A Phase 1/2 interventional study of Radiation Therapy in Spinal Neoplasms, sponsored by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Active, not recruiting at 1 site in United States. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-02.
Sponsored by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center · Phase 1/2, Interventional, and Treatment
The goal of this clinical research study is to find out if stereotactic spine radiotherapy is safe and effective in the treatment of metastatic spine tumors. The feasibility of this type of treatment will be studied as will any side effects related to the treatment. The precision and accuracy of the CT-on-rails will also be studied.
CT-On-Rails or Trilogy is a system that places the radiation treatment machine in the same room as the CT scanner so that the CT scanner can help deliver radiation more precisely.
You will have a MRI of the spine within 1 month of registration on this study. You will also fill out a health survey (5 minutes), a symptom inventory ( 5 minutes), and a Brief Pain Inventory (5 minutes) within 1 week of registration.
A pretreatment feasibility study will first be performed to determine the precision, accuracy, and reproducibility with which the target volume and critical normal structures (e.g. spinal cord) can be positioned relative to the radiation beams for spine tumors; this will consist of a CT scan.
Patients will have a CT-simulation. The simulation is like a CT scan where a special body frame is used to keep the patient from moving during scanning and later treatment.
You will be asked questions about your medical history and have a complete neurological exam during your first consultation. The neurological exam involves testing upper and lower motor strength, sensation to light touch, reflexes, mental exam, and way you walk. MRI of the spine must be performed within 1 month of registration. You will be asked to complete 3 questionnaires to evaluate your symptoms and pain. Each questionnaire will take around 5 minutes to complete, and should be completed within 1 month of being enrolled in the study.
All patients will be treated with radiation therapy that is guided by the CT-on-Rails or Trilogy procedure. Patients will receive a CT scan immediately before the treatment in the same room of the treatment using CT-On-Rails or Trilogy. There will be a total of 3 treatments over a period of 2 weeks.
Monitoring of side effects will be focused on neurological, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, and hematological systems. Every attempt will be made to have the patient complete the prescribed course of radiation to maximize the beneficial effect of treatment. However, if there is severe side effects, radiation treatment will be stopped and patients will be taken off study.
You will have follow up visits once a week during radiation treatment, scheduled on the same day as radiation. After treatment, you will have telephone, mail, or follow-ups per fax scheduled at 2 and 4 weeks,and 2 months post radiation. You will have follow up visits scheduled at 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months, then every six months for the rest of your life. At all follow-up visits, you will be asked questions about your medical history, have a neurological exam, and neurologic function will be evaluated. Any pain medication you are taking will be noted. You will have an MRI of the spine at 3, 6, 9, 12,18, and 24 months, then once a year for the rest of your life. You will also be asked to complete 3 questionnaires to evaluate your symptoms and pain. Each questionnaire will take around 5 minutes to complete.
This is an investigational study. The CT-on-rails and Trilogy linear accelerator are FDA-approved medical devices and are commercially available, however, the way these two devices are being used is investigational. Up to 150 patients will take part in this study. All will be enrolled at M. D. Anderson.
18 studies on the registry are indexed under Spinal Neoplasms; 5 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 150 is above the median of 71 across 11 interventional studies indexed under Spinal Neoplasms.
Browse Spinal Neoplasms studies →M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is the lead sponsor of 3,047 studies on the registry; 578 are open to participants now.
Of its 612 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 409 (67%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
A 0–100 scale of how well someone can carry out everyday activities. 100 is no complaints and no signs of illness; 70 is able to look after yourself but not to work or keep up normal activity; 50 is needing considerable help and frequent medical care.
Studies often ask for 60 or 70 and above. Your doctor gives the score.
Metastases
Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Karnofsky performance status (KPS)
A 0–100 scale of how well someone can carry out everyday activities. 100 is no complaints and no signs of illness; 70 is able to look after yourself but not to work or keep up normal activity; 50 is needing considerable help and frequent medical care.
Studies often ask for 60 or 70 and above. Your doctor gives the score.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Radiation Therapy using CT-on-Rails or Trilogy procedure. Participants prescribed to receive 9 Gy x 3 so that a peripheral dose of 27 Gy is given to the tumor.
Radiation: Radiation Therapy
Three radiation treatments guided by the CT-on-Rails or Trilogy procedure over a period of 2 weeks. Participants prescribed to receive 9 Gy x 3 so that a peripheral dose of 27 Gy is given to the tumor.
Patient Response (Pain Relief)
The validated Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI), and SF-12v2 Health Survey used to assess changes in these indicators compared to pre-treatment baseline. Response determined by follow-up questionaires. Time to maximal pain relief is the time from the first day of irradiation until the lowest pain score for average pain after radiotherapy. The "worst pain score" from BPI used as the marker for treatment success or failure.
Time frame: Baseline, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months, then every six months
Started Oct 2002 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Oct 2028, 312 months after the start.
Since we started tracking on Sep 25, 2026, the dates moved once, on Oct 2, 2026: primary completion Oct 2026 → Oct 2028 and completion Oct 2026 → Oct 2028.
Earlier changes are on the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is active, not recruiting, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.