A new study led by researchers at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center may help answer questions about the role of immunotherapy in combination with chemotherapy in treating lung cancer patients whose disease did not response to immunotherapy.

The randomized phase II study, known as HCRN LUN15-233, involves chemotherapy with or without nivolumab.

The study is now open to accrual at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center. Additional sites will open the study in the near future. Nasser Hanna, MD, is leading the study, along with co-investigators Greg Durm, MD; Laura Lourdes, MD; Shadia Jalal, MD; Lawrence Einhorn, MD; and Adam Miller, MD.

“The objective of this study is to see if continuing nivolumab beyond progression with the addition of chemotherapy would improve the survival for patients who would normally stop receiving immunotherapy and have chemotherapy alone,” said Dr. Lourdes. “We know that chemotherapy can only work for so long, so we are hoping to improve their survival.”

The immune system sends out special cells called T cells to fight infections and diseases throughout the body. Some cancer cells can hide from T cells by taking control of a pathway called PD-1. This lets the cancer cells avoid an attack from T cells. Nivolumab is an immunotherapy that blocks the PD-1 pathway. By blocking PD-1, it allows the human immune system to recognize and kill cancer cells.

Nivolumab is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat lung, skin, and kidney cancers. Continuing to give nivolumab after progression combined with chemotherapy is considered “investigational.” This means the use of these drugs in this setting has not been approved by the FDA.

About 62 subjects will participate in the study, and will be randomized to one of two treatment arms. Arm A will receive nivolumab plus either docetaxel, gemcitabine, or pemetrexed as decided by the treating physician. Arm B will receive one of those chemotherapies alone. Patients on both arms will receive treatment every three weeks until their cancer worsens or they have severe side effects.

To enroll in HCRN LUN15-233, subjects must have advanced non-small cell lung cancer that did not respond to prior immunotherapy. Additional eligibility requirements must be met to enroll.

This trial is supported by Bristol-Myers Squibb.

For more information about this study, including full eligibility requirements, visit www.clinicaltrials.gov (study #NCT03041181).

About Hoosier Cancer Research Network:

Hoosier Cancer Research Network (formerly known as Hoosier Oncology Group) conducts innovative cancer research in collaboration with academic and community physicians and scientists across the United States. The organization provides comprehensive clinical trial management and support, from conception through publication. Created in 1984 as a program of the Walther Cancer Institute, Hoosier Cancer Research Network became an independent nonprofit clinical research organization in 2007. Since its founding, Hoosier Cancer Research Network has initiated more than 160 trials in a variety of cancer types and supportive care, resulting in more than 300 publications. More than 5,000 subjects have participated in Hoosier Cancer Research Network clinical trials.