New radiation technique aims to fight brain metastases while protecting memory
NCT ID NCT06518057
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Aug 14, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This phase 2 trial is testing a type of radiation called craniospinal irradiation that avoids the hippocampus, a brain area key for memory. It is for people with breast or lung cancer that has spread to the fluid and lining around the brain and spinal cord. The goal is to see if this approach can control the cancer longer than standard radiation while causing fewer thinking and memory side effects.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- craniospinal irradiation with hippocampal avoidance (proton therapy or VMAT)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a way to control cancer spread in the brain and spine while reducing memory and thinking problems from radiation.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-phase trial with only 22 participants, so results may not apply widely. The treatment may still cause side effects or fail to improve survival.
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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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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About 22 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Mar 2025
- Expected to finish
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Jul 2028
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: * Patients with breast cancer or NSCLC malignancies with leptomeningeal metastases established radiographically and/or through CSF cytology * Patients who are candidates for radiation therapy for the treatment of leptomeningeal metastases * Patients ≥ 18 years old * Karnofsky performance status (KPS) ≥ 60 or Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) ≥ 2 * The patient is able to provide informed consent * Hemoglobin \> 8 g/dL * Absolute neutrophil count \> 1,000/mm * Platelet count \> 100,000/mm * Participants born female at birth must either be of non-reproductive potential (i.e. post-menopausal by history \[≥ 60 years old, or with no menses for \> 1 year without an alternative medical cause\], OR history of hysterectomy, OR history of bilateral tubal ligation, OR history of bilateral oophorectomy) or must have a negative serum /urine pregnancy test within 3 weeks prior to starting radiation therapy (RT) * Patients with reproductive potential must agree to practice two highly effective contraceptive methods Exclusion Criteria: * Patients with multiple, serious major neurologic deficits per physician/investigator assessment including encephalopathy * Patients with extensive systemic disease and without reasonable systemic treatment options * Patients who are unable to undergo MRI brain and spine with gadolinium contrast * Previous radiotherapy to the intended treatment site that precludes developing a treatment plan that respects normal tissue tolerances * Gross ventricular disease * Brain metastases within 5 mm of the hippocampal contours not previously treated * Pregnant or lactating women
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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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Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium
RECRUITINGSeattle, Washington, 98109, United States
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Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone
RECRUITINGNew York, New York, 10016, United States
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University of California San Francisco
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGSan Francisco, California, 94143, United States
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