Metastatic Basal Cell Carcinoma

This phase II trial tests the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab with sirolimus and prednisone for the treatment of skin (cutaneous) cancer that cannot be removed by surgery (unresectable) or that has spread from where it first started to other places in the body (metastatic) in kidney transplant recipients. Immunotherapy with nivolumab and ipilimumab, may induce changes in body's immune system and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Sirolimus and prednisone are immunosuppressants that are given to keep the body from rejecting the transplanted kidney. Giving nivolumab and ipilimumab in combination with sirolimus and prednisone may kill more cancer cells, while also keeping the transplanted kidney healthy, in patients with unresectable or metastatic cutaneous cancer who have received a kidney transplant.

This phase II trial studies how well low dose, reduced frequency nivolumab works in treating patients with cancer that cannot be removed by surgery (unresectable) or that has spread from where it first started (primary site) to other places in the body (metastatic). Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as nivolumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Nivolumab is a type of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI). ICIs have revolutionized the treatment of numerous cancers with remarkable improvement in participant outcomes. However, accessibility of ICIs is extremely poor on a global scale, mainly due to high costs. Previous research has suggested that these drugs can be given at lower doses and reduced frequency than their approved dosing regimens, with similar results. Giving nivolumab at a lower dose and less often may help reduce the cost of therapy, improve immunotherapy accessibility, and therefore improve survival outcomes globally.

Background: Oral hedgehog inhibitors vismodegib and sonidegib have been used for the treatment of locally advanced (laBCC), metastatic basal cell carcinoma (mBCC) and in basal cell nevus syndrome (BCNS) patients. In the Netherlands, targeted therapy with vismodegib and sonidegib has been available since 2013 and 2021, respectively. No direct comparative studies have been performed between the two oral hedgehog inhibitors (HHI) vismodegib and sonidegib yet . In addition, data for sonidegib are not yet available. Objective: The aim of this study is 1) to evaluate the effectiveness of oral HHIs in the treatment of laBCC, mBCC and BCNS patients and 2) to compare the oral HHIs vismodegib and sonidegib. Study design: prospective registration study that includes all patients, regardless of age and gender, with histologically proven basal cell carcinoma receiving treatment with either vismodegib or sonidegib in the Netherlands. Patient, tumor and treatment information was gathered from patient records. Main study parameters/endpoints: The primary outcome for measuring efficacy/tumor response was median progression free survival (PFS) where the decrease, stagnation or increase in tumor size is measured by maximum diameter. Secondary outcomes are frequency, severity and reversibility of treatment-emergent adverse events and disease-specific quality of life expressed as mean scores on the EORTC-QLQ-C30 and aBCCdex questionnaires.