Malignant gliomas have a very poor prognosis with median survival measured in months rather than years. It is a disease with great need of novel therapeutic approaches. Within cancer gene therapy the use of adenoviral vectors to deliver HSV-tk (AdV-tk) has been one of the most widely studied and promising approaches. A few dose escalation Phase I studies have shown good safety profiles with encouraging anecdotal results. However, its clinical efficacy has not yet been assessed for any tumor type. Thus, clinical Phase Il and Ill studies are needed to evaluate the true potential of AdV-tk. A completed phase I study of AdV4k + prod rug gene therapy in recurrent malignant gliomas demonstrated a safe dose range for AdV-tk in brain tumors and some encouraging results. Preclinical studies demonstrate improved efficacy without added toxicity when AdV-tk gene therapy is combined with radiation therapy. The current study proposed in this application seeks to evaluate the combination of AdV-tk + prodrug gene therapy in combination with radiation therapy for malignant gliomas. Since this radio-gene therapy combination has not previously been studied in human brain tumors, a Phase I study must first be performed to assess potential toxicity of the combination (the subject of this Phase I application). The long-term goal of the research described in this proposal is to develop a product that will increase survival time or quality of life for patients diagnosed with malignant gliomas. The patient population with unresectable malignant gliomas was chosen since these patients receive radiation therapy as standard of care following stereotactic biopsy for confirmation of diagnosis. In addition, no other local therapies are available for these patients. The primary objective for this Phase I study is to evaluate the safety of escalating doses of AdV-tk with a fixed dose of the oral prodrug, valacyclovir, and standard radiation therapy. Three dose levels of AdV-tk, ranging from 3x1010 to 3x1011 vector particles in half log increments, will be evaluated with 3-6 patients per dose. The study will be conducted by Advantagene, which has a track record of efficient translation of laboratory studies into clinical gene therapy studies, with patient accrual at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), which has an active brain tumor clinical group. The Phase II portion will assess clinical efficacy at the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) or the highest dose level reached in this Phase I study.
