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NeoAdjuvant ChemoTherapy With KELIM Guided Interval vs. Delayed Interval Debulking Surgery

A Prospective, International, Multi-center, Interventional Trial of Advanced Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Patients Offered Three Cycles of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy (NACT) and Triaged With KELIM Score. Patients With Favorable Score Will Undergo Interval Debulking Surgery (IDS) Followed by Another 3 Cycles of NACT, While Those With Unfavorable Will Undergo Another 3 Cycles of NACT Followed by Delayed Interval Debulking Surgery (DIDS).

Status
Not yet recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT07382479
Acronym
NACT-KELIM ID
Enrollment
485
Registered
2026-02-02
Start date
2026-04-01
Completion date
2034-04-01
Last updated
2026-02-05

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

Conditions

Ovarian Cancer

Brief summary

A prospective, international, multi-center, interventional trial of advanced epithelial ovarian cancer patients offered three cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) and triaged with KELIM score. Patients with favorable score will undergo interval debulking surgery (IDS) followed by another 3 cycles, while those with unfavorable score will undergo another 3 cycles of NACT followed by delayed interval debulking surgery (DIDS).

Detailed description

Primary debulking surgery (PDS) followed by adjuvant chemotherapy is the cornerstone of advanced ovarian cancer treatment. However, frail patients, patients with high tumor burden in the upper abdomen or extra-abdominal metastases may benefit from neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) followed by interval debulking surgery (IDS). In recent years, three randomized non-inferiority trials have demonstrated that NACT is a valid alternative to PDS. Similarly, the preliminary results from the TRUST trial showed that the primary endpoint of overall survival (OS) was not met, with numerical longer OS in PDS group compared to NACT in non-frail ovarian cancer patients. The optimal number of NACT cycles has not yet been established. Most studies in the literature recommend 3-4 cycles. However, in real-world clinical practice some patients receive more than 5 cycles before surgery, so delayed interval debulking surgery (DIDS) is proposed as an alternative. The rationale is to allow for maximal tumor shrinkage and improved likelihood of complete gross resection, while reducing perioperative morbidity. Retrospective data show that DIDS may be considered as an alternative for advanced ovarian cancer patients with a high tumor burden, when complete gross resection cannot be achieved during IDS. Furthermore, the success of the above-mentioned treatment plans depends on tumor chemosensitivity and the ability to achieve complete gross resection, because residual disease after cytoreduction remains the most important prognostic factor. On the other hand, 15-20% of patients with advanced ovarian cancer will be poor responders to chemotherapy, so there is the need for accurate non-invasive chemo-sensitivity predictors to guide treatment decisions in the first-line setting, which is acknowledged by ESGO and ESMO. Monitoring of CA-125 decline during chemotherapy for the prediction of treatment response (13) and as a way to overcome imaging limitations, has been one of the main points of research in ovarian cancer patients. The ELIMination rate constant K (KELIM), a modeled kinetic parameter based on CA-125 measurements during the first 100 days of systemic therapy (adjuvant of neoadjuvant chemotherapy), has emerged as a valuable predictor. It is a mathematical modeling method based not on absolute values of the biomarker, but on the longitudinal kinetics (CA-125 elimination) during treatment, completely independent of renal function. Retrospective data show that KELIM score is an independent prognostic biomarker for survival outcomes, that can predict chemosensitivity, and that can safely triage patients undergoing NACT and guide who will benefit from IDS and DIDS, respectively.

Interventions

PROCEDURE3 cycles of NACT with unfavorable KELIM score will receive 3 more cycles of NACT followed by DIDS

3 cycles of NACT with unfavorable KELIM score will receive 3 more cycles of NACT followed by DIDS

PROCEDURE3 cycles of NACT with favorable KELIM score will undergo IDS followed by 3 cycles of NACT

3 cycles of NACT with favorable KELIM score will undergo IDS followed by 3 cycles of NACT

Sponsors

Aristotle University Of Thessaloniki
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Intervention model description

* ARM A: 3 cycles of NACT with a favorable KELIM score will undergo IDS followed by 3 cycles of NACT * ARM B: 3 cycles of NACT with an unfavorable KELIM score will undergo 3 more cycles of NACT followed by DIDS

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to 85 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Age 18 - 85 years old * Histologically proven epithelial ovarian cancer, fallopian tube carcinoma, or primary peritoneal carcinoma, high grade serous or endometrioid * ECOG Performance status 0 - 1 * Documented International Federation of Gynecologic Oncology (FIGO) 2014 stage IIIB, IIIC or IVA unfit and/or with unresectable disease for complete primary debulking surgery (preferably triaged by "Fagotti" diagnostic laparoscopy) * HIPEC is an option after IDS or DIDS * Sufficiently good bone marrow, liver, and renal function to receive chemotherapy and subsequently undergo surgery

Exclusion criteria

* Pregnancy * Synchronous malignancies at the time of diagnosis or in the 3 years prior to starting the study treatment * Comorbidities that may contraindicate surgery or chemotherapy as planned per protocol * Mucinous, clear-cell, carcinosarcoma or low-grade serous adenocarcinoma histological subtypes * Stable disease or progression of disease (preferably triaged by "Fagotti" diagnostic laparoscopy) after 6 cycles of NACT, before DIDS.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
Overall survival (OS)After 5 years from last patient enrollment

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Complete gross resection rate (residual disease: 0 cm)After a month from cytoreduction
Progression free survival (PFS)After 2 years from last patient enrollment.
Postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo classification)After a month after cytoreductionPostoperative complications will be graded using the Clavien-Dindo classification of surgical complications, which ranges from Grade I to Grade V, with higher grades indicating more severe complications and Grade V representing death
Quality of life (QoL) (EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire)After a month from cytoreductionHealth-related quality of life will be assessed with the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30), scored from 0 to 100. For the global health and functional scales, higher scores indicate better functioning/quality of life, whereas for symptom scales higher scores indicate greater symptom burden (worse outcome)

Contacts

CONTACTDimitrios Zouzoulas, MD, MSc, PhD
dzouzoulas@hotmail.gr+306946536065
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORDimitrios Tsolakidis, Dr.Prof.

Artistotle University of Thessaloniki

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 6, 2026