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Brentuximab Vedotin and Nivolumab for the Treatment of Relapsed/Refractory Classic Hodgkin Lymphoma Previously Treated With Brentuximab Vedotin or Checkpoint Inhibitors

  • PhasePhase 2
  • StatusRecruiting
  • Planned enrollment46 people
  • Recruiting US sites2
  • SponsorEmory University
  • RegistryNCT05039073

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

Brentuximab Vedotin and Nivolumab for the Treatment of Relapsed/Refractory Classic Hodgkin Lymphoma Previously Treated With Brentuximab Vedotin or Checkpoint Inhibitors: a one-minute explainerNCT050390731 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.

  • Age12 Years to no maximum
  • SexAll
  • Healthy volunteersNo

You may be able to join if

  • Histologically confirmed classical Hodgkin lymphoma
  • Patients must be 12 years of age or older
  • Patients must have received at least 1-2 prior multi-agent chemotherapy or immunotherapy regimens will be divided into two cohorts based on the following clinical scenarios:
  • Patients enrolled to cohort A must have received only ONE prior brentuximab-containing regimen with NO prior checkpoint inhibitors. Patients enrolled to cohort A must have received brentuximab as part of their first-line treatment regimen.
  • Patients enrolled to cohort B must have received only ONE prior immune checkpoint inhibitor- (i.e. nivolumab or pembrolizumab) containing regimen and NO prior brentuximab. Patients in cohort B may have received an immune checkpoint inhibitor during either their first- or second-line treatment regimen.
  • If radiation is used as part of the planned front-line treatment regimen (i.e., brentuximab vedotin-doxorubicin-vinblastine-dacarbazine [BV-AVD] + radiation therapy [RT] for bulky stage II disease), this will count as only 1 prior therapy. Additionally, radiation as consolidation after a second-line multi-agent chemotherapy regimen is permitted and will not be counted as a third regimen
  • No prior autologous or allogeneic transplant
  • Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status =< 2 for patients > 18 years old, or Lansky performance status of >= 50 for patients ages 12-18 years
  • Enrolling patients must have measurable disease defined as a tumor or nodal mass > 1.5 cm in at least one dimension
  • Resolution of all prior toxicities, including peripheral neuropathy, to a =< grade 1
  • Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) >= 750, unless disease related (within 28 days of cycle 1 day 1)
  • Platelets >= 50,000, unless disease related (within 28 days of cycle 1 day 1)
  • Creatinine =< upper limit of normal (ULN) (within 28 days of cycle 1 day 1)
  • Aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase (AST/ALT) =< 3 x ULN (within 28 days of cycle 1 day 1)
  • Bilirubin =< 2 mg/dL (within 28 days of cycle 1 day 1)
  • Patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are eligible. Patients with HIV infection must meet the following criteria: No evidence of co-infection with hepatitis B or C; CD4+ count >= 400/mm; no evidence of resistant strains of HIV; on anti-HIV therapy with an HIV viral load < 50 copies HIV ribonucleic acid (RNA)/mL. Patients with HIV must have ongoing follow-up with an infectious disease specialist and must have been evaluated within 90 days of cycle 1 day 1.
  • Females of child-bearing potential (FCBP) must have a negative urine pregnancy test prior to starting therapy. If the test is positive, pregnancy must be ruled out
  • FCBP and men treated or enrolled on this protocol must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry for the duration of study participation, and 6 months after completion of brentuximab and/or nivolumab administration. Should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while she or her partner is participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately.
  • A female of childbearing potential (FCBP) is a post-menarcheal woman who: 1) has not undergone a hysterectomy or bilateral oophorectomy; or 2) has not been naturally postmenopausal for at least 24 consecutive months (i.e., has had menses at any time in the preceding 24 consecutive months
  • Completion of all previous therapy (including surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or investigational therapy) for the treatment of cancer >= 2 weeks before the start of study therapy
  • Patients with known history or current symptoms of cardiac disease, or history of treatment with cardiotoxic agents, should have a clinical risk assessment of cardiac function using the New York Heart Association Functional Classification. To be eligible for this trial, patients should be class 2B or better
  • Willingness and ability of the subject to comply with scheduled visits, drug administration plan, protocol-specified laboratory tests, other study procedures, and study restrictions
  • Evidence of a personally signed informed consent by patients >= 18 year old (YO) or parent or legally authorized representative (LAR) for patients 12-17 YO indicating that the subject is aware of the neoplastic nature of the disease and has been informed of the procedures to be followed, the experimental nature of the therapy, alternatives, potential risks and discomforts, potential benefits, and other pertinent aspects of study participation. Patients 12-17 will also be required to give assent to the process per institutional guidelines

You cannot join if

  • Prior malignancy, except for adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer, in situ cervical cancer, or other cancer from which the subject has been disease free for >= 2 years or which will not limit survival to < 2 years
  • Patients who have had chemotherapy or radiotherapy within 2 weeks prior to entering the study or those who have not recovered from adverse events to =< grade 1
  • Active autoimmune disease or history of autoimmune disease such as hepatitis, hypophysitis, nephritis, interstitial lung disease, and colitis
  • Active central nervous system (CNS) involvement with lymphoma
  • Patients with hepatitis B (positive hepatitis B virus surface antigen [HBsAg] or hepatitis B virus core antibody [HBcAb]) and those with positive hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies are not permitted to enroll
  • No active infection, or other active illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements

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

  • Brentuximab Vedotin (Drug): Given IV
  • Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (Procedure): Undergo HSCT
  • Nivolumab (Biological): Given IV
  • Quality-of-Life Assessment (Other): Ancillary studies
  • Questionnaire Administration (Other): Ancillary studies

The study

Treatment groups

Na · Single Group · masking: None

Treatment (brentuximab vedotin, nivolumab) (Experimental)

Patients receive brentuximab vedotin IV over 30 minutes and nivolumab IV over 60 minutes on day 1. Treatment repeats every 21 days for up to 16 cycles in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients who achieve complete response or partial response at any time after 4 cycles may discontinue study therapy to proceed to autologous or allogeneic stem cell transplant.

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.

  • questionnaires: Part of the study plan

Goals

What the study measures

Main goals

  • Overall response rate (ORR) (Up to 16 cycles (each cycle is 21 days))

Other goals

  • Complete response rate (CRR)
  • Progression-free survival (PFS)
  • Overall survival (OS)
  • Incidence of adverse events
  • Incidence of symptomatic toxicity

Planned enrollment: 46 (estimated).

Where

Recruiting US sites

  • Emory University Hospital/Winship Cancer Institute, Atlanta, Georgia
  • Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia

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 Sep 7, 2026. Public record; not medical advice.

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