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Trial to Study Anti- HCMV Therapy in Breast Cancer Patients With Progressive Intracranial Metastases and CMV Infection

  • PhasePhase 2
  • StatusRecruiting
  • Planned enrollment28 people
  • Recruiting US sites1
  • SponsorThe Methodist Hospital Research Institute
  • RegistryNCT07383649

Recruitment re-checked on ClinicalTrials.gov Oct 30, 2026. Public record; not medical advice.

Trial to Study Anti- HCMV Therapy in Breast Cancer Patients With Progressive Intracranial Metastases and CMV Infection: a one-minute explainerNCT073836491 min

Eligibility

Who can join

The film gives the main points. The full list below is copied from the registry; the study team makes the final decision.

  • Age18 Years to no maximum
  • SexAll
  • Healthy volunteersNo

You may be able to join if

  • Male or female aged >18 years at the time of consent
  • Breast cancer with progressive brain metastases supra and/or infratentorial. Patients can proceed with SRS as long as at least 1 lesion which is 2 cm or less in a noncritical area in the brain is spared as per the discretion of treating neurosurgeon/radiation oncologist.
  • At least one non irradiated, untreated progressive brain metastases site
  • Serum HCMV DNA by real time PCR > 250 copies/ml or positive CMV Ig G or Ig M.
  • Capable of giving signed informed consent which includes compliance with the requirements and restrictions listed in the informed consent form and in this protocol. If the patient is unable to consent for any reason a legally authorized guardian may provide consent on their behalf. Written informed consent and any locally required authorization (e.g., Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) will be obtained from the patient prior to performing any protocol-related procedures, including screening evaluations.
  • Metastatic breast cancer who has systemically no evidence of disease, complete remission, partial remission, stable or progressive disease
  • Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance score of 0-2
  • Adequate hematology without ongoing transfusion support (hemoglobin > 9 g/dl, absolute neutrophil count (ANC) > 1500 per mm3 , platelets > 100,000 per mm3)
  • Adequate renal and hepatic function (creatinine clearance [CrCL] > 60 mL/min, bilirubin x:≤1.5 upper limit of normal (ULN), aspartate aminotransferase [AST] and alanine aminotransferase [ALT] ≤ 2.5 x ULN and serum albumin ≥ 3 g/dl.
  • Other CMV treatment if clinically indicated per physician's choice
  • Evidence of postmenopausal status or negative serum pregnancy test for premenopausal female patients. Negative serum β-human chorionic gonadotropin pregnancy test within 7 days prior to the first dose of study treatment for premenopausal patients. Women will be considered postmenopausal if they have been amenorrheic for 12 months without an alternative medical cause.
  • The following age-specific requirements apply:
  • Women <50 years of age would be considered postmenopausal if they have been amenorrheic for 12 months or more following cessation of exogenous hormonal treatments and if they have luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone levels in the postmenopausal range for the institution or underwent surgical sterilization (bilateral oophorectomy or hysterectomy).
  • Women ≥50 years of age would be considered postmenopausal if they have been amenorrheic for 12 months or more following cessation of all exogenous hormonal treatments, had radiation-induced menopause with last menses >1 year ago, had chemotherapy-induced menopause with last menses >1 year ago, or underwent surgical sterilization (bilateral oophorectomy, bilateral salpingectomy, or hysterectomy).
  • Patient is willing and able to comply with the protocol for the duration of the study including undergoing treatment and scheduled visits and examinations including follow-up.

You cannot join if

  • Single resectable intracranial lesion
  • Last intracranial progression free survival > 12 months
  • All progressive brain metastases have been radiated
  • Brain metastases needing immediate local intervention such as mass effect, herniation, active neurological symptoms, increased intracranial pressure, those near vital structures like the motor cortex, proximity to the optic nerve/chiasm or brain stem etc (can still be included if there are any other non-radiated progressive brain metastases) Multidisciplinary discussion with neurosurgery and radiation oncology will be needed to determine which patients may be safely enrolled on the trial.
  • Active pregnancy or breast feeding
  • Women of childbearing potential or fertile men unwilling to use effective contraception (Section 6.2, Table 6) during study and up to three months after treatment discontinuation.
  • Known psychiatric disorder that causes poor cooperation with the trial requirements.
  • Participants with previous other malignancies must have had at least a 3-year disease free interval, except those with non-melanoma skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of cervix
  • Participation in another clinical study with an investigational product within 28 days prior to the first dose of study treatment.
  • Concurrent enrollment in another clinical study unless it is an observational (non-interventional) clinical study or during the follow-up period of an interventional study.
  • Unresolved or unstable adverse events (AEs) from prior administration of another investigational drug, per investigators' discretion.
  • Major surgical procedure (as defined by the investigator) within 28 days prior to the first dose of study treatment.
  • Non-English-speaking subjects will not be enrolled in this study since the neurocognitive tests including DKEFS, RAVLT and TMT are not validated to be scored in other languages.

The treatment

How it is intended to work

This is how the treatment is meant to work. Whether it helps, and how safe it is, is what this trial is testing.

Treatments listed in the registry

  • Valganciclovir (Drug): Valganciclovir inhibits viral DNA polymerase, effectively controlling HCMV reactivation and its associated immunosuppressive effects. Dosing for oral Valganciclovir will be based on standard of care dosing as per FDA in patients with HCMV infection. Dose adjustments will be made by the principal investigator for renal function, treatment-related AEs and disease progression according to the manufacturer's recommendations as they are present in individuals and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The study

Treatment groups

Na · Single Group · masking: None

Anti-HCMV therapy (Oral Valganciclovir) and Standard-of-Care (Experimental)

At least 10 patients will be enrolled in the initial safety lead-in followed by the Phase II trial which will include 18 patients. Anti-HCMV therapy, oral Valganciclovir will be given to patients at 900 mg twice a day for 2 weeks. After the induction period, the maintenance will be continued with valganciclovir at 450 mg twice daily for 4 weeks (28 days). CMV PCR, IgG and IgM will be checked at the end of these four weeks. Patients will be followed with physical examinations and assessment of laboratory parameters as required per standard-of-care treatment. Quality-of-life, neurocognitive questionnaires, and MRI brain (if asymptomatic) every 2 months until subsequent intracranial progression or end of study, whichever comes first. Patients will be in follow-up for 24 months.

What it involves

Procedures

As the registry describes them. Requirements to join, such as a tissue sample, are in the eligibility list above even when on-study procedures are optional. Ask the study team which steps apply to you.

  • blood samples: Part of the study plan
  • MRI: Part of the study plan
  • questionnaires: Part of the study plan
  • lumbar puncture: Part of the study plan

Goals

What the study measures

Main goals

  • Objective Response Rate with anti-HMCV Therapy and SOC (6 Weeks)

Other goals

  • Safety and toxicity of anti- HCMV therapy (Valganciclovir) as assessed by the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI CTAE) v5
  • Benefit in median overall survival from start of treatment (anti-HCMV therapy and SOC) until the end of follow up after 24 months or death
  • Prevention of memory decline with anti-HCMV therapy (Valganciclovir) as measured by the mean change in the immediate score on the Rey's Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) from baseline to end of study
  • Prevention of memory decline with anti-HCMV therapy (Valganciclovir) and SOC prevention of memory decline with anti-HCMV therapy (Valganciclovir) and SOC
  • Prevention of memory decline with anti-HCMV therapy (Valganciclovir) and SOC as measured by the mean change in executive function as measured by Trail Making Test (TMT) from baseline to end of study.
  • Prevention of memory decline with anti-HCMV therapy (Valganciclovir) and SOC as measured by the mean change in Delis Kaplan Executive Function (DKEFS) Letter Fluency Test from baseline to end of study.
  • prevention of quality-of-life decline with anti-HCMV therapy (Valganciclovir) and SOC as measured by the mean change in EORTC QLQ -C30 questionnaire with brain specific module (BN-20) from baseline to end of study.
  • Benefit in post stereotactic radiation progression free survival, defined as time from start of treatment (anti-HCMV therapy and SOC) to subsequent intracranial progression in local radiated site or distant site in the brain
  • Median time to distant progression, defined as time from start of treatment (anti-HCMV therapy and SOC) to first sign of distant progression
  • Systemic objective response rate with anti-HCMV therapy and SOC

Planned enrollment: 28 (estimated).

Where

Recruiting US sites

  • Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center, Houston, Texas

Site status as of Oct 30, 2026. Check the live record before contacting a site.

Background research

Papers linked by the registry

These papers are listed in the registry record. Unless a paper is marked as about this trial, it is background research on the treatment or disease, not results from this study.

Sources

Where this comes from

Registry record reviewed as fetched Oct 30, 2026, last updated by the sponsor Aug 9, 2026. Public record; not medical advice.

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