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Ultrahypofractionation and Normal Tissue Toxicity

Proton Versus Photon Ultrahypofractionated Radiation Therapy and Its Impact on Normal Tissue

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05912231
Enrollment
60
Registered
2023-06-22
Start date
2023-08-15
Completion date
2026-12-31
Last updated
2025-11-13

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

Conditions

Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer Female, Breast Cancer Stage II, Breast Cancer Stage III, Myocardial Fibrosis

Keywords

Radiation Therapy, Photon Radiation Therapy, XRT, Proton Beam Radiation Therapy, PBT, Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer Female, Breast Cancer Stage II, Breast Cancer Stage III, Myocardial Fibrosis

Brief summary

This research is being done to see if proton beam radiation therapy (PBT) results in fewer changes to a participant's heart measured with MRI-imaging than conventional or photon radiation therapy (XRT) for participants with non-metastatic left sided breast cancer. The names of the two study groups in this research study are: * Proton Radiation Therapy (PBT) * Conventional or Photon Radiation Therapy (XRT)

Detailed description

This is a randomized phase II trial comparing participants with stage II-III breast cancer treated with accelerated Proton Beam Radiation Therapy (PBT) versus accelerated conventional photon radiation therapy (XRT) inclusive of the regional lymph nodes. Participants will be randomized into one of two study groups: proton beam radiation therapy versus photon radiation therapy. Randomization means that participants are put into a group by chance. Study procedures includes screening for eligibility, study treatment visits, Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), blood tests, and questionnaires. The National Cancer Institute, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and Claflin Grant are supporting this research by providing funding for the research study.

Interventions

RADIATIONAccelerated Proton Beam Radiation Therapy (PBT)

per protocol

RADIATIONAccelerated Photon Radiation Therapy (XRT)

per protocol

Sponsors

National Cancer Institute (NCI)
CollaboratorNIH
American Society of Clinical Oncology
CollaboratorOTHER
Massachusetts General Hospital
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

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

Inclusion criteria

* ≥18 years of age * Non-metastatic Breast Cancer patients who are scheduled to receive conventional left-sided or bilateral breast/chest wall RT inclusive of treatment to the internal mammary lymph nodes (IMNs) * Prior chemotherapy is permitted * Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document * No contraindication to MRI * Patients with right-sided breast cancer or patients with left-sided patients not requiring treatment to the IMNs, but where cardiac anatomy is determined to be unfavorable by the study PI, will be considered eligible.

Exclusion criteria

* Person who is pregnant or breastfeeding. * Patients receiving any other investigational agent will not be excluded from study eligibility, unless the patient is already enrolled in an interventional study evaluating cardiac toxicity. No cytotoxic therapy or radiotherapy may be used during radiation therapy. * Contra-indication to gadolinium contrast (e.g., chronic kidney disease) * Contra-indication to radiotherapy (e.g., scleroderma, p53 mutation)

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Myocardial Fibrosis from Baseline in Proton Beam Radiation Therapy (PBT)Up to 7 months (pre-treatment period to 6 month follow up)The primary outcome is to determine whether participants who receive accelerated PBT show no increase in myocardial fibrosis on Cardiac MRI (CMR) compared to an estimated 4% increase in extracellular matrix volume fraction (ECV) in participants who receive accelerated XRT. CMR will be performed using a 3T system (Skyra, Siemens). The T1 phase on MRI will be used to measure ECV.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Global Longitudinal Strain (GLS) on CMR from BaselineUp to 7 months (pre-treatment period to 6 month follow up)GLS will be measured using feature tracking from the Steady-state free precession (SSFP) MRI cine images (Medis Suite, Leiden).
Stability of Cardiac Biomarkers from BaselineUp to 7 months (pre-treatment period to 6 month follow up)Cardiac Biomarkers will be measured using enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA).
Body Image EvaluationUp to 13 months (pre-treatment period to 12 month follow up)Assessed by photographic imaging of the breast, chest wall and reconstructed breast, the Breast Q: Mastectomy Module (Postoperative) 2.0, the Breast Q: Reconstruction Module (Postoperative) 2.0, and the Breast-Q: Breast Conserving Therapy Module (Postoperative) 2.0 questionnaires which are rigorous patient-report outcome measures. Modules grade Quality of Life (QOL) and Satisfaction Domains related to post-operative care and experiences. All BREAST-Q scales are transformed into scores that range from 0-100. T. A higher score means greater satisfaction or better QOL (depending on the scale).
Change in Shoulder Function from BaselineUp to 13 months (pre-treatment period to 12 month follow up)Assessed by the Thoracic Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma, Triage, and Tracking (TFAST), the Penn Shoulder Scale (PSS), and the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) Shoulder Function Scale. TFAST is an objective and highly reproducible functional assessment tool of the arm and shoulder. The PSS is a patient-reported outcome tool which provides a shoulder-specific metric and distinguishes between finer levels of functioning. Scores range from 0 to 100 with a score of 100 indicating low pain, high satisfaction, and high function. DASH is a 30-item, validated, patient-reported scale that captures upper extremity functionality and mobility and maintains high construct validity and responsiveness in the breast cancer population. Questions are graded on a Likert scale with scores ranging from 1 Strongly Disagree to 5 Strongly Agree, where a cumulative score of 0 is graded no disability and 100 is most severe disability.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

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