Clinical trials

The goal of this prospective interventional biomarker development and validation study is to determine whether circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) can be detected in patients with large pre-neoplastic colorectal lesions undergoing endoscopic resection and whether ctDNA can be used to identify local recurrence after resection. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Can advanced colorectal laterally spreading tumours (LSTs) shed detectable ctDNA into the bloodstream before endoscopic resection? * Can ctDNA measured at the first surveillance colonoscopy detect or predict local recurrence after endoscopic resection? Participants will: * Provide a blood sample before their planned endoscopic resection procedure for ctDNA analysis. * Undergo standard endoscopic resection of their colorectal lesion. * Allow collection and molecular analysis of tissue samples obtained from the resected lesion. * Allow researchers to collect clinical, endoscopic, pathological, and molecular data from their medical records for research purposes. The study does not alter the standard clinical management, resection technique, or surveillance schedule. The only study-specific procedures are blood sample collections performed during routine intravenous catheter placement for the participant's endoscopic procedures.

Background: Radiotherapy is a mainstay of treatment for ENT cancers, and its indication is frequent. Patients are positioned and immobilized using a thermoplastic mask, which is attached to the treatment table for the duration of each daily treatment. The mask's purpose is to prevent patient movement and ensure reproducible positioning. The advantages of using thermoplastic masks come at a cost for many patients. It is well established that mask fixation and mask anxiety are major concerns for patients, adversely affecting their quality of life and hindering treatment compliance. Surface-guided radiotherapy (SGRT) enables patients to be positioned and their movements monitored in real time during treatment. This technique has become more widely available in recent years, and is attractive because it does not involve ionizing radiation. However, although preliminary data have suggested a potential reduction in anxiety, this technique has not been evaluated for ENT RT in anxious/claustrophobic patients who cannot tolerate immobilization masks. Objective: Investigators propose a pilot study to evaluate the feasibility and tolerability of using SGRT to manage position for patients with ENT cancer who report claustrophobia/anxiety. Methodology: 15 participants will be recruited by the treating radiation oncologist from among patients scheduled to undergo radiation therapy at CHUM for their ENT cancer and identifying as claustrophobic/anxious. Participants who consent will be scheduled to undergo their radiotherapy using SGRT. Patients will be systematically treated with Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) using SGRT on the linear accelerator with the Optical Surface Management System (OSMS) for the duration of the radiotherapy. Measures: Patients' anxiety will be assessed using the GAD-7 and the CLQ throughout the treatment process. The feasibility and accuracy of radiotherapy treatment will be assessed using planning and daily pre-treatment examinations. In addition, skin toxicity will be assessed weekly. Analyses: 1) Descriptive analyses, i.e. frequencies for categorical variables and means and standard deviations for continuous variables. 2) Estimation of confidence intervals. Anticipated outcomes: Completion of this pilot project will enable investigators to plan and refine the methodological and organizational aspects for a large-scale study, i.e., a Phase III clinical trial comparing the use of SGRT with the use of a thermoplastic immobilization mask for anxious patients.

Perioperative respiratory complications are a major source of morbidity and mortality. Postoperative atelectasis plays a central role in their development. Protective "open lung" mechanical ventilation aims to minimize the occurrence of atelectasis during the perioperative period. Randomized controlled studies have been performed comparing various "open lung" ventilation protocols, but these studies report varying and conflicting effects. The interpretation of these studies is complicated by the absence of imagery supporting the pulmonary impact associated with the use of different ventilation strategies. Imaging studies suggest that the gain in pulmonary gas content in "open lung" ventilation regimens disappears within minutes after the extubation. Thus, the potential benefits of open-lung ventilation appear to be lost if, at the time of extubation, no measures are used to keep the lungs well aerated. Recent expert recommendations on good mechanical ventilation practices in the operating room conclude that there is actually no quality study on extubation. Extubation is a very common practice for anesthesiologists as part of their daily clinical practice. It is therefore imperative to generate evidence on good clinical practice during anesthetic emergence in order to potentially identify an effective extubation strategy to reduce postoperative pulmonary complications.

The goal of this prospective observational study is to assess the accuracy and reliability of laser readings obtained through AccuMeasure, in comparison to other measurements performed by gastroenterologists. AccuMeasure is a novel technology, that has emerged as a promising tool for measuring polyps and lesions during colonoscopies. The system employs laser-based measurements, enabling precise determination of lesion size, depth, and extent. The main hypotheses this study aims to evaluate are: * AccuMeasure technology, with its precise laser measurements, will demonstrate superior accuracy and reliability in assessing lesion size of pathologies encountered during endoscopies, when compared to other endoscopic scoring methods. * AccuMeasure measurements will show strong construct validity by correlating significantly with endoscopic subscores, symptomatic remission (CD PRO2 \<8, partial mayo score), and fecal calprotectin values.

The goal of this clinical trial is to clarify the role of adjuvant thermal ablation for non-thermal endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) of large (≥20mm) flat colorectal polyps (so-called laterally spreading lesions \[LSLs\]). The hypothesis is that adding adjuvant thermal ablation to non-thermal EMR (vs no ablation) will result in lower lesion recurrence rates at 6-month follow-up, and non-inferior adverse events (AE) rates 14 days post EMR. For participants with planned EMR, endoscopists will perform non-thermal EMRs as per standard of care and: * adjuvant thermal ablation will either not be performed (control group), or will be applied to the base and outside margins of the resection site (experimental group); * then, all patients will be contacted 14-44 days after EMR, to verbally ascertain the occurrence of AEs; * then, all patients will undergo a first follow-up colonoscopy at 6 months after initial conoloscopy to assess lesion recurrence; * finally, all patients will undergo a second and final colonoscopy 18 months after EMR.

This study investigates whether postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) improves outcomes for patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have residual disease after neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy and surgery. The primary objective is to compare event-free survival (EFS) between patients receiving PORT targeting involved lymph node regions and those without PORT. Secondary and tertiary endpoints include overall survival, locoregional and distant control, toxicity, and quality of life. The phase II randomized trial will enroll 118 patients, stratifying by adjuvant immunotherapy use, with follow-up extending up to 5 years. Statistical analysis aims to detect a 15% improvement in 2-year EFS, with a total study duration of 7 years.

This phase 1b/2a study evaluates the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of combining dupilumab (anti-IL-4Rα) and cemiplimab (anti-PD-1) in patients with early-stage, resectable NSCLC. Phase 1b focuses on safety and feasibility, using a 3+3 design to monitor dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs), while Phase 2a assesses the major pathological response (MPR) rate with a Simon's two-stage minimax design. Secondary endpoints include event-free survival, overall survival, and translational objectives such as deep immune monitoring from patient samples, with the trial expected to enroll 24 patients at CHUM over five years.

The SAVED LUNG study is a pilot Phase I trial evaluating safety and feasibility of observation versus standard-of-care surgery in operable Stage II-III (excluding N3) NSCLC patients (PD-L1 ≥50%) who achieve complete clinical response following neoadjuvant platinum-doublet chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Participants are randomized to observation or surgery after rigorous restaging, with primary endpoints focusing on safety and feasibility. Secondary objectives include rates of cross-over to surgery, event-free survival, and overall survival, while exploratory endpoints examine ctDNA clearance and its association with clinical response.

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the safety of the use of non-thermal plasma (NTP, an ionized gas) on the tumor bed after the removal of the tumor in breast cancer patients. The main questions it aims to answer are: * To determine the safe and tolerable dose of NTP in patients with breast cancer; * To assess the safety and tolerability of NTP; * To assess the cosmetic effects of NTP treatment in patients with breast cancer. Participants will receive one treatment of the tumor bed after the removal of their breast tumor.

Patients with tandem occlusion or tandem lesion (TL), that is, stroke with an acute intracranial anterior circulation occlusion and an ipsilateral cervical ICA (c-ICA) high-grade stenosis or occlusion, constitute about 15-20% of patients undergoing endovascular thrombectomy (EVT). However, the optimal treatment of acute stroke patients with TL remains uncertain, as relatively few patients with TL were included in the major randomized controlled trials of EVT and management of the c-ICA was generally not specified by protocol nor analyzed post-hoc. Recent large multi-centre retrospective cases series suggest that acutely stented patients may have more favorable outcomes than patients treated with angioplasty alone or those with no acute ICA intervention, but high quality randomized trial data are lacking. EASI-TOC, a phase 3, academic multi-centre, controlled trial (PROBE design) with embedded pilot phase, will seek to determine if in patients undergoing acute intracranial thrombectomy for anterior circulation stroke with concurrent ipsilateral symptomatic high-grade (≥70%) atherosclerotic stenosis or occlusion of the extracranial ICA, endovascular ICA revascularization with stenting is superior to intracranial thrombectomy alone with regards to functional outcome at 90 days. Patients will be randomized to Acute stenting or No acute stenting (1:1 allocation).

Every year, new molecular agents enter the market with more and more patients receiving these treatments, especially in the metastatic setting. These molecular agents could correspond to immunotherapy and modulators of signaling pathways. More than 50% of cancer patients will receive radiation therapy during the course of their illness, including radiotherapy aimed a palliating symptoms secondary to metastatic diseases. Therefore, there will be an increasing number of patients who will be receiving radiotherapy while they are still receiving molecular agents. A better understanding of the interaction of these two treatment modalities is needed.

The goal of this observational study is to establish a video/image library dataset of complete endoscopy or partial colonoscopy procedures for patients with rectal cancer or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). With this video/image library, the aims are: * to develop and validate novel AI-empowered solutions to automatically detect and report endoscopy quality metrics * to develop automated endoscopy reporting solutions, auditing, and educational tools for residents and fellows to enhance their endoscopy skills. The hypothesis is that a heterogeneous video/image library will provide: * comprehensive and robust source material to develop AI models * real-time quality feedback at the end of an endoscopy procedure.

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare adverse even rates after EMR for large (≥20mm) flat colorectal polyps (so-called laterally spreading lesions, LSLs) when performing complete or no defect closure. It will also evaluate lesion recurrence after EMR for large colorectal LSLs. The hypothesis is that performing complete defect closure following EMR of large colorectal LSLs will result in lower rates of adverse events compared to cases where no defect closure is performed. For participants with planned EMR, endoscopists will perform EMRs as per standard of care and: * prophylactic defect closure will either not be performed (control group), or will be performed (experimental group); * then, patients will be called between 14 and 44 days after EMR to assess for possible adverse events, and electronic medical files will be verified for emergency room visits and healthcare received for an adverse event; * finally, patients will undergo follow-up colonoscopy 6 months and 18 months after randomization.

Advanced therapeutic endoscopy procedures are of increasing importance to provide minimal invasive treatment for GI diseases. The Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal as tertiary university center is dedicated to increase the availability of therapeutic endoscopy procedures for our population in Montreal and Quebec. Advanced endotherapeutic endoscopy can replace surgery for treatment of benign and malign GI diseases and the aim of this registry-based study is to improve quality related to advanced endotherapeutic endoscopy, as it will provide quantitative means to assess advanced endotherapeutic practice and may identify practices of low quality (possible intervention) or high quality (desired).

This study evaluates whether an artificial intelligence system (GI Genius, Medtronic), already approved by Health Canada, can help doctors accurately identify, in real time during colonoscopy, which small colorectal polyps (5 mm or less) need to be monitored (adenomas) versus those that do not (for example, hyperplastic polyps). For each small polyp found, the endoscopist will first record a diagnosis without the help of the artificial intelligence system, then activate the system and record a second diagnosis after seeing its assessment. Both diagnoses will be compared to the final result from standard pathology testing, which remains the reference standard. This is an observational diagnostic accuracy study: it does not change any clinical care. All polyps continue to be removed and sent for pathology analysis as usual, whether or not the artificial intelligence system agrees with the doctor. The study will take place during colonoscopies already scheduled for standard clinical reasons (screening, surveillance, or diagnostic work-up), with no additional visits, blood draws, imaging, or sedation. Approximately 840 participants will be enrolled across three Canadian centres (Santé Québec - CHUM, McGill University Health Centre, and St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver). The goal is to determine whether this AI-assisted approach helps doctors reach the internationally recognized performance thresholds (at least 80% sensitivity and 80% specificity) needed to support clinical adoption of real-time optical diagnosis, which could eventually reduce unnecessary pathology testing.

A registry-based randomized phase II trial. A total of 46 patients with metastatic cancer on systemic therapy with oligoprogression to 1-5 extracranial lesions will be randomized using a 1:1 ratio to standard of care (begin next-line systemic therapy, best supportive care, continue current systemic line, based on treating physician decision) vs. receive stereotactic ablative radiotherapy to all oligoprogressive lesions while continuing their current systemic therapy.

The goal of the REFIL-2 study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a low splanchnic blood volume restrictive fluid management strategy (a strategy that involves limiting fluid administration and prioritizing the use of medications that raise blood pressure during surgery, combined with phlebotomy) in improving patients' recovery after surgery. The study compares the low splanchnic blood volume restrictive fluid management strategy to an optimized cardiac-output liberal fluid management strategy (which involves administering more fluids to raise blood pressure with less reliance on medications). Outcomes important to patients will be measured. This study (REFIL-2) had a vanguard phase (internal pilot) that included 138 patients (NCT05647733). The patients included in the vanguard pilot phase were not compared between groups but only analyzed descriptively using aggregated data. Only feasibility metrics were compared (see NCT05647733). These 138 patients were thus rolled into the REFIL-2 trial and included in the final sample size reported herein.

Of the few comparisons made in the existing literature, the results of PTK are comparable to those documented for manual debridement (MD). However, the shorter length of follow-up in patients with MD may have underestimated the associated complications. Our study, therefore, aims to offer a comparison between these two techniques to clarify the choice of effective treatment with a good safety profile.

The aim of this study is to assess the impact of a probiotic formulation on participants with ALS-FTDSD. It is hypothesized that participants given the probiotics will have different lipid profiles compared to participants receiving the placebo at different time points.

Scar management remains one of the major clinical challenges for burn survivors with hypertrophic scars. Beyond their visible appearance, hypertrophic scars can significantly impair physical function, reduce life satisfaction, and affect overall quality of life. According to the results of a recently completed study, the application of serial casts appears promising for the treatment of hypertrophic scars in adults who have survived a burn injury. However, this therapeutic approach has not yet been evaluated objectively in terms of scar characteristics within the context of a study with sufficient statistical power. The present project is the first study with sufficient statistical power to objectively evaluate the beneficial effects of serial casting on the characteristics of hypertrophic scars in adult burn survivors. The objective of this study is to characterize changes in thickness, elasticity, vascularization, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), itching, and pain in hypertrophic burn scars in adults after one week of treatment with serial dressings, compared to an intra-individual control scar. Our hypothesis is that relative to baseline measures the scar thickness (primary outcome), erythema index, TEWL, itch, and pain will decrease at treatment sites compared to control sites. Conversely, elasticity will increase at the treatment sites compared to control sites. This will be a prospective, longitudinal, evaluator-blinded, randomized intra-individual controlled trial.

This study aims to evaluate a mobile app designed to promote the safe use of cannabis among adult users in Quebec.

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the corneal collagen crosslinking with riboflavin and ultraviolet A in aim to increase the resistance of the graft used as a support for the Boston keratoprosthesis (KPro) type I against corneal melting (keratolysis or sterile necrosis).

Penetrating keratoplasty is a cornea surgery involving several inflammatory complications, of which the most important is glaucoma. Researchers wish to determine whether it is safe to administer infliximab (an anti-inflammatory drug) eye drops after surgery, and whether this eye drop could prevent the occurrence of glaucoma.

The Boston keratoprosthesis (KPro) is a special plastic device that is used to replace a sick cornea (transparent part of the eye, in front of the iris) in order to restore vision in patients who have failed traditional corneal transplants or have a very poor prognosis of success. Glaucoma is a chronic disease which causes optic nerve damage secondary to high pressure inside the eye and could lead to vision loss in the long term. Glaucoma is highly prevalent in patients who require a KPro and even more after their procedure. In order to decrease the intra-ocular pressure, surgeons can use multiple eyedrops. Unfortunately, following the KPro surgery, eyedrops lose their efficiency because they are less absorbed by the eye. The transscleral cyclophotocoagulation (TS-CPC) is a laser treatment used in advanced refractory glaucoma. This laser helps decrease the intra-ocular pressure and have a better control of the disease. There are different methods of laser transmission, including the continuous transmission (G-Probe) and the micro-pulsation method (Micopulse). Given the high prevalence of glaucoma in patients receiving a KPro, the investigators are studying the effect of giving the TS-CPC treatment prophylactically to patients before their Boston keratoprosthesis. Our hypothesis is that prophylactic TS-CPC will decrease glaucoma progression as well as the risks of developing glaucoma following the Boston keratoprosthesis . METHOD The investigators aim to recruit twenty (20) patients who are scheduled to receive Boston KPro. Participants will be randomized into two groups: 1) Groupe 1 will receive a prophylactic treatment of transscleral cyclophotocoagulation a G-Probe. 2) Groupe 2 will receive a prophylactic treatment of transscleral cyclophotocoagulation with a micropulse transmission (MicroPulse). The patients will receive their laser treatment by a glaucoma specialist 4 to 8 weeks before their KPro surgery. One week following their laser treatment, the participants will be examined by their glaucoma specialist. Following their KPro surgery, patients will have a follow-up at day-1, weeks 1 and 2, months 1 and 3, then every 4 to 6 months for 5 years. Additional non-invasive glaucoma tests will be performed twice during the first 3 months following the surgery and will be repeated every 4-6 months. Visual acuity results, the visual field tests and rates of post-operative complications will be compared between the different groups.

This study aims to obtain the lacrimal fingerprint for frequent pathologies of the ocular surface and establish a normative base for each of them.