IMRiS
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A phase II study of intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in primary bone and soft tissue sarcoma
IRAS ID
164622
Contact name
Beatrice Seddon
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Joint Research Office (JRO)
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Primary bone and soft tissue sarcomas are rare tumours, collectively accounting for 1% of all malignancies diagnosed in the UK.
Radiotherapy plays an important role in the local management of these tumours. Cancer cells are damaged by the radiotherapy, and die, because they are unable to repair themselves. Side effects of radiotherapy result from normal tissue in the area around the cancer being damaged by the xrays. Radiotherapy is always planned to avoid healthy tissue as much as possible. However, cancers can have complicated shapes and it is difficult using the normal techniques to match the shape of the xray beams to the shape of the cancer.
IMRiS will look at giving radiotherapy in a way that is different to the way it is normally given to patients with sarcoma, using intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). IMRT is a way of shaping the radiotherapy treatment very closely round the tumour. IMRT is a well-established treatment that has been studied a great deal in other cancer types such as head and neck cancer where it has been shown to reduce side effects of radiotherapy, and some hospitals already use it to treat selected sarcoma patients. However, IMRT is not considered a routine treatment for sarcoma because it has not yet been tested properly in sarcoma clinical trials to prove that it is better than the usual way of giving radiotherapy. The aim of the IMRiS trial is to understand the benefits of IMRT for sarcoma patients, because we think that it will allow us to treat tumours more effectively, with less side effects.REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/1506
Date of REC Opinion
23 Oct 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion