New drug targets virus to fight rare cancer
NCT ID NCT04925544
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This phase 2 trial tests a drug called VK-2019 in 13 patients with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive nasopharyngeal cancer that has returned or spread and has no standard treatment. VK-2019 works by blocking a key viral protein, EBNA1, which the virus needs to survive. The main goal is to see if the drug can shrink tumors.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- VK-2019 (a drug that targets the EBNA1 protein of the Epstein-Barr virus)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could provide a new treatment option for patients with Epstein-Barr virus-related nasopharyngeal cancer who have run out of standard therapies.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-phase trial with only 13 participants, so results may not apply to all patients. The drug may not shrink tumors or improve survival, and side effects are still being studied.
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
-
13 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jan 2022
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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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 Hide 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 Criteria: * 1 Informed consent obtained prior to any protocol mandated study specific procedures in accordance with institutional policies. * 2 Either loco regionally recurrent or metastatic EBV positive RECIST evaluable nasopharyngeal carcinoma not amenable to curative treatment with no accepted effective standard of care therapeutic option. Addendum for phase 2 exploratory cohorts: subjects with PTLD or EBV lymphoma not amenable to curative treatment with no accepted effective standard of care therapeutic option. * 3 Not eligible for other approved or standard therapies * 4.Prior palliative radiation must have been completed at least 2 weeks prior to study Cycle 1 Day 0 * 5.Prior anti cancer systemic treatment must have been completed greater than 4 weeks prior to the first dose of VK 2019 or subjects must have recovered from all acute prior treatment related AEs * 6.Toxicities related to prior anti cancer therapy must have returned to Grade 1 or less. Peripheral neuropathy must be Grade 2 or less. Chronic but stable toxicities Grade \> 1 (eg, dysphasia, G tube dependence, etc.) are permissible. * 7.Age ≥ 18 * 8.Absolute neutrophil count \> 1500/µL (stable off any growth factor for at least 1 week of study drug administration) * 9.Hemoglobin \> 9g/dL (transfusion to achieve this level is permitted) * 10.Platelet count \> 75 x 103/ µL (transfusion to achieve this level is NOT permitted) * 11.Serum aspartate transaminase (AST) and serum alanine transaminase (ALT) ≤ 2.5 x upper limit of normal (ULN) .Total serum bilirubin ≤ 1.5 x ULN * 12.Serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 x ULN or creatinine clearance ≥ 50 mL/min as calculated per Cockcroft Gault equation * 13.Urinary protein \< 2+ by dipstick. If dipstick ≥ 2+, then a 24 hour urine collection can be done and the subject may enter only if urinary protein is \< 1 g/24 hour * 14.Sexually active subjects must agree to utilize birth control method during treatment and for 18 weeks after the last dose of VK 2019. * 15.Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 2 or less. * 16.Ability to understand and the willingness to personally sign the written IRB approved informed consent document. Exclusion Criteria: * 1.Prior therapy restrictions. * 2.Concurrent treatment with systemic cancer directed therapy including complementary, alternative, herbal or nutritional supplement based treatments whose purpose is for anti cancer effect * 3.Severe or active symptomatic cardiopulmonary diseases, including unstable angina, congestive heart failure, or peripheral vascular disease within 12 months prior to study drug administration; and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation or other respiratory illness requiring hospitalization within 4 weeks prior to study drug administration. Subjects with effectively treated conditions (eg, stenting for coronary artery disease) are eligible if stable for at least 4 weeks prior to study drug administration * 4.Metastatic disease with active central nervous system (CNS) involvement, defined as parenchymal brain involvement. Subjects with cranial nerve or base of skull involvement without the above are eligible. Subjects with CNS metastases that are stable on imaging at least 1 month following focal treatment with radiation are eligible * 5.Known history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) unless the HIV positive subjects has: 1. A stable regimen of highly active anti retroviral therapy (HAART) 2. No requirement for concurrent antibiotics or antifungal agents for the prevention of opportunistic infections 3. A CD4 count above 250 cells/mcL and an undetectable HIV viral load on standard PCR based test * 6.Serious uncontrolled medical disorder or active infection which would, in the opinion of the Investigator, impair the ability of the subject to receive protocol therapy or whose control may be jeopardized by the complications of this therapy * 7.NPC subjects: Have received a prior organ allograft or allogeneic bone marrow transplant. * 8.Current non prescription drug or alcohol dependence * 9.For all female subjects: pregnancy or breastfeeding * 10.All female subjects with reproductive potential must have a negative pregnancy test (serum or urine) prior to enrollment * 11.Other severe acute or chronic medical or psychiatric condition or laboratory abnormality that may increase the risk associated with study participation or study drug administration, or may interfere with the interpretation of study results, or in the judgment of the investigator would make the subject inappropriate for entry into the study * 12.Corrected QT by Fridericia's formula (QTcF) of \> 470 ms average (mean) on triplicate ECG performed during screening
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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
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Stanford University
Stanford, California, 94305, United States
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