ClinicalTrials.gg
Not yet recruitingNCT07836049Updated Sep 23, 2026

PhII Study of Toripalimab Followed by Definitive CRT & Adjuvant Toripalimab in Locally Advanced ESCC

A Phase 2 interventional study of Toripalimab and Carboplatin + Paclitaxel in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma, sponsored by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 100 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-23.

Sponsored by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

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Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
20
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years to 100 Years
Sex
All
01

Where this study stands

Counted across the records on this site · 2026-11-14

Among 18 studies testing toripalimab in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma — 10 open to participants now, 11 under way, 4 of them phase 3. toripalimab · Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Planned enrollment
16th of 18
20 · median 69
Started
2026
with 3 others
Phase 2
13 of 18
6 open now
Primary completion
2030-12
later than 10 of 10 live
Registered
18th of 18
by date

Among the 18 studies testing toripalimab in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma, this one is the 16th largest by planned enrollment, is one of 4 that started in 2026, is one of 13 in phase 2, reaches primary completion later than 10 of the 10 other live ones, and was the 18th registered.

Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

676 studies on the registry are indexed under Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma; 267 are open to participants now.

Browse Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma studies →

Open to participants now

10 of the 18 studies testing toripalimab in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma are open now, in 3 countries. Recruiting first, the newest first:

4 more — sign in →

By country, each count listing its studies:

All 10 open studies →

Where they have run

About toripalimab

toripalimab: first FDA approval 2023 (LOQTORZI), first EMA approval 2024. What it is approved for, and how studies give it, is on its page →

Who these studies take

Of the 180 Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma studies recruiting now, 83 (46%) set no upper age limit and 76 (42%) stop at 75 or younger; 3 take children under 18; 8 take healthy volunteers.

This study: 18 Years to 100 Years · all sexes · no healthy volunteers.

The full table on the hub →

This tab as a report to print or save as PDF → With an account.

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Watch this landscapeDownload CSVNarrow it in search →With an account: a weekly mail of what changed among 18 studies testing toripalimab in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma, or all of them as a file.
02

Study summary

This is a phase 2/window of opportunity study to determine the efficacy, by clinical complete response, and safety of induction toripalimab (PD-1 inhibitor) followed by definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT) and adjuvant toripalimab (up to one year) in patients with stage II - IVA ESCC. Tumor biopsies (tumor tissue, adjacent normal tissue), blood including ctDNA, and saliva will be obtained before, during, and after the induction phase. These tissues will be assessed for clinical and research associated markers and processes that may provide information regarding the role of toripalimab in tumor related processes.

Read the detailed description

Intravenous (IV) toripalimab infusions on Day 1 of each 21-day treatment cycle for 2 doses prior to dCRT followed by adjuvant toripalimab for up to 1 year. No toripalimab will be given during SOC dCRT.

After dCRT, all patients can progress to adjuvant toripalimab or resection followed by adjuvant toripalimab. After adjuvant toripalimab, routine surveillance will involve serial esophagogastroduodenoscopies (EGDs) and imaging.

Treatment will continue for up to an additional year with adjuvant toripalimab infusions, until disease progression, or intolerable toxicity. Patients will be followed for OS and subsequent anticancer therapy for up to 3 years after ending study treatment.

Note: Toripalimab will be provided to the study by Coherus. Each site will obtain carboplatin and paclitaxel from commercial supply to administer as standard of care.

03

Conditions studied

  • Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Keywords

  • locally advanced
04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 100 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

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.

Inclusion criteria

  1. Signed and dated written .
  2. Age ≥ 18 years the day of signing informed consent.
  3. (ECOG) performance status of 0 - 1.
  4. Previously untreated, resectable, confirmed stage II-IVA esophageal squamous cell carcinoma according to the 8th TNM staging system of the American Joint Committee on Cancer.
  5. Has provided archival or newly obtained core or excisional tissue (fine needle aspirate [FNA] is not adequate) of a tumor lesion for local standard of care biomarker analysis. Repeat samples may be required if adequate tissue is not provided. Note: Formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded tissue blocks are preferred to slides.
  6. Adequate organ and bone marrow function resulted ≤ 28 days prior to first dose of protocol-indicated treatment:

    • (ANC) ≥ 1500/µL.
    • ≥ 100,000/µL.
    • ≥ 7.0 g/dL
    • Estimated (eGFR) ≥ 60 mL/min (as calculated by the Formula or calculated/measured by an alternative established institutional standard consistently applied across participants at the site) or serum creatinine ≤ 1.5x (ULN)
    • Total ≤ 1.5 times institutional ULN
    • (SGOT) and ALT (SGPT) ≤ 2.5 times institutional ULN.
    • Serum albumin ≥ 2.8 g/dL

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Locally advanced and incurable or disease is deemed incurable.
  2. History of another within 3 years prior to screening, except for non-melanoma skin carcinoma, low-grade localized prostate cancer, superficial bladder cancer, ductal carcinoma in situ (CIS) of the breast, CIS of the cervix, or stage I uterine cancer.
  3. Multiple primary esophageal cancers.
  4. Previous radiotherapy of the thorax.
  5. Previous therapy (including agents targeting PD-1, PD-L1/PD-L2, CTLA-4, LAG-3, TIGIT).
  6. Active disease, solid organ transplant recipient, or prednisone dose (or a equivalent) of more than 10mg daily.
  7. Previous non-infectious pneumonitis or interstitial lung disease.
  8. Any severe comorbidity (e.g. uncontrolled diabetes or decompensated heart failure) which in the determination of the treating physician would preclude the patient from receiving this experimental treatment regimen.
  9. to ICI or suspected allergy/ to monoclonal antibodies or any ingredients of toripalimab.
  10. Known allergy/hypersensitivity to carboplatin or paclitaxel.
  11. Inability to provide due to psychological, familial, social, or other factors.
  12. Presence of CTCAEv6 grade ≥ 2 neuropathy.
  13. Pregnant or breastfeeding.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(19)

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.

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.

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.

0
Fully active, no restrictions.
1
Limited in strenuous activity, but walking and able to do light work, such as housework or office work.
2
Walking and able to look after yourself, but unable to work; up and about more than half of waking hours.
3
Able to look after yourself only in part; in bed or a chair more than half of waking hours.
4
Unable to look after yourself at all; in bed or a chair all day.

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.

Histologically or cytologically confirmed

The diagnosis was confirmed by looking at a sample under a microscope: tissue from a biopsy or surgery (histology), or cells from a fluid or needle sample (cytology).

Your pathology report is the document that shows this.

Biopsy and archival tissue

A biopsy takes a small piece of tissue to examine. “Archival tissue” is a sample already taken, for example at diagnosis, and kept by the hospital.

Whether a stored sample will do depends on when it was taken, how much there is and what the study needs. Ask whether the study accepts your stored sample or needs a new biopsy.

Absolute neutrophil count (ANC)

The number of neutrophils, white blood cells that help fight infection, in a given amount of blood. Too few raises the risk of infection.

It is a count, not a percentage of the white cells. Limits are written in units that mean the same: ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L is ≥ 1,500 per mm³ (µL). Each lab has its own reference range.

Platelets

Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.

Hemoglobin (Hb)

The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).

GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)

GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².

Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.

Creatinine clearance (CrCl)

How quickly the kidneys clear creatinine, a waste product, from the blood. A study may estimate it from a blood test with age, weight and sex (often by the Cockcroft–Gault formula), or measure it using blood and urine collected over a set time. Given in mL/min; higher is better.

ULN (upper limit of normal)

The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.

“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.

Bilirubin

A yellow substance made when red blood cells are broken down, which the liver clears. A high level can mean a problem with the liver or the bile ducts.

Criteria often allow more for people with Gilbert’s syndrome, a harmless inherited condition that raises bilirubin.

ALT and AST (liver enzymes)

Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.

Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.

Metastases

Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.

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.

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.

Autoimmune disease

A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.

Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.

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.

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.

Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
20 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Toripalimab + CRT

    Intravenous (IV) toripalimab infusions on Day 1 of each 21-day treatment cycle for 2 doses prior to dCRT followed by adjuvant toripalimab for up to 1 year. No toripalimab will be given during SOC dCRT. After dCRT, all patients can progress to adjuvant toripalimab or resection followed by adjuvant toripalimab. After adjuvant toripalimab, routine surveillance will involve serial esophagogastroduodenoscopies (EGDs) and imaging. Treatment will continue for up to an additional year with adjuvant toripalimab infusions, until disease progression, or intolerable toxicity. Patients will be followed for OS and subsequent anticancer therapy for up to 3 years after ending study treatment. Note: Toripalimab will be provided to the study by Coherus. Each site will obtain carboplatin and paclitaxel from commercial supply to administer as standard of care.

    Drug: Toripalimab · Drug: Carboplatin + Paclitaxel

Interventions

  • Injection Q3W at 240mg doses

    Also known as: Loqtorzi, toripalimab-tpzi

  • DrugCarboplatin + Paclitaxel

    Drug pages: Carboplatin · Paclitaxel

    Carboplatin AUC 2 Q1W Infusion, Paclitaxel Q1W Infusion 50mg/m2

    Also known as: CarboTaxol, PC

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. To determine the clinical complete response rate to proportion of patients with complete clinical response (cCR) 4-12 weeks after completion of standard-of-care (SOC) dCRT.

    Determine cCR score by achieving all of these:1 * No lesion, budding, or ulceration identified on esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). * Bite-on-bite biopsies with no residual tumor. * EGD with endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and fine needle aspiration (FNA) of suspicious lymph nodes (LNs) shows no residual tumor. If patients have suspicious LNs unable to be reached by FNA, they will not be classified as clinical complete responders.

    Time frame: 4-11 weeks after completion of standard-of-care (SOC) dCRT.

Secondary outcomes

  1. To determine Disease-free survival (DFS

    1, 2, and 3-year disease free survival rates defined as time from the start of treatment until disease recurrence, death from any cause, or the end of the study period if the patient does not experience recurrence.

    Time frame: from start of treatment until 1, 2, and 3yrs post treatment

  2. To determine Overall survival (OS)

    2 and 3-year overall survival rates defined as the time from start of treatment until death from any cause, or the end of the study period/last follow up.

    Time frame: from start of treatment until 2 and 3yrs post treatment

  3. To determine frequency of Adverse Events (AEs)

    AEs will be determined by the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI CTCAE v6).

    Time frame: through study completion, an average of 1 year

  4. To determine Quality of life (QOL) measurements

    The EORTC-QLQ-C30 questionnaire will be administered prior to toripalimab induction (during screening), after induction (post-induction assessment), after dCRT (post-CRT assessment), at EOT visit, and then at coinciding follow-up visits for up to 3 years. Uses scores from 0 to 100 for each part; High functional score means good health; High symptom score means high pain or trouble

    Time frame: (during screening), after induction (post-induction assessment), after dCRT (post-CRT assessment), at EOT visit, and then at coinciding follow-up visits for up to 3 years

07

Study locations

1 site
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Start is estimated for Dec 2026; primary completion for Dec 2030, 48 months later.

Of 153 non-industry phase 2 interventional studies under Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma, half reached primary completion within 41 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 30 and three quarters within 55. This study's planned 48 months is above that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 173 studies reached it within 40 months; a quarter within 28 and three quarters within 52.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Aug 13, 2026
First posted
Sep 23, 2026
StartEst.
Dec 31, 2026
Primary completionEst.
Dec 31, 2030
CompletionEst.
Dec 31, 2031
Last update
Sep 23, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Sep 23, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07836049
Collaborators
Coherus Oncology, Inc.
Responsible party
Michael K. Gibson (Principal Investigator, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center) — Principal investigator
First posted
Sep 23, 2026
Start date
Dec 31, 2026 (estimated)
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2030 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 31, 2031 (estimated)
Last update
Sep 23, 2026

Study contacts

Vanderbilt-Ingram Services for Timely Access
Contact
cip@vumc.org
800-811-8480
Michael Gibson
principal investigator · Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Sep 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

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Studies of the drug tested here: Toripalimab

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