Autologous Fat Grafting in Radiated Soft Tissue Reconstruction

April 20, 2026 updated by: University of Chicago

A Pilot Study Treating Radiation Injury With Autologous Fat Transfer

The purpose of this study is to observe the effect of autologous fat grafting on soft tissue reconstruction of the breast following radiation treatment. Moving fat from one part of the body to another has been used for reconstruction for hundreds of years. However, it is not fully understood how well this works in reconstruction after radiation is used for cancer treatment.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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.

Detailed Description

This is a single-arm, prospective pilot study that will objectively assess outcomes in patients electively undergoing AFT for breast or chest wall reconstruction. Patients planning to undergo autologous fat transfer for breast or chest wall reconstruction will be enrolled prospectively. As this is a pilot study, the study team plans to enroll ten (10) patients to demonstrate the feasibility of the protocol and pathway as well as establish preliminary data for extramural funding. The research will include capturing 2-dimensional (2-D) and 3-dimensional (3-D) photographs as well as ultrasound (US) soft tissue assessments to determine volume retention and changes in the reconstructed area. Participants will undergo this imaging of their breast and chest wall and complete two questionnaires to evaluate patient satisfaction, quality of life, and late effects of radiation following fat grafting over a 12-month period, all standard of care. The 3D photographs and US are routinely used in practice but will be performed for research purposes in this study.

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.
10

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 States
    • Illinois
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60637
        • Summer E Hanson

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

This study will enroll participants from the University of Chicago who are undergoing autologous fat grafting as part of their reconstruction for breast cancer.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Able to give consent
  • Undergoing elective autologous fat grafting
  • Previously treated for breast cancer
  • Previous treatment included radiation therapy to the breast/chest wall.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Unable to give consent
  • No history of radiation to the breast or chest wall
  • No prior treatment for breast cancer
  • No indication for autologous fat grafting
  • Currently pregnant or breastfeeding
  • Currently consuming nicotine products (smoking, vaping, patches, gum)
  • Under the age of 18

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

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
Change in Skin Fibrometry before and after fat transfer in reconstruction.
Time Frame: 12 months
Soft tissue assessment is made using a non-invasive device SkinFibrometer (Delfin Kuopio, Finland) that measures tissue edema and skin elasticity. Measurements will be taken in all four quadrants of the affected (radiated) breast or reconstructed breast before and after the grafting procedure.
12 months

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
Change in Radiation Injury before and after fat transfer.
Time Frame: 12 months
Radiation injury assessment is made using the validated tool Late Effects Normal Tissue Task Force - Subjective Objective Management and Analytic (LENT-SOMA) score. Assessment will be made before and after the fat transfer procedure. Overall, scores are based on 12 categories, scored 0-4 with a higher score indicating more significant radiation injury.
12 months
Change in patient reported satisfaction of the breast measure before and after fat transfer.
Time Frame: 12 months
The BREAST Q validated patient survey measures several realms related to breast reconstruction and allows an assessment of satisfaction and physical well-being before and after reconstruction. The survery responses are tallied and converted to a score of 100 with a higher score being more satisfied or better outcome. In addition, a change in score of 8 or more points is a clinically meaningful difference according to normative studies.
12 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.
University of Chicago

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.

General Publications

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 1, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

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 31, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

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 31, 2025

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 8, 2023

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 25, 2023

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 6, 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.
April 23, 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.
April 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.
April 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.
  • IRB21-1183

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.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings