Recruiting
Phase 1

Pembrolizumab & Chemotherapy

Sponsor:

Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine

Code:

NCT03760575

Conditions

Mesotheliomas Pleural

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Pembrolizumab

Indocyanine Green (ICG) Image-Guided Surgery

Cisplatin

Pemetrexed

Study Details

Brief summary:

The study is a single-arm phase I trial to evaluate the safety, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of the addition of pembrolizumab and image-guided resection to surgical therapy and chemotherapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM).

Conditions

Mesotheliomas Pleural

Study ID

NCT03760575

Start date

Jan 10, 2023

Status verified date

Dec, 2025

Completion date

Feb 1, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Feb 1, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Be willing and able to provide written informed consent for the trial.
  • Be 18 years of age on day of signing informed consent.
  • Have measurable disease based on RECIST 1.1.
  • Be willing to provide tissue from a newly obtained core or excisional biopsy of a tumor lesion. Newly-obtained is defined as a specimen obtained up to 6 weeks (42 days) prior to initiation of treatment on Day 1. Subjects for whom newly-obtained samples cannot be provided (e.g. inaccessible or subject safety concern) may submit an archived specimen only upon agreement from the Sponsor.
  • Have a performance status of 0 or 1 on the ECOG Performance Scale.
  • Demonstrate adequate organ function, all screening labs should be performed within 10 days of treatment initiation.
  • Female subject of childbearing potential should have a negative urine or serum pregnancy within 72 hours prior to receiving the first dose of study medication. If the urine test is positive or cannot be confirmed as negative, a serum pregnancy test will be required.
  • Female subjects of childbearing potential must be willing to use an adequate method of contraception for the course of the study through 120 days after the last dose of study medication. Note: Abstinence is acceptable if this is the usual lifestyle and preferred contraception for the subject.
  • Male subjects of childbearing potential must agree to use an adequate method of contraception starting with the first dose of study therapy through 120 days after the last dose of study therapy. Note: Abstinence is acceptable if this is the usual lifestyle and preferred contraception for the subject.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Is currently participating and receiving study therapy or has participated in a study of an investigational agent and received study therapy or used an investigational device within 4 weeks of the first dose of treatment.
  • Has a diagnosis of immunodeficiency or is receiving any form of immunosuppressive therapy within 7 days prior to the first dose of trial treatment OR Is taking chronic systemic steroids (in doses exceeding 10 mg daily of prednisone equivalent) within 7 days prior to the first dose of trial treatment. (Note: Subjects with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that require intermittent use of bronchodilators, inhaled steroids, or local steroid injections would not be excluded from the study.)
  • Has a known history of active TB (Bacillus Tuberculosis)
  • Hypersensitivity to ICG or pembrolizumab or any of their excipients.
  • Has had a prior anti-cancer monoclonal antibody (mAb) within 4 weeks prior to study Day 1 or who has not recovered (i.e., ≤ Grade 1 or at baseline) from adverse events due to agents administered more than 4 weeks earlier.
  • Has had prior chemotherapy, targeted small molecule therapy, or radiation therapy within 2 weeks prior to study Day 1 or who has not recovered (i.e., ≤ Grade 1 or at baseline) from adverse events due to a previously administered agent. Note: Subjects with ≤ Grade 2 neuropathy are an exception to this criterion and may qualify for the study. Note: If subject received major surgery, they must have recovered adequately from the toxicity and/or complications from the intervention prior to starting therapy.
  • Has a known additional malignancy that is progressing or requires active treatment. Exceptions include basal cell carcinoma of the skin or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin that has undergone potentially curative therapy or in situ cervical cancer.
  • Has known metastatic disease and/or disease that is otherwise determined to be unresectable.
  • Has active autoimmune disease that has required systemic treatment in the past 2 years (i.e. with use of disease modifying agents, corticosteroids or immunosuppressive drugs). Replacement therapy (eg., thyroxine, insulin, or physiologic corticosteroid replacement therapy for adrenal or pituitary insufficiency, etc.) is not considered a form of systemic treatment.
  • Has a history of (non-infectious) pneumonitis that required steroids or current pneumonitis.
  • Evidence of interstitial lung disease.
  • Has an active infection requiring systemic therapy.
  • Has a history or current evidence of any condition, therapy, or laboratory abnormality that might confound the results of the trial, interfere with the subject's participation for the full duration of the trial, or is not in the best interest of the subject to participate, in the opinion of the treating investigator.
  • Has known psychiatric or substance abuse disorders that would interfere with cooperation with the requirements of the trial.
  • Is pregnant or breastfeeding, or expecting to conceive or father children within the projected duration of the trial, starting with the pre-screening or screening visit through 120 days after the last dose of trial treatment.
  • Has received prior therapy with an anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, or anti-PD-L2 agent.
  • Has a known history of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) (HIV 1/2 antibodies).
  • Has known active Hepatitis B (e.g., HBsAg reactive) or Hepatitis C (e.g., HCV RNA \[qualitative\] is detected).
  • Has received a live vaccine within 30 days of planned start of study therapy. Note: Seasonal influenza vaccines for injection are generally inactivated flu vaccines and are allowed; however intranasal influenza vaccines (e.g., Flu-Mist®) are live attenuated vaccines, and are not allowed

Study Design

Enrollment

20 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Pembrolizumab with image-guided surgery and chemotherapy

Interventions

Pembrolizumab

Pembrolizumab 200mg via IV infusion every 3 weeks for 2 cycles 3 pre-surgery, for 4 cycles post-surgery and then every 3 weeks during maintenance.

Indocyanine Green (ICG) Image-Guided Surgery

Standard surgery with image guided resection.

Cisplatin

75 mg/m2 every 3 weeks via IV infusion for 4 cycles post-surgery.

Pemetrexed

500 mg/m2 every 3 weeks via IV infusion for 4 cycles post-surgery.

Primary outcome measure

  • Study related adverse events (AEs) [ Time Frame: Each subjects will be assessed for AEs from the time of their first study treatment until 30 days after the end of their treatment for AEs and until 90 days after their last treatment for serious AEs (study treatment may last for up to 1 year) ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Corey Langer, MD

2156623914Corey.Langer@uphs.upenn.edu

Locations

Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania

Recruiting

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104

Contacts

Corey Langer, MD

215-622-3914Corey.Langer@uphs.upenn.edu

More Information

Sponsor

Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine

Last update posted

Dec 4, 2025

Last verified

Dec, 2025

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-10-07. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine on 2025-12-04. Recruitment status is synced daily from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the sponsor's current status. Confirm during your call.