Could fasting before immunotherapy boost skin cancer treatment?
NCT ID NCT04387084
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This early study tests whether short-term fasting (eating less than 200 calories per day for 3 days) before standard immunotherapy is safe and doable for people with advanced or metastatic skin cancer. Ten participants will receive their usual PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor drugs along with fasting cycles. The goal is to see if fasting can reduce side effects or even make the immunotherapy work better.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- short-term fasting (less than 200 calories per day for 3 days per cycle) combined with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors (e.g., pembrolizumab, nivolumab, atezolizumab)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a way to reduce immunotherapy side effects and possibly improve treatment effectiveness for advanced skin cancer.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very early, small pilot study with only 10 participants, so results may not apply broadly. Fasting may cause toxicity or be too difficult for patients to follow.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for ADVANCED MALIGNANT SKIN NEOPLASM are added.
By submitting, you agree to our Terms of use
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
-
Los Angeles General Medical Center
Los Angeles, California, 90033, United States
-
USC / Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
Los Angeles, California, 90033, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.