Effect of Silkworm Pupa Tablets in Gastrointestinal Malignancies at Nutritional Risk Following Radical Surgery

NCT ID: NCT06551675

Last Updated: 2025-08-12

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 120 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-08-14
• Study Completion Date: 2025-11-30

Brief Summary

This is a randomized, double-blind, very low dose parallel-controlled, prospective, multi-center trial evaluating the improvement of nutritional status and frailty with silkworm pupa tablets after radical resection of gastrointestinal malignancies for 3 months intervention. The primary endpoints are body weight and frailty prevalence, The secondary endpoints are body mass index (BMI), skeletal muscle index (SMI) at the third lumbar vertebra (L3-SMI), sarcopenia prevalence and quality of life.

Detailed Description

Previous study has indicated that silkworms pupae extracts may increase muscle mass and strength, here we conduct a randomized, double-blind, very low dose parallel-controlled, prospective, multi-center trial.

1. Study population: malignant gastrointestinal tumors, including gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, esophageal cancer, and pancreatic cancer, and has undergone radical surgical resection. If necessary, perioperative systemic treatment has been completed by the time of screening, and has a nutritional risk score of ≥3 (based on the NRS 2002 nutritional risk screening tool).

2. Sample size: totally 120 cases, including 60 cases in the experimental group and 60 cases in the control group.

3. Research content: In this study, participants will begin taking the trial product or control immediately upon enrollment, with a treatment duration of 3 months.Experimental Group: Wanshililongbao silkworm pupa tablets. Control Group: contains 0.5% of the active ingredient of the trial product, indistinguishable in appearance.

Conditions

Nutritional Deficiency; Gastrointestinal Cancer; Frailty Syndrome

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: QUADRUPLE

Study Groups

Silkworm pupa tablets group

Wanshililongbao silkworm pupa tablets.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Silkworm pupa tablets

Intervention Type: DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Participants will begin taking the silkworm pupa tablets immediately upon enrollment, 1200mg/tablet, two tablets a time, twice a day (BID), with a treatment duration of three months.

Control group

Contains 0.5% of the active ingredient of the study product, indistinguishable in appearance.

Group Type: SHAM_COMPARATOR

Control product

Intervention Type: DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

The sham comparator contains 0.5% of the active ingredient of the study product, indistinguishable in appearance. Participants will begin taking the control immediately upon enrollment, 1200mg/tablet, two tablets a time, twice a day (BID), with a treatment duration of three months.

Interventions

Silkworm pupa tablets

Participants will begin taking the silkworm pupa tablets immediately upon enrollment, 1200mg/tablet, two tablets a time, twice a day (BID), with a treatment duration of three months.

Intervention Type: DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Control product

The sham comparator contains 0.5% of the active ingredient of the study product, indistinguishable in appearance. Participants will begin taking the control immediately upon enrollment, 1200mg/tablet, two tablets a time, twice a day (BID), with a treatment duration of three months.

Intervention Type: DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Voluntarily participate in the clinical study, fully understand the study and sign the informed consent form (ICF); willing and able to follow and complete all trial procedures.
• Gender unrestricted, age at the time of signing ICF: ≥18 years, ≤80 years.
• Diagnosed with a malignant gastrointestinal tumor, including gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, esophageal cancer, and pancreatic cancer, and has undergone radical surgical resection. If necessary, perioperative systemic treatment has been completed by the time of screening.
• At the time of screening, a nutritional risk score of ≥3 (based on the NRS 2002 nutritional risk screening tool) .
• In good general condition, with an ECOG performance status score of ≤2.
• Agree to provide peripheral blood, stool, and urine samples for biomarker analysis during the study period.

Exclusion Criteria

• At the time of screening, presence of tumor recurrence or metastasis.
• At the time of screening, presence of another active malignancy requiring concurrent treatment.
• Expected survival of ≤3 months.
• Unable to take oral nutrition, requiring enteral feeding tubes, or having malabsorption syndrome or any condition affecting gastrointestinal absorption; e.g., chronic diarrhea (watery stools; defecation frequency ≥5 times a day).
• Patients who are planning a pregnancy, are pregnant, or are breastfeeding.
• Allergic to any known components of the trial materials.
• Presence of serious primary diseases of the heart, brain, lungs, liver, kidneys, endocrine, hematological, neurological, or other systems, or other acute or chronic diseases that could significantly affect treatment and prognosis.
• Presence of other severe physical or mental illnesses or laboratory abnormalities that may increase the risk associated with participation in the study, or patients deemed unsuitable for participation by the researchers.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 80 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Xiaosun Liu, MD

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Xiaosun Liu, MD

Deputy director of gastrointestinal surgery department

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Xiaosun Liu

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University

Locations

Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Westlake University

Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University

Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

The Second Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University

Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

Hangzhou Institute of Medicine Chinese Academy of Sciences

Hangzhou, , China

Countries

China

Other Identifiers

IIT20240064C

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id