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Testing the Addition of the Immune Therapy Drugs, Tocilizumab and Atezolizumab, to Radiation Therapy for Recurrent Glioblastoma

Trial Status: closed to accrual

This phase II trial studies the best dose and effect of tocilizumab in combination with atezolizumab and stereotactic radiation therapy in treating glioblastoma patients whose tumor has come back after initial treatment (recurrent). Tocilizumab is a monoclonal antibody that binds to receptors for a protein called interleukin-6 (IL-6), which is made by white blood cells and other cells in the body as well as certain types of cancer. This may help lower the body’s immune response and reduce inflammation. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as atezolizumab, may help the body’s immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Fractionated stereotactic radiation therapy uses special equipment to precisely deliver multiple, smaller doses of radiation spread over several treatment sessions to the tumor. The goal of this study is to change a tumor that is unresponsive to cancer therapy into a more responsive one. Therapy with fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy in combination with tocilizumab may suppress the inhibitory effect of immune cells surrounding the tumor and consequently allow an immunotherapy treatment by atezolizumab to activate the immune response against the tumor. Combination therapy with tocilizumab, atezolizumab and fractionated stereotactic radiation therapy may shrink or stabilize the cancer better than radiation therapy alone in patients with recurrent glioblastoma.