Clinical trial · Interventional
Reducing Respiratory Symptoms of Pulmonary Irradiation in Interstitial Lung Disease
Reducing Respiratory Symptoms of Pulmonary Irradiation in Interstitial Lung Disease: A 2x2 Factorial Randomized Phase II Trial Testing N-Acetyl Cysteine and Dexamethasone
NCT05986318CI-TRIAL-00124016RESPIRE-ILDrecruitingPhase 2ClinicalTrials.gov clinicaltrialsProvenance
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
In this double-blind phase II randomized controlled trial, patients with lung cancer or ≤2 oligometastatic pulmonary lesions and a concomitant diagnosis of ILD who are planned for radical Radiation Therapy (RT) will be randomized using a 2 x 2 factorial design to oral N-acetylcysteine (NAC) versus placebo, and also to short course corticosteroids versus placebo.
Conditions
Conditions (2)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interstitial Lung Disease | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Lung Cancer | Malignant Lung Neoplasm | CURATED_EXACT | 0.92 |
Interventions
Interventions (5)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dexamethasone Oral | Drug | Dexamethasone | ALIAS |
| Dexamethasone Placebo | Drug | — | UNRESOLVED |
| N-Acetyl cysteine | Dietary Supplement | — | UNRESOLVED |
| N-Acetyl cysteine Placebo | Dietary Supplement | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Radiation Therapy | Radiation | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (4)
- type
- ACTIVE_COMPARATOR
- label
- NAC + Corticosteroids
- description
- Participants will take 600 mg of active NAC orally, three times daily, for 60 days. Participants will also take 4 mg of active dexamethasone, orally, once daily for 10 days, then 2 mg, orally, once daily for 5 days, then 1 mg, orally, once daily for 5 days. All participants will be treated with radical pulmonary radiation therapy.
- interventionNames
- Dietary Supplement: N-Acetyl cysteine
- Drug: Dexamethasone Oral
- Radiation: Radiation Therapy
- type
- ACTIVE_COMPARATOR
- label
- Corticosteroids + NAC Placebo
- description
- Participants will take 4 mg of active dexamethasone, orally, once daily for 10 days, then 2 mg, orally, once daily for 5 days, then 1 mg, orally, once daily for 5 days. Participants will also take matching NAC placebo orally, three times daily, for 60 days. All participants will be treated with radical pulmonary radiation therapy.
- interventionNames
- Drug: Dexamethasone Oral
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria:
* Lung cancer or 1-2 oligometastatic pulmonary lesions planned for radical intent radiotherapy \[minimal Biologically Effective Does (BED) of 48 Gy10 (Gray) or biological equivalent\].
* Pathologically (histologically or cytologically) proven diagnosis of cancer is not required, but strongly recommended.
* If the risk of biopsy is unacceptable, pathologic confirmation is not required providing there is growth over time on Computed Tomography (CT) imaging and/or Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) avidity that is strongly suggestive of malignancy.
* Fibrotic Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) of any subtype, as diagnosed by a respirologist and confirmed by central review
* Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-3
* Age ≥ 18
* Life expectancy \> 6 months
* Patients are allowed to receive anti-fibrotic agents used in the treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) or non-IPF fibrotic ILD (e.g. nintedanib, pirfenidone) and/or corticosteroids, if those are part of their current ILD treatment regimen. Other immunosuppressive drugs such as mycophenolate, azathioprine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab must be stopped for 2 weeks prior and 2 weeks after Radiation Therapy (RT).
* Concurrent standard chemotherapy is allowed where indicated. All other systemic therapies, including biologic targeted agents or immunotherapy, or any drugs with known radiosensitive effects, must be stopped for 2 weeks prior and 2 weeks after treatment.
Exclusion Criteria:
* Prior lung radiotherapy
* Current use of oral or intravenous corticosteroids
* Plans for the patient to receive other local therapy to the target lesion(s) while on this study, except at disease progression
* Any medical condition that could, in the opinion of the investigator, preclude radiotherapy or prevent follow-up after radiotherapy
* Pregnancy
* If not pregnant, use of effective contraception methods for women of childbearing age is required which can include:
* hormonal methods (e.g. oral, injected, implanted),
* placement of an intrauterine device,
* barrier methods (i.e. condoms),
* sterilization of the partner (e.g. previous vasectomy)
* abstinence
* Women who become pregnant should stop taking NAC and/or dexamethasone and inform their study doctor.
* Male participants should use adequate forms of birth control with their partners.
* Currently breastfeeding
* Current or recent use of NAC
* Contraindications to dexamethasone or N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC). These include:
* Previous intolerance or allergy to dexamethasone or NAC
* Scleroderma
* Active infection
* Glaucoma
* Psychiatric disorder that could be exacerbated by dexamethasone
* Cystinuria
* Any other condition that the treating physician believes to be a contraindication to dexamethasone or NACReferences
Publications (11)
- BACKGROUNDVerstegen NE, Lagerwaard FJ, Hashemi SM, Dahele M, Slotman BJ, Senan S. Patterns of Disease Recurrence after SABR for Early Stage Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Optimizing Follow-Up Schedules for Salvage Therapy. J Thorac Oncol. 2015 Aug;10(8):1195-200. doi: 10.1097/JTO.0000000000000576. PMID 26200274
- BACKGROUNDChoi YW, Munden RF, Erasmus JJ, Park KJ, Chung WK, Jeon SC, Park CK. Effects of radiation therapy on the lung: radiologic appearances and differential diagnosis. Radiographics. 2004 Jul-Aug;24(4):985-97; discussion 998. doi: 10.1148/rg.244035160. PMID 15256622
- BACKGROUNDKainthola A, Haritwal T, Tiwari M, Gupta N, Parvez S, Tiwari M, Prakash H, Agrawala PK. Immunological Aspect of Radiation-Induced Pneumonitis, Current Treatment Strategies, and Future Prospects. Front Immunol. 2017 May 2;8:506. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.00506. eCollection 2017. PMID 28512460
- BACKGROUNDTsoutsou PG, Koukourakis MI. Radiation pneumonitis and fibrosis: mechanisms underlying its pathogenesis and implications for future research. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2006 Dec 1;66(5):1281-93. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2006.08.058. PMID 17126203
- BACKGROUNDNiska JR, Schild SE, Rule WG, Daniels TB, Jett JR. Fatal Radiation Pneumonitis in Patients With Subclinical Interstitial Lung Disease. Clin Lung Cancer. 2018 Jul;19(4):e417-e420. doi: 10.1016/j.cllc.2018.02.003. Epub 2018 Feb 17. No abstract available. PMID 29526532
- BACKGROUNDAxelsson GT, Putman RK, Aspelund T, Gudmundsson EF, Hida T, Araki T, Nishino M, Hatabu H, Gudnason V, Hunninghake GM, Gudmundsson G. The associations of interstitial lung abnormalities with cancer diagnoses and mortality. Eur Respir J. 2020 Dec 17;56(6):1902154. doi: 10.1183/13993003.02154-2019. Print 2020 Dec. PMID 32646918
- BACKGROUNDOzawa Y, Abe T, Omae M, Matsui T, Kato M, Hasegawa H, Enomoto Y, Ishihara T, Inui N, Yamada K, Yokomura K, Suda T. Impact of Preexisting Interstitial Lung Disease on Acute, Extensive Radiation Pneumonitis: Retrospective Analysis of Patients with Lung Cancer. PLoS One. 2015 Oct 13;10(10):e0140437. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0140437. eCollection 2015.