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Ipilimumab and Nivolumab in Leptomeningeal Metastases

Phase II Trial of Ipilimumab and Nivolumab in Leptomeningeal Metastases

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT02939300
Enrollment
18
Registered
2016-10-20
Start date
2018-02-15
Completion date
2021-07-22
Last updated
2025-11-14

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

Conditions

Leptomeningeal Carcinomatosis

Keywords

Leptomeningeal Metastases

Brief summary

This research study is studying a combination of two drugs as a possible treatment for Leptomeningeal Metastases. The names of the study interventions involved in this study are: * Ipilimumab * Nivolumab

Detailed description

This research study is a Phase II clinical trial. Researchers hope to study the effects of the combination of Nivolumab and Ipilimumab. Many cancers use specific pathways, such as programmed death-1 (PD-1), programmed death-ligand-1 (PD-L1), and cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4), to evade the body's immune system. Nivolumab and ipilimumab work by blocking the PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4 pathways and thus releasing the brakes on the immune system so it can stop or slow cancer. The FDA (the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) has approved Nivolumab and Ipilimumab as a treatment option for melanoma, but has not approved them for use when cancer cells spread to the cerebrospinal fluid

Interventions

DRUGNivolumab

* Melanoma: \- Combination therapy with Nivolumab 1 mg/kg for 4 doses followed by monotherapy Nivolumab 480 mg per cycle. * Non-small Cell Lung Cancer / Head and Neck Cancer: \- Combination therapy with Nivolumab 3 mg/kg * Small Cell Lung Cancer / Breast Cancer / Bladder Cancer: \- Combination therapy with Nivolumab 1 mg/kg for 4 doses followed by monotherapy Nivolumab 240 mg per cycle. * Renal Cell Carcinoma / Other Solid Tumors (not listed above): * Combination therapy with Nivolumab 3 mg/kg for 4 doses followed by monotherapy Nivolumab 480 mg per cycle.

DRUGIpilimumab

* Non-small Cell Lung Cancer / Head and Neck Cancer: \- Combination therapy with Ipilimumab 1 mg/kg * Small Cell Lung Cancer / Breast Cancer / Bladder Cancer: \- Combination therapy with Ipilimumab 3 mg/kg for 4 doses * Renal Cell Carcinoma / Other Solid Tumors (not listed above): * Combination therapy with Ipilimumab 3 mg/kg for 4 doses

Sponsors

Bristol-Myers Squibb
CollaboratorINDUSTRY
Massachusetts General Hospital
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

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

Inclusion criteria

* Participants must have histologically or cytologically confirmed disease from any solid tumor * Age ≥18 years. * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status ≤2 (Karnofsky ≥60%) * Life expectancy of greater than 3 weeks * Participants must have normal organ and marrow function as defined below, all screening labs should be performed within 10 days of treatment initiation. Adequate Organ Function Laboratory Values: Unit key: mcL = microliter, ULN = upper limit normal * Hematological * Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥1500 /mcL * Platelets ≥100,000 / mcL * Hemoglobin ≥9 g/dL or ≥5.6 mmol/L without transfusion or Erythropoietin (EPO) dependency (within 7 days of assessment) * Renal * Serum creatinine OR Measured or calculated creatinine clearance (GFR can also be used in place of creatinine or CrCl) ≤ Serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 x ULN or creatinine clearance (CrCl) ≥ 40 mL/min (if using the Cockcroft-Gault formula below): * Female CrCl = (140 - age in years) x weight in kg x 0.85 72 x serum creatinine in mg/dL * Male CrCl = (140 - age in years) x weight in kg x 1.00 72 x serum creatinine in mg/dL * Hepatic * Serum total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 X ULN OR Direct bilirubin ≤ ULN for subjects with total bilirubin levels \> 1.5 ULN * Aspartate transaminase (AST) and Alanine transaminase (ALT) ≤ 3 ULN OR ≤ 5 X ULN for subjects with liver metastases * Albumin ≥ 2.5 mg/dL * Coagulation * International Normalized Ratio (INR) or Prothrombin Time (PT) ≤1.5 X ULN unless subject is receiving anticoagulant therapy as long as PT or PTT is within therapeutic range of intended use of anticoagulants * Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (aPTT) ≤1.5 X ULN unless subject is receiving anticoagulant therapy as long as PT or PTT is within therapeutic range of intended use of anticoagulants * Creatinine clearance should be calculated per institutional standard. * 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 * Men who are sexually active with WOCBP must use any contraceptive method with a failure rate of less than 1% per year. 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 * Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document. * Stable dose of dexamethasone 2 mg or less for 7 days prior to initiation of treatment * Carcinomatous meningitis, as defined by positive cytology

Exclusion criteria

* Participants who have had chemotherapy, targeted small molecule therapy or study therapy within 14 days of protocol treatment, or those who have not recovered (i.e., ≤ Grade 1 or at baseline) from adverse events due to agents administered more than 2 weeks earlier. Subjects with ≤ Grade 2 neuropathy are an exception to this criterion and may qualify for the study. If subject received major surgery, they must have recovered adequately from the toxicity and/or complications from the intervention prior to starting therapy. * Participants who are receiving any other investigational agents. * 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 * Patients should be excluded if they have a condition requiring systemic treatment with either corticosteroids (\> 10 mg daily prednisone equivalents) or other immunosuppressive medications within 14 days of study drug administration. Inhaled or topical steroids and adrenal replacement doses \> 10 mg daily prednisone equivalents are permitted in the absence of active autoimmune disease. Subjects are permitted to use topical, ocular, intra-articular, intranasal, and inhalational corticosteroids (with minimal systemic absorption). Physiologic replacement doses of systemic corticosteroids are permitted, even if \> 10 mg/day prednisone equivalents. A brief course of corticosteroids for prophylaxis (eg, contrast dye allergy) or for treatment of non-autoimmune conditions (eg, delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction caused by contact allergen) is permitted. * As there is potential for hepatic toxicity with nivolumab or nivolumab/ipilimumab combinations, drugs with a predisposition to hepatoxicity should be used with caution in patients treated with nivolumab-containing regimen. * Patients should be excluded if they have had prior systemic treatment with an anti-CTLA4 antibody * Has a known history of active TB (Bacillus Tuberculosis) * Patients should be excluded if they are positive test for hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBV sAg) or hepatitis C virus ribonucleic acid (HCV antibody) indicating acute or chronic infection * Patients should be excluded if they have known history of testing positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or known acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). These participants are at increased risk of lethal infections when treated with marrow-suppressive therapy. Appropriate studies will be undertaken in participants receiving combination antiretroviral therapy when indicated. * Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements. * Has known psychiatric or substance abuse disorders that would interfere with cooperation with the requirements of the trial. * Is pregnant or breastfeeding, or expecting to conceive or father children within the projected duration of the trial, starting with the pre-screening or screening visit through 120 days after the last dose of trial treatment. * Has a known additional malignancy that is progressing or requires active treatment. Exceptions include basal cell carcinoma of the skin or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin that has undergone potentially curative therapy or in situ cervical cancer. * Has known history of, or any evidence of active, non-infectious pneumonitis. * Has an active infection requiring systemic therapy. * Has received a live vaccine within 30 days of planned start of study therapy. Note: Seasonal influenza vaccines for injection are generally inactivated flu vaccines and are allowed; however intranasal influenza vaccines (e.g., Flu-Mist®) are live attenuated vaccines, and are not allowed. * History of allergy to study drug components * History of severe hypersensitivity reaction to any monoclonal antibody

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Percentage of Participants With Overall Survival3 monthsOverall Survival (OS) is defined as the time from registration to death due to any cause, or censored at date last known alive.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Cumulative Incidence of Progressive Disease at 3 Months for Intracranial Sites3 months post-treatmentCumulative incidence describes the average probability of developing progressive disease (PD) by immunotherapy response assessment for neuro-oncology (iRANO) criteria. PD is defined as any of the following: (1) \>/= 25% increase in 2-dimensional contrast lesions; (2) significant worsened changes on T2-weighted MRI scans; (3) new lesion; or (4) significant clinical decline. Confirmation of progressive disease is based on follow-up imaging for participants without significant clinical decline.
Cumulative Incidence of Progressive Disease at 3 Months for Extracranial Sites3 months post-treatmentCumulative incidence describes the average probability of developing progressive disease (PD) by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) version 1.1 criteria. PD is defined as any of the following: (1) \>/= 25% increase in 2-dimensional contrast lesions; (2) significant worsened changes on T2-weighted MRI scans; (3) new lesion; or (4) significant clinical decline. Confirmation of progressive disease is based on follow-up imaging for participants without significant clinical decline.
Percentage of Participants With Treatment-related Adverse Events2 yearsGrade 3 or 4 treatment-related adverse events occurring in at least 15% of participants, based on CTCAE v4.0 criteria.
Extracranial Progression-Free Survival2 yearsExtracranial Progression-Free Survival (EPFS) is defined as the time from first dose of study drug to documented extracranial disease progression or death, whichever occurs first. Extracranial disease progression is assessed with CT scans of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis, by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) v1.1 criteria and immune-related response criteria (irRC) criteria. Progression is defined using RECIST v1.0 as a 20% increase in the sum of the longest diameter of target lesions, or a measurable increase in a non-target lesion, or the appearance of new lesions. The follow-up of participants who have neither died nor progressed at the time of analysis will be censored at the date of last adequate disease assessment.
Intracranial Progression-Free Survival2 yearsIntracranial Progression-Free Survival (IPFS) is defined as the time from first dose of study drug to documented intracranial disease progression or death, whichever occurs first. Intracranial disease progression is assessed with CT or MRI scans of the brain, using the Response assessment in neuro-oncology (RANO) criteria, which defines progression as: * ≥ 25% increase in in the sum of products of all measurable lesions over smallest sum observed (over baseline if no decrease) using the same techniques as baseline; or * Presence of new lesions; or * Worsening of clinical/neurologic status (unless clearly unrelated to the cancer); or * Worsening of non-measurable disease. The follow-up of participants who have neither died nor progressed at the time of analysis will be censored at the date of last adequate disease assessment.
Number of Participants With Leptomeningeal Disease (LMD) Response Post-Treatment6-9 weeks after treatment initiationCerebrospinal fluid (CSF) collection and cytology is done 6-9 weeks after treatment initiation to assess for LMD response, especially complete response or partial response. Complete Response is defined as: * Reversion to negative CSF cytology (or NA) * Disappearance of all disease related symptoms present prior to therapy (or NA) * Complete disappearance of all detectable radiographic evidence of disease (or NA). Partial Response is defined as: * \> 50% decrease in malignant CSF cytology * Improvement in neurologic symptoms or no worsening of symptoms * Improvement in radiographic evidence of disease. No new sites of measurable or assessable central nervous system (CNS) disease.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Combination Of Nivolumab With Ipilimumab
All patients will be treated with the combination regimen of Nivolumab at pre-determine dose with Ipilimumab at a pre-determine dose.This will be followed by Nivolumab Monotherapy. Each treatment Cycle will last 6 weeks Nivolumab Ipilimumab
18
Total18

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicCombination Of Nivolumab With Ipilimumab
Age, Continuous54 years
Brain metastases at the time of leptomeningeal disease (LMD) diagnosis
No
5 Participants
Brain metastases at the time of leptomeningeal disease (LMD) diagnosis
Yes
13 Participants
Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status
0 = Fully active; no performance restrictions
4 Participants
Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status
1 = Strenuous physical activity restricted; fully ambulatory and able to carry out light work
10 Participants
Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status
2 = Capable of all self-care but unable to carry out work activities.Up and about >50% of waking hrs
4 Participants
Extracranial disease at the time of leptomeningeal disease (LMD) diagnosis
No
5 Participants
Extracranial disease at the time of leptomeningeal disease (LMD) diagnosis
Unknown
2 Participants
Extracranial disease at the time of leptomeningeal disease (LMD) diagnosis
Yes
11 Participants
Primary tumor diagnosis
Anaplastic astrocytoma
1 Participants
Primary tumor diagnosis
Breast Cancer
8 Participants
Primary tumor diagnosis
Ependymoma
1 Participants
Primary tumor diagnosis
Esophageal adenocarcinoma
1 Participants
Primary tumor diagnosis
Gastroesophageal (GE) junction adenocarcinoma
1 Participants
Primary tumor diagnosis
Glioblastoma
1 Participants
Primary tumor diagnosis
Lung adenocarcinoma
1 Participants
Primary tumor diagnosis
Melanoma
2 Participants
Primary tumor diagnosis
Ovarian
1 Participants
Primary tumor diagnosis
Small cell lung carcinoma
1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
2 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
2 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
14 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
11 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
7 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
13 / 18
other
Total, other adverse events
17 / 18
serious
Total, serious adverse events
10 / 18

Outcome results

Primary

Percentage of Participants With Overall Survival

Overall Survival (OS) is defined as the time from registration to death due to any cause, or censored at date last known alive.

Time frame: 3 months

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Combination Of Nivolumab with IpilimumabPercentage of Participants With Overall Survival44 percentage of participants
Secondary

Cumulative Incidence of Progressive Disease at 3 Months for Extracranial Sites

Cumulative incidence describes the average probability of developing progressive disease (PD) by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) version 1.1 criteria. PD is defined as any of the following: (1) \>/= 25% increase in 2-dimensional contrast lesions; (2) significant worsened changes on T2-weighted MRI scans; (3) new lesion; or (4) significant clinical decline. Confirmation of progressive disease is based on follow-up imaging for participants without significant clinical decline.

Time frame: 3 months post-treatment

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Combination Of Nivolumab with IpilimumabCumulative Incidence of Progressive Disease at 3 Months for Extracranial Sites33 percentage of participants
Secondary

Cumulative Incidence of Progressive Disease at 3 Months for Intracranial Sites

Cumulative incidence describes the average probability of developing progressive disease (PD) by immunotherapy response assessment for neuro-oncology (iRANO) criteria. PD is defined as any of the following: (1) \>/= 25% increase in 2-dimensional contrast lesions; (2) significant worsened changes on T2-weighted MRI scans; (3) new lesion; or (4) significant clinical decline. Confirmation of progressive disease is based on follow-up imaging for participants without significant clinical decline.

Time frame: 3 months post-treatment

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Combination Of Nivolumab with IpilimumabCumulative Incidence of Progressive Disease at 3 Months for Intracranial Sites45 percentage of participants
Secondary

Extracranial Progression-Free Survival

Extracranial Progression-Free Survival (EPFS) is defined as the time from first dose of study drug to documented extracranial disease progression or death, whichever occurs first. Extracranial disease progression is assessed with CT scans of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis, by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) v1.1 criteria and immune-related response criteria (irRC) criteria. Progression is defined using RECIST v1.0 as a 20% increase in the sum of the longest diameter of target lesions, or a measurable increase in a non-target lesion, or the appearance of new lesions. The follow-up of participants who have neither died nor progressed at the time of analysis will be censored at the date of last adequate disease assessment.

Time frame: 2 years

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
Combination Of Nivolumab with IpilimumabExtracranial Progression-Free Survival1.94 months
Secondary

Intracranial Progression-Free Survival

Intracranial Progression-Free Survival (IPFS) is defined as the time from first dose of study drug to documented intracranial disease progression or death, whichever occurs first. Intracranial disease progression is assessed with CT or MRI scans of the brain, using the Response assessment in neuro-oncology (RANO) criteria, which defines progression as: * ≥ 25% increase in in the sum of products of all measurable lesions over smallest sum observed (over baseline if no decrease) using the same techniques as baseline; or * Presence of new lesions; or * Worsening of clinical/neurologic status (unless clearly unrelated to the cancer); or * Worsening of non-measurable disease. The follow-up of participants who have neither died nor progressed at the time of analysis will be censored at the date of last adequate disease assessment.

Time frame: 2 years

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
Combination Of Nivolumab with IpilimumabIntracranial Progression-Free Survival1.93 months
Secondary

Number of Participants With Leptomeningeal Disease (LMD) Response Post-Treatment

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) collection and cytology is done 6-9 weeks after treatment initiation to assess for LMD response, especially complete response or partial response. Complete Response is defined as: * Reversion to negative CSF cytology (or NA) * Disappearance of all disease related symptoms present prior to therapy (or NA) * Complete disappearance of all detectable radiographic evidence of disease (or NA). Partial Response is defined as: * \> 50% decrease in malignant CSF cytology * Improvement in neurologic symptoms or no worsening of symptoms * Improvement in radiographic evidence of disease. No new sites of measurable or assessable central nervous system (CNS) disease.

Time frame: 6-9 weeks after treatment initiation

Population: Due to the clinical nature of LMD with rapidly progressive disease, the majority participants did not undergo post-treatment lumbar punctures before going off study or passing away. CSF cytology 6-9 weeks after treatment initiation was only obtained on 4 participants, which does not provide statistically meaningful interpretation of data. Individual results are reported below.

ArmMeasureGroupValue (NUMBER)
Combination Of Nivolumab with IpilimumabNumber of Participants With Leptomeningeal Disease (LMD) Response Post-TreatmentComplete Response0 participants
Combination Of Nivolumab with IpilimumabNumber of Participants With Leptomeningeal Disease (LMD) Response Post-TreatmentPartial Response1 participants
Secondary

Percentage of Participants With Treatment-related Adverse Events

Grade 3 or 4 treatment-related adverse events occurring in at least 15% of participants, based on CTCAE v4.0 criteria.

Time frame: 2 years

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Combination Of Nivolumab with IpilimumabPercentage of Participants With Treatment-related Adverse Events33 percentage of participants

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 14, 2026