Ongoing Clinical Trials for Oesophageal Adenocarcinoma Stage III
There is currently 1 ongoing clinical trial for patients with Stage III oesophageal adenocarcinoma who have undergone surgery following chemotherapy and radiation. This trial is investigating an immunotherapy treatment called nivolumab to help prevent cancer from returning after surgical removal of the tumour.
Clinical trial locations
- Belgium
- Czechia
- Denmark
- France
- Germany
- Ireland
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Romania
- Spain
Study of Nivolumab or Placebo for Patients with Removed Esophageal or Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer
This trial is designed for patients who have already had surgery to remove cancer from the oesophagus or the area where the oesophagus meets the stomach, known as the gastroesophageal junction. It specifically focuses on those who received chemotherapy and radiation treatment before their operation.
Who can join this trial?
The trial is open to patients who meet specific criteria related to their cancer and treatment history:
- Patients must have been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus or gastroesophageal junction
- The cancer must have been classified as Stage II or III at the time of diagnosis
- Patients must have completed pre-operative chemoradiotherapy, which combines chemotherapy and radiation therapy given before surgery
- Surgery must have been completed with successful removal of all visible cancer with clear margins, though some cancer cells may have been present in the removed tissue
- Both men and women are eligible to participate
What the trial involves
The main goal of this study is to find out if nivolumab can help prevent cancer from returning after surgery. Nivolumab is a type of immunotherapy that works by helping your immune system recognise and attack cancer cells more effectively. It does this by blocking a protein called PD-1 on immune cells, which allows the immune system to work better against cancer.
This is a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, which means some patients will receive nivolumab while others will receive a placebo, and neither the patients nor their doctors will know which treatment each person is receiving. This design helps researchers get accurate results about how well the treatment works.
Nivolumab is given as an infusion directly into a vein at a clinic or hospital. The treatment is administered at a dose of 10 mg/mL according to the study schedule. Patients will be carefully monitored throughout the study to track how long they remain cancer-free, which is called disease-free survival. Researchers will also track overall survival, meaning how long patients live after starting the study.
The study is expected to conclude in October 2025 and is being conducted across multiple European countries, making it widely accessible to eligible patients.
Summary
Currently, there is one active clinical trial specifically designed for patients with Stage III oesophageal adenocarcinoma who have undergone surgery after chemotherapy and radiation treatment. This trial is notably accessible, being conducted across ten European countries: Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, and Spain.
The focus of this trial is on nivolumab, an immunotherapy drug that represents a newer approach to preventing cancer recurrence after surgery. Rather than traditional chemotherapy, nivolumab works by enhancing the body’s own immune response against cancer cells. This reflects a growing trend in cancer treatment toward using immunotherapy in the post-surgical setting to reduce the risk of the cancer returning.
For patients who have completed the challenging journey of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, this trial offers an opportunity to access an additional treatment approach that may help improve long-term outcomes. The wide geographic availability across Europe also means that many patients have the potential to access this research without needing to travel internationally.
