Clinical Research Directory

Collecting Blood Samples From Patients With and Without Cancer to Evaluate Tests for Early Cancer Detection

This study collects blood and tissue samples from patients with cancer and without cancer to evaluate tests for early cancer detection. Collecting and storing samples of blood and tissue from patients with and without cancer to study in the laboratory may help researchers develop tests for the early detection of cancers.

Adaptive RADiation Therapy With Concurrent Sacituzumab Govitecan (SG) for Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer

The purpose of this study is to examine the safety and tolerability of treatment with concurrent Sacituzumab Govitecan (SG) and adaptive radiation therapy. The main objective is to establish the safety, tolerability, and feasibility of bladder preservation therapy treatment with concurrent SG and adaptive image-guided radiation therapy for participants with localized MIBC. Participants will receive the study drug, SG, through an IV once weekly on days 1 and 8 of each 21-day treatment cycle. The first cycle of SG will begin 21 days prior to the scheduled start of radiation therapy. The second and third cycles of SG will be given while the participant is receiving radiation therapy. Participants will be asked to undergo computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pre-and post-treatment. Participation in the research will last up to 5 years, depending on treatment outcomes, with a treatment period of 8 weeks and a study follow-up period of up to 2-5 years thereafter, and a survival follow-up, with only phone call communication from years 3-5.

Conventionally Fractionated Adaptive Radiation Therapy of Bladder Cancer an Individualized Approach

This is a single-arm, prospective, Phase II, multi-center clinical trial designed to demonstrate that adaptive radiotherapy for muscle invasive bladder cancer will translate into a decreased rate of acute gastrointestinal toxicity compared with the historically reported rate for non-adaptive intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).

Enfortumab Vedotin and Pembrolizumab Combined With Radiotherapy in Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer

This phase Ib/II trial studies the side effects, best dose, and effectiveness of enfortumab vedotin (EV) in combination with pembrolizumab and radiation therapy for treating patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer. Standard of care treatment for muscle invasive bladder cancer is chemotherapy, to shrink the tumor before the main treatment is given (neoadjuvant), followed by surgery to remove all of the bladder as well as nearby tissues and organs (radical cystectomy). In cases where patients are not candidates for the standard of care approach or prefer a bladder sparing option, tri-modality therapy with transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) followed by combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy is used. Enfortumab vedotin is a monoclonal antibody, enfortumab, linked to an anticancer drug called vedotin. It works by helping the immune system to slow or stop the growth of tumor cells. Enfortumab attaches to a protein called nectin-4 on tumor cells in a targeted way and delivers vedotin to kill them. It is a type of antibody-drug conjugate. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as pembrolizumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy is a type of 3-dimensional radiation therapy that uses computer-generated images to show the size and shape of the tumor. Thin beams of radiation of different intensities are aimed at the tumor from many angles. This type of radiation therapy reduces the damage to healthy tissue near the tumor. Giving enfortumab vedotin with pembrolizumab and radiation therapy may work better in treating patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer.

Clinical Trial to Evaluate Post-Operative Outcomes of Ureteral Stent vs Ureteral Stent Free Radical Cystectomy

Subjects will be randomized into 2 groups (stent or no stent) prior to radical cystectomy with ileal conduit urinary diversion (RCIC). They will follow the standard of care and be enrolled in the study for 12 months post-op. Risk of post-op complications will be analyzed.

Bladder Preservation for Patients With Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer (MIBC) With Variant Histology

This is a Phase II, single cohort study designed to evaluate outcomes in patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) with variant histology who receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) with or without immunotherapy (IO) followed by trimodal therapy (TMT). Enrolled patients will undergo at least 3 cycles of NAC +/- IO (oncologist's choice) followed by a four- or six-week course of concurrent standard of care chemotherapy and radiation therapy. These patients will be compared with historical controls of patients with a diagnosis of pure urothelial carcinoma who have undergone TMT. This study has been designed to test the hypothesis that variant histology TMT can be delivered within 45 days of NAC +/- IO and is therefore a viable option in patients who are risk of systemic disease spread.

Supporting Sexual Health in Bladder Cancer Patients: A Sequential Mixed-Methods Intervention Study

Despite increasing recognition of sexual dysfunction and sexual distress as important survivorship issues in oncology, research and clinical attention remain uneven across cancer types. This imbalance is particularly evident in bladder cancer, where sexual health has received limited research and clinical attention. However, existing studies demonstrate substantial sexual dysfunction and reduced intimacy among patients following disease and treatment. The treatment of bladder cancer is a multimodal and multidisciplinary discipline. Low-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is treated by transurethral resection of the bladder (TURB) alone, while recurrent intermediate- and high-risk NMIBC undergo a combination of TURB and adjuvant intravesical instillation therapy. For patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) and specific high-risk NMIBC cases, the first-line treatment option is radical cystectomy with urinary diversion, with or without neoadjuvant chemotherapy. These treatment modalities are known to have a negative impact on sexual function, and studies in both men and women demonstrate profound impairments in sexual function, intimacy, and body image after treatment. Among men, erectile and ejaculatory dysfunction are prevalent for this patient group and frequently associated with diminished sexual satisfaction and body-image concerns. Likewise, women experience loss of sexual desire, orgasmic disorders, dyspareunia, and vaginal dryness following cystectomy. A targeted literature search further identified no contemporary sexology-focused interventional or feasibility trials specifically in bladder cancer (neither MIBC or NMIBC). Existing evidence on the topic is largely descriptive or addresses non-sexological rehabilitation, demonstrating a evidence gap\[1\]. Qualitative research has also explored informational and psychosocial needs among bladder cancer patients, revealing limited communication about sexual health and unmet needs for professional support. Such studies provide valuable insight into patient experiences but have not yet translated this knowledge into the development of structured, sexological interventions. Evidence from other cancer populations demonstrates that counselling and psychoeducational programmes addressing intimacy and sexuality are both feasible and beneficial, suggesting that similar interventions could be adapted for bladder cancer care. To develop a relevant and acceptable intervention, it is essential to understand how patients themselves perceive their sexual health challenges, informational needs, and preferences for professional support regarding sexual health. This project therefore consists of two sequential sub-studies: * Study 1a (Development phase): A qualitative, exploratory study to develop a sexological intervention with patient and clinician involvement. * Study 1b (Feasibility phase): A one-armed feasibility trial assessing the implementation and acceptability of the intervention among patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC).

Personalized Cancer Vaccine (PCV) Strategy in Patients With Solid Tumors and Molecular Residual Disease

This is a phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate the safety, feasibility and immunogenicity of a personalized cancer vaccine strategy in patients with solid tumors and molecular residual disease. The hypothesis of the trial is that synthetic long peptide personalized cancer vaccines will be safe and capable of generating measurable neoantigen-specific T-cell responses enabling ctDNA clearance. The personalized cancer vaccines are composed of synthetic long peptides corresponding to prioritized cancer neoantigens and will be co-administered with poly-ICLC.

Treating Muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer With A Non-surgical Method Consisting of Anti-PD-1 Therapy and Chemoradiation

The goal of this Phase 2 trial is to evaluate a non-surgical bladder-preserving treatment mode which consists of neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD-1) therapy followed by radiotherapy plus concurrent anti-PD-1 therapy. The main questions it aims to answer are: (i) whether the anti-PD-1 antibody, toripalimab, is effective in treating muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), when combined with chemoradiation; (ii) whether toripalimab is safe in combination with chemoradiation. Participants will receive 3 cycles of neoadjuvant treatment containing chemotherapy with gemcitabine and cisplatin/carboplatin, plus toripalimab. Then the ones without progressive disease will receive radical radiotherapy plus 2 cycles of concurrent toripalimab.

Interest of Late Images for the Assessment of Extensions in 18FGD PET-CT of Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancers

The goal of this study is to demonstrate a significant gain in sensitivity versus surgical curage (extended pelvic) for initial lymph node staging of late FDG-PET images (2.5 hours) versus standard images (1 hour), analyzed by side (right iliac/left iliac areas in Patients with muscle-invasive bladder tumor (MIBT) (≥pT2) referred for FDG-PET in the nuclear medicine department of Hôpital Foch as part of their initial extension workup. Before performing 18FDG PET-CT, the operator checks that the patient has fasted for at least 6 hours and that blood glucose levels are below 11 mmol/l. In the absence of contraindication, intravenous (IV) injection of the radiopharmaceutical (18FDG at a dose of 3 MBq/kg) and a diuretic (Furosemide 20mg) will be performed as part of routine care. The 18FDG PET-CT scan will be performed in 2 phases: 1st phase: Standard acquisition (vertex to mid-thigh) at 1 hour post-injection of radiotracer. PET acquisition is coupled to a "base-dose" CT scan in spontaneous contrast, for anatomical location, measurement of lymph node size, and creation of an attenuation map, necessary for correction of attenuation and diffusion on PET images (DLP estimated at around 500 mGy.cm on average). Micturition is performed as part of routine care just before the first acquisition. Phase 2: Complementary abdomino-pelvic acquisition at 2.5 hours post-injection (2 or 3 steps depending on patient size. This second PET acquisition is coupled to an "ultra-base-dose" CT scan in spontaneous contrast, to be used only for attenuation and diffusion correction (DLP estimated at around 100 mGy.cm on average). Micturition is performed 30 minutes before the second acquisition. The patient's proposed therapeutic management will be decided at the PCR once the extension work-up has been carried out, as part of routine care. For this purpose, only "standard" 18FDG PET-CT images may be used. As a general rule, patients with distant metastases (stage pT2N+M+) will receive palliative treatment, while surgical treatment from the outset, or after chemotherapy for patients with stage pT2N0M0 or pT2N+M0, will be discussed on a case-by-case basis at the multidisciplinary consultation meeting. Late" images will be used after lymph node curage, in patients who have not had chemotherapy prior to surgery (cystectomy + extended pelvic lymph node curage), to determine the sensitivity of these complementary images.

Prophylactic Antibiotics in Cystectomy With Diversion

Using a randomized 2 arm design, this study is being conducted to test for non-inferiority of no prophylactic antibiotic therapy versus the prophylactic oral antibiotic, nitrofurantoin, through comparison of rates of postoperative urinary tract infections within the 90-day postoperative period in patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer who undergo radical cystectomy with urinary diversion.

Gemcitabine/Cisplatin Plus Cemiplimab With or Without Fianlimab in Localized Muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer (NeoSTOP-IT)

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if gemcitabine/cisplatin plus cemiplimab with or without fianlimab works to treat bladder cancer in adults. The main question it aims to answer is: Can gemcitabine, cisplatin, and cemiplimab with or without fianlimab treat bladder cancer? Participants will be randomly selected (like the loss of a coin) to treatment with gemcitabine, cisplatin, cemiplimab, and fianlimab or gemcitabine, cisplatin, and cemiplimab. Participants will: * Undergo transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) followed by the start of treatment, receive 4 cycles of treatment (21 day cycles) * After 4 cycles of treatment, patients will undergo repeat maximal TURBT with imaging * Participants with a complete response will continue maintenance cemiplimab or cemiplimab/fianlimab for 13 more cycles with imaging every 3 months * Participants without a complete clinical response will undergo cystectomy (bladder surgery).

NEO-BLAST: Neoadjuvant Therapy for Bladder Cancer Followed by Active Surveillance vs Treatment

Invasive bladder cancer is managed with neoadjuvant therapy followed by bladder removal (cystectomy). Research shows that approximately 40% of patient will have no remaining cancer left in their bladder after completion of the initial systemic treatment, and perhaps could have avoided the surgery. However, currently physicians lack the ability to identify these patients. The investigators believe that by using advanced imaging (MRI), bladder biopsies and novel biomarkers that detect tumor DNA in blood, they can better identify participants without any remaining cancer after chemotherapy. This will make active surveillance of these participants safer. In this study, participants without evidence of residual cancer will be randomized to active surveillance vs conventional bladder treatment (bladder removal, or chemo-radiation of the bladder). This study will be a pilot randomized control trial (RCT), and if successful, it will transition to a larger phase 3 RCT.

A Study of Risk Enabled Therapy After Neoadjuvant Immunochemotherapy for Bladder Cancer

Neoadjuvant accelerated methotrexate/vinblastine/adriamycin/cisplatin (AMVAC) in combination with nivolumab is under evaluation for the treatment of muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). Patients with pre-specified tumor mutations and complete clinical response with neoadjuvant therapy will preserve their bladders and go on active surveillance.

Role of NAC in cT0 Muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer After Maximal TURBt

This prospective randomized controlled trial (RCT) is designed to provide high level evidence describing the non-inferiority of radical cystectomy (RC) alone versus neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) plus RC on survival outcomes of patients with a diagnostic transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBt) of non-metastatic muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) (T2-T4 N0 M0) and non-radiologic or endoscopic residual tumor after a maximal TURBt (cT0). Our hypothesis is that performing NAC in the absence of residual disease, after a maximal TURBt, has no survival benefit over performing an early cystectomy. Since no downstaging could be achieved in patients with no residual tumor into the bladder, the benefits of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in this setting could be not significant and it might turn into unnecessary toxicity and a substantial delay to surgical treatment.

Surveillance of the Genetic Signature in Circulating Tumor DNA for Guiding Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Urothelial Carcinoma

Urothelial carcinomas are one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers worldwide. Postoperative patients carry a poor prognosis with an estimated five-year disease-specific survival rate of 50%. To improve overall survival and reduce the recurrent risk, chemotherapy is recommended as a standard of care. However, currently in Hong Kong, neoadjuvant (preoperational) chemotherapy and adjuvant (postoperative) chemotherapy are not commonly or regularly provided due to the concern of the potential harm from both physicians and patients. Recently, genetic signature from circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is emerging as a pivotal biomarker for detecting caner in early stage and molecular residual disease (MRD). With strengths of non-invasive and superior sensitivity, ctDNA is hopefully to serve as a cancer-agnostic surrogate analyte for risk stratification of tumor recurrence, thereby guiding individually tailored treatment. Therefore, this study is proposed to exploratively assess the benefit of ctDNA-guided approach for postoperative adjuvant therapy.

Modular Trial of sEphB4-HSA in EphrinB2-High Solid Tumors

Patients with solid tumors that have high expression levels of EphrinB2 are treated with regimens that include EphrinB2 inhibitor, sEphB4-HSA. The primary objective of this study is to demonstrate additive therapeutic benefit for sEphB4-HSA. The secondary objectives are to determine whether the sEphB4-HSA containing regimen is safe and whether the oncological endpoints of importance in each cohort improve as a result of treatment with sEphB4-HSA containing regimen relative to a predefined threshold or to a control arm in the cohort where available. Treatment continues until progression of disease or unacceptable toxicities arise.

Evaluating the Impact of 18F-FDG-PET-CT on Risk Stratification and Treatment Adaptation for Patients with Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer

Evaluate the impact of 18F-FDG-PET-CT on the staging of patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer. Based on the results of 2 18F-FDG-PET-CT's patients are stratified in non-metastatic, oligometastatic and polymetastatic bladder cancer patients and the treatment is adapted accordingly to improve overall survival.

Pre-Habilitation with Mindfulness and Exercise for Patients Undergoing Radical Cystectomy (PRIMER Trial)

The PRIMER (Pre-Habilitation With Mindfulness and Exercise for Patients Undergoing Radical Cystectomy) trial is a pilot designed to estimate the feasibility of integrating a home-based pre-operative exercise and mindfulness program (pre-habilitation program) for patients scheduled to undergo radical cystectomy for bladder cancer in an attempt to improve both physical and psychological conditioning pre-operatively.

RC48 Combined with Toripalimab As Neoadjuvant Therapy for Cisplatin Ineligible MIBC Patients

A single-arm, prospective, exploratory clinical trial to explore the pathological complete response (pCR) rate of immune checkpoint inhibitors combined with antibody conjugate drugs as the perioperative treatment of platinum-intolerant bladder cancer patients. Fifty-five patients with clinically or pathologically confirmed muscle-invasive bladder urothelial carcinoma (MIBC) who were ineligible for cisplatin-based chemotherapy or refused cisplatin-based chemotherapy were enrolled. Each subject will receive RC48-ADC and toripalimab intravenously every 2 weeks for a total of 4 cycles before surgery, 8 cycles after surgery. The efficacy was evaluated and followed up after 4 cycles of neoadjuvant therapy, 3 months postoperative, and every 3-6 months thereafter. The primary endpoint of this study was pathological complete response rate (pCR). The secondary endpoints were to explore the safety, disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) of RC48 combined with toripalimab neoadjuvant therapy followed by radical cystectomy.

Cisplatin, Nab-paclitaxel, Nivolumab With Radiotherapy After Resection of Non-Metastatic Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer

In this phase II study, eligible patients will be treated with maximal tumor resection and then started treatment within 8 weeks. Chemotherapy, Nivolumab and radiotherapy (RT) will be started on day one. Chemotherapy will be administered weekly during radiotherapy. Radiotherapy will be performed from Monday to Friday for five weeks. Nivolumab will be administered for one year (13 infusions). Patients will have the complete tumour assessment by computed tomography scan (CT-scan) and cystoscopy up to 5 years after radiotherapy.

The Nephroprotective Effect of Metformin With Cisplatin in Bladder Cancer

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the protective effect of metformin on nephrotoxicity of cisplatin in patients with bladder cancer. The main questions it aims to answer are: * To determine protective effect of metformin on structural and functional kidney injury caused by cisplatin in patients with bladder cancer. * To evaluate the safety of combining cisplatin and metformin on patients with bladder cancer

Bladder Preservation With Sacituzumab Govitecan + Zimberelimab for Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer

Patients with MIBC N0/N1 unwilling or unfit for cystectomy will receive SG + Zimberelimab for 3 cycles of treatment prior of first radiological and TURB re-evaluation. Patients with stable disease or downstaging will continue Zimberelimab up to 1 year. The goal of this trial is to demonstate that Sacituzumab Govitecan + Zimberelimab can avoid cistectomy and can prolong or avoid recurrence to metastatic disease in selected patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. The primary endpoint of this trial is Event Free Survival that is defined as clinical evidence of new or progressing nodal or any distant metastatic disease, radical cystectomy, or death due to any cause from date of inclusion to the first documentation of a EFS event.

Predicting Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer

Bladder cancer (BC) is the 10th most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide and the second most common cancer among Egyptian males. The mainstay of treatment of muscle-invasive BC( MIBC) is neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) followed by radical cystectomy (RC) or bladder preservation(BP) using maximal transurethral resection of the bladder tumor followed by chemoradiation. The rationale to use NAC before RC or BP is to eradicate micro-metastasis and to downstage the primary tumor. The 5-year cancer-specific survival for responders to NAC is 90%, in contrast to 30-40% for those not obtaining an objective response. Drawbacks of NAC are disappointing delay of surgery in non-responders and the potential toxicity. So, predictors of response to NAC are necessary to identify patients who may achieve pathologic complete response and will benefit from BP, and the others who may not respond to NAC and spare them NAC toxicity and RC delay. Tumor microenvironment (TME), including neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), and CD8+ T lymphocytes is a promising predictor of response to NAC in MIBC. NETs are reticulated DNA structures decorated with various protein substances (e.g., histones, myeloperoxidase, neutrophil elastase).NETs are involved in tumor growth, metastasis, and treatment resistance. Moreover, NETs can inhibit T cell responses, thereby promoting tumor growth. On the other hand, immune cells that are present in the TME play a major role in slowing down tumor progression. CD8+T lymphocytes play a central role in immune-mediated control of cancer . Also, they have been found to be a prognostic tool for advanced BC.