Pembrolizumab With Locally Delivered Radiation Therapy for the Treatment of Metastatic Esophageal Cancers
Part of paid clinical trials in St Louis, Missouri.
- Sponsor
- Washington University School of Medicine
- Study ID
- NCT02642809
- Phase
- PHASE1
- Status
- Completed
Conditions
- Cancer of the Esophagus
- Esophageal Cancer
Eligibility Criteria
- Sex
- ALL
- Age
- 18 Years - N/A
- Healthy Volunteers
- Not accepted
Interventions
- Pembrolizumab — DRUGProvided by Merck.
- Brachytherapy — RADIATIONIt will be delivered using a high-dose-rate Ir-192 afterloader via a dedicated esophageal applicator.
Study Details
The investigators propose to treat patients with metastatic esophageal cancers and dysphagia with two fractions of brachytherapy followed by pembrolizumab. The brachytherapy is hypofractionated and will provide a radiation dose of sufficient intensity to induce the release of tumor-derived antigens and trigger an antitumor immune response. The simplicity of the design should maximize the chance to examine the hypothesis that radiotherapy can induce an immune response, which can then be augmented by pembrolizumab treatment. Success in this study would provide the impetus to conduct further trials aimed at developing this unique strategy as a more broadly applicable therapeutic option in the treatment of patients suffering from these deadly cancers, and will provide important mechanistic insights into the relationship between radiation treatment and immune therapy augmentation.
Key Dates
- Start date
- Jun 8, 2016
- Status verified
- Feb 2026
- Primary completion
- Sep 24, 2020
- Completion
- Aug 3, 2021
Study Design
- Enrollment
- 16 participants (actual)
- Allocation
- NA
- Intervention model
- SINGLE_GROUP
- Primary purpose
- TREATMENT
Arms
- Experimental: Pembrolizumab and Brachytherapy* Brachytherapy dose=16 Gy delivered in 2 fractions of 8 Gy per fraction, separated by 7-10 days between fractions. * Pembrolizumab started within 1 week after completion of brachytherapy administered as an intravenous infusion with a dose of 200 mg. It will be given every 3 weeks. * Research endoscopic biopsy for 8 consented patients will take place 1-2 weeks after initiation of brachytherapy.
Primary Outcome Measure
Safety as Measured by Number of Participants With Grade 3 or Higher Treatment Related Adverse Events [ Time Frame: Through 30 days after completion of treatment (median length of adverse event follow-up 106 days, full range 42-1023 days) ]
Locations (1)
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site coordinators |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington University School of Medicine | St Louis | Missouri | 63110 | - |
Related coverage on Hipa.ai
- Pembrolizumab + Radiation for Metastatic Esophageal Cancer: -4.0% Tumor LengthPembrolizumab · Mar 18, 2026 · ClinicalTrials.gov
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