Evaluation of Changes in the Immunological Microenvironment Surrounding Subcutaneous Breast Cancer Metastases After Liquid Nitrogen Cryotherapy (CRIMCAS)

March 6, 2025 updated by: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nīmes

Evaluation of Changes in the Immunological Microenvironment Surrounding Subcutaneous Breast Cancer Metastases After Liquid Nitrogen Cryotherapy: Descriptive Pilot Study.

Cryotherapy is a cold ablation technique used in many tumor locations. The destruction of tissues by cryoablation preserves proteins and in particular anti-tumor antigens, which could induce the stimulation of an immune response. Compared to other interventional radiology techniques, cryotherapy induces a higher immunogenic response. Studies describe complex responses with elevated levels of activating NK cells, circulating and anti-tumor T cells, and pro-inflammatory and NF-KB dependent cytokines.

In breast cancer, whether or not an immune response is triggered depends on the type of cryoablation used. Indeed, high intensity cryoablation (rapid freezing in one cycle of the entire tumor volume) seems to induce a tumor-specific immunodestructive response, whereas low frequency cryoablation (several small repetitive cycles until a sufficient volume of ice is obtained) does not induce an immunogenic response and can even induce an immunoregulation with immunotolerance of the tumor cells The University Hospital of Nîmes has recently acquired a new liquid nitrogen cryotherapy technique, more powerful than the one classically performed with Argon. This technique is used for palliative and analgesic purposes in patients with metastatic breast cancer presenting painful subcutaneous metastases. The aim of this study is to evaluate in these patients the changes in the tumor microenvironment and the immune response potentially induced by this very high intensity cryotherapy.

The study investigators hypothesize that locoregional treatment with liquid nitrogen cryotherapy of subcutaneous breast cancer metastases will allow a systemic response through the induction of an immune response. A better understanding of the type of immune response induced will allow the development of combined therapeutic strategies with curative and not only palliative and analgesic aims.

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.

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.
5

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

  • France
      • Nîmes, France
        • CHU de Nîmes

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • The patient must have given their free and informed consent
  • The patient must be a member or beneficiary of a health insurance plan
  • Patient with metastatic breast cancer with painful subcutaneous metastases.
  • Patient eligible for cryotherapy.
  • Therapeutic decision of antalgic and palliative treatment by cryotherapy taken in Pluridisciplinary Consultation Meeting.
  • Patient available for 15-day follow-up.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • The subject is in a period of exclusion determined by a previous study
  • The subject us unable to express their consent or refuses to sign the consent form
  • The patient is under safeguard of justice or state guardianship

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: Other
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group 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: Cryotherapy
Procedure: Cryotherapy treatment
Cryotherapy treatment administered by an interventional radiologist: the cryotherapy needle is placed under local anesthesia, ultrasound monitoring in real time. A complete cryotherapy cycle is performed with: freezing until the entire tumor is frozen as judged by ultrasound, then thawing for the same duration and refreezing according to the same principle.

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
Description of the immunological makeup of the tumor before liquid nitrogen cryotherapy treatment
Time Frame: Day 0
Cytometry by Time Of Flight (CyTOF®) mass cytometry analysis of biopsy samples to identify lymphocyte and macrophage populations and anti-tumor markers
Day 0
Description of the immunological makeup of the tumor after liquid nitrogen cryotherapy treatment
Time Frame: Day 15
Cytometry by Time Of Flight (CyTOF®) mass cytometry analysis of biopsy samples to identify lymphocyte and macrophage populations and anti-tumor markers
Day 15

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
Patient reported quality of before cryotherapy treatment
Time Frame: Day 0
European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer - C30 (EORTC QLQ-C30). This questionnaire is composed of 30 items grouped into 15 scales. A good quality of life is associated with a high score for the functional scales and a low score for the symptom scales
Day 0
Patient reported quality of after cryotherapy treatment
Time Frame: Day 15
European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer - C30 (EORTC QLQ-C30). This questionnaire is composed of 30 items grouped into 15 scales. A good quality of life is associated with a high score for the functional scales and a low score for the symptom scales
Day 15
Patients' tolerance to cryotherapy treatment
Time Frame: Day 15
Collection of complications and adverse events according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) criteria
Day 15
Level of pain related to subcutaneous metastases before cryotherapy treatment
Time Frame: Day 0 immediately before cryotherapy treatment
0-10 Visual analog scale. Higher scores mean worse outcome.
Day 0 immediately before cryotherapy treatment
Level of pain related to subcutaneous metastases after cryotherapy treatment
Time Frame: Day 0 immediately after cryotherapy treatment
0-10 Visual analog scale. Higher scores mean worse outcome.
Day 0 immediately after cryotherapy treatment
Level of pain related to subcutaneous metastases after cryotherapy treatment
Time Frame: Day 15
0-10 Visual analog scale. Higher scores mean worse outcome.
Day 15
Pain related to subcutaneous metastases before cryotherapy treatment
Time Frame: Day 0 immediately before cryotherapy treatment
Brief Pain Inventory (BPI): score from 0-120. Higher scores mean worse outcome.
Day 0 immediately before cryotherapy treatment
Pain related to subcutaneous metastases after cryotherapy treatment
Time Frame: Day 0 immediately after cryotherapy treatment
Brief Pain Inventory (BPI): score from 0-120. Higher scores mean worse outcome.
Day 0 immediately after cryotherapy treatment
Pain related to subcutaneous metastases after cryotherapy treatment
Time Frame: Day 15
Brief Pain Inventory (BPI): score from 0-120. Higher scores mean worse outcome.
Day 15

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 Hospitalier Universitaire de Nīmes

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: Julien Frandon, CHU de Nîmes

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.
February 16, 2022

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.
March 8, 2023

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.
July 17, 2024

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).
April 11, 2023

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.
April 11, 2023

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.
April 24, 2023

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 25, 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.
March 6, 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.
February 1, 2025

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.
  • EMERGENCE GSO/2020/JF-001

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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