Radiotherapy With Iron Oxide Nanoparticles (SPION) on MR-Linac for Primary & Metastatic Hepatic Cancers
![]() |
The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Know the risks and potential benefits of clinical studies and talk to your health care provider before participating. Read our disclaimer for details. |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04682847 |
Recruitment Status :
Recruiting
First Posted : December 24, 2020
Last Update Posted : December 24, 2020
|
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
Condition or disease | Intervention/treatment |
---|---|
Liver Neoplasms Hepatic Cirrhosis Hepatic Carcinoma Liver Cancer Liver Metastases Liver Carcinoma Hepatocellular Carcinoma Hepatocellular Cancer Hepatic Atrophy | Drug: Ferumoxytol injection |
Setting/Participants:
The study will be performed at a single center - Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) in a setting of referral-based outpatients within the Allegheny Health (AHN) network.
25 patients with primary and metastatic liver tumors and hepatic cirrhosis eligible for liver SBRT will be enrolled in this study.
Study Interventions and Measures:
MRI cellular imaging of hepatic parenchyma with SPION will be performed on a 1.5T MRI (Elekta MR-Linac) on the day of radiotherapy planning. Hepatic SPION accumulation will be quantified and delineated to designate volumes for conformal avoidance on the MR-Linac during liver SBRT. This quantitative assessment will be compared to the already established methodology using CT/SPECT images developed at AGH. Treatment outcomes and toxicity due to improved conformal avoidance of functional normal liver volumes will be assessed for these patients. Dose-response of tumor and hepatic parenchyma to SBRT will be examined using MR-Linac imaging, pathologic criteria and molecular profiling of explanted livers in a subset of patients who received liver SBRT as a bridge to transplant.
Main outcome of the study:
Development and evaluation of a novel MRI-Linac based functional treatment planning platform with DICOM-compatible applications for visualization and subsequent conformal avoidance of residual, functionally active hepatic parenchyma in patients undergoing liver SBRT to primary and metastatic malignancies with the assessment of tumor and hepatic parenchyma response using MR imaging correlated with both pathologic and genomic criteria in a subset of patients receiving SBRT as a bridge to liver transplant.
Study Type : | Observational |
Estimated Enrollment : | 25 participants |
Observational Model: | Cohort |
Time Perspective: | Prospective |
Official Title: | Adaptive Stereotactic Radiotherapy With Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles (SPION) Cellular Magnetic Resonance Imaging on MR-Linac (MR-L-SPION) for Primary and Metastatic Hepatic Malignancies With Assessment of Treatment Response. |
Actual Study Start Date : | November 19, 2020 |
Estimated Primary Completion Date : | December 31, 2022 |
Estimated Study Completion Date : | December 31, 2022 |

Group/Cohort | Intervention/treatment |
---|---|
Primary and metastatic liver tumors and hepatic cirrhosis
This study is a single arm prospective study that will enroll 25 patients with primary and metastatic liver tumors and hepatic cirrhosis eligible for liver SBRT who will be receiving treatment at a single center - Allegheny General Hospital.
|
Drug: Ferumoxytol injection
This is a prospective observation study of 1.5T MR-Linac-SPION imaging with Ferumoxytol for radiotherapy planning in patients with pre-existing liver condition in order to increase safety of liver SBRT with assessment of tumor and hepatic parenchyma response.
Other Name: Feraheme™ (ferumoxytol) Injection |
- Develop a platform to maintain liver functionality during treatment for liver cancer [ Time Frame: Two Years ]
The primary goal of the study is to develop MRI-linac SPION based radiotherapy planning platform for detection and conformal avoidance of residual, functionally active hepatic parenchyma during liver SBRT for primary and metastatic hepatic malignancies in patients with hepatic cirrhosis. Treatment outcomes and toxicity due to improved conformal avoidance of functional normal liver volumes will be assessed for these patients.
Progression in Child-Pugh and MELD scores, disease free survival, and overall survival (with and without liver transplant) will be evaluated via Kaplan Meier analysis. Freedom from MELD score progression will be measured against residual volumes of functionally active hepatic parenchyma defined on MRI-linac SPION via Cox proportional hazard regression models. Statistical analysis will be conducted with MedCalc version 11.3.
- Develop applications for assessing the liver functionality of those with liver cancer [ Time Frame: Two Years ]
MRI and planning CT images will be co-registered using deformable image registration, and volumes with SPIO accumulation will be delineated as avoidance structures by the physician and clinical physicist. DICOM-compatible applications will be developed for contouring and quantitative assessment of functionally active volumes of hepatic parenchyma obtained from MR-Linac-SPIO images with subsequent conformal avoidance in the beam placement process during 3-D Conformal radiotherapy planning.
A non-contrast enhanced liver MR images will be acquired per fraction with propagation of the previously identified avoidance volumes in the adapted plans.
Follow-up MR-imaging of the patients will be obtained to assess tumor and hepatic parenchyma response treatment.
- Examine the dose-response of tumor and liver tissue in patients who received liver transplant after receiving SBRT [ Time Frame: Two Years ]
The dose-response of tumor and hepatic parenchyma to SBRT will be examined using MR imaging (on MR-Linac), pathologic criteria and molecular profiling of explanted livers in a subset of patients who received liver SBRT as a bridge to transplant.
In patients undergoing liver transplant MRI data sets will be merged with 3D dosimetry data and evaluated by a clinical physicist. Radiographic liver responses will be compared with explant liver pathology. The pathologic and genomic analysis will document both tumor and hepatic parenchymal response to SBRT. The chronology of tumor and hepatic parenchymal response and regeneration to radiotherapy will be evaluated. Initial 3D dosimetry will be combined with the pathologic assessment to determine any dose threshold for healthy liver regeneration following SBRT with MR-Linac SPION functional imaging.
Biospecimen Retention: Samples With DNA

Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
Ages Eligible for Study: | 18 Years to 89 Years (Adult, Older Adult) |
Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
Sampling Method: | Probability Sample |
Inclusion Criteria:
- Patients age 18-89 years
- Women of childbearing age must have a negative urine/serum pregnancy test (per standard of care) and must use an acceptable method of contraception, including abstinence, a barrier method (diaphragm or condom), Depo-Provera, or an oral contraceptive, for the duration of the study Women beyond childbearing are not required to use contraception.
- Child-Pugh A or B liver function;
- Child-Pugh C liver function for transplant eligible patients only.
- Single or multinodular tumors (up to four) are permitted.
- Patients required to have more than 30% of functionally active uninvolved liver outside radiation target volume;
- No prior liver radiation, including radioembolization;
- ECOG (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) performance score >=2
- Absence of extrahepatic disease.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Patients over 90 year of age
- Bilirubin x3 upper limit of normal;
- AST (aspartate aminotransferase) or ALT (alanine transaminase) x6 upper limit of normal;
- Hemoglobin less than 80 g/L;
- Patients with recurrent ascites (paracentesis q ≥2 weeks);
- Patients with history of hypersensitivity to Feraheme or any other IV iron products;
- Patients with hemochromatosis (iron overload).

To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT04682847
Contact: Clinical Trials Coordinator | 412.330.6151 | ClinicalTrials@AHN.ORG |
United States, Pennsylvania | |
Allegheny General Hospital | Recruiting |
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15212 | |
Contact: Samantha Campbell 412-330-6151 ClinicalTrials@AHN.ORG |
Principal Investigator: | Alexander Kirichenko, MD, PhD | Allegheny Singer Research Institute (also known as Allegheny Health Network Research Institute) |
Responsible Party: | Alexander Kirichenko, Associate Professor Temple University School of Medicine System Director Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy and GI Cancer Programs Division of Radiation Oncology Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute, Allegheny Singer Research Institute (also known as Allegheny Health Network Research Institute) |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT04682847 |
Other Study ID Numbers: |
2020-212 |
First Posted: | December 24, 2020 Key Record Dates |
Last Update Posted: | December 24, 2020 |
Last Verified: | December 2020 |
Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement: | |
Plan to Share IPD: | No |
Plan Description: | Only de-identified data will be shared with collaborators of the trial. |
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product: | Yes |
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product: | No |
Liver Liver Cancer Liver Carcinoma Liver Metastases |
Carcinoma Neoplasm Metastasis Carcinoma, Hepatocellular Liver Neoplasms Liver Cirrhosis Atrophy Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial Neoplasms by Histologic Type Neoplasms Neoplastic Processes Pathologic Processes |
Adenocarcinoma Digestive System Neoplasms Neoplasms by Site Digestive System Diseases Liver Diseases Pathological Conditions, Anatomical Ferrosoferric Oxide Hematinics Parenteral Nutrition Solutions Pharmaceutical Solutions |