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Updated June 2026 · ClinicalTrials.gov

RECRUITINGPhase 2INTERVENTIONAL

Pembrolizumab in High-risk Thyroid Cancer

Neoadjuvant Pembrolizumab in High-risk Thyroid Cancers

Pembrolizumab in High-risk Thyroid Cancer (NCT05852223) is a Phase 2 interventional studying Differentiated Thyroid Cancer, sponsored by Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri SpA. RECRUITING as of the most recent ClinicalTrials.gov update. Talk to your doctor before contacting the trial site.

Important: This information is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor about whether a clinical trial is right for you.

About This Trial

This window of opportunity trial is studying a checkpoint inhibitor agent to treat differentiated thyroid cancer in a neoadjuvant setting. A checkpoint inhibitor is a compound aimed at restoring tumor immunosurveillance. The name of this agent is pembrolizumab.

What Stage of Research Is This?

Phase 2 trials evaluate whether a treatment actually works against Differentiated Thyroid Cancer and continue monitoring side effects. Phase 2 enrolls larger groups (typically 100–300 patients) and produces the first real efficacy signal. A successful Phase 2 readout is what unlocks the much larger Phase 3 confirmatory trials needed for FDA approval.

This trial is currently recruiting participants. The sponsor has registered the study with ClinicalTrials.gov as actively enrolling, which means new applicants who meet the eligibility criteria can be considered for screening. Trial status can change between updates — confirm current recruiting status with the study contact before traveling for a screening visit.

With a target enrollment of 25 participants, this is a small study — typical of early-phase research, rare-disease trials, or pilot studies designed to generate preliminary signal before a larger study is launched.

Who May Be Eligible (Plain English)

Who May Qualify: 1. Male/female participants who are at least 18 years of age on the day of signing willing to sign a consent form with diagnosed by tissue sample (biopsy-confirmed) diagnosis of differentiated thyroid carcinoma candidate to surgery not previously treated will be enrolled in this study. 2. Patients with a risk \> 20% for persistent/recurrent disease: primary tumor \> 4 cm; multifocal papillary microcarcinoma with extra tumor extension (ETE) and known BRAF V600E mutation; clinical N1; gross ETE (macroscopic invasion of perithyroidal soft tissues); extranodal extension; expected incomplete tumour resection. 3. Poorly differentiated carcinoma; Hurtle cell carcinoma. 4. Patients with distant metastasis at diagnosis. 5. The participant (or legally acceptable representative if applicable) provides written willing to sign a consent form for the trial. 6. Have measurable disease based on RECIST 1.1. 7. Have an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 to 1. Evaluation of ECOG is to be performed within 7 days prior to the date of allocation/randomization. 8. Have your organs (liver, kidneys, etc.) are working well enough based on blood tests as defined in the following table (Table 2) Specimens must be collected within 10 days prior to the start of study treatment. 9. Male participants: A male participant must agree to use a contraception as detailed in Appendix 3 of this protocol during the treatment period and for at least 6 months (e.g. 5 terminal half-lives for pembrolizumab) after the last dose of study treatment and refrain from donating sperm during this period. 10. female participant is eligible to participate if she is not pregnant, not breastfeeding, and at least one of the following conditions applies: 1. Not a woman of childbearing potential (WOCBP). 2. a WOCBP who agrees to follow the contraceptive guidance during the treatment period and for at least 4 months after the last dose of study treatment ...See full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov Always talk to your doctor about whether this trial is right for you.

These are translations of the protocol\'s inclusion and exclusion criteria, simplified for patients and caregivers. The original clinical text appears below. Eligibility is ultimately confirmed by the trial site\'s screening process — this summary is a starting point for a conversation with your doctor, not a final determination.

Original Eligibility Criteria

View original clinical language
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Male/female participants who are at least 18 years of age on the day of signing informed consent with histologically confirmed diagnosis of differentiated thyroid carcinoma candidate to surgery not previously treated will be enrolled in this study. 2. Patients with a risk \> 20% for persistent/recurrent disease: primary tumor \> 4 cm; multifocal papillary microcarcinoma with extra tumor extension (ETE) and known BRAF V600E mutation; clinical N1; gross ETE (macroscopic invasion of perithyroidal soft tissues); extranodal extension; expected incomplete tumour resection. 3. Poorly differentiated carcinoma; Hurtle cell carcinoma. 4. Patients with distant metastasis at diagnosis. 5. The participant (or legally acceptable representative if applicable) provides written informed consent for the trial. 6. Have measurable disease based on RECIST 1.1. 7. Have an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 to 1. Evaluation of ECOG is to be performed within 7 days prior to the date of allocation/randomization. 8. Have adequate organ function as defined in the following table (Table 2) Specimens must be collected within 10 days prior to the start of study treatment. 9. Male participants: A male participant must agree to use a contraception as detailed in Appendix 3 of this protocol during the treatment period and for at least 6 months (e.g. 5 terminal half-lives for pembrolizumab) after the last dose of study treatment and refrain from donating sperm during this period. 10. female participant is eligible to participate if she is not pregnant, not breastfeeding, and at least one of the following conditions applies: 1. Not a woman of childbearing potential (WOCBP). 2. a WOCBP who agrees to follow the contraceptive guidance during the treatment period and for at least 4 months after the last dose of study treatment Exclusion Criteria: 1. A WOCBP who has a positive urine pregnancy test within 72 hours prior to randomization. If the urine test is positive or cannot be confirmed as negative, a serum pregnancy test will be required. 2. Has received prior therapy with an anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, or anti-PD-L2 agent or with an agent directed to another stimulatory or co-inhibitory T-cell receptor (eg, CTLA-4, OX-40, CD137). 3. Has received prior systemic anti-cancer therapy including investigational agents within 4 weeks prior to randomization. 4. Has received prior radiotherapy within 2 weeks of start of study intervention. Participants must have recovered from all radiation-related toxicities, not require corticosteroids, and not have had radiation pneumonitis. A 1-week washout is permitted for palliative radiation (≤2 weeks of radiotherapy) to non-CNS disease. 5. Has received a live vaccine within 30 days prior to the first dose of study drug. Examples of live vaccines include, but are not limited to, the following: measles, mumps, rubella, varicella/zoster (chicken pox), yellow fever, rabies, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), and typhoid vaccine. Seasonal influenza vaccines for injection are generally killed virus vaccines and are allowed; however, intranasal influenza vaccines (eg, FluMist®) are live attenuated vaccines and are not allowed. Administration of killed vaccines is allowed. 6. Is currently participating in or has participated in a study of an investigational agent or has used an investigational device within 4 weeks prior to the first dose of study intervention. 7. Has a diagnosis of immunodeficiency or is receiving chronic systemic steroid therapy (in dosing exceeding 10 mg daily of prednisone equivalent) or any other form of immunosuppressive therapy within 7 days prior to the first dose of study drug. 8. Has a history of a second malignancy, unless potentially curative treatment has been completed with no evidence of malignancy for 2 years. The time requirement does not apply to participants who underwent successful definitive resection of basal cell carcinoma of the skin, squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, superficial bladder cancer, in situ cervical cancer, or other in-situ (eg, breast carcinoma or cervical cancer in situ that have undergone potentially curative therapy are not excluded). 9. Has known active CNS metastases and/or carcinomatous meningitis. Participants with previously treated brain metastases may participate provided they are radiologically stable, i.e. without evidence of progression for at least 4 weeks by repeat imaging (note that the repeat imaging should be performed during study screening), clinically stable and without requirement of steroid treatment for at least 14 days prior to first dose of study intervention. 10. Has severe hypersensitivity (≥Grade 3) to pembrolizumab and/or any of its excipients. 11. Has active autoimmune disease that has required systemic treatment in the past 2 years (i.e. with use of disease modifying agents, corticosteroids or immunosuppressive drugs). Replacement therapy (eg., thyroxine, insulin, or physiologic corticosteroid replacement therapy for adrenal or pituitary insufficiency, etc.) is not considered a form of systemic treatment and is allowed. 12. Has a history of (non-infectious) pneumonitis/interstitial lung disease that required steroids or has current pneumonitis/interstitial lung disease 13. Has an active infection requiring systemic therapy. 14. History of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection. 15. History of Hepatitis B (defined as Hepatitis B surface antigen \[HBsAg\] reactive) or known active Hepatitis C virus (defined as HCV RNA is detected) infection. Note: no testing for Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C is required unless mandated by local health authority. 16. Has a known history of active TB (Bacillus Tuberculosis). 17. Has a history or current evidence of any condition, therapy, or laboratory abnormality that might confound the results of the study, interfere with the participant's participation for the full duration of the study, or is not in the best interest of the participant to participate, in the opinion of the treating investigator. 18. Has known psychiatric or substance abuse disorders that would interfere with cooperation with the requirements of the trial. 19. Is pregnant or breastfeeding or expecting to conceive or father children within the projected duration of the study, starting with the screening visit through 120 days after the last dose of trial treatment. 20. Has had an allogenic tissue/solid organ transplant

Treatments Being Tested

DRUG

Pembrolizumab

Neoadjuvant pembrolizumab 200mg Q3W will be administered via IV infusion for 2 courses from the date of randomization until to the date of thyroidectomy.

Locations (1)

Trial sites listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for this study. Site activation status can vary — confirm with the specific site before traveling for a screening visit.

Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri
Pavia, Lombardy, Italy

How to Talk to Your Doctor About This Trial

Bring the printable summary of this trial — including the NCT ID (NCT05852223), the sponsor (Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri SpA), and the key eligibility criteria — to your next appointment. Your doctor can review the inclusion and exclusion criteria against your medical history, lab values, and current treatments to assess whether you are likely to qualify. They can also help you weigh whether trial participation makes sense alongside your existing care plan.

Useful questions to walk through together: What does the trial protocol require beyond standard care? How long is the active treatment phase, and how long is follow-up? Are there study visits at sites I can reach? Who pays for the trial-specific procedures, and who pays for standard-of-care portions? See our 25 questions to ask about clinical trials guide for a more complete checklist.

Authoritative Sources

The official record for this trial lives on ClinicalTrials.gov — the federal registry maintained by the National Library of Medicine at NIH. For background on how this trial fits into the FDA approval pathway, see the FDA drug approval process. For oncology-specific guidance for patients considering trials, the National Cancer Institute publishes patient-oriented overviews. International trial registries are aggregated by the WHO ICTRP.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the NCT05852223 clinical trial studying?

This window of opportunity trial is studying a checkpoint inhibitor agent to treat differentiated thyroid cancer in a neoadjuvant setting. A checkpoint inhibitor is a compound aimed at restoring tumor immunosurveillance. The name of this agent is pembrolizumab. The full protocol is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov and includes the primary outcome measures, eligibility criteria, and study endpoints.

Who can participate in NCT05852223?

Eligibility for this trial depends on the specific inclusion and exclusion criteria set by the sponsor. The plain-English summary above translates the most important criteria into accessible language; the official clinical text is preserved in the collapsible section underneath. Whether you fit any specific trial is a medical decision your doctor needs to confirm — bring the trial information to your treating physician for a full review against your medical history.

How do I contact the trial site for NCT05852223?

Contact information registered with ClinicalTrials.gov is shown in the sidebar of this page. Before reaching out, confirm with your treating physician that this trial is appropriate for your situation. The trial site will then walk you through the screening process to determine final eligibility.

Is participating in a clinical trial safe?

Clinical trials in the United States are regulated by the FDA and overseen by Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) that review the protocol for safety. Risk varies by trial — Phase 1 studies test new treatments in humans for the first time, while Phase 3 trials use treatments that have already passed earlier safety screening. The informed consent document for any specific trial details the known risks and what to expect. Discuss those risks with your physician before deciding whether to participate.

Where can I verify the data on this page?

Every detail on this page comes directly from the ClinicalTrials.gov API. Click "View on ClinicalTrials.gov" in the sidebar to see the official, unmodified record. The federal record is always authoritative; this page is a structured presentation with a plain-English eligibility translation. For background on how clinical trials are regulated, see the FDA drug approval process documentation.

How This Page Is Built

Every field on this page is pulled directly from the ClinicalTrials.gov API v2 — no estimates, no proxies. The plain-English eligibility translation is generated from the original protocol text and reviewed for fidelity to the underlying clinical criteria. The original clinical text remains visible in the collapsible section above so users and clinicians can verify the translation. Read the full methodology for the data pipeline and known limitations.

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov API v2 record for NCT05852223. Maintained by the National Library of Medicine at NIH. Public domain. Cite as: "TrialFinderData. NCT05852223. Data: ClinicalTrials.gov."

Medical disclaimer: This page is informational, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor about whether a clinical trial is right for you.

Last updated 2026-06-26 · Data from ClinicalTrials.gov.