraftment. This drug can be given once daily because of its plasma half-life. M.D. Anderson pioneered the use of fludarabine melphalan (FLU/MEL) conditioning, which has since gained wide usage. (1) Melphalan is convenient, has broad antitumor activity in hematologic malignancies and has immunosuppressive effects. The Flu/Mel conditioning regimen can provide long-term disease control, especially in the subset of patients with chemo sensitive disease. (1) TOTAL-BODY IRRADIATION. In a recent study, total-body irradiation (200 cGy) was used with flu/mel for advanced lymphoma treated with HCT. With a median follow-up time close to two years, the survival of these mostly advanced, relapsed/refractory patients was very encouraging with overall survival of 54% and progression-free survival of 54% for the entire group. (2) Treatment-related mortality was low at day 100 (9.1%) and two years (19%) after transplantation, with stable engraftment achieved in the great majority of patients.
PROPYLENE GLYCOL-FREE MELPHALAN HCL (EVOMELA®). In theory, intensifying the dose of melphalan in flu/mel conditioning could provide better disease control post HCT, allowing more time for curative graft-versus-leukemia effects to emerge. The use of the commercial formulation of melphalan (Alkeran®) proved somewhat problematic, however, because it must be reconstituted with propylene glycol, a substance that has been associated with toxic side effects. The substitution of Captisol® in propylene glycol-free melphalan HCl (EVOMELA®) for Injection (Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) for the excipients found in Alkeran®, directly overcomes the formulation limitations noted with Alkeran®.
STUDY RATIONALE. The preliminary data suggest that the substitution of Captisol® in EVOMELA® for the excipients found in Alkeran® directly overcomes the formulation limitations and provides a potentially safer melphalan formulation for administration at higher doses used in HCT conditioning regimens.
Based on these observations, we now propose a phase II study of a RIC regimen consisting of EVOMELA® in combination with fludarabine and total-body irradiation for patients undergoing haplo-HCT. The study will investigate the safety and tolerability of this conditioning approach. While the FDA indication for EVOMELA® is for myeloablative conditioning prior to autologous HCT in patients with multiple myeloma, we anticipate our study will provide critical preliminary data to explore this formulation in allogeneic HCT conditioning.
Study Type : | Interventional (Clinical Trial) |
Estimated Enrollment : | 43 participants |
Allocation: | N/A |
Intervention Model: | Single Group Assignment |
Intervention Model Description: | Study subjects will receive different doses of Melphalan during the trial. This is done for safety per FDA recommendations. Subjects younger than 60 years or have will receive doses at 140 mg/m^2/day while subject 60 years or old or have a Hematopoietic Cell Transplant-Co-morbidity Index (HCT-CI) score of >3 will receive 70 mg/m^2/day. The populations will be combined for analysis and reporting. |
Masking: | None (Open Label) |
Primary Purpose: | Treatment |
Official Title: | Propylene Glycol-Free Melphalan HCl (EVOMELA®) in Combination With Fludarabine and Total Body Irradiation Based Reduced Intensity Conditioning for Haploidentical Transplantation |
Actual Study Start Date : | December 8, 2017 |
Estimated Primary Completion Date : | July 1, 2023 |
Estimated Study Completion Date : | July 1, 2024 |

Arm | Intervention/treatment |
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Experimental: MEL/FLU and Total-Body Irradiation (TBI)
For patients who are < 60 years.
For patients who are ≥60 years and/or Hematopoietic Cell Transplant-Co-morbidity Index (HCT-CI) score of >3 (at the discretion of treating physician will have an option to receive):
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Drug: Evomela
140 mg/m^2/day IV on Day -6 for patients who are < 60 years of age. 70 mg/m^2/day IV on Day -6 For patients who are ≥60 years or have a HCT-CI score of >3
Other Name: Melphalan Drug: Fludarabine 40 mg/ m^2/day intravenous on Days: -5 -4, -3, -2
Other Name: Fludara Radiation: Total Body Irradiation 200 cGy on Day: -1 |
- Progression-free survival (PFS) of participants with hematological malignancies undergoing treatment. [ Time Frame: 1 year ]Progression-free survival (PFS) is defined as the length of time during and after the treatment that a participant lives with the disease but it does not get worse.
- The safety of this trial will be evaluated with the nonrelapse mortality rate. [ Time Frame: 1 Year ]This is the number of participants expiring unrelated to relapse of disease.
- Overall survival [ Time Frame: 1 Year and 2 Year ]The number of participants still alive at one year and 2 years.
- Number of subjects with relapse of disease. [ Time Frame: Day 100 and 1 Year ]The number of participants who relapse following reduced-intensity conditioning haploidentical transplantation at Day 100 and 1 Year.
- Neutrophil recovery [ Time Frame: Day 30 ]The average of the number of days that it takes for neutrophil recovery from reduced-intensity conditioning haploidentical transplantation. Neutrophil recovery means absolute neutrophil count of 0.5x10^3 cells/uL.
- Platelet recovery [ Time Frame: Day 30 ]The average of the number of days that it takes for platelet recovery from reduced-intensity conditioning haploidentical transplantation. Platelet recovery means absolute neutrophil count of 50x10^3 cells/uL.
- Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) at day 100 and 180. [ Time Frame: Days 100 and 180 ]The number of participants with graft-versus-host disease using the Center for International Bone Marrow Transplant Research criteria.
- Rates of chronic GVHD at one-year post transplantation. [ Time Frame: 1 Year ]The number of participants with chronic GVHD at one-year post transplantation using the Center for International Bone Marrow Transplant Research criteria.
- Primary graft failure [ Time Frame: Day 30 ]Number of subjects whose grafts failed to implant.

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Ages Eligible for Study: | 18 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult) |
Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
Inclusion Criteria:
- Patients with a diagnosis of hematological malignancy undergoing a related donor haploidentical HCT.*
- Patients aged ≥18 are eligible.
- Bilirubin ≤ 2 x the upper limit of normal (ULN). For patients with Gilbert's syndrome or suspected mild veno-occlusive disease, bilirubin ≤ 3 x ULN is permitted.
- Adequate renal function as defined by a serum creatinine clearance of > 30 mL/min calculated by Cockcroft-Gault equation.
- Left ventricular ejection fraction ≥40%. No uncontrolled arrhythmias or New York Heart Association class III-IV heart failure.
- Forced expiratory volume (FEV1) or diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) corrected for hemoglobin ≥ 50% of predicted.
- Karnofsky performance status > 60.
- Graft source of peripheral blood (the infused cluster of differentiation 34 (CD34)+ cell dose will be capped at 5 x 10^6 CD34+ cells/kg recipients actual body weight) or bone marrow (the ideal infused total nucleated cell dose (TNC) will be targeted at 4 x 10^8/kg recipient actual body weight).
- A negative pregnancy test will be required for all women of child bearing potential. Females of child bearing potential should agree to practice 2 effective methods of contraception, at the same time, from the time of signing the informed consent form through 90 days after the last dose of study drug and must also adhere to the guidelines of any treatment-specific pregnancy prevention program, if applicable, or agree to practice true abstinence when this is in line with the preferred and usual lifestyle of the subject. (Periodic abstinence [e.g., calendar, ovulation, symptothermal, postovulation methods] and withdrawal are not acceptable methods of contraception.). Breast-feeding is not permitted.
- Male patients, even if surgically sterilized (i.e., status post-vasectomy), must agree to one of the following: practice effective barrier contraception during the entire study treatment period and through 90 days after the last dose of study drug, or must also adhere to the guidelines of any treatment-specific pregnancy prevention program, if applicable, or agree to practice true abstinence when this is in line with the preferred and usual lifestyle of the subject. (Periodic abstinence (e.g., calendar, ovulation, symptothermal, post-ovulation methods] and withdrawal are not acceptable methods of contraception.)
- No evidence of uncontrolled bacterial, viral or fungal infections at the time of enrollment.
- Transplant recipient able to give informed consent. * Patients must be human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typed at high resolution using DNA based typing at the following HLA loci: HLA-A, -B, -C and DRB1 and have available: A related haploidentical bone marrow donor with two, three or four HLA-mismatches. A unidirectional mismatch in either the graft-versus-host or host-versus-graft direction is considered a mismatch. The donor and recipient must be HLA identical for at least one antigen (using high-resolution DNA-based typing) at the following genetic loci: HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, and HLA-DRB1. Fulfillment of this criterion shall be considered sufficient evidence that the donor and recipient share one HLA haplotype, and typing of additional family members is not required.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Patient must not have a healthy, eligible and readily available HLA-identical sibling donor or a volunteer adult unrelated donor (matched at allele-level at HLA-A, -B, -C and -DRB1).
- No serious medical or psychiatric illness that could, in the investigator's opinion, potentially interfere with the completion of treatment according to this protocol.\
- Presence of active disease in acute myeloid leukemia (AML)/myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS): patients with active disease defined as >5% blasts in bone marrow and/or circulating leukemic blasts in peripheral blood, patients with known active central nervous disease involvement with leukemia/lymphoma or lymphoma patients with progressive disease on clinical and/or radiographic assessment are not eligible for this study.

To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT03159702
Contact: Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center Clinical Trials Office | 414-805-8900 | cccto@mcw.edu |
United States, Wisconsin | |
Froedtert Hospital & the Medical College of Wisconsin | Recruiting |
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, 53226 | |
Contact: Mehdi Hamadani, MD 414-805-4600 mhamadani@mcw.edu | |
Principal Investigator: Mehdi H Hamadani, MD |
Principal Investigator: | Mehdi Hamadani | Medical College of Wisconsin |
Responsible Party: | Mehdi Hamadani, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Medical College of Wisconsin |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT03159702 |
Other Study ID Numbers: |
PRO29507 |
First Posted: | May 19, 2017 Key Record Dates |
Last Update Posted: | June 14, 2022 |
Last Verified: | June 2022 |
Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement: | |
Plan to Share IPD: | No |
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product: | Yes |
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product: | No |
Product Manufactured in and Exported from the U.S.: | No |
hematological malignancy EVOMELA Melphalan HCl Total Body Irradiation |
Reduced Intensity Conditioning Haploidentical Transplantation Fludarabine Hematologic Diseases |
Multiple Myeloma Neoplasms Hematologic Neoplasms Neoplasms, Plasma Cell Neoplasms by Histologic Type Hemostatic Disorders Vascular Diseases Cardiovascular Diseases Paraproteinemias Blood Protein Disorders Hematologic Diseases Hemorrhagic Disorders Lymphoproliferative Disorders |
Immunoproliferative Disorders Immune System Diseases Neoplasms by Site Fludarabine Melphalan Antineoplastic Agents Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action Immunosuppressive Agents Immunologic Factors Physiological Effects of Drugs Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating Alkylating Agents Myeloablative Agonists |