A Randomized Controlled Study of Endoscopic Cryoablation Combined With PD-1 Inhibitor for Maintenance Therapy in Advanced Gastric Cancer

April 27, 2025 updated by: Zhongguang Luo, MD
This study evaluates the safety and efficacy of endoscopic cryoballoon ablation treatment (ECAT) combined with a PD-1 inhibitor (sintilimab) as maintenance therapy in patients with advanced gastric cancer, and further explores the underlying immunoregulatory mechanisms.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet 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

This study is a single-center, randomized, controlled, open-label, prospective clinical trial. A total of 42 patients with advanced gastric cancer will be enrolled. Among them, 30 patients who achieve a partial response (PR) after receiving standard of care (SOC) treatment - such as FOLFOX, POLF, FLOT, SOX, CAPOX, or FOLFIRI - will be randomly assigned to two groups. Twenty patients will receive local gastric endoscopic cryoballoon ablation treatment (ECAT) combined with sintilimab, while the remaining ten patients will receive sintilimab monotherapy. Both groups will subsequently undergo standard maintenance therapy, followed by assessments of treatment efficacy, safety, and immunological evaluations of both peripheral blood and tumor tissues. Patients whose disease status is assessed as stable disease (SD) or progressive disease (PD) after SOC treatment will proceed to receive standard second-line therapies.

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.
42

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.
  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Locations

  • China
    • Shanghai
      • Shanghai, Shanghai, China, 200000
        • Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai
        • 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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer (stage IV according to the AJCC 8th edition, including locally advanced unresectable gastric cancer [stage IVa] and gastric cancer with distant metastasis [stage IVb]; Borrmann classification types I, II, or III) who are deemed ineligible for surgical resection or unable to tolerate surgery, and meet the indications for first-line therapy with sintilimab combined with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-based chemotherapy;
  2. Age ≥18 years;
  3. WHO pathological types: adenocarcinoma or neuroendocrine tumors;
  4. Physician-assessed estimated life expectancy greater than 3 months, with distant metastases considered controllable;
  5. Maximum diameter of the primary tumor ≤6 cm;
  6. Adequate major organ function, defined as:① Liver function: ALT and AST ≤ 2.5 times the positive range, total bilirubin ≤ 2.0mg/dL; ② Renal function: creatinine clearance ≥ 40mL/min calculated using the EPI formula;
  7. Hematological criteria: hemoglobin (Hgb) ≥70 g/L; absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥1.5×10⁹/L; platelet count (PLT) ≥80×10⁹/L;
  8. Coagulation function: prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) both <2 times the normal value;
  9. Negative pregnancy test for women of childbearing potential;
  10. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status ≤2;
  11. Signed informed consent form.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Pregnant or breastfeeding women, or women planning to become pregnant within six months;
  2. Patients with infectious diseases (such as HIV, syphilis, or active tuberculosis);
  3. Patients with active hepatitis B or hepatitis C infection;
  4. Patients with other concurrent primary malignancies;
  5. Patients who have participated in another clinical trial within the past month;
  6. Patients who have taken antiplatelet or anticoagulant medications within the past week;
  7. Patients with gastric cancer complicated by active bleeding;
  8. Patients with massive ascites (ascites volume ≥3000 mL);
  9. Patients with cardia obstruction or pyloric obstruction;
  10. Patients with active infections or autoimmune diseases;
  11. Patients deemed unsuitable for treatment by the investigator for any other reason.

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: ECAT + PD-1
Patients who achieve a partial response (PR) following standard treatment will subsequently receive gastric local endoscopic cryoballoon ablation treatment (ECAT) combined with sintilimab. Sintilimab will be administered within three days before and after the ECAT procedure, and continued regularly thereafter.
Procedure: Endoscopic Cryoballoon Ablation Treatment
ECAT: A cryoballoon with catheter is inserted along the endoscopic forceps channel, the balloon is placed on the surface of the tumor, and the balloon is dilated so that it fits snugly over the lesion. The freezing cycle is initiated and continued for 2-3 minutes, and then the balloon is rewarmed and frozen again for 2-3 minutes; the freeze-rewarm cycle is repeated twice. PD-1:The first PD-1 monoclonal antibody treatment in this study was given within 3 days before and after ECAT treatment, and subsequent treatment was given every three weeks according to the instructions.
Other Names:
  • ECAT
Drug: PD1 Inhibitor
The first administration of the PD-1 monoclonal antibody is initiated when patients achieve a partial response (PR) following standard treatment. Subsequent administrations are given every three weeks according to the prescribing information.
Active Comparator: PD-1
The remaining 10 patients who achieve a partial response (PR) following standard treatment will receive sintilimab monotherapy, followed by standard maintenance therapy.
Drug: PD1 Inhibitor
The first administration of the PD-1 monoclonal antibody is initiated when patients achieve a partial response (PR) following standard treatment. Subsequent administrations are given every three weeks according to the prescribing information.

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 (PFS)
Time Frame: From enrollment to study completion, assessed up to 2 years
PFS is measured from the start of treatment until the first documented evidence of disease progression (based on RECIST 1.1) or death from any cause, whichever occurs first.
From enrollment to study completion, assessed up to 2 years
Overall-Survival (OS)
Time Frame: From enrollment to study completion, assessed up to 5 years
The length of time from the start of treatment until death from any cause.
From enrollment to study completion, assessed up to 5 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
Percentage of participants achieving complete remission (CR) and partial remission (PR) after treatment
Time Frame: 3 to 24 weeks after the end of treatment
Objective remission rate (ORR), the percentage of participants whose tumors shrink by a certain amount and remain there for a certain period of time, including complete remission (CR) and partial remission (PR). CR (Complete remission): Complete disappearance of the target lesion, with no new lesions produced, and lasting for more than 4 weeks. PR (Partial remission): the sum of the largest diameters of the target lesions is reduced by more than 30%, and lasts for more than 4 weeks.
3 to 24 weeks after the end of treatment
Percentage of participants achieving remission (PR+CR) and lesion stabilization (SD) after treatment
Time Frame: 3 to 24 weeks after the end of treatment
Disease control rate (DCR) is the percentage of participants who achieve remission (PR+CR) and stabilization of lesions (SD) after the treatment. Stable disease (SD) means that the sum of the largest diameters of the tumor lesions has not shrunk to PR, or has not enlarged to PD.
3 to 24 weeks after the end of treatment
Number of participants with treatment-related adverse events
Time Frame: From the start of treatment to 24 weeks after the end of treatment
The number of patients who experience ECAT-related adverse events (such as intraoperative bleeding, intraoperative perforation, postoperative bleeding, etc.)
From the start of treatment to 24 weeks after the end of treatment

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of immune cells in peripheral blood
Time Frame: From enrollment to study completion, assessed up to 24 weeks
Peripheral blood will be analyzed for the number of immune cells after applying flow cytometry and mRNA sequencing.
From enrollment to study completion, assessed up to 24 weeks
Number of immune cells in tumor tissues
Time Frame: From enrollment to study completion, assessed up to 24 weeks
Apply mRNA sequencing, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence to analyze the number of immune cells in tumor tissues, including CTL, Treg, DC, TAM, MDSC, NK, NKT and so on.
From enrollment to study completion, assessed up to 24 weeks

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.
Zhongguang Luo, MD

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 (Estimated)

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.
May 1, 2025

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.
May 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.
May 1, 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).
April 27, 2025

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 27, 2025

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.
May 6, 2025

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 6, 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.
April 27, 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.
April 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.
  • KY2025-081

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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