NIMBUS: Nivolumab Plus Ipilimumab in Metastatic Hypermutated HER2-negative Breast Cancer

NIMBUS: A Phase II Study of Nivolumab Plus Ipilimumab in Metastatic Hypermutated HER2-negative Breast Cancer

This research study is studying a drug combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab as a possible treatment for hypermutated HER2 negative breast cancer.

The drugs involved in this study are:

• Nivolumab (Opdivo ®)
• Ipilimumab (Yervoy ®)

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Breast Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Nivolumab; Drug: Ipilimumab

Detailed Description

This research study is a Phase II clinical trial. Phase II clinical trials test the safety and effectiveness of an investigational drug to learn whether the drug works in treating a specific disease. "Investigational" means that the drug is being studied.

Nivolumab is called an anti- PD-1 or a checkpoint inhibitor and is an antibody (a type of human protein) designed to allow the body's own immune system to destroy tumors. Ipilimumab is called an anti-CTLA-4 and is a type of antibody that works to prevent your body's immune system from stopping to fight this specific cancer.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved nivolumab for this specific disease but it has been approved for other uses including but not limited to non-small cell lung cancer, melanoma and renal cell carcinoma.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved ipilimumab for this specific disease but it has been approved for other uses such as melanoma and renal cell carcinoma.

The combination of nivolumab with ipilimumab may or may not increase anti-cancer activity by further boosting the immune system. At this time, the FDA has not approved nivolumab in combination with ipilimumab for this specific disease although these drugs have been approved for other uses such as melanoma and renal cell carcinoma.

The purpose of this research study is to determine how nivolumab together with ipilimumab, works in treating breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. The investigators are also investigating whether there are certain DNA or protein markers in the blood or tumor tissue that may indicate whether the combination will work in future patients

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 30
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215
      • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
  • Pennsylvania
    • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15213
      • University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
  • Texas
    • Dallas, Texas, United States, 75390
      • University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participants must have histologically or cytologically confirmed invasive breast cancer, with metastatic disease. Participants without pathologic or cytologic confirmation of metastatic disease should have unequivocal evidence of metastasis from physical examination or radiologic evaluation.
• Breast cancer must be HER2-negative by IHC or non-amplified as determined by the current ASCO-CAP criteria. If patient has more than one histological result, the most recent one will be usedfor inclusion. Participants may be ER/PR positive or negative.
• Patients must harbor tumors with total mutational burden (TMB) of at least 9 mutations per megabase assessed by a cancer-gene panel containing more than 300 genes, and performed in a CLIA verified laboratory. Tests like Foundation One, Oncopanel (DFCI), or IMPACT (MSKCC) are acceptable for including patients on this trial.
• Participants must have measurable disease by RECIST version 1.1.
• Participants must agree to undergo a research biopsy, if tumor is safely accessible, at baseline and at day 29 cycle 1 (+14 scheduling window). Previously collected archival tissue will be obtained on all participants. Participants for whom newly-obtained samples cannot be provided (e.g. inaccessible or participant safety concern) may submit an archived specimen (block or if not possible, 20 unstained slides).
• Prior chemotherapy: Participants may have received 0-3 prior chemotherapeutic regimens for metastatic breast cancer and must have been off treatment with chemotherapy for at least 14 days prior to study treatment initiation.
• Patients with hormone receptor positive breast cancer must have progressed on at least one prior line of endocrine therapy in the metastatic setting or have disease recurrence while on adjuvant endocrine therapy.
• Participants should also be adequately recovered from acute toxicities of prior treatment, with the exception of alopecia and peripheral sensory neuropathy.
• Prior biologic therapy: Patients must have discontinued all biologic therapy at least 14 days prior to study treatment initiation.
• Prior radiation therapy: Patients may have received prior radiation therapy in either the metastatic or early-stage setting. Radiation therapy must be completed 14 days prior to study treatment initiation.
• In all cases, there must be no ongoing complications from prior radiotherapy.
• The subject is ≥18 years old.
• ECOG performance status ≤1(Karnofsky ≥70%, see Appendix A).

• Participants must have normal organ and marrow function as defined below:

  • absolute neutrophil count ≥1,000/mcL
  • platelets ≥100,000/mcL
  • hemoglobin ≥ 8 g/dl
  • total bilirubin ≤1.5 × institutional upper limit of normal (ULN) (or ≤ 2.0 x ULN in patients with documented Gilbert's Syndrome)
  • AST(SGOT)/ALT(SGPT) ≤2.5 × institutional ULN or (≤ 3 × institutional ULN for participants with documented liver metastases)
  • creatinine ≤1.5 × institutional ULN OR creatinine clearance ≥ 40 mL/min (using Cockcroft-Gault formula) for participants with creatinine levels above institutional ULN.
• Female subjects of childbearing potential must have a negative pregnancy test (serum or urine) at screening.
• Childbearing potential is defined as: participants who have not reached a postmenopausal state (≥ 12 continuous months of amenorrhea with no identified cause other than menopause) and has not undergone surgical sterilization (removal of ovaries and/or uterus).
• Female and male participants of childbearing potential must agree to use an adequate method of contraception. For women, contraception is required starting with the first dose of study medication through 150 days (5 months) after the last dose of study medication. For men who are sexuall active with women of childbearing potential, contraception is required starting with the first dose of study medication for a period of 7 months after the last dose of nivolumab. Examples of contraceptive methods with a failure rate of < 1% per year include bilateral tubal ligation, male sterilization, established and proper use of hormonal contraceptives that inhibit ovulation, hormone-releasing intrauterine devices, and copper intrauterine devices. The reliability of sexual abstinence should be evaluated in relation to the duration of the clinical trial and the preferred and usual lifestyle of the patient. Periodic abstinence (e.g., calendar, ovulation, symptothermal, or postovulation methods) and withdrawal are not acceptable methods of contraception.
• Participants on bisphosphonates may continue receiving bisphosphonate therapy during study treatment. Initiation of bisphosphonate or RANKL agent is allowed on study.
• The participant is capable of understanding and complying with the protocol and has signed the informed consent document.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Major surgery within 2 weeks before the first dose of study treatment.
• Concurrent administration of other anti-cancer therapy within 14 days of starting protocol therapy and during the course of this study.
• The participant has received another investigational agent within 14 days of the first dose of study drug.
• Has received prior therapy with an anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, anti-PD-L2, or anti-Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) antibody.
• Known brain metastases that are untreated, symptomatic, or require therapy to control symptoms. Participants with a history of treated central nervous system (CNS) metastases are eligible. Treated brain metastases are defined as those having no evidence of progression for ≥ 2 weeks after treatment, and no ongoing requirement for corticosteroids, as ascertained by clinical examination and brain imaging (magnetic resonance imaging or CT scan) completed during screening. Subject must be either off corticosteroids, or on a stable or decreasing dose of ≤ 10 mg daily (or equivalent) for at least 7 days prior to first study treatment. Treatment for brain metastases may include whole brain radiotherapy, radiosurgery, or a combination as deemed appropriate by the treating physician. Participants with CNS metastases treated by neurosurgical resection or brain biopsy performed within 28 days before study treatment initiation will be excluded.
• The subject has uncontrolled, significant intercurrent or recent illness. Individuals with a history of different malignancy are ineligible except for the following circumstances. Individuals with a history of other malignancies are eligible if they have been disease-free for at least 3 years or are deemed by the investigator to be at low risk for recurrence of that malignancy.
• Participant has an active infection requiring IV antibiotics at initiation of study therapy.
• Patient has a medical condition that requires chronic systemic steroid therapy or on any other form of immunosuppressive medication. For example, participants with autoimmune disease that requires systemic steroids or immunosuppression agents should be excluded. Replacement therapy (eg., thyroxine, insulin, or physiologic corticosteroid replacement therapy for adrenal or pituitary insufficiency, etc.) is not considered a form of systemic treatment.
• Subjects with current pneumonitis, or requiring supplementary O2 therapy.
• The participant is known to be positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), HepBsAg, or HCV RNA. HIV-positive participants on combination antiretroviral therapy are ineligible
• Participants with any other active malignancy requiring concurrent intervention.
• Known hypersensitivity to any of the components of ipilimumab or nivolumab.
• The participant has received a live vaccine within 28 days prior to the first dose of trial treatment and while participating in the trial. Examples of live vaccines include, but are not limited to, the following: measles, mumps, rubella, varicella/zoster, yellow fever, rabies, BCG, and typhoid vaccine. The use of the inactivated seasonal influenza vaccine (Fluzone®) is allowed.
• The participant is pregnant or breastfeeding.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Nivolumab+Ipilimumab; Ipilimumab is administered intravenously every 6 weeks; Nivolumab is administered intravenously every 2 weeks	Drug: Nivolumab; Nivolumab is called an anti- PD-1 or a checkpoint inhibitor and is an antibody (a type of human protein) designed to allow the body's own immune system to destroy tumors; Other Names: Opdivo; Drug: Ipilimumab; Ipilimumab is called an anti-CTLA-4 and is a type of antibody that works to prevent the body's immune system from stopping to fight a specific cancer; Other Names: Yervoy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Overall Response Rate of Nivolumab in Combination With Ipilimumab	Overall Response Rate (ORR) is defined as the proportion of patients with complete or partial response evaluated by RECIST 1.1. Per RECIST 1.1: Complete Response (CR), Disappearance of all target lesions; Partial Response (PR), >=30% decrease in the sum of the longest diameter of target lesions; Overall Response (OR) = CR + PR.	2 years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Overall Response Rate of the Combination According to Immune-related Response Criteria	Overall Response Rate (ORR) is defined as the proportion of patients with complete or partial response evaluated by immune-related response criteria (irRC). Per irRC: irComplete Response (irCR): Complete disappearance of all tumor lesions (target an non-target) together with no new measurable/unmeasurable lesions for at least 4 weeks from the date of documentation of complete response. Immune-Related Partial Response (irPR): The sum of the products of the two largest perpendicular diameters of all target lesions is measured and captured as the SPD baseline. At each subsequent tumor assessment, the SPD of the two largest perpendicular diameters of all target lesions and of new measurable lesions are added together to provide the Immune Response Sum of Product Diameters (irSPD). A decrease, relative to baseline, of the irSPD compared to the previously SPD baseline of 50% or greater is considered an irPR.; Overall Response (OR) = irCR + irPR.	2 years
Clinical Benefit Rate	Clinical Benefit Rate (CBR) will be determined by looking at the number of subjects who have either a complete response, partial response, or stable disease for greater than or equal to 24 weeks, per RECIST 1.1	2 Years
Progression Free Survival	Progression free survival is defined from the study entry to first documented evidence of disease progression by RECIST 1.1 or death of any cause, whichever occurs first. Patients alive with no progression are censored at the last disease assessment.	2 years
Overall Survival	OS based on the Kaplan-Meier method is defined as the time from study entry to death or censored at date last known alive.	Participants were followed long-term for survival every 12 weeks from the end of treatment until death or lost to follow-up. Median follow-up in this study cohort was 9.7 months.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
• Collaborators: Bristol-Myers Squibb
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Sara Tolaney, MD, MPH, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Barroso-Sousa R, Zanudo JGT, Li T, Reddy SM, Emens LA, Kuntz TM, Silva CAC, AlDubayan SH, Chu H, Overmoyer B, Lange P, DiLullo MK, Montesion M, Kasparian J, Hughes ME, Attaya V, Basta A, Lin NU, Tayob N, Jeselsohn R, Mittendorf EA, Tolaney SM. Nivolumab plus low-dose ipilimumab in hypermutated HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer: a phase II trial (NIMBUS). Nat Commun. 2025 May 13;16(1):4430. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-59695-1.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 8, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 30, 2021
• Study Completion (Estimated): February 28, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 26, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 26, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): December 28, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 28, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 15, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Breast Cancer
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Skin Diseases; Breast Diseases; Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases; Breast Neoplasms; Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins; Proteins; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; Antibodies, Monoclonal; Antibodies; Immunoglobulins; Immunoproteins; Blood Proteins; Serum Globulins; Globulins; Nivolumab; Ipilimumab
• Other Study ID Numbers: 18-561

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: The Dana-Farber / Harvard Cancer Center encourages and supports the responsible and ethical sharing of data from clinical trials. De-identified participant data from the final research dataset used in the published manuscript may only be shared under the terms of a Data Use Agreement. Requests may be directed to: [contact information for Sponsor Investigator or designee]. The protocol and statistical analysis plan will be made available on Clinicaltrials.gov only as required by federal regulation or as a condition of awards and agreements supporting the research.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Data can be shared no earlier than 1 year following the date of publication.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Requests may be directed to: [contact information for Sponsor- Investigator or designee]
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No