Mass General - Division of Clinical Research

This study will evaluate the safety of infusion of the investigational cord blood units by carefully documenting all infusion-related problems.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2012

open study

This trial is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ficerafusp alfa in combination with pembrolizumab prior to surgical resection in participants with resectable, high-risk, locoregionally advanced, PD-L1-positive squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC). The names of the study drugs used in this research study are: - ficerafusp alfa (a type of bifunctional antibody and recombinant fusion protein) - pembrolizumab (a type of monoclonal antibody)

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 2026

open study

This study will examine how two important brain circuits - one involving the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and one involving the ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus (VIM) - contribute to learning and producing speech sequences. Participants will include two groups: 1. individuals with Parkinson's disease who have deep brain stimulation (DBS) devices targeting the STN and 2. individuals with essential tremor who have DBS devices targeting the VIM. Participants will complete speech tasks involving the learning and repetition of novel sound sequences. During some parts of the study, DBS stimulation will be temporarily turned on or off in a controlled research setting. This will allow researchers to examine how stimulation affects both the learning of new speech sequences and the production of previously learned sequences. All STN participants and most VIM participants will also be equipped with a cutting-edge DBS system, the Percept PC, which will enable the recording of deep brain activity during the tasks. The results of this study will improve our understanding of how different brain circuits support speech learning and production. In particular, this study will help to differentiate the roles of the STN and VIM in learning the ordering of speech sounds within a syllable from learning of speech sequences containing multiple syllables. This knowledge may help guide future approaches to optimizing DBS settings to improve both movement and speech outcomes in individuals with neurological disorders, as well as provide greater general insight into how these brain structures contribute to speech production and learning.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2026

open study

The goal of this study is to determine the feasibility and impact of delivering long-acting injectable cabotegravir HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis and suite of support services to adults who inject non-prescription drugs who are risk for HIV through known sexual risk.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2026

open study

This study explores how a physical activity program can affect hormone health and diabetes risk in girls ages 8-12 who may be at higher risk. The study aims to address: - Does the 'ActiveGirls' program meet the needs of girls and families in engaging them to increase physical activity? - What is the trend of markers of diabetes risk and puberty hormones over a 1-year period and how are these levels related to physical activity levels? Participants in this study will either: - Participate in a 'full' intensity intervention that includes educational messages (text/email) as well as health coaching visits to support physical activity over a 6 month period - Participate in a delayed 'lower intensity' intervention that includes only educational messages (text/email) - Participants in both groups will complete at-home activity monitoring, two study visits for check-ups and tests, and surveys

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Nov 2025

open study

Perioperative fasting has historically been viewed as a low-risk intervention. However, preliminary data indicate that perioperative loss of nutrition and fluids is likely harmful. This study intends to characterize perioperative fasting practices and their potential effects on clinical outcomes through possible effects on patient well-being (anxiety, hunger, thirst), physiology (hypovolemia, hypotension), perioperative aspiration, etc. The research team hypothesized that in addition to known adverse effects on patients' well-being, prolonged preoperative fasting adversely affects circulating blood volume-related (hypotension, decreased urine output etc.) and glucose metabolism-related (e.g., hypo/hyperglycemia) perioperative physiology. The investigators will also test for an association between the duration of preoperative fasting and the risk of perioperative pulmonary aspiration. Additional knowledge on the potential adverse effects of preoperative fasting will inform preoperative fasting policies and research interventions that are relevant to hundreds of millions of patients subjected to preoperative/preprocedural fasting worldwide each year.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Jan 2016

open study

The investigator aims to conduct a feasibility randomized controlled trial (RCT) (N=50) to test the feasibility, acceptability, and credibility of an asynchronous web-based mind-body intervention (Toolkit for Resilient Life beyond Pain and Substance Use; Web-TIRELESS) versus web-based minimally enhanced usual care (Web-MEUC) among adult patients with a painful non-traumatic upper-extremity condition(s) (PNUC) and commorbid risky substance use. Deliverables: [1] Adapt and refine open pilot protocol, patient recruitment, and other study materials. [2] Assess the feasibility, acceptability, and credibility of Web-TIRELESS and Web-MEUC in preparation for future research.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2025

open study

Tenapanor is the newest FDA-approved drug for IBS with constipation (IBS-C). This study seeks to understand tenapanor as a treatment for cystic fibrosis-related constipation (CFrC) in CF patients. Participants will ingest one 50 mg tablet of tenapanor, twice daily, for a 4-week treatment period. They will also complete three questionnaires, the PAC-SYM, PAC-QoL, and IBS-SSS, and daily diaries to characterize GI symptom burden and spontaneous bowel movement (SBM) frequency.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2025

open study

Sleep disturbances, cognitive reserve, and continuing pain and inflammation are other risk factors contributing to delirium (confusion and agitation) and neurocognitive decline (in the long term) following heart surgery. Investigators aim to test a bundle of sleep optimization, cognitive exercise before surgery, and extended pain relief for 48 hours with intravenous acetaminophen combined with enhanced recovery after surgery protocols (SCOPE bundle). SCOPE will fill significant gaps in evidence by testing the value of a patient and care-provider-focused intervention that can potentially minimize POD and improve outcomes (cognitive & physical function, sleep quality, pain, depression or anxiety, and survival) important to patients and families. The SCOPE trial will address many heart surgery outcome-related questions commonly asked by patients: What can I do to reduce my chances of developing confusion, hallucinations, or delirium after surgery? How can I best prepare before surgery to improve my long-term health and avoid disability? Are there exercises I can participate in that improve my sleep, pain, and mood after surgery? Intellectual pursuits, physical activity, and social interactions support cognitive reserve, while poor health, poor sleep hygiene, poor nutrition, and mental health disease can diminish reserve. Various interventions with different intensities and timing to augment cognitive reserve have been associated with positive outcomes on neuropsychological testing. Adaptive video gaming for as little as 10 hours leads to the maintenance of independence in activities of daily living and sustained improvements in speed of processing, attention, and working memory in older people. Likely through the increased cognitive reserve, perioperative brain exercise aims to protect against morbid cognitive recovery after surgery. Sleep is vital for memory and cognitive function. Poor sleep traits in older adults that are potentially modifiable, including short/long duration, daytime napping, and associated sleepiness, led to an almost 2-fold increase in delirium risk. Patients will complete an evidence-based course on healthy sleep habits and will complete guided exercises designed to restructure behaviors and thinking. They are encouraged to follow a set of recommendations to improve their sleep (e.g., optimal sleep duration, advice for habits such as daytime napping, maintaining a regular sleep schedule, avoiding caffeine, regular daylight exposure, dimming lights or electronics and relaxation and thought exercises for optimal sleep); many of these sleep behaviors have been strongly linked to increased risk for cognitive decline. Investigators propose that sleep optimization before AND after (an established best practice sleep bundle) surgical insult will contribute to cognitive reserve leading to decreased delirium risk and key patient-centered outcomes (postoperative sleep, pain, cognition, mood, and survival). Inadequate pain relief and opioids are both risk factors for delirium. Surgery on the chest is a significant pain source. Approximately 30-75% of patients suffer from moderate to severe pain in the postoperative period. Almost half of the patients have severe pain at rest, and three-quarters have severe pain during coughing and movement. Pain and inflammation are closely biochemically linked. Sleep, brain exercise, and adequate pain control with opioid-sparing can be additive or synergistic interventions to prevent delirium following heart surgery. Investigators propose three specific aims by conducting a 1:1 randomized controlled trial in 406 heart surgery patients 60 or older undergoing heart surgery. They will be administered perioperative sleep optimization, brain exercise training, and intravenous acetaminophen over 48 hours. A trained expert will administer the sleep and cognitive exercise protocols at least two weeks before surgery. This expert will handhold the patients for two weeks until the surgery. Thus, the gains made before surgery with better sleep quality and improved brain reserve will be sustained with postoperative pain control to lower the ongoing inflammation. Through this trial, investigators will evaluate if the SCOPE bundle can reduce 1) in-hospital delirium, 2) long-term (one, six, and twelve months) cognitive, physical, and self-care function, and 3) barriers to implementation of this bundle. Currently, no options are routinely available to patients to optimize their sleep and cognition before cardiac surgery. The proposed research is significant because it will be the first to test the bundled behavioral intervention approach (sleep optimization, brain exercise) before surgery with extended, scheduled pain management with non-opioids following surgery. The SCOPE trial will yield relevant and immediately actionable data to improve care for over 900,000 adults in the U.S. each year.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2025

open study

The purpose of this study is to measure the clinical benefits of the combination of RP2 and nivolumab as compared with the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma who have not been treated with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2024

open study

This is a two-part, open-label, multicenter, dose escalation and dose expansion study designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PDx), and anti- tumor activity of ETX-19477, a novel reversible small molecule inhibitor of PARG.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2024

open study

This is a Phase 1, multicenter, open-label dose escalation study to determine the safety and tolerability of intratumoral (IT) injection of tolododekin alfa (ANK-101) in participants with advanced solid tumors who have progressed during or after receiving standard of care (SOC) therapy or who will not benefit from such therapy. The study will be conducted in three parts; in Part 1, participants with superficial lesions will receive ANK-101 as a single agent; in Part 2, participants with visceral lesions will receive ANK-101 as a single agent; and in Part 3, participants with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) will receive ANK-101 in combination with cemiplimab.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2024

open study

In adults with obesity seeking treatment, weight loss would ideally be composed almost exclusively of fat mass. However, loss of muscle mass and bone are unintentional consequences of weight loss, which may have negative effects on health by lessening improvements in glucose and insulin levels, reducing resting metabolic rate, and increasing the risk of falls and fractures. Data in animals and humans suggest that bimagrumab, an investigational new drug for obesity that inhibits the activin type II receptor (ActRII) inhibitor, may help maximize loss of fat mass while maintaining muscle mass when used in combination with a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA). The investigators hypothesize that in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 63 adults with obesity randomized to tirzepatide (GLP-1/GIP RA) + bimagrumab, tirzepatide alone, or bimagrumab alone, the combination of tirzepatide + bimagrumab will result in improvements in muscle, fat, and bone compared to tirzepatide alone or bimagrumab alone when given in addition to a lifestyle intervention for weight loss over 52 weeks.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Nov 2025

open study

This is a phase I, First-in-Human (FIH), open-label study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetic (PK) profile, and preliminary efficacy of RGT-419B administered orally as monotherapy OR in combination with Hormonal Therapy in subjects with HR+, HER2- locally advanced and unresectable (Stage III) or metastatic (Stage IV) breast cancer whose disease has progressed during prior therapy with an approved CDK4/6i plus hormonal therapy.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 2022

open study

Comorbid Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) may be one factor that limits speech development in some minimally verbal children with autism. CAS is a disorder affecting speech movement planning. This study tests whether CAS-specific treatment, appropriately modified for minimally verbal children with autism, improves their speech.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2024

open study

This is an open-label, dose escalation and expansion study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, PK, and biological activity of VT3989 administered, alone or in combination, once daily in patients with mesothelioma and/or metastatic solid tumors that are resistant to standard therapy or for which no effective standard therapy is available.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 2021

open study

The Phase 2 monotherapy portion of this study is currently enrolling and will evaluate the efficacy and safety of PC14586 (INN rezatapopt) in participants with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors harboring a TP53 Y220C mutation. The Phase 1 portion of the study will assess the safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of multiple dose levels of rezatapopt as monotherapy and in Phase 1b in combination with pembrolizumab.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Oct 2020

open study

The investigators propose a home hospital model of care that substitutes for treatment in an acute care hospital. Limited studies of the home hospital model have demonstrated that a sizeable proportion of acute care can be delivered in the home with equal quality and safety, reduced cost, and improved patient experience.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2018

open study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety of CC-97540 in relapsed or refractory severe antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2026

open study

Perform a feasibility study on imagined acupuncture treatment of Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN)

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2026

open study

In this clinical trial, the safety, tolerability, and preliminary antitumor activity of ziftomenib in combination with imatinib will be evaluated in adults with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) who have been treated previously with imatinib.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 2025

open study

This is a non-interventional, prospective, post authorization safety study. Patients with gMG who are expected to start treatment with efgartigimod at enrolment or are within their first cycle of efgartigimod at enrolment will be eligible to enroll into the efgartigimod cohort. Patients with gMG who have not been exposed to efgartigimod and for whom it is not planned to start treatment with efgartigimod at enrolment will be eligible to enroll into the non-efgartigimod cohort.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Nov 2024

open study

Develop an appropriate real-world data comparator cohort to support the design, execution, and serve as an external control for interventional clinical trials in PSC.

Type: Observational

Start Date: May 2024

open study

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine whether an upfront invasive strategy of TEVAR plus medical therapy reduces the occurrence of a composite endpoint of all-cause death or major aortic complications compared to an upfront conservative strategy of medical therapy with surveillance for deterioration in patients with uncomplicated type B aortic dissection.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Apr 2024

open study

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare engagement in treatment in coordinated specialty care (CSC) to five extra care elements (CSC 2.0) in first-episode psychosis. The main question it aims to answer is: • Does the addition of certain elements of care increase the number of visits in treatment for first-episode psychosis? Participants will either: - Receive care as usual (CSC) or - Receive care as usual (CSC) plus five additional care elements (CSC 2.0): 1. Individual peer support 2. Digital outreach 3. Care coordination 4. Multi-family group therapy 5. Cognitive remediation Researchers will compare the standard of care (CSC) to CSC 2.0 to see if participants receiving CSC 2.0 have more visits to their clinic in their first year.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2024

open study