The PLATON Network (PLATON)

The Platform for Analyzing Targetable Tumor Mutations Network (Main-study)

The PLATON Network study is designed to elevate personalized therapy based on genomic tumor profiles in gastrointestinal cancer patients. Hereby, PLATON's study-design focuses on the patient's tumor molecular profiling. Within the network a web application will be developed to link clinical investigators and information on study sites, cancer patients and genetic alteration data, as well as available clinical trials at PLATON's study sites.

Study Overview

• Status: Terminated
• Conditions: Stomach Cancer; Pancreatic Cancer; Cholangiocarcinoma; Gallbladder Cancer; Hepatocellular Cancer; Oesophageal Cancer

Detailed Description

The PLATON Network is established as permanent open, multicenter, prospective, cohort study of patients with gastrointestinal cancer. The study design includes a study-specific biobank and a shared platform infrastructure for associated sub-studies and analysis projects.

Within PLATON results of genetic tests of different research projects like the PLATON pilot-study (NCT04484636) as well as Next-generation deep sequencing (NGS) according to local protocols will be documented - compiling genomic tumor-profiles including tumor mutational burden (TMB) and microsatellite instability (MSI).

The PLATON Network infrastructure is designed to increase the likelihood of treating the patients with an individualized therapy in available clinical studies. Therefore, molecular profiling must go hand in hand with inter-linking physicians and increasing inter-centre transparency. The feasibility of this approach will be tested in the PLATON Network, keeping in mind the vision of cancer patients receiving the best available, scientifically founded, biomarker-based care, tailored to his or her individual needs.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 565

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Germany
  • Bad Saarow, Germany
    • Helios Klinikum Bad Saarow
  • Berlin, Germany
    • Evangelisches Waldkrankenhaus Spandau
  • Berlin, Germany
    • MVZ Oskar-Helene-Heim Berlin
  • Bochum, Germany
    • Augusta-Kranken-Anstalt Bochum
  • Bochum, Germany
    • Bochum Uni
  • Chemnitz, Germany
    • Klinikum Chemnitz
  • Dortmund, Germany
    • GEFOS - Gesellschaft für onkologische Studien Dortmund
  • Dresden, Germany
    • Onkozentrum Dresden
  • Essen, Germany, 45136
    • Ev. Kliniken Essen-Mitte, Klinik für Internistische Onkologie
  • Goslar, Germany
    • MVZ Onkologische Kooperation Harz
  • Halle, Germany
    • Universitatsklinikum Halle (Saale)
  • Hamburg, Germany
    • Hamburg Onkologische Schwerpunktpraxis Eppendorf
  • Herne, Germany
    • St. Anna Hospital Herne
  • Lahr, Germany
    • Ortenau Klinikum Lahr-Ettenheim
  • Landshut, Germany
    • ÜBAG - MVZ Dr. Vehling-Kaiser GmbH
  • Langen, Germany
    • Langen, Gemeinschaftspraxis für Hämatologie und Onkologie
  • Leer, Germany
    • Studienzentrum UnterEms
  • Lemgo, Germany
    • Klinikum Lippe
  • Ludwigsburg, Germany
    • Klinikum Ludwigsburg
  • München, Germany
    • Klinik München-Bogenhausen
  • Münster, Germany
    • Münster, Gemeinschaftspraxis für Hämatologie und Onkologie
  • Ostfildern, Germany
    • Medius Klinik Osterfildern-Ruit
  • Regensburg, Germany
    • Krankenhaus Barmherzige Brüder
  • Rheine, Germany
    • Klinikum Rheine, Mathias-Spital Rheine
  • Saarbrücken, Germany
    • CaritasKlinikum Saarbrücken
  • Singen, Germany
    • Onkologie Bodensee
  • Witten, Germany
    • Marien Hospital Witten
  • Wolfsburg, Germany
    • Klinikum Wolfsburg
  • Wolfsburg, Germany
    • Onkologisches Zentrum Wolfsburg-Helmstedt MVZ GmbH
  • Hesse
    • Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany, 60488
      • KHNW Frankfurt
  • Schleswig-Holstein
    • Neumünster, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, 24534
      • Friedrich-Ebert-Krankenhaus Neumünster

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

The PLATON Network and its associated pilot study (clinicaltrials.gov:. NCT04484636) enrolls national-wide participants of both sexes and ages over 18 years. All participants are patients diagnosed with hepatocellular cancer (HCC) or intra-/extrahepatic cholangiocellular carcinoma (CCA) or gallbladder carcinoma (GBCA) or pancreatic cancer (PanCa) or esophagogastric cancer (EC/GC). At the time of enrolment life expectancy is at least 6 months and no local curative therapy is available.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Histologically confirmed diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma or intra- cholangiocarcinoma, extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma or gallbladder carcinoma or pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma or esophagogastric adenocarcinoma in the advanced setting (adjuvant or neoadjuvant therapy is allowed if completed 6 months prior to enrolment) and no local curative therapy available
• Standard first line therapy is planned, or patient is currently receiving first-line therapy
• Available tumor-genomic profile ( ≥50-gene panel assay; approved and assessed by central review), unless central tumor genomic profiling is done within a sub-study
• ECOG 0-2
• Life expectancy ≥ 6 months

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not able to understand all implications of study participation
• No written informed consent
• Age < 18 years

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Cohort
• Time Perspectives: Prospective

Number of groups / cohorts

4

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
HCC (Hepatocellular cancer); Hepatocellular cancer patients with NGS based molecular tumor profiling
CCA/GBCA (Intra-, extrahepatic cholangiocellular carcinoma or gallbladder cancer); Intra-, extrahepatic cholangiocellular carcinoma or gallbladder cancer patients with NGS based molecular tumor profiling
PanCa (Pancreatic cancer); Pancreatic cancer patients with NGS based molecular tumor profiling
EC/GC (Oesophagogastric cancer); Oesophagogastric cancer patients with NGS based molecular tumor profiling

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Frequency of targetable mutations in gastrointestinal cancer patients	Relative frequency of targetable mutations computed as the number of patients who harbor at least one mutation divided by the number of total patients in the analyzed patient population	annual interim-analysis (1 year)
Tumor mutations and their impact on treatment decisions in gastrointestinal cancer patients	Number of received therapies in or out accordance to genomic profiles	annual interim-analysis (1 year)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Overall survival (OS) in genetically defined cohorts in gastrointestinal cancer patients	Overall survival measurement over time grouped by diagnostic cohorts and adjusted by age and sex will be correlated to treatments, while genomic profiles had or had not impact on decision for treatment.	annual interim-analysis (1 year)
QoL via EQ-5D-5L questionnaire in genetically defined cohorts in gastrointestinal cancer patients	QoL measurements are done over time in the palliative setting. Gastrointestinal cancer patient cohorts will be grouped by diagnostics and adjusted by age and sex, correlated to treatments, while genomic profiles had or had not impact on decision for treatment in gastrointestinal cancer patients. EQ-5D data is used in summary statistics at each observational timepoint and to estimate the difference between health states like "Mobility", "Looking After Myself", "Doing Usual Activities", "Having Pain or Discomfort", "Feeling Worried, Sad or Unhappy" in diagnostic groups of different treatments over time. The EQ VAS (visual analogue scale) on a scale from 0 (the worst imaginable health) to 100 (the best imaginable health) indicates patients´ overall health on the day of questionnaire completion and will be used as measure of central tendency and dispersion	annual interim-analysis (1 year)
QoL via EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire in genetically defined cohorts in gastrointestinal cancer patients	QoL measurements are done over time in the palliative setting. Gastrointestinal cancer patient cohorts will be grouped by diagnostics and adjusted by age and sex, correlated to treatments, while genomic profiles had or had not impact on decision for treatment in gastrointestinal cancer patients. EORTC QLQ-C30 data is used in summary statistics at each observational timepoint to analyze five function subscales (physical, role, emotional, cognitive and social), nine symptom subscales/items (fatigue, nausea/vomiting, pain, dyspnoea, insomnia, appetite loss, constipation, diarrhoea and financial difficulties) and a global health/ QoL subscale following the QLQ-C30 scoring manual.	annual interim-analysis (1 year)
QoL via EORTC QLQ-BIL21 questionnaire in genetically defined cohorts of CCA and GBCA patients	QoL measurements are done over time in the palliative setting. The CCA and GBCA patients cohort will be adjusted by age and sex, correlated to treatments, while genomic profiles had or had not impact on decision for treatment. QoL in CCA and GBCA patients will be measured using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Questionnaire QLQ-BIL21 and analyzed according validated manual, forming nine symptom subscales/items for "Eating", "Jaundice", "Tiredness", "Pain" and "Anxiety".	annual interim-analysis (1 year)
QoL via EORTC QLQ-HCC18 questionnaire in genetically defined cohorts of HCC patients	QoL measurements are done over time in the palliative setting. The HCC patient cohort will be adjusted by age and sex, correlated to treatments, while genomic profiles had or had not impact on decision for treatment. QoL in HCC patients will be measured using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Questionnaire QLQ-HCC18 and analyzed according validated manual, forming symptom scales for "Fatigue", "Body Image", "Jaundice", "Nutrition", "Pain" and "Fever" as well as single items like "Abdominal swelling" and "Sex life" in summary statistics at each observational timepoint.	annual interim-analysis (1 year)
QoL via EORTC QLQ-PAN26 questionnaire in genetically defined cohorts of PDCA patients	QoL measurements are done over time in the palliative setting. The PDCA patient cohort will be adjusted by age and sex, correlated to treatments, while genomic profiles had or had not impact on decision for treatment. QoL in PDCA patients will be measured using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Questionnaire QLQ-PAN26 and analyzed according validated manual, forming eight scales to assess "Pancreatic pain", "Digestive symptoms", "Altered bowel habit", "Hepatic, body image", "Satisfaction with health care", and "Sex life" in summary statistics at each observational timepoint.	annual interim-analysis (1 year)
QoL via EORTC QLQ-STO22 questionnaire in genetically defined cohorts of EC/GC patients	QoL measurements are done over time in the palliative setting. The EC/GC patient cohort will be adjusted by age and sex, correlated to treatments, while genomic profiles had or had not impact on decision for treatment. QoL in EC/GC patients will be measured using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Questionnaire QLQ-STO22 and analyzed according validated manual, forming five multi-item scales to assess "dysphagia", "pain", "reflux", "eating" and "anxiety" as well as four single items like "dry mouth", "taste", "body image" and "hair loss" in summary statistics at each observational timepoint.	annual interim-analysis (1 year)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Feasibility of the PLATON WebApp - an interactive platform that connects the participating physicians on cases, cancer types, mutations, protein expressions and therapies, possible trials and discussion options for medical professionals	The feasibility will be analyzed with a usability questionnaire regarding user experience, design criteria etc. of the newly designed infrastructure and an additional count on possible matches of cancer patients with defined genetic tumor-profiles to possible targeted therapy strategies.	through study completion, an average of 2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Institut für Klinische Krebsforschung IKF GmbH at Krankenhaus Nordwest
• Investigators: Study Director: Salah-Eddin Al-Batran, Prof. Dr., Institut für Klinische Krebsforschung IKF GmbH at Krankenhaus Nordwest; Principal Investigator: Arndt Vogel, Prof. Dr., Hannover Medical School (MHH)

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• The PLATON Network - website with study information (public)
• The PLATON Network - PLATON WebApp (web-application for PLATON network members only)
• The PLATON Network - Data Capture (for PLATON study team members only)

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 28, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 30, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): June 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 31, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 3, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): August 5, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 5, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 3, 2026
• Last Verified: February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Gastric cancer; Pancreatic Cancer; Cholangiocarcinoma; Oesophageal Cancer; Stomach Cancer; NGS; Gallbladder Cancer; Hepatocellular Cancer; Biobanking; Individualized cancer therapy; Targetable mutations; Platform-Design
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Endocrine System Diseases; Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Histologic Type; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms; Digestive System Neoplasms; Digestive System Diseases; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Stomach Diseases; Endocrine Gland Neoplasms; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Pancreatic Diseases; Biliary Tract Diseases; Liver Diseases; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial; Adenocarcinoma; Esophageal Diseases; Carcinoma; Gallbladder Diseases; Biliary Tract Neoplasms; Stomach Neoplasms; Esophageal Neoplasms; Pancreatic Neoplasms; Liver Neoplasms; Cholangiocarcinoma; Gallbladder Neoplasms
• Other Study ID Numbers: The PLATON Network

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: Depending on participant informed consent individual-participant data (IPD) will be shared in research-cooperations according the terms of PLATON's Use and Access Regulation for scientific and/or educational use. Scientific/ educational projects have to be approved by PLATON'S Scientific Steering Committee.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: PLATON's Use und Access Regulation is available upon individual request for PLATON Network members and cooperation partners. For more information on contact please visit the PLATON Network website.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; ICF; CSR

Study Data/Documents

1. Informed Consent Form
2. See Use & Access Regulation

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No