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.
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.
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.
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.
Cohort
Prospective
Vertebral Body-Sparing Craniospinal Proton Irradiation
RadiationVertebral 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.
Incidence of ≥ Grade 3 acute adverse events
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).
Active Bone Marrow Preservation Rate
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.
Incidence of spinal deformity
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.
Click on the lead sponsor to view all of their trials.
This trial is not recruiting at the moment. You can still explore other options:
