Proton Radiosurgery for the Treatment of Malignant Ventricular Tachyarrhythmias

NCT06769451 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 21

Last updated 2025-01-27

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) are the leading cause of sudden cardiac death (SCD) worldwide. The implantable defibrillator (ICD) increases survival in patients at risk of VA, with data of superiority to antiarrhythmic drugs. Nevertheless, the ICD cannot prevent VAs, and shocks delivered by the device (appropriate and inappropriate) negatively impact patients' quality of life. Transcatheter ablation (TCA) is the percutaneous therapy that can eliminate VAs and prevent any recurrence. TCA is the state of the art for the treatment of drug-unresponsive VAs in patients with structural heart disease, but the prevalence of recurrence remains high (between 30% and 60%). For these reasons, several reports have recently appeared in the literature proposing a new solution for the treatment of VAs in which the use of external-beam body radiotherapy with stereotactic-radiosurgical technique (SBRT) is described. SBRT represents a rapid, noninvasive approach based on the delivery of high radiation doses of photons (25 Gy in a single fraction) to a precise location in cardiac tissue.

SBRT has entered the latest 2022 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines on VAs as a "bailout therapy". Based on preliminary data in the oncology setting, proton therapy could allow further optimization of compliance of these therapeutic doses by preserving even more of the healthy heart part and thus reducing the cardiopulmonary toxicity of radiotherapy outside the ablation target.

The investigators therefore propose an experimental (prospective interventional) study to evaluate the toxicity (primary endpoint) and efficacy (secondary endpoint) of proton radiosurgery for the treatment of VA with an enrollment of 21 patients. The primary endpoint is to evaluate the toxicity of proton radiotherapy in the acute phase (during the first 30 days of the procedure) and at 3, 6 and 12 months. A crucial part of the protocol will be the proper definition of the target to be irradiated, which will require the integration of different non-invasive cardiac imaging methodologies such as CT (Computed Tomography), MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and PET (Positron Emission Tomography), coupled with invasive and/or "non-invasive" body surface mapping with multi-electrode electrocardiogram (ECG) so as to obtain a "cardiac image" in which the myocardial scar and the arrhythmogenic region are fused.

Conditions

  • Ventricular Arrhythmia
  • Ventricular Tachycardia (V-Tach)

Interventions

RADIATION

Stereotactic Arrhythmia Radioablation (STAR) with Proton Therapy

STAR with a single dose of 25Gy(RBE) Proton Therapy

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Università degli Studi di Trento

    collaborator OTHER
  • Azienda Provinciale per i Servizi Sanitari, Provincia Autonoma di Trento

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
40 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2025-02-28
Primary Completion
2030-02-28
Completion
2030-02-28

Countries

  • Italy

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT06769451 on ClinicalTrials.gov