Engineered virus joins forces with immunotherapy to fight resistant cancers

NCT ID NCT04291105

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing This study
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jul 08, 2026 · Last updated Jul 09, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This phase 2 trial tests whether a modified virus (VV1) combined with the immunotherapy drug cemiplimab can shrink tumors in people with colorectal cancer, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, or melanoma that has stopped responding to checkpoint inhibitor treatment. The virus is designed to infect and kill cancer cells while also boosting the immune system. The study aims to see how many participants have a significant tumor response and to confirm the safety of the combination.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
VV1 (a modified virus) and cemiplimab (an immunotherapy drug)
What this could lead to
If successful, this combination could offer a new treatment option for people with colorectal cancer, head and neck cancer, or melanoma that has stopped responding to standard immunotherapy.
What could go wrong
This is an early-phase trial with a small number of participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The virus-based therapy may cause side effects, and the combination may not work better than existing treatments.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Phase 2

Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.

Participants

About 87 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Apr 2020

Expected to finish

Dec 2026

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

A company

The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion: 1. Age ≥18 years on day of signing informed consent. 2. Specific by tumor cohorts: a. For the HSNCC cohort, histologically confirmed diagnosis of advanced and/or metastatic HSNCC suitable for first line immunotherapy. i. HPV+ and HPV- patients are allowed. ii. Primary tumor locations of oropharynx, oral cavity, hypopharynx, or larynx. Participants may not have a primary tumor site of nasopharynx (any histology) or salivary gland tumors. iii. PD-L1 status ≥ 1% per local CPS score. Samples should be provided to central lab for post-hoc centralized testing. iv. At least 12 months between last dose of prior adjuvant therapy and date of relapse diagnosis (if given). For the purposes of this protocol, "prior adjuvant therapy" only applies to full dose systemic chemotherapy (such as pre-operative systemic induction chemotherapy), but does not include radiation + surgery, or radiation + low or partial dose platinum radiosensitization. There is no time limit (washout) between the end of any prior radiation/ chemoradiation and the start of study drug v. No prior anti-PD-(L)1 treatment for HNSCC. b. For the melanoma cohorts, histologically confirmed diagnosis of advanced and/or metastatic cutaneous melanoma for which no existing options are considered to provide clinical benefit. i. Best response of uPR, SD or PD to an anti-PD-(L)1-containing regimen. ii. Prior anti-PD-(L)1 therapy must have lasted ≥ 12 weeks. iii. Radiological progression was demonstrated during or after therapy with a PD-(L)1 immune CPI (only one prior line of PD-(L)1 therapy is permitted. iv. If patient received anti-PD-1 as prior adjuvant therapy, patient should have relapsed during therapy or within the subsequent 6 months after last dose. Note: Progression on ipilimumab is not required. v. Patients with BRAF V600-positive tumor(s) should have received prior treatment with a BRAF inhibitor (alone or in combination with a MEK inhibitor) in addition to treatment with an anti-PD-1 or to have declined targeted therapy. Note: Patients with BRAF V600-positive tumors with no clinically significant tumor-related symptoms nor evidence of rapidly progressive disease are not required to be treated with a BRAF inhibitor (alone or in combination with a MEK inhibitor) based on investigator's decision c. For the CRC cohort, a histologically confirmed diagnosis of advanced and/or metastatic CRC. i. Received or are not eligible for standard of care fluoropyrimidine(s), oxaliplatin, irinotecan, anti-VEGF and EGFR-targeted therapies. ii. Non-microsatellite instability high (non-MSI high). iii. Progression on previous systemic therapy. 3. At least one tumor lesion amenable to IT injection and biopsy that has not been previously irradiated. 4. Measurable disease based on RECIST 1.1., including ≥ 1 measurable lesion(s) to be injected 5. Performance status of 0 or 1 on the ECOG Performance Scale 6. Life expectancy of \>3 months. 7. Willingness to provide biological samples required for the duration of the study, including a fresh tumor biopsy sample whilst on study. 8. Adequate organ function assessed by laboratory values obtained ≤14 days prior to enrollment Exclusion: Patients meeting any of the following exclusion criteria at screening/Day -1 of first dosing will not be enrolled in the study: 1. Availability of and patient acceptance of an alternative curative therapeutic option. 2. Patients with tumor lesion(s) \> 5cm in diameter. 3. Recent or ongoing serious infection, including any active Grade 3 or higher per the NCI CTCAE, v5.0 viral, bacterial, or fungal infection within 2 weeks of registration. 4. Patients who have a diagnosis of ocular, mucosal or acral melanoma. 5. Known seropositivity for and with active infection with HIV. 6. Seropositive for and with evidence of active viral infection with HBV. 7. Seropositive for and with active viral infection with HCV. 8. Known history of active or latent TB. 9. Any concomitant serious health condition, which, in the opinion of the investigator, would place the patient at undue risk from the study, including uncontrolled hypertension and/or diabetes, clinically significant pulmonary disease (e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease requiring hospitalization within 3 months) or neurological disorder (e.g., seizure disorder active within 3 months). 10. Prior therapy within the following timeframe before the planned start of study treatment as follows: 1. Small molecule inhibitors, and/or other investigational agent: ≤ 2 weeks or 5 half-lives, whichever is shorter. 2. Chemotherapy, other monoclonal antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, or other similar experimental therapies: ≤ 3 weeks or 5 half-lives, whichever is shorter. 3. Radioimmunoconjugates or other similar experimental therapies ≤ 6 weeks or 5 half-lives, whichever is shorter. 11. NYHA classification III or IV, known symptomatic coronary artery disease, or symptoms of coronary artery disease on systems review, or known cardiac arrhythmias (atrial fibrillation or SVT). 12. Any known or suspected active organ-threatening autoimmune disease, such as inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmune hepatitis, lupus, or pneumonitis, with the exception of hypothyroidism and type 1 diabetes that are controlled with treatment 13. Immunodeficiency or immunosuppression, including systemic corticosteroids at \>10 mg/day prednisone or equivalent within 1 week prior to planned start of study treatment. 14. History of Grade 3 or 4 immune-mediated adverse reaction to immune CPIs. 15. Toxicities from previous therapies that have not resolved to a Grade 1 or less. 16. History of non-infectious pneumonitis that required steroids, or current pneumonitis. 17. High volume disease, as assessed clinically by the medical monitor via parameters such as radiologic impression and tumor markers or lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). 18. Portal vein thrombosis involving more than intrahepatic portal vein branches: thrombosis of the right or left portal vein branch or the bifurcation, partial or complete obstruction of the portal vein trunk. 18.19. Known concurrent malignancy.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Billings Clinic Montana Cancer Consortium

    Billings, Montana, 59101, United States

  • Hospital Moinhos de Vento

    Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90035-000, Brazil

  • Hospital Sao Rafael

    Salvador, BR, 41253-190, Brazil

  • Hospital de Amor de Barretos

    Barretos, São Paulo, 14.784-400, Brazil

  • INCA

    Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 20231-050, Brazil

  • Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

    New York, New York, 10029, United States

  • Mayo Clinic

    Rochester, Minnesota, 55905, United States

  • Ochsner Clinic Foundation

    New Orleans, Louisiana, 70121, United States

  • Saint John's Health Center - John Wayne Cancer Institute (JWCI)

    Santa Monica, California, 90404, United States

  • Sanford Cancer Center

    Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 57104, United States

  • University of Cincinnati Medical Center

    Cincinnati, Ohio, 45219, United States

  • University of Miami

    Miami, Florida, 33136, United States

  • Yale University

    New Haven, Connecticut, 06520-8032, United States

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