INPWT on Wound Complications & Clinical Outcomes After Lower Extremity Sarcoma Surgery Preop Radiation Therapy Patients (VAC)

February 26, 2026 updated by: Dr. J. Werier

The Effect of INPWT on Wound Complications and Clinical Outcomes Following Lower Extremity Sarcoma Surgery in Patients Treated With Preoperative Radiation Therapy: A Multicentre Randomized Controlled Trial

Project Summary - Aggressive soft tissue cancers are commonly treated with radiation followed by surgery. These wounds have a very high rate of wound complications and infection (30%), resulting in more surgeries, longer hospital stays and complex nursing care. Previous research shows that negative pressure (vacuum) dressings applied to the incision at the end of surgery can reduce these complications. The Investigator and his team across Canada will perform a clinical trial comparing standard dressings to these vacuum dressings. The results of this study have the potential to immediately improve the quality of life of soft tissue cancer patients. It can also decrease the amount of time required in hospital and reduce the cost to the Canadian healthcare system.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

This is a multi-center randomized clinical trial lead by the Investigator from the Ottawa Hospital and six other orthopedic cancer centers. The Investigator and the team will be recruiting 248 patients diagnosed with soft tissue cancer who will be treated with radiation therapy followed by surgery. Each of these patients will be randomly assigned to receiving either 7 days of vacuum dressing (Incisional Negative Pressure Wound Therapy) or a standard dressing. Besides this, patients will receive as identical care as possible. The team will then closely follow these patients over a period of 4 month to examine differences in wound complications, length of hospital stay, patient quality of life, patient satisfaction and function. Statistical analysis will be completed by The Ottawa Methods Center and ethical approval will be obtained at each participating site.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
291

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Ontario
      • Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1H 8L6
        • Recruiting
        • The Ottawa Hospital
        • Contact:
    • Quebec
      • Montreal, Quebec, Canada
        • Recruiting
        • McGill University Health Center
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients 18 years of age and older and are able to provide written consent.
  • Patients with lower extremity soft tissue sarcoma confirmed by tissue pathology.Each patient must have local cross sectional imaging (CT or MRI) and a staging CT chest.
  • Patients eligible for treatment with preoperative radiation therapy followed by limb salvage surgery.
  • Patients for which a primary closure must be attained at the time of surgery.
  • Patient must be available for postoperative follow-up at the treating center.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who are less than 18 years of age.
  • Patients with a benign disease or with prior radiation to the anatomic region in the remote past (not associated with current treatment radiation plans).
  • Patients who underwent surgical amputation
  • Patients in which primary closure was not achieved (including free flaps and split thickness skin grafts).
  • Patients with a life expectancy less than 120 days.
  • Patients who have an allergy or sensitivity to adhesive dressings.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: VAC Wound Dressing
Limb salvage surgery is performed on sarcoma patients 4-6 week post radiotherapy. These patients will be randomized to receive 7 days of Incisional Negative pressure wound therapy.
Other: Incisional Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (INPWT)
A total of 291 patients will be randomized to receive 7 days of Incisional Negative pressure wound dressing. The dressing will be removed 1 week after surgery.
Active Comparator: Control Wound Dressing
Limb salvage surgery is performed on sarcoma patients 4-6 week post radiotherapy. These patients will be randomized to receive standard gauze dressing with no negative pressure application.
Other: Wound Dressing
A total of 291 patients will be randomized for standard gauze dressing. This dressing requires no pressure and is applied according to the current standard dressing procedures of the institution. The dressing will be changed every 2-3 days.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Wound Complication including re-operation for superficial or deep site infection
Time Frame: 120 days post op
  • Wound requiring deep wound packing to an area greater than 2cm in length
  • Wound requiring persistent dressing changes for greater than 6 weeks. Wound packing and persistent requirement to change the dressing will reflect if the patient has a wound complication.
120 days post op

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
patient satisfaction
Time Frame: All within this 120 day post-op
Patient satisfaction will be evaluated by validated questionnaires.
All within this 120 day post-op
Functional outcome
Time Frame: 120 days postop
Secondary outcomes include length of stay in hospital,
120 days postop
Overall cost
Time Frame: 120 days
A cost analysis will be performed by evaluating the average inpatient cost per day, number of emergency department and clinic visits, cost of secondary procedures cost of INPWT and cost of home care visits.
120 days

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Dr. J. Werier

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Joel Werier, Surgeon

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
February 1, 2022

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
January 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
January 28, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 1, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 1, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 5, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 2, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 26, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 20170154

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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