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Fluoxetine for the Modification of Colorectal Tumor Immune Cells Before Surgery in Patients With Colorectal Cancer

Repurposing Drugs as Immunotherapeutic Agents: Changes in Colorectal Tumor Immune Cells After Targeting Serotonin

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06225011
Enrollment
10
Registered
2024-01-25
Start date
2025-03-20
Completion date
2028-07-01
Last updated
2026-08-20

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Colorectal Adenocarcinoma

Brief summary

This phase I trial tests whether fluoxetine (prozac) works to modify the tumor immune cells before surgery in patients with colorectal cancer. Fluoxetine is a commonly used selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) prescribed for major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety. Giving fluoxetine may modify the immune cell composition in the tumor and its microenvironment and may induce changes in body's immune system and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread in patients with colorectal cancer.

Detailed description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: I. To evaluate alterations in tumor immune cell composition and activity under SSRI treatment. OUTLINE: Patients receive fluoxetine orally (PO) once daily (QD) for 10 days prior to surgery.

Interventions

DRUGFluoxetine

Receive PO

Sponsors

Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Male or female ≥ 18 years of age at visit 1 * Previously untreated cytologically or histologically confirmed colorectal adenocarcinoma that will not need neoadjuvant therapy * Written informed consent (and assent when applicable) obtained from subject or subject's legal representative and ability for subject to comply with the requirements of the study * World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-2 * Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1.5x10\^9/L * Platelets ≥ 100x10\^9/L * Hemoglobin ≥ 9 g/dL * Serum creatinine (sCr) ≤ 1.5 x upper limit of normal (ULN) * Creatinine clearance (Ccr) ≥ 40 mL/min (as calculated by Modified Cockcroft-Gault formula) * Serum total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 x ULN * Aspartate aminotransferase (AST)(serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase \[SGOT\]) / alanine aminotransferase (ALT)(serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase \[SGPT\]) ≤ 2.5 x ULN * Baseline corrected QT (QTc) within normal limits per the Bazett formula. Any electrocardiogram (EKG) done prior to consent is acceptable for baseline QTc monitoring. * Normal QTc ranges from 350-450 ms for adult men and from 360-460 ms for adult women

Exclusion criteria

* Presence of a condition or abnormality that in the opinion of the investigator would compromise the safety of the participant or the quality of the data * A diagnosis of metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma * Individuals who have received neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to the planned colon cancer resection * Individuals with absolute or relative contraindications to fluoxetine * Baseline prolonged QTc * Concurrently taking tamoxifen, pimozide, or thioridazine * Individuals using other SSRIs, serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), lithium or other antidepressants at time of initial biopsy * Currently active second primary malignancy or history of malignancy less than 5 years prior to the time of study eligibility (Patients with history of skin cancers excluding melanoma will be eligible for participation)

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Immune cell composition and microenvironmentwithin a year of surgeryWill be assessed by changes in the immune cell composition in the tumor and its microenvironment before and after exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors therapy. Fixed tumor samples will be analyzed by immunohistochemistry for immune cell tumor infiltration and relevant lineage/activation/exhaustion markers. Will use descriptive statistics and graphical displays to compare the changes in tumor immune markers between the pre- and post-treatment tissue.

Countries

United States

Contacts

CONTACTJasmine Mitchell, MD
jlmitchell@mednet.ucla.edu310-825-0712
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORJasmine Mitchell, MD

UCLA / Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Aug 21, 2026