Skip to main content

ctDNA-Guided Therapy for Relapsed/Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma

  • PhasePhase 2
  • StatusRecruiting
  • Planned enrollment38 people
  • Recruiting US sites1
  • SponsorMichael Spinner, MD
  • RegistryNCT07021989

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

ctDNA-Guided Therapy for Relapsed/Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma: a one-minute explainerNCT070219891 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.

  • Age18 Years to no maximum
  • SexAll
  • Healthy volunteersNo

You may be able to join if

  • Age ≥ 18 years.
  • Histologically confirmed classic Hodgkin lymphoma (including nodular sclerosis, lymphocyte-rich, mixed cellularity, and lymphocyte-depleted Hodgkin lymphoma).
  • Participants must have relapsed or refractory disease after no more than one line of systemic therapy. First line therapy must have included doxorubicin.
  • At least one site of FDG-avid disease on PET/CT that is ≥ 1.5 cm in diameter for nodal disease or ≥ 1.0 cm in diameter if extranodal disease.
  • Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0, 1, or 2 (Karnofsky ≥ 50%).
  • Demonstrates adequate organ function as defined below:
  • Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1.0 X 10^9/ L (1000/microliter (mcL), growth factors permitted).
  • Platelets ≥ 75 X 10^9 / L (75,000/mcL, platelet transfusion independent).
  • Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 x institutional upper limit of normal, unless elevated due to Gilbert's syndrome.
  • Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) / (SGOT) ≤3 x institutional upper limit of normal.
  • Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) / (SGPT) ≤3 x institutional upper limit of normal.
  • Creatinine clearance (CrCl, calculated) ≥ 40 mL/min/1.73 m^2, calculated using the Cockcroft-Gault equation.
  • For participants with evidence of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, the HBV viral load must be undetectable on suppressive therapy, if indicated.
  • Individuals with a history of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection must have been treated with sustained virologic response. For individuals with HCV infection who are currently on treatment, participants are eligible if there is an undetectable HCV viral load.
  • Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals on effective anti-retroviral therapy with undetectable viral load within 6 months are eligible for this trial.
  • Individuals 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.
  • Females of reproductive potential (defined below) must be willing to undergo a urine or serum pregnancy test (i.e., human chorionic gonadotropin test) within 72 hours before start of trial therapy. A female is considered to not be of reproductive potential (regardless of sexual orientation, having undergone a tubal ligation, or remaining celibate by choice), if the participants meet either of the following two criteria: (1) has reached a postmenopausal state (≥ 12 continuous months of amenorrhea with no identified cause other than menopause); or (2) has undergone surgical sterilization (i.e., hysterectomy and/or bilateral oophorectomy for removal of uterus and/or ovaries). The result of the urine or serum pregnancy test must be negative in order to administer initiate trial therapy. If a urine pregnancy test cannot be confirmed as negative (e.g., an ambiguous result), a serum pregnancy test is required. In such cases, the individual must be excluded from participation if the serum pregnancy result is positive. Pregnant individuals are excluded from this study because there is a potential risk for adverse effects in the unborn child secondary to treatment of the study participant with trial therapy.
  • Ability to understand and willingness to sign a written informed consent document.

You cannot join if

  • Participants who previously received a programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor-based regimen (e.g., nivolumab or pembrolizumab + AVD) and progressed within 6 months of last done of immune checkpoint inhibitor.
  • Receipt of systemic anti-cancer therapies or radiation within 2 weeks prior to the start of trial therapy or receipt of antibody therapy within 4 weeks prior to the start of trial therapy.
  • Has participated in a study of an investigational product and received study treatment or used an investigational device within four weeks of the first dose of treatment.
  • Prior autologous or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant.
  • Systemic autoimmune disease requiring continuous immunosuppressive treatment (≥prednisone 10 mg per day or equivalent), with the exception of autoimmune thyroid disease.
  • Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) <50% as assessed by transthoracic echocardiogram or multigated acquisition (MUGA) scan.
  • Participants whose lifetime cumulative dose of doxorubicin would exceed 450 mg/m^2 after receiving 4 cycles of pembro + GVD are excluded (i.e., >330 mg/m^2 at trial entry).
  • Has known hypersensitivity to pembrolizumab, gemcitabine, vinorelbine, and/or liposomal doxorubicin; or any of their excipients.
  • Has any significant medical condition or comorbidity that could compromise participants safety in the opinion of the treating investigator (e.g., uncontrolled serious infection).
  • Individuals who are pregnant or breast-feeding/chest-feeding. Pregnant and breastfeeding individuals are excluded because there is a potential risk for adverse effects in the unborn/nursing child secondary to treatment of the study participant with trial therapies. Females of reproductive potential must have a negative pregnancy test before initiation of trial therapy, as outlined in inclusion criterion #12. Breast-feeding should be discontinued before initiation of trial therapy.
  • Individuals with ongoing Grade 2 events that are not clinically stable or ongoing ≥ Grade 3 events (CTCAE v5.0 grading).
  • Notification from Foresight Diagnostics that the CLARITY LDT baseline specimen has failed sample quality control (QC) and/or the baseline ctDNA is not quantifiable. Note: Foresight will only notify sites if the specimen fails quality control (QC) or is not quantifiable. Sites will not receive notification if the specimen passes QC and is quantifiable. For QC failures, a sample re-draw may be considered upon discussion with and approval by the lead University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Principal Investigator.
  • Individuals with any condition or social circumstance that, in the opinion of the investigator, would impair the participant's ability to comply with study activities, interfere with participant safety, or study endpoints.

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.

pembrolizumab. A humanized monoclonal immunoglobulin (Ig) G4 antibody directed against human cell surface receptor PD-1 (programmed death-1 or programmed cell death-1) with potential immune checkpoint inhibitory and antineoplastic activities. Upon administration, pembrolizumab binds to PD-1, an inhibitory signaling receptor expressed on the surface of activated T cells, and blocks the binding to and activation of PD-1 by its ligands, which results in the activation of T-cell-mediated immune responses against tumor cells. The ligands for PD-1 include programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1), overexpressed on certain cancer cells, and programmed cell death ligand 2 (PD-L2), which is primarily expressed on APCs. Activated PD-1 negatively regulates T-cell activation and plays a key role in in tumor evasion from host immunity. NCI Drug Dictionary

Treatments listed in the registry

  • Pembrolizumab (Drug): Given intravenously
  • Non-investigational, involved site radiotherapy (ISRT) (Radiation): Undergo possible, standard of care, non-investigational radiation therapy
  • Gemcitabine (Drug): Given IV
  • Vinorelbine (Drug): Given IV
  • Liposomal Doxorubicin (Drug): Given IV
  • Foresight CLARITY™ LDT (Device): Foresight CLARITY LDT, a laboratory-developed test (LDT),by Foresight Diagnostics, is an ultra-sensitive liquid biopsy and tissue platform that detects MRD in patients with B-cell lymphomas
  • Pegfilgrastim (Drug): Given IV for supportive care
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) Positron Emission Tomography (PET)/Computerized tomography (CT) (Procedure): Undergo imaging

The study

Treatment groups

Na · Single Group · masking: None

Treatment (Pembrolizumab + GVD) (Experimental)

All participants receive 2, 21-day cycles of 200 mg Pembrolizumab (pembro) on day 1 of each cycle (pembro) and 1000mg Gemcitabine, 20mg/m^2 of Vinorelbine, Liposomal doxorubicin 15 mg/m2 (GVD) on days 1 and 8 of each cycle for up to 2 cycles. Pegfilgrastim is administered on day 8 or 9 of each cycle. FDG-PET/CT imaging and Foresight CLARITY LDT ctDNA response after 2 cycles will determine if participants are eligible for an additional 2 cycles of pembro + GVD or salvage therapy and ASCT. Participants may be able to qualify for consolidation without ASCT (pembro and/or 30 Gy ISRT) depending on response. Radiographic response after 4 cycles will be conducted to determine eligibility for consolidation without ASCT for participants with CR or standard of care salvage therapy and ASCT, for participants with partial response (PR), stable disease (SD), or progressive disease (PD) after a second administration of pembro+GVD. Participants are followed for up to 5 years.

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
  • CT scans: Part of the study plan
  • PET scans: Part of the study plan
  • questionnaires: Part of the study plan
  • radiation: Part of the study plan

Goals

What the study measures

Main goals

  • Percentage of participants with a complete response (Up to 4 cycles (a cycle is 21 days))

Other goals

  • Progression-free survival (PFS) rate for participants without Autologous Stem Cell Transplant (ASCT)
  • Overall Survival (OS) rate for participants without ASCT
  • Overall PFS rate
  • Overall survival rate
  • Proportion of participants undergoing ASCT
  • Percentage of participants with presence cHL ctDNA
  • Percentage of participants with presence of detectable metabolically active disease
  • Number of participants reporting treatment-emergent Adverse Events (AEs) of significant interest
  • Change in mean scores on the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS®-29) (Version 2) over time
  • Change in mean scores on the Comprehensive Score for Financial Toxicity-Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (COST-FACIT) survey over time
  • Percentage of participants with detectable cHL ctDNA at baseline

Planned enrollment: 38 (estimated).

Where

Recruiting US sites

  • University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California

Site status as of Oct 30, 2026. Check the live record before contacting a site.

Background research

Papers linked by the registry

These papers are listed in the registry record. Unless a paper is marked as about this trial, it is background research on the treatment or disease, not results from this study.

Sources

Where this comes from

Registry record reviewed as fetched Oct 30, 2026, last updated by the sponsor Oct 19, 2026. Public record; not medical advice.

For you, or someone you love

Whether or not this trial is the one, bring AI into your corner.

A complex diagnosis brings new questions every week, in a trial and out of one. Triangle keeps your whole medical file together, reads it with you in plain language, and helps you and your family decide what to ask next.

Start your 7-day free trial

Then $9 a month. Cancel anytime.

  • Every record in one place

    Requested from your hospitals and clinics through the national networks. Add scans, pathology and anything on paper.

  • Read in plain words

    Reports explained as they come in, with lab values you can follow before treatment, during a trial and after.

  • Ready for every appointment

    Ask about your own file, and walk in with questions for your oncologist or the trial team.

  • Your people, in the loop

    Share one profile with the family helping you, and with your doctors.

Members also get a deeper analysis of their records and any sequencing data, including clinical trials that may fit, reviewed by a licensed physician before they receive it.

Already in a trial?

It turns into a project to manage: visits, scans, labs, side effects and paperwork. Triangle keeps it organized in one place for you or for whoever's helping.

Organize my trial

7-day free trial, then $9 a month. Cancel anytime.