Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Metastatic Spinal Cord Compression

Overview

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. It is not yet known which radiation therapy regimen is more effective in treating metastatic spinal cord compression. PURPOSE: This randomized clinical trial is comparing two radiation therapy regimens to see how well they work in treating patients with metastatic spinal cord compression.

OBJECTIVES: * To examine whether a phase III randomized study comparing a single-fraction of radiotherapy with multi-fraction radiotherapy is acceptable to clinicians and to patients with metastatic spinal cord compression. * To determine the feasibility of conducting this study in the United Kingdom. OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients are stratified by treatment center and known prognostic factors (ambulatory status at diagnosis, primary tumor type, and extent of disease \[spinal metastases only vs spinal and non-bony metastases\]). Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms. * Arm I (multi-fraction radiotherapy): Patients undergo 5 fractions of 20 Gy external-beam radiotherapy. * Arm II (single-fraction radiotherapy): Patients undergo 1 fraction of 8 Gy external beam radiotherapy. Patients undergo assessment of ambulatory status, quality of life, bladder and bowel function, and acute toxicity via self-reported questionnaires and telephone follow-ups at baseline and weeks 1, 4, 8, and 12.

Conditions

Interventions

Eligibility

Locations (4)

Outcomes