Plasma Radiofrequency Ablation at Low Temperature Versus Electrocautery Block Resection at High Frequency for Localized Recurrent Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

May 5, 2026 updated by: Ming-Yuan Chen, Sun Yat-sen University

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Plasma Radiofrequency Ablation at Low Temperature Versus Electrocautery Block Resection at High Frequency for Localized Recurrent Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

This study aims at exploring whether plasma radiofrequency ablation at low temperature is associated with better survival outcome in localized recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma by conducting a randomized controlled trial of plasma radiofrequency ablation at low temperature versus electrocautery block resection at high frequency for localized recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma. If the hypothesis is confirmed, it is expected to provide a convenient choice for the surgical treatment of localized recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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.

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.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

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.
500

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • China
    • Guangdong
      • Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510060
        • Recruiting
        • Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Ming-Yuan Chen, Prof.
      • Zhuhai, Guangdong, China, 519000
        • Recruiting
        • The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
    • Jiangxi
      • Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
        • Recruiting
        • The Nanchang Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University (Nanchang First Hospital)
        • Contact:

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 to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. At least 6 months disease free interval (defined as duration between the initial course of radiotherapy and recurrence)
  2. Histopathologically diagnosed with undifferentiated or differentiated, nonkeratinizing nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
  3. Resectable recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma: rT1-3N0-3M0 A) The tumor is confined to the nasopharyngeal mucosa, or the surface of the parapharyngeal space, or the bottom wall of the sphenoid sinus, and is more than 0.5cm away from the internal carotid artery B) The cervical lymph node lesions do not infiltrate the cervical spine, brachial plexus, cervical muscles, and internal carotid artery.
  4. Age: 18-70 years old.
  5. Subjects must sign an informed consent form.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Karnofsky score (KPS)≤70.
  2. Has known Subjects with other malignant tumors.
  3. Has seriously mental disease.
  4. Uncontrolled clinically significant heart disease and Pulmonary dysfunction.
  5. Pregnancy or breast feeding.

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

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
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.
Experimental: Plasma radiofrequency ablation arm
Plasma radiofrequency ablation at low temperature for localized recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Procedure: Plasma radiofrequency ablation
Under the guidance of nasal endoscope, the nasopharyngeal tumor and its sufficient safety margin are completely removed through the bilateral nasal cavity. Then investigators use plasma radiofrequency ablation at low temperature to ablate the tumor tissue and normal tissue of the margin along the upper and lower surgical margin until no obvious tumor remained under the naked eye.
Active Comparator: Electrocautery block resection arm
Electrocautery block resection at high frequency for localized recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Procedure: Electrocautery block resection
Under the guidance of nasal endoscope, the nasopharyngeal tumor and its sufficient safety margin are continuously and completely removed through the bilateral nasal cavity. Then investigators separate the posterior part of the nasal cavity and the top wall of the nasopharynx along the bone of the nasopharyngeal fornix, cut the pharyngeal suture, and cut the two sides along the edge of the carina, and then merge along the anterior vertebral muscle surface to the midline incision. Along the the soft palate under the inferior margin, investigators horizontally cut the mucosa of the posterior wall of the nasopharynx, and completely frees the entire soft tissue of the posterior wall of the nasopharynx.

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
Measure Description
Time Frame
Progression-free survival
Time Frame: 2 years

Time from randomisation to the date of disease progression or death from any causes.

whichever came first.
2 years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Overall survival
Time Frame: 2 years
Time from randomisation to the date of death from any causes. whichever came first.
2 years
Loco-regional relapse-free survival
Time Frame: 2 years
Time from randomisation to the date of loco-regional recurrence.
2 years
Distant metastasis-free survival
Time Frame: 2 years
Time from randomisation to the date of distant metastasis.
2 years
Incidence of surgery related complications
Time Frame: 1 year
the proportion of patients with surgery related complications
1 year
Score of survival quality according to the EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ)-C30 (V3.0)
Time Frame: 1 year
Score of survival quality according to the EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ)-C30 (V3.0) before surgery, at the end of surgery, at 3 months after surgery, and at 6 months after surgery.
1 year
Score of survival quality according to the EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire Head and Neck (The QLQ-H&N35)
Time Frame: 1 year
Score of survival quality according to the EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire Head and Neck (The QLQ-H&N35) before surgery, at the end of surgery, at 3 months after surgery, and at 6 months after surgery.
1 year

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.
Sun Yat-sen University

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 30, 2020

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
December 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
December 1, 2028

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 4, 2020

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 8, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

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 11, 2020

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.
May 8, 2026

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.
May 5, 2026

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.
May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

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.
  • SYSUCC-CMY-2020-2301

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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