Radiation combo aims to fight cancer without drugs – but study never started
NCT ID NCT05578274
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study planned to test whether adding low-dose radiation to standard high-dose radiation could trigger an 'abscopal effect' – where untreated tumors also shrink. It was designed for adults with metastatic solid tumors. However, the study was withdrawn before any patients were enrolled, so no conclusions can be drawn.
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 (SBRT and LDRT)
- What this could lead to
- If it had worked, this could point toward a way to trigger the immune system to attack untreated tumors using only radiation, avoiding expensive immunotherapy.
- What could go wrong
- The study was withdrawn before enrolling any participants, so no results are available. The approach is still experimental and may not work in practice.
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
-
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.
- Expected to start
-
Jun 2025
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Finished
-
Jun 2026
- Lead sponsor
-
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
-
19 years and older
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Randomization study: Patients who can provide their written informed consent * Cohort study: Patients who do not consent to randomization and who are able to consent to a prospective cohort study and provide written informed consent * Age ≥19 years * Patients with histologically confirmed primary solid (irrespective of the status of the primary tumor) * Patients with ECOG performance status 0-2 * Patients planning stereotactic body radiotherapy for extracranial metastases * Based on RECIST v1.1, patients with at least one extracranial measurable lesion other than SBRT lesions * Patients with one or more measurable lesions, which are not suitable for SBRT or palliative radiotherapy and can be considered for LDRT (bone metastasis is not indicated for LDRT) * Patients with hematologic function suitable for radiotherapy (absolute neutrophil count ≥1,500/mm\^3, hemoglobin ≥9 g/dL, platelet count ≥100,000/mm\^3) * Patients with a life expectancy of 6 months or more according to the researcher's judgment Exclusion Criteria: * Patients participating in other clinical studies that may affect the efficacy/safety of this clinical study * Patients with brain metastasis * Patients planning SBRT for all measurable lesions due to oligometastasis * Patients with a history of radiotherapy for extracranial metastases within 3 months of the enrollment * Patients unable to cooperate with stereotactic body radiotherapy * Patients who are pregnant or planning to * Patients with advanced or multiple malignancies requiring aggressive treatment (excluding skin cancers other than melanoma or intraepithelial cancer) * Patients who have received systemic steroid therapy or immunosuppressive therapy within 2 weeks of enrollment - Patients with an (e.g. allergic disease, radiation pneumonitis, etc.) active autoimmune disease requiring systemic treatment within the past 2 years, evidence of clinically severe autoimmune disease, or syndrome requiring systemic steroid or immunosuppressive therapy (Patients who need intermittent use of bronchodilators, inhaled steroids, or topical steroid injections, hypothyroid patients on stable hormone replacement therapy, type 1 diabetes patients, or patients recovering from childhood asthma/atopic dermatitis are permitted) * Patients with active infection requiring systemic 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.
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