Can a simple dilator prevent radiation side effects in anal cancer patients?
NCT ID NCT04094454
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study is for women with anal cancer who need pelvic radiation. It tests whether using a vaginal dilator during each radiation session can reduce the risk of vaginal narrowing (stenosis) after treatment. Half of the 60 participants will use the dilator during radiation, and the other half will not. The goal is to see if this simple device can cut the rate of vaginal narrowing in half, from 50% to 25%.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 60 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2019
- Expected to finish
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Apr 2027
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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Female 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: * Female patient * Histologically confirmed squamous anal cancer * Indication for definitive or postoperative radiotherapy * ECOG 0-2 * Age \> 18 years * Written informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * patients refusal or incapability of informed consent * no vaginal dilatation possible prior to radiation treatment start * prior pelvic irradiation (if direct field border or even overlap of radiation fields assumed) * participation in another clinical trial which might influence the results of the DILANA trial * pregnancy/nursing period or inadequate contraception in women with child bearing potential
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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.
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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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University Hospital of Heidelberg, Radiation Oncology
RECRUITINGHeidelberg, 69120, Germany
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can a shorter radiation course beat anal cancer?
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