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Lung Cancer (NSCLC)NCT06921681

Ultrasound-guided Cryobiopsy of Mediastinal/Hilar Lymph Nodes

A study testing Cryobiopsy of lymph nodes group 6 sec and Cryobiopsy lymphnode group 3 sec in people with Lung Cancer (NSCLC), run by University of Zurich at 1 site in Switzerland.

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

EBUS-guided cryobiopsy of mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes has shown to be a useful diagnostic tool to obtain tissue for histological analysis and further targeted therapies in lung malignancies. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 90 years
Conditions the study is for
Lung Cancer (NSCLC)
What is being tested?
Cryobiopsy of lymph nodes group 6 sec and Cryobiopsy lymphnode group 3 sec
Type of treatment
Medical device
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
136 participants
Where
1 siteSwitzerland
Study dates
7 Mar 2025to 31 Dec 2029
Phase
Interventional
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 90 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • At least one mediastinal lesion or hilar 1 cm or longer in the short axis requiring diagnostic bronchoscopy
  • Age between 18 and 90 years
  • Written informed consent after participant's information

Who cannot join

  • Age < 18 and > 90 years
  • Lacking ability to form an informed consent (including impaired judgement, communication barriers)
  • Contraindication against bronchoscopy (e.g. co-morbidities)
  • Mediastinal abscess or cyst
  • Extraordinary blood supply of the lesion visualized by EBUS bronchoscope
  • INR > 1.5 or Thrombocytes < 100 G/l
Show all 9Show fewer
  • Clopidogrel or other new antiplatelet drugs within 7 days before biopsy (salicylic acid alone allowed)
  • Anticoagulation with NOAC within 48 hours before biopsy
  • Pulmonary lesions suspicious of lung carcinoma

Trial locations and contacts

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

Switzerland1 site, 1 recruiting
  • Jürgen Hetzel

    Basel

    Jürgen Hetzel, +41 61 265 51 84, juergen.hetzel@usb.ch

    Jahn Kathleen

    Recruiting

Other trials in Switzerland

About this study

Official title: Transbronchial EBUS-guided TBNA and Cryobiopsy of Mediastinal Lymph Nodes in Patients Nonsuspicious for Lung Cancer, Using Different Cryoprobe Freezing Times

EBUS-guided cryobiopsy of mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes has shown to be a useful diagnostic tool to obtain tissue for histological analysis and further targeted therapies in lung malignancies. Due to the large size and better quality of the tissue samples, a higher diagnostic yield than with transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) can be expected, especially in non-solid tumors. In previous studies different biopsy protocols were used. The freezing time of cryoprobe (which defines the sample sizes) ranged from 3 to 7 s and the number of biopsies was between 1 and 4 samples. It is therefore unclear what freezing times and biopsy frequency are required to obtain the best histological information.

Read the detailed description

EBUS-guided cryobiopsy of mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes has shown to be a useful diagnostic tool to obtain tissue for histological analysis and further targeted therapies in lung malignancies. Due to the large size and better quality of the tissue samples, a higher diagnostic yield than with transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) can be expected, especially in non-solid tumors. In previous studies different biopsy protocols were used. The freezing time of cryoprobe (which defines the sample sizes) ranged from 3 to 7 s and the number of biopsies was between 1 and 4 samples. It is therefore unclear what freezing times and biopsy frequency are required to obtain the best histological information. This study will analyze whether the freezing time influences the diagnostic yield in CB of mediastinal lymphadenopathies. Additionally we will evaluate the influence of the number of biopsies on the diagnostic yield.

Being tested
Cryobiopsy of lymph nodes group 6 sec, Cryobiopsy lymphnode group 3 sec
Keywords
EBUS, Cryobiopsy, TBNA, Bronchoscopy
Medical subject headings
Lung Neoplasms, Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung

What participants receive

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

  • Cryobiopsy of lymph nodes group 6 secDevice

    Included patients receive transbronchial access with EBUS needle (19, 21 or 22 gauge needle) Hereafter, three times EBUS-TBNA followed by four EBUS-guided-CBs with a 1.1mm cryoprobe will be performed. Included patients are 1:1 randomized to receive CB with cryoprobe activated for either 3 sec of freezing time (group "3sec") or 6 sec. of freezing time (group "6sec") before the biopsy together with the whole EBUS bronchoscope is extracted. The EBUS-guided CB will be conducted four times in each group. Aiming access to one lymph node if one lymph node cannot be punctured, another lymph node will be chosen. Even if tissue-extraction out of a lymph node via cryoprobe fails once to several times, overall no more than 4 attempts for cryobiopsy will be done

  • Cryobiopsy lymphnode group 3 secDevice

    Included patients receive transbronchial access with EBUS needle (19, 21 or 22 gauge needle) Hereafter, three times EBUS-TBNA followed by four EBUS-guided-CBs with a 1.1mm cryoprobe will be performed. Included patients are 1:1 randomized to receive CB with cryoprobe activated for either 3 sec of freezing time (group "3sec") or 6 sec. of freezing time (group "6sec") before the biopsy together with the whole EBUS bronchoscope is extracted. The EBUS-guided CB will be conducted four times in each group. Aiming access to one lymph node if one lymph node cannot be punctured, another lymph node will be chosen. Even if tissue-extraction out of a lymph node via cryoprobe fails once to several times, overall no more than 4 attempts for cryobiopsy will be done

Study groups in NCT06921681
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
group 6 secActive comparatorEBUS-guided CBs of mediastinal/hilar lymph nodes will be done with 6 seconds of cryoprobe freezing time ("group 6sec.") before the biopsy together with the whole EBUS bronchoscope is extracted.
Receives: Device: Cryobiopsy of lymph nodes group 6 sec
group 3 secActive comparatorEBUS-guided CBs of mediastinal/hilar lymph nodes will be done with 3 seconds of cryoprobe freezing time ("group 3sec.") before the biopsy together with the whole EBUS bronchoscope is extracted.
Receives: Device: Cryobiopsy lymphnode group 3 sec

What is being measured

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

  1. Diagnostic yield

    Primary outcome measure is diagnostic yield according to the ATS consensus 2024 of EBUS-guided CB using two different freezing times (3sec./6.sec.).

    Measured: from date of randomization to the time of the first documented results, assessed up to 100 weeks

Secondary outcomes (4)
  1. overall rate of suitability for histopathological examination

    Measured: from the date of randomization to the time of the first documented results, assessed up to 100 weeks

  2. the size of the harvested tissue (mm2)

    Measured: from date of randomization to the time of the first documented results, assessed up to 100 months

  3. ), isolated and cumulative diagnostic yield of the first, second, third and fourth cryobiopsy

    Measured: from date of randomization to the time of the first documented results, assessed up to100 weeks

  4. time of the procedure

    Measured: from the date of randomization to the time of the first documented results, assessed up to 100 weeks

Timeline

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

  1. First posted10 Apr 2025
  2. Study start7 Mar 2025
  3. Primary completion1 Apr 2029 (estimated)
  4. Study completion31 Dec 2029 (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 N/A
Primary purpose
Diagnosis
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
136 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT06921681
Sponsor's protocol ID
2024-00885
Status last verified
Apr 2025
First submitted
10 Mar 2025
Last updated
10 Apr 2025
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
Undecided

Publications

  • Fan Y, Zhang AM, Wu XL, Huang ZS, Kontogianni K, Sun K, Fu WL, Wu N, Kuebler WM, Herth FJF. Transbronchial needle aspiration combined with cryobiopsy in the diagnosis of mediastinal diseases: a multicentre, open-label, randomised trial. Lancet Respir Med. 2023 Mar;11(3):256-264. doi: 10.1016/S2213-2600(22)00392-7. Epub 2022 Oct 22.

    PubMed 36279880
  • Zhang J, Guo JR, Huang ZS, Fu WL, Wu XL, Wu N, Kuebler WM, Herth FJF, Fan Y. Transbronchial mediastinal cryobiopsy in the diagnosis of mediastinal lesions: a randomised trial. Eur Respir J. 2021 Dec 9;58(6):2100055. doi: 10.1183/13993003.00055-2021. Print 2021 Dec.

    PubMed 33958432

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Cryobiopsy of lymph nodes group 6 sec and Cryobiopsy lymphnode group 3 sec in people with Lung Cancer (NSCLC), run by University of Zurich at 1 site in Switzerland.

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 3 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 10 Apr 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 Switzerland. 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?

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 Carolin Steinack (0041 44 255 8689, carolin.steinack@usz.ch), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Diagnostic yield (time frame: from date of randomization to the time of the first documented results, assessed up to 100 weeks). 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 NCT06921681, 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 10 Apr 2025.

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