Catheter or surgery? new study seeks best way to ease breathing in cancer patients
NCT ID NCT04322136
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looked at 158 adults with cancer who had fluid buildup around their lungs, making it hard to breathe. It compared two treatments: a long-term catheter placed under the skin to drain fluid at home, versus keyhole surgery to remove fluid and seal the space. The goal was to see which approach better controls symptoms and reduces the need for repeat procedures.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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158 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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May 2018
- Finished
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Aug 2025
- Lead sponsor
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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
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Patients with a symptomatic MPE\* 2. Predicted survival of more than 6 months 3. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score = Peformance status defined as a patient's level of functioning in terms of their ability to care for themselves, daily activity, and physical ability (walking, working, etc. ECOG 0-1 (or ECOG greater than or equal to 2 if it is felt that removal of pleural fluid would improve their status to 0 or 1). * MPE is defined as histologically/cytologically proven pleural malignancy or an otherwise unexplained pleural effusion in the context of clinically proven cancer elsewhere. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Age \<18yrs; 2. Unfit to undergo a surgical procedure (American Society of Anaesthesiologists Score \>/=4); 3. Pleural infection; 4\. Chylothorax; 5. Pregnancy or lactation; 6. Uncorrectable bleeding diathesis; 7. Previous ipsilateral lobectomy/pneumonectomy; 8. Inability to consent or comply with protocol.
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Institute for Respiratory Health
Nedlands, Western Australia, 6009, Australia
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