Personalized ctDNA Monitoring for Predicting Immunotherapy Outcomes in Advanced Non-Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

Patient-Specific Circulating Tumor DNA Monitoring for Prediction of Immunotherapy Response and Prognostic Stratification in Advanced Non-Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study

This is a prospective, non-interventional observational cohort study evaluating the clinical utility of patient-specific circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) monitoring in patients with advanced non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma (nccRCC) receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor-based systemic therapy. Tumor-informed personalized ctDNA assays will be developed based on tumor tissue and matched normal blood samples, and ctDNA will be longitudinally assessed at predefined time points during treatment. The primary objectives are to evaluate the associations of baseline ctDNA status with progression-free survival and objective response rate. Secondary and exploratory analyses will assess overall survival, disease control, duration of response, longitudinal ctDNA dynamics, radiographic tumor burden, and molecular progression.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Non-Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma
• Intervention / Treatment: Diagnostic test: Patient-Specific Tumor-Informed ctDNA Monitoring

Detailed Description

Patients with unresectable or metastatic non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma who are scheduled to receive immune checkpoint inhibitor-based systemic therapy according to routine clinical practice will be prospectively enrolled. Treatment regimens may include immune checkpoint inhibitor plus targeted therapy, dual immune checkpoint blockade, or immune checkpoint inhibitor monotherapy. Treatment selection will not be determined by this study.

For each participant, tumor tissue and matched normal peripheral blood will be analyzed to identify patient-specific somatic variants and establish a personalized tumor-informed ctDNA assay. Peripheral blood for longitudinal ctDNA monitoring will be collected before treatment, during early treatment, at the first radiographic assessment, during subsequent radiographic evaluations when feasible, and at disease progression or treatment discontinuation.

The primary analyses will compare progression-free survival and objective response rate between patients with detectable and undetectable baseline ctDNA. Secondary analyses will evaluate overall survival, disease control rate, and duration of response. Exploratory analyses will characterize longitudinal ctDNA patterns, including persistently negative, positive-to-negative, persistently positive, and negative-to-positive patterns, and investigate their associations with clinical outcomes, radiographic tumor burden, and the timing of disease progression.

Research ctDNA results will be used for scientific analysis and supportive clinical assessment and will not serve as the primary basis for treatment decisions.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 67

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Hao Zeng, MD, PhD; Phone Number: +86-18980602129; Email: kucaizeng@163.com

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients with histologically confirmed advanced non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma treated at West China Hospital, Sichuan University, who are scheduled to initiate immune checkpoint inhibitor-based systemic therapy according to routine clinical practice. Eligible histological subtypes include papillary renal cell carcinoma, chromophobe renal cell carcinoma, TFE3-rearranged renal cell carcinoma, FH-deficient renal cell carcinoma, collecting duct carcinoma, renal medullary carcinoma, and other rare non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma subtypes.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Participants must meet all of the following criteria:

1. Age 14 years or older, with no restriction based on sex.
2. Histologically confirmed renal cell carcinoma classified as non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Immunohistochemical or molecular testing may be used when necessary to establish the histological subtype. Eligible subtypes include papillary renal cell carcinoma, chromophobe renal cell carcinoma, TFE3-rearranged renal cell carcinoma, FH-deficient renal cell carcinoma, collecting duct carcinoma, renal medullary carcinoma, and other rare non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma subtypes.
3. Unresectable or metastatic renal cell carcinoma with at least one measurable lesion according to RECIST version 1.1.
4. Scheduled, according to routine clinical care, to initiate immune checkpoint inhibitor-based systemic therapy, including an immune checkpoint inhibitor combined with targeted therapy, dual immune checkpoint blockade, or immune checkpoint inhibitor monotherapy. The number of previous lines of systemic therapy is not restricted, provided that prior treatment history, specific regimens, and best responses can be adequately documented.
5. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0-2 and an estimated life expectancy greater than 3 months.
6. Ability and willingness to provide written informed consent and comply with protocol-specified sample collection, examinations, and follow-up.

Exclusion Criteria:

Participants meeting any of the following criteria will be excluded:

1. The planned systemic treatment does not contain an immune checkpoint inhibitor and consists only of chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or another non-immunotherapy systemic treatment.
2. Untreated, symptomatic, or clinically unstable central nervous system metastases or leptomeningeal metastases.
3. Another active malignancy of a different primary site or histological type within the previous 3 years, except adequately controlled malignancies such as papillary thyroid carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma of the skin, squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, or cervical carcinoma in situ.
4. Major surgery or severe trauma within 4 weeks before enrollment without adequate recovery.
5. Uncontrolled severe infection or another serious comorbidity, including active tuberculosis, active hepatitis B or C, severe cardiac insufficiency, persistent symptomatic arrhythmia, uncontrolled hypertension, or serious cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events such as myocardial infarction, unstable angina, or cerebrovascular accident within 6 months before enrollment.
6. Pregnancy or breastfeeding.
7. Severe psychiatric, cognitive, or behavioral impairment that prevents understanding of the study, provision of required samples, or completion of protocol-specified examinations and follow-up.
8. Failure to establish a patient-specific ctDNA monitoring panel because of inadequate tumor tissue quantity or quality, inability to identify suitable patient-specific somatic variants, or other technical reasons.
9. Any other condition that, in the investigator's judgment, may increase the risks associated with study participation, interfere with interpretation of the study results, or compromise protocol compliance.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Intervention / Treatment

Advanced nccRCC Cohort; Patients with unresectable or metastatic non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma who are initiating immune checkpoint inhibitor-based systemic therapy according to routine clinical practice. Participants will undergo longitudinal patient-specific tumor-informed ctDNA monitoring and will subsequently be classified according to baseline ctDNA status and longitudinal ctDNA dynamics for outcome analyses.

Diagnostic test: Patient-Specific Tumor-Informed ctDNA Monitoring; Tumor tissue and matched normal blood will undergo genomic analysis to identify patient-specific somatic variants for development of a personalized tumor-informed ctDNA assay. Longitudinal plasma samples will subsequently be analyzed for ctDNA during systemic therapy. The assay is used for research monitoring and does not determine treatment selection.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Progression-Free Survival According to Baseline ctDNA Status	Progression-free survival (PFS) will be defined as the time from initiation of immune checkpoint inhibitor-based systemic therapy to radiographic disease progression according to RECIST version 1.1 or death from any cause, whichever occurs first. PFS will be compared between participants with detectable and undetectable baseline ctDNA. The primary effect estimate will be the hazard ratio with its 95% confidence interval.	From treatment initiation until disease progression or death, assessed through December 2028
Objective Response Rate According to Baseline ctDNA Status	Objective response rate (ORR) will be defined as the proportion of participants achieving a best overall response of complete response or partial response according to RECIST version 1.1. ORR will be compared between participants with detectable and undetectable baseline ctDNA.	From treatment initiation through disease progression, assessed approximately every 8-12 weeks through December 2028

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Overall Survival According to Baseline ctDNA Status	Overall survival will be defined as the time from initiation of immune checkpoint inhibitor-based systemic therapy to death from any cause and will be compared according to baseline ctDNA status.	From treatment initiation until death from any cause, assessed through December 2028
Disease Control Rate According to Baseline ctDNA Status	Disease control rate will be defined as the proportion of participants achieving complete response, partial response, or stable disease as the best overall response according to RECIST version 1.1 and will be compared according to baseline ctDNA status.	From treatment initiation through disease progression, assessed through December 2028
Duration of Response According to Baseline ctDNA Status	Among participants achieving complete or partial response, duration of response will be defined as the time from the first documented objective response until radiographic disease progression or death from any cause, whichever occurs first.	From first documented response until disease progression or death, assessed through December 2028

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: West China Hospital
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Hao Zeng, Doctor, West China Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): September 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 30, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 30, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 17, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 17, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): August 20, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 20, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 17, 2026
• Last Verified: August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Liquid Biopsy; Circulating Tumor DNA; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor; Non-Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma; Personalized ctDNA Monitoring
• Other Study ID Numbers: WCH-nccRCC-ctDNA

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: There is a plan to make IPD and related data dictionaries available.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Data would be available starting from the time when summary data are published orotherwise made available, for 3 years.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Other researchers access the data by sending an email to our PI.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; ICF; CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

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