Locally Advanced Colorectal Carcinoma

\*As of June 2026- Phase I has been completed and we are now in Phase II. This phase I/II trial studies the side effects and how well fluorescence image guided surgery followed by intraoperative photodynamic therapy for improving local tumor control in patients with colorectal cancer that has spread to nearby tissue or lymph nodes (locally advanced) or that has come back after a period of improvement (recurrent). Fluorescence image guided surgery uses a drug named aminolevulinic acid hydrochloride. Aminolevulinic acid hydrochloride is a photosensitizing agent, meaning that is activated by light and, is converted to another drug in cancer cells more than in normal cells. The converted drug emits fluorescence red light when activated with low power blue light. It is used to assist the surgeon to see cancer cells and small cancerous tissue that may have been missed during routine surgery. In addition to emitting fluorescence light, the converted drug in the cancer cells and tissue can be activated with red laser light to kill cancer cells. This procedure is called photodynamic therapy (PDT). Performing fluorescence image guided surgery followed by intraoperative photodynamic therapy after the surgical removal of the colorectal tumor before the surgical site will be closed may be effective and improve outcomes in patients with locally advanced or recurrent colorectal cancer.

This phase I trial investigates the side effects and best dose of talazoparib when given together with trifluridine/tipiracil for the treatment of patients with colorectal or gastroesophageal cancer that has spread to nearby tissue or lymph nodes (locally advanced) or other places in the body (metastatic). Drugs used in the chemotherapy, such as trifluridine/tipiracil, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Talazoparib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Giving talazoparib with trifluridine/ tipiracil may inhibit certain enzymes in the cells that are responsible for tumor cell growth.

This phase II trial tests how well olanzapine works in managing cancer cachexia in patients experiencing esophagogastric, hepatopancreaticobiliary, colorectal, or lung cancer that may have spread from where it first started to nearby tissue, lymph nodes, or distant parts of the body (advanced) or that has spread from where it first started (primary site) to other places in the body (metastatic) -associated appetite loss while receiving non-curative cancer therapy. Loss of appetite ("anorexia") in the setting of cancer is a key feature of "cachexia," a syndrome associated with loss of weight and muscle as well as weakness and fatigue. Olanzapine is a drug that targets key neurotransmitters (a type of molecule in the central nervous system that transmits messages to the rest of the body) that may stimulate appetite, restore caloric intake, minimize weight loss, and improve quality of life (QOL).

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the efficacy and safety of the combination of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and FOLFOX regimen compared to FOLFOX regimen alone in the neoadjuvant chemotherapy of locally advanced colorectal cancer. The main question aims to answer are: Question 1: Compare the pathological complete response rate between the combination of ICIs and FOLFOX regimen and the FOLFOX alone. Question 2: Compare the survival outcomes and safety between the combination of ICIs and FOLFOX regimen and the FOLFOX alone. Two groups of participants will receive different new adjuvant chemotherapy regimens, and their efficacy will be compared.