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CompletedNCT01498835SunRaSeUpdated Aug 28, 2017

Safety Study of Preoperative Sunitinib and Radiation in Soft Tissue Sarcoma

A Phase 1 interventional study of Sunitinib in Soft Tissue Sarcoma, sponsored by Heidelberg University. Completed at 2 sites in Germany. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2017-08-28.

Sponsored by Heidelberg University · Phase 1, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
9
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

To evaluate the toxicity of sunitinib concurrently given with irradiation for preoperative treatment of locally advanced or recurrent soft tissue sarcoma.

Read the detailed description

Although the introduction of multimodal treatment of soft tissue sarcoma resulted in great progress in STS treatment, local failure still occurs in 10-20% of STS patients. Therefore further improvement of local and systemic treatment is needed in order to achieve tumor control and limb salvage. The proposed study treatment will combine external beam radiation and orally administered sunitinib.

Sunitinib is a multiple receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) inhibitor with anti-angiogenic and anti-tumoral properties. For their key role in tumor development, RTKs are regarded as excellent targets for cancer chemotherapy. External beam radiation is widely used as neoadjuvant treatment for locally advanced soft tissue sarcoma.

The concurrent application of anti-angiogenic sunitinib appears reasonable, since STS are highly vascularized tumors and overexpression of VEGFR and other RTKs has been shown for various histologic soft tissue sarcoma subtypes. At first sight, the combination of antiangiogenic treatment and radiation seems to be contradictory, since anti-angiogenic treatment attacks tumor vasculature and radiation effects are decreased by hypoxia. Yet, in animal studies the concurrent application of radiation with tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as sunitinib or other antiangiogenic agents resulted in additive, if not synergistic antitumoral effects. These results can be explained by the superiority of the anti-tumoral activity of antiangiogenic agents over their hypoxia related, radiation weakening effects; or by the hypothesis of vascular normalization. It is well known that tumor vasculature is immature and ineffective in means of blood supply and oxygenation. In preclinical models, antiangiogenic agents balanced pro- and anti-angiogenic effectors which may result in maturation of tumor vasculature with improvement of blood flow and oxygen supply.

The combination of sunitinib as an anti-angiogenic and anti-proliferative agent thus might not only add the therapeutic effects of the RTK-inhibitor and external beam radiation but might additionally lead to a radiosensitizing effect due to tumor vessel normalization. The Purpose of this study is to assess the toxicity of the combined treatment and to gather preliminary data on treatment efficacy.

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Conditions studied

  • Soft Tissue Sarcoma

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Keywords

  • Soft tissue sarcoma
  • Radiation therapy
  • Sunitinib
03

In context

Sarcoma

1,668 studies on the registry are indexed under Sarcoma; 394 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 9 is below the median of 40 across 1,283 interventional studies indexed under Sarcoma.

Browse Sarcoma studies →

Lead sponsor

Heidelberg University is the lead sponsor of 279 studies on the registry; 17 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • histologically proven soft tissue sarcoma of any histology but GIST, Angiosarcoma, dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, Ewing Sarcoma or Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma
  • patients with primary tumors OR with local recurrences who did not receive prior radiation therapy OR with solitary metastatic lesions may be included
  • complete resection after neoadjuvant treatment is expected
  • age of 18 or older
  • ECOG performance score 0 or 1
  • normal organ and bone marrow function
  • ability to give written informed consent

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • medication with inhibitors or inducers of CYP3A4
  • prior therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors or conventional chemotherapy within 4 weeks before study inclusion
  • history of myocardial infarction, stroke or thromboembolic events
  • clinical signs of heart failure (NYHA 3 or 4)
  • anticoagulation with Vitamin K antagonists
  • acquired or hereditary coagulopathy
  • uncontrolled hypertension
  • uncontrolled intercurrent illness
  • women who are pregnant or breastfeeding
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
9 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Combined Sunitinib and irradiation

    Patients with locally advanced or recurrent soft tissue sarcoma will receive Sunitinib and irradiation as neoadjuvant treatment. Restaging and tumor resection will be performed 6 weeks after completion of sunitinib and irradiation.

    Drug: Sunitinib

Interventions

  • DrugSunitinib

    Patients will receive Sunitinib daily for 2 weeks prior to and then concurrently with irradiation as neoadjuvant treatment. Radiotherapy will be given as intensity modulated radiation therapy with a total dose of 50.4Gy in 28 fractions to each patient (5 1/2 weeks). Sunitinib will be given in two dose levels. The first dose level will be 25mg Sunitinib per os daily. The second dose level will be 37.5mg sunitinib per os daily. A dose modification schedule according to a 3+3 design will be applied for patient accrual.

    Also known as: Radiation therapy

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. To evaluate the dose limiting toxicity and maximal tolerated dose of sunitinib given concurrently with irradiation as neoadjuvant treatment in soft tissue sarcoma.

    Toxicity of the study treatment will be documented according to CTCAE 4.0 during and until 4 weeks after study treatment.

    Time frame: 12 weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. To evaluate the response to sunitinib given concurrently with radiation as neoadjuvant treatment in soft tissue sarcoma.

    Imaging response will be determined according to RECIST criteria comparing magnetic resonance imaging performed prior to and 6 weeks after completion of study treatment. Pathologic response will be determined evaluating the the fraction of non-viable tumor in the resection specimen.

    Time frame: 6 weeks after completion of study treatment.

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Study locations

2 sites
  • Helios Klinikum Bad Saarow
    Bad Saarow, 15526, Germany
  • University Medical Center Mannheim
    Mannheim, 68167, Germany
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Jakob J, Simeonova A, Kasper B, Ronellenfitsch U, Rauch G, Wenz F, Hohenberger P. Combined sunitinib and radiation therapy for preoperative treatment of soft tissue sarcoma: results of a phase I trial of the German interdisciplinary sarcoma group (GISG-03). Radiat Oncol. 2016 Jun 3;11:77. doi: 10.1186/s13014-016-0654-2. PubMed 27255678 ↗
  • Jakob J, Rauch G, Wenz F, Hohenberger P. Phase I trial of concurrent sunitinib and radiation therapy as preoperative treatment for soft tissue sarcoma. BMJ Open. 2013 Sep 18;3(9):e003626. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2013-003626. PubMed 24048627 ↗
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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 28, 2017, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01498835
Lead sponsor
Heidelberg University
Collaborators
German Research Foundation
Responsible party
Peter Hohenberger (MD PhD, Heidelberg University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Dec 23, 2011
Start date
Feb 2012
Primary completion
Nov 2014
Completion
Feb 2015
Last update
Aug 28, 2017

Study contacts

Peter Hohenberger, MD PhD
principal investigator · Heidelberg University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Aug 2017. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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