Clinical trials

Study Overview This research compares two types of post-operative salvage radiotherapy (SRT) for men with prostate cancer who have had surgery but show signs of recurrence (detectable PSA). The goal is to see if a shorter treatment schedule is as safe and effective as the standard schedule. Why is this study important? After prostate surgery, cancer can return in up to 70-80% of high-risk patients. Radiotherapy helps control this, but the best way to deliver it-especially the number of sessions and whether to treat the pelvic area-is still being studied. Shorter treatments could mean less time in therapy and better quality of life, if such treatments are proven safe. What is being compared? Standard treatment (Arm A): 25 sessions (about 5 weeks) Prostate bed: 62.5 Gy Pelvis: 45 Gy Shorter treatment (Arm B): 20 sessions (about 4 weeks) Prostate bed: 52.5 Gy Pelvis: 43 Gy Both groups may also receive hormone therapy (ADT) for 6-24 months. Main Goal To check if the shorter treatment causes no more side effects (urinary or bowel problems) than the standard treatment, while keeping cancer control similar. Other Things to be Measured Cancer control (PSA levels, spread of disease) Survival Quality of life (urinary, bowel, sexual health questionnaires) Who can join? Men who: Had prostate surgery Have a detectable PSA (≥0.2 ng/mL) No distant metastasis Are in good general health (ECOG 0-2) How long will the study last? About 12 years total: 2 years to enroll patients 10 years of follow-up

The goal of this observational study is to learn about the acceptability and feasibility of a therapeutic patient education program in adults living with an obesity. The main question it aims to answer is: Is the intervention of therapeutic patient education acceptable for patients living with an obesity? Participants will answer questionnaires and participate to focus groups before and up to nine months after the intervention.

Osteoporosis is a multifactorial disease in which genetic predispositions play a key role in its development. A better understanding of family history and clinical manifestations among first- and second-degree relatives can help improve early detection and personalized care for at-risk patients. To this end, we will test a self-administered questionnaire previously developed by our research team. This questionnaire includes the main manifestations associated with rare genetic bone diseases such as osteogenesis imperfecta, hypophosphatasia, and osteopetrosis.

Canada urgently needs new ways to provide rheumatology care that improve treatment and make it easier for people to get high-quality care. E-health technology is a new and promising way to do this, but it hasn't been studied much yet in rheumatology. The investigators will test a new way to help people with rheumatoid arthritis at four clinics in Quebec. This study will check if the new approach is easy to use, fits well into the clinics' daily routine, and if both patients and healthcare workers find it helpful and acceptable. This new approach involves nurses helping patients check their own health from home using an online platform. 104 adults who have rheumatoid arthritis and who have had a flare-up or a change in their medication in the last three months, will participate. Some will start using the online self-monitoring tool right away for 16 months, while others will continue with their usual care for 8 months before trying the tool. During the time they use the tool, they will fill out monthly online questionnaires to check their health. A rheumatology nurse will review their answers, suggest any needed care, provide personalized health information, and be available to answer questions through messages. This new way of care, where nurses help patients monitor their rheumatoid arthritis from home, helps make better use of limited specialist time. It's more convenient for patients, especially those who live far away, and helps meet their needs between regular doctor visits while keeping the quality of care high.

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine whether an adapted version of a current cognitive-behavioural group therapy (CBT) protocol for cancer survivors to the specific needs of women who are carriers of the BRCA1/2 genetic mutation will reduce their levels of fear of cancer recurrence. The main questions this study aims to answer are: * Will the women who have received the adapted CBT be satisfied with it? * Will there be a significant difference in the women's fear of cancer recurrence and other variables (e.g., depression, anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, quality of life) between the comparison groups? * Will the effects of the adapted CBT hold over time? * What are the roles of different etiological mediating variables in the relationship between fear of cancer recurrence and the effects of the adapted CBT on the severity of fear of cancer recurrence? Researchers will compare the effects of the adapted CBT between the immediate condition and the waitlist condition. Participants will be: * Either placed in the immediate condition or the waitlist condition (the participants in the waitlist condition will begin their therapy once the immediate group is done with theirs). * Taking part in a group CBT session online once a week for eleven weeks. * Completing questionnaires pre-intervention, post-intervention, 3 months post-intervention, and 6 months post-intervention.

This study is being done to find out if a new type of skin graft, called GMEB-SASS, is safe and effective for helping wounds heal in people with RDEB (Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa). The GMEB-SASS graft contains two types of living skin cells: keratinocytes and fibroblasts. It is made in a laboratory using a small sample of the patient's own skin. To help the patient's skin cells produce a missing protein called type VII collagen, scientists grow the patient's cells in the lab and use a virus-like tool (called a retroviral vector) to give the cells the correct instructions. This allows the cells to make the normal protein that is missing in people with RDEB. The graft is designed to be permanent, and the goal is to improve wound healing by replacing damaged skin cells with healthy ones.

Following a mastectomy, patients may develop chronic pain, called post-mastectomy pain syndrome (PMPS). This syndrome manifests itself as complex neuropathic pain that seems linked to nerve damage suffered either during surgery, during healing or by nervous system dysfunction. However, the exact pathophysiology remains unknown. Typically, the pain is located on the ipsilateral side of the surgery and projects to the anterior thorax to the lateral thorax and may affect the proximal part of the arm. This pain persists for more than three months following the procedure and has the characteristics of neuropathic pain: burning sensation, tingling, electric shock, hyperalgesia, etc. The prevalence of PMDS varies between 2% and 78%; this disparity comes from the fact that there are no clear criteria in the literature for making the diagnosis. One of the risk factors for developing PMDS is the presence of acute pain immediately postoperatively. The main objective of this study is to compare two analgesic modalities, namely BPV (study modality) and usual analgesia (control modality), in patients undergoing total mastectomy with immediate reconstruction under general anesthesia with the aim of to evaluate their functional pain score at 24, 48 and 72 hours following the surgical procedure.

Connective tissue diseases (CTD) are a group of diseases with diverse manifestations, most often multisystemic, which share an autoimmune etiology. They include Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Systemic sclerosis (SSc), Sjögren's syndrome (SS), Inflammatory myopathies (IM) and Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD). Many patients in rheumatology present signs and symptoms of CTD, but without meeting all the classification criteria for one of these diseases. These patients will generally receive a diagnosis of undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD). It is increasingly suggested that there are two subgroups of patients with UCTD: one which will eventually evolve into a better characterized CTD (approximately 30% of patients at 5 years) and another with a more benign prognosis. The optimal management of patients with UCTD is not clearly established. Capillaroscopy is a diagnostic test used in the investigation of patients with CTD. It is a low-cost, non-invasive, rapid and specific test in the evaluation of this class of diseases. Its role is now well established in the diagnosis of SSc and in the investigation of Raynaud's phenomenon. In addition, capillaroscopy helps to identify patients suffering from CTD more quickly. Knowledge about the role of capillaroscopy in UCTD is more limited. It is established that a significant proportion of patients with UCTD present abnormalities on UCTD present non-specific abnormalities and 11% present a scleroderma pattern. In these patients, abnormal capillaroscopy seems to increase the risk of progressing to a better characterized CTD, notably SSc. However, although capillaroscopy is increasingly used in rheumatology in patients with CTD, more research is needed to clarify the role of this examination in UCTD. First, it is not established whether capillaroscopy should be performed in all patients with UCTD, nor when exactly it should be performed. There also remain questions about the impact of capillaroscopy on the prognosis and management of patients with this disease. To our knowledge, there is no prospective study that has addressed this question. The investigators hypothesize that in patients with UCTD, capillaroscopy compared to usual care makes it possible to increase the proportion of patients obtaining a diagnosis of better characterized CTD in the first six months of follow-up.

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare SBRT (Stereotactic Body RadioTherapy) to LDRB (Low-Dose Rate Brachytherapy with Iodine-125 seed implant) in patients with low and favourable intermediate-risk prostate cancer. The two main questions it aims to answer are : 1. Does SBRT (Stereotactic Body RadioTherapy) for low and intermediate risk prostate cancer patients will result in less genito-urinary (GU) and gastro-intestinal (GI) toxicities than LDRB (Low-Dose Rate Brachytherapy)? 2. Does prostate cancer patients treated by SBRT have a better quality of life than patients treated by LDRB No randomized trial has yet compared LDRB to SBRT head to head.

Bispecific antibody therapies targeting BCMA (B-cell maturation antigen) represent a novel therapeutic approach for patients with multiple myeloma. They are currently used in cases of refractory multiple myeloma but are also being investigated in earlier lines of treatment. However, these new therapies can lead to deeper immunosuppression and exacerbate an underlying immunosuppressive state in patients with multiple myeloma. As a result, infectious complications are common with these therapies and are a significant concern. Therefore, preventing infections in this population is crucial. However, data on the best strategies for prevention are currently lacking.

This is a phase II randomized controlled clinical trial comparing standard induction BCG versus bicalutamide and standard induction BCG among patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.

Phase 1-2 study, comparing ultra-hypofractionnated (UH) to a moderately hypofractionnated (MH) radiation therapy, with image guided HDR prostate brachytherapy. Using iso-equivalent doses, a non-inferiority analysis will be done in order to prove UH non-inferior to MH, toxicity wise. Acceptability, tolerability, acute and late toxicity will be reported. MRI visible dominant intra-prostatic lesion will be outlines and variability between radiation oncologists and radiologists will be reported. As secondary objective, biochemical and clinical failure free survival will be reported at 5 \& 10 years.

This clinical trial is designed to assess the safety, effectiveness and benefits of Self Assembled Skin Substitute SASS grafts as a permanent skin replacement for the treatment of full-thickness burn wounds that require permanent coverage where the availability of donor sites is limited.

The study " Autologous cultured corneal epithelium (CECA) for the treatment of corneal lesions associated with limbal stem cell deficiency" is the first clinical trial of this product manufactured at the LOEX laboratory. The culture of corneal epithelium strives to produce a reconstructed tissue with the therapeutical aim of treatment of limbal stem cell deficiency. The study is a phase I/phase II study with the goal to evaluate safety and efficacy of the CECA graft for the treatment of human patients suffering from limbal stem cell deficiency. The trial is open to all genders. The inclusion of 5 minors is planned.

Background: Bariatric surgery is gaining in popularity. While it's health benefits are undisputed, the older malabsorptive bariatric procedures (Roux-in-Y gastric bypass - RYGB and biliopancreatic diversion - BPD) are associated with an increased risk of fractures and falls as early as 3-5 years after surgery. Sleeve gastrectomy - SG is now the most performed bariatric procedure. Although SG does not cause malabsorption, it is predicted to result in bone and muscle loss via weight loss and weight loss-independent mechanisms. Primary aim: to compare the changes in spine volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) by quantitative computed tomography (QCT) and muscle mass at mid-femur by computed tomography (CT) at 3 years in the 3 groups of: 1) men; 2) premenopausal women; 3) postmenopausal women after SG versus their respective non-surgical peers who did not undergo SG in the 3-year period following recruitment. Secondary aims: to compare the changes in vBMD by QCT at skeletal sites other than the spine and in areal bone mineral density (aBMD) by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), whole-body muscle mass by DXA, muscle quality by CT at mid-femur and muscle strength as well as in selected physical performance and capacity tests shown to predict falls and fractures between 0-1 and 1-3 years after SG in the same 3 groups after SG vs. in the respective non-surgical groups.

Background: Bone fragility is a complication of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes treatments may ameliorate or deteriorate bone fragility in this population. Bariatric surgery is gaining in popularity in people with type 2 diabetes and may impact bone health. Objectives: To evaluate the impact of the most popular bariatric procedure worldwide (sleeve gastrectomy (SG)) on vBMD by QCT in patients with type 2 diabetes; Secondary aims: (1) to identify the determinants of vBMD after bariatric surgery in patients with type 2 diabetes; (2) to compare vBMD and its potential determinants after bariatric surgery with obese controls without diabetes as well as with controls without obesity and normoglycemia.

The goal of this clinical trial is to study a personalized regime of lutetium-177 (177Lu) prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) radiopharmaceutical therapy (RPT) in patients with progressive and/or symptomatic, inoperable PSMA-expressing cancers of prostatic or other origins. The main questions it aims to answer are: * To establish a dosimetry-based, personalized regime of 177Lu-PSMA * To report on the efficacy of personalized 177Lu-PSMA Participants (stratified by risk factors of toxicity) will receive up to 6 cycles of a personalized activity of 177Lu-PSMA based on renal dosimetry. In the phase 1, the prescribed absorbed dose to the kidney will be escalated, to determine the regime that will be administered in the phase 2. The best response within 12 months after the first cycle will be assessed. Salvage treatment of 3 cycles may be offered to responders after re-progression.

The goal of this prospective controlled study is to measure the reliability of two intraocular pressure (IOP)-measuring instruments in comparison to the gold standard, Goldmann applanation tonometry (GAT) following vitreo-retinal surgery. The main question the current study aims to answer is: are Icare and Accupen as accurate as GAT in measuring IOP one day post eye surgery? Participants in this study will have their IOP measured by the three different instruments one day post-surgery.

Insomnia affects 30-60% of cancer patients, thus making it one of the most common disturbances in this population. When untreated, which is the rule rather than the exception, insomnia often becomes chronic. Chronic insomnia is associated with numerous negative consequences (e.g., increased risk for psychological disorders, health care costs). A large body of evidence supports the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) in cancer patients, but CBT-I is still not offered routinely in cancer clinics. Self-administered CBT-I (e.g., video-based intervention) has been developed to increase patients' access to this treatment. However, results of clinical trials have suggested that these minimal treatments would be better used as a first step of a stepped care model. In stepped care, patients receive only the level of intervention they need. Generally, the entry level is a minimal, less costly, intervention (e.g., self-help intervention) followed by a more intensive form of treatment if needed (if the patient is still symptomatic). The investigators have recently assessed the efficacy of a stepped care model to administer CBT-I in cancer patients, which includes a web-based CBT-I (called Insomnet) followed by up to 3 sessions with a psychotherapist if the patient is still symptomatic. Results of this study suggest that this model of care is non-inferior to a standard face-to-face treatment (Savard, Ivers, et al., in revision), while being more cost-effective. A stepped care CBT-I could therefore be offered in routine cancer care clinics. This project will assess the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing a stepped care CBT-I in real-world cancer clinics, using a non-randomized stepped wedge design to compare the effects of our program (active phase) with a passive phase. The program is called Insomnia in Patients with Cancer - Personalized Treatment (IMPACT). The stepped care CBT-I (active intervention) is being implemented sequentially in the four participating hospitals over a number of equally spaced time periods of 4 months (wedges), for a total of 5 time points, over a period of 20 months.

This study aims to compare two different protocols commonly used in the management of post thyroidectomy hypoparathyroidism : PTH based calcium repletion and empiric repletion. The investigators aim to compare the quality of life associated with these two protocols in a randomized trial.

The goal of this randomized controlled pilot study is to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of the PACHA program designed for women having an adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET) after hormone-sensitive breast cancer. PACHA (programme en Pharmacie pour l'ACcompagnement des femmes ayant de l'Hormonothérapie Adjuvante) is a community pharmacy-based program aimed at optimizing the experience of AET and its use. The main questions it aims to answer are : * Does the program have an effect on factors expected to influence AET adherence? * Is the program acceptable? * Is the implementation of the program feasible? * What is the feasibility of procedures for carrying out a full-scale study? Participating community pharmacies will be randomized. Pharmacists working in pharmacies assigned to the PACHA group (33 pharmacies) will receive web-based training and manuals to use during their consultations with women having an AET. Recruited women attending these pharmacies will also have access to information and resources about AET (videos, evidence-based booklet). Pharmacists practicing in pharmacies assigned to the control group (33 pharmacies) will provide usual care.

The model of care tested in the GPS project aims to optimize pharmacotherapy for seniors undergoing cognitive assessment or suffering from major neurocognitive disorder (MCND) at home. The goal is to reduce polymedication, inappropriate medications and the treatment burden of seniors and to maintain their cognitive health, quality of life and autonomy. The intervention will include knowledge exchange sessions with nurses, pharmacists, and doctors in FMGs, and increased collaboration between these professionals and home care services teams. Other goal is to increase the satisfaction of the seniors, their families, and the professionals involved in the GPS project.

Background: Few large randomized controlled trials provide strong evidence to guide surgical repair of primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) repair. The purpose of this factorial, single-blind, randomized controlled trial is to analyze and compare the surgical outcomes, functional visual outcomes, complications, and quality of life associated with RRD repair using (A) pars plana vitrectomy only (PPV) or PPV with scleral buckle (PPV-SB) and (B) sulfur hexafluoride gas (SF6) or perfluoropropane gas (C3F8) tamponade. Methods: Eligible patients with moderately complex RRD will be randomized 1:1 to PPV or PPV-SB and 1:1 to SF6 or C3F8 gas tamponade. Approximately 560 patients will be recruited to be able to detect a difference of around 10% in SSAS rate between groups. Patients will be followed using multimodal imaging and quality of life questionnaires before and after the surgical repair until 1 year postoperative. The primary outcome will be single surgery anatomic success (SSAS), defined as absence of reoperation for recurrent RRD in the operating room. Secondary outcomes will be pinhole visual acuity (PHVA) at 8-10 weeks and 6 months, final best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), final retina status (i.e., attached or detached), time to onset of RRD recurrence, severity and number of complications, and questionnaire results. Discussion: This will be the first 2 × 2 factorial randomized controlled trial examining repair techniques in primary RRD. It will also be the first randomized controlled trial to compare gas tamponade between the two most common agents. Notably, it will be adequately powered to detect a clinically significant effect size. The use of multimodal imaging will also be a novel aspect of this study, allowing us to compare head-to-head the impact of adding an SB to the retina's recovery after RRD repair and of differing gas tamponades. Until now, the treatment of RRD has been largely guided by pragmatic retrospective cohort studies. There is a lack of strong evidence guiding therapeutic decisions and this trial will address (1) whether supplemental SB is justified and (2) whether longer duration gas tamponade with C3F8 is necessary.

The Biobank includes data and biological specimens of women from three original studies: 1) First-trimester Prediction of Preeclampsia (PREDICTION Study, NCT02189148), 2) Pre-Eclampsia And growth Retardation, an evaluative Longitudinal study (PEARL Study, NCT02379832), 3) Effect of Low Dose Aspirin on Birthweight in Twins: The GAP Trial (NCT02280031) and 4)PREDICTION2: Prediction of Preeclampsia and other Pregnancy Complications Following Combined Iterative Screening.