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Study of Idarubicin, Cytarabine, and Nivolumab in Patients With High-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) and Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

Phase I/II Study of Idarubicin, Cytarabine, and Nivolumab in Patients With High-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) and Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 1Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT02464657
Enrollment
44
Registered
2015-06-08
Start date
2015-07-31
Completion date
2020-05-07
Last updated
2021-10-07

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Leukemia, Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Myelodysplastic Syndrome

Keywords

Leukemia, Acute myeloid leukemia, AML, Myelodysplastic Syndrome, MDS, High-risk, Nivolumab, BMS-936558, Opdivo, Idarubicin, Idamycin, Cytarabine, Ara-C, Cytosar, DepoCyt, Cytosine Arabinosine Hydrochloride, Solu-Medrol, Methylprednisolone, Depo-Medrol, Medrol, Dexamethasone, Decadron

Brief summary

The goal of this clinical research study is to find the highest tolerable dose of nivolumab that can be give in combination with idarubicin and cytarabine in patients with MDS and AML. The safety and effectiveness of this drug combination will also be studied. This is an investigational study. Nivolumab is not FDA-approved or commercially available. Idarubicin is FDA-approved and commercially available for the treatment of patients with AML. Cytarabine is FDA approved and commercially available for treatment of patient with AML. The use of these drugs in combination is investigational. The study doctor can explain how the drugs are designed to work. Up to 75 patients will take part in this study. All will be enrolled at MD Anderson.

Detailed description

Study Groups: If you are found to be eligible to take part in this study, you will be assigned to a study group based on when you join this study. Up to 3 groups of 3 - 6 participants will be enrolled in Phase 1 of the study, and up to 70 participants will be enrolled in Phase 2. If you are enrolled in Phase 1, the dose of nivolumab you receive will depend on when you join this study. There are 3 dose levels being tests in this part of the study: a low dose, a middle dose, and a high dose. The first group of participants will receive the middle dose level of nivolumab. If no intolerable side effects are seen, the next group will receive the highest dose level. However, if there are intolerable side effects, 3 more participants will receive the middle dose. If there are further intolerable side effects seen, the next group will receive the lowest dose of nivolumab. If you are enrolled in Phase 2, you will receive nivolumab at the highest dose that was tolerated in Phase 1. All participants will receive the same dose levels of idarubicin and cytarabine. Study Drug Administration: You will receive 1- 7 cycles of the drug combination. These cycles will be 28-35 days long. * On Days 1-3 of each cycle, you will receive idarubicin by vein over about 15-30 minutes. * On Days 1-4 of each cycle, you will receive cytarabine by vein over about 24 hours. If you are age 60 or older, you will receive the drugs on Days 1-3 only. On these days you will receive drugs to help decrease the risk of side effects. * On Day 24 (+/- 2 days) of each cycle, you will receive nivolumab by vein over about 1 hour. After 2 cycles, if the disease appears to get better, you will receive nivolumab by vein about every 2 weeks for up to 1 year. Study Visits: At least one (1) time a week during Cycle 1 and then at least once each cycle after that: * You will have a physical exam. * Blood (about 2-3 teaspoons) will be drawn for routine tests. You will have a bone marrow aspirate collected for cytogenetics testing between Day 21-28 of each cycle and then, if the doctor thinks it is needed, you will have this performed every 1-2 weeks after that unless a complete response is achieved. After that, you will have bone marrow collected every 3-6 months for 1 year. After your last dose of study drug, you will have a physical exam. Length of Study: You may continue taking nivolumab for up to 1 year. You will no longer be able to take the study drug if the disease gets worse, if intolerable side effects occur, or if you are unable to follow study directions. Your participation on the study will be over after the follow-up visits.

Interventions

DRUGNivolumab

Phase I Starting Dose of Nivolumab: 1 mg/kg by vein on Day 24 of a 28 day cycle. Phase II Starting Dose of Nivolumab: Maximum tolerated dose from Phase I.

DRUGIdarubicin

Phase I and Phase II dose of Idarubicin 12 mg/m2 by vein daily for 3 on Days 1 - 3 of a 28 day cycle.

DRUGCytarabine

Phase I and Phase II dose of Cytarabine (Ara-C) 1.5 g/m2 by vein daily on Days 1 - 4 of a 28 day cycle.

Phase I and Phase II dose of Solu-medrol 50 mg by vein daily for 3 - 4 days with Ara-C on Days 1 - 4 of a 28 day cycle.

DRUGDexamethasone

Phase I and Phase II dose of Dexamethasone 10 mg by vein daily for 3 - 4 days with Ara-C on Days 1 - 4 of a 28 day cycle.

Sponsors

Bristol-Myers Squibb
CollaboratorINDUSTRY
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

1. Diagnosis of 1) AML (WHO classification definition of \>/= 20% blasts), or 2) high risk MDS (defined as the presence of 10% blasts). 2. Patients aged 18 to 60 years are eligible. Patients older than 60 who are deemed fit to receive intensive chemotherapy by the treating physician are eligible after discussion with the PI. 3. In the Phase I portion, patients with relapsed or refractory AML/MDS are also eligible, as per the treating physician's discretion. 4. For the Phase II portion of the study, patients must be chemo-naive, i.e. not have received any prior chemotherapy (except hydrea or one dose of ara-C \</= 2g) for AML or MDS. They could have received hypomethylator agents, transfusions, hematopoietic growth factors or vitamins. Temporary prior measures such as apheresis or hydrea or one dose of ara-C \</= 2g in order to safely control hyperleucocytosis prior to enrollment. 5. Serum biochemical values with the following limits unless considered due to leukemia: ---Creatinine \</= 1.5 mg/dl --- total bilirubin \</= 1.5 mg/dL, unless increase is due to hemolysis or congenital disorder --- transaminases (SG PT) \</= 2.5 x upper limit of normal (ULN). 6. Ability to take oral medication. 7. Ability to understand and provide signed informed consent. 8. Baseline test of ejection fraction must be \>/= 50%. 9. Performance status \< 3, unless directly related to disease process as determined by the Principal Investigator.

Exclusion criteria

1. Subjects with APL. 2. Any coexisting medical condition that in the judgment of the treating physician is likely to interfere with study procedures or results. 3. Nursing women, women of childbearing potential with positive urine pregnancy test, or women of childbearing potential who are not willing to maintain adequate contraception (such as birth control pills, IUD, diaphragm, abstinence, or condoms by their partner) over the entire course of the study. --- Women of childbearing potential (WOCBP) must use appropriate method(s) of contraception. WOCBP should use an adequate method to avoid pregnancy for 23 weeks (30 days plus the time required for nivolumab to undergo five half-lives) after the last dose of investigational drug. --- Women of childbearing potential must have a negative serum or urine pregnancy test (minimum sensitivity 25 IU/L or equivalent units of HCG) within 24 hours prior to the start of nivolumab. --- Women must not be breastfeeding. 4. Continued:Men who are sexually active with WOCBP must use acceptable birth control methods. Acceptable birth control methods include: oral or injectable hormonal birth control, intrauterine devices(IUDS), and double barrier methods (for example a condom in combination with spermicide). Men receiving nivolumab and who are sexually active with WOCBP will be instructed to adhere to contraception for a period of 31 weeks after the last dose of investigational product Women who are not of childbearing potential (ie, who are postmenopausal or surgically sterile as well as azoospermic men do not require contraception. 5. Cardiac disease: Congestive heart failure \> class II NYHA. Patients must not have unstable angina (anginal symptoms at rest) or new onset angina (began within the last 3 months) or myocardial infarction within the past 6 months. 6. History of cardiac ventricular arrhythmias requiring anti-arrhythmic therapy within past 3 months. 7. Thrombotic or embolic events such as a cerebrovascular accident including transient ischemic attacks within the past 6 months. 8. Pulmonary hemorrhage/bleeding event \> CTCAE Grade 2 within 4 weeks of first dose of study drug. 9. Major surgery, open biopsy or significant traumatic injury within 4 weeks of first study drug. 10. Active clinically serious and uncontrolled infection \> CTCAE Grade 2 uncontrolled with antibiotics. 11. Patients should be excluded if they have an active, known or suspected autoimmune disease. Subjects are permitted to enroll if they have vitiligo, type I diabetes mellitus, residual hypothyroidism due to autoimmune condition only requiring hormone replacement, psoriasis not requiring systemic treatment, or conditions not expected to recur in the absence of an external trigger. 12. Patients should be excluded if they are known to be positive test for hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBV sAg) or hepatitis C virus ribonucleic acid (HCV antibody) indicating acute or chronic infection. 13. Patients should be excluded if they have known history of testing positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or known acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). 14. History of allergy to study drug components. 15. Prior immune checkpoint targeting drugs (e.g., anti PD1, and PDL1, anti-kir, anti CD137...etc)

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Maximum Tolerated Dose (MTD) of Nivolumab28 daysMTD is highest dose level in which \<2 patients of 6 develop first cycle dose-limiting toxicity (DLT).

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Event-Free Survival (EFS)56 daysEFS defined as time from the treatment start till treatment failure, relapse, or death whichever comes first. Event Free Survival will be presented by median EFS, which is the time point at which the cumulative survival drops below 50%. If there is no median survival (not reached), it means the cumulative survival was more than 50%.
Relapse Free SurvivalUp to 2 years and10 MonthsRelapse-free survival was defined as the time from treatment response to date of relapse or death, whichever occurred first.
Overall SurvivalUp to 2 years and 10 MonthsOverall survival was defined as the time from the start of treatment to death or date of last follow-up.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Recruitment details

Recruitment Period: July 2015 - June 2018

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Ph 1 - Nivolumab (1mg) + Idarubicin + Cytarabine
Phase I dose of Nivolumab 1 mg/kg by vein on Day 24 of a 28 day cycle. Phase I and Phase II dose of Idarubicin 12 mg/m2 by vein daily for 3 on Days 1 - 3 of a 28 day cycle. Phase I and Phase II dose of Cytarabine (Ara-C) 1.5 g/m2 by vein daily on Days 1 - 4 of a 28 day cycle. Phase I and Phase II dose of Solumedrol 50 mg or Dexamethasone 10 mg by vein daily for 3 - 4 days with Ara-C on Days 1 - 4 of a 28 day cycle. Phase II Starting Dose of Nivolumab: Maximum tolerated dose from Phase I. Nivolumab: Phase I Starting Dose of Nivolumab: 1 mg/kg by vein on Day 24 of a 28 day cycle. Phase II Starting Dose of Nivolumab: Maximum tolerated dose from Phase I. Idarubicin: Phase I and Phase II dose of Idarubicin 12 mg/m2 by vein daily for 3 on Days 1 - 3 of a 28 day cycle. Cytarabine: Phase I and Phase II dose of Cytarabine (Ara-C) 1.5 g/m2 by vein daily on Days 1 - 4 of a 28 day cycle. Solu-medrol: Phase I and Phase II dose of Solu-medrol 50 mg by vein daily for 3 - 4 days with Ara-C on Days 1 - 4 of a 28 day cycle. Dexamethasone: Phase I and Phase II dose of Dexamethasone 10 mg by vein daily for 3 - 4 days with Ara-C on Days 1 - 4 of a 28 day cycle.
3
Ph 1 - Nivolumab (3mg) + Idarubicin + Cytarabine
Phase I dose of Nivolumab 3 mg/kg by vein on Day 24 of a 28 day cycle. Phase I and Phase II dose of Idarubicin 12 mg/m2 by vein daily for 3 on Days 1 - 3 of a 28 day cycle. Phase I and Phase II dose of Cytarabine (Ara-C) 1.5 g/m2 by vein daily on Days 1 - 4 of a 28 day cycle. Phase I and Phase II dose of Solumedrol 50 mg or Dexamethasone 10 mg by vein daily for 3 - 4 days with Ara-C on Days 1 - 4 of a 28 day cycle. Phase II Starting Dose of Nivolumab: Maximum tolerated dose from Phase I. Nivolumab: Phase I Starting Dose of Nivolumab: 1 mg/kg by vein on Day 24 of a 28 day cycle.
2
Ph 2 - Nivolumab + Idarubicin + Cytarabine
Phase II dose of Nivolumab 3 mg/kg by vein on Day 24 of a 28 day cycle. Phase I and Phase II dose of Idarubicin 12 mg/m2 by vein daily for 3 on Days 1 - 3 of a 28 day cycle. Phase I and Phase II dose of Cytarabine (Ara-C) 1.5 g/m2 by vein daily on Days 1 - 4 of a 28 day cycle. Phase I and Phase II dose of Solumedrol 50 mg or Dexamethasone 10 mg by vein daily for 3 - 4 days with Ara-C on Days 1 - 4 of a 28 day cycle. Phase II Starting Dose of Nivolumab: Maximum tolerated dose from Phase I. Nivolumab: Phase I Starting Dose of Nivolumab: 1 mg/kg by vein on Day 24 of a 28 day cycle. Phase II Starting Dose of Nivolumab: Maximum tolerated dose from Phase I. Idarubicin: Phase I and Phase II dose of Idarubicin 12 mg/m2 by vein daily for 3 on Days 1 - 3 of a 28 day cycle. Cytarabine: Phase I and Phase II dose of Cytarabine (Ara-C) 1.5 g/m2 by vein daily on Days 1 - 4 of a 28 day cycle. Solu-medrol: Phase I and Phase II dose of Solu-medrol 50 mg by vein daily for 3 - 4 days with Ara-C on Days 1 - 4 of a 28 day cycle. Dexamethasone: Phase I and Phase II dose of Dexamethasone 10 mg by vein daily for 3 - 4 days with Ara-C on Days 1 - 4 of a 28 day cycle.
39
Total44

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicPh 1 - Nivolumab (3mg) + Idarubicin + CytarabinePh 2 - Nivolumab + Idarubicin + CytarabineTotalPh 1 - Nivolumab (1mg) + Idarubicin + Cytarabine
Age, Categorical
<=18 years
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Age, Categorical
>=65 years
0 Participants1 Participants1 Participants0 Participants
Age, Categorical
Between 18 and 65 years
2 Participants38 Participants43 Participants3 Participants
Age, Continuous63 years54 years54 years51 years
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
0 Participants3 Participants4 Participants1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
0 Participants1 Participants1 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants2 Participants2 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
2 Participants33 Participants37 Participants2 Participants
Region of Enrollment
United States
2 participants39 participants44 participants3 participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
1 Participants24 Participants27 Participants2 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
1 Participants15 Participants17 Participants1 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
EG002
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
0 / 30 / 24 / 39
other
Total, other adverse events
3 / 32 / 232 / 39
serious
Total, serious adverse events
1 / 30 / 232 / 39

Outcome results

Primary

Maximum Tolerated Dose (MTD) of Nivolumab

MTD is highest dose level in which \<2 patients of 6 develop first cycle dose-limiting toxicity (DLT).

Time frame: 28 days

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Ph 1 - Nivolumab (1mg) + Idarubicin + CytarabineMaximum Tolerated Dose (MTD) of NivolumabNA mg/kg
Ph 1 - Nivolumab (3mg) + Idarubicin + CytarabineMaximum Tolerated Dose (MTD) of Nivolumab3 mg/kg
Secondary

Event-Free Survival (EFS)

EFS defined as time from the treatment start till treatment failure, relapse, or death whichever comes first. Event Free Survival will be presented by median EFS, which is the time point at which the cumulative survival drops below 50%. If there is no median survival (not reached), it means the cumulative survival was more than 50%.

Time frame: 56 days

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
Ph 1 - Nivolumab (1mg) + Idarubicin + CytarabineEvent-Free Survival (EFS)NA Months
Secondary

Overall Survival

Overall survival was defined as the time from the start of treatment to death or date of last follow-up.

Time frame: Up to 2 years and 10 Months

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
Ph 1 - Nivolumab (1mg) + Idarubicin + CytarabineOverall Survival18.54 Months
Secondary

Relapse Free Survival

Relapse-free survival was defined as the time from treatment response to date of relapse or death, whichever occurred first.

Time frame: Up to 2 years and10 Months

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
Ph 1 - Nivolumab (1mg) + Idarubicin + CytarabineRelapse Free Survival18.54 Months

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 2, 2026