A prospective, single-arm, phase II clinical trial of intraoperative radiotherapy using a low-energy X-ray source for local advanced Laryngocarcinoma (ILAL): a study protocol

BACKGROUND: Laryngocarcinoma (LC), in most cases a squamous cell carcinoma, accounts for 1 ~ 5% of the incidence of all tumors. At present, laryngocarcinoma is mainly managed with the integration of surgery and radio- and chemo-therapies. The current development trend of treatment is to improve the local control rate of tumor and the quality of life of patients. Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) is a radiotherapy that delivers single high dose irradiation at a close range to the tumor bed during the surgical operation process. It has particular radiobiological advantages in protecting normal surrounding tissues by directly applying the irradiation dose to the high-risk tumor bed area. Two forms of IORT, i.e., high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy and external beam radiotherapy (EBRT, including electron and photono IORT), had been studied before the treatment of head and neck tumors (including laryngocarcinoma). However, no relevant assessment had been carried out on 50KV low-energy X-ray. We are convinced by certain arguments that the application of low-energy X-ray for intraoperative local radiotherapy of laryngocarcinoma can not only achieve the therapeutic effect of IORT but also reduce the incidence of high-energy irradiation related toxic and side effects. The purpose of this study is to observe the safety and short-term efficacy of IORT when used in conjunction with standard of care for the treatment of local advanced laryngocarcinoma (LAL). METHODS/DESIGN: In consideration of the applications of precise targeted IORT in oncosurgery and in line with the application range and reference clinical medical guidances approved by SFDA (ZEISS radiosurgical operation system has been used for the treatment of solid tumors since 31 December, 2013 with an approval from SFDA), we have preliminarily planned the tumors suitable for IORT, determined the members of MDT in our hospital, improved the MDT diagnosis and treatment processes for the tumors, established the standards, indications and contraindications for the application of IORT, determined the indicators to be observed after the treatment of tumors with surgical operations plus IORT, and carried out follow-up visits and statistical analysis. This is a single-arm, prospective Phase II clinical trial of the treatment of LAL patients with IORT + EBRT. The study subjects are followed up for statistics and information of their acute/chronic toxic reactions and local control rate, DFS, and OS etc. The safety and short-term efficacy of the application of IORT as SIB for the treatment of LAL. The sample size of the study is 125 subjects. DISCUSSION: The safety and efficacy of IORT for the treatment of head and neck cancers have been proven in studies by multiple institutions (1–3). The purpose of this study is to investigate the maximum safe dose and short-term efficacy of IORT for providing a theoretical basis for clinical trials. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT04278638. Registered 18 February 2020 - prospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04278638