Xenotransplantation of Primary Cancer Samples in Zebrafish Embryos (xenoZ)

The study consists in a co-clinical trial by using zebrafish embryos. Specifically, an observational prospective clinical trial on patients operated of epato-biliar-pancreatic cancers and gastro-intestinal cancers undergoing a chemotherapy treatment will be run concurrently to an animal trial on zebrafish embryos xenotransplanted with patient cancer cells in order to demonstrate that zebrafish model is able to predict the therapeutic regimen with the best efficacy for each patient.

Study Overview

• Status: Unknown
• Conditions: Gastric Cancer; Pancreatic Cancer; Esophageal Cancer; Colo-rectal Cancer; Liver Cancer; Biliary Tract Cancer; Gall Bladder Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Fluorouracil; Drug: Lederfolin; Drug: Oxaliplatin; Drug: Irinotecan; Drug: Docetaxel; Drug: Cisplatin; Drug: Epirubicin; Drug: Gemcitabine; Drug: Nab paclitaxel

Detailed Description

In the last years, a new concept of personalised medicine called 'Mouse Avatars' or 'co-clinical trials' has emerged. Development of mouse avatars implicates implantation of patient tumour samples in mice for use in drug efficacy studies. This model allows conducting preclinical trials in parallel with ongoing human phase I/II clinical trials. Murine and patient trials are conducted concurrently, and information obtained from the murine system is used for clinical management of the patient's tumour. The advantage of this approach is that each patient has his/her own tumour growing in an in vivo system, thereby allowing the identification of a personalised therapeutic approach. Such approach eliminates the cost and toxicity associated with non-targeted chemotherapy. Unfortunately, nowadays, it is clear that co-clinical trials using mouse avatars are not affordable because mice are expensive and time-consuming. The study challenge is to make Avatars available for every patient and the approach sustainable for the National Healthcare Systems. To implement this concept, the investigators propose to replace mouse Avatars with zebrafish Avatars. Indeed, the investigators propose to run co-clinical trials by using zebrafish embryos. Zebrafish embryos as model for human cancer cell xenografts offer several advantages:

1. Rejection-free model. In zebrafish thymus is not working until 9 days post-fertilization (dpf), allowing rejection-free xenografts during this period. Indeed, the use of expensive immune-permissive strains is not required, in sharp contrast to the mouse model.
2. Very low cost of husbanding.
3. Reduced amount of testing material. Zebrafish experiments require much less material to assess drug efficacy.
4. Short time for the analysis of xenotransplants. The time required for a drug efficacy study is 5 days, as opposite to several weeks or months in the mouse model.
5. Low experimental cost and simple procedures. The zebrafish produces large number of embryos with each fecundation (hundreds). This provides statistical power to the analysis and facilitates the collection of a large number of data.
6. Low ethical impact. Zebrafish is classified as insentient from fecundation to the time at which embryos become capable of independent feeding (120 hours post fertilization, hpf); therefore, during this time it does not require a license according to the Directive 2010/63/EU.
7. Data collected in zebrafish are relevant to humans. Zebrafish genome is closely related to that of humans. For instance, remarkable similarity in molecular signalling processes, cellular structure, anatomy, and physiology has been observed between zebrafish and other high-order vertebrates, including humans. This accounts for the exponential increase in the use of zebrafish in drug discovery during the last two decades.

Collectively, these points outline the remarkable advantages of the zebrafish Avatar over the mouse Avatar, paving the way for a realistic and cost-sustainable implementation of the co-clinical trials.

Specifically, the aim of the study is to perform an observational prospective clinical trial on patients operated of epato-biliar-pancreatic cancers and gastro-intestinal cancers undergoing a chemotherapy treatment in order to demonstrate that zebrafish Avatar is able to predict the therapeutic regimen with the best efficacy for each patient. To this effect, 120 patients meeting the trial inclusion criteria will be enrolled over a 18 months period. In this study, a fragment of tumor will be taken from the surgical specimen by the pathologist, fragmented and transplanted in the yolk of 48 hpf zebrafish embryos. The effect of different anticancer drugs and/or their combinations on the survival, proliferation and migration of the xenotransplanted cancer cells will be evaluated by exposing the xenotransplanted embryos to fish water modified with the drugs. The chemotherapy regimens to be tested in the xenografted embryos are selected in agreement to the common clinical practice, i.e.:

• fluoropyrimidines, platinum compounds, irinotecan, taxans (docetaxel) in stomach & esophageal cancers
• fluoropyrimidines, platinum compounds, irinotecan, gemcitabine, nab paclitaxel in pancreatic/biliary cancers
• fluoropyrimidines, platinum compounds, irinotecan in colorectal cancers.

Embryos will be analysed 4, 24 and 48 hours post injection (hpi). Primary measures will include:

• cell proliferation
• cell migration
• formation of secondary masses
• induction of neo-angiogenesis

The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment.

The comparative evaluation undertaken after closure of intake will be based on prospectively collected data on (i) clinical outcome and (ii) chemo-sensitivity data collected in zebrafish model.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 120

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Luca Morelli, Prof; Phone Number: 0039 050996820; Email: luca.morelli@unipi.it

Study Locations

• Italy
  • Pisa, Italy, 56124
    • Recruiting
    • Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana
    • Contact: Luca Morelli, Prof; Email: luca.morelli@unipi.it
    • Sub-Investigator: Vittoria Raffa, Prof
    • Sub-Investigator: Enrico Vasile, Dr
    • Sub-Investigator: Gregorio Di Franco, MD
    • Sub-Investigator: Alice Usai, MSc

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Oncological patients from Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

- patients operated of epato-biliar-pancreatic cancers and gastro-intestinal cancers (stage III and IV) undergoing a chemotherapy treatment

Exclusion Criteria:

• age below 18 years
• significant co-morbid cardiovascular and respiratory disease
• early stage of disease, (iv) history of prior cancer or prior treatment with any chemotherapy regimen
• pregnant and lactating females
• patients requiring urgent/ emergency interventions
• life expectancy < 12 weeks

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

4

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Colorectal cancer; Patients operated for colorectal cancer with or without liver metastasis undergoing a chemotherapy treatment after surgery	Drug: Fluorouracil; The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment; Other Names: Fluoropyrimidine; Drug: Lederfolin; The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment; Other Names: Antimetabolite; Drug: Oxaliplatin; The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment; Other Names: Platinum compounds; Drug: Irinotecan; The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment; Other Names: Camptothecin
Esophagus/gastric cancer; Patients operated for esophagus/gastric cancer undergoing a chemotherapy treatment after surgery	Drug: Fluorouracil; The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment; Other Names: Fluoropyrimidine; Drug: Lederfolin; The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment; Other Names: Antimetabolite; Drug: Oxaliplatin; The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment; Other Names: Platinum compounds; Drug: Irinotecan; The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment; Other Names: Camptothecin; Drug: Docetaxel; The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment; Other Names: Taxane; Drug: Cisplatin; The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment; Other Names: Platinum compounds; Drug: Epirubicin; The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment; Other Names: Anthracycline
Biliary duct cancer; Patients operated for biliary duct cancer undergoing a chemotherapy treatment after surgery	Drug: Fluorouracil; The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment; Other Names: Fluoropyrimidine; Drug: Lederfolin; The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment; Other Names: Antimetabolite; Drug: Oxaliplatin; The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment; Other Names: Platinum compounds; Drug: Cisplatin; The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment; Other Names: Platinum compounds; Drug: Gemcitabine; The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment; Other Names: Antimetabolite
Pancreatic cancer; Patients operated for pancreatic cancer undergoing a chemotherapy treatment after surgery	Drug: Fluorouracil; The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment; Other Names: Fluoropyrimidine; Drug: Lederfolin; The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment; Other Names: Antimetabolite; Drug: Oxaliplatin; The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment; Other Names: Platinum compounds; Drug: Irinotecan; The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment; Other Names: Camptothecin; Drug: Gemcitabine; The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment; Other Names: Antimetabolite; Drug: Nab paclitaxel; The enrolled patients after the surgical operation will undergo to the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment; Other Names: Taxane

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Correspondence with chemo-sensitivity data collected in zebrafish model	Comparative evaluation between prospectively collected data on clinical outcome and chemo-sensitivity data collected in zebrafish model	18 months after the surgery

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Response rate	Complete response (CR) - complete disappearance of clinical evidence of a tumour. Radiographically equivocal lesions must remain stable or regress.; Partial response (PR) - 50% or greater decrease in the sum of products of the longest perpendicular diameters of measured lesion compared to baseline.; Stable disease (SD) - no significant change in disease status. Lesion may show a <50% decrease in sum of products of longest perpendicular diameters or an increase of <25%.; Progressive disease (PD) - a 25% increase in area of a lesion. Appearance of new lesions constitutes progressive disease.	3 months after the surgery
Overall survival	The length of time from the start of treatment for the cancer that patients diagnosed with the disease are still alive	3 months after the surgery
Time to tumour progression	The length of time from the date of start of treatment for the disease until the disease starts to get worse or spread to other parts of the body	3 months after the surgery
Response rate	Complete response (CR) - complete disappearance of clinical evidence of a tumour. Radiographically equivocal lesions must remain stable or regress.; Partial response (PR) - 50% or greater decrease in the sum of products of the longest perpendicular diameters of measured lesion compared to baseline.; Stable disease (SD) - no significant change in disease status. Lesion may show a <50% decrease in sum of products of longest perpendicular diameters or an increase of <25%.; Progressive disease (PD) - a 25% increase in area of a lesion. Appearance of new lesions constitutes progressive disease.	6 months after the surgery
Overall survival	The length of time from the start of treatment for the cancer that patients diagnosed with the disease are still alive	6 months after the surgery
Time to tumour progression	The length of time from the date of start of treatment for the disease until the disease starts to get worse or spread to other parts of the body	6 months after the surgery
Response rate	Complete response (CR) - complete disappearance of clinical evidence of a tumour. Radiographically equivocal lesions must remain stable or regress.; Partial response (PR) - 50% or greater decrease in the sum of products of the longest perpendicular diameters of measured lesion compared to baseline.; Stable disease (SD) - no significant change in disease status. Lesion may show a <50% decrease in sum of products of longest perpendicular diameters or an increase of <25%.; Progressive disease (PD) - a 25% increase in area of a lesion. Appearance of new lesions constitutes progressive disease.	12 months after the surgery
Overall survival	The length of time from the start of treatment for the cancer that patients diagnosed with the disease are still alive	12 months after the surgery
Time to tumour progression	The length of time from the date of start of treatment for the disease until the disease starts to get worse or spread to other parts of the body	12 months after the surgery
Response rate	Complete response (CR) - complete disappearance of clinical evidence of a tumour. Radiographically equivocal lesions must remain stable or regress.; Partial response (PR) - 50% or greater decrease in the sum of products of the longest perpendicular diameters of measured lesion compared to baseline.; Stable disease (SD) - no significant change in disease status. Lesion may show a <50% decrease in sum of products of longest perpendicular diameters or an increase of <25%.; Progressive disease (PD) - a 25% increase in area of a lesion. Appearance of new lesions constitutes progressive disease.	18 months after the surgery
Overall survival	The length of time from the start of treatment for the cancer that patients diagnosed with the disease are still alive	18 months after the surgery
Time to tumour progression	The length of time from the date of start of treatment for the disease until the disease starts to get worse or spread to other parts of the body	18 months after the surgery

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Pisa
• Collaborators: Azienda Ospedaliero, Universitaria Pisana
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Luca Morelli, Prof, University of Pisa

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Usai A, Di Franco G, Piccardi M, Cateni P, Pollina LE, Vivaldi C, Vasile E, Funel N, Palmeri M, Dente L, Falcone A, Giunchi D, Massolo A, Raffa V, Morelli L. Zebrafish Patient-Derived Xenografts Identify Chemo-Response in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Patients. Cancers (Basel). 2021 Aug 17;13(16):4131. doi: 10.3390/cancers13164131.
• Usai A, Di Franco G, Colucci P, Pollina LE, Vasile E, Funel N, Palmeri M, Dente L, Falcone A, Morelli L, Raffa V. A Model of a Zebrafish Avatar for Co-Clinical Trials. Cancers (Basel). 2020 Mar 13;12(3):677. doi: 10.3390/cancers12030677.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): June 1, 2018
• Primary Completion (ANTICIPATED): May 31, 2021
• Study Completion (ANTICIPATED): May 31, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 19, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 10, 2018
• First Posted (ACTUAL): September 12, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): September 12, 2018
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 10, 2018
• Last Verified: September 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Digestive System Diseases; Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Digestive System Neoplasms; Gallbladder Diseases; Biliary Tract Diseases; Biliary Tract Neoplasms; Gallbladder Neoplasms; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Anti-Infective Agents; Antiviral Agents; Enzyme Inhibitors; Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; Antineoplastic Agents; Immunosuppressive Agents; Immunologic Factors; Tubulin Modulators; Antimitotic Agents; Mitosis Modulators; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; Topoisomerase II Inhibitors; Topoisomerase Inhibitors; Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; Topoisomerase I Inhibitors; Gemcitabine; Docetaxel; Fluorouracil; Epirubicin; Oxaliplatin; Irinotecan; Taxane; Camptothecin; Antimetabolites
• Other Study ID Numbers: 70213

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: Yes