The Utility of Circulating Tumour Cells and Plasma microRNA in Esophageal Adenocarcinoma

March 7, 2024 updated by: University Health Network, Toronto

The Utility of Circulating Tumour Cells and Plasma microRNA Detection to Predict the Response to Treatment in Patients With Esophageal Adenocarcinoma

Circulating microRNA (circ miRNA) and circulating tumor cell (CTC) levels are hypothesized to be associated with response to chemoradiation in patients undergoing treatment for locally advanced esophageal adenocarcinoma.

The goal of this project is to assess the use of circulating microRNA (miRNA) and circulating tumour cells (CTC) as biomarkers of cancer and predictive markers for neoadjuvant therapy.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Recently, different groups have discovered that miRNAs can be detected in body fluids such as plasma, serum or saliva. These cell-free miRNAs are secreted by cells under different forms. Levels of these circulating miRNAs (circ miRNA), like tissue miRNA, were closely related to pathologies and could be used as diagnostic or prognostic tools for several pathologies, including cancer. Furthermore, a recent report showed that circ miRNAs released by tumor cells have the ability to transfer their metastatic potential to nonmetastatic cells. The detection and analysis of circulating miRNA represent a new step towards non-invasive diagnostic screening and early cancer detection.

Circulating tumor cells also hold promise as biological markers, which can be assessed noninvasively. As more than 90% of cancer deaths are associated with metastasis, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms of dissemination of cancer cells. During the past decade, a multitude of techniques have been developed to track down and to characterize CTC. Clinical studies in various cancers reveal the potential of CTC as prognostic and predictive markers. The characterization of CTC will help to design personalized treatment to eradicate the sub-clones of the primary tumour, which give rise to metastasis. Also, the numbers of CTC in patient blood can be followed to monitor the efficacy of the neoadjuvant treatment.

Most of the research in esophageal cancer has been done on squamous cell cancer as this is the dominant cell type worldwide. However, beginning the in 1980s Esophageal Adenocarcinoma (EAC) has increased in frequency such that it now represents 80% of esophageal cancer in North America and Europe. There is an urgent need to develop new techniques and diagnostic tests to combat EAC. By combining circ miRNA and CTC, we not only combine 2 promising clinical biomarkers, we will also be able to access new data that will complement tissue biopsy data. Furthermore, by acquiring a blood sample during various time points of patient treatment, we will be able to create a dynamic CTC and circ miRNA profile.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
84

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Ontario
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G 2C4
        • University Health Network

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Esophageal Cancer Patients vs Healthy Volunteers

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who are at least 18 years of age
  • Patients with Esophageal Adenocarcinoma who will undergo neo-adjuvant therapy with surgical resection.
  • Patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma who will be treated with chemotherapy, chemotherapy and radiation or radiation alone OR
  • Healthy volunteers who are at least 18 years of age

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who are treated with surgery alone for esophageal cancer
  • Patients who have a history of invasive cancer

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Esophageal Cancer Patients - Blood Draw
Look at blood samples to assess the use of circulating microRNA (miRNA) and circulating tumour cells (CTC) as biomarkers of cancer and predictive markers for neoadjuvant therapy in patients with Esophageal Adenocarcinoma.
Other: Blood Draw
Blood draw to assess the use of circulating microRNA (miRNA) and circulating tumour cells (CTC) as biomarkers of cancer and predictive markers for neoadjuvant therapy.
Healthy volunteers - Blood Draw
Comparators for the esophageal cancer group
Other: Blood Draw
Blood draw to assess the use of circulating microRNA (miRNA) and circulating tumour cells (CTC) as biomarkers of cancer and predictive markers for neoadjuvant therapy.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Circulating microRNA (miRNA) as biomarkers of cancer and predictive markers for neoadjuvant therapy by using Human miRNA cards
Time Frame: 2 years
2 years
Circulating tumour cells (CTC) as biomarkers of cancer and predictive markers for neoadjuvant therapy by using CTC chips
Time Frame: 2 years
2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University Health Network, Toronto

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Gail E Darling, MD, University Health Network, Toronto

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 1, 2016

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
November 1, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
November 1, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 14, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 23, 2016

First Posted (Estimated)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 24, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 8, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 7, 2024

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 15-9303-CE

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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