A Phase 2 interventional study of Pembrolizumab and Atezolizumab in Nonsmall Cell Lung Cancer and Performance Status, sponsored by Wake Forest University Health Sciences. Recruiting at 2 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-25.
Sponsored by Wake Forest University Health Sciences · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment
Among 127 studies testing pembrolizumab in Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung — 29 open to participants now, 48 under way, 13 of them phase 3. pembrolizumab · Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung.
Among the 127 studies testing pembrolizumab in Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung, this one is the 50th largest by planned enrollment, is one of 10 that started in 2020, is one of 65 in phase 2, reaches primary completion later than 30 of the 47 other live ones, and was the 73rd registered.
7,620 studies on the registry are indexed under Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung; 1,838 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 105 is above the median of 62 across 6,019 interventional studies indexed under Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung.
Browse Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung studies →29 of the 127 studies testing pembrolizumab in Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung are open now, in 10 countries. Each count lists the studies.
pembrolizumab: first FDA approval 2014 (KEYTRUDA), first EMA approval 2015. What it is approved for, and how studies give it, is on its page →
Of the 1,324 Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung studies recruiting now, 986 (74%) set no upper age limit and 226 (17%) stop at 75 or younger; 34 take children under 18; 39 take healthy volunteers.
This study: 18 Years and older · all sexes · no healthy volunteers.
The full table on the hub →On this site’s reading of the record, pembrolizumab is the treatment under test here. Read study by study →
127 studies; the count open now beside each. This study's row is marked.
A study in two phases is counted once above. Listed by phase, each with its combined phases: Phase 1 29 · Phase 2 74 · Phase 3 30 · Phase 4 1
First in 2013; this study’s year is marked. 10 started in 2020.
Median enrollment 65 across the 127 interventional studies. Of the 67 that completed or were terminated, 56 (84%) have results posted.
39 of 127 have an industry lead sponsor. The 10 most frequent:
Wake Forest University Health Sciences is the lead sponsor of 1,351 studies on the registry; 201 are open to participants now.
Of its 332 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 251 (76%) have results posted.
41 studies in Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung by Wake Forest University Health Sciences: 5 open now, 8 under way, none of them phase 3. Of 27 finished, 12 (44%) have results posted.
Among the 41 studies in Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung by Wake Forest University Health Sciences, this one is the 5th largest by planned enrollment of the 33 interventional ones that give a count, is one of 3 that started in 2020, is one of 15 in phase 2, and was the 33rd registered.
Wake Forest University Health Sciences’s Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung studies by the year they started, since 1998.
13 of the studies testing pembrolizumab in Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung that are under way reach primary completion within a year, 3 of them phase 3. Phase 3 first, then by date:
| Study | Primary completion |
|---|---|
| NCT07162883Phase 3Qilu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.Pharmacokinetic Study of QL2107 Versus Keytruda® for Adjuvant Therapy of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) | 2026-12-31 |
| NCT04380636Phase 3Merck Sharp & Dohme LLCStudy of Pembrolizumab With Concurrent Chemoradiation Therapy Followed by Pembrolizumab With or Without Olaparib in Stage III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) (MK-7339-012/KEYLYNK-012) | 2027-05-05 |
| NCT05085028Phase 3Imperial College LondonA Randomised Open-label Phase III Trial of REduced Frequency Pembrolizumab immuNothErapy for First-line Treatment of Patients With Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) | 2027-05-31 |
| NCT05493566Emory UniversityLow-Dose Interleukin-2 and Pembrolizumab for the Treatment of Stage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer | 2027-01-07 |
| NCT06388031Peking Union Medical College HospitalICI Rechallenge for Advanced NSCLC With Long-Term Response to First-Line ICI | 2027-01-10 |
Among the 127 studies testing pembrolizumab in Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung, from their registry updates:
Among Wake Forest University Health Sciences’s 41 in Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung:
Nothing recorded among them since 2026-09-25.
This pilot study is configured as a non-inferiority comparison of Performance Status 2 patients with Performance Status 0-1 patients, with the goal of demonstrating non-inferiority in terms of efficacy (progression-free survival, overall survival) and safety (rates of adverse events, quality of life) when treating Performance Status 2 patients with the same first-line immunotherapy-based regimen as Performance Status 0-1 patients.
Primary Objective: To demonstrate that proportion of Performance Status 2 participants with progression-free survival at 12 weeks is not inferior to the corresponding proportion of Performance Status 0-1 patients.
Secondary Objective(s)
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
≥1,000/mcL
≥100,000/mcL
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.
A scale of how much an illness limits everyday activity. For people being assessed to join a study, scores run from 0 (fully active) to 4; lower is more active.
Studies most often ask for 0–1 or 0–2. Your doctor gives the score; the WHO scale uses the same steps. The full scale also has 5, which records death.
The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.
The number of neutrophils, white blood cells that help fight infection, in a given amount of blood. Too few raises the risk of infection.
It is a count, not a percentage of the white cells. Limits are written in units that mean the same: ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L is ≥ 1,500 per mm³ (µL). Each lab has its own reference range.
Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.
Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).
Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
A line of therapy is one course of treatment, which may combine several drugs. First-line is the first course given; second-line follows when that stops working or is not tolerated.
“Two prior lines” means two courses that count separately under the study’s rules — not simply two drugs. Ask the study team if you are unsure how yours are counted.
A biopsy takes a small piece of tissue to examine. “Archival tissue” is a sample already taken, for example at diagnosis, and kept by the hospital.
Whether a stored sample will do depends on when it was taken, how much there is and what the study needs. Ask whether the study accepts your stored sample or needs a new biopsy.
A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.
Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
Metastases
Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
ECOG performance status
A scale of how much an illness limits everyday activity. For people being assessed to join a study, scores run from 0 (fully active) to 4; lower is more active.
Studies most often ask for 0–1 or 0–2. Your doctor gives the score; the WHO scale uses the same steps. The full scale also has 5, which records death.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Life expectancy
The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Absolute neutrophil count (ANC)
The number of neutrophils, white blood cells that help fight infection, in a given amount of blood. Too few raises the risk of infection.
It is a count, not a percentage of the white cells. Limits are written in units that mean the same: ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L is ≥ 1,500 per mm³ (µL). Each lab has its own reference range.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Platelets
Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Childbearing potential
Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).
Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraception
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Line of therapy
A line of therapy is one course of treatment, which may combine several drugs. First-line is the first course given; second-line follows when that stops working or is not tolerated.
“Two prior lines” means two courses that count separately under the study’s rules — not simply two drugs. Ask the study team if you are unsure how yours are counted.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Biopsy and archival tissue
A biopsy takes a small piece of tissue to examine. “Archival tissue” is a sample already taken, for example at diagnosis, and kept by the hospital.
Whether a stored sample will do depends on when it was taken, how much there is and what the study needs. Ask whether the study accepts your stored sample or needs a new biopsy.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Autoimmune disease
A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.
Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Corticosteroids (steroids)
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Immunosuppression
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants with non-squamous and squamous predictive biomarker PD-L1 ≥50%: Participants will receive one of the following if their treating physician has opted for single-agent immunotherapy: pembrolizumab, atezolizumab, or cemiplimab-rwlc. Participants with non-squamous and squamous subtype, predictive biomarker PD-L1 ≥50%, and the treating clinician has opted for combination chemo/immunotherapy OR participants with non-squamous and squamous subtype, predictive biomarker PD-L1 1-49% or unknown: Participants will receive one of the following--pembrolizumab, atezolizumab, or cemiplimab-rwlc--and ALSO receive: * Carboplatin OR * Cisplatin PLUS * Pemetrexed (non-squamous subtype only) OR * Paclitaxel (squamous subtype only) OR * Nab-paclitaxel (squamous subtype only)
Drug: Pembrolizumab · Drug: Atezolizumab · Drug: Cemiplimab-Rwlc · Drug: Carboplatin · Drug: Paclitaxel · Drug: Nab paclitaxel · Drug: Pemetrexed · Drug: Cisplatin · Other: Quality of Life Questionnaire, lung cancer-specific (QLQ-LC13) · Other: QLQ-C30 Global Health/Quality of Life Questionnaire · Other: COPD Assessment Test and modified Medical Research Council Dyspnea Patient Reported Outcomes · Other: PROMIS and FACT-G Questionnaires · Other: Sleep Disorder Assessments (ISI, Berlin Sleep Questionnaire)
Participants with non-squamous and squamous predictive biomarker PD-L1 ≥50%: Participants will receive one of the following if their treating physician has opted for single-agent immunotherapy: pembrolizumab, atezolizumab, or cemiplimab-rwlc. Participants with non-squamous and squamous subtype, predictive biomarker PD-L1 ≥50%, and the treating clinician has opted for combination chemo/immunotherapy OR participants with non-squamous and squamous subtype, predictive biomarker PD-L1 1-49% or unknown: Participants will receive one of the following--pembrolizumab, atezolizumab, or cemiplimab-rwlc--and ALSO receive: * Carboplatin OR * Cisplatin PLUS * Pemetrexed (non-squamous subtype only) OR * Paclitaxel (squamous subtype only) OR * Nab-paclitaxel (squamous subtype only)
Drug: Pembrolizumab · Drug: Atezolizumab · Drug: Cemiplimab-Rwlc · Drug: Carboplatin · Drug: Paclitaxel · Drug: Nab paclitaxel · Drug: Pemetrexed · Drug: Cisplatin · Other: Quality of Life Questionnaire, lung cancer-specific (QLQ-LC13) · Other: QLQ-C30 Global Health/Quality of Life Questionnaire · Other: COPD Assessment Test and modified Medical Research Council Dyspnea Patient Reported Outcomes · Other: PROMIS and FACT-G Questionnaires · Other: Sleep Disorder Assessments (ISI, Berlin Sleep Questionnaire)
ALL PARTICIPANTS: Pembrolizumab 200 mg intravenously (IV) on day 1 of each 3-week cycle for 4 cycles.
ALL PARTICIPANTS: 1,200 mg IV on day 1 over 60 minutes of each 3-week cycle for 4 cycles. If the first infusion is tolerated, then all subsequent infusions (cycles 2-4) may be delivered over 30 minutes. The subcutaneous formulation of atezolizumab may be substituted for the intravenous formulation as follows: Atezolizumab hyaluronidase-tqjs 15 mL (1,875 mg atezolizumab and 30,000 units hyaluronidase) subcutaneously into the thigh over 7 minutes on day 1 of each 3-week cycle for 4 cycles.
ALL PARTICIPANTS: 350 mg IV over 30 minutes on day 1 of each 3-week cycle for 4 cycles.
FOR PARTICIPANTS IN EITHER ARM with non-squamous or squamous subtype, predictive biomarker PD-L1 ≥50%, and the treating clinician has opted for combination chemo/immunotherapy OR non-squamous or squamous subtype, predictive biomarker PD-L1 1-49% or unknown: Carboplatin area under the curve (AUC) 5 IV on day 1 of each 3-week cycle for 4 cycles. AUC dosing (5-6) will be selected by the treating provider.
FOR PARTICIPANTS IN EITHER ARM with squamous subtype, predictive biomarker PD-L1 ≥50%, and the treating clinician has opted for combination chemo/immunotherapy OR squamous subtype, predictive biomarker PD-L1 1-49% or unknown: Paclitaxel 200 mg/m2 IV on day 1 of each 3-week cycle for 4 cycles.
FOR PARTICIPANTS IN EITHER ARM with squamous subtype, predictive biomarker PD-L1 ≥50%, and the treating clinician has opted for combination chemo/immunotherapy OR squamous subtype, predictive biomarker PD-L1 1-49% or unknown: Nab-paclitaxel 100 mg/m2 on day 1, 8, 15 of 3-week cycle for 4 cycles.
FOR PARTICIPANTS IN EITHER ARM with non-squamous subtype, predictive biomarker PD-L1 ≥50%, and the treating clinician has opted for combination chemo/immunotherapy OR non-squamous subtype, predictive biomarker PD-L1 1-49% or unknown: Pemetrexed 500 mg/m2 IV on day 1 of each 3-week cycle for 4 cycles.
FOR PARTICIPANTS IN EITHER ARM with non-squamous or squamous subtype, predictive biomarker PD-L1 ≥50%, and the treating clinician has opted for combination chemo/immunotherapy OR non-squamous or squamous subtype, predictive biomarker PD-L1 1-49% or unknown: Cisplatin 75 mg/m2 IV on day 1 of each 3-week cycle for 4 cycles.
The QLQ-C30 is composed of both multi-item scales and single-item measures. These include five functional scales, three symptom scales, a global health status / QoL scale, and six single items.
30 item questionnaire - Functional scales (physical, role, cognitive, emotional, social), symptom scales (fatigue, pain, and nausea and vomiting), global health status and quality of life scale, also several single-item symptom measures.
Dyspnea scale scores in patients with respiratory disease (particularly COPD) to establish baseline functional dyspnea burden (taken pre-study at Week 0 and Post Treatment at week 13).
PROMIS 4-item short forms: Fatigue, Sleep Disturbance, Anxiety, and Depression as well as 1 item from the FACT-G which has been established as a valid indicator of treatment side effect bother ("I am bothered by side effects of treatment"); 17 symptom burden questions in total.
7 items on the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and 10 items from the Berlin Sleep Questionnaire, a risk assessment for obstructive sleep apnea.
Proportion of Participants with Progression-Free Survival
Using non-blinded central imaging using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) version 1.1 to define progressive disease. RECIST v 1.1 criteria: * Complete Response (CR): Disappearance of all target lesions. * Partial Response (PR): Decrease by ≥ 30% in sum of longest diameter of target lesions. * Stable Disease (SD): Not meeting criteria for CR, PR, or PD. * Progressive Disease (PD): Increase by ≥ 20% in sum of longest diameter of target lesions or the appearance of one or more new lesions. Participants that did not have radiographically measurable metastatic disease by RECIST criteria before starting treatment, progression is defined as the development of new lesions or by unequivocal progression of existing non-target lesions.
Time frame: From baseline to end of 4th cycle of treatment (12 weeks)
Incidences of Grade 3 to Grade 5 Treatment-Related Adverse Events
Adverse events will be defined using CTCAE Version 5.0 after four cycles (12 weeks).
Time frame: 12 weeks
Change in Overall Quality of Life/Global Health Status - EORTC QLQ-C30
Using the total score of the Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30), a 30-item questionnaire for functional scales (physical, role, cognitive, emotional, social), symptom scales (fatigue, pain, and nausea and vomiting), global health status and quality of life scale, also several single-item symptom measures. Scoring scale : 1 (Not at all) to 4 (Very much), 1 (Very poor) to 7 (Excellent). Minimum score 0, maximum score 100. For functional and global quality of life scales, higher scores mean a better level of functioning. For symptom-oriented scales, a higher score means more severe symptoms.
Time frame: From baseline to end of 4th cycle of treatment (12 weeks)
Proportion of Participants with Deterioration in Symptoms - QLQ-LC13
Patient reported deterioration in three symptoms: Cough, chest pain, or dyspnea as measured by the symptoms scales as part of the Quality of Life Questionnaire Lung Cancer Module (QLQ-LC13). Deterioration is defined as a 10-point or greater decrease from baseline in either cough, chest pain, or dyspnea and subsequently confirmed by a second adjacent 10-point or greater decrease from baseline in the same symptom)
Time frame: From baseline to end of 4th cycle of treatment (12 weeks)
Plan to share: No
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Started Jul 2020 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Sep 2027, 86 months after the start.
Of 730 non-industry phase 2 interventional studies under Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung, half reached primary completion within 56 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 36 and three quarters within 84. This study's planned 86 months is above that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 1,047 studies reached it within 48 months; a quarter within 30 and three quarters within 76.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.
Contact study teamGet an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
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Studies of the drugs tested here: Pembrolizumab · Cemiplimab · Carboplatin · Paclitaxel · Albumin-Bound Paclitaxel · Pemetrexed · Cisplatin
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung →
Wake Forest University Health Sciences →