Substudy 02C: Safety and Efficacy of Pembrolizumab in Combination With Investigational Agents or Pembrolizumab Alone in Participants With Stage III Melanoma Who Are Candidates for Neoadjuvant Therapy (MK-3475-02C/KEYMAKER-U02)

Completed · Phase 1/Phase 2

Conditions studied: Melanoma

In brief

Substudy 02C is part of a larger research study that is testing experimental treatments for melanoma, a type of skin cancer. The larger study is the umbrella study. The goal of substudy 02C is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of investigational treatment arms in participants with Stage III melanoma who are candidates for neoadjuvant therapy to identify the investigational agent(s) that, when used in combination, are superior to the current treatment options/historical control available. Arm 1: Pembrolizumab + Vibostolimab, Arm 2: Pembrolizumab + Gebasaxturev, and Arm 3: Pembrolizumab were added in the base protocol on 13-Nov-2019, and enrollment into those arms has been completed. Arm 4: Pembrolizumab + MK-4830 was added in Amendment 04 on 20-Dec-2021, and enrollment into that arm has been completed. Arm 5: Favezelimab + Pembrolizumab and Arm 6: Pembrolizumab + all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) were added in Amendment 06 on 25-Jun-2022, and enrollment is ongoing.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT04303169

Run by

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC

People needed

146

Starts

2020-06-26

Expected to finish

2025-09-24

Last updated by the study team

2025-10-27

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 120. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Has histologically or cytologically confirmed melanoma
• Has clinically detectable and resectable Stage IIIB or IIIC or IIID melanoma amenable to surgery
• Has been untreated for Stage IIIB, IIIC or IIID melanoma
• surgical resection of primary melanoma is allowed
• prior radiotherapy to the primary melanoma is allowed
• Has provided a baseline tumor biopsy
• Male participants who receive gebasaxturev are abstinent from heterosexual intercourse or agree to use contraception during the intervention period and for at least 120 days after the last dose of gebasaxturev
• Male participants who receive ATRA are abstinent from heterosexual intercourse or agree to use contraception during the intervention period and for at least 7 days after the last dose of ATRA
• Female participants are not pregnant or breastfeeding and are either not a woman of child-bearing potential (WOCBP) OR use a contraceptive method that is highly effective or are abstinent from heterosexual intercourse during the intervention period and for at least 120 days after the last dose of pembrolizumab, vibostolimab, gebasaxturev, or MK-4830, favezelimab + pembrolizumab, or 30 days after the last dose of ATRA, whichever occurs last
• Has adequate organ function
• Has resolution of toxic effect(s) of the most recent prior therapy to Grade 1 or less (except alopecia)

You may not qualify if…

• Has a diagnosis of immunodeficiency or is receiving immunosuppressive therapy within 7 days before the first dose of study intervention
• Has a known additional malignancy that is progressing or requires active treatment within the past 2 years
• Has known central nervous system (CNS) metastases and/or carcinomatous meningitis
• Has ocular or mucosal melanoma
• Has known hypersensitivity including previous clinically significant hypersensitivity reaction to treatment with another monoclonal antibody (mAb)
• Has an active autoimmune disease that has required systemic treatment in the past 2 years
• Has an active infection requiring systemic therapy
• Has known history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
• Has known history of hepatitis B
• Has a history of (noninfectious) pneumonitis
• Has a history of active tuberculosis (TB)
• Has received prior systemic anticancer therapy within 4 weeks prior to randomization
• Has received prior radiotherapy within 2 weeks of first dose of study intervention
• Has had major surgery <3 weeks prior to first dose of study intervention
• Has received a live or live-attenuated vaccine within 30 days before the first dose of study intervention
• Has participated in a study of an investigational agent within 4 weeks prior to the first dose of study intervention
• Has had an allogeneic tissue/solid organ transplant
• Has only mucosal lesions
• Is not naïve to Talimogene laherparepvec (TVEC) and other oncolytic viruses

Where it is running

• The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute ( Site 3009) — Los Angeles, California, United States
• Providence Saint John's Health Center ( Site 3010) — Santa Monica, California, United States
• University of Colorado, Anschutz Cancer Pavilion ( Site 3012) — Aurora, Colorado, United States
• Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins ( Site 3022) — Baltimore, Maryland, United States
• NYU Clinical Cancer Center ( Site 3002) — New York, New York, United States
• Duke Cancer Institute ( Site 3005) — Durham, North Carolina, United States
• Martha Morehouse Tower ( Site 3020) — Columbus, Ohio, United States
• Oregon Health & Science University ( Site 3013) — Portland, Oregon, United States
• University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center ( Site 3008) — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
• West Cancer Center - East Campus ( Site 3014) — Germantown, Tennessee, United States
• Inova Schar Cancer Institute ( Site 3011) — Fairfax, Virginia, United States
• Melanoma Institute Australia ( Site 3402) — Wollstonecraft, New South Wales, Australia
• Tasman Oncology Research Pty Ltd ( Site 3403) — Southport, Queensland, Australia
• Fiona Stanley Hospital ( Site 3401) — Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia
• Hopital La Timone ( Site 3103) — Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhone, France
• Institut Claudius Regaud ( Site 3105) — Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, France
• Centre Hospitalier Lyon Sud ( Site 3102) — Pierre-Bénite, Rhone, France
• A.P.H. Paris, Hopital Saint Louis ( Site 3107) — Paris, France
• Gustave Roussy ( Site 3101) — Villejuif, Île-de-France Region, France
• HaEmek Medical Center ( Site 3703) — Afula, Israel
• Rambam Health Care Campus-Oncology ( Site 3704) — Haifa, Israel
• Hadassah Ein Karem Jerusalem ( Site 3702) — Jerusalem, Israel
• Rabin Medical Center-Oncology ( Site 3705) — Petah Tikva, Israel
• Chaim Sheba Medical Center ( Site 3701) — Ramat Gan, Israel
• Istituto Europeo di Oncologia ( Site 3301) — Milan, Italy

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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