Could drug holidays improve thyroid cancer treatment?
NCT ID NCT01813136
First seen Jul 02, 2026 · Last updated Jul 02, 2026
Summary
This study compares two ways of taking the drug pazopanib for people with advanced differentiated thyroid cancer that no longer responds to radioactive iodine. One group takes pazopanib continuously, while the other takes planned breaks and restarts the drug only if the cancer progresses. The goal is to see if taking breaks can reduce side effects without making the cancer worse.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- pazopanib
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could show that intermittent dosing of pazopanib is as effective as continuous treatment, potentially reducing side effects and improving quality of life for patients.
- What could go wrong
- This is a phase 2 trial with a moderate number of participants, so results may not confirm superiority or non-inferiority. The intermittent schedule might lead to faster disease progression in some patients.
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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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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168 people
The number who actually took part.
- Start date
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Mar 2013
- Finished
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Jan 2019
- 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: * Age ≥ 18 years old, * Histologically confirmed diagnosis of differentiated thyroid cancer (papillary, follicular and poorly differentiated) * Archival tumor sample available. It will be provided for all subjects, for biomarker analysis before and/or during study treatment. * Patients must have been treated with therapeutic RAI. Patients may have received prior treatment with either 1 line of chemotherapy and/or up to 1 Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor, * Resistance to therapeutic radioiodine (RAI) (for DTC) as demonstrated at least by one of the following: * Absence of iodine uptake in at least one target lesion on a post-therapy radioactive iodine scan, * Presence of a target lesion after a cumulative radio-iodine activity of at least 600 mCi, * Patient with uptake who have RAI treatment of at least 100 mCi within the last 12 months and have disease progression, * Documented progression as per RECIST 1.1 based on 2 consecutives imaging performed within the last 12 months, * Measurable disease according to RECIST version 1.1, * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status of 0 or 1, * Adequate organ system function defined as the following: Hematology: * Absolute Neutrophils Count (ANC) ≥ 1.5 Gi/L * Hemoglobin ≥ 9 g/dL (5.6µM) (transfusion is not allowed within 7 days of screening assessments) * Platelets ≥ 100 Gi/L * Prothrombin Time (PT) ≤ 1.2 x ULN or International Normalized Ratio (INR) ≤ 1.2 Subjects receiving anticoagulant therapy are eligible if their INR is stable and within the recommended range for the desired target of anticoagulation * Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (aPTT) ≤ 1.2 x ULN Electrolytes : \- Potassium within normal ranges. Hepatic : * Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 x ULN * Alanine AminoTansferase (ALAT) and Aspartate AminoTransferase (ASAT) ≤ 2.5 x ULN Concomitant elevation in bilirubin and ASAT/ALAT above 1.0xULN is not allowed Renal : * Serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 mg/dL (133µM) or if serum creatinine\> 1.5 mg/dL, calculated creatinine clearance (ClCR) ≥ 50 mL/min (Cockcroft formula or MDRD formula for patients older than 65 years old) * Urine Protein to Creatinine Ratio (UPC) \< 1; If UPC ratio ≥ 1, then a 24-hour urine protein must be assessed. Subjects must have a 24-hour urine protein value \< 1 gram to be eligible Use of urine dipstick for renal function assessment is not acceptable * Women of childbearing potential must have a negative urine or serum pregnancy test within 7 days of first dose of pazopanib. They must be willing to use effective contraception methods during the study and up to 7 days after the last pazopanib administration. * Affiliated to the French social security system. * Subjects must provide written informed consent prior to perform any study-specific procedure or assessment and must be willing to comply with treatment and follow up. Note: Procedures conducted as part of the subject's routine clinical management (e.g., blood count, imaging study such as bone scan) and obtained prior to signing of informed consent may be utilized for screening or baseline purposes provided these procedures are conducted as specified in the protocol, Exclusion Criteria: * Other histological sub-types of thyroid tumors like medullar carcinoma, anaplastic carcinoma, lymphoma or sarcoma, * Prior treatment with pazopanib, * Prior malignancy, Subjects who have had another malignancy and have been disease-free for 5 years, or subjects with a history of completely resected non-melanomatous skin carcinoma or successfully treated in situ carcinoma are eligible * Symptomatic metastases of Central nervous system (CNS) requiring or having required steroids or enzyme-inducing anticonvulsants within 4 weeks before inclusion , * Clinically significant gastrointestinal abnormalities that may increase the risk for gastrointestinal bleeding including, but not limited to: * Active peptic ulcer disease, * Known intraluminal metastatic lesion with risk of bleeding, * Inflammatory bowel disease (e.g. ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease), or other gastrointestinal conditions with increased risk of perforation, * History of abdominal fistula, gastrointestinal perforation, or intra abdominal abscess within 28 days prior to begin study treatment, * Clinically significant gastrointestinal abnormalities that may affect absorption of investigational product including, but not limited to: * Malabsorption syndrome, * Major resection of the stomach or small bowel, * Corrected QT interval (QTc) \> 480 msec (correction method according to the Bazett's method), * History of any one or more of the following cardiovascular conditions within the past 6 months : * Cardiac angioplasty or stenting, * Myocardial infarction, * Unstable angina, * Coronary artery bypass graft surgery, * Symptomatic peripheral vascular disease, * Class III or IV congestive heart failure, as defined by the New York Heart Association (NYHA), * Cerebrovascular accident including Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), pulmonary embolism or untreated Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT), Subjects with recent DVT who have been treated with therapeutic anti-coagulating agents for at least 6 weeks are eligible, * Poorly controlled hypertension (systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mmHg) as described in the section 7.2 "Study requirements" of this protocol, Initiation or adjustment of antihypertensive medication(s) is permitted prior to study entry. At least one day after antihypertensive medication initiation or adjustment, blood pressure (BP) must be re-assessed three times at approximately 2-minute intervals. These three values should be averaged to obtain the mean diastolic blood pressure and the mean systolic blood pressure. The mean SBP / DBP ratio must be \<140/90 mmHg (OR 150/90 mm Hg, if this criterion is approved by the coordination center) in order to be eligible. * Major surgery or trauma within 28 days prior to first dose of investigational product and/or presence of any non-healing wound, fracture, or ulcer (procedures such as catheter placement are not considered to be major surgery), * Evidence of active bleeding or bleeding diathesis, * Known endobronchial lesions and/or lesions infiltrating major pulmonary vessels that increase the risk of pulmonary hemorrhage, Lesions infiltrating major pulmonary vessels (contiguous tumor and vessels) are excluded; however, the presence of a tumor that is touching, but not infiltrating (abutting) the vessels is acceptable (CT with contrast is strongly recommended to evaluate such lesions). * Large protruding endobronchial lesions in the main or lobar bronchi are excluded; however, endobronchial lesions in the segmented bronchi are allowed. * Lesions extensively infiltrating the main or lobar bronchi are excluded; however, minor infiltrations in the wall of the bronchi are allowed. * Hemoptysis within the last 8 weeks before inclusion, * Have a known immediate or delayed hypersensitivity reaction or idiosyncrasy to drug, * Treatment with any of the following anti-cancer therapies : * radiation therapy, surgery or tumor embolization within 14 days prior to the first dose of pazopanib (analgesic radiation therapy is allowed if the radiation field doesn't include a potential target lesion for tumor assessments), * chemotherapy, immunotherapy, biologic therapy, investigational therapy or hormonal therapy within 14 days or five half-lives of a drug (whichever is longer) prior to the first dose of pazopanib, * Administration of other oncologic drug or any non-oncologic investigational drug within 30 days (or 5 half lives whichever is longer) prior to receiving the first dose of study treatment, or planned to be administered during the study participation, * Unable or unwilling to discontinue use of prohibited medications listed in Section 6.2.4.c "Prohibited medications" for at least 14 days or five half-lives of a drug (whichever is longer) prior to the first dose of study drug and for the duration of the study, * Any ongoing toxicity from prior anti-cancer therapy that is \> Grade 1 and/or that is progressing in severity (according to the NCI-CTC AE v4.0), except alopecia, * Any serious and/or unstable pre-existing medical, psychiatric, or other condition that could interfere with subject's safety, provision of informed consent, or compliance to study procedures.
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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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CHRU Lille Hôpital Claude Huriez
Lille, 59037, France
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CHU Angers
Angers, 49933, France
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CHU Bordeaux
Bordeaux, 33075, France
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Centre Antoine Lacassagne
Nice, 06189, France
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Centre François Baclesse
Caen, 14076, France
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Centre Leon Berard
Lyon, 69373, France
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Hôpital Saint-Louis APHP
Paris, 75010, France
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Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière APHP
Paris, 75651, France
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Hôpital de la Timone APHM
Marseille, 13385, France
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Institut Bergonié
Bordeaux, 33076, France
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Institut Claudius Régaud
Toulouse, 31052, France
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Institut Gustave Roussy
Villejuif, 94805, France
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Institut Jean Godinot
Reims, 51726, France
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