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Phase 1 N=12 Treatment

Phase Ib of L-NMMA and Pembrolizumab

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer · Malignant Melanoma · Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma · Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma · Urothelial Carcinoma Bladder

Enrolled (actual)
12
Serious AEs
16.7%
Results posted
Apr 2026
Primary outcome: Primary: Maximum Tolerated Dose (MTD) — 20 mg/kg

Study Design & Population

Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 1
Interventions
L-NMMA (Drug); Pembrolizumab (Drug)
Age
Adult, Older Adult · 18+ yrs
Sex
All
Sponsor
The Methodist Hospital Research Institute
Primary completion
Oct 2021

Outcome Measures

OutcomeResultp-value
PRIMARY
Maximum Tolerated Dose (MTD)
20
SECONDARY
Dose-limiting Toxicities (DLTs) and Other Adverse Events
3; 6; 1; 3; 0; 0
SECONDARY
Recommended Phase 2 Dose (RP2D) of L-NMMA in Combination With Pembrolizumab
20
SECONDARY
Antitumor Activity
1; 1; 1; 1; 0; 3
SECONDARY
Plasma Concentrations of L-NMMA When Combined With Pembrolizumab
7.083; 4.104

Summary

The purpose of this Phase Ib study is to test the safety of NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) and pembrolizumab when used together in participants with melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL), urothelial carcinoma, Cervical Cancer, Esophageal Cancer, Gastric Cancer, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Merkel Cell Carcinoma, Primary Mediastinal Large B-cell Lymphoma, Renal Cell Carcinoma, Small Cell Lung Cancer, microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H)/mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) cancer or for the Treatment of Adult Patients with Unresectable or Metastatic Tumor Mutational Burden-High Solid Tumors. Pembrolizumab is a type of treatment that stimulates the immune system to attack cancer cells. The immune system is normally the body's first defense against threats like cancer. However, sometimes cancer cells produce signals like programmed death-1 (PD-1) that prevent the immune system from detecting and killing them. Pembrolizumab blocks PD-1 so your immune system can detect and attack cancer cells. To help further boost the cancer-fighting ability of your immune system, L-NMMA will be used along with pembrolizumab. L-NMMA is a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor. The presence of nitric oxide synthase in the area around the cancer cells blocks the cancer-fighting ability of the immune system. Thus, the use of L-NMMA and pembrolizumab together may make the immune system work harder to attack and destroy the cancer cells.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

  • Female or male aged ≥ 18 years on the day of informed consent signing;
  • Has histologically confirmed metastatic melanoma that is treatment naïve or has relapsed after or is refractory to ipilimumab or BRAF inhibitor (if BRAF mutation-positive), OR histologically confirmed metastatic NSCLC that has high programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression (tumor proportion score [TPS] ≥50%) with no epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) or anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) genomic tumor aberrations or histologically confirmed metastatic NSCLC that is PD-L1 positive (TPS ≥1%) and has progressed on or after platinum-containing therapy (subjects with NSCLC harboring EGFR/ALK genomic aberrations must have received an FDA-approved targeted therapy for these aberrations) OR histologically confirmed HNSCC that has relapsed after or is refractory to platinum-containing chemotherapy, OR histologically confirmed cHL that has relapsed after three or more lines of therapy or is refractory to treatment OR histologically confirmed locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma that is not eligible for platinum-containing chemotherapy or that has relapsed after or is refractory to platinum-containing chemotherapy OR histologically confirmed advanced, PD-L1-positive cervical cancer with disease progression on or after chemotherapy that is not eligible for platinum-containing chemotherapy or that has relapsed after or is refractory to platinum-containing chemotherapy OR histologically confirmed recurrent, locally advanced, or metastatic, squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus (ESCC) whose tumors express PD-L1 (Combined Positive Score [CPS] ≥10), as determined by an FDA-approved test, with disease progression after one or more prior lines of systemic therapy.

OR histologically confirmed recurrent, locally advanced, or metastatic Gastric Cancer, with disease progression on or after two or more systemic therapies, including fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy and, if appropriate, HER2/neu-targeted therapy, and whose tumors express programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), as determined by an FDA-approved test.

OR histologically confirmed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have been previously treated with sorafenib. recurrent locally advanced or metastatic MCC who had not received prior systemic therapy for their advanced disease OR histologically confirmed recurrent, locally advanced or metastatic Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC) who had not received prior systemic therapy for their advanced disease OR histologically confirmed advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) first-line treatment.

OR histologically confirmed metastatic small cell lung cancer (SCLC) with disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy and at least one other prior line of therapy.

OR histologically confirmed refractory primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL), who have relapsed after two or more prior lines of therapy.

OR MSI-H or dMMR unresectable or metastatic cancer that has relapsed after prior treatment and has no satisfactory alternative treatment options.

OR adult patients with unresectable or metastatic tumor mutational burden-high (TMB-H) [≥10 mutations/megabase (mut/Mb)] solid tumors;

  • Measurable disease based on Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.1;
  • Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0-2;
  • Life expectancy ≥ 6 months;
  • Adequate organ function:

Absolute neutrophil count ≥1,500/mm3, platelets ≥100,000/mm3, hemoglobin ≥9 g/dL (transfusion permitted), serum creatinine OR measured or calculated creatinine clearance ≤1.5 X upper limit of normal (ULN) OR ≥60 mL/min for subject with creatinine levels > 1.5 X institutional ULN, serum total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 X ULN OR direct bilirubin ≤ ULN for subjects with total bilirubin levels > 1.5 ULN, alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase ≤ 2.5 X ULN OR ≤ 5 X ULN for subjects with liver metastases, albumin >2.5 mg/dL, Internat

View full record on ClinicalTrials.gov →

Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03236935). Outcome figures and adverse-event rates are extracted automatically from the registry's posted results and are provided for clinician reference, not as a substitute for the primary publication.

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