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Not yet recruitingNCT07505979Updated Apr 13, 2026

SMART Trial: Cognitive Sparing Brain Radiotherapy for Multiple Brain Metastases

A Phase 2 interventional study of SRS and CS-WBRT in Brain Metastases From Solid Tumors, sponsored by National Taiwan University Hospital. Not yet recruiting. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-04-13.

Sponsored by National Taiwan University Hospital · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
90
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The goal of this phase II randomized trial is to determine if Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) or Cognitive Sparing WBRT (CS-WBRT) better preserves neurocognitive function than standard Hippocampal Avoidance WBRT (HA-WBRT) in patients with multiple brain metastases ( $\ge6$ lesions).

The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Which treatment best preserves cognitive function (memory and executive tasks) at 6 months post-intervention?
  • Can sparing the left hippocampus and corpus callosum (CS-WBRT) or using focal SRS reduce cognitive decline compared to bilateral sparing? Comparison Groups

Researchers will compare three arms to evaluate their impact on cognition and disease control:

  • Arm A (SRS): Focal high-dose radiation (15-20 Gy in 1 fraction) to intracranial lesions.
  • Arm B (CS-WBRT): Whole-brain radiation (30 Gy in 10 fractions) sparing the left hippocampus and corpus callosum plus Memantine.
  • Arm C (HA-WBRT): Whole-brain radiation (30 Gy in 10 fractions) with bilateral hippocampal avoidance plus Memantine.

Participant Tasks

Participants will:

  • Complete neurocognitive and neuropsychological tests (HVLT-R, TMT, COWAT, CANTAB) at baseline and follow-up.
  • Undergo contrast-enhanced brain MRI for planning and tracking tumor progression.
  • Take Memantine HCL daily for 24 weeks if assigned to the WBRT arms (B or C).
  • Provide blood samples for biomarker and genetic analysis (e.g., APOE, Tau).
  • Undergo olfactory function testing and complete quality-of-life questionnaires.
02

Conditions studied

  • Brain Metastases From Solid Tumors

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Keywords

  • Brain metastases
  • Cognitive Preservation
  • Hippocampal Avoidance Whole Brain Radiotherapy
  • Stereotactic Radiosurgery
03

In context

Brain Neoplasms

1,960 studies on the registry are indexed under Brain Neoplasms; 516 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 90 is above the median of 40 across 1,458 interventional studies indexed under Brain Neoplasms.

Browse Brain Neoplasms studies →

Lead sponsor

National Taiwan University Hospital is the lead sponsor of 2,563 studies on the registry; 569 are open to participants now.

Of its 11 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 2 (18%) have results posted.

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

04

Who can participate

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

Inclusion criteria

  1. Patients with a histologic diagnosis of non-hematopoietic malignancy and radiographic evidence of brain metastases
  2. Patients with brain metastasis outside a 5-mm margin around either hippocampus or corpus callosum on gadolinium contrast-enhanced MRI obtained within 30 days prior to registration
  3. Patients with 6 or more active or progressive brain metastases that have not been treated by radiotherapy or radiosurgery
  4. No evidence of diffuse leptomeningeal metastasis on gadolinium-enhanced MRI within 30 days prior registration
  5. Age ≥ 18 years
  6. Karnofsky Performance Status ≥ 60%
  7. Life expectancy ≥ 6 months.
  8. Women of childbearing potential and male participants must practice adequate contraception
  9. Patients must be able to comply with the study protocol and follow-up schedules and provide study-specific informed consent

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Prior radiotherapy to brain or radiosurgery to > 5 intracranial metastatic lesion(s)
  2. Clinical diagnosis of symptomatic leptomeningeal metastsases
  3. Contraindication to MR imaging such as implanted metal devices or foreign bodies, severe claustrophobia
  4. Severe, active comorbidities which, in the judgment of the investigator, would make the patient inappropriate for entry into this study or interfere significantly with the proper assessment of safety and adverse events of the protocol, or limit compliance with study requirements, defined as follows:

    1. Uncontrolled active infection requiring intravenous antibiotics at the time of registration
    2. Transmural myocardial infarction ≤ 6 months prior to registration
    3. Unstable angina or congestive heart failure requiring hospitalization ≤ 6 months prior to registration
    4. Life-threatening uncontrolled clinically significant cardiac arrhythmias
    5. Hepatic insufficiency resulting in clinical jaundice and/or coagulation defects
    6. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation or other respiratory illness requiring hospitalization or precluding study therapy at the time of registration
    7. Uncontrolled psychiatric disorder
  5. Will receive any other investigation agent or chemotherapy during cranial radiotherapy or radiosurgery
  6. Current use of Memantine HCL or Allergy to Memantine HCL
  7. Women of childbearing potential and male participants who are sexually active and not willing/able to use medically acceptable forms of contraception; this exclusion is necessary because the radiation treatment involved in this study may be significantly teratogenic
  8. Pregnant or breast-feeding women
05

Study design

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

Study arms

  • Experimental
    SRS

    Radiation: SRS

  • Experimental
    CS-WBRT

    Radiation: CS-WBRT

  • Active comparator
    HA-WBRT

    Radiation: HA-WBRT

Interventions

  • RadiationSRS

    Focal high-dose radiation (15-20 Gy in 1 fraction) to intracranial lesions

  • RadiationCS-WBRT

    Conformal Whole Brain Radiotherapy 3000 cGy in 10 fractions with Left Hippocampal Avoidance \& Corpus Callosum Sparing using RapidArc

  • RadiationHA-WBRT

    Conformal Whole Brain Radiotherapy 3000 cGy in 10 fractions with Bilateral Hippocampal Avoidance using RapidArc

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Preservation in neurocognitive function at 6 months after the start of brain radiotherapy for patients with multiple brain metastases

    The primary endpoint is defined as the z-scores of changes in HVLT-R memory score, and CANTAB® tasks at 6 months after the start of cranial radiotherapy or radiosurgery for multiple brain metastases. Investigators hypothesize that at least one of the three treatment arms will outperform the others in preserving neurocognitive function at 6 months

    Time frame: From enrollment to 6 months after the start of brain radiotherapy

07

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Apr 13, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07505979
Lead sponsor
National Taiwan University Hospital
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Apr 1, 2026
Start date
Apr 2026 (estimated)
Primary completion
Apr 2029 (estimated)
Completion
Apr 2031 (estimated)
Last update
Apr 13, 2026

Study contacts

Wen-Chi Yang, MD, PhD
Contact
claireds23@ntuh.gov.tw
+886912545812

Oversight

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

Not currently enrolling

This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Mar 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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