RECENTLY ACTIVATED ALLIANCE TRIALS

Alliance A222302: Distance-based exercise to preserve function and prevent disability (DEFEND)

Overview: This clinical trial studies whether an exercise program can be successfully delivered to patients receiving treatment for cancer through virtual sessions and allow patients to exercise in their own home. Treatments for cancer can cause side effects such as fatigue and loss of strength. These side effects can make it difficult to work, take care of family, and do other things the patient wants to do. Preliminary research shows that exercise can help prevent some of these side effects, but it can be more difficult to start an exercise program when a patient is receiving cancer treatment. The exercise program in this study is delivered through telehealth video calls. The telehealth sessions are delivered by trained staff that supervise resistance exercises. The trained staff also provide guidance to the patient on completing unsupervised aerobic sessions on their own. This may be a successful way to deliver an exercise program and make it easier for cancer patients to exercise in their own home during treatment.
Study Chair: Jennifer Ligibel, MD, Harvard Medical School/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Study Co-Chair: Kathryn Schmitz, PhD, MPH, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center 
Activated: 10/31/2025 | To learn more about the trial, visit ClinicalTrials.gov or read the news release.
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT07059884.

Alliance A092204: Testing the addition of an anti-cancer drug, cabozantinib to the immunotherapy drug cemiplimab (REGN2810), in adolescents and adults with advanced adrenocortical cancer

Overview: This phase II trial compares the effect of giving cabozantinib with or without cemiplimab in patients with adrenocortical cancer that has spread to nearby tissue or lymph nodes (locally advanced), and that cannot be removed by surgery (unresectable) or that has come back after a period of improvement (recurrent) or that has spread from where it first started (primary site) to other places in the body (metastatic). Cabozantinib is in a class of medications called tyrosine kinase inhibitors. It works by blocking the action of an abnormal protein that signals cancer cells to multiply, which may help keep cancer cells from growing. 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. Giving cabozantinib with cemiplimab may kill more tumor cells in patients with locally advanced unresectable or recurrent/metastatic adrenocortical cancer.
Study Chair: Bhavana Konda, MD, MPH, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center
Activated: 10/22/2025 | To learn more about the trial, visit ClinicalTrials.gov or read the news release.
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT06900595.

Alliance A032302: Docetaxel addition in metastatic castrate-sensitive prostate cancer (ASPIRE)

Overview: This phase III trial compares the effect of adding docetaxel to hormonal therapy and apalutamide versus hormonal therapy and apalutamide alone in treating patients with prostate cancer that has spread from where it first started (primary site) to other places in the body (metastatic). Docetaxel is in a class of medications called taxanes. It stops tumor cells from growing and dividing and may kill them. Hormone therapy for prostate cancer, also called androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), uses surgery or drugs to lower the levels of male sex hormones in a man's body. This helps slow the growth of prostate cancer. Apalutamide is in a class of medications called androgen receptor inhibitors. It works by blocking the effects of androgen (a male reproductive hormone) to stop the growth and spread of tumor cells. Giving docetaxel in addition to the usual treatment of hormonal therapy and apalutamide may work better in treating patients with metastatic prostate cancer than the usual treatment alone.
Study Chair: Deepak Kilari, MD, Medical College of Wisconsin
Activated: 9/26/2025 | To learn more about the ASPIRE trial, visit ClinicalTrials.gov or read the news release.
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT06931340.

Alliance A232301: AYA Access Study: An enhanced eHealth and chat-bot enabled delivery model for clinical genetic services in community AYA cancer patients

Overview: This phase III trial compares the use of a digital chatbot enabled intervention to standard remote genetic services for increasing uptake of genetic counseling and testing among adolescents and young adult (AYA) cancer patients. Genetic testing for cancer predisposition syndromes has become standard evidence-based practice and can inform enhanced screening and risk reducing measures to reduce cancer morbidity and mortality. Despite this, many AYAs are not receiving recommended genetic counseling and testing. Offering remote telehealth services can address access barriers and chatbots and texting interventions could enhance patient outcomes and reduce provider and staff time. The use of a digital chatbot enabled intervention may be equally as effective as standard remote genetic services in AYA cancer patients undergoing genetic testing.
Study Chair: Angela Bradbury, MD, University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center
Study Co-Chair: Tara Henderson, MD, PhD, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Activated: 9/23/2025 | To learn more about the AYA Access Study, visit ClinicalTrials.gov or read the news release.
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT07091617.