Can a flash of radiation ease bone pain in seconds?
NCT ID NCT05524064
First seen Aug 19, 2026 · Last updated Aug 20, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This trial tests whether FLASH radiotherapy—radiation given at ultra-high speed—can safely relieve pain from bone metastases in the chest (ribs, collarbone, shoulder blade, or breastbone). About 10 adults with one to three painful bone tumors will receive a single, high-dose radiation treatment. Researchers will track side effects, pain levels, and pain medication use to see if this faster approach is both safe and effective.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- FLASH radiotherapy, a type of radiation delivered at ultra-high dose rates
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a faster, single-session radiation option that relieves bone pain with fewer side effects than standard treatment.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small early-stage study (10 people), so results may not apply broadly. The main focus is safety and pain relief, and unexpected side effects are possible.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 10 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Mar 2023
- Expected to finish
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May 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
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: * Patient age at least 18 years * 1 to 3 painful bone metastasis(-es) requiring treatment, in the ribs, clavicles, scapulae, or sternum (if more than one metastasis can be treated within the same treatment field, it will be counted as one metastatic site for the purpose of trial treatment). * Bone metastases that can be treated within a field size up to 7.5 cm x 30 cm without overlap of radiation fields * Life expectancy \>6 months (in the judgement of the investigator) * Patients who are able to comply with the protocol * Provision of signed and dated informed consent form * Clinically acceptable treatment plan Exclusion Criteria: * More than 3 painful bone metastases of the thorax requiring palliative radiotherapy (if more than one metastasis can be treated within the same treatment field, it will be counted as one metastatic site for the purpose of trial treatment). * Overlap of FLASH radiation fields with any previous or planned radiation fields to the same site * Patients with pathologic bone fractures in the treatment field * Patients with metal implants in the treatment field * Patients with symptomatic pneumonitis at the time of screening, or a history of symptomatic radiation pneumonitis * Patients with known contraindications to thoracic radiation * Patients who received or will receive cytotoxic chemotherapy and/or any prescribed systemic therapy known to impact tissue response to radiation, within 2 weeks prior or 1 week following their planned radiation treatment * Prior local therapy modality to the treatment site(s) within 2 weeks of study enrollment that, in the judgement of the investigator, might compromise interpretation of pain response * Patients with persistent toxicity \> Grade 1 from prior systemic therapy within the proposed treatment field (with the exception of alopecia and peripheral neuropathy) * Patients with pacemakers or other implanted devices at risk of malfunction during radiotherapy * Patients with any other medical condition or laboratory value that would, at the discretion of the investigator, preclude the patient from participation in this clinical investigation * Patients at known risk of enhanced normal tissue sensitivity to radiotherapy due to inherited predisposition or documented comorbidity that might lead to hypersensitivity to ionizing radiation * Patients enrolled in any other clinical studies that the investigator believes to be in conflict with this clinical investigation. * Patients who are pregnant or nursing
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As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Cincinnati, Ohio, 45229, United States
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OSF Healthcare Saint Francis Medical Center
Peoria, Illinois, 61637, United States