Clinical Research Directory

6 vs 3 Cycles of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Potentially Resectable Locally Advanced Thymic Epithelial Tumors

This randomized controlled trial compares 6 versus 3 cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with potentially resectable locally advanced thymic epithelial tumors (TETs, WHO type AB/B/C, AJCC TNM stage IIIA-IVA). Patients are randomized 1:1 to receive either 6 or 3 cycles of chemotherapy (cisplatin + doxorubicin + cyclophosphamide for type B; nab-paclitaxel + carboplatin for type C thymoma/thymic carcinoma) every 3 weeks, followed by surgical resection when feasible. The primary endpoint is event-free survival (EFS). The study aims to determine whether extended neoadjuvant chemotherapy improves surgical outcomes and long-term survival in this rare malignancy.

IMMUNORARE5: A National Platform of 5 Academic Phase II Trials Coordinated by Lyon University Hospital to Assess the Safety and the Efficacy of the IMMUNOtherapy With Domvanalimab + Zimberelimab Combination in Patients With Advanced RARE Cancers

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have revolutionized the management of advanced cancers. However, most rare cancers have been excluded from this progress due to the lack of clinical trials involving these diseases. After the standard first-line treatment, there are no other validated treatments for most of them. The management of these patients in ≥ 2nd line treatment relies on historic poorly effective regimens. This creates an inequity between patients with frequent cancers beneficiating from medical progresses and approvals of innovative drugs, and patients with rare cancers are still treated with old and toxic drugs. Few available data on case reports and early phase studies indicate a beneficial role of the immunotherapy in rare cancers. The investigators assume that the combination of Domvanalimab and Zimberelimab is more effective than historical standard treatments in patients with 5 types of advanced rare cancers, after failure of at least one line of standard treatment in the advanced setting: * Cohort 1: Peritoneal Mesotheliomas (PM) * Cohort 2: Gestational Trophoblastic Tumors (GTT) * Cohort 3: B3 Thymomas and Thymic Carcinomas (TET) * Cohort 4: Refractory Thyroid Carcinomas (ATC) * Cohort 5: GEP-NET and carcinoid tumors (GEP-NET (Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors)/TCT (Thoracic carcinoid tumor)/UP-NET (Neuroendocrine tumor of unknown primary)) The primary objective is to assess the efficacy of the combination of Domvanalimab and Zimberelimab in terms of progression-free survival rate at 24 weeks (for cohorts 1,3,5), successful hCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) normalisation rate at 24 weeks for cohort 2 and survival rate for cohort 4. The secondary objectives are to assess the efficacy of the combination of anti-TIGIT (T cell Immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains) and anti-PD-1 (Programmed Death-1) immunotherapies in terms of overall response rate, progression-free survival (cohort 1-3 and 5), resistance-free survival (cohort 2), overall survival (cohorts 1-3 and 5), duration of the response (cohorts 1-3 and 5); and to assess the tolerability of the doublet of immunotherapy in terms of adverse events. Patients will be treated until disease progression or alternatively 2 years in case of complete response (upon discussion with the coordinator of the study, the coordinator of the cohort and the investigator), unacceptable toxicity, or death. At the end of treatment, patients will be followed up for at least 1 year. IMMUNORARE5 is composed of five independent open-label national multicenter single-arm phase II trials, sponsored by Lyon University Hospital, led in collaboration with the corresponding French national reference centers, with a centralized coordination by a dedicated team. Each phase II trial is designed as a two-stage Simon design, with early termination for futility. For each cohort, a null hypothesis (H0) and an alternative hypotheses (H1) regarding the percentages of patients with success has been defined, with 5% one-sided alpha level and 80% power. The trial will be conducted in 15 French Centers with an inclusion period of 36 months

Hypofractionated Radiotherapy for Thymic Epithelial Tumors

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if hypofractionated radiotherapy works to shorten the treatment time without increasing the side effects in patients of thymic epithelial tumors. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does Hypofractionated radiotherapy provide better results? * Can hypofractionated radiotherapy reduce toxic and side effects compared with conventional radiotherapy? Researchers will compare the efficacy and safety of hypofractionated radiotherapy after thymic tumor surgery. Participants will: * Receive hypofractionated radiotherapy or conventional radiotherapy * Visit the hospital regularly once every 12 weeks for checkups and tests

Artificial Intelligence Prediction Tool in Thymic Epithelial Tumors

Thymic epithelial tumors are rare neoplasms in the anterior mediastinum. The cornerstone of the treatment is surgical resection. Administration of postoperative radiotherapy is usually indicated in patients with more extensive local disease, incomplete resection and/or more aggressive subtypes, defined by the WHO histopathological classification. In this classification thymoma types A, AB, B1, B2, B3, and thymic carcinoma are distinguished. Studies have shown large discordances between pathologists in subtyping these tumors. Moreover, the WHO classification alone does not accurately predict the risk of recurrence, as within subtypes patients have divergent prognoses. The investigators will develop AI models using digital pathology and relevant clinical variables to improve the accuracy of histopathological classification of thymic epithelial tumors, and to better predict the risk of recurrence. In this multicentric and international project three existing databases will be used from Rotterdam, Maastricht and Lyon. For all models one database will be used to build AI models, and the other two for external validation. The ultimate goal of this project is to develop AI models that support the pathologist in correctly subtyping thymic epithelial tumors, in order to prevent patients from under- or overtreatment with adjuvant radiotherapy.

Adjuvant Treatment for Incomplete Resection Thymoma or Thymic Carcinoma

This study is designed to investigate whether adjuvant radiochemotherapy after incomplete resection has a better survival than adjuvant radiotherapy for thymoma or thymic carcinoma.