Freeze and fight: new combo tackles metastatic bladder cancer
NCT ID NCT04701918
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This completed phase 2 trial tested a combination of cryoablation (freezing tumors with a needle) and immunotherapy drugs (pembrolizumab or avelumab) in 9 people with metastatic bladder cancer. The goal was to see if this approach could shrink tumors that were not frozen. The study measured how well the treatment worked and tracked 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
- pembrolizumab (Keytruda) or avelumab (Bavencio) plus cryoablation
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a new combination treatment that helps control metastatic bladder cancer by freezing tumors and boosting the immune system.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small, early-phase trial with only 9 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The combination may cause side effects or not improve outcomes.
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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9 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jun 2021
- Finished
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Dec 2025
- 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: * The subject has read, signed and dated the Informed Consent Form (ICF), having been advised of the risks and benefits of the trial in a language understood by the subject. * Age \> 18 years at date of ICF signature having the ability to comply with the protocol. * Proof of medical insurance coverage. * Histologically or cytologically documented metastatic (M1, Stage IV) urothelial carcinoma (including renal pelvis, ureters, urinary bladder, urethra) * Measurable metastatic disease with at least one site of metastatic disease \> 2 cm in size and amenable to percutaneous image-guided cryoablation based on routine Interventional Radiology criteria. Metastasis sites amenable to cryoablation to include lymph node, peritoneum, liver, soft tissue, adrenal glands, kidney, lung, and bone. Must have measurable disease (by RECIST v1.1) independent of the lesion to be ablated (ie patient must have more than one metastasis) * Life expectancy \> 12 weeks. * PS ECOG 0 or 1 * Laboratory requirements: * ANC \> 1 x 109/L * Platelets \> 75 x 109/L * ALT / AST \< 5 x ULN * Total bilirubin \<3 mg/dL * INR \<1.7 * CrCl \>30 ml/min Exclusion Criteria: * Lesion to undergo cryoablation cannot have had prior radiation therapy or other locoregional therapy * Inability to lie flat for the cryoablation procedure. * Known significant immunodeficiency due to underlying illness (e.g. HIV / AIDS) and/or blood CD4+ T cells \<200/ul * History of autoimmune disease, including but not limited to myasthenia gravis, myositis, autoimmune hepatitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, vascular thrombosis associated with anti-phospholipid syndrome, granulomatosis with polyangiitis, Sjogren's syndrome, Guillain- Barre syndrome, multiple sclerosis, vasculitis, or glomerulonephritis. * Patients with a history of autoimmune-related hypothyroidism on a stable dose of thyroid replacement hormone are eligible for this trial. * Patients with controlled Type I diabetes mellitus on a stable dose of insulin regimen are eligible for this trial. * Patients with history of vitiligo and controlled psoriasis are eligible for the trial. * Continued adverse events from a previously administered chemotherapeutic agents. Grade 1 adverse events and ongoing toxicities such as alopecia are exempt * Treatment with systemic corticosteroids exceeding the equivalent of 10 mg/day of prednisone or other systemic immunosuppressive medications (including but not limited to prednisone, dexamethasone, cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, methotrexate, and anti-tumor necrosis factor \[anti-TNF\] agents) within 2 weeks prior to Day 1, or anticipated requirement for systemic immunosuppressive medications during the trial * Patients who receive acute, low-dose, systemic corticosteroid medications (e.g., a onetime dose of dexamethasone for nausea) or for prevention of hypersensitivity reactions to contrast agents may be enrolled in the trial. * Anticoagulant or anti-platelet medication that cannot be interrupted prior to cryoablation * Pregnant or lactating * History of severe allergic, anaphylactic, or other hypersensitivity reactions to chimeric or humanized antibodies or fusion proteins * Any other diseases, metabolic dysfunction, physical examination finding, or clinical laboratory finding giving reasonable suspicion of a disease or condition that contraindicated the use of an investigational drug or that could affect the interpretation of the results or render the patient at high risk from treatment complications. * Prior treatment with immune checkpoint blockade therapies, including anti-CTLA-4, anti-PD-1, and anti-PD-L1 therapeutic antibodies * Treatment with systemic immunostimulatory agents (including but not limited to IFNs, interleukin \[IL\]-2) within 6 weeks or five half- lives of the drug, whichever was shorter, prior to Day 1. * Signs or symptoms clinically significant of infection within 2 weeks prior to Day 1. * Any other systemic anti-cancer treatment (including investigational agents) within 4 weeks prior to the first dose of study drug. Note: Participants must have recovered from all AEs due to previous therapies to ≤Grade 1 or baseline. Participants with ≤Grade 2 neuropathy may be eligible
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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
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Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States
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Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center
Boston, Massachusetts, 02114, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Dutch bladder cancer cohort aims to map survival and recurrence
- Can two drugs plus chemoradiation let bladder cancer patients keep their bladder?
- Lab-Grown tumor organoids could pick the right bladder chemo
- Can tumor genes decide who keeps their bladder?
- Lab-Grown tumor models could match patients to the right cancer drug
- Can heated saline during bladder surgery stop tumors from coming back?