New combo therapy targets Hard-to-Treat esophageal cancer
NCT ID NCT04984733
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This phase 2 trial tested a two-step treatment for advanced esophageal cancer that has a specific genetic marker (MGMT deficiency) and has stopped responding to standard chemotherapy. First, patients took a daily oral chemotherapy drug (temozolomide) for three months. Then, they added an immunotherapy drug (nivolumab) either alone or with continued temozolomide. The study enrolled 13 adults and aimed to see if the combination could shrink tumors or control the disease.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- temozolomide and nivolumab
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could point toward a new treatment option for a specific type of advanced esophageal cancer that has stopped responding to standard chemotherapy.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small, early-phase trial with only 13 participants, so results may not apply to a broader population. The combination may cause side effects or fail to shrink tumors.
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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13 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Sep 2021
- Finished
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Oct 2024
- 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
-
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 * Patients ≥ 18 years of age * Pathologically confirmed advanced unresectable or metastatic OGA * MGMT methylation on archival tissue * Mismatch repair proficient (MSI-normal or MMR intact) * Previously treated with at least 3 months of platinum and fluoropyrimidine based chemotherapy for advanced disease and without evidence of disease progression. * Measurable disease per RECIST 1.1. * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status of 0 or 1 * Can swallow TMZ capsules * Adequate organ function assessed within 7 days before randomization: * White blood cell count (WBC) \> 1.5 x 109/L * Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) \> 1.5 x 109/L * Platelets ≥ 100 x 109/L * Haemoglobin ≥ 90 g/L * Measured/calculated creatinine clearance ≥ 60 mL/min (according to Cockroft-Gault formula). * Total bilirubin within normal limits (if the patient has documented Gilbert's disease ≤ 1.5 x ULN or direct bilirubin ≤ 1.5 x ULN) * Aspartate transaminase (AST) and/or alanine transaminase (ALT) ≤ 1.5 x ULN * All toxicities (exception alopecia, and grade 2 fatigue, neuropathy and lack of appetite /nausea) attributed to prior anti-cancer therapy must have resolved to grade 1 (NCI CTCAE version 5.0) or baseline before administration of study drug. * Women of childbearing potential (WOCBP) may be included following a confirmed menstrual period and must have a negative serum or urine pregnancy test (minimum sensitivity 25 IU/L or equivalent units of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG)). Pregnancy test must be within 24 hours prior to starting treatment. (A woman is considered of childbearing potential (WOCBP), i.e. fertile, following menarche and until becoming post-menopausal unless permanently sterile. Permanent sterilisation methods include hysterectomy, bilateral salpingectomy and bilateral oophorectomy. A postmenopausal state is defined as no menses for 12 months without an alternative medical cause. A high follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) level in the postmenopausal range may be used to confirm a postmenopausal state in women not using hormonal contraception or hormonal replacement therapy. However in the absence of 12 months of amenorrhea, a single FSH measurement is insufficient). * WOCBP should use one highly effective and one effective method of birth control during the study treatment period and for at least 5 months after the last dose of the study treatment. * Female subjects who are breast feeding should discontinue nursing prior to the first dose of study treatment and until 5 months after the last dose of the study treatment. * Men who are sexually active with a WOCBP must adhere to contraception during and for a period of 7 months after the last dose of the study treatment. * Absence of any psychological, familial, sociological or geographical conditions potentially hampering compliance with the study protocol and follow-up schedule; those conditions should be discussed with the patient before registration in the trial. * Written informed consent EXCLUSION CRITERIA * Previous treatment with TMZ * Prior treatment with an anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, anti-PD-L2, anti-CD137, or anti-CTLA-4 antibody, or any other antibody or drug specifically targeting T-cell co-stimulation or immune checkpoint pathways * Active central nervous system metastases * Candidate for curative surgery * Previous malignancies are excluded unless a complete remission was achieved at least 5 years prior to study entry. Adequately treated cervical carcinoma in situ, and localized non-melanoma skin cancer are not exclusion criteria, regardless of timepoint of diagnosis. * Active, known, or suspected infectious or autoimmune disease (except for patients with Type I diabetes mellitus, residual hypothyroidism due to autoimmune thyroiditis only requiring hormone replacement, skin disorders (such as vitiligo, psoriasis, or alopecia) not requiring systemic treatment are permitted to enrol) * Conditions requiring systemic treatment with either corticosteroids (≥ 10 mg daily prednisolone or equivalent) or other immunosuppressive medications within 14 days of study drug administration * Interstitial lung disease * \> Grade 1 peripheral neuropathy * Positive test result for HBV or HCV indicating acute or chronic infection * Known history of testing positive for HIV or known AIDS * Known hypersensitivity to the components or excipients of co-trimoxazole, temozolomide or nivolumab. (Please refer to nivolumab IB and SmPC for TMZ and co-trimoxazole). * Known hypersensitivity to dacarbazine (DTIC) * Clinically significant abnormal 12-lead ECG. If clinically indicated, cardiac function assessment using either echocardiography or MUGA Scan, if clinically significant the patient is ineligible. * In the past 6 months serious cardiac illness or medical condition including but not confined to: * History of documented congestive heart failure (CHF) * High-risk uncontrolled arrhythmias * Angina pectoris requiring antianginal medication * Clinically significant valvular heart disease * Evidence of transmural infarction * Poorly controlled hypertension (e.g. systolic \>180mm Hg or diastolic greater than 100mm Hg) * Patients with severe liver parenchymal damage * Patients with severe renal insufficiency where repeated measurements of the plasma concentration cannot be performed * Patients with a history of drug-induced immune thrombocytopenia with use of trimethoprim and/or sulfonamides. * Patients with acute porphyria * Patients with severe myelosuppression
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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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Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom
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