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Metastatic Prostate CancerMOSAICNCT07352748

Exploiting Heterogeneity in Hormone Therapy Response to Reveal Early Determinants of Drug Resistance in Advanced PCa

An observational study of Metastatic Prostate Cancer, run by Universita di Verona at 1 site in Italy.

Active, not recruiting

Under way, not looking for participants. Everyone needed has enrolled. The study is still running.

Official record
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Trial summary

The goal of this observational study is to study intra-patient tumor and TME heterogeneity after initiation of hormonal therapy (ADT +- ARSI), while the patient is responding to treatment, to understand the drivers of hormonal therapy resistance and identify potential novel therapeutic targets in metastatic prostate… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older, men only
Conditions the study is for
Metastatic Prostate Cancer
What is being tested?
biopsy and Prostate biopsy
Type of treatment
Surgery or procedure
How many people
30 participants
Where
1 siteItaly
Study dates
17 Oct 2024to 17 Oct 2026
How long will I take part?
2 Years
Phase
Observational
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 years and older
  • Men only
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Study population: Patients with prostate cancer receiving care at Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata di Verona, Italy.

Who may be able to join

  • Patients with histological diagnosis of advanced prostate cancer (defined as the presence of metastatic disease, including both metastatic hormone naïve prostate cancer patients and metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer patients);
  • Patients who started ADT or ADT plus AR inhibitor therapy (Enzalutamide, Darolutamide or Apalutamide or Abiraterone) in a standard therapy.
  • Have accessible metastatic and/or primitive disease to perform a biopsy safely during hormonal therapy (ADT or ADT plus AR inhibitor therapy) and before hormonal therapy (alternatively, as a basal biopsy could be used archival FFPE or frozen tumor material left over from surgical procedures or previous biopsies, if available)
  • Written acceptance of informed consent to be included in the present study.
  • Aged 18 or over.
  • Patients due for prostate biopsy to confirm the diagnosis of a prostate adenocarcinoma at high risk of metastatic disease. High risk is defined as follows:
Show all 10Show fewer
  • PSA >=20ng/dL with or without imaging suggestive of metastatic prostate cancer OR
  • PSA >=10 ng/mL and <= 20 ng/mL AND >=33% risk to have a high grade disease on prostate biopsy according to the MSKCC nomogram "Risk of high grade cancer of prostate biopsy" (https://www.mskcc.org/nomograms/prostate/biopsy_risk_dynamic).
  • Written acceptance of informed consent to be included in the present study.
  • Aged 18 or over

Who cannot join

None listed.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Italy1 site
  • Università di Verona

    Verona, VR, 37134

Other trials in Italy

About this study

The goal of this observational study is to study intra-patient tumor and TME heterogeneity after initiation of hormonal therapy (ADT +- ARSI), while the patient is responding to treatment, to understand the drivers of hormonal therapy resistance and identify potential novel therapeutic targets in metastatic prostate cancer patients. The main question it aims to answer if intra-tumor adaptive mechanisms including expression of immune checkpoint proteins and changes in the tumor immune infiltrate are related to the induction of a senescent phenotype in response to hormonal therapy.

Participants will asked to provide an FFPE and/or fresh biopsy sample from the primary tumor or a metastatic site at baseline (before starting hormonal therapy) and during the course of hormonal therapy. Additionally, a maximum of 2 blood tubes (10ml) will be collected each time.

Being tested
biopsy, Prostate biopsy
Medical subject headings
Prostatic Neoplasms

What participants receive

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

  • biopsyProcedure or surgery

    A fresh tumor biopsies and an FFPE block will be taken at baseline (alternatively, as a basal biopsy could be used archival FFPE tumor material left over from surgical procedures or previous biopsies if available and if a fresh biopsy at baseline is not feasible or safe; in case of availability of frozen and FFPE archival blocks, 1 frozen block and 1 FFPE block will be used for the analyses) and after 2-4 weeks of hormonal treatment with ADT and/or AR inhibitors. Biopsies will be performed guided by ultrasound or CT, depending on location. From each Fresh biopsy, 2 core biopsies will be collected, 1 will be processed into an FFPE block, and the second will be processed according to freezing procedures.

  • Prostate biopsyProcedure or surgery

    Fresh and FFPE block tumor biopsies at baseline

Study groups in NCT07352748
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Patients with histological diagnosis of advanced prostate cancer who started hormone therapyA fresh tumor biopsies and FFPE block will be taken at baseline and after 4 weeks of hormone therapy and/or AR targeting agents. Blood samples for the isolation of plasma, serum and PBMC will be collected before the start of therapy and after 4 weeks of hormone therapy and/or AR targeting agents. The correlation of biopsies analyses and clinical data will advance the understanding of prostate cancer progression pathways and guide the design of subsequent studies in the field of personalized medicine.
Receives: Procedure: biopsy
Patients due for prostate biopsy to confirm the diagnosis of a prostate adenocarcinoma at high riskA fresh tumor biopsies and FFPE block and blood samples for the isolation of plasma, serum and PBMC will be taken at baseline. This cohort was necessary because it is complex to intercept patients at the time they perform diagnostic biopsy and then obtain fresh biopsies pre-hormonal treatment. If patients of this group will metastasize, these patients will be incorpored in the other.
Receives: Procedure: Prostate biopsy

What is being measured

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

  1. A) Density of tumor-infiltrating immune cells

    Description: Density of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, FOXP3+) assessed by multiplex immunohistochemistry in tumor biopsies from patients under hormonal therapy.

    Unit of Measure: Cells/mm²

    Measured: From enrollment to 24 months

  2. Tumor expression of Immune checkpoints

    The investigators will pursue IHC assessment of immunomodulatory proteins. I will use a multiplexed customized IHC panel and the expression of the immunomodulatory proteins will be assessed in a semiquantitative manner (negative, 1+, 2+, 3+) in different tumor areas. I will compare the expression of immunomodulatory proteins assessed on human prostate cancer biopsies under hormonal treatment with same-patient pre-treatment therapy biopsies.

    Measured: From enrollment to 24 months

  3. Emergence of a senescent phenotype

    The investigators will confirm in vivo, in human samples, the senescent phenotype described in prostate cancer preclinical models, assessing the SA-Beta-Gal activity on fresh OCT-embedded biopsies and/or testing the telomere shortening in FFPE biopsies, depending If will be feasible to collect both fresh frozen and FFPE cores biopsies.

    Measured: From enrollment to 24 months

  4. Changes in expression of prostate cancer-specific markers and therapeutic targets.

    The investigators will also test the expression of prostate cancer specific markers PSMA, STEAP1, STEAP2 in response to AR blockade by IHC in pre-treatment vs post-treatment samples.

    Measured: From enrollment to 24 months

Timeline

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

  1. First posted20 Jan 2026
  2. Study start17 Oct 2024
  3. Primary completion11 Sep 2025
  4. Study completion17 Oct 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
Observational
Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrolment
30 participants (estimated)
Target duration
2 Years
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT07352748
Sponsor's protocol ID
296CET
Acronym
MOSAIC
Status last verified
Jan 2026
First submitted
23 Sep 2025
Last updated
28 Jan 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Metastatic Prostate Cancer, run by Universita di Verona at 1 site in Italy.

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 10 inclusion and 0 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: under way, not looking for participants, as of the sponsor's last update on 28 Jan 2026. 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 Italy. 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?

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?

A) Density of tumor-infiltrating immune cells (time frame: From enrollment to 24 months). The study lists 4 primary outcomes in all. 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 28 Jan 2026.

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