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Updated May 2026 · ClinicalTrials.gov

RECRUITINGPhase 2INTERVENTIONAL

AK104 and Low-dose Radiation in Recurrent/Metastatic HNSCC After Failure of First-line Systemic Therapy

The Combination of AK104 and Low-dose Radiation Therapy in Recurrent/Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma After Failure of First-line Systemic Therapy: a Phase II Study

AK104 and Low-dose Radiation in Recurrent/Metastatic HNSCC After Failure of First-line Systemic Therapy (NCT06494995) is a Phase 2 interventional studying Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, sponsored by Fudan University. 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

Currently, there is a lack of high-quality clinical evidence for subsequent treatment options for recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) after first-line treatment, especially for subsequent treatment after first-line therapy combined with PD-1 inhibitors. Increasing evidence suggests that low-dose radiation (LDRT) can reshape the tumor microenvironment.Cadonilimab is a bispecific antibody that specifically binds to CTLA-4 and PD-1 proteins in the human body. Considering that low-dose radiotherapy and cadonilimab both have immunomodulatory effects, this study intends to select recurrent metastatic HNSCC patients who have failed first-line and above treatment to explore the safety and efficacy of cadonilimab combined with low-dose radiotherapy.

What Stage of Research Is This?

Phase 2 trials evaluate whether a treatment actually works against Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma 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.

Target enrollment of 52 participants puts this in the typical range for a Phase 2-style efficacy study or a moderate Phase 3 trial in a focused Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma subpopulation. At this scale, the study has enough statistical power to detect a clear treatment effect but is not the largest cohort in the field.

Who May Be Eligible (Plain English)

Who May Qualify: 1. Patients who signed the willing to sign a consent form and were willing to complete the study according to the protocol; 2. Aged ≥18 years and ≤75 years; 3. diagnosed by tissue sample (biopsy-confirmed) head and neck squamous cell carcinoma or nasopharyngeal carcinoma; 4. Patients with recurrent and metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma or nasopharyngeal carcinoma, with progression on first-line treatment or above; or locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma or nasopharyngeal carcinoma, with recurrence and metastasis within 6 months after radical radiotherapy; 5. For patients with locally recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma or nasopharyngeal carcinoma, those who are not suitable for local treatment after multidisciplinary evaluation of head and neck tumors; 6. At least one measurable lesion before treatment, that is, meeting the "measurable lesion" requirement in the RECIST 1.1 standard; 7. Expected survival period\>3 months; 8. ECOG score 0-2 points; 9. Good organ function: meet the following requirements: 1. Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥1.5×109/L; 2. Platelet count ≥100×109/L; 3. blood count (hemoglobin) at least 9g/dL; 4. Serum albumin ≥2.8g/dL; 5. Total bilirubin ≤1.5×ULN, ALT, AST and/or ALP ≤3×ULN; 6. Serum creatinine ≤1.5×ULN and kidney function (creatinine clearance) at least 60 mL/min (Cockcroft-Gault, see Appendix 3); 7. Activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and international normalized ratio (INR) ≤1.5× ULN (screening is allowed for patients who are taking stable doses of anticoagulant therapy such as low molecular weight heparin or warfarin and whose INR is within the expected therapeutic range of the anticoagulant); ...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. Patients who signed the informed consent and were willing to complete the study according to the protocol; 2. Aged ≥18 years and ≤75 years; 3. Histologically confirmed head and neck squamous cell carcinoma or nasopharyngeal carcinoma; 4. Patients with recurrent and metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma or nasopharyngeal carcinoma, with progression on first-line treatment or above; or locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma or nasopharyngeal carcinoma, with recurrence and metastasis within 6 months after radical radiotherapy; 5. For patients with locally recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma or nasopharyngeal carcinoma, those who are not suitable for local treatment after multidisciplinary evaluation of head and neck tumors; 6. At least one measurable lesion before treatment, that is, meeting the "measurable lesion" requirement in the RECIST 1.1 standard; 7. Expected survival period\>3 months; 8. ECOG score 0-2 points; 9. Good organ function: meet the following requirements: 1. Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥1.5×109/L; 2. Platelet count ≥100×109/L; 3. Hemoglobin ≥9g/dL; 4. Serum albumin ≥2.8g/dL; 5. Total bilirubin ≤1.5×ULN, ALT, AST and/or ALP ≤3×ULN; 6. Serum creatinine ≤1.5×ULN and creatinine clearance ≥60 mL/min (Cockcroft-Gault, see Appendix 3); 7. Activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and international normalized ratio (INR) ≤1.5× ULN (screening is allowed for patients who are taking stable doses of anticoagulant therapy such as low molecular weight heparin or warfarin and whose INR is within the expected therapeutic range of the anticoagulant); 10. Patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and inactive/asymptomatic HBV carriers, or patients with chronic or active HBV, will be allowed to enroll if HBV DNA \<500 IU/mL (or 2500 copies/mL) at screening. Patients with positive hepatitis C antibodies will be allowed to enroll if HCV-RNA is negative at screening. 11. Women of childbearing age need to have a negative urine or serum pregnancy test result within ≤7 days before treatment. And use a medically approved contraceptive method (such as intrauterine device, birth control pills or condoms) during the study treatment, at least 3 months after the last use of cadonilimab, and at least 6 months after the last use of chemotherapy; 12. Male subjects who are not sterilized must be willing to use a medically approved contraceptive method (such as intrauterine device, birth control pills or condoms) during the study treatment, at least 3 months after the last use of cadonilimab, and at least 6 months after the last use of chemotherapy. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Patients who have received anti-CTLA-4 antibodies, or any other antibodies or drugs targeting T cell co-stimulation or checkpoint pathways, or small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors, including lenvatinib, anlotinib, apatinib, etc.; 2. Patients with symptoms of spinal cord compression, risk of pathological fracture, or emergency surgery and/or radiotherapy due to other medical needs; 3. Patients with a history of gastrointestinal perforation and/or fistula within 6 months before enrollment (if the gastrointestinal perforation or fistula has been surgically removed, enrollment is allowed); 4. Patients with necrotic lesions within 4 weeks before enrollment, or tumors directly invading the trachea, bronchus, esophagus, or arteries, and who are judged by the investigator to have a risk of major bleeding; 5. Patients with other malignant tumors in the past or at the same time (except for malignant tumors that have been cured and have survived without cancer for more than 3 years, such as basal cell carcinoma of the skin, carcinoma in situ of the cervix, and papillary thyroid carcinoma); 6. Uncontrolled clinical symptoms or diseases of the heart, such as: a. NYHA heart failure of grade II or above; b. Unstable angina pectoris; c. Myocardial infarction within 1 year; d. Patients with clinically significant supraventricular or ventricular arrhythmias requiring clinical intervention; 7. Received any of the following treatments: 1. Received any research drug within 4 weeks before the first use of the study drug; 2. Enrolled in another clinical study at the same time, unless it is an observational (non-interventional) clinical study; 3. Subjects who need to be given corticosteroids (daily prednisone equivalent dose of \>10 mg) or other immunosuppressants for systemic treatment within 2 weeks before the first use of the study drug, except for the use of corticosteroids for local inflammation and prevention of allergies, nausea and vomiting. Other special cases need to be communicated with the investigator. In the absence of active autoimmune diseases, inhaled or topical steroids and adrenocortical hormone replacement at a dose of \>10 mg/day prednisone are allowed; 4. Patients who have received anti-tumor vaccines or have received vaccines (including live vaccines or inactivated vaccines) within 4 weeks before the first administration of the study drug; 5. Patients who have undergone major surgery or severe trauma within 4 weeks before the first use of the study drug; 8. The toxicity of previous anti-tumor treatment has not recovered to ≤CTCAE grade 1 (except for sequelae of alopecia and neurotoxicity related to previous platinum treatment) or the level specified by the inclusion/exclusion criteria; 9. Severe infection (CTCAE\>2) occurred within 4 weeks before the first use of the study drug, such as severe pneumonia, bacteremia, infectious complications, etc. requiring hospitalization; baseline chest imaging examinations indicate active lung inflammation, symptoms and signs of infection within 4 weeks of the first use of the study drug, or the need for oral or intravenous antibiotic treatment; 10. Active autoimmune diseases or a history of autoimmune diseases (such as interstitial pneumonia, colitis, hepatitis, hypophysitis, vasculitis, nephritis, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, including but not limited to these diseases or syndromes); but not including autoimmune-mediated hypothyroidism treated with stable doses of thyroid replacement hormone; type 1 diabetes using stable doses of insulin; patients with vitiligo or healed childhood asthma/allergies who do not require any intervention as adults; 11. Patients with a history of immunodeficiency, including HIV positive, or other acquired or congenital immunodeficiency diseases, or a history of organ transplantation and allogeneic bone marrow transplantation; 12. Patients with a history of interstitial lung disease (excluding radiation pneumonia without steroid treatment) or non-infectious pneumonia; 13. Patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis infection found through medical history or CT examination, or patients with a history of active pulmonary tuberculosis infection within 1 year before enrollment, or patients with a history of active pulmonary tuberculosis infection more than 1 year ago but without formal treatment; 14. Subjects with active hepatitis B (HBV DNA ≥500 IU/mL or 2500 copies/mL), hepatitis C (positive hepatitis C antibody, and HCV-RNA is higher than the detection limit of the analytical method); 15. known history of psychotropic drug abuse, alcoholism or drug abuse; 16. pregnant or lactating women; 17. the researcher judges that the subject has other factors that may force him to terminate the study midway, such as other serious diseases (including mental illness) requiring combined treatment, serious abnormal laboratory test values, family or social factors that may affect the safety of the subject or the collection of trial data.

Treatments Being Tested

DRUG

Cadonilimab

a PD-1/CTLA-4 dual antibody

RADIATION

Low-dose radiotherapy

Low-dose radiation

RADIATION

SBRT

selected leisions to treat with stereotactic radiotherapy

DRUG

Capecitabine

Capecitabine metronomic chemotherapy

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.

Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center
Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China

How to Talk to Your Doctor About This Trial

Bring the printable summary of this trial — including the NCT ID (NCT06494995), the sponsor (Fudan University), 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 NCT06494995 clinical trial studying?

Currently, there is a lack of high-quality clinical evidence for subsequent treatment options for recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) after first-line treatment, especially for subsequent treatment after first-line therapy combined with PD-1 inhibitors. Increasing evidence suggests that low-dose radiation (LDRT) can reshape the tumor microenvironment.Cadonilimab is a bispecific antibody that specifically binds to CTLA-4 and PD-1 proteins in the human body. Considering that low-dose radiotherapy and cadonilimab both have immunomodulatory effects, this study inten… The full protocol is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov and includes the primary outcome measures, eligibility criteria, and study endpoints.

Who can participate in NCT06494995?

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 NCT06494995?

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 NCT06494995. Maintained by the National Library of Medicine at NIH. Public domain. Cite as: "TrialFinderData. NCT06494995. 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 2026-05-08 · Data from ClinicalTrials.gov.