Trials / Recruiting

RecruitingNCT04671667

Testing What Happens When an Immunotherapy Drug (Pembrolizumab) is Given by Itself Compared to the Usual Treatment of Chemotherapy With Radiation After Surgery for Recurrent Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

A Phase II Randomized Trial of Adjuvant Therapy With Pembrolizumab After Resection of Recurrent/Second Primary Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma With High Risk Features

Status: Recruiting
Phase: Phase 2
Study type: Interventional
Enrollment: 188 (estimated)

Sponsor: National Cancer Institute (NCI) · NIH
Sex: All
Age: 18 Years – 79 Years
Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This phase II trial studies the effect of pembrolizumab alone compared to the usual approach (chemotherapy \[cisplatin and carboplatin\] plus radiation therapy) after surgery in treating patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma that has come back (recurrent) or patients with a second head and neck cancer that is not from metastasis (primary). Radiation therapy uses high energy radiation or protons to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. Cisplatin is in a class of medications known as platinum-containing compounds. It works by killing, stopping or slowing the growth of cancer cells. Carboplatin is also in a class of medications known as platinum-containing compounds. It works in a way similar to the anticancer drug cisplatin, but may be better tolerated than cisplatin. Carboplatin works by killing, stopping or slowing the growth of cancer cells. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as pembrolizumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Giving pembrolizumab alone after surgery may work better than the usual approach in shrinking recurrent or primary head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Detailed description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: I. To evaluate overall survival (OS) of adjuvant pembrolizumab for 12 months compared to adjuvant reirradiation plus concurrent platinum chemotherapy in high risk head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To evaluate the following endpoints in both arms: disease free survival (DFS), locoregional control, rates of distant metastasis, toxicity. II. To evaluate whether high PD-L1 expression (defined as Combined Positive Score \[CPS\] \>= 20) is predictive of increased efficacy in the experimental group compared to control. OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms. ARM B: Patients receive cisplatin or carboplatin intravenously (IV) on day 1. Treatment repeats every 7 days for 6 cycles in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients also undergo intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) or proton beam radiation therapy (PBRT) once daily (QD) for a total of 30 fractions in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. ARM C: Patients receive pembrolizumab IV over 30 minutes on day 1. Treatment repeats every 6 weeks for 9 cycles in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients in all arms undergo computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) throughout the trial. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up at 30 days, and then every 6 months for up to 5 years from the date of registration.

Conditions

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	Carboplatin	Given IV
DRUG	Cisplatin	Given IV
PROCEDURE	Computed Tomography	Undergo CT
RADIATION	Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy	Undergo IMRT
PROCEDURE	Magnetic Resonance Imaging	Undergo MRI
BIOLOGICAL	Pembrolizumab	Given IV
RADIATION	Proton Beam Radiation Therapy	Undergo PBRT

Timeline

Start date: 2021-04-27
Primary completion: 2029-06-30
Completion: 2029-06-30
First posted: 2020-12-17
Last updated: 2026-04-17

Locations

177 sites across 1 country: United States

Regulatory

FDA-regulated drug study

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT04671667. Inclusion in this directory is not an endorsement.