Clinical trials

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine whether Real-Time Image Guided Radiation Therapy is a feasible method for radiation therapy delivery for patients with cancer. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Can all fractions per patient which are intended to be delivered with the real-time IGRT method be completed as planned? * Can the beam accurately hit the tumour in ≥85% of fractions? * Are there any unexpected grade \>3 acute toxicities? Participants will not require any additional treatments or preparation procedures above those required for normal radiation therapy treatment, to participate in this study.

This study will develop a whole-of-body markerless tracking method for measuring the motion of the tumour and surrounding organs during radiation therapy to enable real-time image guidance. Routinely acquired patient data will be used to improve the training, testing and accuracy of a whole-of-body markerless tracking method. When the markerless tracking method is sufficiently advanced, according to the PI of each of the data collection sites, the markerless tracking method will be run in parallel to, but not intervening with, patient treatments during data acquisition.

This study does not involve a therapeutic intervention as standard radiation therapy treatment will be prescribed. This study involves one additional 4DCT scan (i.e. the Real-Time Gated 4DCT scan) acquired immediately before or following the conventional 4DCT scan. This will take place on the day of the patient's treatment simulation, as per the current standard of care. The scanning sequence (i.e. conventional first versus gated first) will be randomised. The Real-Time Gated 4DCT is anticipated to take longer than the conventional 4DCT scan, due to its gated (beam-pause) nature. However, upper limits for timing will be implemented in the software, and the scan aborted for highly erratic breathing traces that would not benefit from a Real-Time Gated 4DCT scan.

This trial will investigate the feasibility of the Markerless Tumour Tracking technology.

Prediction of postoperative lung function is currently based on anatomical segment counting (ASC), which incorporates pulmonary function test (PFT) results. Standard PFTs such as spirometry can only measure pulmonary capacity as an average over the entire lung and do not take regional function differences into account. Nuclear medicine is recommended where regional functional imaging is required to inform surgical decisions. However, nuclear medicine scans are expensive, time consuming and not available in all institutions. CT-ventilation imaging is a cheaper and more accessible alternative to nuclear medicine for informing lung cancer patient treatment choices. The primary aim is to quantify the difference between predicted postoperative values of pulmonary function metrics derived from CT ventilation imaging and standard anatomical segment counting method.

The goal of this observational validation study is to determine the best implementation of fluoroscopic and CT ventilation imaging in patients having non-stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (non-SABR) radiotherapy for stages II-IV lung cancer. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Assess the dosimetric variation in functional avoidance radiation therapy (RT) plans produced using these ventilation imaging techniques, * Establish a quality assurance procedure for functional lung avoidance radiation therapy, and * Evaluate the clinical acceptable thresholds for accuracy of the method. Participants will: Prior to radiation therapy treatment, patients will undergo: 1. A standard of care 4DCT scan for radiation therapy simulation, 2. Pulmonary Function Tests (PFT) 3. A 4D attenuation correction CT 4. Breath Hold Computed Tomography (BHCT) imaging where static end-inspiration and end-expiration BHCT scans will be acquired, 5. Nuclear medicine imaging where a Tc-99m MAA SPECT perfusion scan and a Galligas PET ventilation scan will be acquired, 6. Fluoroscopy where 1-breath cine-fluoroscope sequences will be acquired at five different angles across the chest, 7. A 4D Cone Beam Computed Tomography (4DCBCT) scan. 8. Scans in points 4 to 7 above will be repeated at the end of treatment. Individual participants provide their own internal control. Galligas PET ventilation images (control) are compared with ventilation images derived from additional scans (comparator) for each participant. Tc-99m MAA SPECT perfusion images (control) are compared with perfusion images derived from BHCT scans (comparator) for each patient. There will be no change to patient treatment and patients will be treated using a standard of care anatomical based treatment plan. The pre-treatment 4DCBCT scan is part of standard of care.

This research project is testing a new treatment planning method for patients with lung cancer who will be treated with radiation therapy. This new method is called Computed Tomography (CT) ventilation imaging. It aims to help protect the healthiest parts of patient's lungs from being injured by the radiation therapy. The investigators will determine whether healthy lung sparing can improve the quality of life in these patients.

This study is designed to evaluate the role of Oxygen Enhanced (OE) Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) MRI in detecting regions of hypoxic tumour and to evaluate their use as imaging methods to selectively deliver targeted radiotherapy to regions of aggressive disease.

This observational study will investigate the properties of image files standardly collected during radiation therapy treatment in a cross-section of liver cancer patients who received stereotactic ablative body radiation therapy (SABR) after trans-catheter arterial chemo emobilisation (TACE). Specifically, it will determine whether the radio-opaque contrast agents in the image files can be detected by tumour-tracking software (KIM).

This study aims to find out which lifestyle approach works best for people with chronic musculoskeletal pain (such as low back pain or hip/knee osteoarthritis) who also have poor sleep. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three 12-month home-based programs: exercise, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), or a combination of both. Each program includes up to 10 online sessions with a physiotherapist and guidance on managing pain, sleep, and physical activity. We will measure changes in pain, sleep quality, and overall health using questionnaires, wearable devices, sensory tests, and blood samples. The goal is to improve understanding of non-medication treatments for pain and sleep problems.

After a kidney or a simultaneous kidney-pancreas transplant, some patients may face problems with their new organs. This happens because the body sometimes makes a mistake and tries to get rid of the organ. This problem is called rejection. One type of rejection is known as Acute T cell mediated rejection (TCMR). This can lead to many problems or even stop the transplant from working. Doctors give strong steroids to treat this problem, but there are no rules for how much steroid to give. Too much steroids can cause problems like heart and bone problems, bad infections, and weight gain. That is why we need to find the right dose of steroids for each person to treat this. TACKLE-IT is a study that will try to find the right steroid dose for treating rejection.

This study aims to compare the effects of an in-person physiotherapist-led lifestyle-focused pain care intervention with a virtual multidisciplinary lifestyle-focused pain care intervention on pain impact in people with musculoskeletal conditions and lifestyle risks. Adults residing in rural and regional locations in New South Wales (AUS) with musculoskeletal conditions (low back, knee or hip pain) recruited from hospital outpatient services (physiotherapy, emergency or orthopaedics) or in response to social media advertisements. Eligible consenting participants will be randomised in a 1:1 ratio to receive either in-person physiotherapy lifestyle intervention or the virtual enabled multidisciplinary intervention. Randomisation will be conducted using an electronic central randomisation service to ensure concealment of treatment allocation. Participants in both arms (in-person and virtual care) will have up to 10 consultations over six months and follow similar principles based on the previous Healthy Lifestyle for Pain (HeLP) intervention, but differ in their mode of delivery and access to multidisciplinary care. Participant data will be collected at baseline and weeks 12, 26, 39 and 52. The primary outcome will be Pain Impact measured using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS-29). The secondary outcomes will include participant's health behaviors and mediating outcomes, economic outcomes, process outcomes and adverse events.

The aim of this project is to learn about how a change in diet will affect sleepiness, quality of life and metabolic health in people living with narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia. The dietary changes we will be testing are well researched and safe in a wide range of patient groups (such as in obesity, type one and two diabetes, cancer and dysfunction related to the nervous system) but has not been researched in conditions of hypersomnolence such as narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia. It is important to test adjunct therapies and lifestyle changes such as dietary interventions to ensure that people living with hypersomnolence have a range of options in addition to medications, to improve their health. If effective, this project will be tested in more people and may become a part of routine patient care. These dietary approaches have been shown to improve health and quality of life in people living with chronic pain, neurological conditions such as epilepsy and have been shown to be safe in these populations as well as people living with type one diabetes. This is a new area of research for people living with hypersomnolence.

This global platform study will evaluate multiple interventions, across several domains of therapeutic care, in adult patients with kidney failure and newly diagnosed calciphylaxis.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether accelerated BEP chemotherapy is more effective than standard BEP chemotherapy in males with intermediate and poor-risk metastatic germ cell tumours.

The goal of this clinical trial is to examine the efficacy of cognitive bias modification for interpretation (CBM-I) in people with Type 2 Diabetes and persistent pain. The main question\[s\] it aims to answer is whether interpretation bias training away from pain improves pain outcomes. Participants in the CBM-I group will complete 4 online training sessions approximately half an hour each. Each session will present participants with ambiguous scenarios which may be pain-related, however the final word of the sentence will resolve the scenario as benign (thus training participants to make benign interpretations). A measure of interpretation bias will be administered following the fourth training session, and pain severity and interference will be measured at baseline, post-training, two week follow up, and three month follow up. The study hypothesises that participants in the CBM-I group will demonstrate a greater reduction in the co-primary outcomes of pain severity and pain interference over time compared to those in the placebo control.

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare REBUILD-SM (a purpose-built smartphone app and self-management package) with standard care in people with interstitial lung disease (ILD). The main question it aims to answer is: • Does REBUILD-SM improve health-related quality of life, symptoms, anxiety, self-efficacy and physical activity for people with ILD? Participants in the intervention group will work through the self-management package with support from a healthcare professional via phone or Zoom. They will also enter deidentified health data into the RE-BUILD smartphone app to track their progress over time. Participants in the control group will use a reduced functionality version of the smartphone app only. Researchers will compare both groups to see if there is any difference in health-related quality of life, symptoms, anxiety, self-efficacy and level of physical activity.

This global study will assess the effect of randomising dialysis sites to one of two default dialysate sodium concentrations in current practice, 140mmol/l and 137mmol/l, on major cardiovascular events and death in patients receiving maintenance haemodialysis.

This study will test how significant weight loss through bariatric surgery, combined with a personalised exercise program, affects brain inflammation. Th investigators want to understand the connection between obesity-related body inflammation, metabolic issues, and brain inflammation and function.

Heart attacks are caused by a blood clot blocking the blood vessels of the heart, preventing blood getting to the heart muscle. Opening up the artery with a balloon (angioplasty) and a small mesh tube (stent) although life saving can cause this clot to break up and get washed downstream, which can make the heart attack worse. The investigators can measure the amount of damage caused to the microcirculation by calculating the IMR (Index of Microcirculatory resistance). This can be measured by a wire in the coronary artery with a pressure sensor at the tip. If the IMR is elevated, it is suggestive of extensive microcirculatory damage. A clot dissolving medicine can be administered in the artery to try and reduce the IMR which can reduce damage to the heart muscle and improve outcomes. Impaired microcirculatory perfusion in patients as a result of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is associated with poor clinical outcomes. This project seeks to identify patients with impaired microcirculatory perfusion after STEMI and to assess whether acute improvement in microcirculatory perfusion in these patients by the use of intracoronary thrombolytic therapy results in improved clinical outcomes.

A pilot-stage device feasibility study investigating a mask-free motion-monitoring patient immobilisation system for use during radiation therapy treatment of head and neck cancer (HNC). This mask-free system combines the standard radiation therapy (RT) head rest to help the patient remain still with a surface guidance detection system that uses sensors to detect and track patient movement. Patients who will have RT treatment for head and neck cancer involving an immobilisation mask will be asked to lie on the treatment couch for the normal treatment fraction time while the surface monitoring system is activated. We will then assess: i) The level of acceptance of the system by HNC patients currently being treated with RT using an immobilisation mask, and ii) The ability of the surface guidance system to monitor movement of the patients

To explore the effectiveness of psilocybin-assisted therapy on reducing alcohol consumption in a double-blind, randomised, phase II clinical trial.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common bacterial infections in children. Up to 50% of UTI's are caused by multi-drug resistant ESBL-producing gram negative bacteria that do not respond to treatment with oral penicillin's or cephalosporins. Instead, children often require hospital admission to receive broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics when they may otherwise be safely managed at home; resulting in prolonged hospital stays and an increased use of health resources. Fosfomycin is a broad-spectrum antibiotic discovered in 1969 that remains susceptible to a large number of organisms due to its low international use. Fosfomycin can be prepared as an oral solution with an orange/tangerine flavour and is currently approved for use in females \>12 years old. Despite extensive evidence of its efficacy in adults and safety in neonates, the use of fosfomycin in children remains limited and fosfomycin is not currently licensed for use in children \<12 years old in Australia. The aim of this clinical trial is to compare the use of oral fosfomycin against standard of care antibiotics for the treatment of antibiotic resistant urinary tract infections in children. The main questions the trial aims to answer are: 1. Is oral fosfomycin non-inferior in efficacy to the current standard of care for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant urinary tract infections in children? 2. Is oral fosfomycin a safe and well-tolerated antibiotic in children? 3. What is the best dosing regimen of oral fosfomycin for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant UTIs in children?

To explore the effectiveness of n-acetylcysteine in improving treatment outcomes for alcohol use disorder in a double-blind randomised placebo-controlled trial.