New radiation boost strategy aims to spare rectal cancer patients from surgery
NCT ID NCT03051464
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jul 01, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study tests two ways of giving extra radiation after standard chemoradiation to people with early-stage rectal cancer. The goal is to see which method helps more people achieve a complete response, so they can avoid major surgery and keep their rectum. About 131 participants will be randomly assigned to receive either an external beam boost or a brachytherapy boost.
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 2/3
Runs two stages together: whether the treatment works, then large-scale confirmation.
- Participants
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About 131 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Apr 2017
- Expected to finish
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Jan 2030
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 to 80 years
- 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.
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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: * Rectal cancer patients, clinically staged as T2-T3a,b N0-1 by MRI or endoscopic/trans-rectal ultrasound * Rectal cancer staged as N0-1 by MRI or EUS/TRUS * No metastatic lesion * Rectal tumor occupying less than half of the circumference * Tumor less than 5 cm on its largest dimension * Tumor located at less than 10 cm from the anal verge * Tumor penetration less than 5 mm in the mesorectal fat * Tumor accessible for brachytherapy * Lumen accessible for colonoscopy * Patient should be a suitable candidate for brachytherapy and chemotherapy * Older than 18 years of age * Adequate birth control measures in women of childbearing potential * Written informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Patients with previous pelvic radiation * Evidence of distant metastasis * Extension of malignant disease to the anal canal * Tumors staged as T4 * Tumors larger than 5 cm in length
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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
4 sites in 2 countries. 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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Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec
RECRUITINGQuébec, Quebec, G2L2Z3, Canada
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Jewish General Hospital
RECRUITINGMontreal, Quebec, H3T 1E2, Canada
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Le Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montreal
RECRUITINGMontreal, Quebec, H2X0A9, Canada
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UT Southwestern Medical Center
RECRUITINGDallas, Texas, 75390, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Could a nasal tube replace a temporary ileostomy after rectal cancer surgery?
- Can a shorter radiation course spare the rectum in rectal cancer?
- Blood test and CT combo may spare rectal cancer patients a second surgery
- Radiation may spare early rectal cancer patients from radical surgery
- New drug cocktail aims to shrink rectal tumors and avoid colostomy
- Vaccinia virus targets rectal tumors in new immunotherapy combo