Transcriptional Responses as an Indicator of Individualised Responses to Radiation Effects (RTGene 2)

March 23, 2026 updated by: Institute of Cancer Research, United Kingdom

Multi-panel Coding and Non-coding Transcriptional Responses as an Indicator of Individualised Responses to Radiation Effects in Radiation Therapy Patients

Peripheral blood samples will be taken with informed consent from radiotherapy patients before and during treatment fractions for sarcoma, breast, lung, gut, genitourinary and head & neck tumours at The Royal Marsden. Candidate genes identified by PHE, Columbia and/or in the literature as being specific to radiation responses will be assessed, together with genes relevant to systemic inflammatory and immune responses, to identify transcriptional responses for a range of doses and exposures on an inter-individual basis. Data will be analysed using existing and new statistical tools focused on count data modelling. The intended outcome is identification of a radiation specific panel of genes to inform individual radiation responses and if the results are favourable, a large scale follow up to this project is expected.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not 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

Biomarkers of radiation exposure are recognised to form an important component of the 'toolkit' for initial triage assessment of potentially exposed individuals in a mass casualty radiation accident or incident. Furthermore, radiation is an important medical tool and biomarkers can contribute to longer term assessment of radiation effects and public health risks. The gene expression assay has been gaining popularity as a sensitive biological marker of radiation exposure with the potential to be used for truly individualised dosimetry. The possibility for this assay to be used for a large scale mass-casualty scenario has been proposed and tested in a recent inter-comparison exercise. However, a fuller understanding of genetic factors that contribute to individual radiation risks is needed to inform tailored screening approaches - i.e. to identify a truly radiation specific panel of genetics responses for use as a transcriptional biomarker.

At Columbia University, research has shown that transcriptional effects have the potential to be used as individualised predictors of radiosensitivity to early and late effects. At Public Health England (PHE), recently established molecular counting nCounter technology allows direct counting of nucleic acid molecules (DNA, mRNA, miRNA and lncRNA) without the need for enzymatic reaction or amplification steps hence reducing time for data collection. This new gene expression analysis technique has been assessed for radiation biodosimetry applications with promising results. Furthermore, gene expression has shown a high degree of promise as a marker for late effects of radiation, for instance normal tissue reactions following curative radiotherapy for breast cancer.

In the earlier pilot RTGene study the investigators found genes that are consistently down-regulated and up-regulated towards the end of the radiotherapy treatment. The next stage of this work (RTGene 2) will be to validate the nCounter data for a small number of new genes consistently found in the top 6 of differentially expressed. Importantly, in an attempt to identify genes which are promising biomarkers of susceptibility to radiation-induced toxicity, expression levels will need to be compared with normal tissue reaction to IR, and combined with longer term radiation toxicity data to identify genes with the most pronounced expression level fluctuations during and after radiotherapy.

Peripheral blood samples will be taken with informed consent from radiotherapy patients before and during treatment fractions for sarcoma, breast, lung, gut, genitourinary and head & neck tumours at The Royal Marsden. Candidate genes identified by PHE, Columbia and/or in the literature as being specific to radiation responses will be assessed, together with genes relevant to systemic inflammatory and immune responses, to identify transcriptional responses for a range of doses and exposures on an inter-individual basis. Data will be analysed using existing and new statistical tools focused on count data modelling. The intended outcome is identification of a radiation specific panel of genes to inform individual radiation responses and if the results are favourable, a large scale follow up to this project is expected.

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.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

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.
25

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Locations

  • United Kingdom
    • Surrey
      • Sutton, Surrey, United Kingdom, SM2 5PT
        • The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust

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

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients undergoing radiotherapy for cancer

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age ≥18 years
  • Requirement for external beam radiotherapy (large-field RT, over at least 2 weeks) for sarcoma, breast, lung, gastrointestinal, head & neck or genitourinary tumours
  • Written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Previous radiotherapy
  • Concurrent chemotherapy/biological therapy or chemotherapy/biological therapy preceding radiotherapy by less than 4 weeks
  • Concurrent hormone therapy or hormone therapy preceding radiotherapy by less than 4 weeks

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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
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.
Blood donation during radiotherapy
Participants will be asked to donate a blood sample at 5 time points during and after radiotherapy
Procedure: Blood donation during radiotherapy
Participants will be asked to donate a blood sample at 5 time points during and after radiotherapy

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
Validation of new transcriptional techniques
Time Frame: 24 months after all participants have finished radiotherapy and donated blood samples
Using nCounter platform to validate biomarkers of individual radiation exposure, in vivo
24 months after all participants have finished radiotherapy and donated blood samples

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.
Institute of Cancer Research, United Kingdom

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Public Health England

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: Navita Somaiah, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK

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.
May 9, 2019

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.
June 1, 2026

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.
June 1, 2026

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).
January 14, 2019

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.
January 17, 2019

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.
January 18, 2019

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 27, 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.
March 23, 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.
March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • IRAS258792

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

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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