Who is sponsoring NCT03391973?

NCT03391973 is sponsored by AHS Cancer Control Alberta.

What drugs are being tested in NCT03391973?

Interventions in NCT03391973: Pembrolizumab Injection.

What condition does NCT03391973 study?

NCT03391973 studies Carcinoma of Unknown Primary.

Is NCT03391973 still recruiting?

NCT03391973 is currently active, enrolled. Last updated 25 April 2025.

Last reviewed 2025-04-25 · How we verify

NCT03391973: CUP

Name: Drug Landscape Pharmaceutical Database
Creator: Drug Landscape
Published: 2026-01-01
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Pembrolizumab in Patients With Poor-Prognosis Carcinoma of Unknown Primary Site (CUP)

Active, enrolled Phase 2 Last updated 25 April 2025

What this trial tests

Phase 2 trial testing Pembrolizumab Injection in Carcinoma of Unknown Primary in 26 participants. Participants enrolled and being followed up; not accepting new ones.

Timeline

24 August 2018

Primary endpoint
16 June 2023

30 December 2025

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	AHS Cancer Control Alberta
Phase	Phase 2
Status	Active, enrolled
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	na
Design	single group
Masking	none
Primary purpose	treatment
Enrollment	26
Start date	24 August 2018
Primary completion	16 June 2023
Estimated completion	30 December 2025
Sites	3 locations across Canada

Drugs / interventions tested

Pembrolizumab Injection — full drug profile →

Conditions studied

Carcinoma of Unknown Primary — all drugs for Carcinoma of Unknown Primary →

Sponsor

AHS Cancer Control Alberta — full company profile →

Who can join

18 and older, any sex, with Carcinoma of Unknown Primary. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

Abbreviated Title: Pembrolizumab in Patients with Poor-Prognosis Carcinoma of Unknown Primary Site (CUP) Trial Phase: 2 Clinical Indication: Treatment naïve patients with poor prognosis carcinoma of unknown primary site Trial Type: Single arm phase 2 Type of control: Not applicable Route of administration: Intravenous Trial Blinding: Not applicable Treatment Groups: 1) Pembrolizumab 200 mg IV every 3 weeks for up to 24 months. Total Number of trial subjects:25 Estimated enrollment period: 24 months Estimated duration of trial: 48 months Duration of Participation: 24 months

Publications & conference data

8 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

Cancer of Unknown Primary: Challenges and Progress in Clinical Management.
Laprovitera N, Riefolo M, Ambrosini E, Klec C, et al · · 2021 · cited 42× · PMID 33504059 · DOI 10.3390/cancers13030451
"Metastatic Cancer of Unknown Primary" or "Primary Metastatic Cancer"?
Kolling S, Ventre F, Geuna E, Milan M, et al · · 2019 · cited 40× · PMID 32010631 · DOI 10.3389/fonc.2019.01546
Clinical and immune profiling for cancer of unknown primary site.
Haratani K, Hayashi H, Takahama T, Nakamura Y, et al · · 2019 · cited 32× · PMID 31519206 · DOI 10.1186/s40425-019-0720-z
Brain Metastasis from Unknown Primary Tumour: Moving from Old Retrospective Studies to Clinical Trials on Targeted Agents.
Balestrino R, Rudà R, Soffietti R. · · 2020 · cited 23× · PMID 33198246 · DOI 10.3390/cancers12113350
From Biology to Diagnosis and Treatment: The Ariadne's Thread in Cancer of Unknown Primary.
Mathew BG, Aliyuda F, Taiwo D, Adekeye K, et al · · 2023 · cited 17× · PMID 36982662 · DOI 10.3390/ijms24065588
Immune and genomic biomarkers of immunotherapy response in cancer of unknown primary.
Posner A, Sivakumaran T, Pattison A, Etemadmoghadam D, et al · · 2023 · cited 11× · PMID 36720497 · DOI 10.1136/jitc-2022-005809
The Diminishing Importance of Primary Site Identification in Cancer of Unknown Primary: A Canadian Single-Center Experience.
Wong B, Vickers MM, Wheatley-Price P. · · 2021 · cited 7× · PMID 33747958 · DOI 10.3389/fonc.2021.634563
Case Report: Successful Immunotherapy Improved the Prognosis of the Unfavorable Subset of Cancer of Unknown Primary.
Mei J, Wang H, Fan H, Ding J, et al · · 2022 · cited 5× · PMID 35812375 · DOI 10.3389/fimmu.2022.900119

Verify or expand the search:

Other trials of Pembrolizumab Injection

Trials testing the same drug.

NCT07282509 — Safety and Efficacy of Paclitaxel Liposome Arterial Infusion Combined With Systemic Therapy for Second-Line Treatment of · Phase 1, PHASE2 · not yet recruiting
NCT05899608 — Clinical Study of Ivonescimab for First-line Treatment of Metastatic NSCLC Patients · Phase 3 · recruiting
NCT04808999 — Neoadjuvant Study of PD-1 Inhibitor Pembrolizumab in PD-1 Naive Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma (cSCC) · Phase 2 · active not recruiting
NCT04387461 — Study of CG0070 Given in Combination With Pembrolizumab, in Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer, Unresponsive to Bacillus · Phase 2 · completed
NCT04435197 — Pre-Operative Pembrolizumab + Chemoradiation in Patients With Locally Advanced Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma · Phase 2 · completed

Other recruiting trials for Carcinoma of Unknown Primary

Currently open trials in the same condition.

NCT04802876 — Efficacy of Tislelizumab and Spartalizumab Across Multiple Cancer-types in Patients with PD1-high MRNA Expressing Tumors · Phase 2 · active not recruiting
NCT04475640 — Cancer Genetic Testing in Ethnic Populations · NA · recruiting
NCT03010150 — Blood Tests and Questionnaires in Studying Adherence to Preventative Swallowing Exercises in Participants With Metastati · recruiting
NCT02721732 — Pembrolizumab in Treating Patients With Rare Tumors That Cannot Be Removed by Surgery or Are Metastatic · Phase 2 · active not recruiting
NCT01366144 — Veliparib, Paclitaxel, and Carboplatin in Treating Patients With Solid Tumors That Are Metastatic or Cannot Be Removed b · Phase 1 · active not recruiting

Other AHS Cancer Control Alberta trials

Trials by the same sponsor.

NCT05128734 — Temozolomide Monotherapy or in Combination With Olaparib in Patients With Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) · Phase 2 · not yet recruiting
NCT06860542 — Inhaled Budesonide for REcurrence Prevention and Adjuvant THerapy in Checkpoint Inhibitor Pneumonitis · Phase 2 · recruiting
NCT05345847 — Steroid Sparing in Immune Related Hepatitis (irH) · NA · recruiting
NCT05407987 — Ferric Derisomaltose and Outcomes in the Recovery of Gynecologic Oncology: ERAS (Enhanced Recovery After Surgery) · Phase 3 · recruiting
NCT05421416 — Loratadine for the Prevention of G-CSF-related Bone Pain · Phase 2 · recruiting

Verify against primary sources

ClinicalTrials.gov — authoritative US registry record
WHO ICTRP — international registry index
EU Clinical Trials Register
Sponsor press releases (Google)

Data sources for this page

Trial protocol + status: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03391973 (US National Library of Medicine, public domain)
Publications: Europe PMC API search by NCT ID, retrieved 10 June 2026
Drug + disease cross-links: matched in real time against Drug Landscape's normalised drug + company + condition tables
Sponsor: as reported to ClinicalTrials.gov by AHS Cancer Control Alberta
Last refreshed: 25 April 2025

Drug Landscape aggregates and links these public records for informational use only. Always verify against the primary source before clinical or regulatory decisions. Canonical URL: https://druglandscape.com/trial/NCT03391973.

Primary sources · FDA · ClinicalTrials.gov · EMA · SEC EDGAR · ChEMBL · Wikidata · full sourcing