Clinical trials

High grade gliomas, particularly glioblastoma, are among the most aggressive brain tumors and are associated with poor outcomes despite standard treatment. Many patients, especially older adults or those with poor general health, are not suitable for surgery and have a life expectancy of less than 12 months. Current standard includes a shortened course of radiotherapy (over 3 weeks) combined with chemotherapy using temozolomide (TMZ), which offers limited survival benefits. This study aims to explore whether delivering radiotherapy in a shorter duration (1 or 2 weeks) at a higher dose, guided by advanced imaging with a PET scan, can improve survival in this group of patients. PET scans help identify the most active parts of the tumor, which aids in targeting of these areas more precisely, potentially improving outcomes while reducing harm to healthy brain tissue. This study will randomly assign 116 eligible patients into two groups: * One group will receive the current standard of care (3-week radiotherapy + TMZ). * The other group will receive PET-guided radiotherapy over a shorter duration (either 5 or 10 sessions) at a higher dose, alongside TMZ. The primary goal is to compare overall survival at one year between the two groups. The study will also assess how the disease progresses, side effects of treatment, and the impact on patients' quality of life. The study will be conducted over a total period of 6 years, including 4 years for patient enrolment and 2 years of follow-up. Participation in the study is entirely voluntary, and all patients will undergo an informed consent process. The study has been designed to follow all applicable ethical and regulatory guidelines. The results may help establish a more effective and convenient treatment option for patients with aggressive brain tumors and poor prognosis.

The goal of this observational study is to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of a self-administered remote neurological examination using the "Iskhaa" mobile application in patients with brain tumors aged above 5 years who are able to follow app-based instructions. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Development of a mobile application equipped with symptom assessment and recording videos as patients perform specific neurological tasks. 2. Development and validation of the AI model to detect functional changes and predict subsequent neurological deterioration. Participants will: 1. Use the Iskhaa mobile application to perform guided self-neurological examinations following pre-recorded video instructions. 2. Complete EORTC QLQ-C30 and BN20 questionnaires for quality of life assessment. 3. Record and upload videos (e.g., speech, walking, limb movements) using their mobile camera for analysis. 4. In Phase 1 (onsite), 100 participants will use the app under supervision to ensure usability and accuracy. 5. In Phase 2 (offsite), 500 participants will use the app independently at home for monthly self-assessments, with reminders and follow-up support. 6. Continue routine clinic visits every 3-6 months and imaging every 6-12 months as per standard clinical care. The study will compare app-recorded data with physician assessments to determine agreement and validity of remote neurological monitoring using artificial intelligence analysis.

Levetiracetam is the commonly preferred anti-seizure medicine in patients with brain tumors. This drug has reduced the risk of seizure events occurring but is associated with a risk of side effects such as increased headache, drowsiness, loss of muscle coordination, and psychological challenges in patients. In patients undergoing appropriate treatment for brain tumors and controlled of seizures in the initial few months of levetiracetam, the chance of further seizures is relatively low. The optimal duration to give levetiracetam is not well defined for these patients, and currently as standard treatment levetiracetam is continued for 2-3 years. This study aims to answer this question by comparing patients on a short course of levetiracetam (experimental arm) versus a longer course of levetiracetam (standard arm), with the anticipation that a shorter duration of treatment will not lead to increased seizure episodes.

A randomised open labelled study to evalaute the impact of immunonutrition in Patients Undergoing Hepatectomies for Liver Tumors

Children diagnosed with benign or low-grade brain tumors often require radiation therapy to control their disease. While radiation can be effective, traditional techniques using X-rays (photon-based radiotherapy) expose healthy brain tissue to radiation, potentially leading to long-term side effects like memory loss, learning difficulties, hormone imbalances, hearing problems, and a higher risk of secondary cancers. This study, called the IMPORT Trial, aims to compare two types of radiation therapy-Intensity-Modulated Proton Therapy (IMPT) and Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)-to determine which is safer and more effective for children. IMPT, a newer technique, uses protons instead of X-rays to deliver radiation, reducing exposure to healthy brain tissue. Researchers believe this could help minimize long-term damage while maintaining effective tumor control. What is the goal of the study? The primary goal is to see if IMPT leads to better survival with fewer side effects compared to IMRT. The study will track how well children function over five years, looking at: * Cognitive abilities (memory, attention, learning) * Hormonal balance (pituitary gland function) * Hearing ability * Overall survival without significant decline in quality of life How will the study work? * Who can join? Children aged 6 to 16 years diagnosed with certain types of benign or low-grade brain tumors. * How are patients treated? Patients will be randomly assigned to receive either IMRT or IMPT. * What is analysed? Doctors will track survival, tumor control, cognitive function, endocrine health, and quality of life over time. * How long will it take? The study will last 10 years (5 years to enroll patients, 5 years to follow up). Proton therapy is more expensive and not widely available, so strong scientific evidence is needed to justify its use in routine treatment. If IMPT significantly improves quality of life and survival, it could become the preferred treatment, shaping future policies and making proton therapy more accessible for children who need it.

The goal of this prospective observational study is to evaluate whether Gallium-68 Fibroblast Activation Protein Inhibitor (FAPI) PET/CT can improve detection, staging, and recurrence assessment in adult patients (≥18 years) with suspected or confirmed biliary tract cancers, including gallbladder cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, and post-treatment suspected recurrence. The main question(s) this study aims to answer are: Can FAPI PET/CT provide greater sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy for primary tumors, nodal disease, and metastatic lesions compared to standard FDG PET/CT? Does FAPI PET/CT offer additional diagnostic yield that may affect clinical decision-making and staging, potentially reducing need for invasive staging procedures? Researchers will compare FAPI PET/CT with FDG PET/CT to see if FAPI improves detection of metastatic or recurrent disease, especially peritoneal or liver metastasis and lymph node involvement. Participants will: Provide written informed consent. Undergo FAPI PET/CT imaging (baseline and/or at suspected biochemical or radiologic recurrence). Have quantitative imaging parameters evaluated (SUVmax, tumor-to-liver ratios, metabolic volume). May undergo comparison with FDG PET/CT and/or follow-up imaging or histopathology as gold standard.

This study will be done in adults with brain tumors having good prognosis requiring treatment with radiotherapy. The current practice for brain radiotherapy involves treatment using X rays (photon radiotherapy). Proton beam therapy is a more advanced form of delivering radiation, which allows the reduction of the dose of radiation to the parts of the brain surrounding the tumor. After treatment with photon radiotherapy, certain late effects of radiation, like memory decline, hormonal deficits, hearing loss, and worsening of neurological function, can occur in some patients. From the evaluation of dose profiling, proton beam therapy has the potential to reduce the possibility of side effects by reducing the dose to critical organs. However, there is no clinical data to demonstrate whether the theoretical dose reduction translates to a clinically meaningful benefit. In the proposed study, 156 patients will be randomly allocated to either proton or photon radiotherapy in 1: 1 ratio. The primary objective of the study is to explore whether proton therapy improves functional survival, which is life expectancy without recurrence, death, or complications from radiotherapy.

Gliomas are common primary brain tumors in adults. Gliomas can be classified into different types based on tumor grade, histopathological features, and molecular characteristics. The common types of diffuse gliomas include glioblastoma, astrocytoma, and oligodendroglioma. The standard treatment for diffuse gliomas includes surgery followed by radiation and chemotherapy. As per standard institutional practice, a uniform dose of radiation is delivered to the disease area and MRI is done before and after the treatment. In this study, MRI and PET scan will be done before starting the treatment and standard dose of radiation will be delivered. The interval imaging will be done twice during the course of treatment with MRI and PET, followed by dose modifications. The CT, MRI, and PET will be combined. Based on PET imaging, specific dose will be altered and delivered to specific areas. Dose modification will be done with the help of artificial intelligence. Participant's assessment will be done at regular intervals. Modifications in radiation plans are done based on the changes in disease seen in scans is likely to improve the accuracy of RT treatments. Dose modifications based on imaging to resistant areas will help achieve better tumor control, reduce treatment-related toxicities, precise delivery of the RT and adjusting doses to the organs at risk (OAR) and changes in disease leading to better treatment compliance. Creating an artificial intelligence framework in radiation oncology promises to improve quality of workflow, treatment planning and RT delivery. The aim of the study is to develop an artificial intelligence workflow for treatment of glioma with adaptive radiotherapy. This study will be conducted in Tata Memorial Centre on a population of 60 patients for a duration of 2 years. The total study duration is 4 years.

* Goal: This study is a randomized phase II interventional study. The purpose of this study is to see if addition of oral rifaximin tablets during allogeneic stem cell transplant can improve the quality of gut microbiome and reduce chances of death, infections and graft versus host disease (GVHD) post-transplant. * The study objectives are as follows: * Primary Objective: To determine the impact of rifaximin on gut microbial diversity and compare it with controls. * Secondary Objectives: a. To determine non-relapse mortality at 1-year post transplant in patients who receive peri-transplant transplant rifaximin and compare it with controls. * b. To compare the incidence of severe GVHD in patients who receive peri-transplant rifaximin with the controls. * c. To determine impact of gut decontamination with rifaximin on incidence of MDR sepsis and usage of higher antibiotics (e.g. Carbapenems, colistin, tigecycline, ceftazidime avibactum and ceftriaxone-sulbactam EDTA) in first 6 months post BMT. * d. To determine the impact of rifaximin induced gut manipulation on immune reconstitution, T cell repertoire post-transplant and cytokine profile. * Exploratory objective: To use single cell transcriptomics (SCT) to identify immune cell profile in gut biopsies post allogeneic stem cell transplant whenever biopsy is done, to correlate the impact of microbiome on gut immunity. * Intervention: Tab Rifaximin 200 mg will be given orally twice daily from day -8 to day +60 of allogeneic stem cell transplant in acute leukemia patients. This will be in addition to standard of care post-transplant treatment. * Comparator Agent: Standard of care treatment including standard anti GVHD measures, antibiotic support and transfusions as needed.

This is a randomized, open-label, two-arm, Phase III clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of trastuzumab plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone as first-line treatment in patients with HER2-positive advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancers (BTC). HER2-positive BTCs represent a molecular subset of these rare cancers, associated with poor prognosis and limited treatment options. Eligible patients with histologically confirmed HER2-positive (IHC 3+ or IHC 2+ with FISH amplification) unresectable or metastatic biliary tract adenocarcinoma-including gallbladder cancer, intrahepatic, and perihilar cholangiocarcinoma-will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio. Participants in the intervention arm (Arm A) will receive either gemcitabine and cisplatin with or without nab-paclitaxel plus trastuzumab, while those in the control arm (Arm B) will receive chemotherapy alone (gemcitabine + cisplatin with or without nab-paclitaxel). Treatment will continue until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, withdrawal of consent, or death. The primary endpoint is 6-month progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary endpoints include overall survival (OS), response rate (RR), quality of life (QOL), and adverse event (AE) profiles. The study aims to enroll 196 patients across a single center in India over a period of 5 years, with an additional 6-month follow-up. This trial builds on earlier Phase II findings suggesting improved outcomes with trastuzumab in HER2-positive BTC and aims to provide the first randomized evidence for the benefit of HER2-targeted therapy in this setting.

T-ALL (T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia) is an aggressive blood cancer, wherein patients who are MRD positive after two courses of induction chemotherapy have poor outcomes. This goal of this study is to determine if Daratumumab can make such T-ALL patients MRD negative. The main questions this study aims to answer are - 1. Whether MRD Positive T-ALL patients can become MRD negative after two doses of daratumumab? 2. Whether MRD Positive T-ALL patients can become MRD negative after four doses of daratumumab? 3. Whether addition of daratumumab can affect the risk of progression or death at 1-year? 4. Whether daratumumab is safe to use? Newly diagnosed patients of T-ALL who are MRD positive after two courses of induction chemotherapy will be eligible to receive daratumumab. These patients will receive two doses of weekly intravenous daratumumab at standard dose (16mg/kg), and will undergo repeat evaluation of MRD from bone marrow one week after the second dose of daratumumab. Patients who become MRD negative will continue chemotherapy as per institutional policy. Those who remain MRD positive will be eligible to receive two additional doses, and will undergo another bone marrow MRD testing one week after the fourth dose. Irrespective of the results after the fourth dose, patients will be continued on chemotherapy as per institutional policy.

The primary aim of the trial is to investigate the late effects of hypofractionated external radiation (39 Gy in 13 fractions) in patients requiring post-operative radiation for early-stage cervical and endometrial cancers.

Radiation constitutes an integral component in the management of primary brain tumors in pediatric and young adults like medulloblastoma, ependymoma, low-grade glioma, pituitary tumors, etc. A decline in neurocognitive outcomes is a multifactorial effect occurring from the primary disease as well as associated with treatments, including radiation. Since many of these tumors are highly curable, it is crucial to reduce long-term side effects, including memory loss, to improve the quality of life in these patients, leading to better rehabilitation. Radiation-induced neurocognitive deterioration is postulated to occur from multiple factors like neuroinflammation, vascular damage, and depletion of neural stem cells. The proposed study will prospectively evaluate 200 pediatric and young adults with brain tumors treated with radiotherapy. Biological samples (peripheral blood and cerebrospinal fluid) will be procured during routine investigations (an additional amount will be collected for study purposes without the need for additional investigations). Serial blood markers (whenever available pre-operative and before, during, and after completion of radiation) of neuroinflammation and neural markers will be tested in patients undergoing radiation as part of their standard treatment, and correlate with the neurocognitive outcomes measured by age-appropriate Wechsler intelligence scales. Also, the impact of clinical (e.g. age) and radiotherapy parameters like volume, dose of radiation, and technique (photon versus proton therapy) on acute (during radiotherapy) and late systemic inflammatory markers will be analyzed. The study will even provide the opportunity to know the influence of radiation on systemic neuroinflammatory markers in the human population, providing better biological insights into the neurocognitive decline. If proven successful, these biomarkers can be used in routine clinical practice for early intervention to improve neurocognitive function in patients receiving radiation (even for other histology or other patients receiving radiation like brain metastasis).

Brain tumors involve different age groups with a wide range of tumor types involving different anatomical compartments of the brain. The evolution of the brain in vertebrates, including the most recent homo species (including humans), has occurred through increasing structural complexity in more evolved species. In the retrospective study, we will investigate the location of the tumors and different structural aspects of skull anatomy in patients with brain tumors. The information will be compared with the anatomical evolution of the brain and skull in vertebrates to look for possible associations, which can provide insights into evolutionary biology.

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the role of memantine in preservation of memory and neurocognition in patients undergoing craniospinal irradiation. Participants will be randomised into two arms and the interventional arm will receive memantine along with the standard treatment. Researchers will compare the neurocognitive tests of participants in both the arms to see if memantine leads to significant preservation of memory and cognition post radiation therapy.

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare two treatment regimes, namely, systemic therapy (chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy) alone vs. systemic therapy and radiation therapy in patients with inoperable but localized gallbladder cancer. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Whether adding radiation therapy to systemic therapy improves overall survival? * What are the effects on other endpoints like cancer-free intervals, side effects, and quality of life? Participants will be randomly assigned to one of the two treatment regimes mentioned earlier by a computer-based program. Researchers will compare survival and quality of life outcomes between the two groups.

Diffuse gliomas are common tumors involving the brain. They are usually treated by surgery followed by radiation and chemotherapy. Radiotherapy is used for the treatment of brain tumors which causes damage to the tumor cells. However, radiotherapy can also affect the surrounding healthy cells in the brain, causing inflammation and swelling in the region, which is known as radio necrosis (RN). This is considered a late side effect of radiation and is seen in 10-25% of patients treated with radiation for brain tumors. Sometimes, radionecrosis can be detected on routine imaging during follow-up without new symptoms (asymptomaticRN). At the same time, in some patients, it can give rise to new symptoms like headaches, weakness, seizures,etc (symptomatic RN). The standard treatment of RN includes steroid medicines called dexamethasone, which is helpful in a proportion of patients. This is a prospective phase 2 study. This study is being conducted to investigate the ability of the drug Chlorophyllin in the treatment of radionecrosis. Chlorophyllin is a water-soluble compound obtained from the green plant pigment called chlorophyll. It has been shown to have anti-cancer, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. It is also used as an oral formulation and is an over-the-counter drug in various countries, and also as a food colouring agent. This is the first time chlorophyllin will be used in the setting of brain radionecrosis. Our primary aim of the study is to assess whether CHL will improve the clinical-radiological response rates. This study will be conducted on a population of 118 patients for a duration of 3 months. The total study duration is 2 years. The study is funded by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).

Glioma are type of primary brain tumors arising within the substance of brain. Different type of gliomas are seen which are classified depending upon pathological examination and advanced molecular techniques, which help to determine the aggressiveness of the tumor and outcomes. Artificial intelligence uses advanced analytical process aided by computer which can be undertaken on the medical images. We plan to use artificial intelligence techniques to identify the abnormal areas within the brain representing tumor from the radiological images. Also, similar approach will be undertaken to classify gliomas with good or bad prognosis, to differentiate glioma from other type of brain tumors, and to detect response after treatment.

Radiotherapy involves the use of high-energy X-rays, which can be used to stop the growth of tumor cells. Radiotherapy constitutes an essential avenue in the treatment of brain tumors. The modern techniques of radiotherapy involve radiation planning techniques guided by computer algorithms aimed to deliver high doses of radiation to the areas of brain with tumors and limit the doses to surrounding normal structures. Artificial intelligence uses advanced analytical processes aided by computational analysis, which can be undertaken on the medical images, and radiation planning process. We plan to use artificial intelligence techniques to automatically delineate areas of the brain with tumor and other normal structures as identified from images. Also, we will use artificial intelligence on the radiation dose images and other images done for radiation treatment to classify tumors with good or bad prognoses, identify patients developing radiation complications, and detect responses after treatment.

This clinical study is going to be done on a type of brain tumor in children called Medulloblastoma. The WNT pathway type of medulloblastoma is considered to be low risk and have the best outcomes in terms of survival. With the current standard of care for this type of medulloblastoma it is believed by the investigators that we are over treating the disease and increasing the long term side effects of these children. Several groups in the world are testing de-intensification of treatment in this favourable subset of children who experience long term late side effects of therapy. By reducing the dose to the craniospinal axis and keeping the total tumor bed dose the same in this study the investigators are expecting to reduce some of the late side effects of craniospinal irradiation without compromising disease control and survival.

In this study, the investigators are testing improvement in survival outcomes in DIPG patients when stratified with MR perfusion score and treated with the said protocol. Newly diagnosed DIPG patients will undergo MRI perfusion study in addition to the usual MRI at diagnosis and will be stratified into hyperperfused or hypoperfused tumours. The hyperperfused patients will receive additional low dose Bevacizumab weekly with conventional standard radiotherapy. The hypo-perfused patients will receive ultra-low-dose radiotherapy fractionation equivalent to conventional RT biological dose.

The standard practice in management of carcinoma of anal canal is to treat patients with radiotherapy using the IMRT technique along with chemotherapy. It is known that while IMRT has reduced treatment related side effects as compared to the older radiation techniques, reducing these side effects further still remains a major challenge. These side-effects include gastrointestinal (diarrhea, altered bowel habits, weight loss, bleeding, obstruction), genitourinary (difficulties in passing urine, passing blood in urine, difficulty in holding urine) and hematologic toxicities (anemia, low platelet count and increased predisposition to infections). Proton therapy (IMPT) is a form of radiation treatment in which high doses can be delivered within the tumor while the surrounding normal tissues receive a lesser radiation dose. It is believed that these physical properties of proton therapy may help reduce the side effects of treatment. Patients will be randomly assigned to either receive IMRT or IMPT based treatment so as to see whether it is possible to reduce the acute treatment related toxicities. In this study, there is a 66.7% chance that the patient will get IMPT based treatment, which may be able to reduce the toxicities.

One of the standard treatment options offered to patients of locally advanced rectal cancer is neoadjuvant (treatment given before surgery) radiotherapy \& chemotherapy followed by surgery. In patients whose tumour has completely reduced after neoadjuvant treatment, the wait and watch strategy is also an option. This is another standard treatment option for patients of locally advanced rectal cancers. In this, the patient is monitored after treatment completion. In this study, investigators are only going to observe the patient's response to treatment, monitor their side-effects due to treatment and assess their quality of life using standardized quality of life questionnaires. No additional tests or hospital visits will be required as a part of this study. The patient will be followed up, as per standard follow-up protocol, for at least 2 years after the completion of their treatment.

Surgery and radiotherapy in breast cancer patients can cause treatment changes and may affect the final breast appearance. In this study, we are trying to evaluate the post treatment breast photographs of the patients and subject these to Artificial Intelligence based program so as to classify into appropriate categories based upon changes from baseline. This automated solution will help in decreasing the time required to achieve this task by physicians in the clinic.

Postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) is unequivocally beneficial in reducing the recurrences as well as improving survival in node positive breast cancer patients. PMRT for women with T1-T2 tumors and negative axillary nodes is not generally warranted because of the presumed low risk of recurrence in this population as a whole. However, in the setting of multiple adverse prognostic factors, the recurrence risk approaches and in some cases surpasses the risk of recurrence documented for patients with one to three positive lymph nodes. Numerous retrospective series have reported the outcome and patterns of failure for post-mastectomy patients treated without radiation. Many of these series have analyzed several high risk factors which were predictive of loco-regional recurrence wherein the role of adjuvant post-mastectomy radiation can be considered. Some authors have used combinations of prognostic factors, such as age, tumour size, grade, receptor status, Her2neu status and lympho-vascular space invasion to define subgroups with more specific risks of loco-regional recurrence than single factors alone. The current trial hypothesizes that "Post-mastectomy radiation in high risk, node negative early breast cancer patients decreases rates of loco-regional recurrence and improves disease free survival" and propose to address the question in randomized setting.