Diagnostic Biomarkers for Checkpoint Inhibitor-related Pneumonitis

February 2, 2026 updated by: Zhou Chengzhi

Prospective Study of NMR-based Serum Metabolic Profiles for the Diagnosis of Checkpoint Inhibitor-related Pneumonitis

Checkpoint inhibitor-related pneumonitis (CIP) is a common fatal immune-related adverse events of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. Early diagnosis of CIP is crucial for timely intervention and improved prognosis; however, the absence of precise and effective diagnostic techniques often leads to underdiagnosis and misdiagnosis. The investigators conducted a prospective clinical study to evaluate the effectiveness of ¹H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based lipoprotein and metabolite analysis in diagnosing checkpoint inhibitor-related pneumonitis (CIP), aiming to improve its early diagnosis rate.

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.

Detailed Description

Checkpoint inhibitor-related pneumonitis (CIP) is a common and potentially fatal immune-related adverse event associated with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor therapy. The early and accurate diagnosis of CIP is crucial for timely intervention and improving patient prognosis. However, in clinical practice, the overlapping clinical presentations and imaging features of CIP with infectious pneumonia, tumor progression, or other pulmonary diseases pose a significant diagnostic challenge. The current lack of precise and specific diagnostic techniques often leads to underdiagnosis or misdiagnosis. This diagnostic dilemma can delay the optimal treatment window and may result in the unnecessary interruption or discontinuation of effective immunotherapy, ultimately compromising overall anti-tumor efficacy.

Metabolomics, the comprehensive analysis of small-molecule metabolites, provides a dynamic readout of an organism's physiological state and has shown great promise in biomarker discovery for various diseases. Serum, in particular, offers an easily accessible biofluid that reflects systemic metabolic alterations. ¹H-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (¹H-NMR) spectroscopy is a robust, reproducible, and quantitative platform ideal for profiling key serum components, including lipoproteins and a wide range of low-molecular-weight metabolites, in a high-throughput manner. The investigators hypothesize that the development of CIP induces a distinct, detectable alteration in the host's systemic metabolic profile, which can be captured by NMR analysis and serve as a diagnostic signature.

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 (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.
60

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
    • Guangdong
      • Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510100
        • Recruiting
        • The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University
        • 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

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Prospective, dual-cohort, biomarker discovery study

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients with a pathological diagnosis of lung cancer;
  2. The subject has received at least one course of immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment;

  3. Capable of understanding and voluntarily signing an informed consent form.

    For the CIP group, the following additional criteria must be met:

  4. Highly suspected of having checkpoint inhibitor pneumonitis based on radiological abnormalities and/or pulmonary symptoms (including fever, cough, and dyspnea).

    For the Control group, the following additional criteria must be met:

  5. Has had no clinical symptoms or radiographic evidence suggestive of pneumonitis at enrollment or prior to enrollment.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Pulmonary lesions were definitively diagnosed as tumor progression, bacterial pneumonia, or pulmonary edema;
  2. Incomplete or missing follow-up data.

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.
Experimental group
Checkpoint inhibitor-related pneumonitis
Control group
Lung cancer patients who received immunotherapy but did not develop CIP

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
Diagnostic performance
Time Frame: Blood sampling for testing within 1 day after enrollment.
The Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUROC) of a classifier model derived from NMR serum metabolic profiles to distinguish between patients with confirmed checkpoint inhibitor-related pneumonitis and control patients on immunotherapy without pneumonitis.
Blood sampling for testing within 1 day after enrollment.

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.
Zhou Chengzhi

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.
January 10, 2026

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.
January 10, 2027

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.
January 10, 2028

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).
January 5, 2026

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.
January 5, 2026

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.
January 14, 2026

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.
February 4, 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.
February 2, 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.
January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

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.
  • CROC202601

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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