A Study of Photobiomodulation (PBM) Therapy in People With Oral Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GVHD) After Stem Cell Transplant

May 20, 2026 updated by: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

A Multi-Center, Phase II, Randomized Double-Blind Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Photobiomodulation for the Treatment of Oral Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease After Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation (the LIGHT Trial)

The purpose of this study is to find out whether photobiomodulation/PBM therapy using the Thor LX2.3 therapy system is a safe and effective treatment for oral Graft-Versus-Host Disease/GVHD.

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.

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.
44

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 2

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
      • Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
        • Recruiting
        • National Institute of Health (Data Collection AND Specimen Analysis)
        • Contact:
    • New Jersey
      • Basking Ridge, New Jersey, United States, 07920
        • Recruiting
        • Memorial Sloan Kettering at Basking Ridge (Consent Only)
        • Contact:
          • Alina Markova, MD
          • Phone Number: 646-608-2342
      • Middletown, New Jersey, United States, 07748
        • Recruiting
        • Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth (Consent only)
        • Contact:
          • Alina Markova, MD
          • Phone Number: 646-608-2342
      • Montvale, New Jersey, United States, 07645
        • Recruiting
        • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center @ Bergen (Consent only)
        • Contact:
          • Alina K Markova, MD
          • Phone Number: 646-608-2342
    • New York
      • Commack, New York, United States, 11725
        • Recruiting
        • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center @ Commack (Consent Only)
        • Contact:
          • Alina K Markova, MD
          • Phone Number: 646-608-2342
      • Harrison, New York, United States, 10604
        • Recruiting
        • Memorial Sloan Kettering Westchester (Consent Only)
        • Contact:
          • Alina Markova, MD
          • Phone Number: 646-608-2342
      • New York, New York, United States, 10065
        • Recruiting
        • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (All Protocol Activities)
        • Contact:
          • Alina Markova, MD
          • Phone Number: 646-608-2342
      • Uniondale, New York, United States, 11553
        • Recruiting
        • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center @ Nassau (Consent only)
        • Contact:
          • Alina K Markova, MD, PhD
          • Phone Number: 646-608-2342
    • Pennsylvania
      • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15213
        • Recruiting
        • University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (Data Collection Only)
        • 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

4 years and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Allo-HCT recipients
  • Age ≥ 4 years-old
  • Oral cGvHD with NIH-modified OMRS score ≥ 3 who have failed ≥ 1 line of therapy, including topical corticosteroids..
  • No change in systemic immunosuppressive therapy (type or intensity level) within 2 weeks prior to enrollment.
  • If a patient is currently using another oral topical treatment for mouth lesions/symptoms, patient must be stable on this treatment for ≥2 weeks prior to study enrollment. Patient may continue same topical dose/frequency during the study period.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Presence of an active uncontrolled infection. Subjects with a controlled infection receiving definitive therapy for 48 hours prior to enrollment are eligible.
  • Personal history of mucosal head and neck cancer in the past 5 years.
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding.
  • The subject or guardian is unable to give informed consent or unable to comply with the treatment protocol including appropriate supportive care, follow-up, and research tests.
  • Any serious medical or psychiatric illness that could, in the Investigator's opinion, potentially interfere with the completion of treatment according to this protocol.

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.
Active Comparator: Adult and pediatric patients who received an allogeneic stem cell transplant (allo-HCT)
Participants are Allo-HCT recipients
Device: Photobiomodulation Therapy
Participants with a history of allo-HCT and diagnosis with oral chronic GvHD randomized to the treatment arm will be treated with oral photobiomodulation/PBM (via Thor LX2.3 system device) for 28 days
Other Names:
  • PBM Therapy
  • Thor LX2.3 system device
Placebo Comparator: Adult and pediatric patients who received a placebo treatment
Participants are Allo-HCT recipients
Other: Placebo sham device
Participants with a history of allo-HCT and diagnosis with oral chronic GvHD randomized to the placebo arm will be treated with a placebo sham device (via Thor LX2.3 sham device setting) for 28 days
Other Names:
  • Thor LX2.3 sham device setting

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
Response rate of participants
Time Frame: 28 days
To assess the primary objective, we will compare the treatment response rates, defined as the the proportion of oral GvHD allo-HCT patients who achieve a CR or a PR at Day 28, for the PBM and Placebo arms. The treatment response rate will be calculated within each study arm for all patients who completed at least one PBM or placebo treatment.
28 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.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

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: Alina Markova, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

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.
December 22, 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.
December 22, 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.
December 22, 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).
December 22, 2022

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.
December 22, 2022

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 9, 2023

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.
May 22, 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.
May 20, 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.
May 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.
  • 22-271

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center supports the international committee of medical journal editors (ICMJE) and the ethical obligation of responsible sharing of data from clinical trials. The protocol summary, a statistical summary, and informed consent form will be made available on clinicaltrials.gov when required as a condition of Federal awards, other agreements supporting the research and/or as otherwise required. Requests for deidentified individual participant data can be made beginning 12 months after publication and for up to 36 months post publication. Deidentified individual participant data reported in the manuscript will be shared under the terms of a Data Use Agreement and may only be used for approved proposals. Requests may be made to: crdatashare@mskcc.org.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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