Clinical trial · Interventional
HPV Vaccine, Imiquimod, and Metformin Combination Trial
A Phase 2 Study of HPV L1 Vaccine in Combination With Imiquimod and Metformin in Cervical, Vaginal, and Vulvar Cancers
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
The goal of this clinical trial is to explore whether additional treatments can help strengthen the participant's immune system to fight cancer caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), a virus spread through intimate skin-to-skin contact. The trial will also monitor the safety of these treatments. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does the combination of treatments help the participant's body fight the cancer more effectively when used alongside standard therapy? What side effects or medical issues arise when using these experimental treatments? Researchers will use three experimental therapies along with the participant's standard treatment to find out if these therapies work better together than standard treatment alone. Participants will: Receive HPV vaccinations during the 2nd and 4th week of radiation, and again at weeks 8, 10, 12, and 16 after completing radiation. Have blood samples taken, tumor cells brushed from the surface, and imiquimod cream applied during each visit. Take a daily metformin pill and apply an imiquimod suppository three times a week for two weeks after each visit.
Conditions
Conditions (4)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cervical Carcinoma | Cervical Carcinoma | ONTOLOGY_EXACT | 0.98 |
| HPV (Human Papillomavirus)-Associated Carcinoma | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Vaginal Carcinoma | Vaginal Carcinoma | ONTOLOGY_EXACT | 0.98 |
| Vulvar Carcinoma | Vulvar Carcinoma | ONTOLOGY_EXACT | 0.98 |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| HPV vaccine, Imiquimod, and metformin combination therapy | Drug | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (1)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Treatment group
- description
- The treatment group will be compared to a historical control. The investigator will evaluate the immune changes within the tumor microenvironment and validate why the combination immunotherapy study elicited such a robust immune response which led to complete resolution of the cancer, in comparison to the standard of care, chemoradiation. In this study, participants will undergo a series of treatment visits during and after radiation therapy to assess the effectiveness of the experimental combination therapy.
- interventionNames
- Drug: HPV vaccine, Imiquimod, and metformin combination therapy
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
- Progression free survival
- timeFrame
- 24 months
- description
- Progression-free survival at 24 months will be collected for all patients.
Secondary outcomes (2)
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- Female
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
- Maximum age
- 64 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Participants must have histologically confirmed locally advanced or metastatic cervical carcinoma (Stage IB2-IVB), vaginal, or vulvar carcinoma (Stage II-IVB), AND not be considered a primary surgical candidate. Patients offered neoadjuvant therapy may be enrolled if they respond and receive chemoradiation. * Participants must have measurable disease, per Recist criteria. See Section 12 (Measurement of Effect) for the evaluation of measurable disease. Radiological evaluation shall occur within approximately 30 days prior to enrollment initiation and start of radiation. * Participants must have an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of ≤ 2 * Participants must be ≥ 18 years of age * Participants must have adequate organ function within 28 days of registration, defined as follows: - Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/µL - Platelets ≥ 100,000/µL - Hemoglobin ≥ 9 g/dL - Serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 x upper limit of normal (ULN) - Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 x ULN (≤2.0 in patients with known Gilberts syndrome) OR direct bilirubin ≤ 1 x ULN - Aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase ≤ 2.5 x ULN unless liver metastases are present, in which case they must be ≤ 5 x ULN * Participants receiving corticosteroids may continue as long as their dose is stable for at least 4 weeks prior to initiating protocol therapy. * Participant must agree to not donate blood during the study or for 90 days after the last dose of study treatment. * Female participants of childbearing potential must have a negative serum pregnancy test within 14 days prior to registration. Females of non-childbearing potential is defined as follows (by other than medical reasons): - ≥45 years of age and has not had menses for \>1 year, post-hysterectomy, post-bilateral oophorectomy, post external beam radiation of 6 Gy to the pelvis, or post-tubal ligation. * Participants must agree to not breastfeed during the study. * Participants must be able to understand the study procedures and agree to participate in the study by providing written informed consent * Participants must be eligible for chemoradiation treatment in the opinion of the treating investigator. * Participants who are HIV+ must have CD4 counts \>200/dL and demonstrate documented Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) compliance m. Participant must have CT (chest/abdomen/pelvis) or PET-CT, within 56 days of registration. * Participants must be newly diagnosed. * Standard chemoradiation using external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and brachytherapy is permitted for cervical or vaginal carcinoma, and chemoradiation with EBRT for vulvar carcinoma. A lesion must be readily accessible for intratumoral tumor injection. * ECOG performance status ≤2 (Karnofsky ≥60%, see Appendix A). * For patients with evidence of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, the HBV viral load must be undetectable on suppressive therapy, if indicated. * Patients with a history of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection must have been treated and cured. For patients with HCV infection who are currently on treatment, they are eligible if they have an undetectable HCV viral load. * Patients with treated brain metastases are eligible if follow-up brain imaging after central nervous system (CNS)-directed therapy shows no evidence of progression. * Patients with a prior or concurrent malignancy whose natural history or treatment does not have the potential to interfere with the safety or efficacy assessment of the investigational regimen are eligible for this trial. Exclusion Criteria: * Patients who are receiving any other investigational agents. * Patients who have untreated, new or progressive brain metastases or leptomeningeal disease. * History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to agents used in study. * Patients with uncontrolled intercurrent illness. * Patients with psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements. * Pregnant women are excluded from this study because cervical carcinoma or vulva carcinoma patients have undergone treatment rendering the patient infertile. Because there is an unknown but potential risk for adverse events in nursing infants secondary to treatment of the mother with cervical carcinoma or vulva carcinoma, breastfeeding should be discontinued.
References
Publications (55)
- BACKGROUNDTantipalakorn C, Robertson G, Marsden DE, Gebski V, Hacker NF. Outcome and patterns of recurrence for International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stages I and II squamous cell vulvar cancer. Obstet Gynecol. 2009 Apr;113(4):895-901. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0b013e31819b413f. PMID 19305336
- BACKGROUNDReedy M, Jonnalagadda S, Palle K. Case Report: Intra-Tumoral Vaccinations of Quadrivalent HPV-L1 Peptide Vaccine With Topical TLR-7 Agonist Following Recurrence: Complete Resolution of HPV-HR-Associated Gynecologic Squamous Cell Carcinomas in Two Patients. Pathol Oncol Res. 2021 Dec 20;27:1609922. doi: 10.3389/pore.2021.1609922. eCollection 2021. PMID 34987310
- BACKGROUNDMondini M, Nizard M, Tran T, Mauge L, Loi M, Clemenson C, Dugue D, Maroun P, Louvet E, Adam J, Badoual C, Helley D, Dransart E, Johannes L, Vozenin MC, Perfettini JL, Tartour E, Deutsch E. Synergy of Radiotherapy and a Cancer Vaccine for the Treatment of HPV-Associated Head and Neck Cancer. Mol Cancer Ther. 2015 Jun;14(6):1336-45. doi: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-14-1015. Epub 2015 Apr 1. PMID 25833837
- BACKGROUNDMu J, Lei L, Zheng Y, Li D, Li J, Fu Y, Wang G, Liu Y. Comparative study of subcutaneous, intramuscular, and oral administration of bovine pathogenic Escherichia coli bacterial ghost vaccine in mice. Front Immunol. 2022 Nov 14;13:1008131. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1008131. eCollection 2022. PMID 36451816
- BACKGROUNDAfzal MZ, Mercado RR, Shirai K. Efficacy of metformin in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors (anti-PD-1/anti-CTLA-4) in metastatic malignant melanoma. J Immunother Cancer. 2018 Jul 2;6(1):64. doi: 10.1186/s40425-018-0375-1. PMID 29966520
- BACKGROUNDWu Z, Zhang C, Najafi M. Targeting of the tumor immune microenvironment by metformin. J Cell Commun Signal. 2022 Sep;16(3):333-348. doi: 10.1007/s12079-021-00648-w. Epub 2021 Oct 5. PMID 34611852