Endoscopic Radiofrequency Ablation Versus Hybrid Argon Plasma Coagulation in the Treatment of Barrett's Esophagus (RATE)

September 29, 2025 updated by: Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education

Endoscopic Radiofrequency Ablation Versus Hybrid Argon Plasma Coagulation in the Treatment of Barrett's Esophagus - the Patients' Perspective: a Randomized Controlled Trial Assessing Procedural Acceptability and Safety (RATE Study)

This study compares patients' acceptability and safety of two established endoscopic methods for treating dysplastic Barrett's esophagus: radiofrequency ablation versus hybrid argon plasma coagulation.

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

Both endoscopic radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and argon plasma coagulation (APC) are established treatment modalities for dysplastic Barrett's esophagus. Recently, a modification of the APC method has emerged, which involves a submucosal injection of saline preceding the thermal ablation (hybrid-APC; h-APC). This allows to increase the procedure's safety and presumably reduces the patients' post-procedural discomfort. Although both RFA and h-APC are characterized by high effectiveness in eradicating Barrett's segments, limited data compares the patient-related aspects of the procedures. To fill this knowledge gap, we set out a single-center randomized-controlled trial to compare procedural acceptability, safety, and impact on the quality of life, of the two methods.

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 (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.
62

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

  • Name: Jaroslaw Regula, MD, PhD
  • Phone Number: +48 546-23-28
  • Email: jregula@coi.pl

Study Locations

  • Poland
      • Warsaw, Poland, 02-781
        • Medical Centre for Postgraduate Education

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 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Male or female subjects over 18 years
  • Histologically and endoscopically proven Barrett's esophagus requiring ablation therapy according to the current guidelines
  • General health status sufficient to perform an endoscopic procedure (ASA I-III)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Primary or secondary coagulopathy, with INR>1.5 and/or platelet count of <75,000.
  • Anticoagulation therapy (e.g. warfarin) for high-risk condition and unable to withhold the medication temporarily
  • Recent myocardial infraction or other significant cardiovascular event within 6 months prior to recruitment
  • Patients under long-term care and/or within nursing facilities (e.g. psychosocial disorders, mental retardation)
  • Any history of esophageal resection surgery
  • Esophageal varices

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: Single

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.
Active Comparator: radiofrequency ablation
Circumferential ablation with radiofrequency ablation will be performed for each segment of the BE starting from the proximal end with one ablation at 12J/cm2, followed by cleaning of mucosal slough with esophageal cap, patient extubation, cleaning of ablation device with wet gauze, and finally a second ablation at 12 J/cm2 (1 × 12J/cm2-clean-1 × 12 J/cm2). Focal ablations will be performed with three consecutive ablations at 12 J/cm2 without cleaning (simplified protocol).
Procedure: Endoscopic radiofrequency ablation
Endoscopic ablation technique for Barrett's epithelium
Active Comparator: hybrid argon plasma coagulation
Patients in the Hybrid argon plasma coagulation group will be treated with a single ablation per session with a power limitation of 60 W (pulsed mode (VIO® 300 D & APC 2, PULSED APC®, Effect 2). No scraping with the endoscope cap and second ablation will be performed.
Procedure: Endoscopic hybrid argon plasma coagulation
Endoscopic ablation technique for Barrett's epithelium

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
Level of post-procedural pain
Time Frame: Measured at any time point before given anesthesia for the procedure and immidietly after the procedure.
Change in chest pain evaluated by the numeric analog scale (NAS) from score 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst possible pain) before the procedure and immidietly after (30-60 minutes) the procedure.
Measured at any time point before given anesthesia for the procedure and immidietly after the procedure.
Level of post-procedural pain at day 7 after treatment
Time Frame: Measured at day 7 after the procedure
Post-procedural chest pain evaluated by the numeric analog scale (NAS) from score 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst possible pain)
Measured at day 7 after the procedure
Level of late post-procedural pain (at day 30 after treatment)
Time Frame: Measured at day 30 after the procedure
Post-procedural chest pain evaluated by the numeric analog scale (NAS) from score 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst possible pain)
Measured at day 30 after the procedure

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
Level of post-procedural dysphagia
Time Frame: Measured before the procedure, immidietly after (30-60mins), and at day 7, and day 30 after the procedure.
Evaluated by the Mellow-Pinkas scoring from 0 (able to eat normal diet / no dysphagia) to 4 (unable to swallow anything / total dysphagia)
Measured before the procedure, immidietly after (30-60mins), and at day 7, and day 30 after the procedure.
Level of post-procedural quality of life
Time Frame: Measured before the procedure, immidietly after (30-60mins), and at day 7, and day 30 after the procedure.
Evaluated by the QLQ-OES18 questionnaire specific for esophageal symptoms, and consists of a symptom scale only. The QLQ-OES18 includes 18 questions: 6 single item subscales relating to saliva swallowing, choking, dry mouth, taste, coughing, and talking. It also includes 12 items grouped into 4 subscales: dysphagia (3 items), eating (4 items), reflux (2 items), and pain (3 items).
Measured before the procedure, immidietly after (30-60mins), and at day 7, and day 30 after the procedure.
The rate of complications
Time Frame: Measured during the prcoedure, immidietly after the procedure and at day 7 and day 30 after the procedure during follow-up
Intra-procedural complications, such as bleeding, perforation, post-procedural complications, e.g. chest-pain, esophageal stricture will be monitored during the hospital stay and follow-up at day 7 and day 30 after the procedure (phone call).
Measured during the prcoedure, immidietly after the procedure and at day 7 and day 30 after the procedure during 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.
Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology

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: Wladyslaw Januszewicz, MD, Centre for Postgraduate Medical Education

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.
December 1, 2021

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.
May 5, 2025

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.
May 5, 2025

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).
September 2, 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.
September 10, 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.
September 21, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

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.
October 3, 2025

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.
September 29, 2025

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, 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.
  • 2021

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

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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