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Liquid Biopsy and Pancreas Cancer: Detection of AXL(+) CTCs (CTC-AXL-PANC)

NCT05346536 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 63

Last updated 2025-07-10

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

In solid cancers, some more aggressive tumor cells actively detach from the primary lesion and then travel through the circulating compartment to reach distant organs and form micro-metastases. These circulating tumor cells (CTCs) that have become disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) flourish in their new environments and may remain dormant for many years after the complete resection of the primary tumor. Detecting CTCs in the blood is also relevant for assessing tumor progression, prognosis and therapeutic follow-up. The non-invasive, highly sensitive for CTCs analysis is called "liquid biopsy". Pancreatic adenocarcinoma and breast cancer remain among cancers of very poor prognosis and thus represent a major therapeutic challenge. In recent years, the Axl membrane tyrosine kinase receptor has been the target of growing interest. Activation of the Gas6/Axl signaling pathway is associated with, among other things, tumor cell growth and survival, epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) or drug resistances. In addition, Axl overexpression is frequently identified in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma and is associated with a poor prognosis. For example, the Laboratoire des Cellules Circulantes Rares Humaines (LCCRH) at the CHU and the University of Montpellier has developed two new "CTC-AXL" tests to detect CTCs expressing Axl: one using the CellSearch® (gold standard and FDA-approved) system and the other using the EPIDROP technique. The purpose of this research project is to assess the concordance of the "CTC-AXL" measurement by the innovative EPIDROP technique and the CellSearch® technique in patients with metastatic pancreatic or breast cancer.

Conditions

Interventions

OTHER

Detection of circulating tumor cells expressing Axl: CTC-AXL(+)

Detection of CTC-AXL(+) using 2 techniques: * CellSearch®, FDA-USA approved technology * EPIDROP System CellSearch® (Menarini Company) The current gold-standard CellSearch® technique requires the use of CellSave tubes. This technique allows the isolation of fixed CTCs. This technique uses a positive (CellSearch® Epithelial Cell Kit) enrichment method from total blood using magnetic beads coupled to an EpCAM capture antibody. CTCs are then detected (anti-panCK antibodies, DAPI, anti-CD45 and characterized (anti-AXL antibody) by immunofluorescence (IF). EPIDROP It requires the use of EDTA tubes. This technique is based on a method of negative enrichment of CTCs from total blood using a cocktail of tetrameric antibodies to eliminate unwanted blood cells and to preserve only purified tumor cells (RosetteSep - StemCell Technology).Then, cells are loaded in a microfluidic chip. The detection and characterization is done by IF to the single cell in micro-droplets.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University Hospital, Montpellier

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Catherine Alix-Panabières, PhD · University Hospital, Montpellier

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2022-06-16
Primary Completion
2025-12-31
Completion
2027-12-01

Countries

  • France

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT05346536 on ClinicalTrials.gov