Combination Radiotherapy and Radiopharmaceutical Therapy Treatment Planning for Thyroid Cancer

June 26, 2026 updated by: Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins
The goal of this study is to evaluate combined radioactive iodine (RAI, 131-I) and external beam radiotherapy (XRT) to optimize the radiation dose delivered to treat well differentiated thyroid cancers (DTC) with iodine-avid metastases. The investigators hypothesize that precise dosimetric planning will permit this combined RAI-XRT radiotherapeutic approach to be safe and permit higher tumor radiation doses than could otherwise be delivered. Patients with metastatic well-differentiated DTC) that is not completely resectable with macroscopic invasion of tumor into cervical soft tissues and/or non-resectable distant metastases, are the target study population. The primary objective is to evaluate safety as defined by the incidence of maximum grade 3 or greater NCI CTCAE toxicity observed during the treatment period and for the first 30 days following completion of radiotherapy. Secondary endpoints will evaluate efficacy at 6 months and feasibility of this combination to deliver a minimum cumulative dose of 80 Gy to the index tumors selected prior to treatment initiation. The investigators plan to enroll 48 subjects at an accrual rate of 1 subject per month over a study duration of 4 years.

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

The study goal is to evaluate combined radioactive iodine (RAI, 131-I) and external beam radiotherapy (XRT) to optimize the radiation dose delivered to treat well-differentiated thyroid cancers (DTC) with iodine-avid metastases, hypothesizing that this combination approach is safe and enables delivery of higher local radiation doses than could otherwise be safely delivered with either radiotherapeutic modality alone. This is an open-labeled, phase 1 clinical trial design that will enroll study subjects with recurrent DTC that is not completely resectable with macroscopic invasion of tumor into cervical soft tissues and/or non-resectable distant metastases. Study subjects will have a sub-therapeutic level of lesional RAI uptake demonstrated in either a pre-treatment diagnostic scan or a previous post-treatment radioiodine scan, making it unlikely that the patient would fully benefit from RAI therapy alone. The primary objective is evaluate safety as defined by the incidence of maximum grade 3 or greater NCI CTCAE grade toxicity observed during the treatment period and for the first 30 days following completion of radiotherapy. Additional secondary endpoints will evaluate efficacy at 6 months and feasibility of this combination to deliver a minimum cumulative dose of 80 Gy (66 Gy, Equivalent dose in 2Gy fractions (EQD2); 2 Gy per fraction) to the index tumors (up to 3 in each study subject) selected prior to treatment initiation. The investigators plan to enroll 48 subjects at an accrual rate of 1 subject per month over a study duration of 4 years.

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.
48

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.
  • Phase 1

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 Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21287
        • Recruiting
        • The Johns Hopkins SKCCC
        • Contact:
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • George Sgouros, PhD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Robert Hobbs, PhD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Paul Ladenson, MD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Prasanna Santhanam, MBBS

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 to 85 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion:

  • 18 and 85 years, inclusive.
  • Histologically confirmed papillary or follicular thyroid carcinoma, collectively referred to as differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC), that is incompletely responsive to initial surgery +/- 131-Iodine as established by anatomic imaging (CT, MRI, and Ultrasound).
  • DTC that is not completely resectable with macroscopic invasion of tumor into cervical soft tissues and/or non-resectable distant metastases.
  • Iodine avid residual disease, but with a sub-therapeutic level of lesional radioiodine uptake demonstrated in either a pre-treatment diagnostic scan or a previous post-treatment radioiodine scan, making it unlikely that the patient would benefit from radioiodine therapy alone.
  • Adequate organ function, including: a) adequate renal function, defined as a measured creatinine clearance >70 ml/min/1.73 m2 or normal radioisotope glomerular filtration rate (GFR); and b) adequate hematologic function, defined as a platelet count > 50,000 cells/mm3 and an absolute neutrophil count (ANC) > 500 cells/mm3
  • Life expectancy of at least 8 weeks.
  • Karnofsky performance status (KPS) > 50%
  • Patients must have adequately recovered from the effects of any prior chemotherapy, as determined by the treating physician and study team, based in part on organ function defined above. Toxicities from previous therapies must have recovered to CTCAE v5.0 grade 2 or better.
  • Patients with previously identified cardiac disease will be eligible, as Sodium Iodide I-131 (131I NaI) is not expected to cause cardiac dysfunction

Exclusion:

  • Patient is pregnant or breastfeeding.
  • Patient is sexually active, premenopausal, and does not agree to use accepted, effective forms of contraception.
  • Any criteria that would contraindicate radioiodine therapy or external beam radiotherapy.
  • Patient having alimentary toxic aleukia (ATA) low and intermediate risk tumors, not meeting the guidelines for either radioactive iodine (RAI) treatment or External beam radiotherapy (EBRT).
  • Patient with advanced central nervous system (CNS) metastatic disease, critical lesions in the hip and spine, etc. that would make RAI treatment prior to EBRT potentially harmful, with respect to worsening of disease as a result of the recombinant thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) stimulation.
  • Patients having recent exposure to iodinated contrast (within 6 weeks, that could render RAI treatment ineffective).

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: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

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.
Other: High-risk thyroid cancer patients
All study patients will have histologically confirmed recurrence of thyroid cancer that is incompletely responsive to initial surgery.
Combination product: Combination treatment (CXRPT) of external beam radiation (XRT) plus radioactive iodine (RAI)
To safely administer a minimum cumulative dose of external beam radiation to up 3 index tumors per patient, supplemented radiation dose delivered by radioactive iodine (RAI)
Other Names:
  • radiopharmaceutical (RPT)

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
Safety of combined therapy of XRT plus RAI measured by NCI-CTCAE toxicity
Time Frame: During external beam radiation therapy (over a 2 week period)
Toxicity of combined XRT plus RAI defined by the incidence of grade 3 or greater toxicities as measured with National Cancer Institutes-Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE)
During external beam radiation therapy (over a 2 week period)
Safety of combined therapy of XRT plus RAI measured by NCI-CTCAE toxicity
Time Frame: Within 30 days of completing external beam radiation therapy
Toxicity of combined XRT plus RAI defined by the incidence of grade 3 or greater toxicities as measured with National Cancer Institutes-Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE)
Within 30 days of completing external beam radiation therapy

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
Tumor Response (1)
Time Frame: 6 months
Measure tumor response upon SPECT imaging
6 months
Tumor Response (2)
Time Frame: 6 months
Measure tumor response by Response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (RECIST) criteria
6 months
Tumor Response (3)
Time Frame: 6 months
Measure tumor response by change in unstimulated serum thyroglobulin (with Thyroglobulin Antibody).
6 months

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.
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins

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.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)

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: Harry Quon, MD, Johns Hopkins, School of Medicine, Radiation Oncology

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.
March 17, 2021

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.
December 1, 2027

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.
December 1, 2030

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).
May 3, 2021

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.
May 17, 2021

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.
May 19, 2021

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.
June 30, 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.
June 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.
June 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.
  • J2066
  • IRB00241274 (Other Identifier: JHIRB)
  • R01CA240779 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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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