Oncodrivers in Malignant Pleural Effusions Associated With Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: A Prospective Study.

June 19, 2026 updated by: Naestved Hospital

The Prevalence of Oncodrivers in Malignant Pleural Effusions Associated With Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: A Prospective Study.

Oncological treatment of patients with disseminated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is depending on the status of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), so called oncodrivers. These can be measured in pleural fluid, but the prevalence is uncertain. In a prospective study, the research team aim to measure PD-L1, ALK and EGFR in patients with pleural fluid cytology positive for NSCLC to report the prevalence. Also, the study will investigate if the chance of obtaining oncodriver status is depending on the volume analysed and how the lack of oncodrivers influence the following work-up.

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.

Detailed Description

The study is a prospective, non-randomized, cohort study of patients with pleural effusion. Participants will be recruited from patients referred to the Pleura Clinic or admitted at the ward at the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Næstved Hospital, Næstved or at the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Zealand University Hospital, Roskilde, which is the two regional centres for workup of pleural effusions. Patients will be referred from either general practice or other hospital departments.

Pleural fluids with cytology positive for NSCLC will be tested for oncodrivers (for squamous cell carcinomas (SCC): PD-L1, for adenocarcinomas (AC): PD-L1, ALK and EGFR).

Follow-up will be 8 weeks after inclusion.

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.
100

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 Locations

  • Denmark
    • Region Sjælland
      • Næstved, Region Sjælland, Denmark, 4700
        • Recruiting
        • Næstved Sygehus, department of pulmonary medicine
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
          • Uffe Bødtger, MD, PhD

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

14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age ≥ 18 years
  • Pleural effusion known or suspected of association with NSCLC (pleural fluid cytology positive for cells from NSCLC)
  • Patients must be able to give informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Full oncodriver status measured in any pleural fluid in current work-up
  • Inability to understand written or spoken Danish.

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: Diagnostic
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

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
Prevalence of oncodriver status
Time Frame: assessed at 8 weeks follow-up
Prevalence of oncodriver status (for squamous cell carcinomas (SCC): PD-L1, for adenocarcinomas (AC): PD-L1, ALK and EGFR) in pleural fluid in patients with cytology positive for pulmonary NSCLC
assessed at 8 weeks follow-up

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
Proportion of adequate and inadequate pleural fluid specimens
Time Frame: assessed at 8-week follow-up
assessed at 8-week follow-up
Amounts of pleural fluid sent for analysis
Time Frame: assessed at 8-week follow-up
Meassured in mL.
assessed at 8-week follow-up
Correlation between amounts of pleural fluid sent to the pathologist and the chance of obtaining oncodriver status
Time Frame: assessed at 8-week follow-up
assessed at 8-week follow-up
Number and type of additional diagnostic interventions including additional thoracentesis and cytological or histological biopsies
Time Frame: assessed at 8-week follow-up
assessed at 8-week follow-up
Prevalence of oncodriver status in additional diagnostic interventions
Time Frame: assessed at 8-week follow-up
assessed at 8-week follow-up
- Correlation between oncodriver status obtained in pleural fluid specimens and cytological or histological biopsies
Time Frame: assessed at 8-week follow-up
assessed at 8-week follow-up
- Proportion of work-ups where the lack of obtained oncodriver status in pleural fluid specimens leads to additional diagnostic interventions including additional thoracentesis and cytological or histological biopsies
Time Frame: assessed at 8-week follow-up
assessed at 8-week follow-up
- Proportion of work-ups where full oncodriver-status was obtained at the second thoracentesis
Time Frame: assessed at 8-week follow-up
assessed at 8-week follow-up
- Proportion of patients with pleural fluid cytology negative of NSCLC, who is diagnosed with NSCLC.
Time Frame: assessed at 8-week follow-up
assessed at 8-week follow-up
Patient assessed pain during thoracentesis
Time Frame: at day 1, 2 minutes after thoracentesis
assessed by a questionnaire containing a VAS (Visual Analogue Scale, scale 0-10, 0 being no pain, 10 being the worse pain)
at day 1, 2 minutes after thoracentesis
Proportion of patients experiencing pneumothorax
Time Frame: assessed at day 1, 10 minutes after thoracentesis and 8-week follow-up by evaluating the patient file
assessed at day 1, 10 minutes after thoracentesis and 8-week follow-up by evaluating the patient file
Proportion of patients experiencing bleeding
Time Frame: assessed at day 1, 10 minutes after thoracentesis and 8-week follow-up
assessed at day 1, 10 minutes after thoracentesis and 8-week follow-up
Proportion of complications leading to admission
Time Frame: assessed at 8-week follow-up
assessed by evaluating the patient file
assessed at 8-week follow-up

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.
Naestved Hospital

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.
March 15, 2021

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 31, 2028

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 31, 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).
March 16, 2021

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.
March 16, 2021

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.
March 19, 2021

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.
June 24, 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.
June 19, 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.
December 1, 2025

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.
  • SJ-889

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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