Electric pulses zap thyroid cancer in neck without surgery
NCT ID NCT07328243
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jul 24, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This trial is testing a device that uses electrical pulses to destroy cancer cells in neck lymph nodes of people with thyroid cancer that has come back after surgery. About 85 participants will receive one or two treatments under ultrasound guidance. The main goal is to see how much the treated lymph nodes shrink after 12 months.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Irreversible Electroporation (IRE) Ablation device
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could offer a non-surgical option to control recurrent thyroid cancer in the neck, potentially reducing the need for repeat surgeries.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early exploratory trial with only 85 participants and no comparison group. The procedure may not fully eliminate cancer cells, and risks include pain, nerve damage, or incomplete ablation.
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
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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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About 85 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Dec 2025
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2028
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.
- 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.
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:1: Voluntarily signs a written informed consent form 2: Age ≥ 18 years at the time of enrollment, male or female. 3: ECOG performance status score of 0 or 1. 4: Expected survival time ≥ 12 months. 5: Cervical lymph node metastases confirmed by pathology (core needle biopsy, fine-needle aspiration biopsy, or thyroglobulin testing in fine-needle aspiration washout fluid), and all of the following: ① Thyroid cancer has recurred/metastasized after standard thyroid lobectomy plus lymph node dissection; ② The number of lymph nodes on one side of the neck is ≤ 5, and the maximum long-axis diameter is \< 3.0 cm. 6: Not suitable for repeat surgical resection or the patient refuses repeat surgery, or \^131I therapy is ineffective or the patient refuses \^131I therapy. 7: Adequate organ function as defined below: a) Hematologic (no transfusion of blood components or use of hematopoietic growth factors within 7 days prior to initiation of study treatment): i. Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1.5 × 10\^9/L (1,500/mm³); ii. Platelet count (PLT) ≥ 100 × 10\^9/L (100,000/mm³); iii. Hemoglobin ≥ 90 g/L. b) Renal: i. Calculated creatinine clearance (CrCl)\* ≥ 50 mL/min. CrCl (mL/min) is calculated using the Cockcroft-Gault formula: CrCl (mL/min) = {(140 - age) × body weight (kg) × F} / \[SCr (mg/dL) × 72\] where F = 1 for males and F = 0.85 for females; SCr = serum creatinine. ii. Urine protein ≤ 2+ (dipstick) or 24-hour urine protein \< 1.0 g. c) Hepatic: i. Serum total bilirubin (TBil) ≤ 1.5 × ULN (upper limit of normal); for subjects with liver metastases or confirmed/suspected Gilbert's syndrome, TBil ≤ 3 × ULN; ii. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤ 2.5 × ULN; for subjects with liver metastases, AST and ALT ≤ 5 × ULN. d) Coagulation: International normalized ratio (INR), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), and prothrombin time (PT) ≤ 1.5 × ULN. e) Cardiac function: Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥ 50%. 8: Women of childbearing potential must undergo a urine or serum pregnancy test within 3 days prior to the first dose of study treatment (if the urine pregnancy test result cannot be definitively interpreted as negative, a serum pregnancy test must be performed, and the serum result shall prevail), and the result must be negative. If a woman of childbearing potential has sexual intercourse with a male partner who has not been surgically sterilized, she must use an acceptable method of contraception starting from screening and agrees to continue contraception for 180 days after the last dose of the study drug. 9: Male subjects who have not been surgically sterilized and have female partners of childbearing potential must use effective contraception from screening until 180 days after the last dose of the study drug. 10: The subject is willing and able to comply with the visit schedule, treatment regimen, laboratory examinations, and other requirements of the study. \- Exclusion Criteria:1: History of severe bleeding tendency or coagulation disorders; presence of clinically significant bleeding within 1 month prior to the first ablation treatment, including but not limited to gastrointestinal bleeding, hemoptysis (defined as coughing up or expectorating ≥ 1 teaspoon of fresh blood or small clots, or coughing up blood only without sputum; patients with blood-streaked sputum are allowed to be enrolled), or nasal hemorrhage (excluding minor epistaxis and blood-tinged nasal secretions); continuous anticoagulant therapy within 10 days prior to the first administration of study treatment. 2: History of myocarditis, cardiomyopathy, or malignant arrhythmias. Unstable angina, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, or vascular disease (such as an aortic aneurysm at risk of rupture) requiring hospitalization within 12 months prior to the first ablation treatment, or other cardiac damage that may affect the safety evaluation of the study device (e.g., poorly controlled arrhythmias, atrial fibrillation, myocardial ischemia/infarction). 3: Patients who are unable to cooperate with treatment or unable to tolerate general anesthesia. 4: Presence of distant metastases outside the cervical region. 5: Presence of metastatic lymph nodes located in the level VII compartment of the neck. 6: Receipt of \^131I therapy within the past 6 months. 7: Allergy to ultrasound or CT contrast agents, or inability to undergo contrast-enhanced imaging examinations for other reasons. 8: Patients who have undergone neck surgery, local ablation, chemotherapy, or immunotherapy/targeted therapy within the past 3 months. 9: In the opinion of the investigator, ablation needles cannot be safely placed. 10: Presence of metallic implants (plates, screws, etc.) or non-removable implanted catheters in the neck that may affect electric field distribution. 11: Concomitant untreated malignant tumors, or a history of any malignancy within the past 5 years, except for basal cell carcinoma of the skin or carcinoma in situ of the cervix. 12: Concurrent enrollment in another clinical study. 13: Known history of psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, alcoholism, or illicit drug use. 14: Major surgery or severe trauma within 30 days prior to the first ablation treatment, or planned major surgery within 30 days after the first ablation treatment (as determined by the investigator). 15: History within 6 months prior to the first ablation treatment of esophageal or gastric fundal varices, severe peptic ulcer, unhealed wounds, gastrointestinal perforation, enterocutaneous fistula, intestinal obstruction, intra-abdominal abscess, or acute gastrointestinal bleeding; acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) within 1 month prior to the first treatment. 16: Any arterial thromboembolic event, venous thromboembolism of grade ≥ 3 according to CTCAE version 5.0, transient ischemic attack, cerebrovascular accident, hypertensive crisis, or hypertensive encephalopathy within 6 months prior to the first ablation treatment; or current hypertension with systolic blood pressure ≥ 160 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 100 mmHg despite oral antihypertensive therapy. 17: Any past or current disease, treatment, or laboratory abnormality that may confound the study results, interfere with the subject's full participation in the study, or make participation not in the subject's best interest. 18: Local or systemic diseases not caused by malignant tumors, or tumor-related secondary diseases or symptoms that may lead to high medical risk and/or uncertainty in survival assessment, such as tumor-related leukemoid reaction (white blood cell count \> 20 × 10\^9/L), manifestations of cachexia (e.g., known weight loss of more than 10% within 3 months prior to screening), etc. 19: Any other condition that, in the opinion of the investigator, makes the subject 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.
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The places running it
3 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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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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The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine
RECRUITINGHangzhou, Zhejiang, 310000, China
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The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University
RECRUITINGGuangzhou, Guangdong, China
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Zhejiang Cancer Hospital
RECRUITINGHangzhou, Zhejiang, 310022, China
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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