Triple drug combo aims to shrink oral tumors before surgery
NCT ID NCT07882888
First seen Oct 20, 2026 · Last updated Oct 21, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers are testing whether two immunotherapy drugs, iparomlimab and tuvonralimab, combined with cetuximab can shrink locally advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma before surgery. The trial enrolls adults with resectable stage III to IVa disease. Participants receive three cycles of the drug combination, then undergo surgery followed by radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy. The main goal is to measure how many participants have few viable tumor cells left at surgery, a sign the treatment may be working.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- iparomlimab and tuvonralimab combined with cetuximab
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this approach could shrink oral tumors before surgery and lower the chance of the cancer returning.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, single-arm phase 2 trial with no control group, so any benefit is uncertain and may not apply broadly. Immunotherapy and cetuximab can cause serious side effects, and some tumors may not respond.
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
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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About 26 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Oct 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Oct 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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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
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18 to 75 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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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 Hide 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: * \- Aged 18-75 years, male or female; * Histopathologically confirmed primary stage Ⅲ-Ⅳa surgically resectable oral squamous cell carcinoma, with measurable lesions (≥10 mm on spiral CT, meeting RECIST 1.1 criteria); * ECOG performance status of 0 or 1; * Expected survival ≥12 weeks; * At least one measurable lesion per RECIST 1.1. Previously irradiated lesions may serve as measurable lesions provided disease progression has occurred; * Availability of tumor tissue for PD-L1 testing (paraffin-embedded specimens obtained within 2 years or fresh tumor tissue); * Adequate organ function assessed within 14 days prior to the first dose of study drug, defined as: * Hematology: absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥1.5×10⁹/L, platelets (PLT) ≥100×10⁹/L, hemoglobin (HB) ≥9 g/dL (no blood transfusion or component transfusion within 14 days before testing); * Hepatic: serum total bilirubin (TBIL) ≤1.5 × upper limit of normal (ULN); aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤2.5 × ULN (AST and ALT ≤5 × ULN permitted in the presence of liver metastases); * Renal: serum creatinine \<1.5 × ULN, or creatinine clearance ≥60 mL/min; blood urea nitrogen ≤200 mg/L; * Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) ≤1 × ULN. If TSH is abnormal, free triiodothyronine (FT3) and free thyroxine (FT4) shall be evaluated; subjects with normal FT3 and FT4 may be enrolled; * Urine protein ≤1+. If urine protein \>1+, 24-hour urine protein quantification is required, with total urinary protein ≤1 g; * Normal cardiac function: normal electrocardiogram (ECG) or ECG abnormalities of no clinical significance; left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) \>50% on echocardiography. * Female subjects of reproductive potential must have a negative serum pregnancy test before the first dose of study drug; * Male or female subjects of reproductive potential must use highly effective contraceptive methods throughout the study (e.g., oral contraceptives, intrauterine devices, abstinence, or barrier contraception combined with spermicide), and continue contraception for 90 days after treatment completion; * Subjects voluntarily participate in the study, sign the informed consent form, demonstrate good compliance, and agree to follow-up. Exclusion Criteria: * \- Presence of distant metastatic lesions or locally unresectable disease (stage Ⅳb or Ⅳc); * Prior primary nasopharyngeal carcinoma; * Participation in another investigational drug/therapy clinical trial within 4 weeks before the first study drug dose; * Major surgery within 4 weeks before the first study drug dose, or unresolved adverse effects from such surgery; receipt of live vaccine or immunotherapy within 4 weeks; radiotherapy within 2 weeks; * Concurrent receipt of any other anti-tumor therapy; * Active autoimmune disease or history of autoimmune disease (including but not limited to autoimmune hepatitis, interstitial pneumonia, uveitis, enteritis, hepatitis, hypophysitis, vasculitis, nephritis, hyperthyroidism; vitiligo not requiring systemic therapy is allowed; childhood asthma fully resolved with no intervention required in adulthood is allowed; asthma requiring bronchodilator treatment is excluded); * Current use of immunosuppressants or systemic corticosteroids for immunosuppressive purposes (\>10 mg/day prednisone or equivalent), continued within 2 weeks prior to enrollment; * History of other malignant tumors within the past 5 years, except cured basal cell carcinoma of the skin, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, early prostate cancer, and carcinoma in situ of the cervix; * Administration of hematopoietic growth factors such as granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) or erythropoietin within 1 week before the first study drug dose; * Prior treatment with anti-PD-1/PD-L1/PD-L2/CTLA-4 antibodies or agonist/antagonist agents targeting T-cell receptors (e.g., OX40, CD137); * Positive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody or \*Treponema pallidum\* antibody; * Active hepatitis B or hepatitis C infection: * If HBsAg or HBcAb is positive, HBV DNA testing will be performed (enrollment excluded if above ULN); * If HCV antibody is positive, HCV RNA testing will be performed (enrollment excluded if above ULN); * Known hypersensitivity to recombinant humanized anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody or its components; * Active pulmonary disease (interstitial pneumonia, pneumonia, obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma) or history of active tuberculosis; * Any uncontrolled clinical conditions, including but not limited to: * Persistent or active (severe) infection; * Poorly controlled hypertension (persistent blood pressure \>150/90 mmHg); * Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus; * Cardiac disease (New York Heart Association grade Ⅲ/Ⅳ congestive heart failure or cardiac block); * Events occurring within 6 months before first dose: deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism; myocardial infarction; severe or unstable arrhythmia or angina; percutaneous coronary intervention, acute coronary syndrome, coronary artery bypass grafting; cerebrovascular accident, transient ischemic attack, cerebral embolism; * Prior stem cell transplantation or solid organ transplantation; * History of substance abuse that cannot be discontinued, or history of psychiatric disorders; * Other severe, acute or chronic medical conditions or laboratory abnormalities that, in the investigator's judgment, may increase risks associated with study participation or interfere with interpretation of study results; * Poor compliance or other conditions deemed by the investigator to render the subject unsuitable for trial participation.
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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
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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the Ninth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine
RECRUITINGShanghai, Shanghai Municipality, 200011, China
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