Freezing tumors may boost immunotherapy in stubborn melanoma
NCT ID NCT05779423
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Aug 28, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This study tests whether freezing part of a growing tumor (cryoablation) can help two immunotherapy drugs, ipilimumab and nivolumab, work better in people with advanced melanoma that has stopped responding to initial treatment. About 37 adults whose melanoma is growing despite prior immunotherapy will receive the drug combo plus the freezing procedure. The goal is to see if this combination can shrink tumors or keep them stable.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Ipilimumab (Yervoy) and nivolumab (Opdivo) combined with cryoablation (freezing the tumor)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this approach could offer a new treatment option for people with advanced melanoma that stops responding to standard immunotherapy, potentially controlling the disease longer.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-phase study (37 participants) testing a combination of existing drugs plus a procedure. It may not work for everyone, and side effects from the drugs or procedure could be serious.
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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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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About 37 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2023
- Expected to finish
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Jan 2028
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 years and older
- 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: * Adult patients (age \> 18) with unresectable melanoma who have progressed on immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy (pembrolizumab, nivolumab, nivolumab-relatimab, atezolizumab, ipilimumab) and for whom their treating physician plans to initiate dual ICI with ipilimumab and nivolumab. Progression on adjuvant PD-1 inhibition is permitted. PD-1 does not have to be the last therapy received. This is no limited on prior lines of ICI received. There is no wash-out period required from the time of their last therapy. * Patients are medically eligible for dual checkpoint inhibition (i.e. no untreated/uncontrolled intercurrent medical issue including ongoing immune-related adverse event or need for systemic steroids \>10mg PO prednisone or its equivalent, ECOG PS ≤2) with ipilimumab 3mg/kg and nivolumab 1mg/kg by their treating physician * Must have a tumor amenable to percutaneous image-guided cryoablation based on routine Interventional Radiology criteria. * Patients must have measurable disease (by RECIST) independent of the lesion to be ablated. Measurable disease is defined as at least one lesion that can be accurately measured in at least one dimension (longest diameter to be recorded for non-nodal lesions and short axis for nodal lesions) as ≥20 mm with conventional techniques or as ≥10 mm with spiral CT scan, MRI, or calipers by clinical exam. See Section 11 (Measurement of Effect) for evaluation of measurable disease. * Prior radiation therapy to any site is allowed; with an exception of the target site for planned cryoablation * ECOG performance status ≤2 (Karnofsky ≥60%, see Appendix A) * Life expectancy of greater than 3 months * Participants must have adequate organ and marrow function as defined below: * Leukocytes ≥3,000/mcL * Absolute neutrophil count ≥1,000/mcL * Platelets ≥75,000/mcL * Total bilirubin ≤3 institutional upper limit of normal (ULN) * AST(SGOT)/ALT(SGPT) ≤5 × institutional ULN * CrCL \> 30 ml/min * Known Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected participants on effective anti-retroviral therapy with undetectable viral load within 6 months are eligible for this trial. (HIV testing not required at screening). * For participants with known evidence of known chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, the HBV viral load must be undetectable on suppressive therapy, if indicated. (HBV testing not required at screening). * Participants with a history of known hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection must have been treated and cured. For participants with HCV infection who are currently on treatment, they are eligible if they have an undetectable HCV viral load. (HCV testing not required at screening). * Participants with asymptomatic brain metastases are eligible. * Participants with new or progressive asymptomatic brain metastases (active brain metastases) or leptomeningeal disease are eligible if the treating physician determines that immediate CNS specific treatment is not required and is unlikely to be required during the first cycle of therapy. * Participants with a prior or concurrent malignancy whose natural history or treatment does not have the potential to interfere with the safety or efficacy assessment of the investigational regimen are eligible for this trial. * Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document. Exclusion Criteria: * Lesion to undergo cryoablation cannot have had prior radiation therapy or other locoregional therapy * Inability to hold systemic anticoagulation prior to cryoablation (if holding anticoagulation is required by the operator) * Participants who are receiving an investigational agent(s). * Participants who are progressing on combination ipilimumab/nivolumab as their last line of therapy * Participants who have not recovered from adverse events due to prior anti-cancer therapy (i.e., have residual toxicities \> Grade 1) * Patients with symptomatic brain metastasis or LMD * Participants on \> 10mg of oral prednisone or its equivalent * Participants with uncontrolled intercurrent illness. * Pregnant women are excluded from this study because immune checkpoint inhibitors have the potential for teratogenic or abortifacient effects. Because there is an unknown but potential risk for adverse events in nursing infants secondary to treatment of the mother with immune checkpoint inhibitors, breastfeeding should be discontinued.
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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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Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center
RECRUITINGBoston, Massachusetts, 02114, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- A quest to find biomarkers that match melanoma patients with the right immunotherapy
- Can a triple immunotherapy attack beat advanced melanoma?