ClinicalTrials.gg
Active, not recruitingNCT04675333Updated Aug 3, 2025

Evorpacept (ALX148) in Combination With Pembrolizumab and Chemotherapy in Patients With Advanced Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ASPEN-04)

A Phase 2 interventional study of evorpacept and pembrolizumab in Head and Neck Cancer and Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, sponsored by ALX Oncology Inc.. Active, not recruiting at 44 sites in 8 countries. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-08-03.

Primary conditionSquamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and NeckRegistry: Head and Neck NeoplasmsReclassifiedWhy we changed it
Registry
Head and Neck Neoplasms — the first condition term the registry derived for this study.
ClinicalTrials.gg
Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck
Why
  1. The study's listed conditions name Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck, a narrower term within Head and Neck Neoplasms.
Confidence
High: the new condition is named in the study's own listed conditions. Of 351 hand-checked studies reclassified this way, 68% were exactly right and 84% in the right disease family; the registry's first term was right for 5% (measured 2026-10-21). How we classify →
Wrong?
Tell us the study's main condition →

Sponsored by ALX Oncology Inc. · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

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Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
172
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Where this study stands

Counted across the records on this site · 2026-11-15

Among 1,099 studies in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck with a site in United States — 217 open to participants now, 347 under way, 28 of them phase 3. Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck · United States.

Enrollment
157th of 993
172 · median 41
Started
2021
with 75 others
Phase 2
359 of 1,099
58 open now
Primary completion
2025-03
later than 27 of 346 live
Registered
729th of 1,099
by date

Among the 1,099 studies in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck with a site in United States, this one is the 157th largest by enrollment of the 993 interventional ones that give a count, is one of 76 that started in 2021, is one of 359 in phase 2, reaches primary completion later than 27 of the 346 other live ones, and was the 729th registered.

Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck

2,019 studies on the registry are indexed under Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck; 573 are open to participants now.

Browse Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck studies →

Open to participants now

217 of the 1,099 studies in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck with a site in United States are open now. Recruiting first, the newest first:

212 more — sign in →

All 217 open studies →

A study can be open while its sites in United States have not opened yet or have stopped. Only those recruiting at a site in United States →

Who these studies take

Of the 435 Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck studies recruiting now, 311 (71%) set no upper age limit and 87 (20%) stop at 75 or younger; 5 take children under 18; 13 take healthy volunteers.

This study: 18 Years and older · all sexes · no healthy volunteers.

The full table on the hub →

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02

Study summary

A Phase 2 Study of evorpacept (ALX148) in Combination With pembrolizumab and Chemotherapy in Patients With Advanced Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Read the detailed description

This is a open-label, randomized phase 2 multi-center study of the anti-tumor efficacy of evorpacept (ALX148) + pembrolizumab + 5FU + platinum and of pembrolizumab + 5FU + platinum in patients with metastatic or unresectable, recurrent HNSCC who have not yet been treated for their advanced disease. The study comprises of an initial safety lead-in followed by a randomized portion.

03

Conditions studied

  • Head and Neck Cancer
  • Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Browse trials for

Keywords

  • ALX148
  • CD47
  • SIRPα
  • HNSCC
  • pembrolizumab
  • evorpacept
04

In context

Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck Reclassified

2,019 studies on the registry are indexed under Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck; 573 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 172 is above the median of 48 across 1,653 interventional studies indexed under Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck.

Browse Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck studies →

Lead sponsor

ALX Oncology Inc. is the lead sponsor of 9 studies on the registry; 2 are open to participants now.

Of its 5 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 0 (0%) have results posted.

Compared within Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck, this study's primary condition as ClinicalTrials.gg classifies it; the registry's first condition term is Head and Neck Neoplasms. The counts are of registry records indexed under each term, refreshed daily. How we classify →

05

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

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.

Inclusion criteria

  • Previously untreated or unresectable, recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
  • Adequate bone marrow function.
  • Adequate renal and liver function.
  • Adequate performance status.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with known symptomatic or requiring .
  • History of (non-infectious) pneumonitis that required steroids or current pneumonitis.
  • Prior treatment with any anti-7 or anti-SIRPα agent.
  • Prior treatment with or PD-L1.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(7)

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.

Metastases

Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.

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.

0
Fully active, no restrictions.
1
Limited in strenuous activity, but walking and able to do light work, such as housework or office work.
2
Walking and able to look after yourself, but unable to work; up and about more than half of waking hours.
3
Able to look after yourself only in part; in bed or a chair more than half of waking hours.
4
Unable to look after yourself at all; in bed or a chair all day.

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.

Brain metastases

Cancer deposits in the brain from a cancer that started elsewhere in the body (CNS metastases include the spinal cord).

Studies differ: some leave out any brain metastases, some accept ones treated and stable for some weeks. Check what this study allows.

Leptomeningeal disease

Cancer that has spread to the leptomeninges, the thin layers covering the brain and spinal cord, and the fluid between them. It is not the same as brain metastases.

Criteria often treat it separately, and many studies leave it out even where treated brain metastases are allowed.

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.

CD4 count

The number of CD4 cells, a type of white blood cell, in a given amount of blood. It is used to follow how well the immune system is doing in HIV.

PD-1, PD-L1 and checkpoint inhibitors

PD-1, PD-L1 and CTLA-4 are proteins that act as brakes on the immune system. Checkpoint inhibitors, such as pembrolizumab or nivolumab, block them so the immune system can attack a cancer.

PD-L1 can also be measured in a tumor sample. Some scores count stained tumor cells only (TPS); others also count certain immune cells (CPS). The study names the score and the minimum it uses.

06

Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
172 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    evorpacept (ALX148) + pembrolizumab + Chemotherapy

    evorpacept (ALX148) 45 mg/kg IV, pembrolizumab 200 mg IV, and chemotherapy given every 3 weeks.

    Drug: evorpacept · Drug: pembrolizumab · Drug: Cisplatin/Carboplatin; 5FU

  • Active comparator
    pembrolizumab + Chemotherapy

    pembrolizumab 200 mg IV and chemotherapy given every 3 weeks.

    Drug: pembrolizumab · Drug: Cisplatin/Carboplatin; 5FU

Interventions

07

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Objective response rate per RECIST 1.1

    Time frame: Last randomized patient reaching at least 24 weeks of follow-up

Secondary outcomes

  1. Duration of response

    Time frame: Up to 36 months

  2. Progression-free survival

    Time frame: Up to 36 months

  3. Overall survival

    Time frame: Up to 36 months

  4. Adverse events

    Time frame: Up to 36 months

08

Study locations

44 sites
09

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

10

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Ran from May 2021 to primary completion in Mar 2025, 45 months.

Of 68 industry-sponsored phase 2 interventional studies under Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck, half reached primary completion within 43 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 30 and three quarters within 60. This study's 45 months is close to that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 366 studies reached it within 53 months; a quarter within 35 and three quarters within 82.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Dec 15, 2020
First posted
Dec 19, 2020
StartActual
May 10, 2021
Primary completionActual
Mar 3, 2025
CompletionEst.
Jun 30, 2026
Last update
Aug 3, 2025
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 3, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
11

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04675333
Lead sponsor
ALX Oncology Inc.
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Dec 19, 2020
Start date
May 10, 2021
Primary completion
Mar 3, 2025
Completion
Jun 30, 2026 (estimated)
Last update
Aug 3, 2025

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is active, not recruiting, as verified in Jul 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

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Studies of the drug tested here: ALX148

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