A Multicenter, Prospective, Randomized, Open-label Phase Ib/II Study of Celecoxib Plus Pembrolizumab and Gemcitabine/Cisplatin Versus Pembrolizumab and Gemcitabine/Cisplatin in Patients With CK5/6-High Unresectable Locally Advanced or Metastatic Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma

Summary

This study aims to evaluate whether adding celecoxib to standard therapy can improve clinical outcomes in patients with advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. The current standard treatment typically consists of immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy; however, there are significant inter-patient differences in treatment response. Therefore, this study further introduces the biomarker CK5/6 to identify patient subgroups who are more likely to benefit, thereby exploring a more precise therapeutic strategy.

All eligible participants will be randomly assigned after enrollment to either the control group or the experimental group. The control group will receive the current standard first-line regimen, which includes the immunotherapy agent pembrolizumab combined with the chemotherapy agents gemcitabine and cisplatin. The experimental group will receive the same standard treatment, with the addition of oral therapy with celecoxib taken twice daily throughout the entire treatment period.

Each treatment cycle lasts 21 days. During treatment, patients will undergo regular imaging assessments, laboratory tests, and safety evaluations to monitor tumor response and treatment-related adverse events, and will be followed until disease progression or discontinuation of treatment. In addition, blood and tissue samples will be collected during the study to investigate tumor biology and potential predictive biomarkers.

The primary endpoint of this study is progression-free survival. Potential treatment-related adverse events associated with chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and celecoxib may include bone marrow suppression, gastrointestinal reactions, immune-related inflammatory responses, and renal or cardiovascular toxicities. The study team will closely monitor participants for adverse events and provide timely and appropriate management as necessary.

This study aims to explore a CK5/6-based stratified personalized combination therapy strategy, with the goal of improving treatment benefit in patients with advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and providing evidence for optimizing future clinical treatment strategies.

Conditions

• Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma (Icc)

Interventions

DRUG

Celecoxib + Pembrolizumab + Gemcitabine/Cisplatin

Celecoxib is administered orally at 200 mg twice daily (BID), starting 7 days before Cycle 1 Day 1 (C1D-7) in the experimental arm. Pembrolizumab is administered intravenously at 200 mg on Day 1 of each 21-day cycle. Gemcitabine (1000 mg/m²) and cisplatin (25 mg/m²) are administered intravenously on Days 1 and 8 of each 21-day cycle. Cisplatin is administered for a maximum of 8 cycles. Study treatment is continued according to the study protocol until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, withdrawal of consent, or other protocol-specified discontinuation criteria.

DRUG

Pembrolizumab + Gemcitabine/Cisplatin

Pembrolizumab is administered intravenously at 200 mg on Day 1 of each 21-day cycle. Gemcitabine (1000 mg/m²) and cisplatin (25 mg/m²) are administered intravenously on Days 1 and 8 of each 21-day cycle. Cisplatin is administered for a maximum of 8 cycles. Study treatment is continued according to the study protocol until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, withdrawal of consent, or other protocol-specified discontinuation criteria.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Shanghai 10th People's Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• Wuhan TongJi Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center

  collaborator OTHER

• RenJi Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• Shanghai 6th People's Hospital

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Cun Wang · State Key Laboratory of Systems Medicine for Cancer, Shanghai Cancer Institute & Department of Liver Surgery, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-09-15

Primary Completion

2029-12-31

Completion

2030-12-31

Countries

• China

Study Locations