Can an amino acid boost brain radiation?
NCT ID NCT06328686
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This early-phase trial tests whether giving the amino acid arginine alongside whole brain radiation is safe and how best to give it (by mouth or IV). Ten adults with cancer that has spread to the brain will receive arginine daily during their 10-day radiation course. The goal is to find the dose that gets the most arginine into the blood, which may help the radiation work better.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Arginine (an amino acid supplement)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a way to make radiation therapy more effective for brain metastases.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very early, small trial with only 10 participants. It is testing safety and dosing, not yet whether it actually helps. The results may not lead to a proven treatment.
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
-
Early phase 1
The earliest testing in people: a first look at safety, in a very small group.
- Participants
-
About 10 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
Sep 2024
- Expected to finish
-
Dec 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- 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
-
18 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.
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: * Diagnosis of brain metastases from any primary cancer * Planned to undergo whole-brain radiation therapy (Hippocampal avoidant is ok) * No systemic anti-neoplastic agent concurrent with WBRT (memantine is ok) * Not inpatient at the time of treatment start * Age 18 or older * Able to consent for self Exclusion Criteria: * Patient unwilling/unable to receive daily arginine treatment (IV or oral) for the 10 days of WBRT * Systemic therapy continuing during WBRT * Creatinine \> 1.5 x the upper limit of normal * Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) \> 6x the upper limit of normal * Patient planned to be treated as an inpatient * Age \< 18 years * Adult not able to consent for self * Pregnant * Prisoners * Cognitively impaired/impaired decision-making capacity
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Metastatic malignant neoplasm in the brain are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
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.
-
The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
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
-
Emory University Hospital/Winship Cancer Institute
RECRUITINGAtlanta, Georgia, 30322, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a memory drug and precision radiation save thinking during brain cancer treatment?
- Can a new radiation method tackle multiple tumors at once?
- Can a tracer that hunts unstable iron light up hidden tumors?
- Vaccine trains immune system to hunt down cancer cells
- Gut radiation may revive immunotherapy in resistant cancers
- One shot: could a single radiation dose control metastatic cancer?