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Locally Advanced Rectal CarcinomaPhase 2CINTS-RNCT05601505

Circulating Tumor DNA-guided Neoadjuvant Treatment Strategy for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer

A Phase 2 study testing circulating tumor DNA in people with Locally Advanced Rectal Carcinoma and Circulating Tumor DNA, run by Peking Union Medical College Hospital at 1 site in China.

Recruiting

Looking for participants now. Contact the study team or a site below to ask about taking part.

Sites and contacts
Official record
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Trial summary

Rectal cancer still remains one of the most popular tumors, however, distance metastasis still remains as high as 30% and the long-term survival outcomes are still unsatisfying. The recent conception of total neoadjuvant therapy and immune therapy is becoming popular and the oncologic effects are encouraging… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 75 years
What is being tested?
circulating tumor DNA
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
470 participants
Where
1 siteChina
Study dates
3 Feb 2023to 1 Nov 2026
Phase
Phase 2
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

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 18 to 75 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Aged 18-75 years;
  • ECOG score 0-2;
  • Rectal adenocarcinoma confirmed by pathology;
  • The lower margin of the tumor was less than 12cm from the anal margin;
  • Patients with clinical stage cT3-4N0M0 or cTanyN+M0;
  • Newly treated patients who have not received treatment including radiotherapy, chemotherapy and surgery;
  • Liver, kidney and other organs have good function and can tolerate radiotherapy, chemotherapy and surgery;
  • Patients and family members can understand the study protocol, voluntarily participate in the study and sign informed consent.

Who cannot join

  • ECOG score > 2;
  • Patients with multiple primary colorectal cancers;
  • A history of other malignant tumors (other than cured basal cell carcinoma, cervical carcinoma in situ, surgically treated localized prostate cancer, or surgically resected breast ductal carcinoma in situ) within the past 5 years;
  • Complicated with intestinal obstruction, intestinal perforation, gastrointestinal bleeding and other patients requiring emergency surgery;
  • pregnant or lactating women;
  • Patients with a history of severe mental illness, immune disease, hormone medication;
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  • Patients contraindicated by MRI examination, chemoradiotherapy, immunotherapy or surgery;
  • Participated in other clinical researchers in the past 3 months;
  • Any other circumstances that the investigator considers inappropriate for inclusion.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.

Lin guole, Doctor contact

13801081483

linguole@126.com

China1 site, 1 recruiting
  • Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences,

    Beijing, Beijing Municipality, 100005

    Lin guole, doctor, 13801081483, linguole@126.com

    Recruiting

Other trials in China

About this study

Official title: Circulating Tumor DNA-guided Neoadjuvant Treatment Strategy for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer --- a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial (CINTS-R)

Rectal cancer still remains one of the most popular tumors, however, distance metastasis still remains as high as 30% and the long-term survival outcomes are still unsatisfying. The recent conception of total neoadjuvant therapy and immune therapy is becoming popular and the oncologic effects are encouraging, especially in terms of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), the prognostic value of ctDNA has been demonstrated by our prior study. This study will carry out accurate ctDNA-guided neoadjuvant therapy on the basis of previous studies of the research group, and give appropriate treatment plans and treatment intensity to patients with different disease degrees. At the same time, combined with the latest progress in clinical diagnosis and treatment, the potential beneficiaries of immunotherapy were screened scientifically, and the combined immunotherapy was implemented accordingly.

Read the detailed description

Rectal cancer still remains one of the most popular tumors, a multidisciplinary approach including neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, total mesorectal excision and adjuvant chemotherapy has resulted a satisfying oncologic outcome in terms of reducing local recurrence and improving local control of disease for the treatment of rectal cancer, however, distance metastasis still remains as high as 30% and the long-term survival outcomes is still unsatisfying.

The recent conception of total neoadjuvant therapy and immune therapy is becoming popular and the oncologic effects are encouraging, especially in terms of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), the prognostic value of ctDNA has been demonstrated by our prior study. This study demonstrated that ctDNA is an effective marker of tumor burden in real time and for the first time identified baseline ctDNA mutation frequency before nCRT as an independent prognostic factor for recent LARC recurrence and metastasis. This suggests that patients with different tumor burden according to baseline ctDNA mutation frequency should be given neoadjuvant therapy with corresponding intensity, in order to improve systemic disease control in patients with high risk of recurrence and metastasis, and to avoid overtreatment in patients with low risk.

In conclusion, this study will carry out accurate ctDNA-guided neoadjuvant therapy on the basis of previous studies of the research group, and give appropriate treatment plans and treatment intensity to patients with different disease degrees. At the same time, combined with the latest progress in clinical diagnosis and treatment, the potential beneficiaries of immunotherapy were screened scientifically, and the combined immunotherapy was implemented accordingly. With the development of this study, several precision medicine research results obtained by our research group will be expected to be translated into clinical practice as soon as possible, which will improve the efficacy of LARC patients, reduce the rate of adverse reactions, and ultimately promote the improvement of the treatment level of rectal cancer and the more reasonable use of public medical resources.

The patients with locally advanced rectal cancer staged as cT3-4N0/cTanyN+ will be included in this study. Patients will be randomized into two groups, the experimental group will receive different strategies after next generation sequencing of tumor tissue and IMC, those with MSI-H or TMB-H will be advised to receive immune therapy, and the others will be arranged to randomly receive NCRT (baseline VAF<0.5%) or total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) (baseline VAF≥0.5% or a positive post-CRT ctDNA) according to the VAF value of ctDNA; the control group will receive modified NCRT only.

Being tested
circulating tumor DNA
Keywords
Locally advanced rectal cancer, circulating tumor DNA, Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, Total neoadjuvant therapy, Randomized Controlled Trial

What participants receive

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

  • circulating tumor DNAOther

    This study will further testify the prognostic value of ctDNA in the treatment term of locally advanced rectal cancer, the higher the VAF value, the higher the risk of recurrence and metastasis.

Study groups in NCT05601505
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Traditional neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy groupNo interventionEligible patients randomized into arm A will receive traditional neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, including long-course radiotherapy with a total number of 45-50.4Gy in 25-28 fractions, and with concurrent 3 times of oral capecitabine, the strategies of capecitabine are: During radiotherapy: capecitabine 1650mg/m2/d, orally administered twice a day, d1-d14, every 3 weeks as a course; During the non-radiotherapy period: capecitabine 2000mg/m2/d, orally administered twice daily, d1-d14, every 3 weeks as a course
ctDNA-guided neoadjuvant treatment groupExperimentalAfter sequencing tumor tissue, those with MSI-H/TMB-H or POLD/POLE2 mutation willed be arranged to receive immune therapy following NCRT,Terelizumab,200mg. The others are arranged to randomly receive TNT (VAF>0.4%) or NCRT (VAF<0.4%) according to VAF value by the level of ctDNA. TNT: Long course radiotherapy combined with 2 courses of single-agent capecitabine chemotherapy → 6 courses of CapeOX (Capecitabine 2000mg/m2/ day, twice orally, d1-14; Oxaliplatin 100-130mg/m2, intravenous infusion, d1; Every 3 weeks for a course of treatment.) chemotherapy was performed 2 to 3 weeks after the end of chemotherapy.
Receives: Other: circulating tumor DNA

What is being measured

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

  1. two-year disease-related treatment failure, 2y-DrTF

    the incidence of any of the following events occurring after treatment: identification of distant metastasis or progression to unresectable disease before surgery, non-radical resection of the primary tumour, local recurrence or distant metastasis after radical surgery, new primary colorectal tumour, or treatment-related death.

    Measured: 2 years

Secondary outcomes (7)
  1. Time to recurrence, TTR

    The median time from randomization to the first observation of recurrence.

    Measured: 2 years

  2. Two-year overall survival, 2yOS

    Refers to the proportion of patients still alive at 2 years after surgery

    Measured: 2 years

  3. two-year disease-free survival (2yDFS)

    the percentage of patients who remain free of cancer recurrence or death from any cause two years after surgery.

    Measured: 2 years

  4. clinical complete response (cCR) and near complete response (ncCR) rate

    cCR and ncCR rate evaluated based on comprehensive examinations according to NCCN guidelines.

    Measured: up to 1 year

  5. pathologically complete response (pCR) rate

    the percentage of patients who are assessed as pathologically complete response (pCR) by pathologist.

    Measured: up to 1 year

  6. pathological tumour regression grade (pTRG)

    pathological tumor regression grade which is determined according to the criteria of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 8th edition

    Measured: up to 1 year

  7. Quality of life assessment (QoL)

    it will be assessed by European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) questionnaires at each follow-up visit.

    Measured: 5 years

Timeline

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

  1. First posted1 Nov 2022
  2. Study start3 Feb 2023
  3. Primary completion31 Oct 2025 (estimated)
  4. Study completion1 Nov 2026 (estimated)

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 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
470 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT05601505
Sponsor's protocol ID
2022-PUMCH-C-005
Acronym
CINTS-R
Status last verified
Dec 2024
First submitted
27 Oct 2022
Last updated
24 Dec 2024
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
Yes: De-identified participant data from the final research dataset used in the published manuscript will be available from the corresponding author at reasonable request. They may only be shared under the terms of a Data Use Agreement. Data from this clinical trial will only be shared in compliance with national regulations.

Publications

  • Zhang X, Zhou J, Geng J, Li Y, Huang F, Shu W, Fu W, Zhou X, Wu G, Jia W, Cui J, Wang Z, Han J, Shi B, Li L, Rui J, Xue H, Hu K, Xu T, Chen W, Lu J, Yao H, Liu Q, Lin G. Feasibility of ctDNA-guided precision neoadjuvant therapy in locally advanced rectal cancer: Insights from the ongoing CINTS-R trial. Eur J Cancer. 2026 Feb 5;234:116193. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2025.116193. Epub 2025 Dec 18.

    PubMed 41435753
  • Zhou J, Zhang X, Liu Q, Li Y, Wu G, Fu W, Yao H, Wang Z, Xue H, Xu T, Chen W, Lu J, Zhang G, Wu B, An Y, Qiu X, Xiao Y, Lin G. Rationale and design of a multicentre randomised controlled trial on circulating tumour DNA-guided neoadjuvant treatment strategy for locally advanced rectal cancer (CINTS-R). BMJ Open. 2025 Feb 2;15(1):e090765. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-090765.

    PubMed 39894522

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 2 study testing circulating tumor DNA in people with Locally Advanced Rectal Carcinoma and Circulating Tumor DNA, run by Peking Union Medical College Hospital at 1 site in China.

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 8 inclusion and 9 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: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 24 Dec 2024. 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 China. 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.

What does this phase mean?

Phase 2 studies give the treatment to a larger group to see whether it has the intended effect and to keep checking safety.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

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

Contact Lin guole, Doctor (13801081483, linguole@126.com), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

two-year disease-related treatment failure, 2y-DrTF (time frame: 2 years). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT05601505, which also lists 2 linked publications.

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 24 Dec 2024.

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