Clinical trial · Interventional
EBV Lytic Reactivation Therapy Combined With PD-1 Antibody in Recurrent/Metastatic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
Efficacy and Safety of EBV Lytic Reactivation Therapy Combined With PD-1 Antibody in Recurrent/Metastatic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: a Single-center, Single-arm Phase II Trial
- 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)
Nearly all undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) are associated with the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), which typically remains in a latent, non-immunogenic state within tumor cells. By combining EBV lytic induction strategy with standard chemo-immunotherapy, this study aims to create a synergistic anti-tumor effect and improve clinical outcomes for patients with recurrent/metastatic NPC (r/m NPC). This is a phase II, single-center, single-arm clinical trial designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a novel combination therapy in patients with r/m EBV-positive NPC.
Conditions
Conditions (1)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nasopharyngeal Cancinoma (NPC) | Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma | ALIAS | 0.85 |
Interventions
Interventions (2)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| gemcitabine, cisplatin, and PD-1 antibody | Drug | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Valganciclovir Hydrochloride Tablets | Drug | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (1)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- EBV Lytic Reactivation Therapy
- description
- Patients will receive 4 to 6 cycles of gemcitabine, cisplatin, and PD-1 antibody, with oral administration of valganciclovir hydrochloride tablets during the first 3 cycles. Following completion of 4 to 6 cycles, patients will continue with maintenance therapy using PD-1 antibody.
- interventionNames
- Drug: Valganciclovir Hydrochloride Tablets
- Drug: gemcitabine, cisplatin, and PD-1 antibody
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
- Objective Response Rate, ORR
- timeFrame
- From enrollment to the end of treatment. Up to 2 approximately years.
- description
- Objective Response Rate (ORR) is defined as either a confirmed CR or a PR, as determined by the investigator using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) v1.1 from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
Secondary outcomes (5)
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
- Maximum age
- 75 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Patients must voluntarily participate and provide written informed consent. * Histologically or cytologically confirmed recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) at enrollment, with positive EBERs by pathological immunohistochemistry. * Metastatic NPC includes both newly diagnosed metastatic disease and metastatic disease after failure of first-line therapy, as well as recurrent NPC not amenable to local regional treatment, with confirmed metastatic or recurrent disease and no prior treatment after diagnosis. * Age ≥ 18 years and ≤ 75 years, of any sex. * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0-1. * Expected survival time ≥ 3 months. * Baseline plasma EBV DNA \> 0 copies/mL. * Adequate organ function confirmed by the following criteria (no blood component transfusions or use of hematopoietic growth factors within 2 weeks prior to study treatment initiation): * Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1.5 × 10\^9/L; platelet count ≥ 100 × 10\^9/L; hemoglobin ≥ 90 g/L. Serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 × upper limit of normal (ULN) or calculated creatinine clearance (CrCl) ≥ 60 mL/min . Total bilirubin (TBil) ≤ 1.5 × ULN; aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤ 2.5 × ULN (for patients with liver metastases, TBil ≤ 3 × ULN; AST and ALT ≤ 5 × ULN). Serum albumin ≥ 28 g/L. Exclusion Criteria: * History of severe hypersensitivity reactions to other monoclonal antibodies or to any component of PD-1 inhibitors. * Receipt of radiotherapy, biological therapy (e.g., tumor vaccines, cytokines, or growth factors), or other immunotherapy (excluding PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors), or any other anti-tumor treatment within 28 days or 5 half-lives prior to the first dose of study drug, whichever is shorter. * Prior treatment targeting Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) specifically. * History of any Grade ≥3 bleeding event, as defined by CTCAE v5.0, within 4 weeks prior to screening, or patients deemed at high risk of bleeding by the investigator. * Presence of necrotic lesions within 4 weeks prior to screening, with high risk of major hemorrhage as judged by the investigator. * Known congenital or acquired immunodeficiency (e.g., HIV-positive individuals). * Requirement for systemic corticosteroids (\>10 mg/day prednisone or equivalent) or other immunosuppressive agents within 14 days prior to initiation of study treatment. * History of active tuberculosis (TB). Suspected active TB must be excluded through chest X-ray, sputum examination, and clinical assessment of signs and symptoms. * Patients with HBV DNA ≥1000 copies/mL. Patients with positive hepatitis C antibody results may only be enrolled if polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing confirms HCV RNA negativity. * Pregnant or breastfeeding women, or women of childbearing potential not using effective contraception. * History of other malignancies, except for adequately treated basal cell carcinoma or carcinoma in situ of the cervix. * Uncontrolled cardiovascular conditions, including but not limited to: Heart failure with NYHA classification ≥2; Unstable angina; Myocardial infarction within the past year; Supraventricular or ventricular arrhythmias requiring treatment or intervention. * Significant impairment of cardiac, hepatic, pulmonary, renal, or bone marrow function. * Severe and uncontrolled medical illnesses or infections. * Concurrent participation in another clinical trial or use of another investigational agent. * Refusal or inability to sign informed consent. * Any other contraindications to study treatment as determined by the investigator. * Individuals with personality disorders or psychiatric conditions, and those lacking or having limited legal capacity to provide consent.
References
Publications (4)
- BACKGROUNDGhosh SK, Perrine SP, Williams RM, Faller DV. Histone deacetylase inhibitors are potent inducers of gene expression in latent EBV and sensitize lymphoma cells to nucleoside antiviral agents. Blood. 2012 Jan 26;119(4):1008-17. doi: 10.1182/blood-2011-06-362434. Epub 2011 Dec 7. PMID 22160379
- BACKGROUNDPerrine SP, Hermine O, Small T, Suarez F, O'Reilly R, Boulad F, Fingeroth J, Askin M, Levy A, Mentzer SJ, Di Nicola M, Gianni AM, Klein C, Horwitz S, Faller DV. A phase 1/2 trial of arginine butyrate and ganciclovir in patients with Epstein-Barr virus-associated lymphoid malignancies. Blood. 2007 Mar 15;109(6):2571-8. doi: 10.1182/blood-2006-01-024703. Epub 2006 Nov 21. PMID 17119113
- BACKGROUNDWu M, Hau PM, Li L, Tsang CM, Yang Y, Taghbalout A, Chung GT, Hui SY, Tang WC, Jillette N, Zhu JJ, Lee HHY, Kong EL, Chan MSA, Chan JYK, Ma BBY, Chen MR, Lee C, To KF, Cheng AW, Lo KW. Synthetic BZLF1-targeted transcriptional activator for efficient lytic induction therapy against EBV-associated epithelial cancers. Nat Commun. 2024 May 3;15(1):3729. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-48031-8. PMID 38702330
- BACKGROUNDMai HQ, Chen QY, Chen D, Hu C, Yang K, Wen J, Li J, Shi Y, Jin F, Xu R, Pan J, Qu S, Li P, Hu C, Liu YC, Jiang Y, He X, Wang HM, Lim WT, Liao W, He X, Chen X, Wang S, Yuan X, Li Q, Lin X, Jing S, Chen Y, Lu Y, Hsieh CY, Yang MH, Yen CJ, Samol J, Luo X, Wang X, Tang X, Feng H, Yao S, Keegan P, Xu RH. Toripalimab Plus Chemotherapy for Recurrent or Metastatic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: The JUPITER-02 Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2023 Nov 28;330(20):1961-1970. doi: 10.1001/jama.2023.20181. PMID 38015220