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Taking people in United StatesPhase 2

Tests nivolumab or pembrolizumab with metformin or rosiglitazone in advanced solid tumors

Tests immunotherapy alone or with metformin or rosiglitazone in adults with advanced solid cancers.

Key facts

Who runs it
Dan Zandberg
Where
Pittsburgh, United StatesSee the site
Trial code
Registry title
Anti-PD-1 mAb Plus Metabolic Modulator in Solid Tumor Malignancies
Status
Recruiting
Phase
Phase 2
People taking part
72 people, planned
Started
14 Sept 2020
Expected to end
30 Apr 2032
Type of study
Interventional, 3 groupsOne group gets an existing treatment, for comparison.
Treatments tested
  • Nivolumab or Pembrolizumab (dependent upon approved indication)
  • Metformin
  • Rosiglitazone
Record updated
23 June 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 melanoma, kidney, lung, liver, bladder, stomach, or head and neck cancer, or MSI-High solid tumors. Standard care for them would be pembrolizumab or nivolumab alone.

Age
18 years or older
Sex
All sexes can join.
Disease stage
Advanced cancer that can be measured on scans. Liver cancer only with Child Pugh Class A. ECOG performance status 0-2. A tumor that can be reached for a core or surgical biopsy before and after treatment.
Earlier treatment
No earlier anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 antibody treatment. No metformin, insulin, sulfonylureas or thiazolidinediones in the 60 days before the trial starts.
Biomarker or test result
Solid tumors must be MSI-High if that is the cancer type. Blood counts, liver and kidney function must be in the ranges set by the trial.

Main reasons for not taking part

  • Earlier anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 antibody treatment
  • Type I diabetes
  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding
  • Active autoimmune disease needing systemic treatment
  • Known HIV

The registry criteria, word for word

Show all 29 criteriaShow less

Who can take part

  • Histologically or cytologically confirmed advanced melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, NSCLC, HCC (Child Pugh Class A only), MSI-High solid tumors, Urothelial Cancer, GE junction/Gastric Adenocarcinoma, or HNSCC for which current standard of care treatment for their stage of disease would be with Pembrolizumab or Nivolumab monotherapy
  • Accessible tumor for pretreatment (baseline) and post treatment biopsy. Tumor must be accessible for core or surgical biopsy (excisional/incisional), FNA is not adequate
  • Age ≥ 18 years
  • Have at least one measurable area of disease (Target Lesion) based on RECIST 1.1
  • ECOG performance status 0-2
  • Patients must have normal organ and marrow function as defined below:; absolute neutrophil count ≥1,500/mcL platelets ≥100,000/mcL total bilirubin ≤ institutional upper limit of normal (ULN) AST(SGOT)/ALT(SGPT) ≤2.5 × institutional ULN Creatinine clearance ≥40 mL/min/1.73 m2
  • Female subjects of childbearing potential should have a negative urine or serum pregnancy within 7 days prior to receiving the first dose of study medication. If the urine test is positive or cannot be confirmed as negative, a serum pregnancy test will be required
  • Female subjects of childbearing potential should be willing to use one methods of birth control or abstain from heterosexual activity for the course of the study through 120 days after the last dose of study medication. Women of childbearing potential are those who have not been surgically sterilized or have not been free from menses for > 1 year
  • Male subjects should agree to use an adequate method of contraception starting with the first dose of study therapy through 120 days after the last dose of study therapy
  • Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document
  • If known to have prior brain metastases, must not have evidence of active (enlarging and/or symptomatic lesions) brain disease on MRI/CT evaluation
  • A type II DM patient who does not currently require prescription medication for diabetes treatment and has not received metformin, insulin, sulfonylureas or thiazolidinediones within 60 days of the start of study treatment can be enrolled on the study

Who cannot take part

  • Treatment with prior anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 mAb therapy
  • Patients with type I DM or any patient who has received metformin, insulin, sulfonylureas, or thiazolidinediones within 60 days of start of study treatment for any reason
  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding. Women of childbearing potential (WOCBP) must practice acceptable methods of birth control to prevent pregnancy. Prior to study enrollment, WOCBP must be advised of the importance of avoiding pregnancy during trial participation and the potential risk factors for an unintentional pregnancy. In addition, men enrolled on this study must be informed of the risks to any sexual partner of childbearing potential and should practice an effective method of birth control
  • All WOCBP MUST have a negative pregnancy test within 7 days prior to first receiving investigational product. If the pregnancy test is positive, the patient must not receive investigational product and must not be enrolled in the study
  • History of uncontrolled cardiac disease (e.g., uncontrolled hypertension, unstable angina, myocardial infarction within prior 6 months)
  • Treatment with a non-approved or investigational drug within 14 days prior to Day 1 of study treatment
  • Patients that require active treatment with Rifampin or Gemfibrozil for other medical conditions
  • Has an active autoimmune disease requiring systemic treatment within the past 3 months or a documented history of clinically severe autoimmune disease, or a syndrome that requires systemic steroids or immunosuppressive agents. Subjects with vitiligo, Grave's disease, or psoriasis not requiring systemic therapy or resolved childhood asthma/atopy would be an exception to this rule. Subjects that require intermittent use of bronchodilators or local steroid injections would not be excluded from the study. Subjects with hypothyroidism stable on hormone replacement or Sjogren's syndrome will not be excluded from the study
  • Symptomatic heart failure or New York Heart Association Class III or IV heart failure
  • Psychiatric illness or other social issues limiting compliance
  • Has a history of non-infectious pneumonitis that required steroids, evidence of interstitial lung disease, or currently active non-infectious pneumonitis
  • Prior malignancy within 2 years with the exception of adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer, carcinoma of the cervix or prostate cancer
  • Has a known history of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) (HIV 1/2 antibodies). Per Medical History Review
  • Hypersensitivity to metformin, rosiglitazone, pembrolizumab or nivolumab
  • History of acidosis of any type or habitual intake of 5 or more alcoholic beverages a day
  • Has a history or current evidence of any condition, therapy, or laboratory abnormality that might confound the results of the trial, interfere with the subject's participation for the full duration of the trial, or is not in the best interest of the subject to participate, in the opinion of the treating investigator
  • Unable to take in pills either orally or via feeding tube

Where in United States

  • UPMC Hillman Cancer CenterPittsburgh, United StatesContact: Jennifer Ruth, RN, BSNTaking people

About the trial

What the trial wants to find out

Patients with histologically or cytologically confirmed advanced melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, NSCLC, HCC (Child Pugh Class A only), MSI-High solid tumors, Urothelial Cancer, GE junction/Gastric Adenocarcinoma, or HNSCC for which current standard of care treatment for their stage of disease would be with Pembrolizumab or Nivolumab monotherapy, who meet eligibility criteria will undergo a biopsy (core or excisional/incisional; FNA not adequate) for baseline tissue. Patients will then be randomized to one of 3 arms: Anti-PD-1 mAb plus Metformin 500mg po BID, Anti-PD-1 mAb alone, Anti-PD-1 mAb plus Rosiglitazone 4mg po qdaily. Five weeks (+/- 7 days) after initiation of therapy a patient will undergo a repeat biopsy (core or excisional/incisional; FNA not adequate) for correlative analysis. The patient will then continue on study therapy for up to 2 years, or until progression of disease or unacceptable toxicity, whichever occurs first. RECIST 1.1 with modifications, to allow for continued therapy until progressive disease is confirmed if the patient is clinically stable, will be used in the trial.

The 3 groups in the trial

  • Anti-PD-1 mAb (nivolumab or pembrozilumab) plus MetforminTreatment being tested

    nivolumab (480mg IV q 4 weeks) or pembrozilumab (200mg IV q 3 weeks) - dependent upon approved indication. (If both agents are approved for the disease indication, selection is at the discretion of the investigator) Metformin - 500 mg by mouth twice daily

    Treatment: Nivolumab or Pembrolizumab (dependent upon approved indication) and Metformin

  • Anti-PD-1 mAb (nivolumab or pembrozilumab) plus RosiglitazoneTreatment being tested

    nivolumab (480mg IV q 4 weeks) or pembrozilumab (200mg IV q 3 weeks) - dependent upon approved indication. (If both agents are approved for the disease indication, selection is at the discretion of the investigator) Rosiglitazone - 4 mg by mouth once daily

    Treatment: Nivolumab or Pembrolizumab (dependent upon approved indication) and Rosiglitazone

  • Anti-PD-1 mAb (nivolumab or pembrozilumab)Existing treatment, for comparison

    nivolumab (480mg IV q 4 weeks) or pembrozilumab (200mg IV q 3 weeks) - dependent upon approved indication. (If both agents are approved for the disease indication, selection is at the discretion of the investigator)

    Treatment: Nivolumab or Pembrolizumab (dependent upon approved indication)

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 → Contacts and Locations

Print a page for my doctor

Data and sources

Registry record
Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Official title
A Phase II Clinical Trial of Anti-PD-1 mAb Therapy Alone or With Metabolic Modulators to Reverse Tumor Hypoxia and Immune Dysfunction in Solid Tumor Malignancies
Plain-language title
Tests nivolumab or pembrolizumab with metformin or rosiglitazone in advanced solid tumorsGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 12 November 2026.
Publications
Record updated
23 June 2026