Immunotherapy may treat skin cancer in kidney transplant patients without rejection

NCT ID NCT07715734

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Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting This study
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jul 20, 2026 · Last updated Jul 21, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This trial investigates whether the immunotherapy drug cemiplimab can shrink advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in people who have received a kidney transplant. Because immunotherapy can trigger organ rejection, participants also receive the steroid prednisone to protect the transplanted kidney. The study aims to see if this approach can fight the cancer while keeping the kidney safe.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
cemiplimab (an immunotherapy drug) given with prednisone (a steroid to protect the transplanted kidney)
What this could lead to
If successful, this could offer a new treatment option for kidney transplant recipients with advanced skin cancer, a group often excluded from immunotherapy due to rejection risk.
What could go wrong
This is a small, early-phase trial, so results may not apply broadly. The combination of immunotherapy and steroids may still cause kidney rejection or other serious side effects.

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

Phase 2

Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.

Participants

About 22 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Expected to start

Sep 2026

An estimate. Start dates often move.

Expected to finish

Mar 2031

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

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

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

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

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Histologically confirmed locoregionally advanced and unresectable or recurrent/metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC). Definitions that encompass unresectable disease include any of the following, after discussion at the multidisciplinary meeting: * Anatomically unresectable disease to include carotid artery encasement; invasion into the skull base, cavernous sinus, sagittal sinus; pre-vertebral fascia/vertebral body/vertebral artery; disseminated distant metastatic disease * Functionally unresectable disease resulting in the loss of sight, oral competency/speech/swallowing, or limb * Biologically unresectable disease to include satellitosis, in-transit/dermal metastasis, or disease which has failed 2 or more prior surgeries (by an experienced CSCC surgeon) or failed curative intent radiation therapy * Measurable disease per RECIST 1.1. * Received a kidney transplant. Must have a functioning allograft, be at least 6 months from last allograft transplantation, and have had no evidence of biopsy-proven allograft rejection (Banff 1A or above, requiring treatment) at any time. In order to be considered a functioning allograft, the following criteria must be met: * Estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) ≥ 30 mL/min (using the CKD-EPI equation either by Cr or Cystatin C based measurement) (Inker LA et al, 2021) * Baseline proteinuria \< 0.5 g/day (by spot urine protein-creatinine ratio or 24-hr urine collection, if available) * Not receiving antiproliferative immunosuppressive medications. If patients are on antiproliferative immunosuppressive medications, they must be discontinued for at least 7 days before initiation of C1D1 (i.e. at the screening visit and/or during the lead-in period) * At least 18 years of age. * ECOG performance status ≤ 2 * Adequate bone marrow and organ function as defined below: * Leukocytes ≥ 2.2 K/cumm * Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1.0 K/cumm * Platelets ≥ 90 K/cumm * Total bilirubin within normal institutional limits (except in cases where Gilbert syndrome is known or suspected, where total bilirubin should be \< 3 mg/dL) * AST(SGOT)/ALT(SGPT) ≤ 2.5 x IULN * The effects of cemiplimab on the developing human fetus are unknown. For this reason, people of childbearing potential and people able to father a child must agree to use highly effective contraception prior to study entry, for the duration of study participation, and for 4 months after last dose of cemiplimab. * Able to switch immunosuppression regimen to sirolimus and prednisone if not already receiving sirolimus and prednisone as SOC. * Able to understand and willing to sign an IRB approved written informed consent document and willing and able to comply with clinic visits and study-related procedures. Legally authorized representatives may sign and give informed consent on behalf of study participants. Exclusion Criteria: * Received chemotherapy or radiotherapy within 2 weeks prior to C1D1. Note: prior cetuximab exposure is permitted, but it must have been discontinued at least 2 weeks prior to the start of cemiplimab. * Received prior anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, anti-PD-L2, anti-CLTA-4 antibody, or any other antibody or drug specifically targeting T-cell co-stimulation or checkpoint pathways (including chimeric antigen receptor \[CAR\] T-cell therapies). Note: prior topical or intralesional immunotherapies (e.g., imiquimod, talimogene laherparepvec) are permitted. * Prior or concurrent malignancy whose natural history has the potential to interfere with the safety or efficacy assessment of the investigational regimen. Patients with prior or concurrent malignancy that does NOT meet that definition are eligible for this trial * Currently receiving any other investigational agents. * Unable to swallow pills. * Currently receiving any medications or substances that are strong inhibitors or inducers of CYP3A4. * Receipt of a live vaccine within 28 days of C1D1. * Receipt of COVID-19 vaccination within 7 days of C1D1 or for which the planned COVID-19 vaccinations would not be completed 7 days prior to C1D1. * Patients with untreated brain metastases. Patients with treated brain metastases are allowed if post-treatment brain-imaging after CNS-directed therapy shows no evidence of progression and if they are at least 4 weeks out from treatment. They must also be asymptomatic and on stable doses of anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) and oral corticosteroids at the time of enrollment * A history of allergic reactions attributed to or known hypersensitivity to cemiplimab or any of its components or other agents used in the study. * Ongoing or recent evidence of significant autoimmune disease that required treatment with systemic immunosuppressive treatments. Note: the following are not exclusionary: vitiligo, childhood asthma that has resolved, endocrinopathies (such as hypothyroidism or type 1 diabetes) that require only hormone replacement, or psoriasis that does not require systemic treatment. Patients with a history of Hashimoto thyroiditis who are stable on replacement hormone therapy are not excluded. * Any condition that requires ongoing/continuous corticosteroid therapy (\> 10 mg prednisone/day or anti-inflammatory equivalent) within 7 days prior to C1D1. Patients who require a brief course of steroids (up to 2 days in the week before C1D1) or physiologic replacement are not excluded. * Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including but not limited to ongoing or active infection requiring hospitalization or treatment with IV anti-infectives within 14 days prior to C1D1; NYHA heart failure classifications of Class II, III, or IV; myocardial infarction or acute coronary syndrome within 12 months prior to C1D1; unstable angina pectoris; cardiac arrhythmia; transient ischemic attack or stroke within 12 months prior to C1D1. * Known non-infectious pneumonitis or any history of interstitial lung disease. * Pregnant and/or breastfeeding. Women of childbearing potential must have a negative serum pregnancy test within 14 days of study entry. * Uncontrolled infection with HIV, hepatitis B or C infection, diagnosis of immunodeficiency, and/or tuberculosis (active or latent). * Participants with known controlled HIV infection (undetectable viral load on HIV RNA PCR) and CD4 count \> 350 either spontaneously or on a stable antiviral regiment are eligible. For these participants, monitoring will be performed as per local standards. * Participants with HBsAg positive who have controlled infection (serum HBV DNA PCR that is below the limit of detection and receiving anti-viral therapy for hepatitis B) are eligible. Participants with controlled infections must undergo periodic monitoring of HBV DNA. Participants must remain on anti-viral therapy for at least 6 months beyond the last dose of cemiplimab. * Participants with HBsAg negative but total HBcAb positive are permitted with the following requirements: if serum HBV DNA is above the limit of detection at screening, initiate HBV antiviral therapy before study entry. If serum HBV DNA PCR is below the limit of detection, periodic monitoring of HBsAg must be performed. * Participants who are HCV Ab+ who have controlled infection (undetectable HCV RNA by PCR either spontaneously or in response to a successful prior course of anti-HCV therapy) are eligible.

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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

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  1. The places running it

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  2. The official record

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Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Washington University School of Medicine

    St Louis, Missouri, 63110, United States

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