Can a new immune therapy help frail lung cancer patients live longer?
NCT ID NCT07803848
First seen Sep 04, 2026 · Last updated Sep 04, 2026
Summary
This trial tests whether tarlatamab, a drug that helps the immune system attack cancer cells, can improve survival in people with advanced small-cell lung cancer whose general health is poor. The study includes 57 participants who have already had at least one prior treatment. Researchers will measure how many participants are alive 12 months after starting treatment, along with how well the drug controls the cancer and its side effects.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- tarlatamab, an intravenous drug that helps the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells
- What this could lead to
- If it works, tarlatamab could offer a treatment option for people with advanced small-cell lung cancer who are too frail for standard therapies, potentially extending survival.
- What could go wrong
- This is a phase II trial with only 57 participants, so results may not hold up in larger studies. Tarlatamab can cause side effects, including immune-related reactions, and may not improve survival for everyone.
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
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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About 57 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jan 2025
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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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
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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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 Hide 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. Written informed consent obtained from the subject prior to performing any protocol-related procedures. 2. Age ≥ 18 years 3. ECOG performance status 2 4. Histologically confirmed small-cell lung cancer (initial mixed histology / combined SCLC permitted if re-biopsy of current progression shows SCLC) 5. Recurrent or metastatic disease. In case of local-only recurrence, availability of local treatment options must have been excluded 6. Has received at least one prior line of treatment in the recurrent or metastatic setting 7. Has received a prior treatment line with platinum, etoposide, and a PD-L1 antibody. Treatment with chemotherapy only is acceptable if the patient had a contraindication for CPI treatment 8. Measurable disease according to RECIST v1.1 Exclusion Criteria: 1. ECOG performance status 0, 1, 3 or 4 2. Life expectancy less than three months 3. Active brain metastases with unstable symptoms (new or progressive neurological symptoms within the last 3 weeks) 4. Bone marrow insufficiency: 1. neutrophil count \< 1.5/nl or 2. hemoglobin \<8 mg/dl or 3. platelets \<100/nl 5. Advanced liver disease: 1. Subjects with pre-existing chronic liver disease: iii. Total bilirubin \> 1.5xULN or iv. ALT or AST \> 3xULN 2. Subjects with no relevant prior chronic liver disease and elevated liver parameters due to liver metastases: v. Total bilirubin \> 3xULN or vi. ALT or AST \> 10xULN c. International normalized ratio (INR) \> 2.0 and partial thromboplastin time (PTT) or activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) ≥ 1.5 x ULN, except for subjects undergoing new class anticoagulant therapy (eg, Apixaban, Rivaroxaban, Edoxaban) with stable dose for 2 weeks prior to enrollment 6. Advanced kidney disease: CKD-EPI GFR \<20 ml/min/1.73m² 7. Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (EF \< 40%, assessed by echochardiography performed within 3 months prior to C1D1) 8. Hemodynamically significant pericardial effusion 9. Clinically significant pleural effusion (Clinically significant pleural effusions must be managed by drainage. Re-check within 3 days prior to initiation of treatment.) 10. Respiratory compromise leading to an unjustifiable risk in case of higher-grade CRS, in the judgment of the investigator (possible criteria leading to such judgment: oxygen support at rest \>2l/min, active pneumonia or pneumonitis) 11. Prior DLL3-directed treatment 12. Prior systemic therapy (chemotherapy, CPI) within 14 days prior to first dose of study treatment 13. Previous treatment in the present study (does not include screening failure) 14. History of immune-mediated encephalitis 15. Concurrent malignancy other than SCLC requiring active treatment 16. HIV infection not on stable antiviral treatment 17. Women of childbearing potential or men with partners of childbearing potential who are not adhering to contraceptive measures 18. Female subjects of childbearing potential 1. unwilling to use appropriate method(s) of contraception. WOCBP should use an adequate method to avoid pregnancy for 60 days after the last dose of tarlatamab 2. who are breastfeeding or who plan to breastfeed while on study through 60 days after the last dose of tarlatamab 3. planning to become pregnant or donate eggs while on study through 60 days after the last dose of tarlatamab 4. with a positive pregnancy test at screening 19. Male subjects 1. with a female partner of childbearing potential who are unwilling to practice sexual abstinence (refrain from heterosexual intercourse) or use contraception during treatment and for an additional 60 days after the last dose of tarlatamab 2. with a pregnant partner who are unwilling to practice abstinence or use a condom during treatment and for an additional 60 days after the last dose of tarlatamab 3. unwilling to abstain from donating sperm during treatment and for an additional 60 days after the last dose of tarlatamab 20. Patient who has been incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized by court order or by the authorities \[§ 40 Abs. 1 S. 3 Nr. 4 AMG\]. 21. Patients who are unable to consent because they do not understand the nature, significance and implications of the clinical trial and therefore cannot form a rational intention in the light of the facts \[§ 40 Abs. 1 S. 3 Nr. 3a AMG\].
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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.
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The places running it
8 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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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
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Evangelische Lungenklinik Berlin
RECRUITINGBerlin, 13125, Germany
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Johannes Wesling Klinikum Minden
RECRUITINGMinden, 32429, Germany
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Klinikum Stuttgart
RECRUITINGStuttgart, 70174, Germany
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Klinikum der Universität München
RECRUITINGMünchen, 80336, Germany
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Malteser Krankenhaus St. Franziskus-Hospital
RECRUITINGFlensburg, 24939, Germany
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Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus
RECRUITINGDresden, 01307, Germany
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Universitätsklinikum Essen
RECRUITINGEssen, 45147, Germany
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Universitätsklinikum Frankfurt
RECRUITINGFrankfurt, 60590, Germany
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- Can a simple shot replace an IV for this aggressive lung cancer?