AzTrials
AzTrials

Lung CarcinomaNCT05556525

Needle-Based Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy for Diagnosis of Lung Cancer in Patients With Peripheral Pulmonary Nodules

A study testing Fluorescein, Image-Guided Needle Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy and Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration in people with Lung Carcinoma, run by Mayo Clinic at 1 site in United States.

Terminated

Stopped early. The study ended before it was planned to and will not resume.

Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

This clinical trial compares the addition of needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (nCLE) and fluorescein to endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS TBNA) with EBUS TBNA alone for the diagnosis of lung cancer in patients with peripheral pulmonary nodules. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 21 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Lung Carcinoma
What is being tested?
Fluorescein, Image-Guided Needle Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy and Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
3 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
12 May 2023to 25 Oct 2024
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 21 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • >= 21 years of age
  • Suspected PPN
  • Nodule size in computed tomography (CT) between 8 mm and 30 mm (largest dimension)
  • Ability to understand and willingness to sign a written informed consent and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) consent document

Who cannot join

  • Inability or non-willingness to provide informed consent
  • Failure to comply with the study protocol
  • Patients with known allergy for fluorescein or risk factors for an allergic reaction
  • Use of beta-blocker within 24 hours before the start of the bronchoscopic procedure
  • Possibly pregnant, pregnant or breastfeeding women
  • Patients with hemodynamic instability
Show all 14Show fewer
  • Patients with refractory hypoxemia
  • Patients with a therapeutic anticoagulant that cannot be held for an appropriate interval before the procedure
  • Patients who are unable to tolerate general anesthesia according to the anesthesiologist
  • Patient undergoing chemotherapy
  • INTRA-OPERATIVE EXCLUSION/STOPPING CRITERIA:
  • The lesions are unable to be localized/confirmed by bronchoscopy
  • The procedure will be terminated if the patient develops a significant procedural complication as determined by the treating physician
  • The procedure will be terminated if the patient develops hemodynamic instability as determined by the treating physician

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Mayo Clinic in Florida

    Jacksonville, Florida, 32224-9980

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: nCLE Guided Randomized Controlled Trial for Lung Cancer Diagnosis

This clinical trial compares the addition of needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (nCLE) and fluorescein to endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS TBNA) with EBUS TBNA alone for the diagnosis of lung cancer in patients with peripheral pulmonary nodules. EBUS TBNA is a diagnostic procedure that can be used to sample lung tissue. nCLE is a novel high-resolution imaging technique that uses a laser light to create real-time microscopic images of tissues. It can be integrated into needles allowing real-time cancer detection during endoscopy. Fluorescein is an imaging agent that can be used to visualize tissue. Using nCLE and fluorescein in combination with EBUS TBNA may be more effective in diagnosing lung cancer than using EBUS TBNA alone.

Read the detailed description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

  1. To compare the first-pass diagnostic yield of the sequential needle passes (rapid on-site evaluation [ROSE]) between the robotic-nCLE-TBNA arm and the robotic-guided arm in peripheral pulmonary nodule (PPNs).

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

  1. To compare the per-patient diagnostic yield (cumulative pass diagnostic yield: cumulative number of passes until five cumulated passes) of robotic-nCLE-guided TBNA to that of robotic-guided TBNA in PPNs.

II. To compare the proportion of patients with lung cancer treatment in the robotic-nCLE-guided TBNA arm to that of the robotic-guided TBNA arm in PPNs.

III. To compare the proportion of patients with follow-up (video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery [VATS]) or transthoracic needle aspiration (TTNA) or TBNA procedures in the robotic-nCLE-guided TBNA arm to that of the robotic-guided TBNA arm in PPNs.

IV. To compare the number of passes needed to obtain a final diagnosis of robotic-nCLE-guided TBNA to that of robotic-guided TBNA in PPNs.

  1. To assess the diagnostic performance (sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value [PPV], negative predictive value [NPV], accuracy) of the sequential cumulative nCLE passes and the sequential cumulative ROSE passes using the final diagnosis as a reference.

VI. To assess the feasibility by obtaining adequate confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) video footage in > 80% of the PPN punctures.

VII. To assess the safety of nCLE imaging, as defined by:

VIIa. The number and frequency of all adverse events (AE)/serious adverse events (SAE) from the start of the procedure until end of 12-month follow-up; VIIb. The number and frequency of nCLE procedure-related AE/SAE from the start of the procedure until end of 12-month follow-up.

VIII. To assess the reproducibility of nCLE criteria to the reference standard. Three nCLE characteristics for the detection of malignancy were identified during Wijmans et al. study:

VIIIa. Dark enlarged pleomorphic cells; VIIIb. Dark cell clusters consist of overlapping cell structures ('dark clumps') and; VIIIc. Continuous movement of the cells in one direction ('directional streaming').

IX. To create an nCLE image atlas for malignant characteristics in PPNs.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms.

ARM I: Patients undergo robotic EBUS TBNA on study.

ARM II: Patients undergo EBUS TBNA, nCLE, and receive fluorescein intravenously (IV) on study.

Conditions
Lung Carcinoma
Being tested
Fluorescein, Image-Guided Needle Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy, Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration
Medical subject headings
Lung Neoplasms

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • FluoresceinOther

    Given IV

  • Image-Guided Needle Confocal Laser EndomicroscopyDevice

    Undergo nCLE

  • Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle AspirationProcedure or surgery

    Also called EBUS-TBNA, Endobronchial Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration

    Undergo EBUS TBNA

Study groups in NCT05556525
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Arm I (EBUS TBNA)Active comparatorPatients undergo robotic EBUS TBNA on study.
Receives: Procedure: Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration
Arm II (EBUS TBNA, nCLE, fluorescein)ExperimentalPatients undergo EBUS TBNA, nCLE, and receive fluorescein IV on study.
Receives: Other: Fluorescein; Device: Image-Guided Needle Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy; Procedure: Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. First-pass Diagnostic Yield

    Calculated as the proportion of patients for which first-pass transbronchial needle aspiration during bronchoscopic procedure yielded a definitive diagnosis out of the total number of patients that have received a diagnostic procedure.

    Measured: Baseline

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. Per-patient Diagnostic Yield

    Calculated as the proportion of patients in whom the bronchoscopic procedure yielded a definitive diagnosis out of the total number of patients that have received a diagnostic procedure. Per patient diagnostic yield of each bronchoscopic procedure will be calculated, and the accuracy of each technique using the final/definitive diagnosis as the reference. The diagnostic yield and accuracy for each method will be compared.

    Measured: Baseline to 12 months following procedure

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted27 Sep 2022
  2. Study start12 May 2023
  3. Primary completion3 Jun 2024
  4. Study completion25 Oct 2024

Why it stopped: Slow accrual

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Diagnosis
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Single blind
Who is masked
Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
3 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT05556525
Sponsor's protocol ID
MKT_2021_lung_01
Other IDs
NCI-2022-07660, 21-008276
Status last verified
Jul 2025
First submitted
23 Sep 2022
Last updated
17 Sep 2025
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
Yes

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Fluorescein, Image-Guided Needle Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy and Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration in people with Lung Carcinoma, run by Mayo Clinic at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 14 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: stopped early, as of the sponsor's last update on 17 Sep 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 17 Sep 2025). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

First-pass Diagnostic Yield (time frame: Baseline). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 17 Sep 2025.

Free account

Log in to keep searching

You’ve used your 3 free searches. AzTrials is free: log in or create a free account to keep searching clinical trials and save the ones you want to follow.

Create a free accountLog in