Testing Nivolumab to Prevent Disease From Coming Back After Treatment in Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia, REMAIN Trial
Randomized Phase II Study to Assess the Role of Nivolumab as Single Agent to Eliminate Minimal Residual Disease and Maintain Remission in Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) Patients After Chemotherapy (REMAIN TRIAL)
13 other identifiers
interventional
82
2 countries
46
Brief Summary
This phase II trial studies how well nivolumab works in eliminating any remaining cancer cells and preventing cancer from returning in patients with acute myeloid leukemia that had a decrease in or disappearance of signs and symptoms of cancer after receiving chemotherapy. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as nivolumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P50-P75 for phase_2
Started Jul 2015
Longer than P75 for phase_2
46 active sites
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
October 24, 2014
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
October 27, 2014
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
July 2, 2015
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
July 28, 2025
CompletedResults Posted
Study results publicly available
November 6, 2025
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
October 8, 2026
ExpectedApril 13, 2026
April 1, 2026
10.1 years
October 24, 2014
October 24, 2025
April 9, 2026
Conditions
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Progression Free Survival (PFS)
Time from randomization to disease relapse or death from any cause
Assessed up to 5 years
Secondary Outcomes (3)
Overall Survival (OS)
Assessed up to 5 years
Non-relapse Mortality (NRM)
Assessed up to 5 years
Incidence of Adverse Effects of Nivolumab
Up to 5 years
Study Arms (2)
Arm I (nivolumab)
EXPERIMENTALPatients receive nivolumab IV over 60 minutes once every 2 weeks. Treatment repeats every 2 weeks for 46 cycles in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients also undergo bone marrow biopsy at screening, months 3, 6, and 12, as clinically indicated, and during off-study evaluation. Patients also undergo collection of blood samples at screening, weeks 9, 13, 25, and 53, and during off-study evaluation or at time of clinically suspected relapse. Patients may undergo ECHO as clinically indicated.
Arm II (observation)
ACTIVE COMPARATORPatients undergo standard of care clinical observation for up to 2 years. Upon disease relapse, patients may cross-over to Arm I. Patients also undergo bone marrow biopsy at screening, months 3, 6, and 12, as clinically indicated, and during off-study evaluation. Patients also undergo collection of blood samples at screening, weeks 9, 13, 25, and 53, and during off-study evaluation or at time of clinically suspected relapse. Patients may undergo ECHO as clinically indicated.
Interventions
Undergo collection of blood samples
Undergo bone marrow biopsy
Undergo standard of care clinical observation
Undergo ECHO
Given IV
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- AML patients in first complete remission (CR) (CR1) or first complete remission with incomplete blood count recovery (CRi) after induction and/or consolidation chemotherapy; except young (\< 60 years) AML patients in European LeukemiaNet favorable group; (Since young AML patients in the European LeukemiaNet favorable group have excellent 2 year progression free survival \[PFS\] at around 64%, further maintenance therapy might not provide additional benefit; thus the current trial will exclude young favorable group AML patients), patients could receive any cycle consolidation or no consolidation per the discretion by the treating physician
- Within 60 days after bone marrow biopsy confirmed remission after the patients recover from their last course of chemotherapy, the goal to consent the eligible patient prior to the remission confirmation bone marrow biopsy at the end of the planned chemotherapy); ideally, the research samples will be collected during the bone marrow biopsy, and the patient will be enrolled to the study within 2 weeks of the bone marrow biopsy; if there is delay to enroll the patient after the bone marrow biopsy and research sample collection, it is ok not to repeat bone marrow biopsy within 4 weeks, after the last bone marrow biopsy, if there is no sign of disease relapse; a repeat bone marrow biopsy should be done if the delay of enrollment is more than 4 weeks after the last bone marrow biopsy; patients with confirmed remission within 60 days after the last bone marrow biopsy, without research samples collection, should have a repeat bone marrow biopsy conducted within two weeks prior to enrolling on the study
- Patient is not a candidate for stem cell transplant due to advanced age or co-morbidities; or the enrollee does not have donor available; or the enrollee declines stem cell transplant due to personal belief; or stem cell transplant is not standard of care based on the risk category of disease
- Age \>= 18 years. Because no dosing or adverse event data are currently available on the use of nivolumab in patients \< 18 years of age, children are excluded from this study, but will be eligible for future pediatric trials
- Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG)/Karnofsky performance status of 0 or 1 (Karnofsky \>= 70%)
- Life expectancy of greater than 6 months
- Leukocytes \>= 1,500/mcL
- Absolute neutrophil count \>= 1,000/mcL
- Platelets \>= 50,000/mcL or recovery to the baseline count
- Total bilirubin =\< 1.5 x institutional upper limit of normal (ULN) (except patients with Gilbert syndrome, who can have total bilirubin \< 3.0 mg/dL)
- Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase \[SGOT\])/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase \[SGPT\]) =\< 2.5 x ULN
- Amylase and lipase =\< 1.5 x ULN without any symptoms of pancreatitis
- Serum creatinine =\< 1.5 x ULN OR creatinine clearance (CrCl) \>= 50 mL/min (if using the Cockcroft-Gault formula)
- The effects of nivolumab on the developing human fetus are unknown; for this reason, women of child-bearing potential (WOCBP) and men must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation; WOCBP should use an adequate method to avoid pregnancy for 23 weeks after the last dose of investigational drug nivolumab; women of childbearing potential must have a negative serum or urine pregnancy test (minimum sensitivity 25 IU/L or equivalent units of human chorionic gonadotropin \[HCG\]) within 24 hours prior to the start of nivolumab; women must not be breastfeeding; men who are sexually active with WOCBP must use any contraceptive method with a failure rate of less than 1% per year; men receiving nivolumab and who are sexually active with WOCBP will be instructed to adhere to contraception for a period of 31 weeks after the last dose of investigational product; women who are not of childbearing potential (i.e., who are postmenopausal or surgically sterile as well as azoospermic men) do not require contraception
- Women of childbearing potential (WOCBP) is defined as any female who has experienced menarche and who has not undergone surgical sterilization (hysterectomy or bilateral oophorectomy) or who is not postmenopausal; menopause is defined clinically as 12 months of amenorrhea in a woman over 45 in the absence of other biological or physiological causes; in addition, women under the age of 55 must have a documented serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) level less than 40 mIU/mL
- +3 more criteria
You may not qualify if:
- Patients who have had chemotherapy or radiotherapy within 4 weeks (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin C) prior to entering the study or those who have not recovered from adverse events (AEs) due to agents administered more than 4 weeks earlier
- Patients who are receiving any other investigational agents
- Patients should be excluded if they have had prior treatment with an anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, anti-PD-L2, anti-CTLA-4 antibody, or any other antibody or drug specifically targeting T-cell co-stimulation or immune checkpoint pathways
- Patients with known central nervous system (CNS) involvement may be excluded because of poor prognosis and concerns regarding progressive neurologic dysfunction that would confound the evaluation of neurologic and other adverse events; however, if CNS disease is cleared before the treatment with nivolumab, patients could be allowed if no permanent CNS damage
- History of severe hypersensitivity reaction to any monoclonal antibody
- Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements
- Pregnant women are excluded from this study because nivolumab is an agent with the potential for teratogenic or abortifacient effects; because there is an unknown but potential risk for adverse events in nursing infants secondary to treatment of the mother with nivolumab, breastfeeding should be discontinued if the mother is treated with nivolumab
- Patients with known history of testing positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or known acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) might be enrolled if the viral load by PCR is undetectable with/without active treatment and absolute lymphocyte count \>= 350/ul
- Patients with a positive test for hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBV sAg) or hepatitis C virus ribonucleic acid (hepatitis C virus \[HCV\] antibody) indicating acute or chronic infection might be enrolled if the viral load by PCR is undetectable with/without active treatment
- Patients with active autoimmune disease or history of autoimmune disease that might recur, which may affect vital organ function or require immune suppressive treatment including systemic corticosteroids, should be excluded; these include but are not limited to patients with a history of immune related neurologic disease, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune (demyelinating) neuropathy, Guillain-Barre syndrome, myasthenia gravis; systemic autoimmune disease such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), connective tissue diseases, scleroderma, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Crohn's, ulcerative colitis, hepatitis; and patients with a history of toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), Stevens-Johnson syndrome, or phospholipid syndrome should be excluded because of the risk of recurrence or exacerbation of disease; patients with vitiligo, endocrine deficiencies including thyroiditis managed with replacement hormones including physiologic corticosteroids are eligible; patients with rheumatoid arthritis and other arthropathies, Sjögren's syndrome and psoriasis controlled with topical medication and patients with positive serology, such as antinuclear antibodies (ANA), anti-thyroid antibodies should be evaluated for the presence of target organ involvement and potential need for systemic treatment but should otherwise be eligible
- Patients are permitted to enroll if they have vitiligo, type I diabetes mellitus, residual hypothyroidism due to autoimmune condition only requiring hormone replacement, psoriasis not requiring systemic treatment, or conditions not expected to recur in the absence of an external trigger (precipitating event)
- Patients should be excluded if they have a condition requiring systemic treatment with either corticosteroids (\> 10 mg daily prednisone equivalents) or other immunosuppressive medications within 14 days of study drug administration; inhaled or topical steroids and adrenal replacement doses =\< 10 mg daily prednisone equivalents are permitted in the absence of active autoimmune disease; patients are permitted to use topical, ocular, intra-articular, intranasal, and inhalational corticosteroids (with minimal systemic absorption); physiologic replacement doses of systemic corticosteroids are permitted, even if =\< 10 mg/day prednisone equivalents; a brief course of corticosteroids for prophylaxis (e.g., contrast dye allergy) or for treatment of non-autoimmune conditions (e.g., delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction caused by contact allergen) is permitted
- Patients who have had evidence of active or acute diverticulitis, intra-abdominal abscess, gastrointestinal (GI) obstruction and abdominal carcinomatosis which are known risk factors for bowel perforation should be evaluated for the potential need for additional treatment before coming on study
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (46)
University of Alabama at Birmingham Cancer Center
Birmingham, Alabama, 35233, United States
Banner University Medical Center - Tucson
Tucson, Arizona, 85719, United States
University of Arizona Cancer Center-North Campus
Tucson, Arizona, 85719, United States
City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center
Duarte, California, 91010, United States
UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center
La Jolla, California, 92093, United States
Los Angeles General Medical Center
Los Angeles, California, 90033, United States
USC / Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
Los Angeles, California, 90033, United States
University of California Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center
Sacramento, California, 95817, United States
Smilow Cancer Center/Yale-New Haven Hospital
New Haven, Connecticut, 06510, United States
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut, 06520, United States
MedStar Georgetown University Hospital
Washington D.C., District of Columbia, 20007, United States
Moffitt Cancer Center-International Plaza
Tampa, Florida, 33607, United States
Moffitt Cancer Center
Tampa, Florida, 33612, United States
University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center
Chicago, Illinois, 60637, United States
Decatur Memorial Hospital
Decatur, Illinois, 62526, United States
UC Comprehensive Cancer Center at Silver Cross
New Lenox, Illinois, 60451, United States
University of Chicago Medicine-Orland Park
Orland Park, Illinois, 60462, United States
Illinois CancerCare-Peoria
Peoria, Illinois, 61615, United States
Indiana University/Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center
Indianapolis, Indiana, 46202, United States
University of Kansas Clinical Research Center
Fairway, Kansas, 66205, United States
University of Kansas Cancer Center
Kansas City, Kansas, 66160, United States
University of Kansas Hospital-Westwood Cancer Center
Westwood, Kansas, 66205, United States
University of Kentucky/Markey Cancer Center
Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, United States
University of Maryland/Greenebaum Cancer Center
Baltimore, Maryland, 21201, United States
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States
NCI - Center for Cancer Research
Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States
Wayne State University/Karmanos Cancer Institute
Detroit, Michigan, 48201, United States
Weisberg Cancer Treatment Center
Farmington Hills, Michigan, 48334, United States
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, Nebraska, 68198, United States
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center/Dartmouth Cancer Center
Lebanon, New Hampshire, 03756, United States
Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08903, United States
Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey
New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08903, United States
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Buffalo, New York, 14263, United States
Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone
New York, New York, 10016, United States
Montefiore Medical Center-Einstein Campus
The Bronx, New York, 10461, United States
Montefiore Medical Center - Moses Campus
The Bronx, New York, 10467, United States
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio, 44106, United States
Penn State Milton S Hershey Medical Center
Hershey, Pennsylvania, 17033-0850, United States
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19107, United States
UT Southwestern/Simmons Cancer Center-Dallas
Dallas, Texas, 75390, United States
Baylor College of Medicine/Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center
Houston, Texas, 77030, United States
Ben Taub General Hospital
Houston, Texas, 77030, United States
Huntsman Cancer Institute/University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah, 84112, United States
VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center
Richmond, Virginia, 23298, United States
University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center - University Hospital
Madison, Wisconsin, 53792, United States
University Health Network-Princess Margaret Hospital
Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2M9, Canada
Related Publications (2)
Pyzer AR, Dillon LW, Sharon E, Karrison TG, Zha Y, Fulton N, Gui G, Andrew G, Streicher H, Sweet K, Yaghmour G, Liu JJ, Jonas BA, Schimmer AD, Grant S, Zeidan AM, Hildebrandt GC, Lowrey CH, Mattison RJ, Palmisiano N, Salhotra A, Tzachanis D, Baer MR, Lin TL, Patel P, Chen H, Stadler WM, Odenike O, Larson RA, Gajewski TF, Hourigan CS, Stock W, Liu H. Randomized phase 2 study to assess the role of single-agent nivolumab to maintain remission in acute myeloid leukemia. Blood Adv. 2025 May 13;9(9):2144-2152. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2024015176.
PMID: 39928953DERIVEDShallis RM, Podoltsev NA. Maintenance therapy for acute myeloid leukemia: sustaining the pursuit for sustained remission. Curr Opin Hematol. 2021 Mar 1;28(2):110-121. doi: 10.1097/MOH.0000000000000637.
PMID: 33394722DERIVED
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Interventions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Results Point of Contact
- Title
- Theodore Karrison
- Organization
- University of Chicago
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Wendy Stock
University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center EDDOP
Publication Agreements
- PI is Sponsor Employee
- No
- Restriction Type
- LTE60
- Restrictive Agreement
- Yes
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- phase 2
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- NONE
- Purpose
- TREATMENT
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- NIH
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
October 24, 2014
First Posted
October 27, 2014
Study Start
July 2, 2015
Primary Completion
July 28, 2025
Study Completion (Estimated)
October 8, 2026
Last Updated
April 13, 2026
Results First Posted
November 6, 2025
Record last verified: 2026-04