Mesenchymal CTC Ratio Dynamics Predicts Response and Survival in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma With Neoadjuvant/Conversion Therapy

January 9, 2026 updated by: Guo ShiWei

Mesenchymal CTC Ratio Dynamics Predicts Response and Survival in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma With Neoadjuvant/Conversion Therapy: a Large Single-center Retrospective Cohort Study

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical utility of mesenchymal CTC ratio dynamics as a real-time biomarker for PDAC patients with neoadjuvant therapy.

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

In this study, the investigators generated the largest PDAC patient cohort for CTC detection to date, which revealed mesenchymal CTC ratio dynamics as a robust biomarker during neoadjuvant therapy. The mesenchymal CTC ratio varied significantly across resectability status of PDAC with the highest level in the metastatic cohort. Moreover, the mesenchymal CTC ratio dynamics could be used for real-time assessment of neoadjuvant therapy response, accurate postoperative relapse surveillance and reliable prognostication.

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.
Observational

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.
300

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 Municipality
      • Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China, 200433
        • Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical UniversityUniversity

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

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients who underwent CTC detection at the time of PDAC diagnosis were collected from the prospective database. All patients were pathologically confirmed with PDAC by endoscopic ultrasound guided fine-needle aspiration or surgical resection specimens. According to therapeutic modalities, these patients were divided into four subgroups: none treatment group, upfront surgery group, neoadjuvant/conversion therapy without surgery group and neoadjuvant/conversion therapy with surgery group. All patients provided written informed consent to use their clinical data and samples.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who underwent CTC detection at the time of PDAC diagnosis were collected from the prospective database. All patients were pathologically confirmed with PDAC by endoscopic ultrasound guided fine-needle aspiration or surgical resection specimens. According to therapeutic modalities, these patients were divided into four subgroups: none treatment group, upfront surgery group, neoadjuvant/conversion therapy without surgery group and neoadjuvant/conversion therapy with surgery group. All patients provided written informed consent to use their clinical data and samples.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who could not tolerate neoadjuvant therapy or who had invasive intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms, mucinous cystadenocarcinomas, or other non-pancreatic periampullary adenocarcinomas were excluded.

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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
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.
none treatment group
upfront surgery group
Procedure: surgery (any volume) and / or pharmaceuticals treatment initiated or planned or only dynamic observation, in accordance with current clinical guidelines
Retrospective studies do not require intervention measures.
neoadjuvant/conversion therapy without surgery group
neoadjuvant/conversion therapy with surgery group
Procedure: surgery (any volume) and / or pharmaceuticals treatment initiated or planned or only dynamic observation, in accordance with current clinical guidelines
Retrospective studies do not require intervention measures.

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
Time Frame
Overall survival
Time Frame: Overall survival (OS) was defined as the interval from the date of diagnosis to the date of patient death or the last follow-up visit 1 month after surgery.
Overall survival (OS) was defined as the interval from the date of diagnosis to the date of patient death or the last follow-up visit 1 month 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
Time Frame
Recurrence-free survival
Time Frame: Recurrence-free survival (RFS) was defined as the time interval from the date of diagnosis to the date of local or regional recurrence, distant metastases, death or the last follow-up visit 1 month after surgery.
Recurrence-free survival (RFS) was defined as the time interval from the date of diagnosis to the date of local or regional recurrence, distant metastases, death or the last follow-up visit 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.
Guo ShiWei

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.
July 10, 2018

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.
September 15, 2021

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.
October 1, 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).
December 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.
December 27, 2025

First Posted (Estimated)

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.
January 9, 2026

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.
January 12, 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.
January 9, 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.
October 1, 2021

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.
  • Changhai Mesenchymal CTC R1

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

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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