Randomized Study of Nivolumab+Ipilimumab+/- SBRT for Metastatic Merkel Cell Carcinoma

February 26, 2026 updated by: H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute

A Phase 2, Randomized, Multi-institutional Study of Nivolumab and Ipilimumab Versus Nivolumab, Ipilimumab and Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for Metastatic Merkel Cell Carcinoma

The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness, safety, and tolerability of the drugs nivolumab plus ipilimumab with or without the addition of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). Nivolumab is an antibody (a type of human protein) that is being tested to see if it will stimulate the body's immune system to work against tumor cells. This study will test an investigational use of nivolumab.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

50

Phase

  • Phase 2

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
    • Florida
      • Tampa, Florida, United States, 33612
        • H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute
    • Ohio
      • Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43210
        • Ohio State University Comprehensive 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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • At least 18 years of age
  • Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status less than 2
  • Active disease measurable by CT, MRI or clinical exam.
  • Prior chemotherapy or immunotherapy will be allowed if new or persistent measurable site(s) of disease are present.
  • Prior radiation therapy will be allowed if there is active measurable disease burden.
  • Must be either recurrent, unresectable or Stage IV American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) (7th edition) and have histologically confirmed Merkel cell carcinoma with at least 2 distinct lesions in order to be eligible.
  • Must have at least 2 distinct lesions as documented by a complete physical examination or imaging studies within 4 weeks prior to randomization. Imaging studies must include a diagnostic CT scan of the involved disease sites and all known sites of resected disease and brain magnetic resonance (MRI) or CT (brain CT allowable if MRI is contraindicated or if there is no known history of resected brain lesions).
  • Tumor tissue from the core biopsy or resected site of disease must be provided for biomarker analyses.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of Grade 3 toxicity or use of infliximab with prior immunotherapy
  • Patients with active brain metastasis.
  • Active, known, or suspected autoimmune disease. Potential participants with type I diabetes mellitus, residual hypothyroidism due to autoimmune thyroiditis only requiring hormone replacement, skin disorders (such as vitiligo, psoriasis, or alopecia) not requiring systemic treatment are permitted to enroll.
  • Patients with prior history of non-Merkel cell carcinoma malignancies are excluded except adequately treated basal cell, squamous cell skin cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia or other indolent diseases not requiring therapy; adequately treated, with curative intent, cancer from which the patient is currently in complete remission per investigator's judgment; or patients with history of breast cancer and no evidence of disease on hormonal therapy to prevent recurrence and patients with prostate cancer on adjuvant hormonal therapy with undetectable PSA are eligible.
  • A condition requiring systemic treatment with either corticosteroids (> 10 mg daily prednisone equivalent) or other immunosuppressive medications within 14 days of randomization. Inhaled or topical steroids are permitted in the absence of active autoimmune disease.

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
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Arm A: Nivolumab + Ipilimumab
Nivolumab every 2 weeks and Ipilimumab every 6 weeks until progression or unacceptable toxicity.
Drug: Nivolumab
Nivolumab 240 mg/dose intravenously (IV) every 2 (q2) weeks.
Other Names:
  • OPDIVO
Drug: Ipilimumab
Ipilimumab 1 mg/kg/dose IV q6 weeks.
Other Names:
  • YERVOY
Active Comparator: Arm B: Nivolumab + Ipilimumab + SBRT
Nivolumab every 2 weeks and Ipilimumab every 6 weeks until progression or unacceptable toxicity. Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) to be given at the start of week 2.
Drug: Nivolumab
Nivolumab 240 mg/dose intravenously (IV) every 2 (q2) weeks.
Other Names:
  • OPDIVO
Drug: Ipilimumab
Ipilimumab 1 mg/kg/dose IV q6 weeks.
Other Names:
  • YERVOY
Radiation: Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT)
Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy 24Gy in 3 fractions.
Other Names:
  • SBRT

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Best Overall Response
Time Frame: Up to 18 months
Overall response according to Immunotherapy Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (iRECIST) including Complete Response (CR) + Partial Response (PR).
Up to 18 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Progression Free Survival (PFS)
Time Frame: up to 28 months
Median Progression Free Survival with 95% Confidence Interval. Progression is defined as progressive tumor lesions per immune-related Response Evaluation in Solid Tumors (irRECIST) definition, or appearance of one or more new Merkel cell carcinoma lesions, which can be local or distant in location from the irradiated lesions.
up to 28 months
Overall Survival (OS)
Time Frame: Up to 30 months
Median Overall Survival with 95% Confidence Interval. The length of time from the start of treatment until death from any cause.
Up to 30 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute

Collaborators

Bristol-Myers Squibb

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Evan Wuthrick, M.D, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute

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.

General Publications

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)

March 14, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

April 6, 2022

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 19, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 1, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 1, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

March 6, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 11, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 26, 2026

Last Verified

February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • MCC-18786
  • CA209-737 (Other Identifier: Bristol-Myers Squibb)

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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.

Clinical Trials on Skin Cancer

Clinical Trials on Nivolumab

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Saudi Arabia

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe