image: A new clinical research study is now open to explore whether a more targeted form of radiation therapy lowers the chance of lung cancer returning after surgery. The study (Alliance A082402) is for people with non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who underwent chemotherapy and immunotherapy before surgery, but who still have cancer cells found in lymph nodes at the time of their operation. This is a situation many patients with lung cancer face. “We already know that chemotherapy and immunotherapy can help when given before or after lung cancer surgery. This study is asking an important question: Does adding targeted radiation lower the risk of NSCLC returning without causing long‑term side effects?” said study co-chair David Kozono, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School and Program Director of Thoracic Radiation Oncology at Mass General Brigham Cancer Center.
Credit: Harvard Medical School
The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology has a new clinical research study open to explore whether a more targeted form of radiation therapy lowers the chance of lung cancer returning after surgery. The study (Alliance A082402) is for people with non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who underwent chemotherapy and immunotherapy before surgery, but who still have cancer cells found in lymph nodes at the time of their operation. This is a situation many patients with lung cancer face.
“We already know that chemotherapy and immunotherapy can help when given before or after lung cancer surgery. This study is asking an important question: Does adding targeted radiation lower the risk of NSCLC returning without causing long‑term side effects?” said study co-chair David Kozono, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School and Program Director of Thoracic Radiation Oncology at Mass General Brigham Cancer Center.
This research study is testing whether adding a carefully targeted radiation treatment after surgery may help improve outcomes compared with standard treatment alone.
The radiation therapy being studied is called involved-station, intensity‑modulated post‑operative radiation therapy (I²-PORT). This advanced type of radiation treatment aims beams more precisely into areas where cancer is most likely to return, while avoiding nearby healthy organs like the heart and lungs.
Participants in the study will be randomized to receive either:
- Standard treatment alone, such as chemotherapy or immunotherapy, or
- Targeted I²-PORT followed by standard treatment.
“After surgery, patients with non‑small cell lung cancer remain at high risk for recurrence despite advances in systemic therapy,” said study co-chair Jeremy Brownstein, MD, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. “Our trial will rigorously evaluate whether modern, involved‑station post‑operative radiation therapy added to standard-of-care post-surgical treatments can improve disease control with minimal side effects. The results will help clarify the role of post‑operative radiation in this challenging patient population.”
Researchers will closely monitor participants to:
- See how long they remain cancer‑free.
- Track overall survival.
- Carefully watch for side effects.
- Listen to patient‑reported symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing, or chest discomfort.
This study may be an option for adults who have NSCLC, have already undergone surgery to remove their tumor, still have cancer present in certain lymph nodes, and/or have completed or are candidates for standard post‑surgery treatment. Each person’s situation is unique, and eligibility is determined by the study team.
This study is sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, is being led and conducted by the NCI funded Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology with participation from the NCI National Clinical Trials Network.
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Reference: Alliance A082402-Involved-Station, Intensity-Modulated Post-Operative Radiation Therapy (I²-PORT) for Resected Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer With Residual Mediastinal Adenopathy After Neoadjuvant Therapy (ypN2)
The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology is a national leader in advancing cancer research, uniting more than 25,000 cancer specialists at 115 main institutions and 1,400 affiliates across the U.S. and Canada. As part of the National Clinical Trials Network and a leading research base for the NCI Community Oncology Research Program, the Alliance conducts pioneering, practice-changing clinical trials that improve outcomes and reshape standards of care. Our work has led to multiple FDA approvals, influenced national guidelines, and produced hundreds of high-impact publications. More than 40,000 participants have taken part in Alliance studies, and our growing biospecimen repository now includes more than 1.5 million samples, collected over the past 30 years. Learn more at www.AllianceforClinicalTrialsinOncology.org.