Exercise to Boost Response to Checkpoint Blockade Immunotherapy

September 14, 2026 updated by: H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute
30 minutes of moderate exercise on an arm ergometer, a cycle ergometer, or a treadmill prior to each administration of standard of care checkpoint blockade immunotherapy across all cycles

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.

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.
22

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.
  • Early Phase 1

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
    • Florida
      • Tampa, Florida, United States, 33612
        • Moffitt Cancer Center

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:
  • Age ≥ 18 years
  • Able to read and speak English fluently
  • Capable of giving informed consent
  • Reported ability to complete 20-30 minutes moderate exercise per positive response to "can you currently walk unaided for six minutes or more?".
  • Scheduled for first-time checkpoint blockade immunotherapy with FDA-approved drugs, including avelumab, cemiplimab, ipilimumab, nivolumab, pembrolizumab or relatlimab in the absence of other therapies (e.g. targeted therapy)
  • Melanoma patients (adjuvant setting)
  • Melanoma patients (neoadjuvant setting)
  • cuSCC patients (neoadjuvant setting)
  • Merkel cell carcinoma patients (neoadjuvant setting)

Participants may also be required to have a full COVID vaccination series; the most up-to-date best practice guidelines for research at Moffitt Cancer Center will dictate the need for such a vaccination series.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Presence of medical conditions, such as severe cardiovascular disease for which an exercise intervention may not be warranted.
  • Presence of major postoperative complications for which an exercise intervention may not be warranted.

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: None (Open Label)

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: Adjuvant Arm with Exercise
Participants will receive clinical care following Moffitt standards for the patient's disease type and therapeutic setting. Adjuvant participants will receive 1 year [currently 9-18 cycles] of therapy with avelumab, cemiplimab, ipilimumab, nivolumab, pembrolizumab or relatlimab, or currently approved standard of care treatment, either alone or in combination. Participants also will complete 30 minutes of moderate exercise on an arm ergometer, a cycle ergometer, or a treadmill prior to each administration of standard of care checkpoint blockade immunotherapy across all cycles. Blood samples will be collected at 1) baseline (upon arrival to clinic), 2) post-exercise, and 3) post-infusion. Blood samples will be obtained on the first, third, midpoint, and final infusion dates.
Other: Exercise
30 minutes of moderate exercise on an arm ergometer, a cycle ergometer, or a treadmill prior to each administration of standard of care checkpoint blockade immunotherapy across all cycles
Drug: Checkpoint Blockade, Immune
Participants will receive clinical care following Moffitt standards for the patient's disease type and therapeutic setting.
Other Names:
  • Pembrolizumab
  • Nivolumab
  • Ipilimumab
  • Cemiplimab
  • Avelumab
Active Comparator: Adjuvant Arm without Exercise
Participants will receive clinical care following Moffitt standards for the patients disease type and therapeutic setting. Adjuvant participants will receive one year [currently 9-18 cycles] of therapy with avelumab, cemiplimab, ipilimumab, nivolumab, pembrolizumab, relatlimab, or currently approved standard of care treatment, either alone or in combination. Blood samples will be collected at 1) baseline (upon arrival to clinic) and 2) post-infusion. Blood samples will be obtained on the first, third, midpoint, and final infusion dates.
Drug: Checkpoint Blockade, Immune
Participants will receive clinical care following Moffitt standards for the patient's disease type and therapeutic setting.
Other Names:
  • Pembrolizumab
  • Nivolumab
  • Ipilimumab
  • Cemiplimab
  • Avelumab
Experimental: Neoadjuvant Arm with Exercise
Participants will complete 30 minutes of moderate exercise on an arm ergometer, a cycle ergometer, or a treadmill prior to each administration of standard of care checkpoint blockade immunotherapy across all cycles. Neoadjuvant participants will receive up to 4 cycles of therapy with avelumab, cemiplimab, ipilimumab, nivolumab, pembrolizumab, or relatlimab, or currently approved standard of care treatment, either alone or in combination. Blood samples will be collected at 1) baseline (upon arrival to clinic), 2) post-exercise, and 3) post-infusion. Blood samples will be obtained on the first and third infusion dates.
Other: Exercise
30 minutes of moderate exercise on an arm ergometer, a cycle ergometer, or a treadmill prior to each administration of standard of care checkpoint blockade immunotherapy across all cycles
Drug: Checkpoint Blockade, Immune
Participants will receive clinical care following Moffitt standards for the patient's disease type and therapeutic setting.
Other Names:
  • Pembrolizumab
  • Nivolumab
  • Ipilimumab
  • Cemiplimab
  • Avelumab
Active Comparator: Neoadjuvant Arm without Exercise
Participants will receive clinical care following Moffitt standards for the patient's disease type and therapeutic setting. Neoadjuvant participants will receive up to 4 cycles of therapy with avelumab, cemiplimab, ipilimumab, nivolumab, pembrolizumab, or relatlimab, or currently approved standard of care treatment, either alone or in combination. Participants also will complete 30 minutes of moderate exercise on an arm ergometer, a cycle ergometer, or a treadmill prior to each administration of standard of care checkpoint blockade immunotherapy across all cycles. Blood samples will be collected at 1) baseline (upon arrival to clinic), 2) post-exercise, and 3) post-infusion. Blood samples will be obtained on the first and third infusion dates.
Drug: Checkpoint Blockade, Immune
Participants will receive clinical care following Moffitt standards for the patient's disease type and therapeutic setting.
Other Names:
  • Pembrolizumab
  • Nivolumab
  • Ipilimumab
  • Cemiplimab
  • Avelumab

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
Participants Consenting to Trial
Time Frame: Up to 12 months
Proportion of patients approached who consent to participate in study, and investigators will determine the 95% confidence interval
Up to 12 months
Participants Completing Exercise
Time Frame: Up to 12 months
Proportion of participants randomized to the exercise intervention who complete at least 75% of schedule exercise routines; 95% CI will be determined for this proportion.
Up to 12 months
Impact of Exercise on Tumor Immunological Biomarkers - Adjuvant Setting
Time Frame: Up to 12 Months
The length of time without signs or symptoms of cancer
Up to 12 Months
Pathological Complete Response (pCR) - Neoadjuvant Setting
Time Frame: Up to 4 Months
The occurrence of pathological complete response in resected tumor tissue. pCR will be determined by absence of tumor cells.
Up to 4 Months

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.
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute

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: Peter Kanetsky, PhD, MPH, Moffitt Cancer Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

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.
June 21, 2022

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.
October 6, 2024

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.
August 1, 2027

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).
April 28, 2022

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.
May 2, 2022

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.
May 3, 2022

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.
September 15, 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.
September 14, 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.
September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

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.
  • MCC-20854

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

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

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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