Can a tracer that hunts unstable iron light up hidden tumors?
NCT ID NCT06942104
First seen Jul 23, 2026 · Last updated Jul 24, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This phase 1 trial is testing whether a new imaging tracer called 18F-TRX can safely and effectively detect solid tumors using PET scans. The tracer targets unstable iron levels, which are often elevated in cancerous tissue. Adults with advanced solid tumors, including certain prostate, kidney, and brain cancers, will receive the tracer and undergo PET/CT imaging. The study aims to see if this approach can clearly visualize tumors and help guide future cancer diagnosis.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- an experimental PET imaging tracer called 18F-TRX (Fluorine F 18 TRX)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could provide a new way to detect and visualize a wide range of solid tumors using PET scans, potentially improving cancer diagnosis and monitoring.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early phase 1 trial with a small number of participants, so safety and effectiveness are not yet established. The tracer may not reliably distinguish tumors from healthy tissue.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 1
The first testing in people. Mainly checks safety and dose, usually in a small group.
- Participants
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About 56 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2025
- Expected to finish
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Sep 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Age ≥ 18 years * Advanced solid tumor malignancy in one of the following cohorts: * Cohort 1 (n = 6): Any solid tumor malignancy with at least 3 metastatic lesions on conventional imaging * Cohort 2 (n = 50): * WHO grade 3 or 4 glioma - patients with known (by integrated molecular and histopathologic diagnosis) or presumed (by imaging; e.g., enhancing necrotic and/or hypervascular intrinsic brain tumor) high grade (WHO grade 3 or 4) glioma (n = 10), Locally advanced or metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma with at least three metastatic lesions on conventional imaging (n = 10). * Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer with at least one metastatic lesion on conventional imaging including cross-sectional imaging of the chest, abdomen and pelvis and whole body bone scan or prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET scan (n = 30). * Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document. * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1. * Negative serum or urine pregnancy test (women of childbearing potential only) within 72 hours of baseline procedures. * Absolute neutrophil count \> 1.5 x 10\^6/L. * Platelets \> 75,000 x 10\^6/L. * Hemoglobin \> 8 g/dL. * Total bilirubin \< 1.5 x upper limit of normal. * Aspartate aminotransferase (AST)(serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT)) \< 2.5 x upper limit of normal (\< 5 x upper limit of normal in patients with liver metastases on conventional imaging). * Alanine aminotransferase (ALT)(serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (SGPT)) \< 2.5 x upper limit of normal (\< 5 x upper limit of normal in patients with liver metastases on conventional imaging). * Creatinine clearance \> 50 ml/min, calculated using the Cockcroft-Gault equation. Exclusion Criteria: * Individuals with any condition or social circumstance that, in the opinion of the investigator, would impair the participant's ability to comply with study procedures. * Individuals receiving strong inhibitors or inducers of CYP3A4. * Uncontrolled active infection or other medical condition that would preclude safe participation in the study as judged by the Investigator. * Individuals who are pregnant. * Individuals of childbearing potential (defined below) must agree to undergo a urine pregnancy test prior to participating in the study scans. Pregnant individuals are excluded because there is an unknown but potential risk for adverse effects in the unborn child secondary to administration of 18F-TRX to the study participant. * A female is considered to not be of childbearing potential (regardless of sexual orientation, having undergone a tubal ligation, or remaining celibate by choice), if the participant meets either of the following two criteria: (1) has reached a postmenopausal state (≥ 12 continuous months of amenorrhea with no identified cause other than menopause); or (2) has undergone surgical sterilization (i.e., hysterectomy and/or bilateral oophorectomy for removal of uterus and/or ovaries). * Individuals who are breastfeeding/chestfeeding. * Breastfeeding/chestfeeding individuals are excluded because there is an unknown but potential risk for adverse effects in the unborn/nursing child secondary to administration of 18F-TRX to the study participant. * Breastfeeding/chestfeeding should be discontinued before administration of 18F-TRX.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The study's own enquiry address
This study publishes an address for enquiries. See it below .
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
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Locations
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University of California, San Francisco
RECRUITINGSan Francisco, California, 94143, United States
Contact Email: •••••@•••••
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