Lymphocyte-sparing Thoracic Radiotherapy for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

August 10, 2026 updated by: QIWEIXIANG, Ruijin Hospital

Lymphocyte-sparing Thoracic Radiotherapy vs Conventional Radiotherapy for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Treated With Neoadjuvant Therapy: an Open Label, Randomized Controlled Trial

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most aggressive malignant tumors. Although neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy combined with surgery has significantly improved the survival rate of patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer, approximately half of the patients will experience local regional recurrence or distant metastasis. Lymphocytes are crucial immune cells in the human body, playing a key role in combating infections and tumor development. In recent years, an increasing body of research has indicated that lymphocyte depletion is a significant factor associated with poor prognosis in various solid tumors, including esophageal cancer. The lymphocyte depletion caused by radiotherapy has garnered considerable attention from oncologists. However, there is still a lack of prospective clinical research data on lymphocyte protection in thoracic tumors. Therefore, this study aims to provide high-level evidence from evidence-based medicine regarding the correlation between lymphocyte depletion and prognosis in esophageal cancer patients, offering more effective strategies and methods to improve the outcomes of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for esophageal cancer.

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.
212

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

  • China
    • China
      • Shanghai, China, China, 200025
        • Recruiting
        • Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • shengguang zhao, Dr.

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:

  1. Patients are able to understand and are willing to participate in the trial, and a signed consent form can be obtained;
  2. Pathologically confirmed esophageal squamous cell carcinoma;
  3. locally advanced ESCC (cT3-4 or N+);
  4. the age of patients should be more than 18 years, and less than 80 years;
  5. aged between 18 and 80 years;
  6. KPS score of patients should be more than 80

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. diagnosis of metastatic esophageal cancer;
  2. Patient refuses to receive systemic drug treatment;
  3. clinical diagnosis of pleural metastasis or malignant pleural effusion;
  4. Pregnant or breastfeeding women;
  5. Severe non-cancerous medical comorbidities that affect the implementation of radiotherapy.

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: lymphocyte-sparing radiotherapy
Firstly, ensure coverage of the PTV (Planning Target Volume). Secondly, limit the doses to the heart, bilateral lungs, and spinal cord to meet the required dose constraints. While maintaining target coverage and traditional OAR (Organs At Risk) dose constraints, also address dose limits for the TVB1-12 thoracic vertebral bodies, ribs, spleen, and major thoracic blood vessels to protect the lymphocyte
Radiation: lymphocyte-sparing radiotherapy
the radiotherapy regimen is 41.4Gy/23Fx. Ensure 95% coverage of the PTV (Planning Target Volume) and limit the doses to the heart, bilateral lungs, and spinal cord to meet the required dose constraints. While maintaining target coverage and traditional OAR (Organs At Risk) dose constraints, also address dose for lymphocyte-relate organs including the TVB1-12 thoracic vertebral bodies, ribs, spleen, and major thoracic blood vessels.
Active Comparator: conventional radiotherapy
ensure coverage of the PTV (Planning Target Volume) and limit the doses to the heart, bilateral lungs, and spinal cord to meet the required dose constraints. do not limits the dose for lymphocyte-related organs
Radiation: conventional radiotherapy
the radiotherapy regimen is 41.4Gy/23Fx. Ensure 95% coverage of the PTV (Planning Target Volume) and limit the doses to the heart, bilateral lungs, and spinal cord to meet the required dose constraints. do not limit dose for lymphocyte-relate organs including the TVB1-12 thoracic vertebral bodies, ribs, spleen, and major thoracic blood vessels.

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
acute grade 3/4 lymphopenia
Time Frame: 1 months after surgery
from treatment to 1 months after completion of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy
1 months after surgery

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: 3 years
from treatment to death
3 years
recurrence-free survival
Time Frame: 2 year
from completion of surgery to any recurrence
2 year
Lymphocyte-sparing radiotherapy plan pass rate in lymphocyte-sparing group
Time Frame: within 1 week after completion of neoadjuvat radiotherapy plan;
the pass rate of the esophageal cancer lymphocyte-sparing plan is evaluated without compromising target volume coverage and conventional normal tissue constraints (heart, lungs, and spinal cord)
within 1 week after completion of neoadjuvat radiotherapy plan;
Incidence of grade 3 or higher hematologic toxicity
Time Frame: from neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy to 1 monther after completion of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy
The incidence of grade 3 or higher hematologic toxicity during nCRT and within 1 month after treatment between lymphocyte-sparing RT group and conventional RT group.
from neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy to 1 monther after completion of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy
Pathological complete response rate (pCR)
Time Frame: 1 months after surgery
The pCR rate in ESCC patients who underwent nCRT and radical surgery between lymphocyte-sparing RT group and conventional RT group.
1 months after surgery
R0 resection rate
Time Frame: 1 month after surgery
the R0 resection rate in ESCC patients who underwent nCRT and radical surgery between lymphocyte-sparing RT group and conventional RT group.
1 month after surgery
Postoperative complications
Time Frame: 1 month after surgery
which was defined as 30-day postoperative complications graded according to the Clavien-Dindo classification;
1 month after surgery

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.
Ruijin Hospital

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

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, 2024

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.
November 30, 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 30, 2027

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 11, 2024

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 11, 2024

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 19, 2024

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.
August 11, 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.
August 10, 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.
August 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.
  • 2024-210

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.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings