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Phase 1b/II Trial of Pembrolizumab Plus IMRT in Stage III/IV Carcinoma of Anus

NCT04046133 · Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · Phase: PHASE1 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 52

Last updated 2025-08-05

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The CORINTH trial is for patients with more advanced (stage 3 and 4) anal cancer. The numbers of patients with anal cancer is increasing and only 65% patients with this later stage anal cancer have not had a recurrence 3 years after treatment. Anal cancer responds well to chemo-radiation (CRT) and this would be the treatment used for standard clinical care. The chemotherapy in CORINTH will be the same as standard of care (Mitomycin and 5FU or capecitabine) and the radiotherapy (RT) will be delivered using a technique where the dose intensity of RT can be modulated for different areas of the tumor (Intensity Modulated RT - IMRT). Translational samples (tissue blocks and blood) will be collected at baseline with further blood and tissue samples during and after treatment.

Pembrolizumab, a relatively new drug, is a monoclonal antibody that enhances the body's immune response to cancer cells by acting on a receptor on the surface of T-cells called Programmed Death -1 (PD-1). The CORINTH study aims to see whether pembrolizumab, can be added safely to standard CRT. We will explore how safe the combination is and how well tolerated it is for patients with stage 3 and 4 anal cancer. If it is tolerable more patients will be treated to see if there is a similar or better clinical response.

The trial is designed in 3 groups of patients. All patients will receive eight infusions of pembrolizumab at three weekly intervals. Each infusion lasts approximately 1 hour. The first group will not get pembrolizumab until they have already had 4 weeks of CRT (Day 29). As long as this is not found to cause too many extra side effects, the next group will have infusions at the beginning of the third week of CRT. The final group (cohort 3) will start their pembrolizumab with the first day of CRT i.e. Day 1.

Initially each group will have 6 patients. Provided each group of patients finds the treatment tolerable and it is safe, more patients will be recruited into the group that receives the pembrolizumab earliest during their CRT. This will add further credence to the safety and tolerability of the combination and may provide a signal of how effective this treatment might be in improving outcomes for patients with more advanced anal cancer.

Conditions

  • Anal Cancer Stage III A
  • Anal Cancer Stage III B

Interventions

DRUG

Pembrolizumab

Pembrolizumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, concomitantly with standard CRT in patients with locally advanced T3/4 anal cancer.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Cardiff University

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Richard Adams, Prof · Velindre University NHS Trust

  • Mark Harrison, Dr · East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2020-10-19
Primary Completion
2026-11-30
Completion
2026-11-30

Countries

  • Norway
  • United Kingdom

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Drugs

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 NCT04046133 on ClinicalTrials.gov