Patient choice between skin shot and vein drip of immune therapy
Compares patient preference for nivolumab or pembrolizumab shots versus drips.
Key facts
- Who runs it
- Diwakar Davar
- Where
- Pittsburgh, United StatesSee the site
- Trial code
- Registry title
- Patient Preference for Subcutaneous vs. Intravenous Immune Therapy
- Status
- Recruiting
- Phase
- Phase 2
- People taking part
- 880 people, planned
- Started
- 4 Nov 2025
- Expected to end
- 30 Nov 2030
- Type of study
- Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets an existing treatment, for comparison.
- Treatments tested
- nivolumab
- pembrolizumab
- Record updated
- 16 April 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 a locally advanced or advanced/metastatic solid tumor who are about to start, or are already having, nivolumab or pembrolizumab. It compares preference for an under-the-skin (SC) dose with a vein (IV) dose.
- Age
- 18 Years or older
- Sex
- All sexes can join.
- Disease stage
- Locally advanced or advanced/metastatic solid tumor for which nivolumab or pembrolizumab is on-label.
- Earlier treatment
- Some cohorts are for people who have not had immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy yet. Other cohorts are for people already on PD-(L)1-based therapy, alone or with other FDA-approved agents (TKIs or chemotherapy). Those people must be willing to switch to nivolumab or pembrolizumab.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Cannot join: prior allergic reaction to nivolumab or pembrolizumab or any of their ingredients.
- Cannot join: severe hypersensitivity (Grade 3 or higher) to nivolumab or pembrolizumab or their excipients.
- Cannot join: had an allogenic tissue or solid organ transplant.
- Cannot join: nivolumab + ipilimumab is planned as maintenance.
- Cannot join: anti-PD-1 immunotherapy is planned as neoadjuvant therapy.
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 9 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- Able to understand and willing to sign a written informed consent document
- Able to read and write in English
- Must be eligible to receive nivolumab (Cohorts A-1, B-1) or pembrolizumab (Cohorts A-2, B-2) singly or in combination with other FDA-approved agents (TKIs or chemotherapy) according to standard of care practices, as determined by the clinical judgment of the investigator
- Prior and concurrent therapy criteria; o Patients should either be ICI-naïve (Cohorts A-1, A-2) or be currently receiving adjuvant or front-line PD-(L)1 based therapy singly or in combination with FDA-approved agents (TKIs or chemotherapy) (Cohorts B-1, B-2)
- Locally advanced or advanced/metastatic solid tumor for which nivolumab OR pembrolizumab is on-label; NOTE: IV nivolumab is FDA-approved in the following indications: RCC, melanoma, NSCLC, SCCHN, UC, dMMR/MSI-H CRC, HCC, esophageal cancer, and gastric, gastroesophageal and esophageal adenocarcinoma (gastric/GEJ); NOTE: IV pembrolizumab is FDA-approved in the following indications: RCC, melanoma, NSCLC, SCCHN, UC, dMMR/MSI-H CRC, HCC, esophageal cancer, gastric/GEJ, cervical cancer, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), endometrial carcinoma, tumor mutational burden-high (TMB-H) cancers, triple negative breast cancer (TNBC)
- Cohort-specific criteria; Cohort A-1: Patients who are treatment-naive (i.e. for whom nivolumab is planned but has not yet been initiated) are eligible to enroll; Cohort B-1: Patients who are already receiving treatment with nivolumab (singly or in combination with TKI or chemotherapy) OR a different ICI-therapy but are willing to switch to nivolumab monotherapy or nivolumab based combinations may eligible to enroll if nivolumab is on-label for their cancer; Cohort A-2: Patients who are treatment-naive (i.e. for whom pembrolizumab is planned but has not yet been initiated) are eligible to enroll; Cohort B-2: Patients who are already receiving treatment with pembrolizumab (singly or in combination with TKI or chemotherapy) OR a different ICI-therapy but are willing to switch to pembrolizumab monotherapy or pembrolizumab based combinations may eligible to enroll if pembrolizumab is on-label for their cancer; NOTE: Patients who are currently receiving nivolumab + ipilimumab combination as induction may be eligible to enroll in Cohort B-1 following induction (i.e. during planned maintenance) in indications including but not limited to advanced/metastatic melanoma, ccRCC, MSI-H/dMMR mCRC; NOTE: Patients for whom nivolumab + ipilimumab combination is planned as maintenance are not eligible (i.e. NSCLC patients being treated per CheckMate-227 or CheckMate-9LA); NOTE: Patients for whom anti-PD-1 based immunotherapy is planned as neoadjuvant therapy are not appropriate. Such patients may be considered for enrollment at the time of commencing adjuvant therapy in cohorts A-2 or B-2 as appropriate
Who cannot take part
- Participant unable to receive nivolumab (or pembrolizumab) due to prior allergic reactions to nivolumab (or pembrolizumab) or any of its ingredients
- Has had an allogenic tissue/solid organ transplant
- Has severe hypersensitivity (≥Grade 3) to nivolumab (or pembrolizumab) and/or any of its excipients
Where in United States
- UPMC Hillman Cancer CenterPittsburgh, United StatesContact: Danielle L Bednarz, RNTaking people
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
The study will evaluate patient and Health Care Professional- reported preference for Subcutaneous (SC) compared with IV nivolumab administration or similarly for SC compared with IV pembrolizumab.
The 2 groups in the trial
- Subcutaneous to IVExisting treatment, for comparison
SC nivolumab (or pembrolizumab) x3 cycles followed by IV nivolumab (or pembrolizumab) x3 cycles.
Treatment: nivolumab and pembrolizumab
- IV to SubcutaneousExisting treatment, for comparison
IV nivolumab (or pembrolizumab) x3 cycles followed by SC nivolumab (or pembrolizumab) x3 cycles
Treatment: nivolumab and pembrolizumab
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 → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- Patient Preference for Subcutaneous vs. Intravenous Immune Therapy (PSI-Immune)
- Plain-language title
- Patient choice between skin shot and vein drip of immune therapyGenerated 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.
- Record updated
- 16 April 2026