An interventional study of Radiation Therapy (RT) in Stage IV Esophageal Adenocarcinoma, Stage IV Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Stage IV Gastric Cancer, sponsored by University of California, San Francisco. Recruiting at 2 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-14.
Sponsored by University of California, San Francisco · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
This phase II trial studies how well radiation therapy works for the treatment of gastrointestinal cancer that are spreading to other places in the body (metastatic). Radiation therapy uses high energy x-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. This trial is being done to determine if giving radiation therapy to patients who are being treated with immunotherapy and whose cancers are progressing (getting worse) can slow or stop the growth of their cancers. It may also help researchers determine if giving radiation therapy to one tumor can stimulate the immune system to attack other tumors in the body that are not targeted by the radiation therapy.
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:
I. To determine whether radiation therapy can convert overall response rates from progressive disease to stable or responsive disease as measured by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) version (v.) 1.1.
SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:
I. To define overall response rate by immune-Modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (iRECIST) criteria.
II. To determine time to progression. III. To determine overall survival. IV. To determine local control in radiated lesion(s). V. To characterize the effect of distant radiation on unirradiated target lesions.
VI. To describe the incidence of new metastatic lesions. VII. To determine treatment safety by Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v. 5.0.
VIII. To describe time to new systemic therapy.
EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES:
I. To define radiation-induced effects on circulating immune cells. II. To describe remodeling of the circulating T cell repertoire by deep sequencing of variable, diversity and joining (VDJ) regions of T cell receptors (TCRs).
III. To describe changes in circulating tumor deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) (ctDNA).
OUTLINE:
Patients undergo radiation therapy for a total of 5 treatments over 5-9 calendar days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up at 14 day, 6 months, and then up to 36 months.
354 studies on the registry are indexed under Adenocarcinoma Of Esophagus; 81 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 28 is below the median of 51 across 277 interventional studies indexed under Adenocarcinoma Of Esophagus.
Browse Adenocarcinoma Of Esophagus studies →University of California, San Francisco is the lead sponsor of 2,169 studies on the registry; 372 are open to participants now.
Of its 267 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 202 (76%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Patients must have 1-5 sites of disease meeting standard-of-care indications for palliative radiation therapy as adjudicated by the treating radiation oncologist. For example:
Radiation therapy is known to be teratogenic and therefore women of and men must agree to use adequate (hormonal or barrier method of birth control) prior to study entry and for the duration of radiation therapy. Should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while she or her partner is participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately. Men treated or enrolled on this protocol must also agree to use adequate contraception prior to the study and for 3 months after completion of radiation therapy. Contraception requirements during the follow-up period of 6 months will be according to standard of care for immunotherapy administration.
a. If a woman is of child-bearing potential, a negative pregnancy test within 28 days prior to study enrollment is required.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
PD-1, PD-L1 and CTLA-4 are proteins that act as brakes on the immune system. Checkpoint inhibitors, such as pembrolizumab or nivolumab, block them so the immune system can attack a cancer.
PD-L1 can also be measured in a tumour sample. Some scores count stained tumour cells only (TPS); others also count certain immune cells (CPS). The study names the score and the minimum it uses.
The standard rules for measuring tumours on CT or MRI scans, to tell whether a cancer is shrinking, stable or growing during treatment.
“Measurable disease per RECIST 1.1” usually means at least one tumour 10 mm or more at its longest on a CT scan, or a lymph node 15 mm or more across its short axis.
The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.
A scale of how much an illness limits everyday activity. For people being assessed to join a study, scores run from 0 (fully active) to 4; lower is more active.
Studies most often ask for 0–1 or 0–2. Your doctor gives the score; the WHO scale uses the same steps. The full scale also has 5, which records death.
A 0–100 scale of how well someone can carry out everyday activities. 100 is no complaints and no signs of illness; 70 is able to look after yourself but not to work or keep up normal activity; 50 is needing considerable help and frequent medical care.
Studies often ask for 60 or 70 and above. Your doctor gives the score.
Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).
Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Metastases
Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Cancer (malignancy)
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
PD-1, PD-L1 and checkpoint inhibitors
PD-1, PD-L1 and CTLA-4 are proteins that act as brakes on the immune system. Checkpoint inhibitors, such as pembrolizumab or nivolumab, block them so the immune system can attack a cancer.
PD-L1 can also be measured in a tumour sample. Some scores count stained tumour cells only (TPS); others also count certain immune cells (CPS). The study names the score and the minimum it uses.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
RECIST
The standard rules for measuring tumours on CT or MRI scans, to tell whether a cancer is shrinking, stable or growing during treatment.
“Measurable disease per RECIST 1.1” usually means at least one tumour 10 mm or more at its longest on a CT scan, or a lymph node 15 mm or more across its short axis.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Life expectancy
The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
ECOG performance status
A scale of how much an illness limits everyday activity. For people being assessed to join a study, scores run from 0 (fully active) to 4; lower is more active.
Studies most often ask for 0–1 or 0–2. Your doctor gives the score; the WHO scale uses the same steps. The full scale also has 5, which records death.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Karnofsky performance status (KPS)
A 0–100 scale of how well someone can carry out everyday activities. 100 is no complaints and no signs of illness; 70 is able to look after yourself but not to work or keep up normal activity; 50 is needing considerable help and frequent medical care.
Studies often ask for 60 or 70 and above. Your doctor gives the score.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Childbearing potential
Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).
Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraception
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Corticosteroids (steroids)
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Immunosuppression
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraindication
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Patients undergo radiation therapy for a total of 5 treatments over 5-9 calendar days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Target prescription dose will be 30 Gy in 5 fractions and each treatment site (up to 5) will undergo standard Department-approved treatment planning, quality-assurance, and delivery protocols
Radiation: Radiation Therapy (RT)
Undergo radiation therapy
Also known as: Cancer Radiotherapy, Irradiate, irradiated, Irradiation, RADIATION, Radiation Therapy, Radiation Therapy, Not otherwise specified, Radiotherapeutics, Radiotherapy, RT, Therapy, Radiation
Overall response rate (ORR)
Proportion of patients who achieve as their best overall response according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) v. 1.1 criteria: Stable disease (SD), partial response (PR), confirmed Complete Response (CR), or progressive disease (PD). Corresponding exact confidence intervals will be reported for the entire cohort and stratified by histologic subtype, programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) status, microsatellite instability (MSI), and organs treated if sample size allows. Patients with unevaluable or unknown response status will be considered nonresponders.
Time frame: Up to 8 weeks
ORR by immune-Modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (iRECIST)
Will be determined by immune-Modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (iRECIST). Immune Complete Response (iCR), Partial Response (iPR), or Stable Disease (iSD) per definitions of CR, PR, and SD, but occurring after initial immune unconfirmed progressive disease (iUPD). The same definition will be used for per lesion analysis. PD will be designated for all patients with PD determination by RECIST v1.1 or immune-confirmed progressive disease (iCPD) by iRECIST. Unconfirmed response for all patients designated as iUPD. Will be reported as proportion of response and corresponding exact confidence intervals. Patients with unevaluable or unknown response status will be considered nonresponders.
Time frame: Up to 8 weeks
Progression free survival (PFS)
PFS is defined as the duration of time from start of radiation treatment to time of progression or death a proportion with exact confidence intervals and will be reported for the entire cohort and stratified by histologic subtype, PD1/PDL1 status, MSI, and organs treated if sample size allows. Time to local progression will be described using the cumulative incidence method and comparisons between strata via Gray's test, if sample size allows; Otherwise, Kaplan-Meier methodology will be used and comparisons will be made via log-rank test; and Cox proportional hazards analysis, if possible.
Time frame: Up to 36 months
Overall survival (OS)
OS will be measured from the date of initiation of RT. OS is defined as the time from the date of initiation of RT to the date of death due to any cause. Censoring will be performed using the date of last known contact for those who are alive at the time of analysis. OS will be reported for the entire cohort and stratified by histologic subtype, PD1/PDL1 status, MSI, and organs treated if sample size allows.
Time frame: Up to 36 months
Determine local control in radiated lesion(s)
Local control will be defined as absence of per-lesion PD in an irradiated lesion (as defined above, a 20% increase in the longest diameter since the treatment started or a 5 mm increase over the nadir longest diameter from initiation of radiation therapy to time of progression of radiated lesion(s)
Time frame: Up to 36 months
Tumor measurement change by RECIST or iRECIST
Abscopal response rate is defined as present for all patients for whom an unirradiated target or non-target lesion previously determined to be a progressing lesion is designated as SD, CR/iCR or PR/iPR on per-lesion analysis will be described as a proportion with exact confidence intervals and will be reported for the entire cohort, reported for RECIST and iRECIST definitions, and stratified by histologic subtype, PD1/PDL1 status, MSI, and organs treated if sample size allows
Time frame: Up to 8 weeks
Incidence of New metastatic lesions
From initiation of radiation therapy to first imaging scan after radiation therapy completion, time to new metastatic lesions will be described using the cumulative incidence method and comparisons between strata via Gray's test, if sample size allows; Kaplan-Meier methodology will be used and comparisons will be made via log-rank test; and Cox proportional hazards analysis, if possible.
Time frame: Up to 8 weeks
Frequency of grade 3 or higher adverse events
Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE v.5.0) will be used to determine frequency of grade 3 or higher adverse events reported as a proportion with corresponding exact confidence intervals.
Time frame: Up to 36 months
Time to new systemic therapy
Time to new systemic therapy from initiation of radiation therapy to initiation of new systemic therapy will be described using Kaplan-Meier product limit estimators, and Cox proportional hazards analysis, if possible.
Time frame: Up to 36 months
Plan to share: No
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