Observational Lung Trial to Collect Tissue to Train and Validate a Live Tumor Diagnostic Platform

NCT ID: NCT05478538

Last Updated: 2025-12-24

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Total Enrollment

200 participants

Study Classification

OBSERVATIONAL

Study Start Date

2023-01-31

Study Completion Date

2026-12-31

Brief Summary

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The primary objective of this study is to determine the ex-vivo prognostic accuracy of the Cybrid live tumor diagnostic platform using in-vivo RECIST 1.1 as the reference method.

Detailed Description

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Cancer is a leading cause of death and despite many new drugs, a major diagnostic challenge remains knowing which drug will work best for a patient. A new class of drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized cancer treatment. However, current diagnostic methods (e.g. PDL1, MSI and TMB) do not accurately predict which patients will respond.

Elephas is developing a diagnostic platform using small 3D Live Tumor Fragments (LTFs) from participants for accurate prediction of drug response with a focus on ICIs such as Pembrolizumab (Keytruda). These LTFs contain both tumor cells and infiltrating immune cells, which are critical in determining response to ICIs and other immunotherapies.

In this observational clinical trial, 200 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) participants will be recruited and their actual clinical response to ICIs (using RECIST 1.1) will be compared to the platform's predictive Artificial Intelligence (AI) score that is based on RNA, clinical data, and 3D microscopy images. The sensitivity and specificity of the platform's score will be determined and compared to current diagnostic methods for ICIs like PDL1, MSI, and TMB.

Conditions

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NSCLC (Non-small Cell Lung Cancer) Metastatic NSCLC - Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Keywords

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Metastatic NSCLC NSCLC Non Small Cell Lung Cancer Core needle biopsy Live tumor fragments Immunotherapy Immunotherapy prediction 3D culture Ex vivo platform Immune checkpoint inhibitors Forceps biopsy Punch biopsy

Study Design

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Observational Model Type

CASE_ONLY

Study Time Perspective

PROSPECTIVE

Study Groups

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Stage IV or metastatic Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

Subjects suspected of or diagnosed with Stage IV NSCLC and meet one of the following criteria:

1. Subjects who are undiagnosed, have undergone imaging and are suspected to have Stage IV lung cancer.
2. Subjects with a Stage I, II, or III diagnosis of NSCLC, who are being re-biopsied after imaging-confirmed progression to metastatic disease
3. Subjects who have a confirmed diagnosis of NSCLC, and have undergone a SOC biopsy procedure and will undergo a separate procedure for the purposes of this study.
4. Subjects who have a previous Stage IV/metastatic NSCLC diagnosis and have already received first line treatment.

Core Needle, Forceps, or Punch Biopsy

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Subjects must be clinically able, at investigator discretion, to undergo additional core needle, forceps, or punch biopsy during their biopsy. These additional biopsies may either be collected from the primary tumor or a metastatic site amenable to additional passes (e.g., liver or lymph nodes) per the clinician.

Interventions

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Core Needle, Forceps, or Punch Biopsy

Subjects must be clinically able, at investigator discretion, to undergo additional core needle, forceps, or punch biopsy during their biopsy. These additional biopsies may either be collected from the primary tumor or a metastatic site amenable to additional passes (e.g., liver or lymph nodes) per the clinician.

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

1. Written informed consent and HIPAA authorization for release of personal health information prior to registration. NOTE: HIPAA authorization may be included in the informed consent or obtained separately.
2. Age ≥ 18 years at the time of consent.
3. Subjects suspected of or diagnosed with Stage IV/metastatic NSCLC and meet one of the following criteria:

1. Subjects who are undiagnosed, have undergone imaging and are suspected to have Stage IV lung cancer.
2. Subjects with a previous Stage I, II, or III diagnosis of NSCLC, who are being re-biopsied due to suspected progression to metastatic disease.
3. Subjects who have a newly confirmed diagnosis of Stage IV NSCLC, have undergone a SOC biopsy procedure and will undergo a separate procedure for the purposes of this study prior to starting first line treatment.
4. Subjects who have a previous Stage IV/metastatic NSCLC diagnosis and have already received first line treatment.
4. Subjects must be clinically able, at investigator discretion, to undergo additional CNB or forceps biopsy passes during their biopsy. These additional biopsies may either be collected from the primary tumor or a metastatic site amenable to additional passes (e.g., liver or lymph nodes) per the clinician.
5. Subjects who are newly diagnosed or have suspected cancer must be treatment-naïve at the time of biopsy. All other subjects should have the biopsy performed before starting their next line of treatment.

Exclusion Criteria

1. Any patient for whom an extra biopsy might pose a clinical risk based on the discretion of the clinician.
2. Any mental impairment that would render the patient unable to understand his/her participation in the study would disqualify the patient from consenting and participating.
3. Subjects with an auto-immune disease that would render them ineligible for immune- oncology treatment.
4. Immunocompromised subjects, and subjects known to be HIV positive and currently receiving antiretroviral therapy. NOTE: Patients known to be HIV positive, but without clinician evidence of an immunocompromised state, are eligible for this trial.
5. Subjects who are enrolled or plan to be enrolled in a blinded oncology treatment trial are not eligible.
6. Subjects who are pregnant are not eligible.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Elephas

INDUSTRY

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Fred Hausheer, MD, FACP

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

Elephas

Locations

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UCLA Medical Center

Los Angeles, California, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

James M Stockman Cancer Institute

Frederick, Maryland, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

New York Cancer & Blood Specialists

Shirley, New York, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States

Site Status TERMINATED

Gabrail Cancer Center

Canton, Ohio, United States

Site Status TERMINATED

JPS Health Network

Fort Worth, Texas, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Baylor Scott & White Research Institute

Temple, Texas, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United States

Central Contacts

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Catarina Costa

Role: CONTACT

Phone: 609-955-4927

Email: [email protected]

Facility Contacts

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Saima Chaabane

Role: primary

Ingrid Halvorson

Role: primary

Laura Parisi

Role: primary

April Bell

Role: primary

Lorie A Fares

Role: primary

References

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Eisenhauer EA, Therasse P, Bogaerts J, Schwartz LH, Sargent D, Ford R, Dancey J, Arbuck S, Gwyther S, Mooney M, Rubinstein L, Shankar L, Dodd L, Kaplan R, Lacombe D, Verweij J. New response evaluation criteria in solid tumours: revised RECIST guideline (version 1.1). Eur J Cancer. 2009 Jan;45(2):228-47. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2008.10.026.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 19097774 (View on PubMed)

Seymour L, Bogaerts J, Perrone A, Ford R, Schwartz LH, Mandrekar S, Lin NU, Litiere S, Dancey J, Chen A, Hodi FS, Therasse P, Hoekstra OS, Shankar LK, Wolchok JD, Ballinger M, Caramella C, de Vries EGE; RECIST working group. iRECIST: guidelines for response criteria for use in trials testing immunotherapeutics. Lancet Oncol. 2017 Mar;18(3):e143-e152. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(17)30074-8. Epub 2017 Mar 2.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28271869 (View on PubMed)

Chen S, Zhang Z, Zheng X, Tao H, Zhang S, Ma J, Liu Z, Wang J, Qian Y, Cui P, Huang D, Huang Z, Wu Z, Hu Y. Response Efficacy of PD-1 and PD-L1 Inhibitors in Clinical Trials: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Front Oncol. 2021 Apr 16;11:562315. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2021.562315. eCollection 2021.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 33937012 (View on PubMed)

Cherukuri AR, Lubner MG, Zea R, Hinshaw JL, Lubner SJ, Matkowskyj KA, Foltz ML, Pickhardt PJ. Tissue sampling in the era of precision medicine: comparison of percutaneous biopsies performed for clinical trials or tumor genomics versus routine clinical care. Abdom Radiol (NY). 2019 Jun;44(6):2074-2080. doi: 10.1007/s00261-018-1702-1.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 30032384 (View on PubMed)

Basumallik N, Agarwal M. Small Cell Lung Cancer. 2023 Jul 10. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482458/

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29494065 (View on PubMed)

Ramasubramanian TS, Adstamongkonkul P, Scribano CM, Johnson C, Caenepeel S, Hrycyniak LCF, Vedder L, Dana N, Baltes C, Browning T, Chen YI, Dietz T, Flietner E, Kaplewski N, Kellner A, Korrer M, Liu C, Marhefke N, McDonnell P, Nasreen A, Pope V, Prasad A, Richardson J, Schneider S, Schultz M, Sood C, Sunil A, von Euw E, Wait E, Wargowski E, Advani P, Broome B, Bruckbauer A, Godwin A, Kokabi N, Martin R, Robaina M, Toia G, Routh J, Friedl A, Eliceiri K, Szulczewski M, Johnson S, Oliner J, Galon J, Capitini C, Mukhopadhyay D, Taube J, Braun D, Gierman HJ. A live tumor fragment platform to assess immunotherapy response in core needle biopsies while addressing challenges of tumor heterogeneity. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2025 Jul 18:2025.07.18.663728. doi: 10.1101/2025.07.18.663728.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 40791544 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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ELEP-2022-CYBRID-01

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id