~4 spots leftby Jan 2026

Nivolumab +/− Ipilimumab Before Surgery for Bladder Cancer

Recruiting in Palo Alto (17 mi)
+8 other locations
Gopa Iyer, MD - MSK Genitourinary ...
Overseen byMin Yuen Teo
Age: 18+
Sex: Any
Travel: May Be Covered
Time Reimbursement: Varies
Trial Phase: Phase 2
Recruiting
Sponsor: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Must not be taking: Corticosteroids, Immunosuppressives, Checkpoint inhibitors, others
Disqualifiers: Autoimmune disease, Heart failure, Stroke, others
No Placebo Group
Prior Safety Data
Breakthrough Therapy

Trial Summary

What is the purpose of this trial?The purpose of this study is to test if immunotherapy with nivolumab alone or in combination with ipilimumab is safe and does not delay the planned bladder cancer surgery. The investigators want to see if treatment with these drugs prior to surgery may decrease the size of the bladder cancer and thus could help make the surgery more successful.
Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial does not specify if you need to stop taking your current medications. However, if you are on systemic corticosteroids or other immunosuppressive medications, you must stop them at least 14 days before starting the study treatment.

What data supports the effectiveness of the drug combination Nivolumab and Ipilimumab before surgery for bladder cancer?

Research shows that using Nivolumab and Ipilimumab before surgery in patients with advanced bladder cancer led to a complete response in 46% of patients, meaning no signs of cancer were found in the tissue removed during surgery. This suggests that the combination of these drugs can be an effective pre-surgery treatment option.

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Is the combination of Nivolumab and Ipilimumab safe for use before bladder cancer surgery?

In a trial with patients having advanced bladder cancer, 55% experienced severe immune-related side effects from the combination of Nivolumab and Ipilimumab, but the safety profile was considered acceptable in early trials, with severe side effects ranging from 6% to 41% in similar studies.

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How is the drug combination of Nivolumab and Ipilimumab unique for treating bladder cancer?

The combination of Nivolumab and Ipilimumab is unique because it uses two immune checkpoint inhibitors to enhance the body's immune response against cancer cells, which is different from traditional chemotherapy that directly targets cancer cells. This approach has shown promising results in other cancers like lung and kidney cancer, making it a novel option for bladder cancer treatment.

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Eligibility Criteria

This trial is for adults with bladder cancer who can't have chemotherapy. They must have a certain type of bladder cancer that hasn't spread beyond the pelvis and be fit for surgery. People with prior systemic cancer treatments, active autoimmune diseases needing steroids, recent heart attacks or strokes, HIV/AIDS, or those unwilling to use contraception are excluded.

Inclusion Criteria

My bladder cancer diagnosis is mainly urothelial.
You are not eligible if you have moderate to severe kidney function, hearing loss, peripheral neuropathy, or if there is not enough tumor tissue available for testing. You must also be fit for surgery, be at least 18 years old, and have a certain level of physical ability.
Before joining the study, your blood tests need to show specific levels of white blood cells, platelets, bilirubin, and liver enzymes. If you are taking blood-thinning medication, your dose should be consistent.
+2 more

Exclusion Criteria

I've had chemotherapy for bladder cancer, including treatments to boost my immune system.
I am a male willing to use contraception during and for 31 weeks after treatment.
You are being held against your will for treatment of a mental or physical illness.
+18 more

Trial Timeline

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Treatment

Participants receive immunotherapy with nivolumab alone or in combination with ipilimumab prior to surgery

10 weeks
5 visits (in-person) for Cohort 1, 3 visits (in-person) for Cohort 3, 4 visits (in-person) for Cohort 2

Surgery

Planned bladder cancer surgery to assess the effect of the immunotherapy

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for safety and effectiveness after treatment and surgery

4-8 weeks

Participant Groups

The study tests if immunotherapy drugs Nivolumab alone or combined with Ipilimumab are safe before surgery without delaying it. The goal is to see if these drugs shrink the tumor to aid surgical success in bladder cancer patients.
4Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Group I: Cohort U (UTUC patients) is independent from Cohorts 1 - 3. ( who are cisplatin-ineligible)Experimental Treatment3 Interventions
Ipilimumab 3 mg/kg and Nivolumab 1 mg/kg on day 1, of each cycle, followed by Nivolumab 3 mg/kg on day 22 and Ipilimumab 3mg/kg and Nivolumab 1mg/kg on day 45.
Group II: Cohort 3Experimental Treatment3 Interventions
Ipilimumab 3 mg/kg on day 1 each cycle and Nivolumab 1 mg/kg on day 1 of each cycle for a total of 3 cycles. Each cycle will be three weeks long and treatment will occur during weeks 0, 3, and 6.
Group III: Cohort 2Experimental Treatment3 Interventions
Ipilimumab 3 mg/kg and Nivolumab 1 mg/kg on day 1 of each cycle, followed by Nivolumab 3 mg/kg on day 22 of each cycle for a total of 2 cycles. Each cycle will be six weeks long. Ipilimumab and Nivolumab will occur on weeks 0 and 6 while Nivolumab alone will occur on weeks 3 and 9.
Group IV: Cohort 1Experimental Treatment2 Interventions
Nivolumab 3 mg/kg on day 1 of each cycle for a total of 5 cycles. Each cycle will be two weeks long and treatment will occur during weeks 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8.

Ipilimumab is already approved in United States, European Union for the following indications:

🇺🇸 Approved in United States as Yervoy for:
  • Advanced melanoma
  • Stage III unresectable melanoma
  • Stage IV metastatic melanoma
🇪🇺 Approved in European Union as Yervoy for:
  • Advanced melanoma
  • Stage III unresectable melanoma
  • Stage IV metastatic melanoma

Find a Clinic Near You

Research Locations NearbySelect from list below to view details:
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (All Protocol Activities)New York, NY
Memorial Sloan Kettering Westchester (All Protocol Activities)Harrison, NY
Memoral Sloan Kettering Monmouth (All Protocol Activities)Middletown, NJ
Memorial Sloan Kettering Basking Ridge (All Protocol Activities)Basking Ridge, NJ
More Trial Locations
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Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CenterLead Sponsor

References

Phase II Study of Gemcitabine and Split-Dose Cisplatin Plus Pembrolizumab as Neoadjuvant Therapy Before Radical Cystectomy in Patients With Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer. [2022]To evaluate the safety and efficacy of gemcitabine and cisplatin in combination with the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab as neoadjuvant therapy before radical cystectomy (RC) in muscle-invasive bladder cancer.
Role of Perioperative Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer. [2023]We aim to describe and highlight the current use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in the muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) treatment landscape, particularly focusing on the perioperative setting. We provide a comprehensive review of key trials of the use of ICI in the perioperative setting, discussing trial outcomes and limitations and reviewing the role of biomarkers.
Neoadjuvant or adjuvant immunotherapy in bladder cancer: biological opportunity or clinical utility? [2022]In urothelial cancer of the bladder, the introduction of immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors represents progress in the management of the disease's early and advanced stages. In particular, recent studies have implemented these drugs in the neoadjuvant and adjuvant phases to treat muscle-invasive bladder cancer. In some studies, patients received neoadjuvant immune checkpoint inhibitors alone (PURE and ABACUS) to treat muscle invasive bladder cancer, whereas other studies provided this therapy to cisplatin-ineligible patients. Furthermore, a large Phase III study (CheckMate 247) compared placebo with adjuvant nivolumab therapy in patients with high-risk urothelial cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery or surgery alone. Despite some uncertain niches (nonbladder, PD-L1-negative tumors, and node-negative resected cancers), certain biological opportunities (exploring new targets, evaluating in vivo pathologic response, focusing on biomarkers for response) and clinical uses (avoiding chemotherapy at all or in frail patients, attaining similar pathologic complete response rates as in cisplatin-based chemotherapy) are valid reasons for incorporating these agents into the therapeutic armamentarium of medical uro-oncologists.
Preoperative ipilimumab plus nivolumab in locoregionally advanced urothelial cancer: the NABUCCO trial. [2022]Preoperative immunotherapy with anti-PD1 plus anti-CTLA4 antibodies has shown remarkable pathological responses in melanoma1 and colorectal cancer2. In NABUCCO (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03387761 ), a single-arm feasibility trial, 24 patients with stage III urothelial cancer (UC) received two doses of ipilimumab and two doses of nivolumab, followed by resection. The primary endpoint was feasibility to resect within 12 weeks from treatment start. All patients were evaluable for the study endpoints and underwent resection, 23 (96%) within 12 weeks. Grade 3-4 immune-related adverse events occurred in 55% of patients and in 41% of patients when excluding clinically insignificant laboratory abnormalities. Eleven patients (46%) had a pathological complete response (pCR), meeting the secondary efficacy endpoint. Fourteen patients (58%) had no remaining invasive disease (pCR or pTisN0/pTaN0). In contrast to studies with anti-PD1/PD-L1 monotherapy, complete response to ipilimumab plus nivolumab was independent of baseline CD8+ presence or T-effector signatures. Induction of tertiary lymphoid structures upon treatment was observed in responding patients. Our data indicate that combined CTLA-4 plus PD-1 blockade might provide an effective preoperative treatment strategy in locoregionally advanced UC, irrespective of pre-existing CD8+ T cell activity.
Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy: The Next Gold Standard Before Radical Surgery for Urothelial Cancer. [2022]Cisplatin-based chemotherapy followed by radical cystectomy with bilateral pelvic lymph-node dissection is the current standard for cT2-4a N0 M0 urothelial bladder cancer. Immune checkpoint inhibitors have recently been tested in the neoadjuvant setting with promising pathological and survival results and a better safety profile. Excellent pathological responses have been observed, especially in cases with higher clinical T stage and PD-L1 expression, in addition to patients with selected gene signatures. In biomarker-selected patients, this manageable approach has the potential to become a new treatment option in the near future.
Toxicity and Surgical Complication Rates of Neoadjuvant Atezolizumab in Patients with Muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer Undergoing Radical Cystectomy: Updated Safety Results from the ABACUS Trial. [2022]There are limited data on toxicity and surgical safety associated with neoadjuvant programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors prior to radical cystectomy (RC) in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC).
Tislelizumab in combination with gemcitabine plus cisplatin chemotherapy as first-line adjuvant treatment for locally advanced or metastatic bladder cancer: a retrospective study. [2022]Combining immune checkpoint inhibitors with chemotherapy can synergistically improve antitumor activity and are generally well tolerated. Recently, the efficacy and safety of combination therapy has been demonstrated for many cancers, including urothelial carcinomas. The aim of this retrospective pilot study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tislelizumab plus chemotherapy as first-line adjuvant treatment for locally advanced or metastatic bladder cancer.
Immune checkpoints inhibitors in the management of high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. A scoping review. [2022]Provide the current state of trials investigating the effectiveness and safety of checkpoint inhibitors in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.
Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy for Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer. [2021]Background and Objectives: Facing neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery, neoadjuvant immunotherapy is an innovative concept in localized muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Herein, we performed a review of the available and ongoing evidence supporting immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) administration in the early stages of bladder cancer treatment. Materials and Methods: A literature search was performed on Medline and clinical trials databases, using the terms: "bladder cancer" OR "urothelial carcinoma", AND "neoadjuvant immunotherapy" OR "preoperative immunotherapy". We restricted our investigations to prospective clinical trials evaluating anti-PD-(L)1 and anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibodies. Data on efficacy, toxicity and potential biomarkers of response were retrieved. Results: The search identified 6 ICIs that were tested in the neoadjuvant setting for localized bladder cancer-4 anti-PD-(L)1 inhibitors (Pembrolizumab, Atezolizumab, Nivolumab and Durvalumab) and 2 anti-CTLA-4 inhibitors (Ipilimumab and Tremelimumab). Most of the existing literature was based on single-arm phase 2 clinical trials that included from 23 to 143 patients. The pathological complete response rate (pCR) and pathological response rate (pRR) ranged from 31% to 46% and from 55.9% to 66%, respectively. Survival data were immature at this time. The safety profile was acceptable, with severe treatment-related adverse events ranging from 6% to 41%. Conclusions: The results of early phase trials are encouraging, and more investigations are needed to strengthen the rationale for immune checkpoint inhibitor administration in localized muscle-invasive bladder cancer.
Antitumor activity of nivolumab on hemodialysis after renal allograft rejection. [2023]Nivolumab (Opdivo™) is a novel IgG4 subclass programmed death-1 (PD-1) inhibiting antibody that has demonstrated breakthrough-designation anti-tumor activity. To date, clinical trials of nivolumab and other checkpoint inhibitors have generally excluded patients with solid organ transplantation and patients with concurrent immunosuppression. However, organ transplant recipients are at high-risk of development of malignancy as a result of suppressed immune surveillance of cancer.
11.United Statespubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Nivolumab/Ipilimumab Combo Yields Durable Efficacy in Advanced NSCLC. [2021]Frontline treatment with nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) induced durable and long-term efficacy, compared with chemotherapy, in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and tumor PD-L1 expression greater than 1% or less than 1%, according to updated results from part 1 of the phase 3 CheckMate 227 (NCT02477826)trial presented at the 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology Virtual Scientific Program.
12.United Statespubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Surgical outcomes after chemotherapy plus nivolumab and chemotherapy plus nivolumab and ipilimumab in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. [2023]Chemotherapy plus nivolumab is the standard of care neoadjuvant treatment for patients with resectable stage IB to IIIA non-small cell lung cancer. The influence of dual checkpoint blockade with chemotherapy on surgical outcomes remains unknown. We aimed to determine operative complexity and perioperative outcomes associated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and nivolumab with or without ipilimumab.
European Medicines Agency extension of indication to include the combination immunotherapy cancer drug treatment with nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) for adults with intermediate/poor-risk advanced renal cell carcinoma. [2021]On the 15 November 2018, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use adopted an extension to an existing indication for the use of nivolumab (Opdivo) in combination with ipilimumab (Yervoy) for the first-line treatment of adult patients with intermediate/poor-risk advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The approval was based on results from the Pivotal CA209214 study, a randomised, open-label, phase III study, comparing nivolumab +ipilimumab with sunitinib in subjects≥18 years of age with previously untreated advanced RCC (not amenable for surgery or radiotherapy) or metastatic RCC, with a clear-cell component. A total of 1096 patients were randomised in the trial, of which 847 patients had intermediate/poor-risk RCC and received either nivolumab (n=425) in combination with ipilimumab administered every 3 weeks for 4 doses followed by nivolumab monotherapy 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks or sunitinib (n=422) administered orally for 4 weeks followed by 2 weeks off, every cycle. A statistically significant difference in overall survival (OS) was observed in the nivolumab + ipilimumab group compared with the sunitinib group in intermediate/poor-risk subjects (HR 0.63 (99.8% CI 0.44 to 0.89); stratified log-rank 2-sided p-value
Nivolumab: A Review in Advanced Nonsquamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. [2018]The programmed death (PD)-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo(®)) is approved in the USA for the treatment of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy and in the EU for the treatment of adults with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC after prior chemotherapy. In previously-treated patients with advanced nonsquamous NSCLC, overall survival was significantly prolonged and the overall response rate was significantly higher in patients who received intravenous nivolumab 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks versus intravenous docetaxel in the pivotal CheckMate 057 trial. Progression-free survival did not significantly differ between patients receiving nivolumab and those receiving docetaxel. Intravenous nivolumab had a manageable adverse event profile (including immune-mediated adverse events) and was better tolerated than docetaxel in the CheckMate 057 trial. Thus, nivolumab is an important new option for use in previously-treated patients with advanced nonsquamous NSCLC.