Recruiting

When to Use Surgery or Radiation After Chemotherapy in Stomach and Esophageal Cancer

Plain-English translation of NCT07000253 on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗ · Source last updated May 2026 · Translation generated August 2026 · How we translate trials

Phase 3 — Testing in thousands of people, comparing the treatment against what doctors currently use. This is the last big step before approval.

What is this trial?

This study is testing the best timing for surgery or radiation therapy in patients with esophageal or stomach cancer that has spread to only a few places in the body. Everyone starts with 4 months of plus and/or targeted therapy (depending on specific tumor characteristics). Then, if the cancer hasn't grown, patients are randomly assigned to either continue medication for 4 more months before surgery or radiation, or to have the procedure right away.

Doctors know that combining medication with surgery or radiation can help some patients with this type of advanced cancer live longer, but it's unclear whether starting the procedure sooner or later makes a difference. This trial aims to answer that question and find out which approach gives patients the best results.

Do you qualify?

You likely qualify if…

you are 18 years or older
you have been diagnosed with esophageal, gastric, or gastroesophageal junction cancer with a limited number of spread sites (oligometastatic disease)
your cancer has specific genetic markers (like PD-L1, HER2, or Claudin 18.2) that make you eligible for immunotherapy or targeted therapy
you have never received chemotherapy for advanced cancer before
you are fit enough to undergo surgery or radiation therapy and tolerate chemotherapy

You likely don't qualify if…

you have cancer that has spread to the brain
you have spread throughout the lining of your lungs or abdomen (peritoneal or pleural carcinomatosis)
you have severe nerve damage from previous treatment
you are pregnant or breastfeeding
you have serious heart problems or uncontrolled infections that would make treatment unsafe

What participation looks like

You will first receive 4 months of standard combined with and/or targeted therapy, with regular blood tests and imaging scans to monitor how you respond. After 4 months, if your cancer hasn't grown and you remain eligible, you'll be randomly assigned to one of two groups: either continue medication for 4 more months before undergoing surgery or radiation, or proceed directly to surgery or radiation followed by additional medication. Throughout the study—which lasts about 4.5 years total—you'll have regular check-up scans, blood tests, and quality-of-life questionnaires to track how you're doing.

AI-generated summary from trial data · Aug 2, 2026 · Not medical advice

Trial locations(2 sites)

Netherlands

Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam

UMC Utrecht, Utrecht

Key details

Phase

Large-scale testing

Sponsor

Academisch Medisch Centrum - Universiteit van Amsterdam (AMC-UvA)

Collaborators

UMC Utrecht

Enrollment target

~290 participants

Started

April 2026

Primary completion

June 2031

Age range

18 Years and older

Last updated on clinicaltrials.gov in May 2026.

Contact the research team directly

Reach out to the team running this trial. Response times vary — some teams are faster than others.

Central contact

Hanneke van Laarhoven, MD, PhD, PhD

Amsterdam UMC

Interested in joining?

Tell us you're interested and we'll help connect you with the research team. We'll walk you through what to expect first — no email needed to get started.

View full record on ClinicalTrials.gov