Year of Grant: 2016

Location: United States

Follicular lymphoma is a disease in which there are many treatments that
work temporarily but do not cure the patient. Of the more than 72,000
cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) expected to be diagnosed in 2016
in the United States, approximately 20% are likely to be follicular 
lymphomas.

The research team has come up with a way of triggering the immune system to kill some of the tumor cells at one place in the body and at the same time, activate the immune system to search out and destroy the tumor 
throughout the rest of the body. 

This phase Ib/II clinical study will evaluate the efficacy of intratumoral injection of an immune activator in combination with ibrutinib and radiation in patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma. It will assess the overall response rate and determine the dose, safety and tolerability of this combination.

Three elements will be combined to enhance the therapy: 1) low dose of radiotherapy to one site, 2) injection of an immune activator at that same site and 3) a newly approved drug, Ibrutinib, which kills the tumor and
enhances the immune system.

Phase Ib will enroll 6 to 9 patients to determine the ideal dose level. In phase II, 15 patients will be treated to form a final sample of 21 to 24 patients to estimate the response rate.

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NOTE: This is one of three winning proposals for the 2016 RTFCCR/LLS International Research Grant to advance immunotherapy research for blood cancer.