Safety and Efficacy of Leucine-Restricted Diet Combined With Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy in Advanced Gastric Cancer

Official title

A Study on the Safety and Efficacy of Leucine-Restricted Diet in Gastric Cancer Patients Treated With Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy

Overview

Based on existing literature, we posit that a leucine-restricted diet is safe and well-tolerated in patients with advanced gastric cancer receiving combined chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Patients adhering to this dietary regimen exhibit a significant reduction in serum leucine concentrations, with no notable impact on the serum levels of other amino acids. Furthermore, leucine restriction promotes the activation of immune cells within the tumor microenvironment. When applied in conjunction with chemotherapy and immunotherapy for advanced gastric cancer, this approach demonstrates synergistic anti-tumor efficacy. It is expected to enhance tumor response rates , improve the 1-year survival rate, prolong overall survival (OS), and ultimately optimize patient prognosis.

Detailed description

This study employs a self-controlled design to comprehensively evaluate the safety and efficacy of a leucine-restricted diet combined with chemotherapy and immunotherapy in patients with advanced gastric cancer, with follow-up assessments of survival status to determine the 1-year survival rate and Overall Survival (OS). For patients eligible for R0 resection, anti-tumor efficacy will be pathologically assessed using the Tumor Regression Grade system, alongside statistical analysis of tumor response rates following combined therapy. Furthermore, the study will investigate mechanistic changes by comparing the tumor immune microenvironment and serum amino acid profiles (including leucine) before and after dietary intervention, while monitoring alterations in patient body composition, ultimately aiming to validate the hypothesis that leucine restriction enhances therapeutic outcomes in this setting.

Interventions

• Dietary supplement Lucine-restricted diet
  During each hospitalization cycle for combined chemotherapy and immunotherapy, study participants will undergo a 3-day leucine-restricted diet concurrently with PD-1 inhibitor and chemotherapy administration; following this 3-day intervention period, the dietary restriction will be discontinued, and patients will gradually resume a normal diet.

Primary outcome measures

• Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) Grade [Time frame: 1 year after therapy]
• 1-year survival rate and overall survival (OS) [Time frame: 1 year after surgery]
• The tumor regression grade (TRG) system [Time frame: 1 month after surgery]
• Grade of CTCAE grading system [Time frame: 6 months after therapy]

Secondary outcome measures (2)

• Changes in the Immune Microenvironment of Gastric Cancer Patients Following a Leucine-Restricted Diet [Time frame: Measurements were performed prior to the initiation of the amino acid-restricted diet and on the day of surgery before the operation.]
• Serum concentrations of various amino acids, including leucine, in patients with gastric cancer [Time frame: Measurements were performed prior to the initiation of the amino acid-restricted diet and on the day of surgery before the operation.]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• Diagnosis and Treatment Plan: Patients with advanced gastric cancer with distant metastasis, confirmed by imaging modalities (such as CT or PET-CT) and clinical pathological data, who are indicated for combined chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
• Demographics: Aged 18 to 70 years, regardless of gender.
• Dietary Capability: Capable of oral intake or receiving liquid diet via nasogastric tube.
• Consent: Willing to participate in this study and have signed the Informed Consent Form (ICF).
• Exclusion of Other Malignancies: No concurrent primary malignant tumors other than gastric cancer.

Exclusion criteria

• Cognitive or Psychiatric Impairment: Cognitive dysfunction or psychiatric disorders that prevent the patient from understanding the study content or providing informed consent.
• Diabetes Mellitus: Diagnosis of Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes mellitus.
• Gastrointestinal Conditions: Presence of severe diarrhea, intractable vomiting, severe malabsorption syndrome, paralytic or mechanical intestinal obstruction, or active gastrointestinal bleeding.
• Allergy：Known hypersensitivity or allergy to any of the main components of the leucine-deficient nutritional powder.
• Concomitant Supplements: Current use of other nutritional supplements that may potentially confound the study results or affect efficacy evaluation.
• Treatment Tolerance: Inability to tolerate combined chemotherapy and immunotherapy, or occurrence of severe gastrointestinal adverse events following such treatment.

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: No

Study design

Allocation

N/A

Model

Single group

Masking

Open label

Primary purpose

Treatment

Study locations

China · 1 center

• Qilu Hospital of Shandong University — Jinan

Publications

• Janjigian YY, Shitara K, Moehler M, Garrido M, Salman P, Shen L, Wyrwicz L, Yamaguchi K, Skoczylas T, Campos Bragagnoli A, Liu T, Schenker M, Yanez P, Tehfe M, Kowalyszyn R, Karamouzis MV, Bruges R, Zander T, Pazo-Cid R, Hitre E, Feeney K, Cleary JM, Poulart V, Cullen D, Lei M, Xiao H, Kondo K, Li M, Ajani JA. First-line nivolumab plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone for advanced gastric, g PMID 34102137
• Delgoffe GM, Powell JD. mTOR: taking cues from the immune microenvironment. Immunology. 2009 Aug;127(4):459-65. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2567.2009.03125.x. PMID 19604300
• Araki K, Ellebedy AH, Ahmed R. TOR in the immune system. Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2011 Dec;23(6):707-15. doi: 10.1016/j.ceb.2011.08.006. Epub 2011 Sep 16. PMID 21925855
• Passarelli MC, Pinzaru AM, Asgharian H, Liberti MV, Heissel S, Molina H, Goodarzi H, Tavazoie SF. Leucyl-tRNA synthetase is a tumour suppressor in breast cancer and regulates codon-dependent translation dynamics. Nat Cell Biol. 2022 Mar;24(3):307-315. doi: 10.1038/s41556-022-00856-5. Epub 2022 Mar 14. PMID 35288656
• Saito Y, Li L, Coyaud E, Luna A, Sander C, Raught B, Asara JM, Brown M, Muthuswamy SK. LLGL2 rescues nutrient stress by promoting leucine uptake in ER+ breast cancer. Nature. 2019 May;569(7755):275-279. doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1126-2. Epub 2019 Apr 17. PMID 30996345
• Wang N, Lu S, Cao Z, Li H, Xu J, Zhou Q, Yin H, Qian Q, Zhang X, Tao M, Jiang Q, Zhou P, Zheng L, Han L, Li H, Yin L, Gu Y, Dou X, Sun H, Wang W, Piao HL, Li F, Xu Y, Yang W, Chen S, Liu J. Pyruvate metabolism enzyme DLAT promotes tumorigenesis by suppressing leucine catabolism. Cell Metab. 2025 Jun 3;37(6):1381-1399.e9. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2025.02.008. Epub 2025 Mar 19. PMID 40112809
• Wang Z, Lu Z, Lin S, Xia J, Zhong Z, Xie Z, Xing Y, Qie J, Jiao M, Li Y, Wen H, Zhao P, Zhang D, Zhou P, Qian J, Luo F, Wang L, Yu H, Liu J, Gu J, Liu R, Chu Y. Leucine-tRNA-synthase-2-expressing B cells contribute to colorectal cancer immunoevasion. Immunity. 2022 Jun 14;55(6):1067-1081.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2022.04.017. Epub 2022 Jun 3. PMID 35659337
• Tong H, Jiang Z, Song L, Tan K, Yin X, He C, Huang J, Li X, Jing X, Yun H, Li G, Zhao Y, Kang Q, Wei Y, Li R, Long Z, Yin J, Luo Q, Liang X, Wan Y, Zheng A, Lin N, Zhang T, Xu J, Yang X, Jiang Y, Li Y, Xiang Y, Zhang Y, Feng L, Lei Z, Shi H, Ma X. Dual impacts of serine/glycine-free diet in enhancing antitumor immunity and promoting evasion via PD-L1 lactylation. Cell Metab. 2024 Dec 3;36(12):2493 PMID 39577415

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07537348 · KYLL-2025-10-003-1

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗