Can zapping cancer spots delay lung cancer progression?
NCT ID NCT05429320
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested whether a procedure called local ablative therapy (LAT) can help control metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) when a blood test shows signs of remaining cancer (minimal residual disease, or MRD). 37 patients with stage IV NSCLC received LAT to all visible cancer sites. The goal was to see if LAT could reduce MRD levels and delay cancer growth compared to continuing standard therapy alone.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- local ablative therapy (LAT) - a procedure that destroys cancer cells using heat, cold, or radiation
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this approach could offer a way to delay cancer progression and extend the time before patients need stronger systemic treatments.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-phase study (37 participants) with no control group in Part I. The treatment may not reduce MRD levels or improve survival, and side effects from ablation are possible.
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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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37 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jun 2022
- Finished
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Jan 2026
- 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.
Participant Inclusion Criteria (both Part I and Part II) Monitoring Phase * Stage IV NSCLC. Note that patients are eligible for the study if they have received definitive treatment for early stage disease, presuming that they remain candidates for local ablative therapy (LAT). * AJCC 8th Edition Stage IV disease * Has had up to four cycles of standard first-line systemic therapy +/- 3 weeks, defined as: a) platinum-doublet chemotherapy, b) ICI, or c) platinum-doublet chemotherapy + ICI at the baseline ctDNA draw being used for the study. * Patient initiated their ctDNA blood draws during their first 4 cycles of first line systemic therapy +/- 3 weeks (during their first 4 cycles, or up to 3 weeks before/after they have begun/ended their first 4 cycles of systemic therapy * Ten or less metastatic lesions (Note that this criterion includes lesions, not sites: 3 brain metastases = 3 lesions). ° Imaging defining extent of disease should be performed within 4 weeks of ctDNA blood draw 1. PET/CT scan or CT scan of the chest/abdomen/pelvis within 4 weeks of blood draw for ctDNA analysis 2. MRI or CT scan of the brain at baseline, AND within 4 weeks of blood draw for ctDNA analysis (optional, per discretion of treating physician) * All lesions amenable to LAT. o Note that patients who receive local therapy (radiation, surgery, or RFA) prior to enrollment for palliative purposes or to CNS lesions are eligible for enrollment if: a) all other eligibility criteria are met and b) at least one other lesion is amenable to LAT and is RECIST evaluable. All lesions treated for palliative purposes will also be counted towards the total number of lesions. * At least one site of measurable disease * ECOG Performance status 0 - 2. * Age ≥ 18 years. * The participant, or their legally authorized representative (LAR) are able to provide informed consent. * Adequate baseline organ function to allow SBRT to all relevant targets, as determined by the treating radiation oncologist based on lesion location, lesion size, and proximity to relevant organs at risk. Therapeutic Phase - Being Enrolled from Monitoring Phase * Has received at least 2 cycles of treatment, remains on first-line therapy * No evidence of radiographic RECIST 1.1\* progression (as defined above), as measured through the following imaging modalities: * 1\) PET/CT scan or CT scan of the chest/abdomen/pelvis within 4 weeks of blood draw for ctDNA analysis * 2\) MRI or CT scan of the brain at baseline, AND within 4 weeks of blood draw for ctDNA analysis (optional, per discretion of treating physician) * NR-VAF results within 4 weeks of enrollment * All active lesions amenable to LAT ° Note that patients who receive local therapy (radiation, surgery, or RFA) prior to enrollment for palliative purposes or to CNS lesions are eligible for enrollment if: a) all other eligibility criteria are met and b) at least one other lesion is amenable to LAT and is RECIST evaluable. All lesions treated for palliative purposes will also be counted towards the total number of lesions. Female subjects must either be of non-reproductive potential (i.e. post-menopausal by history: \>/= 60 years old and 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 pregnancy test (serum) within 2 weeks or a urine pregnancy test the day of treatment * Note that patients can either be: a) enrolled on the Monitoring Phase, followed by the Therapeutic Phase, or b) enrolled directly on to the Therapeutic Phase if they present for enrollment at the time that the therapeutic phase would be delivered and retrospectively would have met all of the criteria of the monitoring phase. * Example: If a patient has received 2 cycles of systemic therapy and has NR-VAF, then presents to the clinic for enrollment, they can be enrolled on to the Therapeutic Phase if they meet all of the criteria in the Therapeutic Phase and upon evaluating their prior ctDNA/imaging results would have also met the criteria for the Monitoring Phase. * This allowance will substantially increase accrual, as many patients will present after undergoing baseline ctDNA analysis, and does not affect the scientific question that the study addresses. Therapeutic Phase - Being Enrolled Directly into Therapeutic Phase As the criteria below indicate, patients can either be: a) enrolled on the Monitoring Phase, followed by the Therapeutic Phase, or b) enrolled directly on to the Therapeutic Phase if they present for enrollment at the time that the therapeutic phase would be delivered and retrospectively would have met all of the criteria of the monitoring phase. For example, if a patient has received 2 cycles of systemic therapy and has NR-VAF, then presents to the clinic for enrollment, they can be enrolled on to the Therapeutic Phase if they meet all of the criteria in the Therapeutic Phase and upon evaluating their prior ctDNA/imaging results would have also met the criteria for the Monitoring Phase. This allowance will substantially increase accrual, as many patients will present after undergoing baseline ctDNA analysis, and does not affect the scientific question that the study addresses. Inclusion Criteria for Patients Being Enrolled Directly into the Therapeutic Phase * Stage IV NSCLC. Note that patients are eligible for the study if, prior to the development of stage IV disease, they have received definitive treatment for early stage disease, presuming that they remain candidates for local ablative therapy (LAT). * AJCC 8th Edition Stage IV disease * Ten or less metastatic lesions (Note that this criterion includes lesions, not sites: 3 brain metastases = 3 lesions). o Imaging defining extent of disease should be performed within 4 weeks of ctDNA blood draw * All lesions amenable to LAT. * At least one site of measurable disease * Detectable ctDNA * ECOG Performance status 0 - 2. * Age ≥ 18 years. * The participant, or their legally authorized representative (LAR) are able to provide informed consent. * Female subjects must either be of non-reproductive potential (i.e. post-menopausal by history: \>/= 60 years old and 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 pregnancy test (serum) within 2 weeks or a urine pregnancy test the day of treatment. * Adequate baseline organ function to allow SBRT to all relevant targets, as determined by the treating radiation oncologist based on lesion location, lesion size, and proximity to relevant organs at risk. * Patient initiated their ctDNA blood draws during their first 4 cycles of first line systemic therapy +/- 3 weeks (during their first 4 cycles, or up to 3 weeks before/after they have begun/ended their first 4 cycles of systemic therapy. * Has received at least 2 cycles of treatment, remains on first-line therapy * No evidence of radiographic RECIST 1.1\* progression (as defined above), as measured through the following imaging modalities: * 1\) PET/CT scan or CT scan of the chest/abdomen/pelvis within 4 weeks of blood draw for ctDNA analysis * 2\) MRI or CT scan of the brain at baseline, AND within 4 weeks of blood draw for ctDNA analysis (optional, per discretion of treating physician) * NR-VAF results within 4 weeks of enrollment o For patients that do not have detectable ctDNA at enrollment in the monitoring phase, NR-VAF is defined as the emergence of detectable VAF on follow up blood draws * All active lesions amenable to LAT o Note that patients who receive local therapy (radiation, surgery, or RFA) prior to enrollment for palliative purposes or to CNS lesions are eligible for enrollment if: a) all other eligibility criteria are met and b) at least one other lesion is amenable to LAT and is RECIST evaluable. All lesions treated for palliative purposes will also be counted towards the total number of lesions. Exclusion Criteria: * At the time of therapeutic phase enrollment, complete response radiographically (no lesions to target) * Patients with CNS-only disease (due to limited capacity of peripheral blood ctDNA to detect CNS lesions) * Planned treatment by targeted agents (e.g. tyrosine kinase inhibitors) or patient not a candidate for systemic therapy * Serious medical co-morbidities precluding radiotherapy or ablation, determined at the discretion of the treating investigator. * At the time of therapeutic phase enrollment, pregnant or lactating women. * Physical limitation to undergo stereotactic radiotherapy. * Other active malignancy within the last year except for basal cell carcinoma of the skin and in situ malignancy even if without evidence of disease.
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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BAPTIST ALLIANCE - MCI (Data collection only)
Miami, Florida, 33143, United States
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Hartford Healthcare ALLIANCE (Data collection only)
Hartford, Connecticut, 06102, United States
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Bergen (Limited Protocol Activities)
Montvale, New Jersey, 07645, United States
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (All Protocol Activities)
New York, New York, 10065, United States
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth (Limited Protocol Activities)
Middletown, New Jersey, 07748, United States
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Nassau (Limited Protocol Activities)
Uniondale, New York, 11553, United States
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Suffolk-Commack (Limited Protocol Activities)
Commack, New York, 11725, United States
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Westchester (Limited Protocol Activities)
Harrison, New York, 10604, United States
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Memorial Sloan Kettering at Basking Ridge (Limited Protocol Activities)
Basking Ridge, New Jersey, 07920, United States
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