This research study is a phase II clinical trial. Phase II clinical trials test the safety and effectiveness of an investigational drug to learn whether the drug works in treating a specific disease. Investigational means that the drug is being studied.~The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved nivolumab for relapsed and refractory Multiple Myeloma but it has been approved for other uses.~The FDA has approved ixazomib and cyclophosphamide as treatment options for your disease.~Nivolumab is a type of antibody (a protein that attaches to other cells to fight off infection and disease) that attaches to and inhibits a protein called PD-1.~-- PD-1 is a checkpoint protein on immune cells called T cells. It normally acts as a type of off switch that helps keep the T cells from attacking other cells in the body. Some cancer cells have large amounts of PD-L1 which binds to PD-1 and turns off the immune system. Nivolumab inhibits PD-1 and helps take the brake off the immune system. The investigators' hope that nivolumab will inhibit the PD-1 protein, thus allowing your immune cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells.~Ixazomib is a type of inhibitor that blocks a protein in your cells called a proteasome. This protein is responsible for breaking down other proteins in your cells when they need to be disposed of. By blocking the proteasome from working, a buildup of proteins will be created in the cancer cells, which may lead to cell death.~The investigators hope that the combination of ixazomib and nivolumab with standard of care chemotherapy cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone will work together with ixazomib and nivolumab to treat multiple myeloma.
This research is being done to assess the effectiveness and safety of the combination of nivolumab with ixazomib, cyclophosphamide, and dexamethasone in relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma.