Head and Neck CancerPhase 2NCT03993353
Tadalafil and Pembrolizumab in Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer
A Phase 2 study testing Pembrolizumab and Tadalafil in people with Head and Neck Cancer and Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, run by University of California, San Diego at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This study will examine the combination of pembrolizumab and tadalafil for safety and efficacy in advanced head and neck cancer. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Head and Neck Cancer, Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Head and Neck Carcinoma
- What is being tested?
- Pembrolizumab and Tadalafil
- Type of treatment
- Pill or oral medicine, Injection or infusion
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 7 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 7 Apr 2020to 9 Jan 2024
- Phase
- Phase 2
- Are there results?
- Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Selected Inclusion Criteria:
- Patients (at least 18 years of age) must have recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
- Presence of measurable disease.
- Life expectancy of greater than 12 weeks
- Patients must have normal organ and marrow function
Selected Exclusion Criteria:
- Prior therapy with an PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor in the recurrent or metastatic setting
- Uncontrolled central nervous system metastases (stable metastases permitted)
- Active autoimmune disease
- Chemotherapy ≤28 days prior to first administration of study treatment and/or monoclonal antibody ≤8 weeks prior to first administration of study treatment.
- Prior daily use of tadalafil or other long-acting PDE5 inhibitors for one month or greater within 3 months of trial enrollment
- Current use of all other long-acting PDE5 inhibitors.
- Known severe hypersensitivity to tadalafil or any of the excipients of this product
- Current treatment with nitrates
- Current systemic treatment with a potent cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) inhibitor such as ketoconazole or ritonavir.
- Current treatment with guanylate cyclase (GC) stimulators such as riociguat.
- History of hypotension and/or blindness and/or sensorineural hearing loss during prior treatment with tadalafil or other PDE-5 inhibitors
- History of known hereditary degenerative retinal disorders, including retinitis pigmentosa
- Prior history of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy
- Pregnant or breastfeeding; a negative pregnancy test is required within 14 days of randomization for all women of childbearing potential.
- History of stroke within prior 6 months.
- History of acute myocardial infarction within prior 3 months, uncontrolled angina, uncontrolled arrhythmia, or uncontrolled congestive heart failure
- Left ventricular outflow obstructions, such as aortic stenosis and idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis
- Angina requiring treatment with long-acting nitrates
- Angina requiring treatment with short-acting nitrates within 90 days of planned tadalafil administration
- Unstable angina within 90 days of visit 1 (Braunwald 1989)
- Positive cardiac stress test without documented evidence of subsequent, effective cardiac intervention
- History of any of the following coronary conditions within 90 days of planned tadalafil administration:
- Myocardial Infarction
- Coronary artery bypass graft surgery
- Percutaneous coronary intervention (for example, angioplasty or stent placement)
- Any evidence of heart disease (NYHA ≥ Class II as defined in Protocol Attachment LVHG.3) within 6 months of planned tadalafil administration
- Concurrent systemic immunosuppressant therapy (e.g., cyclosporine A, tacrolimus, etc., or chronic administration of >10 mg/day of prednisone or equivalent)
- Prior organ transplantation
- Known history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or active infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) or hepatitis B virus (HBV).
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
UCSD Moores Cancer Center
La Jolla, California, 92093
About this study
Official title: A Phase II Study of Tadalafil and Pembrolizumab in Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
This study will examine the combination of pembrolizumab and tadalafil for safety and efficacy in advanced head and neck cancer.
Read the detailed description
Immune competent animal models of HNSCC demonstrate that combination PDE-5 inhibitor (tadalafil) and PD-1 inhibitor therapy is more effective than either therapy alone based on the concept of targeting multiple immune repressive abnormalities simultaneously (PD-1 checkpoint and myeloid suppressive pathways).
This trial will test the hypothesis that combination PD-1 inhibition and PDE-5 inhibition can be safely co-administered, and secondarily test the hypothesis that the combination of both therapies will be more effective than PD-1 inhibition alone in recurrent/metastatic HNSCC.
- Conditions
- Head and Neck Cancer, Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Head and Neck Carcinoma, Head and Neck Cancer Stage III, Head and Neck Cancer Stage IV, Head and Neck Cancer Metastatic
- Being tested
- Pembrolizumab, Tadalafil
- Keywords
- cancer, pembrolizumab, tadalafil, cialis, opdivo, immunotherapy, metastatic, carcinoma, pd-1, pde
- Medical subject headings
- Head and Neck Neoplasms, Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck, Neoplasms, Esophageal Neoplasms, Neoplasm Metastasis, Mouth Neoplasms, Carcinoma, Parkinson Disease 4, Autosomal Dominant Lewy Body
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
PembrolizumabDrug
Also called Keytruda
200 mg intravenously every 3 weeks
TadalafilDrug
Also called Cialis
10 mg by mouth daily
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Tadalafil and Pembrolizumab | Experimental | Tadalafil for up to 12 months and pembrolizumab for up to 24 months. Receives: Drug: Pembrolizumab; Drug: Tadalafil |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Rate of Dose Limiting Toxicity (DLT)
Rate of dose limiting toxicity at least possibly attributable to study treatment
Measured: 2 years
Overall Survival (OS)
Overall survival at 12 months post-enrollment
Measured: 12 months
Secondary outcomes (3)
Response Measured by RECIST 1.1
Response measured by RECIST 1.1
Measured: 12 months
Progression Free Survival
Progression free survival
Measured: 2 years
Adverse Event Rates
Adverse event rates
Measured: 2 years
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted20 Jun 2019
- Study start7 Apr 2020
- Primary completion16 Apr 2022
- Study completion9 Jan 2024
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, outcome measures and adverse events reported by the sponsor.
- Other trials for Head and Neck CancerStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of California, San DiegoThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase 2
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 7 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of California, San Diego
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Joseph Califano, University of California, San Diego
- Investigators
- Joseph Califano, Principal investigator, UCSD
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03993353
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 190098
- Status last verified
- Jan 2026
- First submitted
- 18 Jun 2019
- Last updated
- 12 Feb 2026
- Results posted
- Yes, on ClinicalTrials.gov
- FDA-regulated drug
- Yes
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 12 Feb 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- A Phase II Study of Tadalafil and Pembrolizumab in Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03993353
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 190098
- Conditions
- Head and Neck Cancer, Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Head and Neck Carcinoma, Head and Neck Cancer Stage III, Head and Neck Cancer Stage IV, Head and Neck Cancer Metastatic
- Keywords
- cancer, pembrolizumab, tadalafil, cialis, opdivo, immunotherapy, metastatic, carcinoma
- Phase
- Phase 2
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 7 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of California, San DiegoUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 7 Apr 2020 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 16 Apr 2022 (actual)
- Study completion
- 9 Jan 2024 (actual)
- First posted
- 20 Jun 2019 (actual)
- Results
- Posted 12 Feb 2026
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study will examine the combination of pembrolizumab and tadalafil for safety and efficacy in advanced head and neck cancer.
Detailed description
Immune competent animal models of HNSCC demonstrate that combination PDE-5 inhibitor (tadalafil) and PD-1 inhibitor therapy is more effective than either therapy alone based on the concept of targeting multiple immune repressive abnormalities simultaneously (PD-1 checkpoint and myeloid suppressive pathways).
This trial will test the hypothesis that combination PD-1 inhibition and PDE-5 inhibition can be safely co-administered, and secondarily test the hypothesis that the combination of both therapies will be more effective than PD-1 inhibition alone in recurrent/metastatic HNSCC.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Tadalafil and Pembrolizumab | Experimental | Drug: Pembrolizumab, Drug: TadalafilTadalafil for up to 12 months and pembrolizumab for up to 24 months. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| PembrolizumabAlso: Keytruda200 mg intravenously every 3 weeks | Drug | Tadalafil and Pembrolizumab |
| TadalafilAlso: Cialis10 mg by mouth daily | Drug | Tadalafil and Pembrolizumab |
Primary outcome
Rate of Dose Limiting Toxicity (DLT)
Time frame: 2 years
Rate of dose limiting toxicity at least possibly attributable to study treatment
Overall Survival (OS)
Time frame: 12 months
Overall survival at 12 months post-enrollment
3 secondary outcomes
Response Measured by RECIST 1.1
Time frame: 12 months
Progression Free Survival
Time frame: 2 years
Adverse Event Rates
Time frame: 2 years
Results and safety
Loading the posted results from ClinicalTrials.gov…
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 12 Feb 2026.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, baseline, all outcome measures and adverse events.
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RecruitingObservational study
Proton Re-irradiation in Patients With Recurrent or Second Primary Head and Neck Cancer , a Multicentre Phase II Single Arm Trial
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RecruitingPhase 2/3
Multicenter Validation Trial of [18F]AlF-FAPI-74 for PET Imaging of Cancer-associated Fibroblasts Through Fibroblast Activation Protein Inhibitors (FAPI) in Different Tumor Types
Oesophageal Cancer, Gastric Cancer
RecruitingPhase 2
Proton Spatially Fractionated Radiotherapy or Photon Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy in Combination With Pembrolizumab Before Surgery for the Treatment of Locally Advanced and Radiation-Naive Locoregionally Recurrent Oral Cavity Cancer, OSPRI Trial
Locally Advanced Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Locally Recurrent Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma
RecruitingPhase 4
Lidocaine Infiltration and Neuroimmunomodulation in Head and Neck Cancer Surgery
Head and Neck Cancer (H&N)
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Joseph Califano principal investigator
UCSD
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A Phase 2 study testing Pembrolizumab and Tadalafil in people with Head and Neck Cancer and Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, run by University of California, San Diego at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 12 Feb 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
What does this phase mean?
Phase 2 studies give the treatment to a larger group to see whether it has the intended effect and to keep checking safety.
Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.
Are results available for this study?
Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 12 Feb 2026). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Rate of Dose Limiting Toxicity (DLT) (time frame: 2 years). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 12 Feb 2026.