Experimental drug put to the test against Hard-to-Treat GI cancers

NCT ID NCT07826195

What the study statuses mean

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Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting This study
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Sep 17, 2026 · Last updated Sep 18, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

Researchers are testing an experimental injectable drug called ALK-N001 in adults with advanced gastrointestinal tumors, including esophageal and colorectal cancers that have worsened after standard treatment. The phase II trial gives the drug intravenously every two weeks at one of two dose levels. Doctors track whether tumors shrink or stop growing and monitor side effects.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
an experimental injectable drug called ALK-N001
What this could lead to
If it works, this could offer a new treatment option for people with advanced gastrointestinal tumors that have grown after standard therapy.
What could go wrong
This is a mid-stage trial with no control group, so early tumor shrinkage may not translate into longer lives. The drug can also cause side effects that limit its use.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Phase 2

Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.

Participants

About 174 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Expected to start

Sep 2026

An estimate. Start dates often move.

Expected to finish

Apr 2028

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

A company

The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Voluntarily sign informed consent, understand the study and be willing and able to comply with all study procedures. 2. Age ≥18 years (male or female) at the time of signing informed consent. 3. Histologically or cytologically confirmed locally advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, colorectal adenocarcinoma, or other gastrointestinal tumors. 4. Disease progression or intolerance after prior standard-of-care (SoC) treatment: 1. Cohort1 (ESCC): Not eligible for curative surgery/radiochemotherapy; progressed or intolerant after at least 1st-line platinum-based chemotherapy plus PD-(L)1 inhibitor. If immunotherapy is declined/ineligible, progressed after ≥2 lines of systemic therapy. 2. Cohort2 (CRC): Received standard systemic therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer and experienced progression or intolerance. Must have received fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin and irinotecan-based chemotherapy (±bevacizumab/cetuximab), unless contraindicated. For MSI-H/dMMR tumors, prior PD-(L)1 inhibitor is required. 3. Cohort3 (Other GI tumors): Not curable by surgery; disease progression/intolerance after standard-of-care therapy, or no available effective treatment. 5. At least one measurable lesion per RECIST V1.1 (lesions in prior radiation field generally not measurable unless clear progression). 6. ECOG performance status 0 or 1. 7. Expected survival ≥3 months. 8. Adequate organ function: * Bone marrow (no transfusion/growth factors within prior 14 days): ANC ≥1.5×10⁹/L; PLT ≥90×10⁹/L; Hb ≥90 g/L * Liver: TBIL ≤1.5×ULN; ALT ≤3×ULN (≤5×ULN for liver metastasis); AST ≤3×ULN (≤5×ULN for liver metastasis); ALB ≥35 g/L * Renal: Cr ≤1.5×ULN; if Cr\>1.5×ULN, CrCl ≥50 mL/min (Cockcroft-Gault formula) * Coagulation: APTT ≤1.5×ULN; INR ≤1.5×ULN 9. Women of childbearing potential must have negative pregnancy test at screening and agree to effective contraception or abstinence from consent until 6 months after last dose. Male participants must use effective contraception or abstinence from consent until 6 months after last dose; no sperm donation. Exclusion Criteria: * 1\. Received chemotherapy, radiotherapy (palliative local radiotherapy within prior 2 weeks), biotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, TIL or other anti-tumor therapies within 4 weeks before first dose. 1. Anti-endocrine therapy within 2 weeks or 5 half-lives; oral CDK4/6i, small molecule targeted agents, anti-tumor Chinese medicine. 2. CAR-T, CAR-NK or tumor vaccine within prior 3 months. 3. Live vaccine within 2 weeks; non-live vaccine within 4 weeks before first dose. 4. Investigational drug within 4 weeks or 5 half-lives before first dose (whichever shorter). 2\. Use of strong CYP3A4 inducer/inhibitor within 7 days before first dose or planned during study. 3\. Prior treatment with DXD-containing ADC or PDC. 4. Active infection at screening requiring systemic anti-infective therapy within 2 weeks prior to first dose. 5\. Known BRAF mutation or NTRK fusion positive colorectal cancer (Cohort2). 6. Unstable or progressive CNS/leptomeningeal metastases (stable brain metastases ≥1 month, no new/enlarging lesions and off steroids ≥4 weeks may enroll). 7\. Clinically uncontrolled third-space effusion requiring therapeutic paracentesis/drainage within prior 14 days. 8\. Prior or current interstitial lung disease (ILD), non-infectious pneumonitis requiring steroids, suspected ILD or severely impaired pulmonary function. 9\. Severe GI disease including chronic inflammatory bowel disease, bowel obstruction or chronic diarrhea. 10\. Esophageal stent placement, tracheal stent or esophageal stricture (Cohort1). 11\. Severe cardiovascular disease: <!-- --> 1. Clinically significant cardiac arrhythmias or 2nd/3rd degree AV block requiring intervention. 2. Acute coronary syndrome, heart failure, stroke or grade ≥3 cardiovascular event within 6 months. 3. NYHA Class ≥II heart failure (exception: stable NYHA II, LVEF≥50%, no exacerbation ≥6 months after optimized medical treatment, confirmed by cardiologist). 4. Uncontrolled hypertension: SBP≥150 mmHg and/or DBP≥100 mmHg. 12. History of GI perforation/fistula within 6 months before first dose, or tumor invading adjacent organs (great vessel/trachea) with high risk of bleeding/fistula. 13\. History of severe thromboembolism within prior 6 months; known inherited/acquired thrombophilia. 14\. Other malignancy within past 5 years (exception: cured cervical carcinoma in situ, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, papillary thyroid carcinoma). 15\. Prior allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell or solid organ transplantation. 16. Prior anti-tumor adverse events not recovered to ≤ Grade1 (NCI-CTCAE v6.0, alopecia and investigator-assessed non-risk toxicities excluded) or not meeting eligibility lab criteria.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

How to take part

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  1. The official record

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