Phase II Prospective, Open Label Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Standard of Care Therapy With and Without Sequential Cytoreductive Intervention for Patients With Metastatic Foregut Adenocarcinoma and Undetectable Circulating Tumor-Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid (ctDNA) Levels

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Trial Details

Sponsor: Yale University (other)

Phase: 2

Start date: Dec. 15, 2025

Planned enrollment: 54

Trial ID: NCT07282912
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More trial details at ClinicalTrials.gov More info

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Investigational Drug AI Analysis

No investigational drugs.

TrialFetch AI Analysis

Goal: To determine whether adding definitive local cytoreductive treatment to all known disease sites improves progression-free survival compared with continued standard systemic therapy in patients with oligometastatic foregut adenocarcinoma who have no detectable ctDNA after induction chemotherapy. The trial is based on the hypothesis that ctDNA-negative status may identify a subgroup with limited residual systemic disease who could benefit from aggressive local therapy such as surgery, radiation, or ablation.

Patients: Adults 18 to 80 years old with AJCC 8th edition stage IV adenocarcinoma of the upper gastrointestinal/foregut tract, including esophageal or gastroesophageal junction, gastric, pancreatic, intrahepatic or extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, gallbladder, duodenal, or ampullary adenocarcinoma. Patients must have oligometastatic disease limited to no more than two metastatic sites, with lesions considered completely resectable or treatable with curative intent, and the primary tumor must also be resectable or amenable to definitive local therapy. Eligible patients must have received at least 4 months of effective systemic therapy, have no progression on the current regimen, have ECOG performance status 0 to 1, adequate organ function, and two concordant negative tissue-informed ctDNA tests, with the second within 45 days before enrollment. Key exclusions include detectable ctDNA at enrollment, CNS or bone metastases, malignant pleural effusion, progressive disease, significant cardiopulmonary or hepatic comorbidity, active infection, pregnancy or breastfeeding, and inability to undergo chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy, or ablative procedures.

Design: This is a single-center, open-label, randomized phase 2 trial. After induction systemic therapy and confirmation of undetectable ctDNA, patients are randomized to sequential cytoreductive intervention or continued standard-of-care systemic therapy. The study is not blinded, and treatment assignment is known to patients and investigators. ctDNA monitoring with the Signatera Genome ultra-sensitive blood test is incorporated in both arms.

Treatments: The experimental arm receives sequential cytoreductive intervention directed at the primary tumor and metastatic sites, to be completed within 3 months after randomization. Interventions may include surgical resection, consolidative radiotherapy, microwave ablation, trans-arterial radioembolization or chemoembolization, or other definitive local approaches depending on tumor location and metastatic pattern. The comparator arm continues standard-of-care systemic therapy until disease progression, reflecting usual management for metastatic foregut adenocarcinoma. Both arms undergo serial ctDNA assessment using a tumor-informed Signatera assay to monitor molecular disease status.

Outcomes: The primary endpoint is progression-free survival, defined as time from randomization to RECIST 1.1 disease progression or death from any cause, assessed up to 12 months after randomization. Secondary endpoints include 1-year post-treatment survival, change in EORTC QLQ-C30 global health status/quality-of-life score, change in EORTC QLQ-C30 physical functioning score, and change in financial toxicity measured by the COST questionnaire. Quality-of-life and financial toxicity assessments are collected after randomization at weeks 1, 3, 5, and 9 and at first follow-up up to 3 months.

Burden on patient: The burden is moderate to high for patients randomized to the cytoreductive intervention arm because they may undergo multiple local procedures over a 3-month period, potentially including major surgery, radiation, ablation, or liver-directed therapy, with associated recovery time, peri-procedural testing, and more frequent visits. The standard-of-care arm has a lower incremental burden, largely consisting of continued systemic therapy and serial ctDNA blood draws in addition to usual imaging and clinical follow-up. Across both arms, the study adds tumor-informed ctDNA testing and repeated quality-of-life and financial toxicity questionnaires, but it does not appear to require investigational drug pharmacokinetic sampling or mandatory research biopsies beyond what is needed for ctDNA assay development and clinical care.

Last updated: May 2026

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Smilow Cancer Center

New Haven, Connecticut, 06519, United States

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Status: Recruiting

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