Unresectable Stage IIIA/IIIB Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

NCT ID: NCT03285321

Last Updated: 2026-01-20

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: PHASE2
• Total Enrollment: 105 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2017-09-15
• Study Completion Date: 2024-02-06

Brief Summary

This study is an open label, multicenter, randomized phase II trial of consolidation immunotherapy with either nivolumab alone or the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab following concurrent chemoradiation in patients with unresectable stage III NSCLC.

Detailed Description

Patients with unresectable stage IIIA or IIIB NSCLC (unresectable as defined by treating physician) will be treated outside this study with concurrent chemoradiation with one of three chemotherapy regimens (cisplatin/etoposide, cisplatin/pemetrexed, or weekly carboplatin/paclitaxel) in addition to standard dose radiation (dosing can range from 59.4 Gy to 66.6 Gy). If repeat imaging between 28-56 days following completion of chemoradiation shows no progressive or metastatic disease, the patients will be eligible for enrollment on the study.

Randomization and Stratification:

At the time of enrollment, patients will be randomized in a 1:1 fashion to receive either nivolumab 480mg IV every 4 weeks or the combination of nivolumab 3mg/kg IV every 2 weeks with ipilimumab 1mg/kg IV every 6 weeks. Consolidation immunotherapy will be continued until progression or unacceptable toxicity for up to a total of 24 weeks.

Subjects will be stratified by stage (IIIA vs. IIIB) and histology (squamous vs. non-squamous).

Dose Calculations:

Arm 1: The dose of nivolumab will be a fixed dose (not based on subject's weight) at 480mg.

Arm 2: The dose of nivolumab will be weight-based at 3mg/kg. The dose of ipilimumab will be weight-based at 1mg/kg.

Nivolumab Alone (Arm 1):

Arm 1: Nivolumab Administration:

Nivolumab 480 mg will be administered as a 60 minute IV infusion on Day 1 of each 28 day cycle. Sites should make every effort to target infusion timing to be as close to 60 minutes as possible. However, given the variability of infusion pumps from site to site, a window of -five minutes and +10 minutes is permitted (i.e., infusion time is 60 minutes: -5 min/+10 min). Treatment will continue for up to 6 cycles, in the absence of prohibitive toxicities or disease progression.

Nivolumab Plus Ipilimumab (Arm 2):

Arm 2: Nivolumb Administration:

Nivolumab 3mg/kg will be administered as a 60 minute IV infusion on Day 1, 15, and 29 of each 42 day cycle. Nivolumab should not be given any earlier than 12 days from the previous dose. Sites should make every effort to target infusion timing to be as close to 60 minutes as possible. However, given the variability of infusion pumps from site to site, a window of -five minutes and +10 minutes is permitted (i.e., infusion time is 60 minutes: -5 min/+10 min). Treatment will continue for up to 4 cycles, in the absence of prohibitive toxicities or disease progression.

Arm 2: Ipilimumab Administration:

Ipilimumab 1mg/kg will be administered as a 90 minute IV infusion on Day 1 of each 42 day cycle. Sites should make every effort to target infusion timing to be as close to 90 minutes as possible. However, given the variability of infusion pumps from site to site, a window of -five minutes and +10 minutes is permitted (i.e., infusion time is 60 minutes: -5 min/+10 min). Treatment will continue for up to 4 cycles, in the absence of prohibitive toxicities or disease progression.

On day 1 of cycle 1, nivolumab will be given first, followed by 30 minutes of monitoring, and then ipilimumab given second, followed by 30 minutes of monitoring. If the subject does not have an infusion reaction during the first cycle, the post-ipilimumab monitoring may be discontinued for subsequent cycles at the discretion of the treating physician. Day 1 monitoring between the nivolumab/ipilimumab infusions will continue throughout all 4 cycles. Post nivolumab monitoring on days 15 and 29 is not mandatory and should follow the guidelines of the local infusion center.

Conditions

Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Arm 1

Nivolumab 480mg IV every 4 weeks for up to 6 cycles

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Nivolumab

Intervention Type: DRUG

480mg

Arm 2

Nivolumab 240mg IV every 2 weeks PLUS Ipilimumab 1mg/kg IV every 6 weeks for up to 4 cycles (12 doses Nivolumab and 4 doses of Ipilimumab)

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Nivolumab

Intervention Type: DRUG

240mg

Ipilimumab

Intervention Type: DRUG

1mg/kg

Interventions

Nivolumab

480mg

Intervention Type: DRUG

Nivolumab

240mg

Intervention Type: DRUG

Ipilimumab

1mg/kg

Intervention Type: DRUG

Other Intervention Names

OPDIVO; OPDIVO; Yervoy

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Written informed consent and HIPAA authorization for release of personal health information.
• Age ≥ 18 years at the time of consent.
• ECOG Performance Status of 0 or 1 within 14 days prior to registration.
• Histological or cytological confirmation of NSCLC. A pathology report confirming the diagnosis of NSCLC must be obtained and reviewed by the treating physician prior to registration to study.
• Must have unresectable or inoperable stage IIIA or IIIB disease according to the 7th edition IASLC stage classification for lung cancer. Subjects must be considered unresectable or inoperable based on the judgment of the treating physician.
• Subjects must have completed concurrent chemoradiation with a platinum doublet and a dose of radiation ranging from 59.4-66.6 Gy. Subjects must have stable disease or disease response as evidenced on CT or PET scan evaluation. For those eligible, protocol therapy should begin within 56 days of completing chemoradiation OR Subjects must have completed up to 2 cycles of consolidation therapy started within 56 days of completion of radiation. After completion of consolidation chemotherapy, subjects must have stable disease or disease response as evidenced by CT or PET scan evaluation. For those eligible, protocol therapy should begin within 56 days after the last cycle of chemotherapy.
• Prior cancer treatment must be completed between 1-56 days prior to registration and the subject must have recovered from all reversible acute toxic effects of the regimen (other than alopecia) to ≤Grade 1 or baseline.
• Demonstrate adequate organ function, all screening labs to be obtained within 14 days prior to registration:

Hematological:

• Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) ≥ 1.5 K/mm^3
• Hemoglobin (Hgb) ≥ 9 g/dL
• Platelets ≥100,000/mcl

Renal:

• Serum creatinine OR Measured or calculated creatinine clearance (GFR can also be used in place of creatinine or CrCl) ≤ 1.5 x upper limit of normal (ULN) OR ≥ 60 mL/min for subjects with creatinine levels >1.5 x institutional ULN

Hepatic:

• Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 × ULN OR Direct bilirubin of ≤ ULN for subjects with total bilirubin levels of >1.5x ULN
• Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ≤ 2.5 × ULN
• Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤ 2.5 × ULN

Coagulation:

• International Normalized Ratio (INR) or Prothrombin Time (PT) Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (aPTT) ≤1.5 X ULN unless subject is receiving anticoagulant therapy as long as PT/INR/PTT is within therapeutic range of intended use of anticoagulants

• Women of childbearing potential (WOCBP) must have a negative serum or urine pregnancy test (minimum sensitivity 25 IU/L or equivalent units of HCG) within 7 days prior to registration. NOTE: Women are considered of childbearing potential unless they are surgically sterile (have undergone a hysterectomy, bilateral tubal ligation, or bilateral oophorectomy) or are post-menopausal. Menopause is defined clinically as 12 months of amenorrhea in a woman over 45 in the absence of other biological or physiological causes. In addition, women under the age of 62 must have a documented serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) level less than 40 mIU/mL to be considered post-menopausal.
• Women of childbearing potential must be willing to abstain from heterosexual activity or use an effective method of contraception from the time of informed consent until 23 weeks after treatment discontinuation.
• Men who are sexually active with women of childbearing potential (WOCBP) must use any contraceptive method with a failure rate of less than 1% per year. Men receiving study drug 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.
• As determined by the enrolling physician or protocol designee, ability of the subject to understand and comply with study procedures for the entire length of the study.

Exclusion Criteria

Subjects meeting any of the criteria below may not participate in the study:

• 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 23 weeks (female) or 31 weeks (male) after the last dose of trial treatment.
• Active central nervous system (CNS) metastases. Subjects must undergo a head computed tomography (CT) scan or brain MRI within 28 days prior to registration for protocol therapy to exclude brain metastases if symptomatic or without prior brain imaging.
• Treatment with any investigational agent within 28 days prior to registration for protocol therapy.
• Prior chemotherapy, adjuvant therapy, or radiotherapy for lung cancer other than standard concurrent chemoradiation or up to 2 cycles of consolidation.
• Prior therapy with a PD-1, PD-L1, PD-L2 or CTLA-4 inhibitor or a lung cancer-specific vaccine therapy.
• Presence of metastatic disease (stage IV NSCLC) is not allowed. Subjects must be evaluated with a CT or PET scan prior to registration for protocol therapy to exclude metastatic disease.
• Active second cancers.
• Evidence of active autoimmune disease requiring systemic treatment within the past 90 days or a documented history of clinically severe autoimmune disease, or a syndrome that requires systemic steroids or immunosuppressive agents. Subjects with vitiligo or resolved childhood asthma/atopy would be an exception to this rule. Subjects that require intermittent use of bronchodilators or local steroid injections would not be excluded from the study. Subjects with hypothyroidism stable on hormone replacement or Sjogren's syndrome will not be excluded from the study.
• Interstitial lung disease or history of pneumonitis requiring treatment with corticosteroids.
• Diagnosis of immunodeficiency or is receiving chronic systemic corticosteroid therapy or other immunosuppressive therapy (excludes inhaled corticosteroids) within 7 days of first dose of study drug.
• History of psychiatric illness or social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements.
• Clinically active infection as judged by the site investigator (≥ Grade 2 by CTCAE v4).
• History of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection or chronic hepatitis B or C.
• Has a history or current evidence of any condition, therapy, or laboratory abnormality that might confound the results of the trial, interfere with the subject's participation for the full duration of the trial, or is not in the best interest of the subject to participate, in the opinion of the site investigator.
• Has a known history of active TB (Bacillus Tuberculosis).
• Hypersensitivity to nivolumab, ipilimumab, or any of their excipients.
• Has received a live vaccine within 30 days prior to 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.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Bristol-Myers Squibb

INDUSTRY

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Greg Durm, MD

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Greg Durm, MD

Sponsor-Investigator

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Greg Durm, M.D.

Role: STUDY_CHAIR

Indiana University Health Simon Cancer Center

Locations

Rush University Medical Center

Chicago, Illinois, United States

University of Illinois Cancer Center

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Indiana University

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

University of Louisville James Graham Brown Cancer Center

Louisville, Kentucky, United States

Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive

Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Karmanos Cancer Center (Wayne State University)

Detroit, Michigan, United States

Michigan State University

Lansing, Michigan, United States

University of Minnesota

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

University of Nebraska Medical Center

Omaha, Nebraska, United States

Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey

New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States

Penn State Cancer Institute

Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States

University of Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin, United States

Countries

United States

Provided Documents

Document Type: Study Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan

View Document

Related Links

http://www.bigtencrc.org

Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium Website

Other Identifiers

BTCRC-LUN16-081

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id