NCT04380545

Brief Summary

This phase I/II trial studies the side effects and how well nivolumab, fluorouracil, and interferon alpha 2b work for the treatment of fibrolamellar cancer (liver cell cancer) that cannot be removed by surgery (unresectable). 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. Chemotherapy drugs, such as fluorouracil, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Interferon alpha 2b may help stimulate the immune system to fight cancer. Giving nivolumab, fluorouracil, and interferon alpha 2b may work better in treating unresectable fibrolamellar cancer compared to fluorouracil and interferon alpha 2b alone.

Trial Health

77
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
15

participants targeted

Target at below P25 for phase_1

Timeline
22mo left

Started Jan 2021

Longer than P75 for phase_1

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
recruiting

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Progress75%
Jan 2021Feb 2028

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

May 5, 2020

Completed
3 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

May 8, 2020

Completed
8 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

January 13, 2021

Completed
7.1 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

February 28, 2028

Expected
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

February 28, 2028

Last Updated

March 6, 2026

Status Verified

March 1, 2026

Enrollment Period

7.1 years

First QC Date

May 5, 2020

Last Update Submit

March 4, 2026

Conditions

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Incidence of adverse events

    Safety will be monitored by addressing and recording all adverse events (AEs), serious adverse events (SAEs) and specific laboratory abnormalities (worst grade). Toxicities will be graded using the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI CTCAE) version 4.0.

    Up to 30 days after last treatment dose

Secondary Outcomes (3)

  • Overall response rate (ORR)

    12 weeks after initiation of combined treatment

  • Conversion rate to surgery

    Up to 6 years

  • Progression-free survival (PFS)

    From the start of treatment to date of patient death (PD), to date of last follow-up if patient is alive without PD, or to date of death, whichever occurs first, assessed up to 6 years

Other Outcomes (1)

  • Tissue and blood immunohistochemistry

    Pre-treatment, 8 weeks, and time of discontinuation

Study Arms (1)

Treatment (fluorouracil, interferon alpha 2b, nivolumab)

EXPERIMENTAL

Patients receive fluorouracil IV continuously on days 1-7 and 15-21 and recombinant interferon alpha 2b-like protein SC on days 1, 3, 5, 15, 17, and 19. Treatment repeats every 28 days for 2 cycles in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Beginning in cycle 3, patients receive nivolumab IV over 30 minutes on day 1, fluorouracil IV continuously on days 1-7 and 15-21, and recombinant interferon alpha 2b-like protein interferon alpha 2b SC on days 1, 3, 5, 15, 17, and 19. Cycles repeat every 28 days for up to 2 years in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Drug: FluorouracilBiological: NivolumabBiological: Recombinant Interferon Alpha 2b-like Protein

Interventions

Given IV

Also known as: 5 Fluorouracil, 5 Fluorouracilum, 5 FU, 5-Fluoro-2,4(1H, 3H)-pyrimidinedione, 5-Fluorouracil, 5-Fluracil, 5-Fu, 5FU, AccuSite, Carac, Fluoro Uracil, Fluouracil, Flurablastin, Fluracedyl, Fluracil, Fluril, Fluroblastin, Ribofluor, Ro 2-9757, Ro-2-9757
Treatment (fluorouracil, interferon alpha 2b, nivolumab)
NivolumabBIOLOGICAL

Given IV

Also known as: BMS-936558, MDX-1106, NIVO, ONO-4538, Opdivo
Treatment (fluorouracil, interferon alpha 2b, nivolumab)

Given SC

Also known as: Novaferon, Recombinant IFN Alfa-2b-like Protein
Treatment (fluorouracil, interferon alpha 2b, nivolumab)

Eligibility Criteria

Age12 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsChild (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Patients, or their legal guardian, must give written informed consent prior to initiation of therapy, and patients under age 18 must give assent in keeping with the policies of the institution. Patients with a history of major psychiatric illness must be judged able to fully understand the investigational nature of the study and the risks associated with the therapy
  • Patients with histologically confirmed FLHCC (or with documentation of original biopsy for diagnosis is acceptable if tumor tissue is unavailable). The determination of resectability status will ultimately lie in the clinical judgment of the surgical oncologist and medical oncologist involved in the care of the patient. The definition of resectability is as follows: hepatectomy can achieve a negative margin while preserving more than 30% of the total estimated liver volume, sparing two contiguous hepatic segments, and maintaining vascular inflow, vascular outflow, and biliary drainage. Patients with extrahepatic disease are defined as having unresectable disease
  • Patient must have measurable disease defined as a lesion that can be accurately measured in at least one dimension (longest diameter to be recorded) and measures \>= 15 mm with conventional techniques or \>= 10 mm with more sensitive techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or spiral computed tomography (CT) scan
  • Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS =\< 1), or for patients under age 18 Karnofsky performance status of \>= 70
  • No advanced cirrhosis, with Child-Pugh A
  • Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) \>= 1,000 /mm\^3 (within 14 days of the first dose of study drug)
  • Platelets \>= 100,000 /mm\^3 (within 14 days of the first dose of study drug)
  • Hemoglobin \> 9.0 g/dL (may be transfused or receive epoetin alfa \[e.g., Epogen\] to maintain or exceed this level) (within 14 days of the first dose of study drug)
  • Total bilirubin =\< 1.5 mg/dL (within 14 days of the first dose of study drug)
  • Serum creatinine =\< 1.5 times the upper limit of normal (ULN) or estimated creatinine clearance (CrCL) \> 40 mL/min (within 14 days of the first dose of study drug)
  • Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase \[SGOT\]) and/or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase \[SGPT\]) =\< 5 times institutional ULN (within 14 days of the first dose of study drug)
  • Women of childbearing potential (WOCBP) must have a negative serum or urine pregnancy test (minimum sensitivity 25 IU/L or equivalent units of human chorionic gonadotropin) within 24 hours prior to the start of study drug
  • Women must not be breastfeeding
  • WOCBP must agree to follow instructions for method(s) of contraception from the time of enrollment for the duration of treatment with study drug(s) plus 5 half-lives of study drug(s) plus 30 days (duration of ovulatory cycle) for a total of 5 months post treatment completion
  • Men who are sexually active with WOCBP must agree to follow instructions for method(s) of contraception for the duration of treatment with study drug(s) plus 5 half-lives of study drug(s) plus 90 days (duration of sperm turnover) for a total of 7 months post-treatment completion
  • +17 more criteria

You may not qualify if:

  • Any other malignancy from which the patient has been disease-free for less than 2 years, except for non-melanoma skin cancer, or in situ carcinoma of any site
  • Patients who have organ allografts
  • Patients who have had a major surgical procedure, open biopsy, or significant traumatic injury with poorly healed wound within 6 weeks prior to first dose of study drug; or have an anticipated need for major surgical procedure during the course of the study (other than defined by protocol). NOTE: Patients will be allowed to start cycle 1 day 1 therapy after 24 hours from pre-treatment biopsy
  • Autoimmune disease: patients with a history of inflammatory bowel disease (including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis) are excluded from this study as are patients with a history of autoimmune disease (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, systemic progressive sclerosis \[scleroderma\], systemic lupus erythematosus, autoimmune vasculitis \[e.g., Wegener's granulomatosis\])
  • Known history of testing positive for human immunodeficiency virus or known acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
  • Any underlying medical condition, which in the opinion of the investigator will make the administration of study drug hazardous or will obscure the interpretation of adverse events (AEs), such as a condition associated with frequent diarrhea
  • Patients who have had a history of acute diverticulitis, abdominal fistula, gastrointestinal perforation, intra-abdominal abscess, gastrointestinal obstruction, or abdominal carcinomatosis which are known risks factors for bowel perforation
  • Patients who have a primary brain tumor (excluding meningiomas and other benign lesions), any brain metastases, leptomeningeal disease, seizure disorders not controlled with standard medical therapy, or history of stroke within the past year
  • History of serious systemic disease, including myocardial infarction or unstable angina within the last 12 months, history of hypertensive crisis or hypertensive encephalopathy, uncontrolled hypertension (blood pressure of \> 140/90 mmHg) at the time of enrollment, New York Heart Association grade II or greater congestive heart failure, unstable symptomatic arrhythmia requiring medication (patients with chronic atrial arrhythmia, i.e., atrial fibrillation or paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia are eligible), or significant vascular disease or symptomatic peripheral vascular disease
  • Patients who have history of other diseases, metabolic dysfunction, physical examination finding, or clinical laboratory finding giving reasonable suspicion of a disease or condition that contraindicates the use of an investigational drug or that might affect the interpretation of the results of the study or render the subject at high risk from treatment complications
  • Patients who have received any live or attenuated viral vaccines within a month prior to initiation of study drugs
  • Patients who have active hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (chronic or acute), defined as having a positive hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) test at screening
  • Patients with a past or resolved HBV infection, defined as having a negative HBsAg test and a positive total hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb) test and negative HBV deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) test at screening, are eligible for the study
  • Patients who have active hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, defined as having a positive HCV antibody test followed by a positive HCV ribonucleic acid (RNA) test at screening
  • The HCV RNA test will be performed only for patients who have a positive HCV antibody test
  • +11 more criteria

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

M D Anderson Cancer Center

Houston, Texas, 77030, United States

RECRUITING

Related Publications (1)

  • O'Neill AF, Church AJ, Perez-Atayde AR, Shaikh R, Marcus KJ, Vakili K. Fibrolamellar carcinoma: An entity all its own. Curr Probl Cancer. 2021 Aug;45(4):100770. doi: 10.1016/j.currproblcancer.2021.100770. Epub 2021 Jul 1.

Related Links

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular

Interventions

FluorouracildehydroftorafurNivolumabrecombinant interferon alpha 2b-like protein

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

AdenocarcinomaCarcinomaNeoplasms, Glandular and EpithelialNeoplasms by Histologic TypeNeoplasmsLiver NeoplasmsDigestive System NeoplasmsNeoplasms by SiteDigestive System DiseasesLiver Diseases

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

UracilPyrimidinonesPyrimidinesHeterocyclic Compounds, 1-RingHeterocyclic CompoundsAntibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedAntibodies, MonoclonalAntibodiesImmunoglobulinsImmunoproteinsBlood ProteinsProteinsAmino Acids, Peptides, and ProteinsSerum GlobulinsGlobulins

Study Officials

  • Sunyoung Lee

    M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
phase 1
Allocation
NA
Masking
NONE
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
SINGLE GROUP
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

May 5, 2020

First Posted

May 8, 2020

Study Start

January 13, 2021

Primary Completion (Estimated)

February 28, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

February 28, 2028

Last Updated

March 6, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Locations