A new Hoosier Cancer Research Network clinical trial studying Merkel cell carcinoma is currently recruiting subjects.

The trial, A Single Arm Phase II Study with Safety Run-in of Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy (PRRT) in Combination with Immunotherapy for Patients with Merkel Cell Cancer (HCRN-MCC20-443; iPRRT Study), is led by Pashtoon Kasi, MD, MS, of Cornell University and is currently recruiting subjects at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

The purpose of this study is to find out what effects an immunotherapy drug called pembrolizumab combined with a radioactive drug called lutetium Lu 177 dotatate (Lutathera®) have on patients with Merkel cell carcinoma. Pembrolizumab works by helping a patient’s immune system to fight cancer. Lutathera works by killing cancer cells.

The study design will be a single arm phase 2 study in patients who have progressed on immunotherapy and who are candidates to continue pembrolizumab.

It is supported by Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, and the Gastro-IntestinaI Research Foundation (GIRF).

Learn more about this clinical trial at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05583708.

About Hoosier Cancer Research Network:

Hoosier Cancer Research Network conducts innovative cancer clinical trials in collaboration with more than 100 academic and community clinical research sites across the United States. Our studies are designed by cancer researchers from our member institutions. The HCRN staff includes 55 team members who work together to support all aspects of the studies we manage, from the time we receive the initial concept from a researcher through the final publication of the study results. Currently, we are supporting more than 70 clinical trials across a wide range of cancer types. Over our 40-year history, more than 10,000 participants in have enrolled in our clinical trials, leading to important discoveries that help cancer patients live longer and better after their cancer diagnosis.