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A Study Using Nivolumab, in Combination With Chemotherapy Drugs to Treat Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC)

  • PhasePhase 2
  • StatusRecruiting
  • Planned enrollment50 people
  • Recruiting US sites74
  • SponsorNational Cancer Institute (NCI)
  • RegistryNCT06064097

Recruitment re-checked on ClinicalTrials.gov Oct 30, 2026. Public record; not medical advice.

A Study Using Nivolumab, in Combination With Chemotherapy Drugs to Treat Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC): a one-minute explainerNCT060640971 min

Eligibility

Who can join

The film gives the main points. The full list below is copied from the registry; the study team makes the final decision.

  • AgeNo minimum to 21 Years
  • SexAll
  • Healthy volunteersNo

You may be able to join if

  • Patients must be ≤ 21 years of age at the time of study enrollment
  • Newly diagnosed American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage II-IV nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC)
  • Patients must have had histologic verification of the malignancy at original diagnosis
  • Although submission of tumor tissue for the molecular characterization initiative is not required for eligibility, it is strongly recommended
  • Patients must have had histologic verification of the malignancy at original diagnosis
  • Although submission of tumor tissue for the molecular characterization initiative is not required for eligibility, it is strongly recommended
  • Patients must have a Lansky (for patients ≤ 16 years of age) or Karnofsky (for patients > 16 years of age) performance status score of ≥ 60%
  • Peripheral absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1000/uL (within 7 days prior to start of protocol therapy)
  • Platelet count ≥ 100,000/uL (transfusion independent) (within 7 days prior to start of protocol therapy)
  • Creatinine clearance or radioisotope glomerular filtration rate (GFR) ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m^2 or (within 7 days prior to start of protocol therapy)
  • A serum creatinine based on age/sex (within 7 days prior to start of protocol therapy) Age: Maximum serum creatinine (mg/dL)
  • 1 month to < 6 months: 0.4 mg/dL (male); 0.4 mg/dL (female) 6 months to < 1 year: 0.5 mg/dL (male); 0.5 mg/dL (female)
  • 1 to < 2 years: 0.6 mg/dL (male); 0.6 mg/dL (female) 2 to < 6 years: 0.8 mg/dL (male); 0.8 mg/dL (female) 6 to < 10 years 1 mg/dL (male); 1 mg/dL (female) 10 to <13 years: 1.2 mg/dL (male); 1.2 mg/dL (female) 13 to < 16 years: 1.5 mg/dL (male); 1.4 mg/dL (female)
  • ≥ 16 years: 1.7 mg/dL (male); 1.4 mg/dL (female)
  • Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 x upper limit of normal (ULN) for age, and (within 7 days prior to start of protocol therapy)
  • Serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) (alanine aminotransferase [ALT]) ≤ 135 U/L* (within 7 days prior to start of protocol therapy)
  • Note: For the purpose of this study, the ULN for SGPT (ALT) has been set to the value of 45 U/L
  • Shortening fraction of ≥ 27% by echocardiogram, or
  • Ejection fraction of ≥ 50% by radionuclide angiogram
  • No evidence of dyspnea at rest, no exercise intolerance, and a pulse oximetry > 94% if there is clinical indication for determination
  • Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients on effective anti-retroviral therapy with undetectable viral load within 6 months and T-cell count above the lower limit of normal are eligible for this trial
  • For patients with evidence of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, the HBV viral load must be undetectable on suppressive therapy, if indicated. Patients with a history of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection must have been treated and cured. For patients with HCV infection who are currently on treatment, they are eligible if they have an undetectable HCV viral load

You cannot join if

  • Patients who received prior radiotherapy to the head or neck
  • Patients who received prior chemotherapy or radiation for the treatment of any cancer in the last 3 years. These patients must also be in remission
  • Patients with a diagnosis of immunodeficiency
  • Patients with an active autoimmune disease that has required systemic treatment in the past 2 years (i.e., with use of disease-modifying agents, corticosteroids, or immunosuppressive agents). Replacement therapy (e.g., thyroxine, insulin, or physiologic corticosteroid replacement therapy for adrenal or pituitary insufficiency, etc.) is not considered a form of systemic treatment.
  • Note: Patients with well-controlled asthma and no need for systemic steroids for the treatment of asthma in the last 12 months will not be excluded
  • Patients with a condition requiring systemic treatment with either corticosteroids (> 0.25 mg/kg (10 mg) daily prednisone equivalent) within 14 days or other immunosuppressive medications within 30 days of enrollment. Inhaled or topical steroids, and adrenal replacement steroid doses > 0.25 mg/kg (10 mg) daily prednisone equivalent, are permitted in the absence of active autoimmune disease
  • Patients with a history of (non-infectious) pneumonitis that required steroids or current pneumonitis
  • Patients with detectable viral load of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B or hepatitis C, or active tuberculosis
  • Patients who have undergone solid organ or allogeneic hematopoietic transplant at any time
  • Due to risks of fetal and teratogenic adverse events as seen in animal studies, a negative pregnancy test must be obtained in females of childbearing potential, defined as females who are post-menarchal. If the urine test is positive or cannot be confirmed as negative, a serum pregnancy test will be required
  • Females of childbearing potential that are sexually active must agree to either practice 2 medically accepted highly-effective methods of contraception at the same time or abstain from heterosexual intercourse from the time of signing the informed consent through 5 months after the last dose of nivolumab, 6 months after the last dose of gemcitabine, and 14 months after the last dose of cisplatin, whichever is longer
  • Males of childbearing potential that are sexually active must agree to either practice a medically accepted highly-effective methods of contraception or abstain from heterosexual intercourse from the time of signing the informed consent through 3 months after the last dose of gemcitabine, and 11 months after the last dose of cisplatin, whichever is longer
  • Lactating females are not eligible unless they have agreed not to breastfeed their infants starting with the first dose of study therapy through 5 months after the last dose of nivolumab
  • All patients and/or their parents or legal guardians must sign a written informed consent
  • All institutional, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and National Cancer Institute (NCI) requirements for human studies must be met

The treatment

How it is intended to work

This is how the treatment is meant to work. Whether it helps, and how safe it is, is what this trial is testing.

nivolumab. A fully human immunoglobulin (Ig) G4 monoclonal antibody directed against the negative immunoregulatory human cell surface receptor programmed death-1 (PD-1, PCD-1) with immune checkpoint inhibitory and antineoplastic activities. Upon administration, nivolumab binds to and blocks the activation of PD-1, an immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF) transmembrane protein, by its ligands programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1), which is overexpressed on certain cancer cells, and programmed cell death ligand 2 (PD-L2), which is primarily expressed on antigen-presenting cells (APCs). This results in the activation of T cells and cell-mediated immune responses against tumor cells. Activated PD-1 negatively regulates T-cell activation and plays a key role in tumor evasion from host immunity. NCI Drug Dictionary

Treatments listed in the registry

  • Biopsy Procedure (Procedure): Undergo tissue biopsy
  • Biospecimen Collection (Procedure): Undergo blood and stool sample collection
  • Chest Radiography (Procedure): Undergo chest x-ray
  • Cisplatin (Drug): Given IV
  • Computed Tomography (Procedure): Undergo CT
  • Echocardiography Test (Procedure): Undergo ECHO
  • Electronic Health Record Review (Other): Ancillary studies
  • Fluciclovine F18 (Other): Given IV
  • Gemcitabine (Drug): Given IV
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Procedure): Undergo MRI
  • Multigated Acquisition Scan (Procedure): Undergo MUGA
  • Nivolumab (Biological): Given IV
  • Positron Emission Tomography (Procedure): Undergo PET
  • Quality-of-Life Assessment (Other): Ancillary studies
  • Questionnaire Administration (Other): Ancillary studies
  • Radiation Therapy (Radiation): Receive radiation therapy
  • X-Ray Imaging (Procedure): Undergo dental x-ray

The study

Treatment groups

Na · Single Group · masking: None

Treatment (nivolumab, gemcitabine, cisplatin, radiation) (Experimental)

See Detailed Description

What it involves

Procedures

As the registry describes them. Requirements to join, such as a tissue sample, are in the eligibility list above even when on-study procedures are optional. Ask the study team which steps apply to you.

  • biopsy: Part of the study plan; some time points described as optional
  • blood samples: Part of the study plan
  • CT scans: Part of the study plan
  • MRI: Part of the study plan
  • PET scans: Part of the study plan
  • echocardiogram: Described as optional
  • questionnaires: Part of the study plan
  • radiation: Part of the study plan

Goals

What the study measures

Main goals

  • Incidence of grade 3 or higher immune-related adverse events (irAE) during induction chemoimmunotherapy (CIT) (Until the end of consolidation therapy)

Other goals

  • Event-free survival (EFS)
  • Objective response rate
  • Feasibility success of the induction regimen
  • Cumulative incidence of local or distant relapse

Planned enrollment: 50 (estimated).

Where

Recruiting US sites

  • Children's Hospital of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama
  • Phoenix Childrens Hospital, Phoenix, Arizona
  • Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock, Arkansas
  • Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center, Downey, California
  • Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, California
  • Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
  • Valley Children's Hospital, Madera, California
  • UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, Oakland, California
  • Kaiser Permanente-Oakland, Oakland, California
  • Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego, San Diego, California
  • UCSF Medical Center-Mission Bay, San Francisco, California
  • Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, Colorado
  • Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford, Connecticut
  • Alfred I duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, Delaware
  • Children's National Medical Center, Washington D.C., District of Columbia
  • UF Health Cancer Institute - Gainesville, Gainesville, Florida
  • Nemours Children's Clinic-Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida
  • Nicklaus Children's Hospital, Miami, Florida
  • Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, Orlando, Florida
  • Nemours Children's Hospital, Orlando, Florida
  • Nemours Children's Clinic - Pensacola, Pensacola, Florida
  • Saint Joseph's Hospital/Children's Hospital-Tampa, Tampa, Florida
  • Children's Healthcare of Atlanta - Arthur M Blank Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia
  • Lurie Children's Hospital-Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
  • Riley Hospital for Children, Indianapolis, Indiana
  • Children's Hospital New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Maine Children's Cancer Program, Scarborough, Maine
  • Johns Hopkins University/Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Baltimore, Maryland
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts
  • Corewell Health Grand Rapids Hospitals - Helen DeVos Children's Hospital, Grand Rapids, Michigan
  • Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Rochester, Minnesota
  • University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi
  • Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, Kansas City, Missouri
  • Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri
  • Children's Hospital and Medical Center of Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska
  • University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
  • Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, New Jersey
  • Jersey Shore Medical Center, Neptune City, New Jersey
  • Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, New Jersey
  • Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Newark, New Jersey
  • Albany Medical Center, Albany, New York
  • Montefiore Medical Center - Moses Campus, The Bronx, New York
  • Carolinas Medical Center/Levine Cancer Institute, Charlotte, North Carolina
  • Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
  • East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina
  • Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
  • Sanford Broadway Medical Center, Fargo, North Dakota
  • Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Rainbow Babies and Childrens Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio
  • Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
  • Dayton Children's Hospital, Dayton, Ohio
  • University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  • Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, Allentown, Pennsylvania
  • Penn State Children's Hospital, Hershey, Pennsylvania
  • Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Prisma Health Richland Hospital, Columbia, South Carolina
  • BI-LO Charities Children's Cancer Center, Greenville, South Carolina
  • Sanford USD Medical Center - Sioux Falls, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
  • Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee
  • The Children's Hospital at TriStar Centennial, Nashville, Tennessee
  • Vanderbilt University/Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, Tennessee
  • Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas, Austin, Texas
  • UT Southwestern/Simmons Cancer Center-Dallas, Dallas, Texas
  • Cook Children's Medical Center, Fort Worth, Texas
  • Baylor College of Medicine/Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
  • UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
  • Children's Hospital of San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
  • University of Virginia Cancer Center, Charlottesville, Virginia
  • Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, Norfolk, Virginia
  • VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, Richmond, Virginia
  • Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Washington
  • Mary Bridge Children's Hospital and Health Center, Tacoma, Washington
  • Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

10 recruiting sites outside the US. Site status as of Oct 30, 2026. Check the live record before contacting a site.

Sources

Where this comes from

Registry record reviewed as fetched Oct 30, 2026, last updated by the sponsor Oct 13, 2026. Public record; not medical advice.

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