Acceptability and Feasibility of Combination Treatment for Cervical Precancer Among South African Women Living With HIV (ACT 2)

July 30, 2026 updated by: UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
The purpose of this study is to explore whether an anti-cancer medication (5-fluorouracil cream) placed in the vagina after a surgical excision procedure is an acceptable and useful form of treatment for cervical precancer among the woman with HIV infection.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

There are currently no medical therapies recommended to promote the clearance of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, regression of cervical dysplasia, or treatment of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected women are at higher risk of HPV infection, with rates as high as 45% - 90%. Despite being preventable, cytologic abnormalities, cervical precancer (high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia [CIN2/3]), and invasive cervical cancer also occur more frequently in HIV infected women.

This study is testing whether topical 5-fluorouracil (5FU) can be used as a patient-controlled adjuvant treatment for cervical precancer (CIN2/3) to be self-administered after surgical excision to reduce the risk of persistent/recurrent CIN2/3 and progression to cervical cancer among HIV-infected women.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

180

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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

  • South Africa
    • Johannesburg
      • Westdene, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2092
        • Clinical HIV Research Unit Temba Lethu Wing Helen Joseph Hospital

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Confirmed HIV-1 infection
  • On antiretroviral therapy (ART), for at least 90 days prior to enrollment
  • Cervical biopsy demonstrating CIN2/3 within the preceding 120 days.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • pregnancy,
  • breastfeeding,
  • intend to become pregnant within 180 days of enrollment
  • have an active sexually transmitted infection (women may participate once treated)
  • have a surgically absent cervix
  • have a history of anogenital (cervical, vaginal, vulvar, or anal) cancer or a biopsy suspicious for cervical cancer
  • have a medical comorbidity that would interfere with study participation.

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: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: 5 Fluorouracil (5FU) Cream
Participants self-administered 2 grams intravaginal 5FU cream at study weeks 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18 (8 doses over 16 weeks total).
Drug: 5 Fluorouracil (5 FU) Cream
Intravaginal topical chemotherapy, 5-fluorouracil cream
Other Names:
  • Carac
  • Efudex
  • Fluoroplex
Placebo Comparator: Placebo Cream
Participants self-administered intravaginal placebo cream (an inert emollient that mimics the 5FU cream) at study weeks 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18 (8 doses over 16 weeks total).
Drug: Placebo
Intravaginal topical placebo cream

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of Participants Retained in the Study Through Week 24
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) through Week 24
Retention was defined as the number of participants who remained in follow-up and completed the Week 24 study visit. The number and percentage of participants retained at Week 24 were reported for each study arm.
Baseline (Week 0) through Week 24
Number of Participants With ≥80% Acceptability Summary Score at Week 10
Time Frame: Week 10
Acceptability was defined as a summary score ≥80% on a 7-item questionnaire administered at Week 10. Each item was rated on a 5-point Likert scale and coded from 0 (lowest acceptability) to 4 (highest acceptability), yielding a total possible score of 0 to 28. A summary acceptability score was calculated as a percentage (0% to 100%) of the total possible score. The number and percentage of participants meeting this definition were reported for each study arm.
Week 10
Number of Participants With ≥80% Acceptability Summary Score by Week 24
Time Frame: Week 24
Acceptability was defined as a summary score ≥80% on the same 7-item questionnaire administered at Week 24. Each item was rated on a 5-point Likert scale and coded from 0 (lowest acceptability) to 4 (highest acceptability), yielding a total possible score of 0 to 28. A summary acceptability score was calculated as a percentage (0% to 100%) of the total possible score. The number and percentage of participants meeting this definition were reported for each study arm.
Week 24
Number of Participants Experiencing a Treatment-Related Grade ≥2 Adverse Event or Grade 1 Genital Lesion
Time Frame: Week 4 (randomization) through Week 24
A safety event was defined as any Grade 2 or higher adverse event (AE), or any Grade 1 AE involving a genital lesion (blister, ulceration, or pustule), that was assessed as possibly, probably, or definitely related to the study drug. Adverse events were assessed from Week 4 (randomization) through Week 24. The number and percentage of participants experiencing at least one such event were reported for each study arm.
Week 4 (randomization) through Week 24
Number of Participants Unable or Unwilling to Apply ≥50% of Study Cream Doses Due to Dose-Limiting Toxicity
Time Frame: Week 4 (randomization) through Week 18
A tolerability event was defined as inability or unwillingness to apply ≥4 of 8 planned doses of the study treatment due to a dose-limiting toxicity (DLT). A DLT was defined as (1) any Grade 2 or higher AE, or (2) any Grade 1 AE involving a genital lesion (blister, ulceration, or pustule), that was assessed as possibly, probably, or definitely related to study drug and resulted in an investigator decision to reduce the number of doses or discontinue study treatment. Tolerability was assessed from randomization through the dosing period (Week 18), with follow-up censored at the last tolerability assessment for participants who exited early without experiencing an event. The number and percentage of participants experiencing a tolerability event were reported for each study arm.
Week 4 (randomization) through Week 18
Number of Participants Adherent to ≥75% of Study Cream Doses Based on Ultraviolet Inspection
Time Frame: Week 4 (randomization) through Week 24
Adherence was defined as administration of at ≥6 of 8 planned doses of study treatment, as determined by ultraviolet inspection of returned applicators. Applicator collection occurred through Week 24, including for participants who completed dosing earlier, to allow complete ascertainment of dose use. Each applicator was independently assessed by ≥2 reviewers; in cases of disagreement, a third reviewer adjudicated the result. Participants were classified as adherent if ≥6 applicators showed evidence of use. Participants who did not meet this threshold, including those with missing or incomplete applicator data, were classified as non-adherent. The number and percentage of participants meeting this definition were reported for each study arm.
Week 4 (randomization) through Week 24

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Percent of Participants With CIN2/3 at Baseline Who Regressed to CIN1 or Normal Histology at Week 24
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) through Week 24
The analysis population included all randomized participants, all of whom had CIN2 or CIN3 at baseline (Week 0) confirmed by loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) histology. The analysis population was restricted to participants who completed the Week 24 visit and had cervical biopsy results available. This included 89 participants in the placebo arm and 81 participants in the 5FU arm. Regression was defined as improvement from CIN2 or CIN3 at baseline to CIN1 or normal histology at Week 24, as assessed by cervical biopsy. Participants missing Week 24 data were not included and not considered to have experienced CIN2/3 regression. The number and percentage of participants meeting this definition were reported for each study arm. The Wilson score method was used to estimate 95% confidence intervals around percentages.
Baseline (Week 0) through Week 24
Percent of Participants With Baseline High-Risk HPV Who Achieved Genotype-Specific Clearance at Week 24
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) through Week 24
The analysis population was restricted to participants with at least one high-risk HPV (hrHPV) genotype detected at baseline and with hrHPV results available at Week 24. A total of 69 participants in the 5FU arm and 80 participants in the placebo arm met these criteria. High-risk HPV clearance was defined as absence at Week 24 of all hrHPV genotypes detected at baseline. Participants without baseline hrHPV infection or without Week 24 hrHPV results were excluded from this analysis. The number and percentage of participants meeting this definition were reported for each study arm. The Wilson score method was used to estimate 95% confidence intervals around percentages.
Baseline (Week 0) through Week 24

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center

Collaborators

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Carla Chibwesha, MD, MSc, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

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)

March 22, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 30, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

June 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 7, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 7, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

June 10, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 21, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 30, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IGHID12046
  • 1R01CA250850-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

The rights and privacy of individuals who participate in research will be protected at all times. Thus, data intended for broader use will be stripped of identifiers that would permit linkages to individual research participants or variables that could lead to deductive disclosure of the identity of individual subjects. Research data that documents, supports and validates research findings will be made available after the main findings from the final research dataset have been accepted for publication. Such research data will be redacted to prevent the disclosure of personal identifiers. All data sharing will abide by rules and/or policies defined by the sponsor, relevant IRBs, U.S. local, state, and federal laws and regulations, as well as South African laws and regulations.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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