New drug combo takes on deadly brain tumor
NCT ID NCT04656535
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This early-phase trial tests a combination of two drugs (domvanalimab and zimberelimab) that aim to help the immune system fight glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer that has returned after initial treatment. About 46 participants will receive the drugs to check safety and see how the drugs affect the tumor and immune cells. The study is not yet testing whether the treatment improves survival.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Domvanalimab and zimberelimab (two immune-boosting drugs given together)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a new treatment option for recurrent glioblastoma, a brain cancer with few effective therapies.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very early (phase 0/I) and small trial (46 people) focused on safety, not yet testing if the drugs actually shrink tumors or extend life. The combination may cause immune-related side effects.
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
-
Early phase 1
The earliest testing in people: a first look at safety, in a very small group.
- Participants
-
About 46 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
Apr 2021
- Expected to finish
-
Dec 2026
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 years and older
- 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 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. Grade IV glioma (glioblastoma and its variants according to the World Health Organization 2021), confirmed in tissue at time of initial diagnosis. Tumors with an IDH 1 or 2 mutation are excluded. Sequencing of IDH 1 and 2 is not required but, at a minimum, a negative result for the presence of IDH-1 R132H mutation on IHC is required for eligibility. 2. First or second recurrence after treatment. Prior treatment must include at least radiation therapy. 3. Measurable contrast enhancing tumor by Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (RANO) criteria. Not required for post-surgery eligibility for treatment in cohort B. 4. Age ≥18 years. 5. Karnofsky performance status ≥80 (≥ 70 for eligibility for treatment after surgery in cohort B). 6. Patients must have adequate organ and marrow function as defined below within 14 days of treatment * Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥1,500 /mcL * Platelets ≥100,000 / mcL * Hemoglobin ≥9 g/dL or ≥ 5.6 mmol/L without transfusion or Erythropoietin (EPO) dependency (within 7 days of assessment) * Serum creatinine ≤1.5 X upper limit of normal (ULN) OR measured or calculated creatinine clearance (GFR can also be used in place of creatinine or CrCl) ≥ 60 mL/min for subject with creatinine levels \> 1.5 X institutional ULN * Serum total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 X ULN OR direct bilirubin ≤ ULN for subjects with total bilirubin levels \> 1.5 ULN * aspartate aminotransferase (SGOT) and alanine transaminase (SGPT) ≤ 2.5 X ULN * Albumin \>2.5 mg/dL * International Normalized Ratio (INR) or Prothrombin Time (PT) ≤1.5 X ULN unless subject is receiving anticoagulant therapy as long as PT or PTT is within therapeutic range of intended use of anticoagulants * Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (aPTT) ≤1.5 X ULN unless subject is receiving anticoagulant therapy as long as PT or PTT is within therapeutic range of intended use of anticoagulants 7. An interval of \>=12 weeks from the end of prior radiation therapy is required unless there is either: i) histopathologic confirmation of recurrent tumor, or ii) new enhancement on MRI outside of the radiation treatment field. 8. An interval of \>=4 weeks or 5 half-lives (whichever is shorter) after the last administration of any investigational agent or any other treatment prior to first study dose. 9. Female subjects of childbearing potential should have a negative urine or serum pregnancy test. If the urine test is positive or cannot be confirmed as negative, a serum pregnancy test will be required. Female subjects of childbearing potential must be willing to use 2 methods of birth control or be surgically sterile or abstain from heterosexual activity for the course of the study through 120 days after the last dose of study medication. Subjects of childbearing potential are those who have not been surgically sterilized or have not been free from menses for \> 1 year. Male subjects should agree to use an adequate method of contraception starting with the first dose of study therapy through 120 days after the last dose of study therapy. 10. Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document. ADDITIONAL CRITERIA FOR COHORT B 11. Deemed a candidate for tumor debulking, as determined by the neurosurgeon. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Patients who have been treated with bevacizumab. Note: Previous use of intra-arterial bevacizumab may be allowed, contingent upon review and approval by study principal investigator and sponsor. 2. Patients who have not recovered from adverse events due to prior therapy (i.e. \>Grade 1) with the exception of alopecia and fatigue. 3. Patients with multifocal disease. (Cohort B only) 4. Subjects requiring escalating or chronic supraphysiologic doses of corticosteroids (\> 10 mg/d of prednisone equivalent or \> 2 mg dexamethasone) for control of disease at the time of registration. 5. Patients receiving previous or current treatment with an immune checkpoint inhibitor. 6. Patients with a known diagnosis of immunodeficiency, including Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). 7. Has known active Hepatitis B (e.g., Hepatitis B surface antigen reactive) or Hepatitis C (e.g., Hepatitis C Virus RNA \[qualitative\] is detected) 8. Has a known history of active tuberculosis (Bacillus Tuberculosis). 9. Has a known additional malignancy that is progressing or requires active treatment. Exceptions include basal cell carcinoma of the skin or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin that has undergone potentially curative therapy or in situ cervical cancer. 10. Has active autoimmune disease that has required systemic treatment in the past 2 years (i.e. with use of disease modifying agents, corticosteroids or immunosuppressive drugs). Replacement therapy (e.g., thyroxine, insulin, or physiologic corticosteroid replacement therapy for adrenal or pituitary insufficiency, etc.) is not considered a form of systemic treatment. 11. Has known history of, or any evidence of active, non-infectious pneumonitis. 12. Has an active infection requiring systemic therapy. 13. Has a history or current evidence of any condition, therapy, or laboratory abnormality that might confound the results of the trial, interfere with the subject's participation for the full duration of the trial, or is not in the best interest of the subject to participate, in the opinion of the treating investigator. 14. Has known psychiatric or substance abuse disorders that would interfere with cooperation with the requirements of the trial. 15. Is pregnant or breastfeeding or expecting to conceive or father children within the projected duration of the trial, starting with the pre-screening or screening visit through 120 days after the last dose of trial treatment. 16. Unable to undergo MRI of the brain with and without contrast enhancement (i.e. pacemaker, allergy to MRI contrast agent or any other contraindication for MRIs). 17. Has received a live vaccine within 30 days of planned start of study therapy. Note: Seasonal influenza vaccines for injection are generally inactivated flu vaccines and are allowed; however intranasal influenza vaccines (e.g., Flu-Mist®) are live attenuated vaccines, and are not allowed.
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Glioblastoma are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
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
-
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States
-
University of California San Francisco
San Francisco, California, 94143, United States
-
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut, 06519, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a trio of repurposed drugs shrink recurrent brain tumors?
- Can an existing drug boost bevacizumab against recurrent brain cancer?
- One extra radiation dose after standard brain cancer therapy: can it boost the immune system?
- Radioactive tracer lights up Oxygen-Starved brain tumors
- Can a common virus vaccine help fight brain cancer?
- Radioactive tiles target brain tumors in frail patients