Clinical trials

The purpose of this study is to compare the safety and effectiveness of two new treatments: belzutifan alone or belzutifan in combination with pembrolizumab before kidney surgery and followed by a combination of belzutifan and pembrolizumab treatment post-surgery. Belzutifan is a small molecule drug that specifically blocks a protein called Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 2 alpha (HIF-2α) and slows down or stops the growth of cancer. Belzutifan has been shown to provide better treatment results in kidney cancer compared to other drugs that target similar proteins to stop cancer growth. Pembrolizumab is a type of medicine called an immunotherapy drug. It helps the immune system spot and attack kidney cancer cells by blocking a "stop sign" that the cancer uses to hide and help slow down or shrink the cancer. The combined use of molecules similar to belzutifan and pembrolizumab has shown promising results in treating kidney cancer, although effectiveness depends on the specific combination. This treatment combination is experimental and is not approved to treat kidney cancer in Australia. This means that it must be tested to see if it is an effective treatment combination for kidney cancer prior to kidney surgery.

This clinical trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of \[161Tb\]Tb -PSMA-I\&T in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

The goal of this clinical trial is to assess Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy (SABR) as a method to delay a change in systemic therapy in patients with oligoprogressive ER-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer. The main question it aims to answer is to assess whether the addition of SABR to continuation of first line endocrine therapy and CDK 4/6 inhibitor (Arm A) to patients with oligoprogressive ER-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer could have longer time to treatment failure (TTF) in comparison to physician choice of systemic treatment (Arm B) in patients who had progressed first line. The treatment strategy in Arm A is to maintain patients on current endocrine therapy and CDK 4/6 inhibitor, controlling localised progressing sites of disease with SABR. Treatment strategy in Arm B is to maintain disease control with physician's choice of systemic therapy alone.

The aim of this trial is to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of a 12-month course of pravastatin as an antifibrotic agent for managing dysphagia (swallowing problems) in patients previously treated with radiotherapy for head and neck cancer (HNC). The purpose is to assess whether pravastatin, a medication approved in Australia for cholesterol management, can improve swallowing in people with long-term radiation-associated dysphagia following HNC treatment. The trial will recruit 48 patients, with an anticipated accrual period of approximately 6 months. Eligible patients will be identified from the Principal Investigator's current study, ERADICATE, or through referral by a radiation oncologist or speech pathologist diagnosing radiation-induced dysphagia. Participants will receive 40 mg of pravastatin daily for up to 12 months, with swallowing assessments conducted before, during, and after treatment.

This is a multicentre single-arm prospective phase II trial evaluating pirtobrutinib in the treatment of relapsed/refractory (R/R) Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) patients who have previously received zanubrutinib, and to specifically evaluate Bruton Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) mutational status (clonal dynamics) before, during and after treatment with pirtobrutinib.

The study proposed here intends to evaluate the safety and efficacy of escalating doses of autologous PMCC-COE-KMA CAR T-cells administered to patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma that expresses the KMA. The PMCC-COE-KMA CAR T-cells will be produced using LV and administered to patients after lymphodepleting conditioning chemotherapy. Considering the poor prognosis of myeloma patients who have relapsed after ≥ 2 lines of therapy, combined with evidence of PMCC-COE-KMA CAR T-cell specificity, as well as the efficacy and manageable toxicity of PMCC-COE-KMA, investigators believe the potential benefits outweigh the risks of this trial.

This study aims to collect information about the effects of chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy (immune checkpoint inhibitors) for early-stage triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) on ovarian function and fertility. You may be eligible for this study if you have been diagnosed with early-stage TNBC and are planning to receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy before surgery. Additional eligibility criteria apply. Participants who choose to enroll will be asked to complete questionnaires and provide blood samples before and after treatment to measure hormone levels related to ovarian function. Information about menstrual patterns, fertility preservation discussions, and reproductive health will also be collected. Some participants may undergo ultrasound assessments to evaluate ovarian reserve and endometrial thickness. Follow-up will continue for up to 24 months after treatment to assess long-term ovarian function. No additional or experimental cancer treatments will be provided as part of this study. This is an observational study only, and participants will receive standard cancer treatment as recommended by their treating team. It is hoped this research will provide important information about the potential effects of chemotherapy and immunotherapy on ovarian health and fertility in women receiving treatment for early-stage TNBC.

The aim of the study is to test if a new radionuclide therapy, called 177-Lu-FAP-2286, works to treat cancer in patients with Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP).

The goal of this study is to describe the effect of photobiomodulation (PBM) on the incidence and severity of oral mucositis in post-operative oral cancer patients receiving radiotherapy +/- chemotherapy. Participants will receive PBM treatment five times a week throughout the course of their radiotherapy. The main question it aims to answer is whether photobiomodulation reduces the incidence and severity of oral mucositis.

This study aims to capture information regarding the effect of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment for melanoma on reproductive organ function and sex hormone levels. You may be eligible for this study if you are aged 18 years or older, you have been diagnosed with melanoma (Stage II, III or IV) and you are planning to receive ICI treatment. Additional criteria will apply dependent upon your biological sex characteristics. All participants who choose to enroll in this study will be asked to complete a series of questionnaires and provide blood at 4 of their scheduled treatment visits. These visits are anticipated to add 30 minutes to the scheduled visit time. Male participants will also be asked to provide semen samples at 2 of their scheduled treatment visits. These visits are anticipated to add an additional 30 minutes to the scheduled visit time. No additional or novel treatments will be offered to participants who choose to enroll in this study, this is an observational study only. It is hoped this research will contribute important information regarding the potential toxic effects of ICI treatment on sexual and reproductive function in patients with melanoma who are receiving ICI treatment.

Pre-neutropenic fever (PNF) (fever following chemotherapy but before developing low white cells) and neutropenic fever (NF) (fever in the setting of low white cells) are very common after chemotherapy for acute leukemia, bone marrow transplantation or Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapy. Often, there is no bacterial cause for fever found, and in the setting of a well patient with resolved fever, some studies have shown it to be safe to cease antibiotic therapy which was commenced at the onset of fever. This reduces the overall exposure to antibiotics, which can be beneficial to the patient (reduced risk of resistant bugs emerging, reduced serious side effects). However, some subgroups of high-risk patients have been underrepresented in these studies (in particular, those who have received a bone marrow transplant from a donor, those with longer duration of low white cells) and none have been performed in Australia, hence applying this data to our setting and patient groups is indirect and further data are needed. This study plans to recruit participants who have received chemotherapy for acute leukemia or a stem cell transplant (either their own cells or a donor's cells) or CAR T-cell therapy and perform a trial to compare early stopping of antibiotics (STOP arm) to the standard of care, which traditionally involves continuing antibiotics until the white cell count reaches above a specific threshold. The primary study outcome is duration of days free of antibiotics within 28 days of study allocation. The investigators will also observe for important clinical outcomes including rates of fever recurrence, bloodstream and other infections, intensive care admission and mortality. Patients will stay in hospital during this period, even in the setting of stopping antibiotics, and these antibiotics can be recommenced urgently according to the sepsis protocol if there is concern for infection.

This trial will demonstrate localised uptake of a radiolabelled fungal component (siderophore) in areas of known specific invasive fungal (Aspergillus) infection.

This feasibility trial will test the use of photo-biomodulation (PBM) therapy, predominantly self-delivered in the patient's home for 12-weeks, following completion of radiotherapy treatment for head and neck cancer. The primary objective is to establish feasibility of recruitment (uptake). Secondary objectives are to assess safety, additional elements of feasibility (adherence to the intervention, return of the device and attrition at the 3-month follow-up appointment) and acceptability of the trial to patients. Secondary measures will be performed to assess trends in effects of the intervention (pre-post intervention, within-group measures) for managing lymphoedema and radiation fibrosis.

This phase 1b trial is designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of olaparib in combination with 177Lutetium-Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen (177 Lu-PSMA) and pembrolizumab in patients with metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

The aim of this study is to assess the progression free survival (PFS) of SABR alone and SABR + 177Lu-prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) in patients with oligometastatic prostate cancer undergoing PSMA positron emission tomography (PET) staging.

This is a Phase II open-label, two-arm randomised non-comparative, multi-centre study to evaluate the efficacy of Epcor-only (Epcoritamab alone) or Epcor-R2 (Epcoritamab, lenalidomide and rituximab) as consolidation post anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy for patients that have responded by conventional criteria but who are at high risk of progression by virtue of being Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) positive as determined by a Circulating Tumour DNA (ctDNA) assay.

This phase 1 dose-escalation study is designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of talazoparib in combination with 177Lu-DOTA-Octreotate peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) in patients with metastatic pancreatic or midgut neuroendocrine tumour (NET).

This project seeks to perform whole genome sequence (WGS) and whole transcriptome sequence (WTS) analysis on 350 patients with suspected inherited bone marrow failure syndromes and related disorder (IBMFS-RD) in order to increase the genomic diagnostic rate in IBMFS.

Outcome for patients diagnosed with advanced lung cancer remains poor; alternative treatment options are urgently needed. Studies in other metastatic cancers indicate radiotherapy to the primary tumour can improve outcomes. The investigators postulate this will also be observed in lung cancer patients. The aim of this pilot study is to assess the safety and feasibility of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) to the lung primary prior to standard of care (SoC) systemic therapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Forty patients with advanced (Stage IV) NSCLC will be recruited across the five Peter Mac campuses. Patients will be randomised to receive SoC systemic therapy with or without radiotherapy to the lung primary. Radiotherapy will be delivered before cycle 3 of SoC systemic therapy. Biospecimens will be collected for future translational research. The primary outcome of the study (feasibility of the protocol) will be assessed by the ability to deliver radiotherapy to the lung cancer primary, whilst meeting dose constraints. The study will also 1) evaluate proportion of patients who are willing to be randomised; 2) describe toxicity during the follow up period in each arm; 3) describe progression free survival.

This is a single centre, correlative, longitudinal, biomarker study that aims to describe the metabolic features of human melanoma using mass spectrometry.