New cocktail shows promise against tough rectal tumors

NCT ID NCT06024356

Completed Disease control Sponsor: Beijing Friendship Hospital Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This completed study looked at whether adding an immune-boosting drug called thymalfasin to standard chemoradiotherapy and a PD-1 inhibitor could help shrink advanced rectal tumors before surgery. Researchers studied 47 patients with stage II/III mid-low rectal cancer. The main goals were to see how many patients had no cancer left in the surgical specimen and how long they lived without the cancer coming back.

What this could mean

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

Active substance: thymalfasin (thymosin-alpha 1) combined with chemoradiotherapy and a PD-1 inhibitor
What this could lead to: If this combination works better than standard treatment, it could point toward a more effective way to shrink rectal tumors before surgery and improve long-term survival.
What could go wrong: This is a small, single-center, retrospective study, not a large randomized trial. The results may not apply to all patients, and adding more drugs can increase side effects.

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

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

colorectal neoplasm rectal cancer rectal carcinoma

As listed by the trial registrant

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

COLORECTAL NEOPLASMS

Contacts and locations

Locations

Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital medical University

Beijing, Xicheng Dis, 100050, China

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