Cryoablation Combined With QL1706 (Iparomlimab/Tuvonralimab) Plus Lenvatinib in Patients With Advanced Biliary Tract Cancer. (CASTLE-ZS-04)

September 18, 2026 updated by: Peng Wang, Fudan University

QL1706 (Iparomlimab/Tuvonralimab) Plus Lenvatinib With or Without Cryoablation for Advanced Biliary Tract Cancer (CASTLE-ZS-04): a Multicenter, Randomized, Phase 2 Study

This study will evaluate the efficacy and safety of cryoablation combined with QL1706 (iparomlimab/tuvonralimab) plus lenvatinib in patients with advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC) who have progressed after first-line treatment.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study is a multicenter, open-label, multi-cohort, phase 2 exploratory clinical trial. Subjects enrolled are patients with advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC) who have failed first-line treatment based on chemotherapy combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors. The study evaluates the efficacy and safety of second-line cryoablation combined treatment regimens.

Eligible patients are divided into three independent cohorts according to the primary site of the tumor: intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) cohort, extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ECC) cohort, and gallbladder cancer (GBC) cohort. Within each cohort, patients are randomly assigned 1:1 to the following two treatment groups: Group 01: QL1706 + Lenvatinib, Group 02: QL1706+lenvatinib +Cryoablation. This results in six study cohorts: ICC-01, ICC-02, ECC-01, ECC-02, GBC-01, and GBC-02.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

180

Phase

  • 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 Contact

Study Locations

    • Shanghai Municipality
      • Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China, 200032
        • Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Peng Wang
        • 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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Written informed consent obtained.
  • Age ≥ 18 years at time of study entry.
  • Participants must have unresectable or metastatic histologically confirmed biliary tract cancer.
  • Participants must have failed 1 line of GemCis plus PD1/PD-L1 inhibitor for advanced cholangiocarcinoma due to disease progression or toxicity.
  • At least one measurable site of disease as defined by RECIST criteria with spiral CT scan or MRI.
  • Performance status (PS) ≤ 2 (ECOG scale).
  • Life expectancy of at least 12 weeks.
  • Adequate blood count, liver-enzymes, and renal function: absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/L, platelets ≥75 x103/L; Total bilirubin ≤ 3x upper normal limit; Aspartate Aminotransferase (SGOT), Alanine aminotransferase (SGPT) ≤ 5 x upper normal limit (ULN); International normalized ratio (INR) ≤1.25; Albumin ≥ 31 g/dL; Serum Creatinine ≤ 1.5 x institutional ULN or creatinine clearance (CrCl) ≥ 30 mL/min (if using the Cockcroft-Gault formula )
  • Female patients with reproductive potential must have a negative urine or serum pregnancy test within 7 days prior to start of trial.
  • Subject is willing and able to comply with the protocol for the duration of the study including undergoing treatment, adherence to contraceptive measures, scheduled visits and examinations including follow up.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of cardiac disease, including clinically significant gastrointestinal bleeding within 4 weeks prior to start of study treatment
  • Thrombotic or embolic events such as cerebrovascular accident (including transient ischemic attacks), deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism within the 6 months Prior to the first dose of study drug with the exception of thrombosis of a segmental portal vein.
  • Prior treatment with cryoablation.
  • RFA and resection administered less than 4 weeks prior to study treatment start.
  • Radiotherapy administered less than 4 weeks prior to study treatment start.
  • Major surgery within 4 weeks of starting the study treatment OR subjects who have not recovered from effects of major surgery.
  • Patients with second primary cancer, except adequately treated basal skin cancer or carcinoma in-situ of the cervix.
  • Immunocompromised patients, e.g. patients who are known to be serologically positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
  • Participation in another clinical study with an investigational product during the last 30 days before inclusion or 7 half-lifes of previously used trial medication, whichever is longer.
  • Any condition or comorbidity that, in the opinion of the investigator, would interfere with evaluation of study Treatment or interpretation of patient safety or study results, including but not limited to: a) history of interstitial lung disease b) Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) coinfection (i.e double infection) c) known acute or chronic pancreatitis d) active tuberculosis e) any other active infection (viral, fungal or bacterial) requiring systemic therapy f) history of allogeneic tissue/solid organ transplant g) diagnosis of immunodeficiency or patient is receiving chronic systemic steroid therapy or any other form of immunosuppressive therapy within 7 days prior to the first dose of treatment. h) Has an active autoimmune disease requiring systemic treatment within the past 3 months or a documented history of clinically severe autoimmune disease, or a syndrome that requires systemic steroids or immunosuppressive agents. Exceptions: Subjects with vitiligo, hypothyroidism, diabetes mellitus type I or resolved childhood asthma/atopy are an exception to this rule. Subjects that require intermittent use of bronchodilators or local steroid injections would not be excluded from the study. Subjects with Hashimoto thyroiditis, hypothyroidism stable on hormone replacement or psoriasis not requiring treatment are not excluded from the study. i) Live vaccine within 30 days prior to the first dose of treatment or during study treatment. j) History or clinical evidence of Central Nervous System (CNS) metastases Exceptions are: Subjects who have completed local therapy and who meet both of the following criteria: I. are asymptomatic and II. have no requirement for steroids 6 weeks prior to start of treatment. Screening with CNS imaging (CT or MRI) is required only if clinically indicated or if the subject has a history of CNS
  • Medication that is known to interfere with any of the agents applied in the trial.
  • Any other efficacious cancer treatment except protocol specified treatment at study start.
  • Patient has received any other investigational product within 28 days of study entry.
  • Prior therapy with an anti-CD137 (4-1BB ligand, a member of the Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor (TNFR) family), or anti-Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (anti-CTLA-4) antibody (including ipilimumab or any other antibody or drug specifically targeting T-cell co-stimulation or checkpoint pathways).
  • Female subjects who are pregnant, breast-feeding or male/female patients of reproductive potential who are not employing an effective method of birth control (failure rate of less than 1% per year). [Acceptable methods of contraception are: implants, injectable contraceptives, combined oral contraceptives, intrauterine pessars (only hormonal devices), sexual abstinence or vasectomy of the partner]. Women of childbearing potential must have a negative pregnancy test (serum β-HCG) at screening.
  • Patient with any significant history of non-compliance to medical regimens or with inability to grant reliable informed consent.

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
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: ICC-01

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) received QL1706 + lenvatinib

A bifunctional PD1/CTLA4 dual blocker

An TKI.

Experimental: ICC-02

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) received QL1706 + lenvatinib+cryoablation

A bifunctional PD1/CTLA4 dual blocker

An TKI.

Cryoablation will be performed with a two-cycle freeze-thaw phase protocol; US or non-contrast CT images will be obtained to visualize the evolving ablation zone

Experimental: ECC-01

Extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ECC) received QL1706 + lenvatinib

A bifunctional PD1/CTLA4 dual blocker

An TKI.

Experimental: ECC-02

Extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ECC) received QL1706 + lenvatinib +cryoablation

A bifunctional PD1/CTLA4 dual blocker

An TKI.

Cryoablation will be performed with a two-cycle freeze-thaw phase protocol; US or non-contrast CT images will be obtained to visualize the evolving ablation zone

Experimental: GBC-01

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) received QL1706 + lenvatinib

A bifunctional PD1/CTLA4 dual blocker

An TKI.

Experimental: GBC-02

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) received QL1706 + lenvatinib+cryoablation

A bifunctional PD1/CTLA4 dual blocker

An TKI.

Cryoablation will be performed with a two-cycle freeze-thaw phase protocol; US or non-contrast CT images will be obtained to visualize the evolving ablation zone

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Objective Response Rate (ORR)
Time Frame: 24 months

ORR is defined as the percentage of participants who have a confirmed complete response (CR: disappearance of all target lesions) or partial response (PR: at least a 30% decrease in the sum of diameters of target lesions, taking as reference the baseline sum of diameters). Responses are according to RECIST 1.1 as assessed by investigator.

24 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Disease control rate (DCR) evaluated by the investigator per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors Version 1.1
Time Frame: 24 months

DCR is defined as the proportion of patients with complete response (CR), partial response (PR) and stable disease (SD).

24 months
Duration of Response (DOR) evaluated by the investigator per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors Version 1.1
Time Frame: 24 months

DOR is defined as the time from first documented complete or partial response until disease progression, death from any cause, or censoring at date of last tumor assessment.

24 months
Time to Response (TTR) evaluated by the investigator per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors Version 1.1
Time Frame: 24 months

TTR is defined as the time from the start of treatment until the first objective observation of a response (either partial response, PR, or complete response, CR), provided that the response is subsequently confirmed.

24 months
Progression Free Survival (PFS) evaluated by the investigator per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors Version 1.1
Time Frame: 24 months

PFS is defined as the time from study treatment to disease progression or all-cause death as assessed by the investigator (whichever occurs first).

24 months
Overall survival (OS) evaluated by the investigator per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors Version 1.1
Time Frame: 42 months

OS is defined as the time from study treatment to the date of death of the subject, regardless of the cause of death.

42 months
Number of participants with treatment-related adverse events as assessed by CTCAE v5.0
Time Frame: 42 months

An adverse event (AE) is any untoward medical occurrence in a clinical study participant, temporally associated with the use of study intervention, whether or not considered related to the study intervention. The percentage of participants who experience at least one AE will be reported.

42 months
Translational study
Time Frame: 42 months

Proportion of different immune cell types in tumors based on single-cell RNA sequencing between responders and non-responders.

42 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Peng Wang, Fudan University

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)

September 20, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 20, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 20, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 15, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 18, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 21, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 21, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 18, 2026

Last Verified

September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CASTLE-ZS-04

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

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