Fewer radiation sessions may be just as effective for thymic tumors after surgery
NCT ID NCT07693855
First seen Jul 09, 2026 · Last updated Jul 17, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This clinical trial is testing a shorter, more intense course of radiation therapy (called hypofractionated radiotherapy) for people who have had surgery for thymic epithelial tumors, including thymoma and thymic carcinoma. The goal is to see if this approach can keep the tumor from coming back in the chest while reducing side effects and protecting heart and lung function. Participants receive either proton or photon radiation over about 3 weeks, with the type chosen by their doctor and them together. The study will track tumor control, side effects, and quality of life for five years.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Radiation therapy (proton or photon)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this shorter radiation schedule could become a standard option after thymoma surgery, offering similar tumor control with fewer hospital visits and potentially less long-term toxicity.
- What could go wrong
- This is a single-arm, non-randomized study with only 69 participants, so results may not apply broadly. Radiation still carries risks of heart, lung, or esophageal side effects, and long-term outcomes are not yet known.
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 69 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Aug 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Apr 2035
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: 1. Thymic epithelial tumor, including thymoma or thymic carcinoma, confirmed by pathology. 2. Received radical thymothymectomy. 3. Masaoka-Koga stage I to III disease with an indication for postoperative radiotherapy. 4. Age \>= 18 years. 5. Karnofsky performance status \>= 70%. 6. Life expectancy \>= 1 year. 7. Sufficient bone marrow reserve, renal function, and liver function within 90 days prior to registration, defined as: white blood cell count \>= 2000/mm3; platelet count \>= 50,000/mm3; hemoglobin \>= 8 g/dL; serum creatinine \<= 2.0 mg/dL or estimated glomerular filtration rate \>= 30 mL/min; AST/ALT \<= 2.5 times the upper limit of normal. 8. Women of childbearing potential must have a negative qualitative serum or urine pregnancy test within 14 days prior to study entry. 9. Able to comply with study procedures and follow-up schedules and willing to provide study-specific informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Prior radiotherapy to the thorax. 2. Severe active comorbidities that, in the judgment of the investigator, make the patient inappropriate for study entry, interfere with safety or adverse event assessment, or limit compliance with study requirements, including: uncontrolled active infection requiring intravenous antibiotics at registration; transmural myocardial infarction \<= 6 months prior to registration; unstable angina or congestive heart failure requiring hospitalization \<= 6 months prior to registration; life-threatening uncontrolled clinically significant cardiac arrhythmias; hepatic insufficiency resulting in clinical jaundice and/or coagulation defects; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation or other respiratory illness requiring hospitalization or precluding study therapy at registration; uncontrolled psychiatric disorder. 3. Planned receipt of another investigational treatment during radiotherapy. 4. Planned concurrent chemotherapy during radiotherapy. Prior induction or neoadjuvant chemotherapy, or planned sequential adjuvant chemotherapy after adjuvant radiotherapy, is allowed. 5. Pregnant or breastfeeding women. 6. Women of childbearing potential and sexually active male participants who are unwilling or unable to use medically acceptable contraception during radiotherapy and for 3 weeks after completing treatment.
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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 places running it
3 sites. 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
Locations
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China Medical University Hospital
Taichung, Taiwan
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National Taiwan University Cancer Center
Taipei, 106037, Taiwan
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National Taiwan University Hospital
Taipei, 100229, Taiwan
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