--- title: Development, Field Testing and Evaluation of the Efficacy of a Hand-held, Portable and Affordable Thermo-coagulator to Prevent Cervical Cancer in Low- and Middle-income Countries nct_id: NCT02956239 overall_status: COMPLETED phase: NA sponsor: International Agency for Research on Cancer study_type: INTERVENTIONAL primary_condition: Cervical Precancer countries: Zambia canonical_url: "https://parkinsonspathways.com/agent/trials/NCT02956239.md" clinicaltrials_gov: "https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02956239" ct_last_update_post_date: 2024-07-08 last_seen_at: "2026-05-12T07:13:59.285Z" source: ClinicalTrials.gov (mirrored, no enrichment) --- # Development, Field Testing and Evaluation of the Efficacy of a Hand-held, Portable and Affordable Thermo-coagulator to Prevent Cervical Cancer in Low- and Middle-income Countries **NCT ID:** [NCT02956239](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02956239) ## Key Facts - **Status:** COMPLETED - **Phase:** NA - **Study Type:** INTERVENTIONAL - **Target Enrollment:** 3124 - **Lead Sponsor:** International Agency for Research on Cancer - **Collaborators:** University of North Carolina Global Project Zambia, Liger Medical Llc - **Conditions:** Cervical Precancer - **Start Date:** 2017-08-01 - **Completion Date:** 2024-02-29 - **CT.gov Last Update:** 2024-07-08 ## Brief Summary This project develops, tests and produces a lightweight, cordless, battery driven and rechargeable hand-held device for treating cervical precancer (Liger Thermal Coagulator). The study evaluates its effectiveness compared to the current standard treatment (cryocautery) when used as part of a screen and treat programme using Visual Inspection with Acetic acid (VIA) in Sub Saharan Africa. ## Detailed Description This project aims to improve screen and treat programmes for cervical cancers by discovering the best method of treatment. The specific aims are 1. To develop, test and produce 20 novel lightweight hand-held cordless, portable battery driven and rechargeable Thermal Coagulators (Liger Medical, Utah). 2. To evaluate the success / failure rate of Thermal Coagulation in a randomised controlled trial comparing thermal coagulation to the existing current standard cryocautery and to Large Loop Excision of the Transformation Zone (LLETZ aka LEEP) as part of a screen and treat programme in Zambia. 3. To evaluate the user satisfaction scores of the Liger Thermal Coagulator cryocautery as part of a screen and treat programme in Zambia. 4. To determine the rate of over treatment of VIA positive women as revealed by histopathological examination of the randomly assigned excised treatment cases. 5. To determine the value of Z scan to predict normality and abnormality in VIA positive women randomly assigned to excisional therapy In collaboration with a medical devices company in Utah, the engineering performance of the Liger Thermal Coagulator has been developed and tested in vitro and in vivo. 200+ Liger units have been produced and a randomised controlled trial of the device has been undertaken, compared to cryocautery and LLETZ using efficacy and user friendliness as endpoints. The inclusion of a study arm of excisional therapy allows to quantify the rate of overtreatment in VIA programmes and using the Z scan may allow for a non invasive method of accurately predicting normality and abnormality in VIA positive women. ## Eligibility - **Minimum age:** 25 Years - **Maximum age:** 49 Years - **Sex:** FEMALE - **Healthy Volunteers:** No ``` Inclusion Criteria: * Positive on VIA test for cervical cancer screening * Eligible for ablative treatment Exclusion Criteria: * Pregnancy * Not voluntarily willing to participate ``` ## Arms - **Thermocoagulation (device)** (EXPERIMENTAL) — VIA Positive women will be treated by the new device for thermocoagulation - **Cryotherapy (device)** (ACTIVE_COMPARATOR) — VIA positive women will be treated by cryotherapy - **LEEP (device)** (ACTIVE_COMPARATOR) — VIA Positive women not suitable for thermo-coagulation or cryotherapy will be treated by LEEP ## Interventions - **Thermocoagulation (device)** (PROCEDURE) — Thermocoagulation uses heat injury to destroy the abnormal dysplastic cells of the cervix - **Cryotherapy (device)** (PROCEDURE) — Cryotherapy uses cold injury to destroy the abnormal dysplastic cells of the cervix - **LEEP (device)** (PROCEDURE) — The abnormal area of the cervix is excised with a thin metallic loop driven by electrosurgical unit ## Primary Outcomes - **Difference in proportions with no lesions at 12 months follow-up between the thermocoagulation and cryotherapy arms among VIA positive women treated at baseline** _(time frame: 12 months)_ — The VIA positive women will be followed up after 12 months to see if the lesions have disappeared. HPV test will be used as the test of cure ## Secondary Outcomes - **Over-treatment defined as the number of VIA positive women found with no CIN lesions in the post-operative LEEP specimens** _(time frame: 12 months)_ ## Locations (1) - UNC Global Project Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia ## Recent Field Changes (last 30 days) - `status.completionDate` — added _(2026-05-12)_ - `status.lastUpdatePostDate` — added _(2026-05-12)_ - `status.overallStatus` — added _(2026-05-12)_ - `status.primaryCompletionDate` — added _(2026-05-12)_ - `design.phases` — added _(2026-05-12)_ - `design.enrollmentCount` — added _(2026-05-12)_ - `eligibility.criteria` — added _(2026-05-12)_ - `eligibility.minAge` — added _(2026-05-12)_ - `eligibility.maxAge` — added _(2026-05-12)_ - `eligibility.sex` — added _(2026-05-12)_ - `outcomes.primary` — added _(2026-05-12)_ - `outcomes.secondary` — added _(2026-05-12)_ - `armsInterventions.arms` — added _(2026-05-12)_ - `armsInterventions.interventions` — added _(2026-05-12)_ - `sponsor.lead` — added _(2026-05-12)_ - `sponsor.collaborators` — added _(2026-05-12)_ - `results.hasResults` — added _(2026-05-12)_ - `locations.unc global project zambia|lusaka||zambia` — added _(2026-05-12)_ --- *Canonical: https://parkinsonspathways.com/agent/trials/NCT02956239.md* *Source data (authoritative): https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02956239* *This page is a raw mirror with no AI summary, no editorial enrichment, and no Parkinson's-specific filtering.*