Condition

Merkel Cell Carcinoma clinical trials and research

• 19Clinical trials
• 10NIH research projects
• 7Countries

Newest Merkel Cell Carcinoma clinical trials

All recruiting trials (19)

• Lifileucel (TIL) plus chemotherapy and IL-2 for advanced cutaneous squamous cell and Merkel cell carcinoma

  This trial will try lifileucel (tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes) combined with lymphodepleting chemotherapy and interleukin-2 in adults with unresectable or metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma or Merkel cell carcinoma who have previously received immunotherapy.

  Recruiting Phase 2 Dana-Farber Cancer Institute · Boston, Massachusetts · NCT07288073

• In-home cancer treatment with remote specialist support for patients in the Florida Panhandle

  This program will try giving standard cancer treatments at home to people living in the Florida Panhandle and nearby areas to see if they prefer it and have better treatment satisfaction.

  Recruiting Phase 2 Mayo Clinic · Jacksonville, Florida · NCT07285044

• Testing AZD6750 safety in adults with selected advanced or metastatic solid tumors

  This trial tests whether AZD6750, a CD8-guided IL-2 medicine given alone or with other cancer drugs, is safe and how it behaves in adults with certain advanced or metastatic solid tumors.

  Recruiting at 13 sites Phase 1/2 AstraZeneca · Grand Rapids, Michigan and 12 other locations · NCT07115043

• Phase I testing of 225Ac-ETN029 for advanced DLL3-positive tumors

  This trial will test 225Ac-ETN029, with 111In-ETN029 used for imaging, to see if the treatment is safe, tolerable, and shows early anti-tumor activity in adults with advanced DLL3-positive neuroendocrine cancers.

  Recruiting at 8 sites Phase 1 Novartis · Iowa City, Iowa and 7 other locations · NCT07006727

• Radiation plus tarlatamab for DLL3-expressing tumors

  This trial will test whether giving tarlatamab together with standard palliative or consolidative radiation is safe for adults with DLL3-expressing or DLL3-prevalent tumors such as melanoma, medullary thyroid cancer, sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma, esthesioneuroblastoma, and bladder cancer.

  Recruiting at 3 sites Phase 1/2 University of Arizona · Gilbert, Arizona and 2 other locations · NCT06814496

• Electrochemotherapy for unresectable visceral tumors including liver metastases

  This will try electrochemotherapy with bleomycin in adults who have unresectable primary or metastatic visceral tumors, such as liver metastases.

  Recruiting Istituto Oncologico Veneto IRCCS · Padova · NCT06753136

• Personalized immunotherapy platform for cancer treatment

  This study is testing a new way to identify melanoma and skin cancer patients who might not respond well to immunotherapy by analyzing their tumor samples.

  Recruiting at 3 sites Melanoma Institute Australia · Sydney, New South Wales and 2 other locations · NCT06536257

• Using EMLA cream to reduce pain during lymphoscintigraphy for skin cancer

  This study is testing if EMLA cream can help reduce pain for patients getting injections during a lymphoscintigraphy procedure for skin cancer.

  Recruiting Phase 2 Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center · Columbus, Ohio · NCT06223659

• Neoadjuvant immunotherapy for Merkel cell carcinoma

  This study is testing a combination of two immune treatments to see if they can help people with a type of skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma have better outcomes before surgery.

  Recruiting Phase 2 Melanoma Institute Australia · Wollstonecraft, New South Wales · NCT06151236

• Testing NEO212 for treating certain brain tumors and metastases

  This study is testing a new treatment called NEO212 for people with certain types of brain tumors to see if it is safe and effective when combined with standard treatments.

  Recruiting at 8 sites Phase 1/2 Neonc Technologies, Inc. · Beverly Hills, California and 7 other locations · NCT06047379

• Testing a new drug called CRD3874-SI for solid tumors

  This study is testing a new drug called CRD3874-SI to see if it is safe and what the best dose is for people with advanced solid tumors like sarcoma and Merkel Cell Carcinoma.

  Recruiting at 7 sites Phase 1 Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center · Basking Ridge, New Jersey and 6 other locations · NCT06021626

• MQ710 with or without pembrolizumab for advanced skin and other solid tumors

  This will test different doses of MQ710, alone or together with pembrolizumab, in adults with advanced or recurrent solid tumors (including skin cancers) to find a safe dose with mild side effects.

  Recruiting at 5 sites Phase 1 Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center · Basking Ridge, New Jersey and 6 other locations · NCT05859074

• Combining immunotherapy and radioactive treatment for Merkel cell cancer

  This study is testing if combining an immunotherapy drug with a radioactive treatment can help people with Merkel cell cancer who haven't responded to previous immunotherapy.

  Recruiting at 3 sites Phase 2 Weill Medical College of Cornell University · Duarte, California and 3 other locations · NCT05583708

• Using pembrolizumab before surgery for Merkel cell carcinoma

  This study is testing if giving the drug pembrolizumab before surgery can help people with Merkel cell carcinoma by shrinking their tumors and reducing the chance of cancer coming back.

  Recruiting Phase 2 Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · NCT05496036

• Using hypofractionated radiation therapy to treat Merkel cell carcinoma

  This study is testing a new way of giving radiation therapy to see if it can help people with Merkel cell carcinoma while making treatment easier and more convenient.

  Recruiting Phase 2 M.D. Anderson Cancer Center · Houston, Texas · NCT05100095

• Oncolytic virus treatment combined with nivolumab for advanced solid tumors

  This study is testing a new virus treatment combined with an existing cancer drug to see if it can help people with advanced solid tumors, like lung cancer, whose cancer has not improved with previous treatments.

  Recruiting Phase 1 Memgen, Inc. · Tampa, Florida and 1 other locations · NCT05076760

• Using Cemiplimab before surgery for skin cancers

  This study is testing if giving a new immunotherapy drug before surgery can help people with certain types of skin cancer have better outcomes.

  Recruiting Phase 1 H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute · Tampa, Florida · NCT04975152

• National database for rare skin cancers in France

  This study is trying to gather information from patients with rare skin cancers in France to better understand these conditions and see how different treatments affect their outcomes.

  Recruiting at 34 sites University Hospital, Lille · Dijon, Dijon and 33 other locations · NCT03210935

• Using donor T cells to treat cancer patients with BK and JC viruses

  This study is testing if infusions of special immune cells from donors can help cancer patients with BK or JC virus infections feel better and fight their illness.

  Recruiting Phase 2 M.D. Anderson Cancer Center · Houston, Texas · NCT02479698

NIH-funded research (10)

Early-stage science funded by the US National Institutes of Health. Most of these projects don't enroll patients, but they show what is being worked on.

• Immunobiology and Immunotherapy for Merkel Cell Carcinoma

  A team at the University of Washington is advancing how the immune system fights a rare skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma and testing new immune-based treatments to help patients who don’t respond to existing therapies.

  NIH research University of Washington · Seattle, United States · NIH-11379947

• New therapies for Merkel cell carcinoma and its immune environment

  A cancer grant is testing a drug that may boost immune therapies and help patients with Merkel cell carcinoma who don’t respond to current treatments.

  NIH research Southern California Inst for Res/educ · Long Beach, UNITED STATES · NIH-11349647

• Understanding how Merkel cell skin cancer develops

  This research explores how a specific virus causes Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare and aggressive skin cancer.

  NIH research University of Arizona · Tucson, United States · NIH-11136473

• New treatments for Merkel cell carcinoma

  This research looks for new ways to treat Merkel cell carcinoma, a serious skin cancer, especially for patients who don't respond to current therapies.

  NIH research Southern California Inst for Res/educ · Long Beach, UNITED STATES · NIH-11123323

• Immune therapies for Merkel cell carcinoma

  This project develops and tests new immune-based treatments to help people with Merkel cell carcinoma, especially those whose cancers no longer respond to PD‑1 drugs.

  NIH research University of Washington · Seattle, United States · NIH-11094603

• Investigating a new treatment for Merkel cell carcinoma

  This study is looking at a type of skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma, especially in older Veterans, to see how a specific protein affects the cancer and to test a new treatment that could help those who can't use current therapies.

  NIH research Veterans Health Administration · Long Beach, United States · NIH-11044103

• Understanding why some patients with Merkel cell carcinoma resist immunotherapy

  This study is looking into why some people with Merkel cell carcinoma, a tough type of skin cancer, don’t respond well to immunotherapy, and it hopes to find clues that could help improve treatment for those patients.

  NIH research Northwestern University at Chicago · Chicago, United States · NIH-11031967

• Understanding how Merkel cell carcinoma develops

  This study is looking into how a virus can cause Merkel cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, by changing normal cells into cancerous ones, and it aims to find new ways to understand and treat this condition better.

  NIH research University of Arizona · Tucson, United States · NIH-10911200

• Investigating how B cells respond to Merkel cell carcinoma

  This study is looking at how certain immune cells called B cells can help fight Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare skin cancer, especially in patients with advanced stages of the disease who are receiving immunotherapy, to find ways to improve treatment results.

  NIH research Harvard Medical School · Boston, United States · NIH-10890976

• Finding new treatments for Merkel cell carcinoma

  This study is looking for new ways to treat Merkel cell carcinoma, a tough skin cancer, by testing a drug called fimepinostat to see if it can work better on its own or with other immune treatments, helping patients who have limited options.

  NIH research Southern California Inst for Res/educ · Long Beach, UNITED STATES · NIH-10880444

Related topics

Quick answers

How many Merkel Cell Carcinoma clinical trials are recruiting right now?

19, as of November 12, 2026. We update this list each time we refresh our data from ClinicalTrials.gov.

Where are these trials running?

In 7 countries. The most sites are in United States (15 trials), Australia (3 trials), Japan (2 trials), South Korea (2 trials), Canada (1 trial). Each study page lists its sites and which ones are recruiting.

What phases are they in?

Phase 2: 8, Phase 1: 5, Phase 1/2: 3. Trials with no phase listed are usually device, behavioural or observational studies.

How do I join one?

Open a study, check the "Is this trial a fit for you?" section, then contact the study team listed on the page. They will ask a few screening questions. Asking is free and does not commit you to anything. Talk it over with your doctor first.

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