New drug cocktail aims to shrink melanoma before surgery
NCT ID NCT07586904
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This early-phase trial is testing whether a combination of two drugs—cadonilimab and a high-dose interferon—can safely shrink tumors in people with stage III or IV melanoma before they have surgery. Ten participants will receive the drugs for three months, and researchers will monitor tumor response and side effects. The goal is to gather initial data to support larger future studies.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Cadonilimab and recombinant human interferon α1b
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could point toward a new pre-surgery treatment option for advanced melanoma that helps shrink tumors before surgery.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very early, small trial with only 10 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The drug combination may cause side effects like fatigue or immune reactions.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Early phase 1
The earliest testing in people: a first look at safety, in a very small group.
- Participants
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About 10 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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May 2025
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 75 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Voluntarily participate in this trial, sign the informed consent form, and be between 18 and 75 years of age, regardless of gender. * Patients with histopathologically or cytologically confirmed stage III or resectable stage IV malignant melanoma. * Stage III is defined as the presence of at least one clinically accessible lymph node metastasis or in-transit metastasis. * Resectable stage IV is defined as a single distant metastasis, excluding brain metastases or any other metastases that cannot be completely surgically resected. * Mucosal or ocular melanomas are excluded. * Melanomas of unknown primary origin are excluded. * Have not received treatment with PD-1, PD-L1, or PD-L2 antibodies, anti-CTLA4 antibodies, interferon (IFN), targeted therapy, radiotherapy, or systemic chemotherapy within the past month. * Have an expected survival period of ≥ 6 months. * Have at least one measurable lesion according to RECIST version 1.1. * Have an ECOG performance status score of 0 or 1. * Have adequate organ function, as indicated by the following laboratory values (within 4 weeks prior to the start of study treatment): 1. Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L 2. Platelets ≥ 100 × 10⁹/L 3. Hemoglobin ≥ 90 g/L (no blood transfusion within 14 days prior to enrollment) 4. Serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 × upper limit of normal (ULN) 5. Serum total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 × ULN 6. AST (SGOT) and ALT (SGPT) ≤ 2.5 × ULN or ≤ 5 × ULN (for patients with liver metastases) 7. Prothrombin time (PT)/International Normalized Ratio (INR) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) ≤ 1.5 × ULN (unless the subject is receiving anticoagulant therapy, in which case PT or aPTT must be within the therapeutic range intended for the anticoagulant used). 8.Female patients of childbearing potential must have a negative urine or serum pregnancy test within 7 days prior to receiving the first dose of the study drug. 9.Female patients enrolled in the study must be willing to use appropriate contraception methods until 12 months after the last dose of the study drug. Exclusion Criteria: * The patient is currently participating, or has participated within 4 weeks prior to the first dose of the study drug, in another interventional clinical trial of drugs or medical devices. * The patient has received any anti-tumor therapy within the past month, including but not limited to chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy (e.g., anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, or anti-CTLA-4 antibodies, or any other antibody targeting T-cell co-regulatory pathways), etc. * The patient has received systemic steroid therapy (\>10 mg/kg prednisone or equivalent) within two weeks prior to the first dose, or any other form of immunosuppressive medication. * The patient has a known history of hematologic malignancy, primary brain tumor, sarcoma, or another primary solid tumor, unless the patient has been cured and has had no evidence of recurrence for 5 years. Exceptions include cured basal cell carcinoma of the skin and carcinoma in situ of the cervix. * The patient has known central nervous system metastases and/or carcinomatous meningitis. * The patient has a history of severe hypersensitivity to another monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapy. * The patient has had an active autoimmune disease requiring systemic treatment (e.g., with corticosteroids or immunosuppressive drugs) within the past 2 years, and related replacement therapies (e.g., thyroxine, insulin, or physiologic corticosteroid replacement for renal or pituitary insufficiency). Exceptions include patients with vitiligo, type I diabetes, childhood asthma/atopy. * Other severe, uncontrolled concomitant diseases that may affect protocol compliance or interpretation of results, including active opportunistic or advanced (severe) infections; uncontrolled diabetes; cardiovascular disease (e.g., Class III or IV heart failure as defined by the New York Heart Association classification, second-degree or greater heart block, myocardial infarction within the past 6 months, unstable arrhythmias or unstable angina, cerebral infarction within 3 months); pulmonary disease (interstitial lung disease, obstructive pulmonary disease, history of symptomatic bronchospasm); HIV positivity; HCV positivity; HBsAg or HBcAb positivity with detectable HBV DNA (quantitative limit ≥500 IU/mL); or a documented history of tuberculosis. * The patient has received a live vaccine within 4 weeks prior to the first dose; hematopoietic growth factors (e.g., colony-stimulating factors, erythropoietin) within 2 weeks prior to treatment initiation; or major surgical procedures (excluding diagnostic surgery) within 2 weeks prior to treatment initiation. * The patient has a known psychiatric or substance use disorder that would interfere with cooperation with trial requirements. * The patient is pregnant or breastfeeding, or plans to become pregnant or father a child during the study period. * Any other severe, acute, or chronic medical or laboratory abnormality that, in the investigator's judgment, could increase the risk associated with study participation or could interfere with the interpretation of study results.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
RECRUITINGXi'an, China
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