Can a cancer drug plus radiation trick the immune system to attack brain tumors?

NCT ID NCT03449238

Recruiting now Disease control Sponsor: Weill Medical College of Cornell University Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study is for people with metastatic breast cancer that has spread to the brain, with at least two brain tumors. Participants receive an immunotherapy drug called pembrolizumab every three weeks, plus a precise, one-time radiation treatment to just one of the brain tumors. The goal is to see if the immune system, boosted by the drug, will also attack the untreated brain tumors and tumors elsewhere in the body. The trial is currently recruiting 41 participants.

What this could mean

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

Active substance: Pembrolizumab (an immunotherapy drug that helps the immune system fight cancer)
What this could lead to: If it works, this could show that combining immunotherapy with radiation helps control breast cancer that has spread to the brain, potentially improving survival.
What could go wrong: This is an early-phase trial with only 41 participants, so results may not apply broadly. The treatment may cause side effects like immune-related inflammation, and the abscopal effect (tumors shrinking away from the radiation site) may not occur.

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

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

brain cancer breast cancer breast carcinoma breast neoplasm metastatic malignant neoplasm in the brain

As listed by the trial registrant

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

BRAIN METASTASES METASTATIC BREAST CANCER

Contacts and locations

Locations

Brooklyn Methodist Hospital - NewYork Presbyterian
RECRUITING

New York, New York, 11215, United States
New York Presbyterian Hospital - Queens
RECRUITING

New York, New York, 11355, United States
Weill Cornell Medicine
RECRUITING

New York, New York, 10065, United States

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