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Head and Neck CancerPhase 1NCT05327270

Non-randomized, Open-label Study of Intralesional Nivolumab for High Risk Oral Premalignant Lesions

A Phase 1 study testing Nivolumab in people with Head and Neck Cancer, run by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at 1 site in United States.

Active, not recruiting

Under way, not looking for participants. Everyone needed has enrolled. The study is still running.

Official record
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Trial summary

To characterize the safety and tolerability of nivolumab injected intralesionally in patients with high-risk oral premalignant lesions. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Head and Neck Cancer
What is being tested?
Nivolumab
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
18 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
13 Sep 2022to 2 Feb 2027
Phase
Phase 1
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Subject Inclusion Criteria:

In order to be eligible for this trial, the subject must:

  1. Presence of a treatment naïve, biopsy proven, intraoral premalignant lesion visible from oral cavity.
  2. Be willing and able to provide written informed consent for the trial.
  3. Be >/= 18 years of age on day of signing informed consent.
  4. Be willing to provide tissue, either archive or from a newly obtained oral biopsy.
  5. Have a performance status of 0-2 on the ECOG Performance Scale.
  6. Demonstrate adequate organ function as defined in Table 1 Table 1 Adequate Organ Function Laboratory Values Hematological Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥1,000 /mcL Platelets ≥75,000 / mcL Hepatic Serum total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 X ULN OR Direct bilirubin ≤ ULN for subjects with total bilirubin levels > 1.5 ULN AST (SGOT) and ALT (SGPT) ≤ 2.5 X ULN
  7. Female subject of childbearing potential should have a negative urine or serum pregnancy test within 72 hours prior to receiving the first dose of study medication. If the urine test is positive or cannot be confirmed as negative, a serum pregnancy test will be required.
  8. Female subjects of childbearing potential should be willing to use 2 methods of birth control or be surgically sterile or abstain from heterosexual activity for the course of study therapy through 120 days after the last dose of Nivolumab. Subjects of childbearing potential are those who have not been surgically sterilized or have not been free from menses for > 1 year.
  9. Male subjects should agree to use an adequate method of contraception starting with the first dose of study therapy through 120 days after the last dose of study therapy.

Subject Exclusion Criteria:

The subject must be excluded from the trial if the subject:

  1. Is currently participating and receiving study therapy with potential anti-neoplastic activity or has participated in a study of an investigational agent and received study therapy with potential anti-neoplastic activity within 4 weeks of the first dose of treatment.
  2. Has a known history of active TB (Bacillus Tuberculosis)
  3. Hypersensitivity to nivolumab or any of its excipients.
  4. Has had a prior anti-cancer monoclonal antibody (mAb) within 4 weeks prior to study Day 1 or who has not recovered (i.e., ≤ Grade 2 or at baseline) from adverse events due to agents administered more than 4 weeks earlier.
  5. Has had prior chemotherapy, targeted small molecule therapy, or radiation therapy within 2 weeks prior to study Day 1 or who has not recovered (i.e., ≤ Grade 2 or at baseline) from adverse events due to a previously administered agent.
  6. Has a known additional malignancy that is progressing or requires active treatment other than adjuvant hormonal therapy. Exceptions include basal cell carcinoma of the skin or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin or in situ cervical cancer.
  7. Has known history of, or any evidence of active, non-infectious pneumonitis.
  8. Has an active infection requiring systemic therapy.
  9. Has a history or current evidence of any condition, therapy, or laboratory abnormality that might confound the results of the trial, interfere with the subject's participation for the full duration of the trial, or is not in the best interest of the subject to participate, in the opinion of the treating investigator.
  10. Has known psychiatric or substance abuse disorders that would interfere with cooperation with the requirements of the trial.
  11. Is pregnant or breastfeeding or expecting to conceive or father children within the projected duration of treatment with pembrolizumab, starting with the pre-screening or screening visit through 120 days after the last dose of trial treatment.
  12. Has received a live vaccine within 30 days of planned start of study therapy.

Note: Seasonal influenza vaccines for injection are generally inactivated flu vaccines and are allowed; however intranasal influenza vaccines (e.g., Flu-Mist®) are live

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • M D Anderson Cancer Center

    Houston, Texas, 77030

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Pilot, Non-randomized, Open-label Study of Intralesional Nivolumab for High Risk Oral Premalignant Lesions

To characterize the safety and tolerability of nivolumab injected intralesionally in patients with high-risk oral premalignant lesions.

Read the detailed description

OBJECTIVES

Primary objective:

To characterize the safety and tolerability of nivolumab injected intralesionally in patients with high-risk oral premalignant lesions.

Secondary objectives:

To describe the objective response rate (ORR) in index lesions following intralesional injections of nivolumab in patients with high-risk oral premalignant lesions, according to modified World Health Organization (WHO) criteria.

To describe the pathologic complete response (CR) rate in index lesions following intralesional injections of nivolumab in patients with high-risk oral premalignant lesions.

To describe the major pathologic response rate in index lesions following intralesional injections of nivolumab in patients with high-risk oral premalignant lesions.

To evaluate systemic exposure of nivolumab following intralesional injections of nivolumab in patients with high-risk oral premalignant lesions.

To assess the immunogenicity of nivolumab in patients with high-risk oral premalignant lesions.

To establish a recommended dose of intralesional nivolumab for further study in patients with high-risk oral premalignant lesions.

Being tested
Nivolumab
Medical subject headings
Head and Neck Neoplasms

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • NivolumabDrug

    Also called BMS-936558, Opdivo

    Given by IT

Study groups in NCT05327270
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
NivolumabExperimentalNivolumab will be given as an injection directly into an oral lesion.
Receives: Drug: Nivolumab

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. To evaluate the objective response rate (ORR) in index lesions following intralesional injections of nivolumab in patients with high-risk oral premalignant lesions, according to modified World Health Organization (WHO) criteria.

    Measured: through study completion, an average of 1 year

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted14 Apr 2022
  2. Study start13 Sep 2022
  3. Primary completion2 Feb 2027 (estimated)
  4. Study completion2 Feb 2027 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
18 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT05327270
Sponsor's protocol ID
2021-1011
Other IDs
NCI-2022-02940
Status last verified
Jun 2026
First submitted
30 Mar 2022
Last updated
12 Jun 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 1 study testing Nivolumab in people with Head and Neck Cancer, run by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: under way, not looking for participants, as of the sponsor's last update on 12 Jun 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this phase mean?

Phase 1 studies test a treatment in a small group of people for the first time or in a new way, mainly to check safety and find the right dose.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

To evaluate the objective response rate (ORR) in index lesions following intralesional injections of nivolumab in patients with high-risk oral premalignant lesions, according to modified World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. (time frame: through study completion, an average of 1 year). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 12 Jun 2026.

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