Safety and Efficacy of Vertebral Body-Sparing Craniospinal Irradiation With Proton Therapy in Pediatric Tumors (VBS-CSI-PT-PED)

May 10, 2026 updated by: JIAYI CHEN, Ruijin Hospital

Safety and Efficacy of Vertebral Body-Sparing Craniospinal Irradiation (VBS-CSI) With Proton Therapy in Pediatric Tumors: A Single-Center Prospective Observational Cohort Study

his is a single-center, prospective observational study in children and adolescents with central nervous system tumors who need whole-brain and whole-spine radiation therapy (craniospinal irradiation, CSI). The study uses proton therapy with a special vertebral body-sparing (VBS) technique to protect the front and center of the vertebrae, which helps preserve bone marrow function and growth. The main goals are to find safe dose limits for the vertebrae and check how often severe side effects occur. The study will also look at bone marrow preservation, spinal deformity, tumor control, survival, chemotherapy completion, neurocognitive function, quality of life, and growth and development for up to 5 years after treatment.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet 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.
Observational

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.
38

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.

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

  • Child
  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

This is a prospective observational study enrolling 38 pediatric patients aged >3 years and ≤18 years with histologically confirmed central nervous system tumors requiring craniospinal irradiation (CSI). Patients will be assigned to 2 cohorts: low-dose CSI and high-dose CSI. All participants will receive vertebral body-sparing intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) and standard chemotherapy according to clinical guidelines.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • The patient's legal guardian voluntarily signs the written informed consent form.
  • Age at diagnosis > 3 years and ≤ 18 years.
  • Histopathologically confirmed diagnosis of a central nervous system (CNS) tumor.
  • Indication for craniospinal irradiation (CSI) confirmed by multidisciplinary team (MDT) discussion.
  • Karnofsky Performance Score (KPS) ≥ 80.
  • For postoperative patients, complete healing of the surgical incision with no evidence of wound infection or other complications.
  • For women of childbearing potential, effective contraception must be used for at least one month prior to screening, and they must commit to continued contraception throughout the study period and for the required time after study completion.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Previous receipt of any form of spinal radiotherapy.
  • Previous major spinal surgery for any reason.
  • Presence of clinically significant and confirmed spinal deformity at enrollment (e.g., Cobb angle > 10° measured by MRI or X-ray).
  • Presence of medical contraindications to proton radiotherapy.
  • Presence of any severe, uncontrolled systemic disease (e.g., active infection, severe cardiac, hepatic, renal, or respiratory insufficiency) that, in the investigator's judgment, makes the subject unsuitable for treatment under this protocol.
  • Female patients who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
  • Presence of any severe cognitive or psychiatric disorder that prevents understanding of or cooperation with study assessments.

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.
Low-Dose Cohort
Patients in the low-dose cohort receive vertebral body-sparing craniospinal irradiation (VBS-CSI) using pencil-beam scanning proton therapy at a prescription dose of 23.4 Gy(RBE) in 13 fractions or 24 Gy(RBE) in 15 fractions.
Radiation: Vertebral Body-Sparing Craniospinal Proton Irradiation
Vertebral body-sparing craniospinal irradiation (VBS-CSI) using intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT, pencil-beam scanning). The treatment actively restricts radiation dose to the anterior and central regions of thoracolumbar vertebral bodies to preserve active bone marrow and spinal growth potential, while ensuring adequate target coverage for the whole brain and spinal cord. Two dose levels are applied: 23.4 Gy(RBE)/13 fractions or 24 Gy(RBE)/15 fractions and 36 Gy(RBE)/20 fractions.
High-Dose Cohort
Patients in the high-dose cohort receive vertebral body-sparing craniospinal irradiation (VBS-CSI) using pencil-beam scanning proton therapy at a prescription dose of 36 Gy(RBE) in 20 fractions.
Radiation: Vertebral Body-Sparing Craniospinal Proton Irradiation
Vertebral body-sparing craniospinal irradiation (VBS-CSI) using intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT, pencil-beam scanning). The treatment actively restricts radiation dose to the anterior and central regions of thoracolumbar vertebral bodies to preserve active bone marrow and spinal growth potential, while ensuring adequate target coverage for the whole brain and spinal cord. Two dose levels are applied: 23.4 Gy(RBE)/13 fractions or 24 Gy(RBE)/15 fractions and 36 Gy(RBE)/20 fractions.

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
Incidence of ≥ Grade 3 acute adverse events
Time Frame: Up to 3 months after completion of radiotherapy
To evaluate the incidence of treatment-related acute adverse events of grade 3 or higher, assessed according to the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 5.0 (CTCAE v5.0).
Up to 3 months after completion of radiotherapy

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
Active Bone Marrow Preservation Rate
Time Frame: Baseline, 3, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 months
The proportion of active bone marrow in the vertebral body is calculated by dividing the width of the low-signal area by the total diameter of the vertebral body, which allows a relatively quantitative assessment of the active bone marrow preservation rate.
Baseline, 3, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 months
Incidence of spinal deformity
Time Frame: Baseline and at 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, and 60 months after treatment completion
Evaluation is performed using whole-neuraxis MRI or whole-spine anteroposterior and lateral X-ray films. Spinal scoliosis is quantitatively assessed using the Cobb angle measurement method by a radiologist who is blinded to the patient's specific treatment information. The degree of kyphosis is evaluated by assessing the presence of thoracic kyphosis. Additionally, vertebral body change characteristics of the thoracolumbar spine are measured, including the posterior-to-anterior ratio (PARs) of the vertebral body-defined as the ratio of the posterior vertebral body height to the anterior vertebral body height-as well as intervertebral disc height.
Baseline and at 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, and 60 months after treatment completion

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.
Ruijin Hospital

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 (Estimated)

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.
April 30, 2026

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 30, 2029

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 31, 2033

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).
April 29, 2026

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 10, 2026

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 15, 2026

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 15, 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 10, 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

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.
  • VBS-CSI-Proton-Pediatric

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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