Cancer cocktail trial halted early – what went wrong?
NCT ID NCT02959437
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tested a combination of three drugs (azacitidine, pembrolizumab, and epacadostat) in 70 people with advanced solid tumors, including lung and colorectal cancers. The goal was to see if the combination was safe and could shrink tumors. However, the trial was terminated early, meaning the results are incomplete and no clear conclusions can be drawn about its effectiveness.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- azacitidine, pembrolizumab, and epacadostat
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this combination might offer a new treatment option for people with advanced solid tumors that have not responded to standard therapies.
- What could go wrong
- The trial was terminated early, so results are limited. The combination may cause significant side effects, and it is unclear if it works better than existing treatments.
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 1/2
Runs two stages together: safety and dose first, then whether the treatment works.
- Participants
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70 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Feb 2017
- Finished
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Mar 2020
- Lead sponsor
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A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
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: * Willingness to provide written informed consent for the study. * Willingness to undergo a pretreatment and on-treatment tumor biopsy to obtain tumor tissue. * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1. * Part 1: Subjects with histologically or cytologically confirmed advanced or metastatic solid tumors that have failed prior standard therapy (disease progression; subject refusal or intolerance is also allowable). * Part 2: \*Note: Subjects must have failed available therapies that are known to confer clinical benefit as indicated below, unless they are ineligible, intolerant, or refused standard treatment. * Subjects with histologically or cytologically confirmed NSCLC: * Metastatic (Stage IV) or recurrent NSCLC (according to American Joint Committee on Cancer 7th edition guidelines) who have had disease progression after available therapies for advanced or metastatic disease that are known to confer clinical benefit, been intolerant to treatment, or refused standard treatment. * Prior systemic regimens must include previously approved therapies, including a platinum-containing chemotherapy regimen; a tyrosine kinase inhibitor for tumors with driver mutations; and checkpoint inhibitors where approved. * Must have disease progression on a prior PD-1-pathway targeted agent. * Subjects with recurrent (unresectable) or metastatic CRC: * Have histologically confirmed microsatellite stable (MSS) CRC. * Stage IV MSS CRC (according to American Joint Committee on Cancer 7th edition guidelines) who have had disease progression after available therapies for advanced or metastatic disease that are known to confer clinical benefit, been intolerant to treatment, or refused standard treatment. * Prior systemic regimens must include previously approved therapies, including fluoropyrimidine-, oxaliplatin-, and irinotecan-based chemotherapy; an anti-VEGF therapy (if no contraindication); and if negative for KRAS, NRAS, and BRAF mutations and no contraindication, an anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) therapy; and progressed after the last administration of approved therapy. * Subjects with HNSCC: * Histologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, or larynx. * Carcinomas of the nasopharynx, salivary gland, or nonsquamous cell histology are excluded. * Must have received prior treatment with a platinum-based therapy * Must have had documented disease progression while on a prior PD-1 pathway-targeted agent. * Subjects with melanoma: * Histologically or cytologically confirmed melanoma. * Unresectable Stage III or Stage IV melanoma, as per American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system not amenable to local therapy. * Subjects with urothelial carcinoma: * Histologically or cytologically confirmed urothelial carcinoma of the renal pelvis, ureter, urinary bladder, or urethra that is transitional cell or mixed transitional/nontransitional (predominantly transitional) cell type. * Stage IV locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (according to American Joint Committee on Cancer 7th edition guidelines) with documented disease progression while on a PD-1 pathway targeted therapy. Exclusion Criteria: * Laboratory parameters not within the protocol-defined range. * Receipt of anticancer medications or investigational drugs within a defined interval before the first administration of study drug. * Has not recovered from toxic effects of prior therapy to ≤ Grade 1. * Active or inactive autoimmune disease or syndrome. * Active infection requiring systemic therapy. * Known active central nervous system (CNS) metastases and/or carcinomatous meningitis. * History or presence of an abnormal ECG that, in the investigator's opinion, is clinically meaningful. * Has received a live vaccine within 30 days of planned start of study therapy. * Prior receipt of an IDO inhibitor. * Subjects with uncontrolled type I or type II diabetes mellitus (defined as HgbA1c \> 8). * Prior receipt of a BET inhibitor (Treatment Group B only). * Subjects with a history of bleeding related to cancer under study requiring a medical intervention (eg, embolization procedure, RBC transfusion, or hospitalization) within 30 days of study enrollment (Treatment Groups B and C only). * Clinically significant bleeding within 14 days of Cycle 1 Day 1 (Treatment Groups B and C only). * Prior receipt of an LSD1 inhibitor including INCB059872 (Treatment Group C only).
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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
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Churchill Hospital
Oxford, Ox37le, United Kingdom
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City of Hope National Medical Center
Duarte, California, 91010, United States
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MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas, 77030, United States
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Sarah Cannon
Nashville, Tennessee, 37203, United States
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The University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, 60637, United States
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Univ De Navarra
Pamplona, 31008, Spain
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University College London Hospitals (Uclh)
London, W1t7ha, United Kingdom
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University of California San Diego
La Jolla, California, 92093, United States
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University of Pennsylvania Health System
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19014, United States
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University of Washington
Seattle, Washington, 98109, United States
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Vall D Hebron Univ
Barcelona, 08035, Spain
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Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
Nashville, Tennessee, 37232, United States
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