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Gemcitabine, Bendamustine, and Nivolumab in Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma

A Phase I/II Study of Gemcitabine, Bendamustine, and Nivolumab in Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 1Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03739619
Enrollment
3
Registered
2018-11-14
Start date
2018-11-26
Completion date
2025-04-30
Last updated
2025-08-06

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

Conditions

Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma, Hodgkin Lymphoma, Recurrent Hodgkin Lymphoma, Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma

Brief summary

This phase I/II trial studies the side effects and best dose of gemcitabine, bendamustine, and nivolumab when given together and to see how well they work in treating patients with classic Hodgkin lymphoma that has come back or does not respond to treatment. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as gemcitabine and bendamustine, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as nivolumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Giving gemcitabine, bendamustine, and nivolumab may work better in treating patients with classic Hodgkin lymphoma.

Detailed description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To evaluate the toxicity and determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of combined gemcitabine, bendamustine, and nivolumab in patients with relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma. II. To determine the efficacy of bendamustine, gemcitabine, and nivolumab in patients with relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To evaluate the duration of response, progression-free survival, and overall survival for patients with relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma who receive gemcitabine, bendamustine, and nivolumab, including those who receive nivolumab maintenance. OUTLINE: This is a phase I, dose-escalation study followed by a phase II study. Patients receive gemcitabine intravenously (IV) over 30 minutes on day 1, bendamustine IV over 30 minutes on days 1 and 2, and nivolumab over 60 minutes IV on day 1. Treatment repeats every 21 days for up to 6 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients may then receive nivolumab IV over 60 minutes on day 1. Treatment with single agent nivolumab repeats every 28 days for up to 26 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up every 3 months for 2 years.

Interventions

DRUGBendamustine

Given IV

DRUGGemcitabine

Given IV

BIOLOGICALNivolumab

Given IV

Sponsors

Bristol-Myers Squibb
CollaboratorINDUSTRY
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
CollaboratorNIH
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
CollaboratorNIH
Emory University
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

* Histologically documented classical Hodgkin lymphoma that is recurrent or refractory after standard chemotherapy. Core biopsies are acceptable if they contain adequate tissue for primary diagnosis and immunophenotyping. Bone marrow biopsies as the sole means of diagnosis are not acceptable. At least one biopsy-proven relapse is required for enrollment, but patients who have multiply relapsed disease do not require repeat biopsy if not clinically indicated * Prior treatment: patients must have relapsed or progressed after at least one prior therapy * Patients with relapsed or refractory disease following autologous stem cell transplantation are permitted. Due to the risk of treatment-refractory graft versus host disease (GVHD), patients who have previously completed an allogeneic transplant are excluded. * Patients may have received gemcitabine, bendamustine, or nivolumab in the past but may not have discontinued therapy due to toxicity felt to be related to that specific drug * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-2 * Measurable disease must be present either on physical examination or imaging studies. Non-measurable disease alone is not acceptable * Measurable disease * Lesions that can be accurately measured in at least two dimensions as ≥ 1.0 x 1.0 cm by computerized tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET)/CT (positron emission tomography/CT), or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). * If identified by PET/CT, there must be at least one lesion that demonstrates abnormal fludeoxyglucose (FDG) avidity, consistent with active disease. Ultrasound or physical examination alone may not be utilized to confirm measurable disease * Non-measurable disease * All other lesions, including small lesions (less than 1.0 x 1.0 cm) and truly non-measurable lesions * Lesions that are considered non-measurable include the following: * Bone lesions (lesions if present should be noted) * Ascites * Pleural/pericardial effusion * Lymphangitis cutis/pulmonis * Bone marrow (involvement by Hodgkin lymphoma should be noted) * Non-pregnant and non-nursing. Women and men of reproductive potential should agree to use an effective means of birth control * Patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are eligible. Patients with HIV infection must meet the following: no evidence of co-infection with hepatitis B or C; cluster of differentiation 4+ (CD4+) count ≥ 400/mm; no evidence of resistant strains of HIV; on anti-HIV therapy with an HIV viral load \< 50 copies HIV ribonucleic acid (RNA)/mL. Patients with HIV must have ongoing follow-up with an infectious disease specialist and must have been evaluated within 90 days of cycle 1 day 1 * Patients with a history of hepatitis C are eligible as long as the hepatitis C has been treated and cleared and they have no evidence of hepatic dysfunction related to hepatitis C. Patients must have been seen by a hepatologist within 6 months of cycle 1 day 1 * Patients who test positive for hepatitis B core antibody may enroll on the study as long as they test negative for both hepatitis B surface antigen and hepatitis B deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and if they have no evidence of hepatic dysfunction that is felt to be related to hepatitis B * Patients must have adequate pulmonary function, defined as the following: * No history of drug-related, radiation-induced, or autoimmune pneumonitis requiring hospital admission * Baseline pulse oximetry reading of ≥ 92% on room air * Patients with a history of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) must have no oxygen requirement, must have not had a hospital admission for COPD/asthma exacerbation within the past 2 years, and must not have received systemic steroids (≥ 10 mg prednisone for more than 7 days) for asthma/COPD within the past 2 years * Patients with hypothyroidism or type 1 diabetes mellitus that are on chronic hormonal therapy and which are well-controlled are eligible * Granulocytes ≥ 1000/µl * Platelet count ≥ 75,000/µl * Creatinine clearance ≥ 50 mL/min * Bilirubin ≤ 2.0 mg/dL * Aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤ 2.0 x upper limits of normal

Exclusion criteria

* Due to the teratogenic potential of these agents, pregnant or nursing patients may not be enrolled * Patients may not have an auto-immune disease requiring systemic immunosuppression, biologic therapy, and/or steroid use (≥ 10 mg daily of prednisone or equivalent) * Patients with current or prior central nervous system (CNS) involvement with lymphoma are not eligible

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Maximum Tolerable Dose (Phase I)Up to completion of course 2 at 42 days after study startMaximum tolerable dose will be defined as the highest dose level where at most 1 of 6 patients experience dose limiting toxicity (DLT).
Complete Response (CR) Rate (Phase II)Up to 2 years from discontinuation of study therapyComplete response rate will be determined by dividing the number of CRs (per Lugano criteria) by the total number of evaluable patients.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Overall Response Rate (Phase II)Up to 2 years from discontinuation of study therapyOverall response rate will be evaluated using Lugano criteria of response. Overall response rate will be defined as the total number of patients achieving a partial response or CR as best response through cycle 6 divided by total number of patients treated.
Duration of Response (Phase II)Up to 2 years from discontinuation of study therapyDuration of response will be evaluated using Lugano criteria of response and will be determined from date of best response to progression or death.
Progression Free Survival (PFS) (Phase II)Up to 2 years from discontinuation of study therapyProgression free survival will be evaluated using Lugano criteria and will be determined from date of first dose of study drug to progression or death.
Overall Survival (OS) (Phase II)Up to 2 years from discontinuation of study therapyOverall survival will be evaluated using Lugano criteria and will be determined from date of first dose of study drug to death from any cause.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Gemcitabine, Bendamustine, Nivolumab
Patients receive gemcitabine IV over 30 minutes on day 1, bendamustine IV over 30 minutes on days 1 and 2, and nivolumab over 60 minutes IV on day 1. Treatment repeats every 21 days for up to 6 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients may then receive nivolumab IV over 60 minutes on day 1. Treatment with single agent nivolumab repeats every 28 days for up to 26 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Bendamustine: Given IV Gemcitabine: Given IV Nivolumab: Given IV
3
Total3

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicGemcitabine, Bendamustine, Nivolumab
Age, Categorical
<=18 years
0 Participants
Age, Categorical
>=65 years
1 Participants
Age, Categorical
Between 18 and 65 years
2 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Hispanic or Latino
0 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Not Hispanic or Latino
3 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
2 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
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
1 Participants
Region of Enrollment
United States
3 participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
3 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
0 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
0 / 3
other
Total, other adverse events
2 / 3
serious
Total, serious adverse events
2 / 3

Outcome results

Primary

Complete Response (CR) Rate (Phase II)

Complete response rate will be determined by dividing the number of CRs (per Lugano criteria) by the total number of evaluable patients.

Time frame: Up to 2 years from discontinuation of study therapy

ArmMeasureValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
Gemcitabine, Bendamustine, NivolumabComplete Response (CR) Rate (Phase II)1 Participants
Primary

Maximum Tolerable Dose (Phase I)

Maximum tolerable dose will be defined as the highest dose level where at most 1 of 6 patients experience dose limiting toxicity (DLT).

Time frame: Up to completion of course 2 at 42 days after study start

Population: The median values were not reached. No MTD events were observed within the trial time frame; thus, median MTD were not reached.

ArmMeasureValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
Gemcitabine, Bendamustine, NivolumabMaximum Tolerable Dose (Phase I)NA Participants
Secondary

Duration of Response (Phase II)

Duration of response will be evaluated using Lugano criteria of response and will be determined from date of best response to progression or death.

Time frame: Up to 2 years from discontinuation of study therapy

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)
Gemcitabine, Bendamustine, NivolumabDuration of Response (Phase II)892 Days
Secondary

Overall Response Rate (Phase II)

Overall response rate will be evaluated using Lugano criteria of response. Overall response rate will be defined as the total number of patients achieving a partial response or CR as best response through cycle 6 divided by total number of patients treated.

Time frame: Up to 2 years from discontinuation of study therapy

ArmMeasureValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
Gemcitabine, Bendamustine, NivolumabOverall Response Rate (Phase II)1 Participants
Secondary

Overall Survival (OS) (Phase II)

Overall survival will be evaluated using Lugano criteria and will be determined from date of first dose of study drug to death from any cause.

Time frame: Up to 2 years from discontinuation of study therapy

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
Gemcitabine, Bendamustine, NivolumabOverall Survival (OS) (Phase II)NA months
Secondary

Progression Free Survival (PFS) (Phase II)

Progression free survival will be evaluated using Lugano criteria and will be determined from date of first dose of study drug to progression or death.

Time frame: Up to 2 years from discontinuation of study therapy

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
Gemcitabine, Bendamustine, NivolumabProgression Free Survival (PFS) (Phase II)NA months

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026