Feasibility of an Enhanced Symptom Monitoring and Expedited Subspecialty Care Referral Intervention to Improve Side Effect Management for Patients With Melanoma Receiving an Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor

June 16, 2026 updated by: Deanne Tibbitts, OHSU Knight Cancer Institute

EMPOWER: Enhancing Melanoma Care Through Patient-Reported Outcomes Monitoring With Early, Rapid Immunotherapy Toxicity Subspecialty Care

This clinical trial tests the feasibility of patient reported outcomes monitoring with early, rapid immunotherapy toxicity subspecialty care to improve side effect management for patients with melanoma receiving an immune checkpoint inhibitor. Immune checkpoint inhibitors have improved outcomes for patients with advanced melanoma, but their use is frequently complicated by immune related adverse events (irAEs). IrAEs can affect any organ system, range in severity from mild to life threatening, and often require a pause or stopping of immunotherapy treatment. Early identification and management of irAEs may reduce progression to severe toxicity. Electronic patient self reporting of symptoms with ways to support early involvement of non oncology subspecialists may be a feasible way to improve side effect management for patients with melanoma receiving an immune checkpoint inhibitor.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet 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

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

I. Determine the feasibility of an electronic patient reported outcome (ePRO)-based symptom monitoring and subspecialty care referral intervention for identifying and managing irAEs in patients with melanoma.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Evaluate intervention acceptability for key stakeholders, including patients, caregivers, oncologists, and subspecialists.

II. Describe the preliminary efficacy of the intervention to improve management of irAEs.

OUTLINE:

Patients complete an ePRO assessment, where they rate the frequency and/or severity of symptoms that may indicate a moderate to severe irAE, weekly for 6 months. If a patient rates a symptom at a frequency or severity level of moderate or higher, a care provider is notified and determines if the symptoms warrant evaluation by a non-oncology subspecialist or can be managed by medical oncology. Patients receive a referral to an appropriate subspecialist, complete an evaluation of the suspected irAE, within 14 days of the referral, and receive standard of care treatment. Patients may optionally have their caregiver enroll to complete an intervention acceptability survey.

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 (Estimated)

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.
50

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.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Oregon
      • Portland, Oregon, United States, 97239
        • OHSU Knight Cancer Institute
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Deanne Tibbitts

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • PATIENT: Age 18 years or older
  • PATIENT: Histologically confirmed diagnosis of melanoma
  • PATIENT: Plan to begin a standard of care (SOC) immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) for the treatment of melanoma per Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval and/or National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines
  • PATIENT: Willing and able to provide informed consent
  • CAREGIVER: Age 18 years or older
  • CAREGIVER: Family member or primary caregiver of a study participant

Exclusion Criteria:

  • PATIENT: Previously received ICI therapy
  • PATIENT: Life expectancy of < 6 months at time of enrollment
  • PATIENT: Concurrently receiving a non-ICI systemic therapy
  • PATIENT: Concurrently receiving radiation, unless hypofractionated palliative radiation prescribed to alleviate poorly controlled symptoms (e.g., pain)
  • PATIENT: Needs to rely on a proxy to complete patient-reported outcome instruments
  • PATIENT: Unwilling or unable to complete surveys electronically
  • CAREGIVER: Needs to rely on a proxy to complete survey instrument(s)
  • CAREGIVER: Unwilling or unable to complete surveys electronically

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: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group 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: Supportive care (ePRO monitoring and referrals)
Patients complete an ePRO assessment, where they rate the frequency and/or severity of symptoms that may indicate a moderate to severe irAE, weekly for 6 months. If a patient rates a symptom at a frequency or severity level of moderate or higher, a care provider is notified and determines if the symptoms warrant evaluation by a non-oncology subspecialist or can be managed by medical oncology. Patients receive a referral to an appropriate subspecialist, complete an evaluation of the suspected irAE, within 14 days of the referral, and receive standard of care treatment.
Other: Survey Administration
Ancillary studies
Other: Electronic Health Record Review
Ancillary studies
Other: Internet-Based Intervention
Receive access to ePRO tool
Behavioral: Patient Navigation
Receive review of symptoms and referral if needed
Other Names:
  • Patient Navigator Program
Other: Survey Administration
Complete ePRO assessments

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
Proportion of eligible patients who consent to the study and begin the intervention (feasibility of study enrollment)
Time Frame: At enrollment
Will estimate the proportion of patients enrolled with 95% confidence intervals.
At enrollment
Proportion of patients evaluated by subspecialists in ≤ 14 days among participants who enrolled and developed a suspected immune related adverse events (irAE) (grade 2 or higher) (feasibility of intervention delivery)
Time Frame: From baseline to 6 months
From baseline to 6 months

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
Proportion of patients who complete data collection at 6 months (retention)
Time Frame: At month 6
Will estimate the proportion of patients retained in the study and adherent to electronic patient reported outcomes with 95% confidence intervals.
At month 6
Proportion of weeks a Patient Reported Outcome-Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events questionnaire was completed out of the number of weeks since starting the intervention (ePRO adherence)
Time Frame: From baseline to 6 months
From baseline to 6 months
Proportion of participants rating the study as acceptable (acceptability)
Time Frame: At 6 months
Assessed via adapted from Basch et al's survey. Acceptability is defined as a mean summary score of 3 or higher.
At 6 months
Proportion of caregivers for enrolled participants rate the study as acceptable (acceptability)
Time Frame: At 6 months
Assessed via adapted from Basch et al's survey. Acceptability is defined as a mean summary score of 3 or higher.
At 6 months
Proportion of medical oncologists/subspecialists rate the study as acceptable (acceptability)
Time Frame: At end of the study, up to 3 years
Assessed via clinician experience measure.
At end of the study, up to 3 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.
OHSU Knight Cancer 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: Deanne Tibbitts, OHSU Knight Cancer Institute

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 (Estimated)

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.
November 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
June 1, 2029

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.
June 1, 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).
June 11, 2026

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.
June 16, 2026

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.
June 22, 2026

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.
June 22, 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.
June 16, 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.
June 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.
  • STUDY00029559 (Other Identifier: OHSU Knight Cancer Institute)
  • HT9425261E218 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Department of Defense)
  • NCI-2026-03934 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program))

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

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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