Vaccine Therapy With or Without Sargramostim in Treating Patients With Cancer

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To determine the maximum tolerated dose and toxicity profile of the novel CEA-based vaccine, rF-CEA(6D)-TRICOM (recombinant fowlpox-CEA(6D)-B7.1/ICAM-1/LFA-3), either alone or in combination with a second vaccine, rV-CEA(6D)-TRICOM (recombinant vaccinia-CEA(6D)-B7.1/ICAM-1/LFA-3) in patients with advanced CEA-bearing cancers.

II. To determine the maximum tolerated dose and toxicity profile of the novel CEA-based vaccine rV-CEA(6D)-TRICOM when given in combination with the maximum tolerated dose of rF-CEA(6D)-TRICOM, in patients with advanced CEA-bearing cancers.

III. To determine the safety and impact of colony stimulating factors (GM-CSF) on the immunologic response, when given in conjunction with the combination of rV-CEA(6D)-TRICOM (MTD) and rF-CEA(6D)-TRICOM (MTD) vaccines, in patients with advanced CEA-bearing cancers.

IV. To determine the change in CAP-1 directed T cells in patients treated with these vaccines using ELISPOT assay analysis.

V. To perform a pilot analysis of the impact of vaccine therapy on the quantity of circulating CEA-positive cells in the patients treated on this study in order to develop and eventually validate a practical, intermediate bio-marker for the immunologic response to the vaccines.

VI. To document any objective anti-tumor responses that occur.

OUTLINE: This is a dose-escalation study of fowlpox-CEA-TRICOM (fCEA-TRI) vaccine and vaccinia-CEA-TRICOM (vCEA-TRI) vaccine.

STAGE I: Patients receive fCEA-TRI vaccine subcutaneously (SC) once daily on days 1, 29, 57, and 85.

Cohorts of 3-10 patients receive escalating doses of the fCEA-TRI vaccine until the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) is determined. The MTD is defined as the dose preceding that at which 2 of 6 patients experience dose-limiting toxicity (DLT).

STAGE II: Patients receive vCEA-TRI vaccine intradermally once on day 1 and fCEA-TRI vaccine SC at the MTD determined in stage I once daily on days 29, 57, and 85.

Cohorts of 3-10 patients receive escalating doses of the vCEA-TRI vaccine until the MTD is determined. The MTD is defined as the dose preceding that at which 2 of 6 patients experience DLT.

STAGE III: A single cohort of 6-10 patients receive both vaccines as in stage II, at the MTDs determined in stages I and II, and sargramostim (GM-CSF) SC once daily on days 1-4, 29-32, 57-60, and 85-88.

Patients in any stage of the study with responding disease may receive additional doses of the fCEA-TRI vaccine monthly for 2 months and then every 3 months thereafter. Patients who have objective evidence of response (including mixed response) and/or a fall in an elevated serum CEA level after the sixth vaccine and who subsequently develop disease progression while on the extended every 3-month treatment schedule and have no other potentially better treatment alternatives available may continue treatment as per the monthly vaccination schedule for 2 additional months. Patients with stable or responding disease after those two monthly vaccines may continue monthly vaccines at the discretion of the principal investigator.

Patients are followed at 4 weeks and then monthly for 3 months.