MedTrace Logo

Pembrolizumab and Palliative Radiotherapy in Lung

NCT02587455 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: PHASE1 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 24

Last updated 2026-04-23

Study results available
· View outcomes & findings →

Summary

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in the UK with around 43,500 new patients diagnosed each year. About 69% of patients are diagnosed with advanced stage disease and at present these patients would be expected to survive for less than 12 months. These statistics therefore show the need for the development of new effective drugs in the treatment of advanced Lung cancer.

Recent trial results have shown the efficacy of immunotherapy in treating several types of tumours including lung cancer. These tumours are known to express a high level of a glycoprotein called PDL1 which is a component of the PD1 pathway. In cancer the PD1 pathway can be hijacked by tumours leading to the immune system being suppressed. The aim of the new drug Pembrolizumab is to restart the PD1 pathway and use the immune system to help fight the cancer cells. Radiotherapy has also been shown to cause cancer to increase production of the proteins that can block the immune system. Therefore it has been proposed that combine of new immunotherapy agent such as pembrolizumab and radiotherapy in the treatment of lung cancer will allow more cancer cells to be killed through the immune system.

The purpose of this study is to see if pembrolizumab can safety be combined with standard palliative radiotherapy in patients with lung cancer. In addition once the patients have completed their course of radiotherapy they will remain on pembrolizumab alone and the study will look at how well this treatment regimen can control the growth of the cancer.

Conditions

  • Thoracic Tumours

Interventions

DRUG

Pembrolizumab

Pembrolizumab - Trial Treatment

RADIATION

Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy - Standard Treatment

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC

    collaborator INDUSTRY

  • Institute of Cancer Research, United Kingdom

    collaborator OTHER

  • National Institute for Health Research, United Kingdom

    collaborator OTHER_GOV

  • Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Dr Merina Ahmed · Consultant Clinical Oncologist

Study Design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2016-06-24
Primary Completion
2021-08-20
Completion
2021-08-20

Countries

  • United Kingdom

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Drugs
Companies

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT02587455 on ClinicalTrials.gov