Heated chemo after surgery shows promise for rare chest cancer spread
NCT ID NCT07328074
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study looks at whether combining a special surgery (electrocautery) with heated chemotherapy given directly into the chest can help people with thymic tumors that have spread to the chest lining. About 70 participants will receive the treatment and be followed for up to 3 years to see if it delays the cancer's return and improves quality of life. The approach aims to destroy remaining cancer cells with heat and drugs, but it is still experimental and carries risks from both surgery and chemotherapy.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- cisplatin and doxorubicin (heated chemotherapy)
- What this could lead to
- If this works, it could offer a more effective way to control thymic tumors that have spread to the chest lining, potentially delaying recurrence and improving survival.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early observational study with no comparison group, so results may not be definitive. The heated chemotherapy can cause serious side effects, and the surgery carries risks like infection or bleeding.
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.
- Participants
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About 70 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Feb 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Feb 2031
An estimate. End dates often move.
- 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.
Who is studied
Adults aged 16-80 years with pathologically confirmed thymic epithelial tumors (thymoma or thymic carcinoma) with pleural dissemination or recurrence, suitable for electrocautery resection and hyperthermic intrathoracic chemotherapy as determined by multidisciplinary team.
- Ages
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16 to 80 years
- 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.
Show the full entry requirements Hide 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: * Pathologically confirmed thymic epithelial tumor (TET) * Imaging evidence of thymic epithelial tumor with pleural dissemination or recurrence, deemed suitable for HITHOC by multidisciplinary thoracic team * Age ≥16 years and ≤80 years * American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status classification I-II * Normal major organ function * No history of other malignancies * Prior chemotherapy completed \>4 weeks, radiotherapy \>6 weeks, immunotherapy \>6 weeks before enrollment * No allergy to cisplatin or doxorubicin * Able to understand the study content and provide informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Evidence of extrathoracic metastasis on imaging or pathological examination * Myasthenia gravis in unstable phase or acute exacerbation * Severe systemic comorbidities, such as active infection, poorly controlled diabetes, coagulopathy, bleeding tendency, or ongoing thrombolytic/anticoagulation therapy * Positive serum pregnancy test or lactation (females) * History of organ transplantation (including autologous bone marrow transplantation and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation) * History of peripheral nervous system disease, significant psychiatric disorder, or central nervous system disease * Currently participating in other clinical trials
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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.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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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
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Shanghai General Hospital, Department of Thoracic Surgery
Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, 200080, China
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a Two-Drug chemo combo outsmart resistant tumors?
- Shorter radiation after thymic tumor surgery may cut side effects
- Fewer radiation sessions may be just as effective for thymic tumors after surgery
- Talking therapy shows promise for MG patients with depression in tiny pilot study
- Immune cells engineered to hunt thymus cancer show promise in early trial
- Immunotherapy drug nivolumab tested for rare thymus cancers