Two-Drug cocktail aims to shrink Hard-to-Treat esophageal and stomach tumors

NCT ID NCT07701681

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 Results may not be published yet.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This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.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 Jul 14, 2026 · Last updated Jul 15, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This phase II trial tests a combination of two drugs—sacituzumab tirumotecan (a targeted chemotherapy) and tagitanlimab (an immunotherapy)—as a second-line treatment for people with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma or gastric/gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. The study enrolls about 75 adults whose cancer has worsened after initial treatment. Researchers will measure how many patients' tumors shrink or disappear and monitor for 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
a combination of two drugs: sacituzumab tirumotecan (an antibody-drug conjugate) and tagitanlimab (an immunotherapy)
What this could lead to
If successful, this combination could offer a new second-line treatment option for people with advanced esophageal or stomach cancers that have progressed after initial therapy.
What could go wrong
This is an early-phase, single-arm study with a small number of participants, so results may not be definitive. The combination may cause significant side effects, and not all patients may respond.

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 75 people

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

Expected to start

Aug 2026

An estimate. Start dates often move.

Expected to finish

Sep 2029

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

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: * Aged ≥18 years at the time of signing the informed consent form; * Histologically or cytologically confirmed diagnosis of unresectable locally advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) or gastric/gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma; * Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and gastric/gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma with disease progression following first-line anti-PD-1 combined chemotherapy, and the progression-free survival (PFS) of first-line treatment ≥3 months; * Radical concurrent chemoradiotherapy, neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy: disease progression occurring during treatment or within 6 months after treatment discontinuation shall be deemed failure of first-line treatment. (Note: This also includes patients with advanced or recurrent non-target lesions who experience re-progression after radiotherapy alone. The criteria also apply to patients receiving palliative treatment for local (non-target) lesions for more than 2 weeks.) * Patients with HER2-positive gastric/gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma must have received prior anti-HER2 therapy; * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status score of 0 or 1 within 7 days prior to the first administration of study treatment; * Expected survival ≥3 months; * At least one measurable lesion per RECIST v1.1; lesions previously irradiated shall not be selected as target lesions; subjects with only skin lesions or bone lesions are not eligible for enrollment; * Participants must have recovered from all toxicities related to prior treatments (i.e., improved to Grade 0 or Grade 1, or met the levels specified in the eligibility criteria), except for toxicities not considered a safety risk (e.g., alopecia, vitiligo, and other asymptomatic laboratory abnormalities); * Adequate organ function defined as follows: 1. Hematology (no blood transfusion or hematopoietic stimulating agents for correction within 14 days): hemoglobin (Hb) ≥9 g/dL; absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥1.5×10⁹/L; platelet count (PLT) ≥100×10⁹/L; neutrophil count (NEUT#) ≥1.5×10⁹/L; 2. Serum total bilirubin ≤1.5 × upper limit of normal (ULN); aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) ≤2.5 × ULN. For subjects with liver metastases: ALT and AST ≤5 × ULN, serum bilirubin ≤2 × ULN. For subjects with liver and/or bone metastases: ALP ≤5 × ULN; serum albumin ≥30 g/L; 3. Renal function: creatinine clearance (Ccr) ≥50 mL/min; 4. Coagulation function: international normalized ratio (INR), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and prothrombin time (PT) ≤1.5 × ULN. * Female participants of childbearing potential and male subjects with partners of childbearing potential must agree to use effective medical contraceptive measures from the date of signing the informed consent form until 6 months after the last study drug administration (see Appendix 2 for details); * Participants must voluntarily participate in this study, sign the informed consent form, and demonstrate good treatment compliance and willingness to complete follow-up visits. Exclusion Criteria: * Participants diagnosed with other malignant tumors within 3 years prior to study drug administration, except for tumors cured by local therapy (e.g., basal cell carcinoma of the skin, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, cervical carcinoma in situ, etc.); * Participants with known meningeal metastasis, brainstem metastasis, spinal cord metastasis and/or spinal cord compression, or active central nervous system (CNS) metastases without prior local treatment. Participants with previously locally treated brain metastases may be enrolled if they remain clinically stable for at least 4 weeks prior to the first dose and do not require corticosteroids or anticonvulsants for a minimum of 14 days; * Participants with clinically significant cardiovascular diseases, including: 1. Severe or uncontrolled cardiac disorders or clinical symptoms requiring treatment within 6 months before the first study dose, including New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class III or IV congestive heart failure, drug-refractory unstable angina, severe arrhythmias requiring pharmacotherapy (excluding atrial fibrillation or paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia), and myocardial infarction; 2. Prior history of myocarditis or cardiomyopathy; 3. QTc interval \>480 ms at baseline measurement; * Participants with severe and/or uncontrolled concomitant diseases, such as decompensated cirrhosis, nephrotic syndrome, poorly controlled hypertension, symptomatic pleural/pericardial effusion or ascites requiring repeated drainage; * Participants diagnosed with active hepatitis B \[hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive, with HBV-DNA ≥ 500 IU/mL or above the lower limit of quantification, whichever is higher\] or hepatitis C (positive anti-HCV antibody with HCV-RNA above the lower limit of quantification); * Participants with poorly controlled known human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, including HIV-infected individuals with a history of Kaposi's sarcoma and/or multicentric Castleman's disease; * Participants with known active tuberculosis; * Participants with documented severe dry eye syndrome, severe meibomian gland disease and/or blepharitis, or a history of corneal disorders that hinder or delay corneal wound healing; * Participants who have undergone major surgery (as defined by the investigator) within 30 days before the first study dose or are still recovering from prior surgery; * Participants with known allergy or hypersensitivity to the study drug or its excipients, or a prior history of severe hypersensitivity reactions to monoclonal antibodies; * Participants with a history of interstitial lung disease (ILD) or non-infectious pneumonia requiring steroid therapy, current ILD/pneumonia, or suspected ILD/pneumonia that cannot be ruled out by imaging at screening; * Participants with a history of allogeneic tissue or organ transplantation; Autoimmune diseases requiring systemic therapy within the past 2 years or anticipated immunosuppressive therapy during the study period. Participants with well-controlled type 1 diabetes, euthyroid thyroiditis, hypothyroidism adequately managed via hormone replacement therapy (HRT), or skin disorders not requiring systemic treatment (e.g., vitiligo, psoriasis) are eligible for enrollment; * Prior treatment with TROP2-targeted agents or any topoisomerase I inhibitors, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs); * Prior administration of any investigational anti-tumor vaccines or any agents targeting T-cell co-stimulatory pathways; * Vaccination with live vaccines within 30 days before the first study dose, or planned live vaccine administration during the study period; * Participants requiring strong cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) inhibitors or inducers within 2 weeks prior to the first dose and throughout the study period. Concomitant use of strong CYP3A4 inhibitors or inducers is prohibited in this study; representative agents are listed in Appendix 7. All participants shall avoid concomitant use of any known CYP3A4-inducing medications, herbal supplements, and/or relevant foods to the greatest extent possible; * Receipt of any chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy or biotherapy within 4 weeks before the first study dose; receipt of small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), anti-tumor hormonal therapy, systemic immune stimulants (including but not limited to interferon, IL-2), or proprietary Chinese herbal medicines approved for anti-tumor indications within 2 weeks before the first study dose; * Palliative radiotherapy administered to known metastatic sites within 2 weeks before the first study dose; * Systemic anti-infective therapy received within 1 week before the first study dose; * Female participants who are pregnant or breastfeeding; * Diseases requiring systemic corticosteroid therapy (prednisolone equivalent dose \>10 mg/day) or other immunosuppressants within 14 days before the first study dose. Participants receiving intranasal, inhaled, topical cutaneous, local injectable corticosteroids (e.g., intra-articular injection), or corticosteroids for hypersensitivity prophylaxis may be enrolled; * Any other conditions under which the investigator deems the participant unsuitable for participation in this study.

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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

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  1. The places running it

    1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. A doctor treating you

    A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center

    Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, China

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