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Spinery® A Novel Radio-Frequency Tumor Ablation Device for Spine Metastatic Tumors

Clinical Study of Spinery® A Novel Radio-Frequency Tumor Ablation Device for Spine Metastatic Tumors

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05467540
Acronym
SPARTA
Enrollment
52
Registered
2022-07-20
Start date
2022-07-11
Completion date
2024-11-30
Last updated
2025-11-28

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Vertebral Metastasis

Brief summary

The SPARTA study (Spinery® Radiofrequency Ablation Device Study) is a prospective, multicenter, single-arm clinical investigation designed to evaluate the safety, performance, and efficacy of the Spinery® RF Generator and its sterile single-use accessories for the palliative treatment of painful bone metastases. Adult patients with metastatic lesions involving the vertebral bodies, sacrum, iliac crest, or peri-acetabulum who were not candidates for, or had failed, standard therapies underwent percutaneous radiofrequency ablation with the investigational device. A total of 52 participants were enrolled across five Italian centers and were assessed at baseline, post-procedure, and during follow-up visits at 1, 3, and 12 months. Endpoints include evaluation of pain reduction, quality of life, usability, and procedural safety.

Detailed description

Bone metastases are a frequent cause of pain and disability in patients with advanced cancer, often leading to impaired mobility and reduced quality of life. Conventional treatments such as systemic analgesics, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy may not always achieve adequate symptom control, particularly in patients with recurrent or resistant disease. Radiofrequency (RF) ablation has emerged as a minimally invasive, image-guided procedure that induces controlled thermal necrosis within metastatic lesions, potentially reducing pain by interrupting nociceptive pathways and stabilizing the affected bone. The SPARTA study was designed to collect clinical data on the Spinery® RF Generator and its sterile single-use accessories, a bipolar/monopolar RF ablation technology intended for percutaneous use in bone metastases. This clinical investigation follows a prospective, multicenter, single-arm design without a control group; data are compared with published evidence available in the literature to contextualize safety and performance outcomes. A total of 52 patients were enrolled across five Italian centers. Eligible participants were adults with painful metastatic bone tumors located in the thoracic or lumbar vertebrae, sacrum, iliac crest, or peri-acetabulum. Following informed consent and baseline assessments, each patient underwent image-guided RF ablation using the Spinery® device. The procedure allowed the treating physician to select monopolar or bipolar cooled electrodes according to lesion size and location. Participants were monitored within 24 hours post-procedure and followed at 1, 3, and 12 months after treatment. Study assessments include: * Pain evaluation using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) * Quality of life assessment using the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire * Functional performance using the Karnofsky Performance Scale * Documentation of concomitant analgesic use and adverse events The primary objectives are: 1. To evaluate short-term pain reduction at 3 months following treatment, as measured by changes in the BPI worst pain score. 2. To evaluate procedural safety, defined as the percentage of procedures completed without device-related adverse events, including nerve injury. The secondary objectives are: * To assess long-term pain reduction at 12 months. * To evaluate usability and procedural performance (technical and procedural success without product-specialist intervention). * To monitor quality-of-life and functional outcomes over the follow-up period. This clinical investigation is conducted in compliance with ethical principles of Good Clinical Practice and applicable regulatory requirements.

Interventions

DEVICESpinery System

Radiofrequency ablation of bone metastases performed with the Spinery System, a radiofrequency generator with dedicated sterile, single-use accessories (electrode kit and cooling connection).

Sponsors

Axon srl
Lead SponsorINDUSTRY

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Intervention model description

Prospective, Multicenter, no control group

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Patients with painful metastatic malignant lesions involving bone; * Patients, candidates to standard therapy, in which the RF ablation can be performed in combination with the Standard Therapy in accordance with the Investigator's indications; * Patients who have failed, not candidates or refuse Standard Therapy (chemotherapy or radiotherapy); * Patients with metastatic tumor size compatible with the expected ablation dimensions as reported for SPINERY devices in the IFU; * Patients with localized pain resulting from not more than two sites of symptomatic metastatic disease * Patients that do not have evidence of impending fracture * Patients with metastatic lesions targeted for treatment located in the thoracic and/or lumbar vertebral body(ies), peri-acetabulum, iliac crest, and/or sacrum - no restrictions on location of lesion; * Patients with BPI-Report worst pain score ≥4/10 at the target treatment site within the past 24 hours * Patients with Karnofsky score ≥ 40 at enrollment * Patients willing and able to provide a signed and dated informed consent, comply with the study plan, follow up visits and phone calls * Patients at least 18 years old at the time of informed consent

Exclusion criteria

* Patients implanted with heart pacemaker or other implanted electronic device * Patients with previous mechanical bone stabilization in the vertebral body to be treated * Use of SPINERY in vertebral body levels C1-C7 * Multiple myeloma, solitary plasmacytoma, or primary malignant lesions in the index vertebra or bone. * Active or incompletely treated local infection at the planned treatment site(s) and/or systemic infection. * Planned treatment site(s) accompanied by objective evidence of secondary radiculopathy or neurologic compromise. * Planned treatment site(s) associated with spinal cord compression or canal compromise requiring decompression. * Fractures due to prostatic cancer or other osteoblastic metastases to the spine. Metastatic lesions originating in the prostate that are osteolytic or of mixed origin are eligible for the study. * Pregnant, breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant during the study duration. * Concurrent participation in another clinical study that may add additional safety risks and/or confound study results. * Any condition that would interfere with the subject's ability to comply with study instructions or might confound the study interpretation.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change From Baseline in Worst Pain and Quality of Life Scores at 3 Months Using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) and EQ-5D-5L QuestionnairesBaseline and 3-month follow-upPain severity and health-related quality of life were evaluated using two validated questionnaires: * Brief Pain Inventory (BPI): Participants rated their worst pain in the last 24 hours for each treated lesion site (thoracic, lumbar, peri-acetabulum, iliac crest, sacrum) on an 11-point numeric scale from 0 (no pain) to 10 (pain as bad as you can imagine). Higher scores indicate worse pain. The change in BPI Worst Pain Score was calculated as the average reduction from baseline to the 3-month visit. * EQ-5D-5L: Participants reported their overall health status across five dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, anxiety/depression), each rated on five levels of severity. Responses were converted into a utility index ranging from -0.594 (worst health state) to 1.000 (best health state), where higher scores indicate better quality of life. The EQ-5D-5L visual analogue scale (VAS) ranges from 0 (worst imaginable health) to 100 (best imaginable health).
Number and Percentage of Participants Who Successfully Completed the Spinery® RF Ablation ProcedurePost-Procedure (primary evaluation point)The number and percentage of participants who successfully completed the Spinery® RF ablation procedure per protocol. Completion is defined as participants who underwent the full planned treatment without premature discontinuation or technical interruption. Results are expressed as the count and percentage of the total number of treated participants.

Countries

Italy

Participant flow

Recruitment details

Participants were recruited between July 2022 and Nov 2023 at 5 clinical sites. Eligible participants were adult who met all inclusion/exclusion criteria specified in the protocol. Recruitment followed standard informed consent procedures at each site.

Pre-assignment details

The Protocol Enrollment was 52 as planned. One participant withdrew consent after enrollment and prior to treatment allocation; therefore, 51 participants actually started the Spinery RF Ablation procedure. This explains the discrepancy between Protocol Enrollment and Started counts.

Participants by arm

ArmCount
BaseLine
This single-arm group includes all patients enrolled and treated with the Spinery® RF Generator in combination with its sterile, single-use accessories (Spinery® Kit and Spinery® Cooling Connection). Each participant received radiofrequency (RF) ablation therapy targeted at bone metastatic lesions located in the vertebral bodies, sacrum, iliac crest, or peri-acetabulum. All procedures were image-guided and performed according to the protocol-defined treatment algorithm. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics were collected before the ablation procedure and used to evaluate treatment efficacy and safety over time.
51
Total51

Withdrawals & dropouts

PeriodReasonFG000
12-Month Follow-upDeath8
12-Month Follow-upLost to Follow-up6
12-Month Follow-upWithdrawal by Subject1
3-Month Follow-upDeath5
3-Month Follow-upLost to Follow-up4
3-Month Follow-upWithdrawal by Subject1

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicBaseLine
Age, Categorical
<=18 years
0 Participants
Age, Categorical
>=65 years
27 Participants
Age, Categorical
Between 18 and 65 years
24 Participants
EQ-5D-5L42.8 units on a scale
STANDARD_DEVIATION 16.8
Pain Score at Baseline (BPI)7.8 units on a scale
STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.6
Primary Tumor Site
Adeno Carcinoma
1 participants
Primary Tumor Site
Bladder
1 participants
Primary Tumor Site
Breast
19 participants
Primary Tumor Site
Chest
1 participants
Primary Tumor Site
Colon
1 participants
Primary Tumor Site
Intestine
1 participants
Primary Tumor Site
Kidney
4 participants
Primary Tumor Site
Liver
1 participants
Primary Tumor Site
Lungs
12 participants
Primary Tumor Site
Lymphomas
1 participants
Primary Tumor Site
Lynphatic system
1 participants
Primary Tumor Site
Other
1 participants
Primary Tumor Site
Pancreas
1 participants
Primary Tumor Site
Prostate
4 participants
Primary Tumor Site
Sarcoma
1 participants
Race and Ethnicity Not Collected— Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
31 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
20 Participants
Target Lesion Location
Iliac Crest
7 Participants
Target Lesion Location
Pari-acetabulum
7 Participants
Target Lesion Location
Sacrum
10 Participants
Target Lesion Location
Vertebral Body
27 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
13 / 51
other
Total, other adverse events
1 / 51
serious
Total, serious adverse events
13 / 51

Outcome results

Primary

Change From Baseline in Worst Pain and Quality of Life Scores at 3 Months Using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) and EQ-5D-5L Questionnaires

Pain severity and health-related quality of life were evaluated using two validated questionnaires: * Brief Pain Inventory (BPI): Participants rated their worst pain in the last 24 hours for each treated lesion site (thoracic, lumbar, peri-acetabulum, iliac crest, sacrum) on an 11-point numeric scale from 0 (no pain) to 10 (pain as bad as you can imagine). Higher scores indicate worse pain. The change in BPI Worst Pain Score was calculated as the average reduction from baseline to the 3-month visit. * EQ-5D-5L: Participants reported their overall health status across five dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, anxiety/depression), each rated on five levels of severity. Responses were converted into a utility index ranging from -0.594 (worst health state) to 1.000 (best health state), where higher scores indicate better quality of life. The EQ-5D-5L visual analogue scale (VAS) ranges from 0 (worst imaginable health) to 100 (best imaginable health).

Time frame: Baseline and 3-month follow-up

Population: All participants who started treatment and completed the 3-month follow-up visit are included in this analysis.

ArmMeasureGroupValue (MEAN)Dispersion
3-Months Follow-upChange From Baseline in Worst Pain and Quality of Life Scores at 3 Months Using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) and EQ-5D-5L QuestionnairesChange in Worst Pain Score (BPI, 0-10 scale; higher = worse pain)3.4 points on a numeric scaleStandard Deviation 2.8
3-Months Follow-upChange From Baseline in Worst Pain and Quality of Life Scores at 3 Months Using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) and EQ-5D-5L QuestionnairesChange in Quality of Life (EQ-5D-5L VAS, 0-100 scale; higher = better health status)65.2 points on a numeric scaleStandard Deviation 19
Primary

Number and Percentage of Participants Who Successfully Completed the Spinery® RF Ablation Procedure

The number and percentage of participants who successfully completed the Spinery® RF ablation procedure per protocol. Completion is defined as participants who underwent the full planned treatment without premature discontinuation or technical interruption. Results are expressed as the count and percentage of the total number of treated participants.

Time frame: Post-Procedure (primary evaluation point)

Population: All participants who started treatment and were evaluated for procedural completion.

ArmMeasureValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
3-Months Follow-upNumber and Percentage of Participants Who Successfully Completed the Spinery® RF Ablation Procedure51 Participants

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026