Could a 50-Year-Old antipsychotic drug shrink Hard-to-Treat cancers?

NCT ID NCT07206563

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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 Results may not be published yet.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

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Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026

Summary

This study tests penfluridol, a drug originally used for mental health, in 33 adults with small cell lung or cervical cancer that has returned after at least two prior treatments. The goal is to see if the drug can shrink tumors or slow disease progression. Participants take the drug once a week by mouth, and researchers will monitor safety and effectiveness.

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 1/2

Runs two stages together: safety and dose first, then whether the treatment works.

Participants

About 33 people

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

Expected to start

Oct 2025

An estimate. Start dates often move.

Expected to finish

Oct 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 to 75 years

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: 1. Patients aged 18 to 75 years, inclusive, regardless of gender. 2. Histologically or cytologically confirmed small-cell carcinoma of the lung or cervix that is not curable by surgery or radiochemotherapy. 3. Have received at least two prior systemic treatment regimens, including etoposide and platinum-based chemotherapy, and have experienced disease progression. 4. No receipt of investigational or approved cytotoxic chemotherapy within 28 days before enrollment; no receipt of alkylating agents within 42 days before enrollment; no receipt of investigational or approved targeted therapy within 28 days or 5 half-lives before enrollment (whichever is shorter, but not less than 14 days); no radiotherapy within 14 days before enrollment. 5. Presence of measurable disease according to RECIST 1.1 criteria; measurable lesions are defined as lesions that can be accurately measured in at least one dimension (longest diameter ≥10 mm on CT or MRI scans, and lymph nodes with short-axis diameter ≥15 mm). 6. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1. 7. Expected survival of ≥12 weeks. 8. Recovery of prior anticancer treatment toxicities to ≤Grade 1 (except for alopecia, pigmentation, or other toxicities deemed non-safety risks by the investigator); for irreversible toxicities that are not expected to worsen with study drug administration (e.g., hearing loss), inclusion may be considered after consultation with the medical monitor. Recovery of peripheral neuropathy to ≤Grade 2 after prior use of cisplatin or etoposide may be considered for inclusion after consultation with the medical monitor. For late toxicities caused by radiotherapy that cannot be recovered, inclusion may be considered after consultation with the medical monitor. 9. Laboratory tests: Absolute neutrophil count ≥1.5×10⁹/L; platelets ≥75×10⁹/L; hemoglobin ≥90 g/L; serum creatinine ≤1.5 times the upper limit of normal (ULN); urine protein \<2+ or 24-hour urine protein \<1.0 g; alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ≤2.5 times ULN (or ≤5 times ULN in the presence of liver metastasis); total bilirubin ≤1.5 times ULN; albumin ≥28 g/L; coagulation function: prothrombin time (PT) and international normalized ratio (INR) ≤1.5×ULN. 10. Female subjects with negative urine or blood HCG (except for menopausal and hysterectomy cases); sexually active female subjects and their partners must agree to use effective contraception (e.g., combined hormonal contraception, intrauterine device, bilateral tubal ligation, vasectomy, abstinence) during the study and for 6 months after the last dose. 11. Availability of tumor specimens (paraffin-embedded blocks or frozen tissue) from prior resection or biopsy sufficient for pharmacodynamic assays (≥3 slides for immunohistochemistry IHC) (mandatory for dose-expansion cohort patients only). 12. Ability to understand the study and voluntary consent to participate in the trial by the patient or their legal representative, with signed informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Histological diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, or other non-small-cell types of lung or cervical cancer. 2. Concurrent enrollment in another clinical trial, unless it is an observational, non-interventional study or the follow-up period of an interventional study. 3. Known hypersensitivity to any component of penfluridol or similar compounds with comparable chemical or biological properties. 4. Prior exposure to penfluridol. 5. Known presence of leptomeningeal metastasis, spinal cord compression, leptomeningeal disease, or active brain metastases. However, patients with asymptomatic brain metastases (no neurological deficits, seizures, or other typical symptoms and signs of central nervous system metastasis; no requirement for corticosteroids) or those who have been treated and are stable on imaging for at least 4 weeks before study treatment (with no new or enlarged brain metastases) and have discontinued systemic corticosteroids and anticonvulsant medications for at least 2 weeks may be included. 6. Uncontrolled comorbid conditions, including but not limited to persistent or active infections or psychiatric/social conditions that would limit compliance with study requirements. 7. Positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) on combination antiretroviral therapy. 8. Cardiovascular history or comorbidities: Known history of arrhythmias (including atrial fibrillation, tachycardia, or bradycardia), except for benign ventricular premature beats; history of CHF, MI, or stroke within the past 3 months. 9. History of seizure within the past 3 months. 10. Gastrointestinal dysfunction or disease that may significantly alter the absorption of penfluridol (e.g., uncontrolled nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, malabsorption syndrome, or small bowel resection). 11. Known history of allogeneic organ transplant or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. 12. Uncontrolled severe medical conditions that, in the opinion of the investigator, would affect the patient's ability to receive the study treatment, such as severe internal medicine conditions, including hepatic or renal insufficiency, severe cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, uncontrolled diabetes, or uncontrolled infections. 13. Pregnant or breastfeeding women; sexually active female subjects unwilling to use contraception. 14. Presence of symptomatic or unstable pleural effusion, ascites, or pericardial effusion requiring repeated drainage. 15. Patients deemed unsuitable for the study by the investigator.

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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.

  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

    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

  • Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

    Wuhan, Hubei, 430030, China

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