Adjuvant Avelumab in Merkel Cell Cancer (ADAM)

May 8, 2026 updated by: University of Washington

A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled, Phase 3 Trial of Adjuvant Avelumab (Anti-PDL-1 Antibody) in Merkel Cell Carcinoma Patients With Lymph Node Metastases

This randomized phase III trial studies how well avelumab works in treating patients with Merkel cell cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes and have undergone surgery and/or radiation therapy. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as avelumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

OUTLINE:

Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms.

ARM I: Patients receive avelumab intravenously (IV) over 1 hour once every 15 days for the first 120 days (Induction Phase 1), once every 30 days for the next 120 days (Induction Phase 2), and then once every 120 days (Maintenance Phase) for a maximum of 720 days (approximately 24 months or 2 years total) in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

ARM II: Patients receive placebo IV over 1 hour once every 15 days for the first 120 days (Induction Phase 1), once every 30 days for the next 120 days (Induction Phase 2), and then once every 120 days (Maintenance Phase) for a maximum of 720 days (approximately 24 months or 2 years total) in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up every 6 months for 5 years from day 1 and then once every 12 months until the study is terminated by the sponsor.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
101

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Orange, California, United States, 92868
        • University of California Irvine Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
    • Colorado
      • Aurora, Colorado, United States, 80045
        • University of Colorado Cancer Center University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
    • Florida
      • Tampa, Florida, United States, 33612
        • Moffitt Cancer Center
    • Illinois
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60611
        • Northwestern University
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215
        • Dana Farber Cancer Institute
    • Michigan
      • Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 48109
        • University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10065
        • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
    • North Carolina
      • Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, 27599
        • University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
    • Washington
      • Seattle, Washington, United States, 98109
        • Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Histologically confirmed MCC metastases in regional lymph node(s)

    • Confirmation of the MCC diagnosis in the regional lymph node(s) is mandatory for trial participation
    • (NOTE: In-transit metastases without regional nodal involvement could be allowed, but only after written approval of the medical monitor)
  • Must have completed definitive treatment for primary MCC and regional lymphatic metastases that included surgical removal (with/without adjuvant radiation therapy) or primary radiation therapy as determined by the treating investigator
  • Aged >= 18 years. Both men and women, and members of all races and ethnic groups are eligible for this trial.
  • Estimated life expectancy greater than 3 years
  • Must start the study treatment no more than 120 days from the start date of definitive therapy (the date of surgical removal of nodal metastases or the date of initiation of definitive radiation therapy, as applicable)
  • Eastern Co-Operative Group (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group [ECOG]) performance score of 0 or 1
  • Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1.5 x 10^9/L
  • Platelet count ≥ 100 x 10^9/L
  • Hemoglobin ≥ 9 g/dL (may have been transfused)
  • Total bilirubin level ≤ 1.5 x the upper limit of normal (ULN) range
  • Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels ≤ 2.5 x ULN
  • Estimated creatinine clearance ≥ 30 mL/min according to the Cockcroft-Gault formula or by 24-hour urine collection for creatinine clearance or according to local institutional standard
  • Women of childbearing potential must have a negative serum or urine pregnancy test at screening

  • Both male and female subjects must be willing to use highly effective contraception (that is, methods with a failure rate of less than 1% per year) throughout the study and for at least 30 days after last avelumab treatment administration if the risk of conception exists

    * (NOTE: The effects of the study treatment on the developing human fetus are unknown; thus, women of childbearing potential and men must agree to use highly effective contraception, as stipulated in national or local guidelines. Should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while she or her partner is participating in this study, the treating physician should be informed immediately.)

  • Must have an ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document
  • Must consent to allow the acquisition of existing formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor tissue, either a block or unstained slides, for performance of correlative studies

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Clinical or radiologic suspicion of residual MCC at the time of enrollment
  • Suspicion or known history of distant metastatic MCC, which is not classifiable as local recurrence or regional metastasis
  • Any prior systemic therapy (e.g. adjuvant, neo-adjuvant or concurrent use of chemotherapy, immunotherapy or an investigational agent) for MCC at any time
  • Any prior intra-lesional MCC therapy within 180 days from day 1 of study treatment
  • Residual toxicity from prior therapy grade > 1 (National Cancer Institute [NCI]-Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events [NCI-CTCAE v 5.0]) that could interfere with study endpoints or put patient safety at risk

  • Previous malignant disease (other than Merkel cell carcinoma) diagnosed within 3 years from day 1 of study treatment that could interfere with study endpoints or put patient safety at risk

    * (NOTE: Exception will be made for adequately treated basal or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin or carcinoma in situ [skin, bladder, cervical, colorectal, breast] or low grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia or Grade 1 prostate cancer; any other neoplasm, which is adjudged by the treating investigator to have a low risk of recurrence during the study, could be enrolled only after written approval from the medical monitor)

  • Use of any systemic immunosuppressive treatments including corticosteroids, cyclosporine, mycophenolate mofetil et cetera, ongoing or within the last 3 months prior to day 1 of treatment

    * (NOTE: Patients on physiologic dose of corticosteroids [≤ 10 mg/day of prednisone or equivalent] for long-term hormone-replacement therapy or those requiring short, intermittent courses of corticosteroids for hypersensitivity prophylaxis [such as for iodinated computed tomography (CT) contrast prophylaxis] or those using intranasal, inhaled, topical steroids, or local steroid injection [e.g., intra-articular injection] can be allowed)

  • Immunosuppressed status due to known human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, severe uncontrolled diabetes, concurrent hematological malignancy, or other comorbidities
  • Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, active serious infection, active hepatitis B or hepatitis C infection, uncontrolled seizure disorder, substance abuse disorder, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements or would put the patient at increased risk of complications during the study period
  • Clinically significant (i.e., active) cardiovascular disease: cerebral vascular accident/stroke (< 6 months prior to enrollment), myocardial infarction (< 6 months prior to enrollment), unstable angina, congestive heart failure (≥ New York Heart Association Classification Class II), or serious cardiac arrhythmia requiring medication

  • Active or history of any serious autoimmune disease, prior organ transplantation, including allogeneic stem-cell transplantation or immune-deficiencies that required treatment with systemic immunosuppressive drugs and could flare-up during study treatment

    * (NOTE: Patients with diabetes type I, vitiligo, psoriasis, or hypo- or hyperthyroid diseases not requiring immunosuppressive treatment are eligible)

  • Other severe acute or chronic medical conditions including immune-mediated colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, pneumonitis, pulmonary fibrosis or psychiatric conditions including recent (within the past year) or active suicidal ideation or behavior; or laboratory abnormalities that may increase the risk associated with study participation or study treatment administration or may interfere with the interpretation of study results and, in the judgment of the investigator, would make the patient inappropriate for entry into this study
  • Known prior severe hypersensitivity to investigational product or any component in its formulations that could interfere with study endpoints or put patient safety at risk
  • Pregnant or breast-feeding women

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Arm I (avelumab)
Patients receive avelumab IV over 1 hour once every 15 days for the first 120 days (Induction Phase 1), once every 30 days for the next 120 days (Induction Phase 2), and then once every 120 days (Maintenance Phase) for a maximum of 720 days (approximately 24 months or 2 years total) in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
Drug: Avelumab
Given IV
Other Names:
  • Bavencio
  • MSB-0010718C
  • MSB0010718C
Other: Peripheral Blood Collection
Correlative studies
Placebo Comparator: Arm II (placebo)
Patients receive placebo IV over 1 hour once every 15 days for the first 120 days (Induction Phase 1), once every 30 days for the next 120 days (Induction Phase 2), and then once every 120 days (Maintenance Phase) for a maximum of 720 days (approximately 24 months or 2 years total) in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
Other: Placebo
Given IV
Other Names:
  • placebo therapy
  • PLCB
  • normal saline solution
Other: Peripheral Blood Collection
Correlative studies

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Relapse-free survival
Time Frame: From the date of randomization and the date of first recurrence or death (whatever the cause), whichever occurs first, assessed for up to 5 years
The Kaplan-Meier technique will be used to obtain estimates.
From the date of randomization and the date of first recurrence or death (whatever the cause), whichever occurs first, assessed for up to 5 years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Disease-specific survival
Time Frame: From the date of randomization and the date of death from Merkel cell carcinoma, assessed for up to 5 years
Cumulative incidence estimates will be used to summarize the probabilities of disease-specific survival.
From the date of randomization and the date of death from Merkel cell carcinoma, assessed for up to 5 years
Distant-metastases free survival
Time Frame: From the date of randomization and the date of first distant metastasis or date of death (any cause), whichever occurs first, assessed for up to 5 years
The Kaplan-Meier technique will be used to obtain estimates.
From the date of randomization and the date of first distant metastasis or date of death (any cause), whichever occurs first, assessed for up to 5 years
Incidence of adverse events
Time Frame: Throughout the duration of the treatment (up to 2 years after randomization)
Graded according to the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 5.
Throughout the duration of the treatment (up to 2 years after randomization)
Overall survival
Time Frame: From the date of randomization and the date of death, assessed for up to 5 years then every 12 months after study drug discontinued
The Kaplan-Meier technique will be used to obtain estimates.
From the date of randomization and the date of death, assessed for up to 5 years then every 12 months after study drug discontinued

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
AMERK serology
Time Frame: Up to 5 years
Blood test to predict recurrence in those patients who had a positive titer at baseline.
Up to 5 years
Biomarker exploration in tumor and peripheral blood samples
Time Frame: Up to 5 years
Tumor and peripheral blood samples.
Up to 5 years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Washington

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
EMD Serono

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Shailender Bhatia, Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
December 19, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 3, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
February 18, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 31, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 31, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
September 5, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 12, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 8, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 9820
  • NCI-2017-00998 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program))
  • RG1717054 (Other Identifier: Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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