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CompletedNCT01983748Updated Jan 28, 2026

Dendritic Cells Plus Autologous Tumor RNA in Uveal Melanoma

A Phase 3 interventional study of Autologous Dendritic Cells loaded with autologous Tumor RNA in Uveal Melanoma, sponsored by University Hospital Erlangen. Completed at 8 sites in Germany. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 75 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-01-28.

Sponsored by University Hospital Erlangen · Phase 3, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
200
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 75 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Patients suffering from uveal melanoma (typed positive for monosomy 3 and without evidence for metastases) will be vaccinated over a period of 2 years with Dendritic Cell loaded with autologous Tumor RNA.

200 patients will be included. The Trial is an open multicenter Phase III Trial.

Read the detailed description

Trial arm A (DCaT-RNA) = Experimental intervention: Patients in arm A receive 8 vaccinations over a period of 2 years consisting of autologous, mature, monocyte-derived Dendritic Cells loaded with autologous tumor RNA (20 mio DC per vaccination); cells are given via intravenous infusions; vaccinations are followed by a 1 year observation (staging every 3 months)

Trial arm B (Observation) = Control: Patients in arm B receive standard care (observation only with staging every 3 months)

02

Conditions studied

  • Uveal Melanoma

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Keywords

  • Uveal Melanoma, Monosomy 3
03

In context

Uveal Melanoma

281 studies on the registry are indexed under Uveal Melanoma; 50 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 200 is above the median of 37 across 222 interventional studies indexed under Uveal Melanoma.

Browse Uveal Melanoma studies →

Lead sponsor

University Hospital Erlangen is the lead sponsor of 28 studies on the registry; 3 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 75 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Patients must suffer from melanoma of the uvea (stage T2, T3 and T4 [AJCC TNM grading 2009]).
  • Uveal melanoma must be resected and display a monosomy for chromosome 3 (will be determined by a validated qualitative analysis of loss of heterozygosity). Tumor material has to be stored appropriately in RNAlater solution for RNA preparation.
  • The patient has to be free of detectable tumor at the time point of study enrollment ( setting), as assessed by clinical inspection, abdominal sonography, chest X-ray and evaluation of the tumor-marker S-100..
  • Patients must have a of 0, 1 or 2 and must be in stable medical condition.
  • Patients must be between 18 and 75 years old and must be able and willing to give .
  • Women of child-bearing age must have a negative pregnancy test, and must oblige to use effective until at least 4 weeks after the last vaccination.
  • Patients must be willing to get hospitalized for at least 4 hours following vaccination(s), and to cooperate for the whole period of the trial.
  • Patients must have fully recovered from surgery.
  • Signed informed consent

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Any other major serious illness [e.g. active systemic infections, immunodeficiency disease, heart disease, respiratory disease, bleeding disorders, cancer etc.] or a to leukapheresis.
  • Evidence for -1, HIV -2, HTLV-1, , or infection.
  • Active disease (such as but not limited to Lupus erythematosus, autoimmune thyroiditis or uveitis, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease). Vitiligo and pathological laboratory results (autoantibodies) without clinical symptoms are, however, not an exclusion criterion.
  • Previous splenectomy or radiation therapy to the spleen.
  • Patients with organ allografts.
  • Concomitant treatment with chemotherapy, immunotherapy, any drug and paramedical substances. Patients may receive concomitant medications to control symptoms such as analgetics, antihypertensive medication, etc.
  • History of other active malignant neoplasm within the preceding 5 years (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix).
  • Organic brain syndrome or significant psychiatric abnormality which would impede and / or AND preclude participation in the full protocol and follow up.
  • Positive pregnancy test / Pregnancy or lactation. If pregnancy occurs during the course of the trial to female patients in arm A or B, the patient has to be excluded.
  • Detection of . If uveal melanoma metastases appear during the course of the trial, the patient has to be excluded.
  • Lack of compliance of the patient.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(12)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Adjuvant and neoadjuvant

Neoadjuvant treatment is given before the main treatment (usually surgery), often to shrink a tumour. Adjuvant treatment is given after it, to lower the chance of the cancer coming back.

ECOG performance status

A scale of how much an illness limits everyday activity. For people being assessed to join a study, scores run from 0 (fully active) to 4; lower is more active.

0
Fully active, no restrictions.
1
Limited in strenuous activity, but walking and able to do light work, such as housework or office work.
2
Walking and able to look after yourself, but unable to work; up and about more than half of waking hours.
3
Able to look after yourself only in part; in bed or a chair more than half of waking hours.
4
Unable to look after yourself at all; in bed or a chair all day.

Studies most often ask for 0–1 or 0–2. Your doctor gives the score; the WHO scale uses the same steps. The full scale also has 5, which records death.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Contraception

Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.

Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.

Clinically significant

Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

HIV

The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.

Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.

Hepatitis B tests

Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. These are separate tests: HBsAg positive usually means a current infection (a recent vaccination can briefly cause it too); total anti-HBc (HBcAb) positive means an infection now or in the past; HBV DNA measures how much virus is in the blood.

Some studies accept a past infection if HBV DNA is undetectable, sometimes with antiviral medicine during the study. Check what this study allows.

Hepatitis C tests

Hepatitis C is a virus that infects the liver. An HCV antibody test can stay positive after an infection has cleared (and is occasionally positive without one); an HCV RNA test shows whether the virus is there now.

After treatment, hepatitis C counts as cured when HCV RNA is still undetectable 12 weeks or more after the treatment ended. Studies often accept people cured this way.

Autoimmune disease

A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.

Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.

Investigational drug or device

A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.

It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.

Metastases

Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
200 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    A

    Biological/Vaccine; Autologous Dendritic Cells loaded with autologous Tumor RNA

    Biological: Autologous Dendritic Cells loaded with autologous Tumor RNA

  • No intervention
    B

    Control, Standard of care, which is clinical control every 3 months

Interventions

  • BiologicalAutologous Dendritic Cells loaded with autologous Tumor RNA
06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Prolongation of Overall survival

    Clinical staging every 3 months from date of randomization until the date of first documented progression or date of death from any cause, whichever came first, assessed up to 36 months, followed by telephone interviews.

    Time frame: Assessment every 3 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Prolongation of disease free survival

    Skin, lymph node and ophtalmological inspection , medical history, laboratory, and abdominal sonography will be performed every 3 months, chest x ray will be performed every 6 months

    Time frame: Assessment every 3 months

Other outcomes

  1. Assessment for induction of immune responses

    Time frame: The induction of immune responses will be researched in selected patients (in a minimum of 15 survivors per trial arm) 2 years after randomization.

07

Study locations

8 sites
  • Dept. of Dermatology, University Hospital
    Erlangen, Bavaria 90154, Germany
  • University Hospital Department of Ophtalmology
    Erlangen, Bavaria 91054, Germany
  • University Hospital Department of Ophtalmology
    Würzburg, Bavaria 97080, Germany
  • Städtisches Klinikum
    Dessau, 06847, Germany
  • University Hospital Department of Ophtalmology
    Essen, 45122, Germany
  • University Hospital Department of Ophtalmology
    Homburg/Saar, 66421, Germany
  • University Hospital Department of Ophtalmology
    Lübeck, 23538, Germany
  • University Hospital Department of Ophtalmology
    Tübingen, 72076, Germany
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Schuler-Thurner B, Bartz-Schmidt KU, Bornfeld N, Cursiefen C, Fuisting B, Grisanti S, Heindl LM, Holbach L, Keseru M, Knorr H, Koch K, Kruse F, Meiller R, Metz C, Meyer-ter-Vehn T, Much M, Reinsberg M, Schliep S, Seitz B, Schuler G, Susskind D, Viestenz A, Wagenfeld L, Zeschnigk M. [Immunotherapy of uveal melanoma: vaccination against cancer. Multicenter adjuvant phase 3 vaccination study using dendritic cells laden with tumor RNA for large newly diagnosed uveal melanoma]. Ophthalmologe. 2015 Dec;112(12):1017-21. doi: 10.1007/s00347-015-0162-z. German. PubMed 26602097 ↗
09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Ran from Aug 2014 to primary completion in Aug 2024, 120 months.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Sep 17, 2013
First posted
Nov 14, 2013
StartActual
Aug 5, 2014
Primary completionActual
Aug 31, 2024
CompletionActual
Dec 3, 2024
Last update
Jan 28, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jan 28, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01983748
Lead sponsor
University Hospital Erlangen
Collaborators
University Hospital Lübeck, University Hospital Munich, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, University Hospital Homburg/Saar, Universitätsklinikum Köln, University Hospital Tuebingen, University Hospital, Essen, Wuerzburg University Hospital
Responsible party
PD Dr. med. univ. Beatrice Schuler-Thurner (Coordinating Investigator, University Hospital Erlangen) — Principal investigator
First posted
Nov 14, 2013
Start date
Aug 5, 2014
Primary completion
Aug 31, 2024
Completion
Dec 3, 2024
Last update
Jan 28, 2026

Study contacts

Beatrice Schuler-Thurner, MD
principal investigator · University Hospital Erlangen

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Mar 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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