Experimental vaccine aims to rally immune system against recurrent brain cancer
NCT ID NCT03299309
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This early-stage trial tests a vaccine called PEP-CMV in 30 children and young adults (ages 3–35) whose medulloblastoma or malignant glioma has come back. The vaccine is designed to train the immune system to attack tumor cells that carry a common virus protein (CMV). Participants also receive chemotherapy and a tetanus booster to boost the vaccine's effect. The main goal is to check safety, not yet to prove the vaccine works against the cancer.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- PEP-CMV vaccine (a peptide vaccine targeting CMV protein pp65, given with temozolomide and a tetanus-diphtheria booster)
- What this could lead to
- If this vaccine proves safe and triggers an immune response, it could point toward a new way to fight recurrent brain tumors in children and young adults.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very early (Phase 1) safety study with only 30 participants. The vaccine may not shrink tumors or improve survival, and there is a risk of side effects from the vaccine or chemotherapy.
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.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Duke University Medical Center
Durham, North Carolina, 27710, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Targeted radiation zaps childhood brain tumors in early trial
- Spinal fluid DNA test could personalize brain cancer therapy
- Targeted drug aims to shrink recurrent brain tumors by blocking key growth enzyme
- Parental distress may undermine treatment in children with recurrent brain tumors
- Immunotherapy drug nivolumab tested in young brain cancer patients
- Brain Tumor's hidden electrical signals could reveal its weaknesses