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Taking people in NetherlandsPhase 3

Very short immunotherapy to preserve the mouth and face in advanced oral cancer

Tests brief immunotherapy in adults with advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Key facts

Who runs it
Het Nederlands Kanker Instituut-Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Ziekenhuis Stichting
Where
Amsterdam, Groningen, Leiden, Maastricht, Nijmegen, Rotterdam, and Utrecht, NetherlandsSee the 7 sites
Registry title
IMCISION: Towards organ preservation and cure via ultra-short immunotherapy in advanced oral cancer. The IMCISION II trial, an investigator-initiated multicentre randomised phase 3 trial
Status
Recruiting
Phase
Phase 3
People taking part
308 people, planned
Started
20 Jan 2026
Expected to end
30 Sept 2031
Type of study
Interventional
Record updated
25 September 2026

Who can take part

AI summary

From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.

The trial is looking for adults with advanced squamous cell cancer of the mouth who have not yet had radiotherapy or drug treatment for this tumour.

Age
18 years or older
Sex
Men and women can join.
Disease stage
Advanced cancer of the oral cavity (squamous cell carcinoma), stage III-IVA, in the tongue, gum, floor of mouth, hard palate or other parts of the mouth. It must be operable.
Earlier treatment
No earlier radiotherapy and no earlier drug cancer treatment for this tumour. Earlier surgery for this tumour is allowed. No earlier anti-PD(L)1 or anti-CTLA4 immune checkpoint treatment.

Main reasons for not taking part

  • Inoperable cancer (stage IVB) or cancer that has spread far away (stage IVC)
  • Hepatitis B or hepatitis C infection, or active HIV or AIDS
  • Active or past autoimmune disease, with a few exceptions
  • Treatment that suppresses the immune system
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding

The registry criteria, word for word

Show all 25 criteriaShow less

Who can take part

  • 18 years of age or older
  •  No prior radiotherapy for the current primary tumour
  • Prior surgery for the current primary tumour is allowed
  • Patients willing and able to understand the Dutch study information and protocol requirements and comply with the treatment/intervention schedule, scheduled visits, and other requirements of the study
  • Primary advanced oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) o Stage III-IVA according to TNM version 9.0 of the UICC/AJCC staging manual
  • Primary tumour site: o Malignant neoplasm of other and unspecified parts of tongue (C02.0-C02.3, C02.8-9) o Malignant neoplasm of gum (C03) o Malignant neoplasm of floor of mouth (C04) o Malignant neoplasm of hard palate (C05.0, C05.8-9) o Malignant neoplasm of other and unspecified parts of mouth (C06)
  • Indication for SOC*
  • No prior systemic oncological therapy for the current primary tumour
  • No immunosuppression
  • World Health Organisation (WHO) performance status of 0-2
  • Screening laboratory values must meet the following criteria: o WBC ≥ 2.0x109 /L o Neutrophils ≥1.5x109 /L o Platelets ≥100 x109 /L o Hemoglobin ≥5.5 mmol/L o Creatinine ≤1.5x upper limit of normal (ULN) o AST ≤ 1.5 x ULN o ALT ≤ 1.5 x ULN o Bilirubin ≤1.5 X ULN (except patients with Gilbert Syndrome, who are eligible when total bilirubin < 3.0 mg/dL) o Women of child-bearing potential (WOCBP) must use appropriate method(s) of con-traception. They should use an adequate method to avoid pregnancy for 23 weeks (30 days plus the time required time for nivolumab to undergo five x T1/2, ipilimumab has a much shorter T1/2) after the last dose of the IMP. o WOCBP must have a negative serum or urine pregnancy test (minimum sensitivity 25IU/L or equivalent units of HCG) prior to the start of ICB

Who cannot take part

  • Prior systemic oncological therapy for the current primary tumour
  • Prior radiotherapy for the current primary tumour
  • Concurrent medical condition requiring the use of immunosuppressive medications, or immunosuppressive doses of systemic or absorbable topical corticosteroids (up to 10 mg of prednisone per day is allowed)
  • Use of other investigational drugs 30 days before study drug administration and 5 half times before study inclusion
  • Prior anti-PD(L)1 or anti-CTLA4 immune checkpoint-blockade
  • Prior diagnosed malignancies, except malignancies with a 2 year survival rate of over >90% (eg. certain skin cancers, low-grade prostate carcinoma) and where treatment does not interfere with the treatment of patients included in this trial
  • Positive test for hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) or hepatitis C antibody (HCV Ab)
  • Subjects with any active autoimmune disease or a documented history of autoimmune disease, except: o Subjects with vitiligo o Resolved childhood asthma/atopy o Residual hypothyroidism due to an autoimmune condition requiring only hormone replacement o Psoriasis without the need for systemic treatment o Any condition not expected to recur in the absence of an external trigger
  • Underlying medical conditions that, in the investigator's opinion, will make the administration of the study drug hazardous or obscure the interpretation of toxicity or AEs
  • History of allergy to study drug components and/or history of severe hypersensitivity to any monoclonal antibody
  • Active human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or known acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)
  • Inoperable OSCC (Stage IVB)
  • Patients who are pregnant or breastfeeding
  • Distantly metastasized (Stage IVC) OSCC

Where in Netherlands

  • Het Nederlands Kanker Instituut-Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Ziekenhuis StichtingAmsterdam, NetherlandsTaking people
  • Universitair Medisch Centrum GroningenGroningen, NetherlandsTaking people
  • Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum (LUMC)Leiden, NetherlandsTaking people
  • Academisch Ziekenhuis MaastrichtMaastricht, NetherlandsTaking people
  • Radboud universitair medisch centrum StichtingNijmegen, NetherlandsTaking people
  • Erasmus Universitair Medisch Centrum Rotterdam (Erasmus MC)Rotterdam, NetherlandsTaking people
  • Universitair Medisch Centrum UtrechtUtrecht, NetherlandsTaking people

About the trial

What the trial wants to find out

To determine the rate of patients with a CCR with organ preservation of the face and oral cavity at two years of FU without compromising clinical outcome for all patients.

Questions to ask the study team

  1. How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
  2. Are travel costs paid?
  3. Can I keep my own doctor?
  4. What happens if I want to stop?

Contact the study team: see the registry record

Print a page for my doctor

Data and sources

Registry record
Listed on the EU's official list of trials (CTIS).
Official title
IMCISION: Towards organ preservation and cure via ultra-short immunotherapy in advanced oral cancer. The IMCISION II trial, an investigator-initiated multicentre randomised phase 3 trial (M24IMS)
Plain-language title
Very short immunotherapy to preserve the mouth and face in advanced oral cancerGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 9 November 2026.
Record updated
25 September 2026