VAMOS v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
VMAT Radiotherapy for the Emergency Management of Metastatic Spinal Cord Compression.
IRAS ID
302325
Contact name
Rachel Pearson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
n/a, n/a
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC) is an oncological emergency that can if left untreated, cause permanent neurological damage along with significant pain. Definitive management for MSCC comprises of either surgery or radiotherapy. Currently there is a large variation in practice when it comes to managing MSCC with radiotherapy including the number of fields used and the depth that dose is prescribed to. Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) is a radiotherapy technique that uses multiple arcs of radiation as opposed to the traditional individual beams to deliver radiotherapy to the target site. The advantage of using a VMAT technique to deliver radiotherapy is that you have a greater confidence in achieving the desired dose to the target area whilst at the same time reducing dose delivered to surrounding normal tissue. Previously this technique was considered too time consuming to be used to manage this oncological emergency, but recent developments in artificial intelligence and programme scripting means that now using VMAT to treat these patients has now become a viable option. In this feasibility trial we are aiming to see if we can implement VMAT planning for MSCC in a timely manner to treat this oncological emergency. We will be looking at outcomes including time taken to deliver treatment, percentage of dose to target and the acute side effects post treatment (including pain flare, skin reaction, bladder and bowel side effects, nausea and vomiting). It is hoped that our study will demonstrate that it is possible to use VMAT when treating patients with MSCC in this emergency setting and that this can then be rolled out to other radiotherapy centres so that many patients can benefit from it.
It is important to point out that VMAT is routinely used in radiotherapy centres world-wide to deliver curative radiotherapy but not in this palliative setting.
REC name
South West - Central Bristol Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/SW/0102
Date of REC Opinion
3 Sep 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion