Clinical trial · Interventional
Concomitant Immune Check Point Inhibitor With Radiochemotherapy in Head And Neck Cancer
Phase II Non-Randomised Controlled Trial Of Concomitant Immune Check Point Inhibitor With Radiotherapy And Chemotherapy Or Cetuximab In Advanced Non Metastatic Head And Neck Cancer
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
Background: Locally advanced head and neck cancer (HNC) is a challenge as, in spite of initial good control with chemoradiation, the majority of patients fails systemically. In the last 2 years, immune check points inhibitors (mainly Programmed Death (PD)-1 inhibitors) were approved for metastatic/recurrent HNC. The favorable toxicity profile and durable responses was the main benefit of these drugs along the scope of cancers they were approved for. Aim of the study and methods: This will be a phase II non-randomized trial to define safety and efficacy of combining the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab given concomitantly with the usual standard of care chemoradiation/bioradiation for locally advanced non-nasopharyngeal HNC. Primary end point will be assessment of toxicity and tolerability while the secondary end points will be response rates (RR) and progression free survival (PFS)
Conditions
Conditions (1)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer | Malignant Head and Neck Neoplasm | CURATED_BROADER | 0.78 |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pembrolizumab | Drug | Pembrolizumab | ALIAS |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (1)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Investigational Arm
- description
- All patients will receive radical chemoradiation in addition to the investigational concomitant check point inhibitor CHEMOTHERAPY: Cisplatin: 100 mg/m2 Q21d D1, D22, D43. OR Cetuximab Loading dose 400 mg/m², one week before radiation then maintenance dose 250 mg/m² weekly, D8, D15, D22, D29, D36, D43. PD-1 inhibitor: Pembrolizumab 200 mg administered as an intravenous infusion over 30 minutes every 3 weeks 21 days prior to radiation, then Day 1 of radiation and then every 21 days for total 6 doses Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) techniques will be used. A total dose of 66-70 Gy/ 30-35 Fr over 6-7 weeks will be delivered to the primary site and draining lymphatics using simultaneous Integrated Boost (SIB).
- interventionNames
- Drug: Pembrolizumab
Primary outcomes (2)
- measure
- Dose Limiting Toxicity (DLT)
- timeFrame
- From the first dose of pembrolizumab to 28 days after the completion of radiation therapy
- description
- A pembrolizumab attributable, dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) will be defined as follows: 1\) Any ≥ grade 3 adverse event (CTCAE, v. 4) that is related to pembrolizumab that does not resolve to grade 1 or less within 28 days; 2) A delay in radiotherapy of \> 2 weeks due to toxicity related to pembrolizumab; 3) Inability to complete radiotherapy due to toxicity related to pembrolizumab; 4) Inability to receive an adequate dose (≥ 70%) of cisplatin or cetuximab due to toxicity definitely related to pembrolizumab.
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 16 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * The patient has pathologically proven squamous cell carcinoma arising in the oropharynx, hypopharynx, oral cavity, or larynx * The patient has stage III or IVA disease with an expected survival of 12 months. * The patient is medically suitable to withstand a course of definitive radiation therapy \& chemotherapy. * Karnofsky performance status is \> 60. * The patient must have achieved lawful age to provide informed consent according to local or national law . * Laboratory values performed within 14 days prior to concurrent chemotherapy should be as follows: i) Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 2000/mm ii) Platelet count ≥ 100.000/mm iii) Hemoglobin ≥ 10g/dl or 100g/L iv) Urea and serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 mg/dl. (for cisplatin) v) Creatinine clearance ≥ 50 ml/min. (for cisplatin) vi) serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) and serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) ≤ 2 × upper limit of laboratory normal vii) Serum calcium within normal limits. * Has provided tissue for Programmed Cell Death Receptor Ligand 1 (PD-L1) biomarker analysis from a core or excisional biopsy * Has evaluable tumor burden (measurable and/or non-measurable tumor lesions) assessed by computed tomography scan or magnetic resonance imaging, based on RECIST version 1.1 * Is eligible for definitive chemoradiation (CRT) and not considered for primary surgery based on investigator decision * Female participants of childbearing potential must have a negative urine or serum pregnancy test within 72 hours prior to receiving the first dose of study therapy * Female and male participants of reproductive potential must agree to use adequate contraception throughout the study period and for up to 180 days after the last dose of study therapy Exclusion Criteria: * The patient has evidence of distant metastatic disease. * The patient has received prior systemic chemotherapy within the last three years. * The patient has undergone previous surgery for the tumor, other than biopsy. * The patient has received prior radiation therapy to the H\&N. * The patient's radiation therapy is considered to be a part of a postoperative regimen following primary surgical resection. * The patient is pregnant or breast feeding. * The patient has a medical (e.g. renal impairment) or psychological condition that would not permit the patient to complete the trial or sign informed consent. * Has received prior therapy with an anti-Programmed Cell Death Receptor 1 (PD-1), anti-PD-L1, anti-Programmed Cell Death Receptor Ligand 2 (PD-L2) agent or with an agent directed to another co-inhibitory T-cell receptor or has previously participated in clinical studies with immunotherapy * Has received a live vaccine within 30 days prior to the first dose of study therapy * Has not recovered from major surgery prior to starting study therapy * Has known active Hepatitis B or C * Has known history of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) * Has a diagnosis of immunodeficiency or is receiving systemic steroid therapy or any other form of immunosuppressive therapy within 7 days prior to the first dose of study therapy * Has a history of (non-infectious) pneumonitis that required steroids or current pneumonitis * Has an active autoimmune disease that has required systemic treatment in the past 2 years. Replacement therapy is not considered a form of systemic treatment. * Has history of a diagnosed and/or treated hematologic or primary solid tumor malignancy, unless in remission for at least 5 years prior to randomization * Has had previous allogeneic tissue/solid organ transplant * Has active infection requiring systemic therapy * Has a history of severe hypersensitivity reaction to Pembrolizumab, Cisplatin, cetuximab or radiotherapy or their analogs
References
Publications (32)
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- BACKGROUNDBonner JA, Harari PM, Giralt J, Azarnia N, Shin DM, Cohen RB, Jones CU, Sur R, Raben D, Jassem J, Ove R, Kies MS, Baselga J, Youssoufian H, Amellal N, Rowinsky EK, Ang KK. Radiotherapy plus cetuximab for squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck. N Engl J Med. 2006 Feb 9;354(6):567-78. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa053422.