NCT06628570

Brief Summary

The goal of the proposed research is to 1) examine the performance of emerging screening methods for anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (aHSIL), a precancerous condition of anal cancer, among populations at high risk for anal cancer and 2) characterize DNA methylation, immunologic response, and environmental factors associated with aHSIL.

Trial Health

77
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
500

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Timeline
17mo left

Started Dec 2024

Typical duration for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

4 active sites

Status
recruiting

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Progress50%
Dec 2024Oct 2027

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

October 3, 2024

Completed
5 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

October 8, 2024

Completed
2 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

December 16, 2024

Completed
2.8 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

October 1, 2027

Expected
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

October 1, 2027

Last Updated

September 8, 2025

Status Verified

September 1, 2025

Enrollment Period

2.8 years

First QC Date

October 3, 2024

Last Update Submit

September 2, 2025

Conditions

Keywords

CancerHIVScreening

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Specificity and Sensitivity of screening markers

    Sensitivity and specificity will be calculated for each of the proposed screening markers separately and a combination of two and three markers for the detection of aHSIL at baseline. The combination of the two and three markers of primary interest includes CINtec®PLUS +hrHPV, CINtec®PLUS+anal cytology, hrHPV+anal cytology, and CINtec®PLUS+hrHPV+anal cytology. The analysis will be performed for the four high-risk groups together and stratified by the four high-risk categories.

    Baseline

Secondary Outcomes (7)

  • DNA methylation markers

    Baseline, 1 year, 2 years

  • Anal immune modulations

    Baseline, 1 year, 2 years

  • aHSIL prevalence

    Baseline

  • aHSIL clearance

    1 year, 2 years

  • Inflammatory Markers (Il-1RA, IL1β, IL6, IL6sr, TNF-α, and IL-10)

    Baseline, 1 year, 2 years

  • +2 more secondary outcomes

Study Arms (4)

Men with impaired immune status

OTHER

At each study visit, participants will receive a digital anorectal examination followed by HRA, with directed biopsies of suspicious lesions. An HRA-certified physician will collect anal swabs and HRA-directed biopsies for histological confirmation of disease and biomarker assays.

Diagnostic Test: HRA + BiopsyDiagnostic Test: Anal CytologyDiagnostic Test: Genotyping of anal hrHPV infectionDiagnostic Test: CINtec®PLUS

Men without impaired immune status

OTHER

At each study visit, participants will receive a digital anorectal examination followed by HRA, with directed biopsies of suspicious lesions. An HRA-certified physician will collect anal swabs and HRA-directed biopsies for histological confirmation of disease and biomarker assays.

Diagnostic Test: HRA + BiopsyDiagnostic Test: Anal CytologyDiagnostic Test: Genotyping of anal hrHPV infectionDiagnostic Test: CINtec®PLUS

Women with impaired immune status and high grade LGTN

OTHER

At each study visit, participants will receive a digital anorectal examination followed by HRA, with directed biopsies of suspicious lesions. An HRA-certified physician will collect anal swabs and HRA-directed biopsies for histological confirmation of disease and biomarker assays.

Diagnostic Test: HRA + BiopsyDiagnostic Test: Anal CytologyDiagnostic Test: Genotyping of anal hrHPV infectionDiagnostic Test: CINtec®PLUS

Women without impaired immune status with high grade LGTN

OTHER

At each study visit, participants will receive a digital anorectal examination followed by HRA, with directed biopsies of suspicious lesions. An HRA-certified physician will collect anal swabs and HRA-directed biopsies for histological confirmation of disease and biomarker assays.

Diagnostic Test: HRA + BiopsyDiagnostic Test: Anal CytologyDiagnostic Test: Genotyping of anal hrHPV infectionDiagnostic Test: CINtec®PLUS

Interventions

HRA + BiopsyDIAGNOSTIC_TEST

High-Resolution Anoscopy, or HRA, is a standard of care procedure for screening and detection of premalignant lesions of the anus. Using a small, thin round tube called an anoscope, the anal canal is examined with a high-resolution magnifying instrument called a colposcope. The application of a mildly acidic liquid on the anal canal facilitates the evaluation of abnormal tissue such as anal dysplasia. Biopsies for histological confirmation of disease will be taken. Biopsies' reporting will follow the terminology, criteria, and recommendations of the Lower Anogenital Squamous Terminology (LAST) project. Histology results will be reported as benign, condyloma acuminatum, AIN grades 1-3, or cancer. For the proposed project, aHSIL+ will be defined as AIN2 (p16 block-positive), AIN3, and cancer at the HRA encounter. All other cases will be classified as \<aHSIL, including benign, condyloma acuminatum, and AIN1

Also known as: HRA and Histology
Men with impaired immune statusMen without impaired immune statusWomen with impaired immune status and high grade LGTNWomen without impaired immune status with high grade LGTN
Anal CytologyDIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Anal cytology collection (swab samples) will be performed as part of the standard of care during this study. The collected cells, suspended in the SurePath liquid-based medium, will be placed on a slide and microscopically examined by a board-certified pathologist. The sample will then be interpreted using the Bethesda System: negative for intraepithelial lesion or malignancy (NILM), ASCUS, LSIL, ASC-H, or HSIL. Pathologists interpreting the anal cytology will be blinded from hrHPV testing and biopsy histology.

Also known as: Swab anal Sample
Men with impaired immune statusMen without impaired immune statusWomen with impaired immune status and high grade LGTNWomen without impaired immune status with high grade LGTN

Samples of exfoliated cells from the anal canal will be collected with Dacron swabs. To identify the infecting HPV genotype, DNA will be extracted from swab samples collected with the MagNA Pure LC DNA Isolation Kit III and an LC MagNA Pure system (Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim, Germany), followed by HPV typing using the TypeSeq assay, a laboratory prepared high-throughput next-generation sequencing assay developed by NCI will be performed as described. The assay uses three sequential PCR steps resulting in barcoded L1 amplicons sequenced and submitted to a bioinformatics pipeline for typing. This TypeSeq assay qualitatively detects and identifies 51 HPV genotypes (HPV types 3, 6, 11, 13, 16, 18, 26, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 51, 52, 53, 54, 56, 58, 59, 61, 62, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 76, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 89, 90, 91, 97, and 114), including 14 high-risk (16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 66, 68)

Also known as: hrHPV
Men with impaired immune statusMen without impaired immune statusWomen with impaired immune status and high grade LGTNWomen without impaired immune status with high grade LGTN
CINtec®PLUSDIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Samples of exfoliated cells from the anal canal will be collected with Dacron swabs. Dual immunostaining with p16/Ki-67 will be performed on the residual cytologic specimen by Roche MTM Laboratories (Heidelberg, Germany), using the CINtec®PLUS Kit according to the manufacturer's instructions. The anal cytology material will be stained with a mouse monoclonal antibody directed against human p16INKa (p16) protein (clone E6H4) and recombinant rabbit monoclonal antibody directed against human Ki-67 protein (clone 274-11AC3V1), using the BenchMark ULTRA instrument (Ventana Roche). Samples with insufficient cellularity will be excluded from the evaluation. A trained cytotechnologist will review all cases for cells staining positively with both markers. A slide will be considered positive if 1 or more squamous epithelial cell(s) stained positive for both p16 and Ki-67 and dual stain-positive cells will be semi-quantitatively assessed (0, 1, 2-5, 6-50, \>50).

Also known as: P16/Ki-67 dual immunostaining
Men with impaired immune statusMen without impaired immune statusWomen with impaired immune status and high grade LGTNWomen without impaired immune status with high grade LGTN

Eligibility Criteria

Age30 Years - 80 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • years of age
  • Individuals with chronic impaired immune status
  • History of high-grade lower genital tract neoplasia (LGTN), Zubrod Performance Status of 0-2;

You may not qualify if:

  • Patients treated for aHSIL less than 6 months before screening,
  • History of anal cancer and pregnant women.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (4)

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine-Sylvester Cancer Center

Miami, Florida, 33136, United States

RECRUITING

University of Miami School of Medicine at Jackson Memorial Hospital (JMH)

Miami, Florida, 33136, United States

RECRUITING

Grady Memorial Hospital

Atlanta, Georgia, 30303, United States

RECRUITING

The Ponce Center

Atlanta, Georgia, 30308, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Neoplasms

Interventions

Biopsy

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

CytodiagnosisCytological TechniquesClinical Laboratory TechniquesDiagnostic Techniques and ProceduresDiagnosisSpecimen HandlingDiagnostic Techniques, SurgicalSurgical Procedures, OperativeInvestigative Techniques

Study Officials

  • Lisa Flowers, MD, MPH

    Emory University

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
  • Canhua Xiao, PhD, RN

    Emory University

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Lisa Flowers, MD, MPH

CONTACT

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
NON RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
SCREENING
Intervention Model
SINGLE GROUP
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Professor of Medicine

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

October 3, 2024

First Posted

October 8, 2024

Study Start

December 16, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

October 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

October 1, 2027

Last Updated

September 8, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will share

All of the individual participant data collected from study participation will be available for sharing after deidentification

Shared Documents
STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP
Time Frame
Data will be available for sharing after publication.
Access Criteria
Data will be shared upon request with researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal to achieve the aims in the approved proposal. To gain access, data requesters will need to sign a data access agreement.

Locations