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CompletedNCT04443062BullseyeUpdated Feb 27, 2026

Lutetium-177-PSMA-617 in Oligo-metastatic Hormone Sensitive Prostate Cancer

A Phase 2 interventional study of 177Lu-PSMA-617 in Prostate Cancer, sponsored by Radboud University Medical Center. Completed at 4 sites in 2 countries. Open to male participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-02-27.

Sponsored by Radboud University Medical Center · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
58
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
Male
01

Study summary

Radioligand therapy (RLT) using Lutetium-177 labelled PSMA is a promising new therapeutic approach to treat metastatic prostate cancer. This tumor-specific treatment is directed against prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), which is overexpressed in prostate cancer cells. In the last few years, several lutetium-177 (177Lu, β emitter) labeled PSMA ligands have been developed and are currently applied to treat metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer patients. To date, there are no prospective randomized studies published using this treatment in the hormone sensitive setting or in oligometastatic prostate cancer. Therefore, this study we will evaluate the effect of 177Lu-PSMA in patients with hormone sensitive oligo-metastatic prostate cancer.

Read the detailed description

Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) radioligand therapy (RLT) is a promising new therapeutic approach to treat metastatic prostate cancer. This tumor-specific treatment is directed against PSMA, which is overexpressed in prostate cancer cells. In the last few years, several Lutetium-177 (177Lu, β emitter) labeled PSMA ligands have been developed and are currently applied in nuclear medicine departments worldwide to treat metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients.

A large retrospective study reported an overall biochemical response rate of 45% following multiple 177Lu-PSMA RLT cycles in mCRPC patients, while 40% of patients already responded after a single cycle. RLT with 177Lu-PSMA was generally well tolerated and 12% of the patients suffered grade 3 to 4 hematological toxicity. In addition, mild and often transient xerostomia occurred in 8%. A prospective study carried out in Australia confirmed these results recently. Based on these outcomes Endocyte (a Novartis company) is currently carrying out an international multicenter prospective registration study for end-stage mCRPC patients (NCT03511664).

Although these results are promising, it is noteworthy that most of the currently available data is retrospective and 177Lu-PSMA has only been evaluated in end stage prostate cancer patients to date. However, based on the mode of action, 177Lu-PSMA could also be effective in low volume disease because of the very high tumor uptake of radioligands in smaller lesions. Also, in a pilot study (NCT03828838) we were able to show that 177Lu-PSMA treatment is safe coupled with promising response rates. Hence, the present randomized trial to investigate the efficacy of 177Lu-PSMA in patients with oligo-metastatic (≤5 metastases) metastatic prostate cancer, prior to the hormone insensitive state. In this study, 58 patients will be included in a 1:1 ratio to receive either 177Lu-PSMA or the current standard of care (deferred androgen deprivation therapy).

At the end of the study period for answering the primary research question, patients randomized to the control arm are eligible to receive 177Lu-PSMA if they meet the end of the study period treatment (EOT 1) criteria and are willing to undergo 177Lu-PSMA.

EOT 1 is defined by:

  • Clinical progression determined by the treating physician (e.g. increasing pain from metastases)
  • A 100% increase in PSA after cycle one blood draw (BASELINE) during study. Exception: PSA increase in the first 12 weeks after the first treatment injection as was defined by the PCWG3 criteria.
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Conditions studied

  • Prostate Cancer

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Keywords

  • Prostate cancer
  • Hormone sensitive
  • Oligometastases
  • 177Lu-PSMA
  • Metastases directed therapy
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In context

Prostatic Neoplasms

6,370 studies on the registry are indexed under Prostatic Neoplasms; 1,400 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 58 is close to the median of 58 across 4,822 interventional studies indexed under Prostatic Neoplasms.

Browse Prostatic Neoplasms studies →

Lead sponsor

Radboud University Medical Center is the lead sponsor of 959 studies on the registry; 134 are open to participants now.

Of its 6 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 0 (0%) have results posted.

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
Male
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Histological proven adenocarcinoma of the prostate with sufficient archived tumor material. This material has to be archived till study closure.
  • Biochemical recurrence (PSA > 1.0 µg/l).
  • PSA-doubling time \< 6 months. Serum PSA progression is defined as 2 consecutive rising PSA values measured at least 1 week apart. The minimal start value is 0.2 µg/l.
  • 18F-PSMA-PET-CT positive metastases in bones and/or lymph nodes (N1/M1ab): ≥1, maximally 5 metastases.
  • Local treatment for oligo-metastases with radiotherapy or surgery appears to be no option anymore (due to prior treatment or the location of the metastatic lesions or if the patient refuse these treatments).
  • No prior hormonal therapy (including any androgen directed treatment such as finasteride, dutasteride, bicalutamide, apalutamide, abiraterone or enzalutamide) or taxane based chemotherapy (docetaxel or cabazitaxel); testosterone > 1.7 nmol/l.

Exception: local prostate cancer treated with local radiotherapy plus adjuvant ADT; these patients need to be stopped with ADT at least 6 months.

  • A detectable lesion on the 18F-PSMA PET/CT with significant PSMA avidity, defined by a SUVmax > 15 (partial volume corrected).
  • ECOG 0-1
  • Patients must have a life expectancy >6 months.
  • Laboratory values:

    • White blood cells > 3.0 x 109/l
    • Platelet count > 75 x 109/l
    • Hemoglobin > 6.2 mmol/l
    • ASAT, ALAT \< 3 x ULN
    • MDRD-GFR ≥ 50 ml/min
  • Signed informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • A known subtype other than prostate adenocarcinoma.
  • Previous PSMA based radioligand treatment.
  • Visceral or brain metastases.
  • Any medical condition present that in the opinion of the investigator will affect patients' clinical status when participating in this trial.
  • Prior hip replacement surgery potentially influencing performance of PSMA PET/CT.
  • Sjogren's syndrome
  • A second active malignancy other than prostate cancer.
  • Patients who are sexually active and not willing/able to use medically acceptable forms of barrier contraception.
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Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
58 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Interventional arm: 177Lu-PSMA radioligand therapy

    2 (+2) cycles of 7.4 GBq 177Lu-PSMA 6 weeks in between

    Drug: 177Lu-PSMA-617

  • No intervention
    Standard of care

    Deferred androgen deprivation therapy. However, the control arm can receive the study drug (177Lu-PSMA) in case of disease progression (defined in the study protocol).

Interventions

  • Drug177Lu-PSMA-617

    PSMA radioligand therapy

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. To compare the fraction of patients that have disease progression (and meet EOT 1) criteria within 6 months in a group of patients that are treated with 177Lu-PSMA and a group that follows the current standard of care.

    Disease progression (EOT 1) is defined by: * A 100% increase in PSA after cycle one blood draw (BASELINE) during study. Exception: PSA increase in the first 12 weeks after the first treatment injection as was defined by the PCWG3 criteria. Or; * Clinical progression determined by the treating physician (e.g. increasing pain from metastases).

    Time frame: 30 weeks

  2. A second primary aim is to compare the two arms for the time to disease progression and meeting EOT 1 criteria.

    Disease progression (EOT 1) is defined by: * A 100% increase in PSA after cycle one blood draw (BASELINE) during study. Exception: PSA increase in the first 12 weeks after the first treatment injection as was defined by the PCWG3 criteria. Or; * Clinical progression determined by the treating physician (e.g. increasing pain from metastases).

    Time frame: 30 weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. To evaluate the clinical efficacy of multiple doses 177Lu-PSMA radioligand therapy in patients with oligo-metastatic, hormone sensitive metastatic PCa by:

    The change in PSA after 177Lu-PSMA and proportion of achieving a ≥ 50% decrease in PSA from baseline.

    Time frame: 30 weeks

  2. To evaluate the clinical efficacy of multiple doses 177Lu-PSMA radioligand therapy in patients with oligo-metastatic, hormone sensitive metastatic PCa by:

    The changes in uptake (SUVmax) of 18F-PSMA PET/CT before and 6 months after 177Lu-PSMA.

    Time frame: 30 weeks

  3. To evaluate the clinical efficacy of multiple doses 177Lu-PSMA radioligand therapy in patients with oligo-metastatic, hormone sensitive metastatic PCa by:

    The size of soft tissue metastases on 18F-PSMA PET/CT and (whole body) MRI after 177Lu-PSMA.

    Time frame: 30 weeks

  4. Progression free survival defined as from the time from inclusion to date of evidence of clinical progression, death from any cause, PSA progression, or radiographic progression.

    Clinical progression is defined by the treating physician (e.g. increasing pain from metastases). PSA progression is defined as a ≥ 25% increase in PSA from nadir, with a minimum PSA of \>0,5 µg/l and which is confirmed by a second value ≥ 3 weeks later (i.e. confirmed rising trend). Within the first 12 weeks after treatment administration PSA increases will be ignored in the absence of other evidence of disease progression due to the flare phenomenon. If no decline occurs, date of ≥ 25% increase will be recorded. Radiographic progression is defined by the amount and size of the lesions. Where applicable PCWG3 and RECIST v1.1 criteria will be followed.

    Time frame: 30 weeks

  5. Time till initiation of ADT in patients receiving 177Lu-PSMA. ADT free survival is defined by the date any ADT (e.g. bicalutamide, LHRH, enzalutamide, abiraterone, etc.) is started or death related to PCa.

    Time frame: 30 weeks

  6. To evaluate the tolerability and toxicity of 177Lu-PSMA defined by NCI Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v5.0.

    Time frame: 30 weeks

  7. To evaluate the quality of life before and up to 6 months after 177Lu-PSMA RLT.

    The following questionnaires will be used: EORTC QLQ-C30, QLQ-PR25 \& xerostomia inventory.

    Time frame: 30 weeks

07

Study locations

4 sites
  • German Oncology Center
    Limassol, Cyprus
  • Amsterdam UMC
    Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • University Medical Center Groningen
    Groningen, Netherlands
  • Radboud University
    Nijmegen, Netherlands
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Rahbar K, Ahmadzadehfar H, Kratochwil C, Haberkorn U, Schafers M, Essler M, Baum RP, Kulkarni HR, Schmidt M, Drzezga A, Bartenstein P, Pfestroff A, Luster M, Lutzen U, Marx M, Prasad V, Brenner W, Heinzel A, Mottaghy FM, Ruf J, Meyer PT, Heuschkel M, Eveslage M, Bogemann M, Fendler WP, Krause BJ. German Multicenter Study Investigating 177Lu-PSMA-617 Radioligand Therapy in Advanced Prostate Cancer Patients. J Nucl Med. 2017 Jan;58(1):85-90. doi: 10.2967/jnumed.116.183194. Epub 2016 Oct 20. PubMed 27765862 ↗
  • Hofman MS, Violet J, Hicks RJ, Ferdinandus J, Thang SP, Akhurst T, Iravani A, Kong G, Ravi Kumar A, Murphy DG, Eu P, Jackson P, Scalzo M, Williams SG, Sandhu S. [177Lu]-PSMA-617 radionuclide treatment in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (LuPSMA trial): a single-centre, single-arm, phase 2 study. Lancet Oncol. 2018 Jun;19(6):825-833. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(18)30198-0. Epub 2018 May 8. PubMed 29752180 ↗
  • Prive BM, Noordzij W, Muselaers CHJ, de Jong IJ, van Oort IM, Janssen MJR, Van Rijk MC, van Gemert WA, Timmermans B, de Groot M, Mehra N, Gerritsen WR, Jonker MA, Alevroudis E, van der Gaag S, Koppes JCC, Sedelaar JPM, Vis AN, Vrachimis A, Oprea-Lager DE, Nagarajah J. [177Lu]-PSMA-617-PSMA-617 in oligometastatic hormone sensitive prostate cancer (BULLSEYE): an open-label, randomised, phase 2 study. Lancet Oncol. 2026 Apr;27(4):461-469. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(25)00762-4. PubMed 41926960 ↗
  • Prive BM, Janssen MJR, van Oort IM, Muselaers CHJ, Jonker MA, van Gemert WA, de Groot M, Westdorp H, Mehra N, Verzijlbergen JF, Scheenen TWJ, Zamecnik P, Barentsz JO, Gotthardt M, Noordzij W, Vogel WV, Bergman AM, van der Poel HG, Vis AN, Oprea-Lager DE, Gerritsen WR, Witjes JA, Nagarajah J. Update to a randomized controlled trial of lutetium-177-PSMA in Oligo-metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer: the BULLSEYE trial. Trials. 2021 Nov 4;22(1):768. doi: 10.1186/s13063-021-05733-4. PubMed 34736509 ↗
  • Prive BM, Janssen MJR, van Oort IM, Muselaers CHJ, Jonker MA, de Groot M, Mehra N, Verzijlbergen JF, Scheenen TWJ, Zamecnik P, Barentsz JO, Gotthardt M, Noordzij W, Vogel WV, Bergman AM, van der Poel HG, Vis AN, Oprea-Lager DE, Gerritsen WR, Witjes JA, Nagarajah J. Lutetium-177-PSMA-I&T as metastases directed therapy in oligometastatic hormone sensitive prostate cancer, a randomized controlled trial. BMC Cancer. 2020 Sep 14;20(1):884. doi: 10.1186/s12885-020-07386-z. PubMed 32928177 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Feb 27, 2026, 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
NCT04443062
Lead sponsor
Radboud University Medical Center
Collaborators
Prostaatkankerstichting, Advanced Accelerator Applications
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jun 23, 2020
Start date
Jul 20, 2020
Primary completion
Apr 1, 2025
Completion
Jan 1, 2026
Last update
Feb 27, 2026

Study contacts

James Nagarajah, Prof.
principal investigator · Radboud University Medical Center

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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