Can common drugs and supplements make immunotherapy work better?

NCT ID NCT07836712

What the study statuses mean

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Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting This study
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Sep 23, 2026 · Last updated Sep 24, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

Researchers are testing whether adding propranolol (a blood pressure drug), desloratadine (an allergy drug), and magnesium and vitamin D supplements to standard immunotherapy can improve treatment for advanced melanoma and liver cancer. They are also studying whether giving immunotherapy infusions in the morning works better than later in the day. The trial enrolls 46 adults with locally advanced or metastatic melanoma or advanced hepatocellular carcinoma who are starting standard immunotherapy. The goal is to see if these additions change immune markers in the blood and whether the approach is safe.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
propranolol, desloratadine, magnesium, and vitamin D added to standard immunotherapy
What this could lead to
If the approach works, it could offer a low-cost way to boost the power of standard immunotherapy for people with advanced melanoma or liver cancer.
What could go wrong
This is a small, early-phase study, so any benefits seen may not hold up in larger trials. Adding these drugs and supplements could also cause side effects or interact with immunotherapy in unexpected ways.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Phase 2

Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.

Participants

About 46 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Expected to start

Nov 2026

An estimate. Start dates often move.

Expected to finish

Nov 2028

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Histologically or cytologically confirmed locally advanced or metastatic melanoma or advanced hepatocellular cancer (HCC); histologic/cytologic confirmation not required for HCC * Eligible and planned to begin therapy with PD1/PDL-1 inhibitors as standard of care first-line therapy, either as monotherapy or in combination with other approved immune checkpoint inhibitors or bevacizumab * Age ≥ 18 years * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-2 * Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,000/mcl * Hemoglobin ≥ 8.0 g/dL * Platelets ≥ 75,000/mcl * Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 × upper limit of normal (ULN) or ≤ 3 × ULN in Gilbert's syndrome * Aspartate aminotransferase (AST)(serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase \[SGOT\])/ alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase \[SGPT\]) ≤ 2.5 × ULN for patients without liver metastasis ≤ 5 × ULN for patients with liver metastasis * Creatinine clearance \> 30 mL/min per Cockcroft-Gault * Females of childbearing potential must agree to sexual abstinence (defined below) or be willing to use a highly effective method of contraception from the start of therapy through 90 days after the completion of therapy. Non-childbearing potential is defined as: * Postmenopausal, defined as no menses for 12 months without an alternative medical cause. A high follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) level in the postmenopausal range may be used to confirm a post-menopausal state in women not using hormonal contraception or hormonal replacement therapy. However, in the absence of 12 months of amenorrhea, a single FSH measurement is insufficient. * Surgically sterile. Surgical sterilization methods include hysterectomy, bilateral salpingectomy, and bilateral oophorectomy. Acceptable highly effective birth control methods include: * Oral, intravaginal, or transdermal combined (estrogen and progestogen containing) hormonal contraception associated with inhibition of ovulation * Oral, injectable, or implantable progestogen-only hormonal contraception associated with inhibition of ovulation * Intrauterine device * Intrauterine hormone-releasing system * Bilateral tubal occlusion * Vasectomized partner (provided that partner is the sole sexual partner of the female of reproductive potential and that the vasectomized partner has received medical assessment of the surgical success) * Sexual abstinence. In the context of this study sexual abstinence is considered a highly effective method only if defined as refraining from heterosexual intercourse from the start of therapy through 90 days after the completion of therapy * Males who have female partners of childbearing potential must agree to use a highly effective method of contraception from the start of therapy through 90 days after the completion of therapy * Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Prior systemic anticancer therapy for locally advanced or metastatic disease. Therapy in the neoadjuvant or adjuvant setting is allowed if the last dose of neo/adjuvant therapy is at least 6 months prior to first dose of study treatment * A known history or autoimmune disease requiring systemic immunosuppressive therapy; or any disease process requiring systemic immunosuppressive therapy (e.g. high-dose steroids defined as ≥ 10 mg prednisone or equivalent per day). * Note: Replacement therapy (e.g. thyroxine, insulin, or physiologic corticosteroid replacement therapy for adrenal or pituitary insufficiency) is allowed * History of grade ≥ 3 immune-related adverse event(s) associated with prior immunotherapy, unless these events did not require hospitalization, were manageable with medical therapy, and adequately resolved within 14 days * Medical requirement for beta blockers or histamine 1 (H1) blockers * Has active central nervous system (CNS) metastases and/or any history of leptomeningeal disease * Note: Patients with previously treated brain metastases may participate provided they are radiologically stable (i.e. no evidence of progression for ≥ 4 weeks by repeat imaging performed during study screening), clinically stable, and not requiring steroid treatment within 14 days prior to first dose of study treatment * Has received a live vaccine administered within 28 days of planned treatment start or while participating in the study * Patients must not be pregnant or nursing due to the potential for congenital abnormalities and the potential of this regimen to harm nursing infants * History of or current condition, therapy, or laboratory abnormality that might confound the results of the study, interfere with the patient's participation for the full duration of the study, or is not in the best interest of the patient to participate * Contraindications to the use of beta-blockers, including but not limited to unstable angina pectoris, uncontrolled heart failure (Grade III or IV), hypotension (systolic blood pressure \< 100 mmHg), bradycardia * Patients must not be receiving other concomitant biologic therapy, hormonal therapy, chemotherapy, other anti-cancer therapy or any other investigational agents while on this protocol

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

How to take part

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  1. The places running it

    1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. A doctor treating you

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Contacts and locations

Locations

  • USC / Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center

    Los Angeles, California, 90033, United States

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