Oral paclitaxel plus an immune therapy after first treatment in advanced lung cancer
Tests oral paclitaxel with an immune drug in adults with advanced lung cancer.
Key facts
- Who runs it
- Anhui Provincial Cancer Hospital
- Where
- Hefei, ChinaSee the site
- Trial code
- Registry title
- Metronomic Oral Paclitaxel Plus PD-1/ PD-L1 Inhibitor Maintenance in Advanced Lung Cancer (PULSE Study)
- Status
- Recruiting
- Phase
- Phase 4
- People taking part
- 107 people, planned
- Started
- 24 Jul 2026
- Expected to end
- Jun 2029
- Type of study
- Interventional, 2 groups
- Treatments tested
- Paclitaxel Oral Solution
- PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor (eg. Tislelizumab)
- Record updated
- 4 August 2026
Who can take part
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The trial is looking for adults aged 18 to 75 with advanced squamous non-small cell lung cancer or extensive-stage small cell lung cancer. Their disease must not have grown after 4 cycles of first-line chemotherapy plus a PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor.
- Age
- 18 to 75 years
- Sex
- All sexes can join.
- Disease stage
- Cohort A: squamous non-small cell lung cancer, stage IIIB to IV, that cannot be removed by surgery and cannot have chemoradiotherapy aimed at removing all of the disease. Cohort B: extensive-stage small cell lung cancer.
- Earlier treatment
- Must have finished 4 cycles of first-line treatment with a PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor plus platinum chemotherapy. Cohort A also had paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel; Cohort B also had etoposide. The disease must not have grown. The last dose must be no more than 28 days before the first study treatment. Cohort A must not have had any treatment before this first-line treatment.
- Biomarker or test result
- Cohort A: no gene change that a drug can target. No other marker is required.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Allergy to oral paclitaxel, an immune checkpoint inhibitor or their ingredients
- Active or past autoimmune disease, apart from a few mild forms such as vitiligo
- Serious immune-related side effects during earlier immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment
- Active hepatitis, active tuberculosis or another serious infection needing systemic treatment
- Serious heart disease, or a gut disorder that blocks absorption of oral drugs
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 20 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- 1. The participant has been fully informed about the study, voluntarily agrees to participate, provides written informed consent, and is willing to comply with long-term follow-up and study medication management
- 2. Age 18 to 75 years, inclusive
- 3. The participant meets the disease-specific requirements for either Cohort A or Cohort B: - Cohort A: Histologically and/or cytologically confirmed squamous non-small cell lung cancer(sqNSCLC), clinical stage IIIB to IV, unresectable and not suitable for definitive chemoradiotherapy, without actionable driver-gene alterations, and treatment-naive before initiation of first-line induction therapy. - Cohort B: Histologically and/or cytologically confirmed extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC), defined according to the eighth edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system as stage IV disease, including any T, any N, and M1a, M1b, or M1c disease, or T3 to T4 disease due to multiple pulmonary nodules or disease that is too extensive or bulky to be included within a tolerable definitive radiotherapy field
- 4. The participant has completed the required first-line induction regimen: - Cohort A: Completion of four cycles of a PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor plus cisplatin or carboplatin and paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel, with a best induction response of complete response (CR), partial response (PR), or stable disease (SD) and no evidence of disease progression. - Cohort B: Completion of four cycles of a PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor plus cisplatin or carboplatin and etoposide, with a best induction response of CR, PR, or SD and no evidence of disease progression
- 5. The last dose of first-line induction treatment was administered no more than 28 days before the first study treatment
- 6. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1
- 7. Estimated life expectancy of at least 3 months
- 8. Adequate bone marrow and organ function, including: - Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) of at least 1.5 × 10⁹/L, platelet count of at least 100 × 10⁹/L, and hemoglobin of at least 90 g/L, without blood transfusion, growth-factor support, or erythropoietin within 14 days before assessment. - International normalized ratio (INR) and/or prothrombin time (PT) no greater than 1.5 times the upper limit of normal (ULN), and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) no greater than 1.5 times ULN. Participants receiving anticoagulation are eligible if coagulation parameters are within the expected therapeutic range.- Total serum bilirubin no greater than 1.5 times ULN; for participants with Gilbert syndrome, total bilirubin no greater than 3 times ULN. - Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) no greater than 2.5 times ULN, or no greater than 5 times ULN in participants with documented liver metastases.- Serum creatinine no greater than 1.5 times ULN and creatinine clearance of at least 60 mL/min for participants who received cisplatin or greater than 45 mL/min for participants who received carboplatin, calculated using the Cockcroft-Gault formula. - Serum amylase and/or lipase no greater than 1.5 times ULN
- 9. At least one measurable lesion according to RECIST v1.1 before initiation of first-line induction therapy. Participants who achieve a CR and have no measurable lesion at maintenance-study entry remain eligible for progression-free survival (PFS) follow-up
- 10. Participants with central nervous system (CNS) metastases may be enrolled if previous CNS metastases have received local treatment with surgery and/or radiotherapy at least 2 weeks before enrollment, neurological symptoms are absent or stable, and treatment-related adverse events have recovered to grade 1 or lower. Participants should not require ongoing antiepileptic treatment. If corticosteroids are clinically required, the dose must be stable and no greater than 10 mg/day prednisone or equivalent
- 11. Participants of reproductive potential must agree to use an effective method of contraception during the study and for at least 3 months after the last study treatment. Women of childbearing potential must have a negative serum or urine pregnancy test before enrollment
Who cannot take part
- 2. Requirement for long-term treatment with a strong P-glycoprotein inhibitor that cannot be discontinued during the study
- 3. A gastrointestinal disorder within 6 months before the first study treatment that may substantially interfere with oral drug absorption, including complete intestinal obstruction. Previous gastrectomy alone is not an exclusion criterion
- 5. Any of the following during previous immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment: - Immune-related pneumonitis, immune-related myocarditis, or immune-related neurological toxicity of any grade. - Other grade 3 or higher immune-related adverse events (irAE) that have not recovered to grade 1 or lower or to baseline. - Grade 3 or higher irAE during first-line induction that have not recovered to grade 1 or lower or to baseline. - Permanent discontinuation of the ICI because of immune-related toxicity
- 6. Major surgery within 28 days before the first study treatment without adequate recovery, or planned major surgery during the study
- 1. Known hypersensitivity to oral paclitaxel, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, or any component of the study drugs
- 4. Active autoimmune disease or a history of autoimmune disease, including but not limited to interstitial pneumonitis, uveitis, enteritis, hepatitis, hypophysitis, vasculitis, or nephritis. Participants with vitiligo, well-controlled type 1 diabetes mellitus, or hypothyroidism requiring only hormone-replacement therapy may be enrolled
- 7. Active hepatitis, active tuberculosis, or another serious infection requiring systemic treatment, including active hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, except for participants who are HCV antibody-positive but RNA-negative; active hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection with positive HBV surface antigen and HBV DNA greater than 2,000 IU/mL; bacteremia; or severe infectious pneumonia
- 9. Inability or unwillingness to comply with protocol requirements, or any condition that, in the investigator's judgment, makes the participant unsuitable for study participation
- 8. Uncontrolled or serious cardiovascular disease, including: - Myocardial infarction, unstable angina, congestive heart failure of New York Heart Association class 2 or higher, or another serious cardiac disorder within 6 months before the first study treatment. - A clinically significant electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormality, including clinically significant arrhythmia or corrected QT interval greater than 450 milliseconds.- Left ventricular ejection fraction below 50% on echocardiography
Check if you might fit
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 18 and 75 years old?
Where in China
- Anhui Cancer HospitalHefei, ChinaContact: Yueyin Pan, MD; PhDTaking people
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
This study will evaluate the efficacy and safety of metronomic oral paclitaxel combined with a PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor as maintenance therapy in patients with advanced lung cancer whose disease has not progressed after first-line chemoimmunotherapy.
Read full original descriptionShow less
The study will include two independently analyzed cohorts. Cohort A will include patients with advanced squamous non-small cell lung cancer(sqNSCLC), and Cohort B will include patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer(ES-SCLC). All participants will receive oral paclitaxel three times weekly together with the same immune checkpoint inhibitor used during first-line induction therapy, whenever feasible.
The primary outcome is progression-free survival. Other outcomes include tumor response, overall survival, adverse events, treatment tolerability, and quality of life. Approximately 107 participants will be enrolled across multiple study centers.
The 2 groups in the trial
- Cohort A: Advanced Squamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer(sqNSCLC)Treatment being tested
Participants with histologically or cytologically confirmed, unresectable stage IIIB to IV squamous non-small cell lung cancer(sqNSCLC) who are not candidates for definitive chemoradiotherapy and who have completed four cycles of first-line treatment with a PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor, a platinum agent, and paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel without disease progression will receive metronomic oral paclitaxel plus maintenance immune checkpoint inhibition.
Treatment: Paclitaxel Oral Solution and PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor (eg. Tislelizumab)
- Cohort B: Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer(ES-SCLC)Treatment being tested
Participants with histologically or cytologically confirmed extensive-stage small cell lung cancer(ES-SCLC) who have completed four cycles of first-line treatment with a PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor, a platinum agent, and etoposide without disease progression will receive metronomic oral paclitaxel plus maintenance immune checkpoint inhibition.
Treatment: Paclitaxel Oral Solution and PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor (eg. Tislelizumab)
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- Efficacy and Safety of Metronomic Oral Paclitaxel Plus an Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor as Maintenance Therapy After First-Line Induction in Advanced Squamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Multicenter, Multi-Cohort Exploratory Study
- Plain-language title
- Oral paclitaxel plus an immune therapy after first treatment in advanced lung cancerGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
- AI summary
- From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 13 November 2026.
- Fit questions
- Built from NCT07744698, who can take part
- Record updated
- 4 August 2026