ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT04204837Updated Apr 18, 2024

Nivolumab for Treatment of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Skin

A Phase 2 interventional study of Nivolumab and Nivolumab plus Relatlimab in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Skin, sponsored by Salzburger Landeskliniken. Recruiting at 7 sites in Austria. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-04-18.

Sponsored by Salzburger Landeskliniken · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 2 years 9 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Mar 2017, registered Dec 2019).
  • Started Mar 2017; still recruiting 9 years 8 months later.
Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
61
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

To determine the Objective Response Rate (ORR) of immunotherapy with Nivolumab (Group 1) and Nivolumab plus Relatlimab (Group 2) in patients with locally advanced/metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the skin using Response Criteria in Solid Tumors Version 1.1 (RECIST1.1) per site assessment (Time Frame Group 2: From first dose up to 5 years)

02

Conditions studied

  • Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Skin

Keywords

  • Nivolumab
  • Relatlimab
03

In context

Lead sponsor

Salzburger Landeskliniken is the lead sponsor of 15 studies on the registry; 4 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
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

  1. Men and women, 18 years of age and older on day of signing written
  2. or cytologically documented locally-advanced and/or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin (stage III/IV AJCC 2010) that is incurable
  3. available for evaluation of and LAG-3 expression
  4. based on Response Criteria in Solid Tumors Version 1.1 ( 1.1)
  5. of at least 12 weeks
  6. (ECOG) Performance status of 0-2
  7. Screening laboratory values must meet the following criteria and should be obtained within 14 days prior to registration:

    • WBC ≥ 2000/μl
    • Neutrophils ≥ 1500/μL
    • ≥ 100 x103/μL
    • > 9.0 g/dL
    • Serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 x or (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

    • /ALT ≤ 3 x ULN
    • Total ≤ 1.5 x ULN (except subjects with Gilbert Syndrome, who can have total bilirubin \< 3.0 mg/dL)
    • Negative pregnancy test and effective (Pearl-Index \<1) for for women of (WOCBP) if the risk of conception exists
  8. Prior radiotherapy must have been completed at least 2 weeks prior to study drug administration
  9. Prior systemic antibiotic treatment must have been completed at least 30 days prior to stool sample collection

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Patient is currently participating and receiving study therapy or has participated in a study of an agent and received study therapy or used an investigational device within 4 weeks of the first dose of treatment
  2. Prior therapy with , PD-1 or LAG-3 antibodies
  3. History of myocarditis, regardless of etiology
  4. Troponin T (TnT) or I (TnI) > 2× institutional (ULN). Participants with TnT or TnI levels between > 1× to 2× ULN will be permitted if repeat levels within 24 hours are ≤ 1× ULN. If TnT or TnI levels are between > 1× to 2× ULN within 24 hours, the participant may undergo a cardiac evaluation and be considered for treatment, based on a favorable benefit/risk assessment by the Investigator. When repeat levels within 24 hours are not available, a repeat test should be conducted as soon as possible. If TnT or TnI repeat levels beyond 24 hours are \< 2× ULN, the participant may undergo a cardiac evaluation and be considered for treatment, based on a favorable benefit/risk assessment by the Investigator
  5. A condition requiring systemic treatment with either (> 10 mg daily prednisone equivalents) or other 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 disease
  6. Known active central nervous system (CNS) and/or carcinomatous meningitis
  7. Known additional that is progressing or requires active treatment. Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia that is stable under active therapy are eligible for inclusion.
  8. 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
  9. Patients with serious intercurrent illness, requiring hospitalization
  10. Other serious illnesses, e.g. serious infections requiring antibiotics
  11. Known psychiatric or substance abuse disorders that would interfere with cooperation with the requirements of the trial
  12. Pregnancy (absence to be confirmed by ß-HCG urinary test, minimum sensitivity 25 IU/L or equivalent units of HCG)) or lactation period
  13. Women of (WOCBP): Refusal or inability to use effective means of (Pearl-Index \<1)
  14. History of testing positive for (HIV) or known acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)
  15. Positive test for virus surface antigen (HBV sAg) or virus ribonucleic acid (HCV antibody) indicating acute or chronic infection
  16. History or current evidence of any condition, therapy, or laboratory abnormality that might confound the results of the study, interfere with the patient's participation for the full duration of the study, or is not in the best interest of the patient to participate, in the opinion of the treating Investigator
  17. Known reaction to any of the components of study treatment
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(26)

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.

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.

Histologically or cytologically confirmed

The diagnosis was confirmed by looking at a sample under a microscope: tissue from a biopsy or surgery (histology), or cells from a fluid or needle sample (cytology).

Your pathology report is the document that shows this.

Metastases

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

Biopsy and archival tissue

A biopsy takes a small piece of tissue to examine. “Archival tissue” is a sample already taken, for example at diagnosis, and kept by the hospital.

Whether a stored sample will do depends on when it was taken, how much there is and what the study needs. Ask whether the study accepts your stored sample or needs a new biopsy.

PD-1, PD-L1 and checkpoint inhibitors

PD-1, PD-L1 and CTLA-4 are proteins that act as brakes on the immune system. Checkpoint inhibitors, such as pembrolizumab or nivolumab, block them so the immune system can attack a cancer.

PD-L1 can also be measured in a tumour sample. Some scores count stained tumour cells only (TPS); others also count certain immune cells (CPS). The study names the score and the minimum it uses.

Measurable disease

The amount of disease can be tracked with a defined measurement, so the study can see whether it shrinks or grows. It might be a tumour measured on a scan or, in some blood cancers such as myeloma, a marker measured in blood or urine.

The criteria or the study team say which measurement counts — having no tumour visible on a scan does not by itself rule you out.

RECIST

The standard rules for measuring tumours on CT or MRI scans, to tell whether a cancer is shrinking, stable or growing during treatment.

“Measurable disease per RECIST 1.1” usually means at least one tumour 10 mm or more at its longest on a CT scan, or a lymph node 15 mm or more across its short axis.

Life expectancy

The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.

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.

Platelets

Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.

Hemoglobin (Hb)

The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).

ULN (upper limit of normal)

The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.

“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.

Creatinine clearance (CrCl)

How quickly the kidneys clear creatinine, a waste product, from the blood. A study may estimate it from a blood test with age, weight and sex (often by the Cockcroft–Gault formula), or measure it using blood and urine collected over a set time. Given in mL/min; higher is better.

ALT and AST (liver enzymes)

Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.

Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.

Bilirubin

A yellow substance made when red blood cells are broken down, which the liver clears. A high level can mean a problem with the liver or the bile ducts.

Criteria often allow more for people with Gilbert’s syndrome, a harmless inherited condition that raises bilirubin.

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.

Childbearing potential

Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).

Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.

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.

Corticosteroids (steroids)

Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.

Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.

Immunosuppression

A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.

Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.

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.

Cancer (malignancy)

Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.

Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.

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.

Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
61 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Nivolumab

    Nivolumab will be given on Day 1 of every 14-day cycle (Q2W) at a dose of 240 mg as an IV infusion until progression, unacceptable toxicity or discontinuation for other reasons for up to 2 years.

    Drug: Nivolumab

  • Experimental
    Nivolumab plus Relatlimab

    Patients wil receive a fixed-dose combination of nivolumab 480 mg and relatlimab 160 mg by intravenous infusion every four weeks (Q4W) (Group 2) for up to two years after initial dosing or until PD - or absence of investigator-assessed clinical benefit

    Drug: Nivolumab plus Relatlimab

Interventions

  • Nivolumab will be given on Day 1 of every 14-day cycle (Q2W) at a dose of 240 mg as an IV infusion until progression, unacceptable toxicity or discontinuation for other reasons for up to 2 years.

  • DrugNivolumab plus Relatlimab

    Drug pages: Nivolumab · Relatlimab

    Patients wil receive a fixed-dose combination of nivolumab 480 mg and relatlimab 160 mg by intravenous infusion every four weeks (Q4W) (Group 2) for up to two years after initial dosing or until PD - or absence of investigator-assessed clinical benefit

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Objective Response Rate (ORR)

    using Response Criteria in Solid Tumors Version 1.1 (RECIST1.1) per site assessment

    Time frame: up to 5 years

Secondary outcomes

  1. Disease Control Rate (DCR)

    Disease Control Rate (DCR) using Response Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1 (RECIST1.1) per site assessment

    Time frame: up to 5 years

  2. Duration of Response (DOR) in patients who achieve partial response (PR) or better

    Time frame: up to 5 years

  3. Progression Free Survival (PFS)

    Time frame: up to 5 years

  4. Overall Survival (OS)

    Time frame: up to 5 years

  5. ORR and DCR for patients with PD-L1-positive tumor expression and/or positive LAG-3 expression of tumor-infiltrating cells

    Time frame: up to 5 years

  6. Number and severity of adverse events

    Time frame: up to 5 years

  7. DOR, PFS and OS for patients with PD-L1-positive tumor expression and/or positive LAG-3 expression of tumor-infiltrating cells

    Time frame: up to 5 years

07

Study locations

6 of 7 sites recruiting
  • Universitätsklinikum Graz - LKH, Klinische Abteilung für Onkologie
    Graz, 8020, Austria
    Recruiting
  • LKH Innsbruck Universitätsklinik für Dermatologie und Venerologie
    Innsbruck, 6020, Austria
    Recruiting
  • Klinikum Klagenfurt am Wörthersee
    Klagenfurt, 9020, Austria
    Completed

    Not enrolling at this site.

  • Universitätsklinik für Dermatologie und Allergologie der Paracelsus medizinischen Privatuniversität Salzburg
    Salzburg, 5020, Austria
    Recruiting
  • Abteilung für Haut- und Geschlechtskrankheiten, Universitätsklinikum St. Pölten Karl Landsteiner Privatuniversität für Gesundheitswissenschaften
    St.Pölten, 3100, Austria
    Recruiting
  • Med Uni Wien, Univ. Klinik für Dermatologie
    Vienna, 1090, Austria
    Recruiting
  • Klinikum Wels-Grieskirchen GmbH
    Wels, 4600, Austria
    Recruiting
08

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Started Mar 2017 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Dec 2026, 117 months after the start.

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

Registered
Dec 17, 2019
First posted
Dec 19, 2019
StartActual
Mar 6, 2017
Primary completionEst.
Dec 2026
CompletionEst.
Dec 2027
Last update
Apr 18, 2024
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 Apr 18, 2024, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04204837
Lead sponsor
Salzburger Landeskliniken
Responsible party
Martin Laimer, MD, MSc (a.o. Univ.-Prof. Dr. med. univ., MSc, Salzburger Landeskliniken) — Principal investigator
First posted
Dec 19, 2019
Start date
Mar 6, 2017
Primary completion
Dec 2026 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Apr 18, 2024

Study contacts

Martin Laimer, MD
Contact
m.laimer@salk.at
+4357255 ext. 58274
Roland Lang, PhD
Contact
r.lang@sak.at
+4357255 ext. 58200
Martin Laimer, MD
principal investigator · Salzburger Landeskliniken

Oversight

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

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Studies of the drugs tested here: Nivolumab · Relatlimab

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