Daily irradiation versus irradiation at two- to three-day intervals in stereotactic radiotherapy for patients with 1-5 brain metastases: study protocol for a multicenter open-label randomized phase II trial.

Background: Radiobiological daily changes within tumors are considered to be quite different between stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) (e.g., 50 Gy in 4 fractions) and conventional radiotherapy (e.g., 60 Gy in 30 fractions). We aim to assess the optimal interval of irradiation in SRT and compare outcomes of daily irradiation with irradiation at two- to three-day intervals in SRT for patients with one to five brain metastases (BM).
Methods: This study is conducted as a multicenter open-label randomized phase II trial. Patients aged 20 or older with one to five BM, less than 3.0 cm diameter, and Karnofsky Performance Status ≥70 are eligible. A total of 70 eligible patients will be enrolled. After stratifying by the number of BMs (1, 2 vs. 3-5) and diameter of the largest tumor (< 2 cm vs. ≥ 2 cm), we randomly assigned patients (1:1) to receive daily irradiation (Arm 1), or irradiation at two- to three-day intervals (Arm 2). Both arms are performed with total dose of 27-30 Gy in 3 fractions. The primary endpoint is an intracranial local control rate, defined as intracranial local control at initially treated sites. We use a randomized phase II screening design with a two-sided α of 0∙20. The phase II trial is positive with p < 0.20. All analyses are intention to treat. This study is registered with the UMIN-clinical trials registry, number UMIN000048728.
Discussion: This study will provide an assessment of the impact of SRT interval on local control, survival, and toxicity for patients with 1-5 BM. The trial is ongoing and is recruiting now.
Trial Registration: UMIN000048728. Date of registration: August 23, 2022. https://center6.umin.ac.jp/cgi-bin/ctr/ctr&#95;view&#95;reg.cgi?recptno=R000055515 .
(© 2022. The Author(s).)