Clinical trials

This is a single-center pharmacokinetic study evaluating the impact of residual pembrolizumab levels on the efficacy of salvage chemotherapy following immunotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) not amenable to curative local treatment.

The hypothesis of this prospective observational pilot study of diagnostic diagnostic performance is that, for patients with NSCLC treated with immunotherapy associated or not with chemotherapy, certain metabolic biomarkers on 18FDG PET scans allow early identification of treatment response (or lack of response to treatment) and optimize prediction of tumor response compared with current standards.

Research into biomarkers predictive of survival and response to cancer treatment

For a young patient, the conditions of proton therapy treatment can be stressful. Adjusting the environment can be a source of avoiding this physical and psychological discomfort impacting the quality of treatment. A fixed, long, uncomfortable position is the main cause of stress, already present due to the cancerous therapeutic course. It extends the positioning time. For the patient and the optimization of his treatment, solutions must be sought. Relaxation in virtual reality is efficient, simple and non-medicinal and could reduce stress in children and allow irradiation in very good conditions. We will assess the effectiveness of the virtual reality session using objective (placement time, helmet tolerance) and subjective (perceived anxiety via a dedicated questionnaire) criteria. This is the first pediatric virtual reality study, supported by the French Group of Pediatric Radiotherapists, to reduce anxiety in radiotherapy. Multiple benefits from this pilot study are expected, such as improved reception conditions, treatment parameters and better acceptance of proton therapy sessions.

A single-center, randomized (1:1) open-label, prospective, stratified study with two parallel arms, designed to evaluate adherence to the adapted physical activity (APA) program for patients participating in an APA program and to compare changes in fatigue at 3 months in patients who have completed adjuvant systemic chemotherapy for cancer and are participating in an APA program.

Phase II study; open recruitment, multicentrique. The aim of this clinical research is to evaluate faisability and toxicity of the per-operative radiotherapy using PAPILLON + TM device for localized breast cancers patients over 65 years.

Metabolomics, thanks to advances in mass spectrometry, allows for the analysis of cellular metabolites to better understand biological processes. In oncology, it provides a global view of metabolic alterations in tumors and enables the classification of cancers based on various medical parameters using advanced statistical methods (machine learning). Its low cost and speed make it a promising approach in personalized medicine. Cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract (UADT), the fifth most common cancer in France, are often diagnosed late, reducing survival chances (35-50% at five years). Identifying a specific metabolomic signature for these cancers could facilitate early detection, assess treatment response, and rapidly detect recurrences. Additionally, HPV-induced tumors may exhibit a distinct metabolic profile compared to those caused by tobacco and alcohol. Currently, no published studies have explored this topic for UADT cancers, highlighting the need for such research. The aim of this study is to identify a metabolomic signature associated with the presence of UADT cancer at initial diagnosis and during post-therapeutic follow-up (three months after treatment completion). Hypothesis is that a specific metabolomic signature will be observed in the biological samples of patients diagnosed with UADT cancer, that the type of observed signature could be correlated with tumor site, stage, HPV status, and prognosis, and that the persistence or disappearance of this metabolomic signature three months after treatment may be associated with the risk of recurrence. The search for this potential metabolomic signature will be conducted using tumor biopsies, plasma, and urine samples at the initial diagnostic phase and plasma and urine samples at three and six months post-treatment follow-up. Ultimately, the benefits of this study lie in improving early diagnosis, treatment (adjusting treatment based on the prognostic value of specific metabolomic signatures), and follow-up (early detection of recurrences, adapting monitoring to each patient's individual risk) of UADT cancers. As the study is based on biological samples collected as part of standard patient care (with no additional biological tests or procedures performed specifically for research), no research-related risk is expected for the patient. This is a prospective, single-center study involving patients with histologically confirmed, untreated squamous cell carcinoma of the UADT (oral cavity, oropharynx, larynx, and hypopharynx) who will receive curative treatment at the Antoine Lacassagne Center. The search for a potential metabolomic signature will be conducted using biological and tumor samples collected as part of standard patient care, without requiring additional tests or procedures. The primary objective of the study is to identify a metabolomic signature in patients with UADT cancer. The secondary objectives of the study are: * To investigate the correlation between a metabolomic signature and tumor characteristics. * To examine the relationship between a metabolomic signature at three to six months post-treatment and oncological status at three to six months and one year post-treatment in patients with UADT cancer.

The investigators propose to study the carbonic anhydrase inhibition (acetazolamide) associated with concomitant radiochemotherapy or radioimmunotherapy in small cell lung cancer due to: 1. The over-expression of carbonic anhydrases in this type of cancer, 2. The Anti-tumor effect in preclinical acetazolamide in various tumor lines including neuroendocrine tumor lines, 3. The observed synergy between irradiation and inhibition of carbonic anhydrases, 4. Potential anti-tumor immune effect caused by decreased extracellular acidity.

This is a monocentric, non-randomized, open-label, superiority phase II clinical investigation evaluating the efficacy of additional Cyberknife irradiation after a doublet of Platinum Salts-based chemotherapy and concomitant radiotherapy in patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), with an interim analysis.

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in the world. In France, 58,000 new cases were detected in 2018. Breast cancer is therefore the most common cancer in women. The 5-year survival rate for all stages combined is 88%. These excellent survival figures have been achieved thanks to improvements in treatment, including the advent of chemotherapy. The majority of patients will be cured of their cancer, so post-cancer quality of life is a major issue, hence the importance of trying to reduce long-term sequelae. Taxanes are one of the main cytotoxic anticancer agents used in the treatment of breast cancer. However, taxanes have a direct effect on the central and peripheral nervous systems and can induce chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). The mechanisms of NPIC by taxanes are not fully understood. CINP is manifested by symptoms of paresthesia, numbness, burning, pain, altered temperature perception, myalgia, myopathy, fine motor difficulties, gait and balance disturbances, muscle weakness in the lower limbs and/or functional decline. NPIC occurs in 80 to 97% of patients treated with taxanes and is the main limiting toxicity during paclitaxel administration. NPIC often leads to postponement or reduction of dose, or even discontinuation of treatment. In addition, NPIC may last for several months or even years after the end of anti-cancer chemotherapy and represents the main long-term sequelae. This can promote and/or exacerbate symptoms of psychological distress (depressive symptoms and symptoms of anxiety) and lead to a reduction in quality of life (QoL). Prevention of NIPC is therefore a major issue in breast cancer treatment. According to the 2014 guidelines from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, prevention and treatment of IPN are inadequate with current weapons, and there is an urgent need to evaluate and find new methods of prevention. One of the challenges in the management of NIPC will be to reduce the pain induced without diminishing the anti-tumour effect of anti-cancer agents. In recent years, the effectiveness of cryotherapy using a frozen glove and compression therapy using surgical gloves (SG) in preventing taxane-induced PINC has been reported. During chemotherapy, patients wore a frozen glove on one hand and two surgical gloves of the same size on the other hand continuously. Recent study explained how compression therapy and cryotherapy shared a similar mechanism of reducing drug exposure due to vasoconstriction during paclitaxel infusion. The low temperature associated with cryotherapy would reduce paclitaxel uptake and peripheral nerve damage, or mechanotransduction, and allow a reduction in NIPC. To date, no study has investigated the efficacy of combining the two means of prevention. The current standard at the Centre Antoine Lacassagne is cryotherapy. The aim of this prospective, self-controlled trial is therefore to compare the efficacy of cryotherapy combined with compression prevention versus cryotherapy alone in preventing paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy in patients undergoing adjuvant treatment for localised breast cancer.

This study aims to collect tumor samples from patients carrying a mutation of interest to develop a cell culture technique for "spheroids. The goal is to use these spheroids to model responses to anticancer treatments. Various therapeutic molecules can be tested on these spheroids, enabling the evaluation of the potential of new molecules or the activity of existing ones specifically on the tumor (bearing the mutation of interest) from which the spheroid was developed. Tumor samples will be collected as part of biopsies or surgeries conducted during routine patient care.

This study will evaluate the diagnostic performance of liquid biopsy for identifying molecular abnormalities among patients managed by the Multidisciplinary Molecular Biology Meeting. The gold standard considered in this study is the solid biopsy.

Up to 50% of soft tissue sarcoma (STS) patients will develop metastases in the course of their disease. Cytotoxic therapy is a standard treatment in this setting but yields average tumor response rates of 25% at first line and ≤10% at later lines. It is also limited in the number of lines and courses by tolerance issues. Trials include poly/oligometastases indistinctively and suggest that consolidation ablation is used in \~20% of patients with residual oligometastases refractory to chemotherapy. Oligometastases represent a stage of disease between completely absent and widely metastatic, and which might be cured if the limited numbers of metastatic sites are eradicated. Ablative strategies to treat patients with oligometastases from sarcomas yield prolonged survival times and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is associated with excellent tolerance. Surgery may be offered in selected metastatic cases. Alternatively and increasingly, SBRT yields high control rates at treated sites (≥ 80%). The so-called radioresistance of sarcomas is overcome by the high doses per fraction made possible owing to the high precision achieved with SBRT. SBRT is an accepted treatment strategy provided that tumor burden remains limited in the number and size of metastases. Systemic treatment can be combined with SBRT. SBRT may produce abscopal effects where tumors outside the irradiation area also demonstrate tumor shrinkage in some occurrences. SBRT produces systemic antitumoral immune response in certain conditions and enhances radiation-induced tumor cell death compared to conventional lower dose irradiation. Abscopal effects have been potentialized with SBRT/immunotherapy in several tumor models. Sarcomas are a privileged target tumor given their high metastatic propensity. Several potent immunomodulators that skew the tumor immune microenvironment toward a proimmunity context are being investigated in STS either alone or in combination with chemotherapy or targeted therapy. The PD-1 receptor is present within the tumor microenvironment, and limits the activity of infiltrating cytotoxic T lymphocytes, thus blocking effective immune responses. The action of PD-1 is triggered upon binding to its ligands. PD-1 can stimulate the immunosuppressive function of regulatory T cells. Moreover, blockade of PD-1 can stimulate anti-tumor immune responses. Significant responses have been obtained in several sarcomas with acceptable tolerance. Preliminary clinical experience suggests that immunotherapy can be efficient in refractory leiomyosarcomas. Several drugs targeting the PD-1/PD-L1/2 axis are ongoing either as single agents or in combination with ipilimumab, kinase inhibitors, or chemotherapy in STS subtypes. Combination of radiotherapy with immunotherapy is included as a means of increasing tumor antigen release in metastatic STS. Immunomodulated SBRT is a particularly attractive strategy, given the potential of radiation to induce cytotoxicity in tumors and induce abscopal effects. A phase II radiation trial showed increased apoptosis-, intra-tumoral dendritic cells and accumulation of intratumoral T cells in STS with correlation with tumor-specific immune responses. We here propose a randomized phase II study to prolong progression-free survival (PFS) with the combination of SBRT/immunotherapy in oligometastatic STS patients. SBRT is well-tolerated with hardly any severe toxicity (fewer than 5% acute and late grade 3 toxicities). It is performed in an ambulatory setting in only a few treatment fractions. Associations between irradiation and immunomodulatory agents appear to be synergistic and show favorable tolerance profiles. Immunomodulatory agents have a more favorable toxicity profile than cytotoxic agents with about 65% overall acute toxicities. Immunotherapy selectively binds to PD-L1 and competitively blocks its interaction with PD-1. Compared with anti-PD-1 antibodies that target T-cells, immunotherapy targets tumor cells, and is therefore may induce fewer side effects, including a lower risk of autoimmune-related safety issues, as blockade of PD-L1 leaves the PD-L2 - PD-1 pathway intact to promote peripheral self-tolerance. Stereotactic irradiation is associated with an excellent tolerance with rates of grade 3 or more toxicities below 5%. Preliminary data of toxicity with the association of stereotactic irradiation and immunotherapy show no cumulative toxicity in association with immunotherapy. However, their incidence and characteristics are no different from that observed with stereotactic irradiation alone. Moreover, intracranial metastases are exceptional in sarcomas. The toxicity of the association for extracranial stereotactic irradiation does not seem to be increased either.

Thanks to the intrinsic qualities of the proton beam, proton therapy will reduce adverse effects of irradiation. The Proteus®One is the latest generation of proton therapy equipment, enabling the Centre Antoine Lacassagne to expand its range of treatments by carrying out new proton therapy treatments. It has an innovative compact isocentric rotating head (Gantry) that allows the radiation beam to be directed at different angles around the patient. In some cases, two beams are used to treat tumours, and by convention, both beams are delivered during the same session. However, it is necessary to position the patient before each beam, which is time-consuming because 2 beams have to be positioned very precisely each day. The aim of this study is therefore to assess the toxicity of proton therapy delivered by a single daily beam compared with proton therapy delivered by two daily beams, which is the conventional technique.