New MRI study aims to unlock secrets of prostate cancer recurrence
NCT ID NCT01834001
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Sep 17, 2026 · Updated 21 times
Summary
This study uses detailed MRI scans and targeted biopsies to investigate why some prostate cancers come back after radiation therapy. Researchers will follow 300 men who are scheduled for radiation or whose cancer has returned after earlier treatment. The goal is to better understand treatment failure and improve future care.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could help doctors better predict which prostate cancers will come back after radiation, leading to more personalized treatment plans.
- What could go wrong
- This is an observational study, not testing a new treatment. It may not directly improve outcomes for participants, and results may take years to influence 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.
- Participants
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About 300 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Nov 2013
- Lead sponsor
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A government research agency
The lead sponsor is the US National Institutes of Health.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
Men with untreated prostate cancer and men with presumed prostate cancer relapse
- Ages
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18 to 120 years
- Sex
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Male participants only
- 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: men with untreated prostate cancer. 1. Patients must have histologically or cytologically confirmed prostate cancer. The outside pathology report is acceptable for study entry. Every effort will be made to acquire the outside pathology slides to be confirmed by the Laboratory of Pathology, NCI. 2. Intermediate or high risk prostate cancer (clinical tumor stage T2b or higher, Gleason 7 or higher, or PSA greater than 10). Previously obtained MR imaging may be used for clinical T staging (extracapsular extension, seminal vesicle invasion). 3. No prior local therapy (prostatectomy, radiation, cryotherapy) or hormonal therapy for prostate cancer. 4. Age \>18 years. 5. ECOG performance status \<2 (Karnofsky \>60%). 6. Radiotherapy is planned as definitive therapy for prostate cancer. For patients not treated at NCI ROB patients must have a radiation oncologist who is willing to collaborate with the ROB and provide documentation of treatment. 7. Ability of subject to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document. INCLUSION CRITERIA: for men with presumed prostate cancer relapse 1. Patients must have a history of histologically or cytologically confirmed prostate cancer. The outside pathology report is acceptable for study entry. Every effort will be made to acquire the outside pathology slides to be confirmed by the Laboratory of Pathology, NCI 2. Age greater than or equal to 18 years. 3. ECOG performance status less than or equal to 2 (Karnofsky greater than or equal to 60%). 4. Radiotherapy (external beam irradiation alone or in combination with hormonal therapy and/or brachytherapy) was delivered as definitive therapy for prostate cancer and documentation is available. 5. Evidence of prostate cancer recurrence (biochemical relapse by the Phoenix definition, enlarging palpable prostatic abnormality, imaging evidence strongly suggestive of local failure) 6. Ability of subject to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: 1. Patients unable to tolerate MRI (patients with pacemakers, cerebral aneurysm clips, shrapnel injuries, or other implantable electronic devices or metal not compatible with MRI). 2. Evidence of metastases (pelvic lymph node involvement is not an exclusion criteria). For patients with recurrent prostate cancer, oligometastatic disease (3 or fewer visible metastases) is not an exclusion criterion. 3. Patients with coagulopathies who are at increased risk for bleeding or on active anticoagulation therapy (platelets less than 100,000 per mm\^3 or PT/PTT greater than 1.5 times the upper normal limit (UNL). Patients are eligible if the underlying cause is correctable. 4. Subject s weight exceeding MRI or radiation treatment table tolerance. 5. Patients with active urinary tract infections. 6. Patients with renal insufficiency with a GFR less than 30, due to the fact that they will not be able to undergo gadolinium enhanced MRI. 7. Uncontrolled illness or comorbidity that in the judgment of the PI would preclude participation in the study. 8. Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C active infection. 9. HIV-positive patients are ineligible because HIV is known to increase radiation toxicity and may result in under-dosing or alterations in the treatment plan that would alter the likelihood of local recurrence. Appropriate studies will be undertaken in HIV positive patients when indicated.
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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
1 site. 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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National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
RECRUITINGBethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can daily adaptive radiotherapy spare healthy tissue in prostate cancer?
- Can a radioactive tracer and MRI reveal prostate Cancer's true extent?
- Five-Fraction radiation plus hormone therapy tested against High-Risk prostate cancer
- Can a 10-Hour eating window fight cancer fatigue?