CClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT03463408Updated Aug 17, 2026

Immunotherapy + Radiation in Resectable Soft Tissue Sarcoma

An Early Phase 1 interventional study of nivolumab and ipilimumab in Sarcoma, sponsored by University of Rochester. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-17.

Sponsored by University of Rochester · Early Phase 1, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Early Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
14
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Immunotherapy + Radiation in Resectable Soft Tissue Sarcoma

Read the detailed description

A single institution two cohort, open label, non-randomized study of neoadjuvant nivolumab and ipilimumab with concurrent radiation followed by surgical resection.

Cohort A will comprise adult soft tissue sarcoma patents who consent to and receive ipilimumab + nivolumab concurrently with standard of care radiation. Ipilimumab will be given at a dose of 1 mg/kg every 6 weeks (total two doses) and nivolumab given as a flat dose of 240 mg every 2 weeks (total four doses).

Cohort B will comprise patients eligible for the trial who do not wish to receive immunotherapy but consent to the same blood draws, surveys, and specimen analysis as Cohort A. Cohort B will serve as a non-randomized but pragmatic and clinically relevant control group.

Peripheral blood will be collected on day 1 pre-treatment, day 14, day 42, immediately prior to surgery, and at 3 month follow up. Peripheral blood will be sent for multidimensional flow analysis of changes in immune cell composition and markers of proliferation. Serum samples will be obtained before starting treatment and after surgery. Samples from select subjects whose resected tumors show significant response and whose tumors showed minimal response will be sent to Serametrix for serum profiling to detect antibody response to a panel of tumor-specific antigens.

Standard surgical resection will be done 2 to 4 weeks after completion of radiotherapy. Accrual is expected to occur over 2 years. Follow up data will be collected for up to 3 years post-treatment.

02

Conditions studied

  • Sarcoma

Browse trials for

Keywords

  • Sarcoma
03

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Diagnosed with biopsy-proven soft-tissue sarcoma with confirmatory pathology review at University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC)
  • 18 years or older.
  • Able to provide informed consent.
  • Resectable disease per surgical evaluation.
  • Neoadjuvant/preoperative radiotherapy has been recommended
  • Intermediate to high grade sarcoma on biopsy, tumor > 5 cm in size by imaging
  • Willing to have blood draws for flow cytometry and Serametrix analysis.
  • Willing to receive neoadjuvant radiation therapy and subsequent surgical resection.
  • Patients with known human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are eligible if the lymphocytes > 350 CD4+ cells and no detectable viral load.
  • Women of childbearing potential (defined as any woman, who 1) has not undergone tubal ligation, a hysterectomy or bilateral oophorectomy; or 2) has not been naturally postmenopausal for at least 24 consecutive months or has had menses at any time in the preceding 24 consecutive months):

    • Must not be pregnant or nursing
    • Must have a negative pregnancy test done within 7 days prior to registration as well as within 72 hrs. prior to receiving first dose of study medication
    • Women of childbearing potential must use at least two other accepted and highly-effective methods of contraception and/or agree to abstain from sexual intercourse for at least 5 months after the last dose of nivolumab and/or ipilimumab.
    • Should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while she is participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately.
  • Sexually active males must use at least two other accepted and highly-effective methods of contraception and/or agree to abstain from sexual intercourse for at least 7 months after the last dose of nivolumab and/or ipilimumab
  • Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0 - 2

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Gastrointestinal stromal tumor, dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, rhabdomyosarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, low-grade sarcomas, osteosarcoma subtypes
  • History of radiation to the affected area
  • Evidence of metastatic disease prior to treatment
  • Any history of prior therapy with ipilimumab or nivolumab, or any agent targeting PD-1, PD-L1 or CTLA-4.
  • History of any the following:

    • Active known or suspected autoimmune disease
    • Active autoimmune colitis
    • Autoimmune pan hypopituitarism
    • Autoimmune adrenal insufficiency
    • Known active hepatitis B or C
    • Known active pulmonary disease with hypoxia defined as:
  • Oxygen saturation \< 85% on room air or
  • Oxygen saturation \< 88% despite supplemental oxygen
  • No systemic treatment with either corticosteroids (> 10 mg daily prednisone equivalents) or other immunosuppressive medications within 14 days of registration.
  • Second active malignancy, not including localized basal cell skin cancer, squamous cell skin cancer, in situ cervical cancer, ductal or lobular carcinoma in situ of the breast; patients with a history of other malignancies are eligible if they have been continuously disease-free for > 3 years prior to the time of registration.
  • Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) \<= 1,500/mm\^3
  • Platelet count \<= 100,000/mm\^3
  • AST (Aspartate Aminotransferase) or ALT (Alanine Aminotransferase) => 2 x upper limit of normal (ULN)
  • Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) outside of normal limits; supplementation is acceptable to achieve a TSH within normal limits; in patients with abnormal TSH if free T4 is normal and patient is clinically euthyroid, patient is eligible.
  • Life expectancy under 5 years.
04

Study design

Phase
Early Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
14 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Immunotherapy arm

    Cohort A will comprise adult soft tissue sarcoma patents who consent to and receive ipilimumab + nivolumab concurrently with standard of care radiation. Ipilimumab will be given at a dose of 1 mg/kg every 6 weeks (total two doses) and nivolumab given as a flat dose of 240 mg every 2 weeks (total four doses). Standard surgical resection will be done 2 to 4 weeks after completion of radiotherapy. Accrual is expected to occur over 2 years. Follow up data will be collected for up to 3 years post-treatment.

    Drug: nivolumab · Drug: ipilimumab

  • No intervention
    no immunotherapy arm

    Cohort B will comprise patients eligible for the trial who do not wish to receive immunotherapy but consent to the same blood draws, surveys, and specimen analysis as Cohort A. Cohort B will serve as a non-randomized but pragmatic and clinically relevant control group. Standard surgical resection will be done 2 to 4 weeks after completion of radiotherapy. Accrual is expected to occur over 2 years. Follow up data will be collected for up to 3 years post-treatment.

Interventions

  • Drugnivolumab

    240 mg every 2 weeks

  • Drugipilimumab

    1 mg/kg every 6 weeks

05

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Adverse Event evaluation

    Evaluate safety through assessment of adverse events throughout the course of treatment

    Time frame: 2 years

06

Study locations

1 site
  • James P. Wilmot Cancer Center at University of Rochester Medical Center
    Rochester, New York 14642-0001, United States
07

References and documents

Publications

  • Vatner R, James CD, Sathiaseelan V, Bondra KM, Kalapurakal JA, Houghton PJ. Radiation therapy and molecular-targeted agents in preclinical testing for immunotherapy, brain tumors, and sarcomas: Opportunities and challenges. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2021 May;68 Suppl 2:e28439. doi: 10.1002/pbc.28439. Epub 2020 Aug 22. PubMed 32827353 ↗
08

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03463408
Lead sponsor
University of Rochester
Responsible party
Adrienne Victor (Assistant Professor - Department of Medicine , Hematology/Oncology (SMD), University of Rochester) — Principal investigator
First posted
Mar 13, 2018
Start date
Jul 17, 2018
Primary completion
Aug 19, 2024
Completion
Aug 19, 2024
Last update
Aug 17, 2026

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion