Not yet taking people in ItalyPhase 2
Extracorporeal photopheresis for immune-related colitis or hepatitis in melanoma not helped by steroids
Tests extracorporeal photopheresis for bowel or liver inflammation caused by melanoma immunotherapy.
Key facts
- Who runs it
- Therakos Europe Limited
- Where
- Bari, Milan, and Naples, ItalySee the 3 sitesAlso in 4 other countries, 17 sites
- Trial code
- Registry title
- PHOENIX - ECP: Extracorporeal PHotopheresis for immune-related cOlitis and/or hEpatitis in advanced melaNoma with inadequate response to steroId eXposure
- Status
- Not yet recruiting
- Phase
- Phase 2
- People taking part
- 46 people, planned
- Started
- 1 Jul 2026
- Expected to end
- 31 Jan 2029
- Type of study
- Interventional
- Record updated
- 5 October 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 melanoma that cannot be removed by surgery or has spread, who developed immune-related colitis or hepatitis from immunotherapy and did not respond enough to steroids.
- Age
- 18 years or older
- Sex
- All sexes and genders can join.
- Disease stage
- Unresectable or metastatic melanoma (for example Stage III or Stage IV), with immune-related colitis or hepatitis of Grade 2 or higher. Colitis needs signs seen on a colonoscopy within 10 days before randomization.
- Earlier treatment
- Must have had immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment (for example anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, anti-LAG-3 or anti-CTLA-4), stopped or paused because of the colitis or hepatitis. Steroids must have failed: no improvement after at least 72 hours, or the problem returned during or after tapering.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Uveal melanoma as the only type of melanoma
- History of HIV or a positive HIV test
- Prior bone marrow transplant or solid organ transplant
- Positive test for tuberculosis, hepatitis B or C, EBV, CMV or adenovirus, or active COVID-19
- Any other active cancer besides melanoma
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 38 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- Be adequately informed and understand the nature and risks of the study and must be able to provide a signature and date on the informed consent form (ICF)
- Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0, 1 or 2
- Life expectancy > 4 months
- Has adequate peripheral or central venous access to undergo ECP treatment
- Participants of non-childbearing potential OR participants using highly effective methods of contraception (see Appendix 4)
- Participants whose sexual partner may become pregnant must use condoms or other methods to ensure effective contraception with partner, and abstain from donating blood, semen, or sperm during the study and for 90 days after the last study treatment (ECP or BAT; see Appendix 4)
- State willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for the duration of the study
- Adult (age ≥ 18 years) persons of any sex and gender
- Diagnosed with unresectable or metastatic melanoma (eg, Stage III and Stage IV)
- Received ICI treatment (eg, anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, anti-LAG-3, anti-CTLA-4 antibody, as ICI monotherapy or ICI combination therapy)
- ICI paused or discontinued because of the development of ir-colitis or ir-hepatitis
- Diagnosed with ir-colitis or ir-hepatitis with a severity of Grade 2 or higher, based on ASCO Guidelines (ir-colitis: diarrhea with an increase of ≥ 4 stools more than at baseline with other potential causes of diarrhea and colitis ruled out by the appropriate evaluations; ir-hepatitis: increase in AST or ALT > 3 × upper limit of normal, total bilirubin > 1.5 × ULN, or alkaline phosphatase > 2.5 × ULN, after exclusion of other potential causes of hepatotoxicity and ruling out the increase is due to development or progression of liver metastases; pre-existing liver metastases are not exclusionary)
- For participant with ir-colitis: Endoscopic evidence of ir-colitis based on colonoscopy, as performed within 10 days prior to randomization
- Has inadequate response to corticosteroids, defined as: a. No improvement in ir-colitis or ir-hepatitis after at least 72 hours of treatment with systemic corticosteroids (corticosteroid-refractory), OR b. Relapse of ir-colitis or ir-hepatitis (back to Grade 2 or higher) during or after corticosteroid tapering (corticosteroid-dependent)
Who cannot take part
- Positive result for active or previous viral hepatitis B, or active hepatitis C testing at screening
- Prior allogeneic bone marrow transplantation or prior solid organ transplantation
- Previous splenectomy
- Concurrent treatment with another investigational drug, device, or other investigational intervention
- Concurrent conditions which may require treatment with high dose corticosteroid (> 1 mg/kg/day) and interfere with the corticosteroid tapering schedule recommended by the protocol
- Concomitant treatment with any chemotherapy or targeted therapy for the treatment of unresectable or metastatic melanoma
- Use of any investigational agent within 5 half-lives of the investigational agent prior to randomization
- irAEs in addition to and other than ir-colitis or ir-hepatitis, with a higher severity grade than the irAE for inclusion (ir-colitis/ir-hepatitis) based on ASCO guidelines (see Appendix 1 and Appendix 2)
- Known allergic reaction to any component of 8-methoxsalen, infliximab, vedolizumab, MMF or azathioprine
- Has aphakia or a history of light sensitive diseases such as lupus erythematosus, porphyria cutanea tarda, erythropoietic protoporphyria, variegate porphyria, xeroderma pigmentosum, and albinism
- Hemodynamically unstable, requires vasopressors, and/or has New York Heart Association class III or IV heart failure, uncontrolled hypertension, or ventricular arrhythmias
- Participants with a history of human immunodeficiency virus or a positive result on human immunodeficiency virus
- Positive result for tuberculosis testing (blood testing)
- Active coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection
- Any active malignancies, other than unresectable or metastatic melanoma
- Any condition that would, in the investigator's judgment, interfere with full participation in the study, including administration of study treatment and attending required study visits poses a significant risk to the participant; or interfere with interpretation of study data
- Treatment of ir-colitis or ir-hepatitis with any systemic therapy other than corticosteroids
- Pre-existing liver disease (eg, primary autoimmune hepatitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, primary biliary cholangitis). Isolated low titer autoantibody positivity or mild immunoglobulin G elevation in the setting of hepatic metastases or malignancy-related inflammation, without other evidence of autoimmune hepatitis, will not be considered exclusionary
- Active alcohol use disorder (per investigator assessment and/or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition criteria)
- Unable to tolerate the fluid shift associated with the ECP procedure
- Positive screening test for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), or adenovirus
- Has a diagnosis of uveal melanoma as the sole melanoma subtype (ie, without a diagnosis of cutaneous, acral or mucosal melanoma)
- Inability to operate electronic devices such as a smart phone to complete patient diaries and questionnaires
- Any known contraindications to study intervention and/or procedures (methoxalen, the ECP procedure, infliximab or vedolizumab, MMF or azathioprine)
Where in Italy
Also in 4 other countries, 17 sites
- Istituto Tumori Bari Giovanni Paolo IIBari, ItalyNot yet recruiting
- Fondazione IRCCS - Istituto Nazionale dei TumoriMilan, ItalyNot yet recruiting
- IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione PascaleNaples, ItalyNot yet recruiting
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
To evaluate the efficacy of ECP in the treatment of ir-colitis and ir-hepatitis by assessing corticosteroid-free response.
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on the EU's official list of trials (CTIS).
- Official title
- PHOENIX - ECP: A Phase 2, Randomized, Controlled, Open-label, Multicenter Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety/Tolerability of Extracorporeal Photopheresis (ECP) Versus Best Available Therapy (BAT) for the Treatment of Immune-related Colitis and/or Hepatitis with Inadequate Response to Corticosteroids in Participants with Unresectable or Metastatic Melanoma Treated with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICI)
- Plain-language title
- Extracorporeal photopheresis for immune-related colitis or hepatitis in melanoma not helped by steroidsGenerated 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
- 5 October 2026