Can a One-Two punch of immunotherapy and radiation fight brain metastases?
NCT ID NCT03449238
First seen Apr 01, 2026 · Last updated Jun 20, 2026 · Updated 12 times
Summary
This study is for people with metastatic breast cancer that has spread to the brain. Participants receive an immunotherapy drug called pembrolizumab every three weeks, plus a precise, high-dose radiation treatment (stereotactic radiosurgery) to one of the brain tumors. The goal is to see if the combination triggers the immune system to attack other untreated brain tumors as well, a phenomenon known as the abscopal effect. The trial is currently recruiting 41 participants.
Disclaimer
Read more
Show less
This is a summary of
the original study
.
Summaries may miss details or leave out important information. Before applying or accepting participation, make sure you have read and understood the full study. Curemydisease.com takes no responsibility whatsoever for anything missed, misunderstood, or acted upon as a result of our summary — we know it does not capture everything.
This is a summary of the original study . Summaries may miss details or leave out important information. Before applying or accepting participation, make sure you have read and understood the full study. Curemydisease.com takes no responsibility whatsoever for anything missed, misunderstood, or acted upon as a result of our summary — we know it does not capture everything.
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for METASTATIC BREAST CANCER are added.
By submitting, you agree to our Terms of use
Contacts and locations
Show contact details
Enter your email to view the contact information for this study.
By submitting, you agree to our Terms of use
Study contacts
-
Contact
Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••
Locations
-
Brooklyn Methodist Hospital - NewYork Presbyterian
RECRUITINGNew York, New York, 11215, United States
Contact
Contact Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••
-
New York Presbyterian Hospital - Queens
RECRUITINGNew York, New York, 11355, United States
Contact
Contact Email: •••••@•••••
-
Weill Cornell Medicine
RECRUITINGNew York, New York, 10065, United States
Contact Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••
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)
What this could lead to
If it works, this could show that combining immunotherapy with targeted radiation helps the immune system fight cancer throughout the brain and body.
What could go wrong
This is an early-phase trial with only 41 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. Pembrolizumab can cause immune-related side effects, and the abscopal effect (tumors shrinking away from the radiation site) is rare and unproven.
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.