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CompletedNCT02899793Updated Jun 11, 2025Results posted

Pembrolizumab in Ultramutated and Hypermutated Endometrial Cancer

A Phase 2 interventional study of Pembrolizumab in Recurrent Endometrial Cancer, sponsored by Yale University. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to female participants aged 18 Years to 100 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-06-11.

Sponsored by Yale University · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
25
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years to 100 Years
Sex
Female
01

Study summary

Primary Objectives: To assess the antitumor activity (proportion of objective response by RECIST 1.1 criteria) of pembrolizumab with objective tumor response in patients with persistent, recurrent or metastatic endometrial cancer harboring an ultra-mutated or hyper-mutated (MMR gene-defective) phenotype identified by next generation sequencing (NGS) and comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP). To determine the nature and degree of toxicity of pembrolizumab as assessed by CTCAE in patients with persistent, recurrent or metastatic endometrial carcinoma. Secondary Objective(s): To estimate the duration of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).

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Conditions studied

  • Recurrent Endometrial Cancer
03

In context

Endometrial Neoplasms

1,325 studies on the registry are indexed under Endometrial Neoplasms; 447 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 25 is below the median of 70 across 941 interventional studies indexed under Endometrial Neoplasms.

Browse Endometrial Neoplasms studies →

Lead sponsor

Yale University is the lead sponsor of 1,724 studies on the registry; 298 are open to participants now.

Of its 210 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 126 (60%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 100 Years
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  1. Patients must have histologically confirmed endometrial cancer that is recurrent or progressive following at least one prior chemotherapy regimen.
  2. Patients with the following histologic epithelial cell types are eligible: Endometrioid adenocarcinoma, serous adenocarcinoma, clear cell carcinoma, undifferentiated carcinoma, mixed epithelial carcinoma, carcinosarcoma, and adenocarcinoma not otherwise specified (N.O.S.).
  3. Tumors must demonstrate ultramutation (POLE/POLD1-mutation) and/or hyper-mutation (due to MMR gene defect) in a representative primary or metastatic tumor site by next generation sequencing (NGS) and Comprehensive Genomic Profiling (CGP) testing, and/or standard PCR-based DNA microsatellite instability (MSI) and immunohistochemistry (IHC).
  4. All patients must have measurable disease by RECIST 1.1.
  5. Patients must have a ECOG performance status of 0 or 1.
  6. Women of childbearing potential must have a negative urine and serum pregnancy test within 72 hours prior to receiving first dose and must be willing to use contraceptive through 120 days of last dose of Pembrolizumab.
  7. Patients must have recovered from effects of recent surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy. Patients with ≥ Grade 2 neuropathy are eligible.
  8. Patients may have received prior radiation therapy for treatment of endometrial cancer. Prior radiation therapy may have included pelvic radiation therapy, extended field pelvic/para-aortic radiation therapy, intravaginal brachytherapy and/or palliative radiation therapy. All radiation therapy must be completed at least 4 weeks prior to the first date of study therapy.
  9. Patients may have received prior hormonal therapy for treatment of endometrial carcinoma. All hormonal therapy must be discontinued at least one week prior to the first date of study therapy.
  10. Patients may have received prior therapy (including chemotherapy, biologic/targeted therapy and immunotherapy) for treatment of endometrial cancer. All therapy must be discontinued at least 3 weeks prior to the first date of study therapy. Any investigational agent must be discontinued at least 30 days prior to the first date of study therapy.
  11. Chemotherapy administered in conjunction with primary radiation as a radio-sensitizer WILL be counted as a systemic chemotherapy regimen.
  12. Patients are allowed to receive, but not required to receive, up to 4 additional lines of therapy.
  13. At least 4 weeks must have elapsed since the patient underwent any major surgery (e.g., major: laparotomy, laparoscopy) There is no delay in treatment for minor procedures (e.g., tumor FNA or core biopsy, venous access device placement).
  14. Have demonstrated adequate organ function. All screen labs should be performed within 14 days of treatment initiation
  15. Patients must have signed an approved informed consent and authorization permitting release of personal health information.
  16. Patients must be 18 years or older

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients who have had prior therapy with nivolumab, pembrolizumab or with an anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, anti-PD-L2, anti-CTLA-4 antibody, or any other antibody or drug specifically targeting T-cell co-stimulation or immune check point pathways.
  2. History of severe hypersensitivity reaction to any monoclonal antibody.
  3. Patients with uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure and unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements.
  4. Patients who are pregnant or nursing. The effects of pembrolizumab on the developing human fetus are unknown. For this reason, women of child-bearing potential (WOCBP) must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation. WOCBP should use an adequate method to avoid pregnancy for 23 weeks after the last dose of investigational drug. WOCBP must have a negative serum or urine pregnancy test (minimum sensitivity 25 IV/L or equivalent units of HCG) within 24 hours prior to the start of pembrolizumab. Women must not be breastfeeding.
  5. Women who are not of childbearing potential (i.e., who are postmenopausal or surgically sterile or have undergone definitive radiation) do not require contraception.
  6. Patients with known brain metastases or leptomeningeal metastases are excluded unless the following conditions are met: Metastases have been treated and there is no evidence of progression by CT scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) prior to the first dose of pembrolizumab administration). There must also be no requirement for immunosuppressive doses of systemic corticosteroids (>10 mg/day prednisone equivalents) for at least 1 week prior to study drug administration.
  7. Patients should be excluded if they have known history of testing positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or known acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Patients should be excluded if they have a positive test for hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBV sAg) or hepatitis C virus ribonucleic acid (HCV antibody) indicating acute or chronic infection (e.g., HCV RNA [qualitative] is detected).
  8. Patients with active autoimmune disease or history of autoimmune disease that might recur, which may affect vital organ function or require immune suppressive treatment including systemic corticosteroids, should be excluded. These include but are not limited to patients with a history of immune related neurologic disease, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune (demyelinating) neuropathy, Guillain-Barre syndrome, myasthenia gravis; systemic autoimmune disease such as SLE, connective tissue diseases, scleroderma, inflammatory bowel disease (IRB), Crohn's, ulcerative colitis, hepatitis; and patients with a history of toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), Stevens-Johnson syndrome, or phospholipid syndrome should be excluded because of the risk of recurrence or exacerbation of disease. Patient with vitiligo, endocrine deficiencies including thyroiditis managed with replacement hormones including physiologic corticosteroids are eligible. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis and other arthropathies, Sjogren's syndrome and psoriasis controlled with topical medication and patients with positive serology, such as antinuclear antibodies (ANA), anti-thyroid antibodies should be evaluated for the presence of target organ involvement and potential need for systemic treatment but should otherwise be eligible.

    NOTE: Patients are permitted to enroll if they have vitiligo, type I diabetes mellitus, residual hypothyroidism due to autoimmune condition only requiring hormone replacement, psoriasis not requiring systemic treatment, or conditions not expected to recur in the absence of an external trigger (precipitating event).

  9. Patients should be excluded if they have a condition requiring systemic treatment with either corticosteroids (>10 mg daily prednisone equivalents) or other immunosuppressive medications within 14 days of study drug administration. Inhaled or topical steroids and adrenal replacement doses \<10 mg daily prednisone equivalents are permitted in the absence of active autoimmune disease. Patients are permitted to use topical, ocular, intra-articular, intranasal, and inhalational corticosteroids (with minimal systemic absorption). Physiologic replacement doses of systemic corticosteroids are permitted, even if \<10 mg/day prednisone equivalents. A brief course of corticosteroids for prophylaxis (e.g., contrast dye allergy) or for treatment of non-autoimmune conditions (e.g., delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction caused by contact allergen) is permitted.
  10. Patients who have had evidence of active or acute diverticulitis, intra-abdominal abscess, abdominal/pelvic fistula, gastrointestinal perforation, GI obstruction and/or who require parenteral hydration and/or nutrition..
  11. Has a known history of active TB (Bacillus Tuberculosis)
  12. Hypersensitivity to pembrolizumab or any of its excipients.
  13. Prior invasive malignancy (except non-melanomatous skin cancer such as basal cell carcinoma of the skin or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin that has undergone potentially curative therapy or in situ cervical cancer) unless disease free for a minimum of 3 years.
  14. Has a history of (non-infectious) pneumonitis that required steroids or current pneumonitis.
  15. Has an active infection requiring intravenous systemic therapy.
  16. Has a history or current evidence of any condition, therapy, or laboratory abnormality that might confound the results of the trial, interfere with the subject's participation for the full duration of the trial, or is not in the best interest of the subject to participate, in the opinion of the treating investigator.
  17. Has known psychiatric or substance abuse disorders that would interfere with cooperation with the requirements of the trial.
  18. Has not recovered from adverse events to \<Grade 1 or prior treatment level due to a previously administered agent. Subjects with Grade \<2 neuropathy or alopecia of any grade are an exception to this criterion and may qualify for the study.
  19. Has a known additional malignancy that progressed or required active treatment within the last five years. Exceptions include basal cell carcinoma of the skin, squamous cell carcinoma of the skin that has undergone potentially curative therapy or in situ cervical cancer.
  20. Is pregnant or breastfeeding, or expecting to conceive children within the projected duration of the trial, starting with the pre-screening or screening visit through 120 days after the last dose of trial treatment.
  21. Patients should not have used investigational agents or device within 4 weeks prior to first dose.
  22. Has received a live vaccine within 30 days of planned start of study therapy. Note: Seasonal influenza vaccines for injection are generally inactivated flu vaccines and are allowed; however intranasal influenza vaccines (e.g., Flu-Mist®) are live attenuated vaccines, and are not allowed.
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
25 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Pembrolizumab

    Pembrolizumab 200 mg, Q3W, IV Infusion, Day 1 of each 3 week cycle

    Drug: Pembrolizumab

Interventions

  • DrugPembrolizumab

    Pembrolizumab 200 mg (fixed dose) IV every 3 weeks (+/- 3 days) until progression or adverse effects prohibit therapy

    Also known as: MK-3475

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Frequency of Objective Tumor Response as Assessed by RECIST 1.1- Overall Response Rate (ORR)

    RECIST (Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors) is a set of published rules that define when cancer patients improve ("respond"), stay the same ("stable") or worsen ("progression") during treatments. Complete Response (CR) = complete disappearance of all clinical evidence of disease; Partial Response (PR) = regression of measurable disease; Stable Disease (SD) = failure to attain CR, PR, or PD; Progressive Disease (PD) = PD in any compartment; Relapse = recurrence of disease in prior CR in any compartment.

    Time frame: 4 years

  2. Toxicity Grade of Adverse Events as Assessed by CTCAE v4

    Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) are a set of criteria for the standardized classification of adverse effects of drugs used in cancer therapy. Number of patients affected by each adverse event grade for Other (non-serious) adverse events with in the treatment period.

    Time frame: 4 years

Secondary outcomes

  1. Duration of Progression-free Survival (PFS)

    Progression-free survival is defined as the duration of time from study entry to time of progression, death, or the date of last contact, whichever occurs first.

    Time frame: 6 years

  2. Overall Survival (OS)

    Overall survival is defined as the duration of time from study entry to time of death or the date of last contact.

    Time frame: 6 years

07

Results

Posted Jun 11, 2025

Participant flow

Participant flow — Overall Study
MilestonePembrolizumab
Started25
Excluded from analysis due to tumor status1
Completed24
Not completed1

Outcome measures

PrimaryFrequency of Objective Tumor Response as Assessed by RECIST 1.1- Overall Response Rate (ORR)

RECIST (Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors) is a set of published rules that define when cancer patients improve ("respond"), stay the same ("stable") or worsen ("progression") during treatments. Complete Response (CR) = complete disappearance of all clinical evidence of disease; Partial Response (PR) = regression of measurable disease; Stable Disease (SD) = failure to attain CR, PR, or PD; Progressive Disease (PD) = PD in any compartment; Relapse = recurrence of disease in prior CR in any compartment.

Time frame:
4 years
Reported as:
Count of participants · Participants
Frequency of Objective Tumor Response as Assessed by RECIST 1.1- Overall Response Rate (ORR)
ParticipantsPembrolizumab
CR5
PR9
SD7
PD3
Statistical analysis
  • Pembrolizumab · Fisher Exact · p = 0.024
PrimaryToxicity Grade of Adverse Events as Assessed by CTCAE v4

Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) are a set of criteria for the standardized classification of adverse effects of drugs used in cancer therapy. Number of patients affected by each adverse event grade for Other (non-serious) adverse events with in the treatment period.

Time frame:
4 years
Reported as:
Count of participants · Participants
Toxicity Grade of Adverse Events as Assessed by CTCAE v4
ParticipantsPembrolizumab
Grade 119
Grade 26
Grade 30
Grade 40
SecondaryDuration of Progression-free Survival (PFS)

Progression-free survival is defined as the duration of time from study entry to time of progression, death, or the date of last contact, whichever occurs first.

Time frame:
6 years
Reported as:
Median · months
Duration of Progression-free Survival (PFS)
monthsPembrolizumab
Duration of Progression-free Survival (PFS)27.4 (10.7 to NA)
SecondaryOverall Survival (OS)

Overall survival is defined as the duration of time from study entry to time of death or the date of last contact.

Time frame:
6 years
Reported as:
Median · months
Overall Survival (OS)
monthsPembrolizumab
Overall Survival (OS)71.5 (28.6 to NA)

Adverse events

Collected over 6 years. Non-serious events are listed at a 5% frequency threshold.

Adverse event summary by group
GroupDeathsSeriousOther
Pembrolizumab12/25 (48%)23/25 (92%)25/25 (100%)
Most frequent serious events
Showing 10 of 14
Most frequent serious events
EventPembrolizumab
Abdominal painGastrointestinal disorders4/25
Urinary tract infectionInfections and infestations4/25
Small intestinal obstructionGastrointestinal disorders2/25
FeverGeneral disorders2/25
HypotensionVascular disorders2/25
HyperthyroidismEndocrine disorders1/25
DiarrheaGastrointestinal disorders1/25
PainGeneral disorders1/25
Ankle fractureInjury, poisoning and procedural complications1/25
Hip fractureInjury, poisoning and procedural complications1/25
Most frequent other events
Showing 10 of 58
Most frequent other events
EventPembrolizumab
FatigueGeneral disorders16/25
Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorder -Other, specifyMusculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders11/25
PainGeneral disorders10/25
Edema limbsGeneral disorders8/25
Back painMusculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders8/25
Urinary tract infectionInfections and infestations8/25
DiarrheaGastrointestinal disorders7/25
NauseaGastrointestinal disorders7/25
Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders - Other, specifySkin and subcutaneous tissue disorders7/25
HypothyroidismEndocrine disorders6/25

Baseline characteristics

Characteristic data presented here is from the 24 participants that completed

Age, Continuous
Age, Continuous(years)Pembrolizumab
Mean69 ± 10.2
Sex: Female, Male
Sex: Female, Male(Participants)Pembrolizumab
Female24
Male0
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)(Participants)Pembrolizumab
Hispanic or Latino2
Not Hispanic or Latino22
Unknown or Not Reported0
Race (NIH/OMB)
Race (NIH/OMB)(Participants)Pembrolizumab
American Indian or Alaska Native0
Asian0
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander0
Black or African American1
White23
More than one race0
Unknown or Not Reported0
Region of Enrollment
Region of Enrollment(participants)Pembrolizumab
United States24
International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) Stage at diagnosis, No. (%)
International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) Stage at diagnosis, No. (%)(Participants)Pembrolizumab
Stage I12
Stage II1
Stage III8
Stage IV3
Histology/grade of Endometrial Adenocarcinoma (EAC)
Histology/grade of Endometrial Adenocarcinoma (EAC)(Participants)Pembrolizumab
EAC G12
EAC G29
EAC G313
Microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H)/mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR) Subgroups Characteristics
Microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H)/mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR) Subgroups Characteristics(Participants)Pembrolizumab
Lynch-like6
Methylated18
08

Study locations

1 site
  • Yale New Haven Hospital
    New Haven, Connecticut 06510, United States
09

References and documents

Publications

  • Bellone S, Roque DM, Siegel ER, Buza N, Hui P, Bonazzoli E, Guglielmi A, Zammataro L, Nagarkatti N, Zaidi S, Lee J, Silasi DA, Huang GS, Andikyan V, Damast S, Clark M, Azodi M, Schwartz PE, Tymon-Rosario JR, Harold JA, Mauricio D, Zeybek B, Menderes G, Altwerger G, Ratner E, Alexandrov LB, Iwasaki A, Kong Y, Song E, Dong W, Elvin JA, Choi J, Santin AD. A phase 2 evaluation of pembrolizumab for recurrent Lynch-like versus sporadic endometrial cancers with microsatellite instability. Cancer. 2022 Mar 15;128(6):1206-1218. doi: 10.1002/cncr.34025. Epub 2021 Dec 7. PubMed 34875107 ↗
  • Bellone S, Roque DM, Siegel ER, Buza N, Hui P, Bonazzoli E, Guglielmi A, Zammataro L, Nagarkatti N, Zaidi S, Lee J, Silasi DA, Huang GS, Andikyan V, Damast S, Clark M, Azodi M, Schwartz PE, Tymon-Rosario J, Harold J, Mauricio D, Zeybek B, Menderes G, Altwerger G, Ratner E, Alexandrov LB, Iwasaki A, Kong Y, Song E, Dong W, Elvin J, Choi J, Santin AD. A phase II evaluation of pembrolizumab in recurrent microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) endometrial cancer patients with Lynch-like versus MLH-1 methylated characteristics (NCT02899793). Ann Oncol. 2021 Aug;32(8):1045-1046. doi: 10.1016/j.annonc.2021.04.013. Epub 2021 Apr 28. No abstract available. PubMed 33932502 ↗

Study documents

  • Protocol and statistical analysis plan · May 5, 2023

Documents are hosted by the registry — open the source record to download them.

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

10

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jun 11, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
11

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT02899793
Lead sponsor
Yale University
Collaborators
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Sep 14, 2016
Start date
Sep 2016
Primary completion
Jul 17, 2024
Completion
Jul 17, 2024
Results posted
Jun 11, 2025
Last update
Jun 11, 2025

Study contacts

Alessandro D. Santin, M.D
principal investigator · Yale University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in May 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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