Clinical Research Directory

Nutritional Intervention Implication in Enhanced Recovery After Surgery for Whipple Procedure

The objective of this research is to assess the impact of personalized nutritional intervention on postoperative complications and length of stay in Whipple's patients via assessing the parameters related to body composition, nutritional status, weight maintenance, biochemical profile (LFTs, RFTs, CBC, CRP, serum electrolytes, coagulation profile and HbA1c) and muscle preservation postoperatively. Moreover, enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) guidelines in Whipple's patients will also be monitored. Exactly 20 patients undergoing Whipple's Procedure/PPPD in 1 year will be recruited for the study. Medical nutrition therapy will include energy intake of 25- 30 Kcal/kg body weight and protein 1.2-1.5g/kg body weight. Enteral nutrition and parenteral nutrition will be given accordingly. After discharge, patients receiving chemotherapy and patients not receiving chemotherapy will be nutritionally intervened accordingly. Follow-ups will be done in the 2nd week, 3rd month and 6th month after surgery. Data will be analyzed using SPSS version 27. To assess the significant difference among study groups t-test, repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) and regression model will be applied. The level of significance will be kept at 5%. t-test for treatment groups.

Perioperative Gemcitabine, Cisplatin, and Pembrolizumab in Potentially Resectable Biliary Tract Cancers

The purpose of this study is to determine the safety of peri-operative gemcitabine, cisplatin, and pembrolizumab in patients with BTC, as well as whether the combination of gemcitabine, cisplatin, and pembrolizumab (gem/cis/pembro) is feasible and lead to pathologic responses.

A Cell-free DNA Methylation Blood-Based Test for Biliary Tract Cancers Screening

Biliary tract carcinoma (BTC), including gallbladder cancer, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, ranks sixth in incidence among gastrointestinal malignancies and tenth in cancer-related mortality worldwide. Due to the lack of specific early symptoms, high malignancy, and frequent recurrence and metastasis, the rate of curative resection is only about 16.5%, and the overall 5-year survival rate is less than 5%. Early and accurate detection is therefore critical for improving patient outcomes. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), a fraction of circulating free DNA (cfDNA), carries genetic and epigenetic information from tumor cells and can be detected even at the early stages of cancer development. Among various liquid biopsy biomarkers, ctDNA methylation shows particular advantages in sensitivity and specificity for early cancer detection and monitoring. This study aims to evaluate the application of cfDNA methylation liquid biopsy in the diagnosis and management of BTC.