Immunotherapy meets chemo: a new front against bile duct cancer

NCT ID NCT07831993

What the study statuses mean

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Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
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 Results may not be published yet.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This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.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 21, 2026 · Last updated Sep 21, 2026

Summary

Researchers are testing whether adding the immunotherapy drug sintilimab to one of two chemotherapy regimens helps people with metastatic biliary tract cancer who have not received prior treatment. About 54 participants will be randomly assigned to receive sintilimab plus either NALIRIFOX (a four-drug chemo combination) or gemcitabine plus cisplatin. The trial measures how many participants see their tumors shrink, along with disease control, survival, and 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
sintilimab, an immunotherapy drug, combined with chemotherapy
What this could lead to
If it works, this could offer a new first-line option that combines immunotherapy with chemotherapy for people with metastatic biliary tract cancer.
What could go wrong
This is a small, early-phase trial with 54 participants, so results may not hold in larger studies. Combining immunotherapy with chemotherapy can cause serious side effects, and the treatment may not shrink tumors better than standard approaches.

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 54 people

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

Started

Jan 2026

Expected to finish

Dec 2027

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 to 75 years

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. Aged 18 to 75 years, inclusive, at the time of signing the informed consent form, regardless of sex. 2. Histologically and/or cytologically confirmed biliary tract cancer, including intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, and gallbladder cancer. 3. Presence of distant metastasis at the current disease stage. 4. No prior anticancer treatment for biliary tract cancer at the current disease stage, including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or biologic therapy. 5. At least one measurable lesion according to RECIST version 1.1. The measurable lesion must not have received prior radiotherapy or other local treatment. 6. Expected survival of at least 12 weeks. 7. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1. 8. Adequate hematologic, hepatic, renal, cardiac, and coagulation function within 14 days before initiation of study treatment, meeting all of the following requirements: 1. Hematologic function: * Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1.5 × 10\^9/L; * Platelet count ≥ 100 × 10\^9/L; * Hemoglobin ≥ 90 g/L (9.0 g/dL); * No blood transfusion or hematopoietic growth factor support for correction within 14 days before screening. 2. Biochemical function: * Serum albumin ≥ 30 g/L (3.0 g/dL); * Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ≤ 2.5 × the upper limit of normal (ULN); * Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 × ULN; * Serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 × ULN, or creatinine clearance ≥ 60 mL/min as calculated using the Cockcroft-Gault formula. 3. Cardiac function: * Normal 12-lead electrocardiogram or abnormalities considered clinically insignificant by the investigator, with QTcF \< 470 ms; * Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥ 50%. 4. Coagulation function: * Prothrombin time (PT) or activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) ≤ 1.5 × ULN; * International normalized ratio (INR) ≤ 1.5 × ULN in participants not receiving anticoagulant therapy. Participants receiving a stable dose of anticoagulant therapy, such as low-molecular-weight heparin or warfarin, may be eligible if the INR is within the expected therapeutic range. 9. Willing and able to participate voluntarily, provide written informed consent, and comply with the scheduled study visits and other protocol requirements. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Tumor- and treatment-related criteria: 1. History of a malignancy other than biliary tract cancer within 5 years before screening, except for adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, carcinoma in situ of the cervix, or other malignancies considered by the investigator to have a low risk of metastasis and death. 2. Known central nervous system (CNS) metastases. Participants with suspected CNS metastases must undergo contrast-enhanced CT or MRI within 28 days before initiation of study treatment to exclude CNS metastases. 3. Prior treatment with an immune checkpoint inhibitor, including anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, anti-CTLA-4 therapy, or any cellular immunotherapy. 4. Prior irinotecan- or liposomal irinotecan-based chemotherapy. 5. Use of strong inhibitors or inducers of CYP3A4, CYP2C8, or UGT1A1 within 14 days before initiation of study treatment. 6. Participation in another interventional drug clinical trial within 4 weeks before initiation of study treatment, except for observational (non-interventional) studies or follow-up of an interventional clinical study. 2. Medical history or concomitant diseases: 1. Severe gastrointestinal dysfunction documented clinically, including bleeding or obstruction, inflammation of NCI-CTCAE version 5.0 grade \>2, diarrhea of NCI-CTCAE version 5.0 grade \>1, or other conditions considered by the investigator to potentially affect drug intake, transit, or absorption, including inability to swallow, prior small-bowel resection, or total gastrectomy. 2. Pleural effusion or ascites requiring clinical intervention (NCI-CTCAE version 5.0 grade ≥2). 3. Serious concomitant conditions that may interfere with study treatment, including any of the following: * Uncontrolled serious medical disease considered by the investigator to impair the participant's ability to receive protocol-specified treatment, including severe cardiac disease, cerebrovascular disease, uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, uncontrolled hypertension, or active peptic ulcer disease; * Arterial or venous thrombotic events within 1 year before screening, including cerebrovascular accident (including transient ischemic attack), deep vein thrombosis, or pulmonary embolism, except for catheter-related venous thrombosis from prior chemotherapy that has resolved according to the investigator; * Tumor involvement of major blood vessels on imaging, or a very high risk, in the investigator's judgment, of tumor invasion into major blood vessels during treatment resulting in potentially fatal hemorrhage; * History of interstitial lung disease, or noninfectious pneumonitis requiring oral or intravenous corticosteroid therapy; * Poorly controlled cardiac symptoms or disease, including heart failure greater than New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II, unstable angina, myocardial infarction within 6 months, or clinically significant supraventricular or ventricular arrhythmia requiring treatment or intervention; * Positive hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody. 4. Severe infection (NCI-CTCAE version 5.0 grade \>2) within 4 weeks before screening, such as severe pneumonia requiring hospitalization, bacteremia, or other serious infectious complications; or signs or symptoms of infection requiring intravenous antibiotic therapy within 2 weeks before initiation of study treatment, except for prophylactic antibiotic use. 3. Other criteria: 1. Known allergy or intolerance to any study drug or its excipients, or any contraindication to any study drug. 2. Women who are planning pregnancy, are pregnant, or are breastfeeding. 3. Any other condition that, in the investigator's judgment, warrants exclusion from the study, including factors that may lead to premature study discontinuation, such as another serious disease (including psychiatric illness) requiring concomitant treatment, severe laboratory abnormalities, or family or social factors that could affect participant safety or the collection of study data or samples.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

biliary tract cancer Biliary Tract Neoplasms

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

  • Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School

    RECRUITING

    Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

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