Skin Cancer/Melanoma clinical trials at UC Davis

This is an open label, multicenter, phase 1/2 study to assess the safety/tolerability and preliminary clinical activity of STAR0602 as a single agent administered intravenously in participants with advanced solid tumors that are antigen-rich.

This is a First-in-Human Phase IA/IB/II open label dose escalation study of intravenous (IV) administration of ONC-392, a humanized anti-CTLA4 IgG1 monoclonal antibody, as single agent and in combination with pembrolizumab in participants with advanced or metastatic solid tumors and non-small cell lung cancers.

This clinical trial tests the addition of preferentially expressed antigen in melanoma (PRAME) immunohistochemical (IHC) staining to standard slow Mohs micrographic surgery (SMMS) for guiding tissue removal in patients with stage 0 to IIc cutaneous melanoma. SMMS is a method of skin cancer removal involving repeated tissue removal and examination under a microscope to ensure the tumor is removed as much as possible while sparing healthy tissue. In SMMS, tissue sections are evaluated to determine whether additional tissue removal is needed. The standard method for evaluating the tissue is by using a specific stain called hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stains. PRAME is a cancer antigen that is being investigated as a diagnostic marker in certain types of cancer. Adding PRAME IHC analysis to standard SMMS staining methods may improve the accuracy for determining whether additional tissue removal is necessary for patients undergoing SMMS for stage 0 to IIc cutaneous melanoma.

This phase III trial compares the effect of adding cemiplimab to standard therapy (surgery with or without radiation) versus standard therapy alone in treating patients with stage III/IV squamous cell skin cancer that is able to be removed by surgery (resectable) and that may have come back after a period of improvement (recurrent). The usual treatment for patients with resectable squamous cell skin cancer is the removal of the cancerous tissue (surgery) with or without radiation, which uses high energy x-rays, particles, or radioactive seeds to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as cemiplimab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Cemiplimab has been approved for the treatment of skin cancer that has spread or that cannot be removed by surgery, but it has not been approved for the treatment of skin cancer than can be removed by surgery. Adding cemiplimab to the usual treatment of surgery with or without radiation may be more effective in treating patients with stage III/IV resectable squamous cell skin cancer than the usual treatment alone.

This phase I clinical trial tests the immune effects of fermented wheat germ in patients with advanced solid tumor cancers who are being treated with standard of care checkpoint inhibitors. Fermented wheat germ is a nutritional supplement that some claim is a "dietary food for special medical purposes for cancer patients" to support them in treatment. There have also been claims that fermented wheat germ is "clinically proven" and "recognized by medical experts" to "enhance oncological treatment" and boost immune response to cancer; however, there are currently no documented therapeutic effects of fermented wheat germ as a nutritional supplement. Checkpoint inhibitors, given as part of standard of care for advanced solid tumors, are a type of immunotherapy that may help the body's immune system attack the cancer and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. The information gained from this trial may allow researchers to determine if there is any value of giving fermented wheat germ with standard of care checkpoint inhibitors for patients with advanced solid tumor malignancies.