AzTrials
AzTrials

Non-small Cell Lung CancerSARONNCT02417662

Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy for Oligometastatic Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

A study testing Radical Radiotherapy (Conventional RT and SABR) and Non-investigational SACT in people with Non-small Cell Lung Cancer, run by University College, London at 19 sites in United Kingdom.

Active, not recruiting

Under way, not looking for participants. Everyone needed has enrolled. The study is still running.

Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

The trial will assess the addition of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) to standard anti-cancer therapy (SACT) in patients with oligometastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Non-small Cell Lung Cancer
What is being tested?
Radical Radiotherapy (Conventional RT and SABR) and Non-investigational SACT
Type of treatment
Surgery or procedure
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
140 participants
Where
19 sitesUnited Kingdom
Study dates
19 Aug 2016to Aug 2028
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Registration Inclusion criteria

  1. Patient ≥ 18 years
  2. Histologically or cytologically confirmed NSCLC.
  3. Staging with FDG PET-CT whole body scan and MRI brain within 45 days prior to registration (but prior to commencement of first cycle of SACT). [Note: Brain CT with IV contrast can be performed instead (within 45 days prior to registration). However, if brain metastases are evident on the brain CT then a brain MRI must be performed prior to randomisation, i.e. the Brain CT is sufficient for registration into the trial but not for randomisation if it is positive for brain metastases, in which case a brain MRI must be performed]
  4. ECOG performance status 0 to 1 (prior to commencement of first cycle of SACT).
  5. Patient presenting with primary disease +/- lymph nodes and synchronous oligometastatic disease (1-5 lesions in up to a maximum of 3 organs).
  6. Patient is deemed fit to receive 12 weeks of induction systemic anti-cancer therapy, according to local guidelines and assessment.
  7. Patient is deemed fit to receive radical RT (either conventional RT or SABR) to primary disease +/- lymph node and SABR/SRS to 1-5 metastases according to local guidelines and assessment.
  8. Primary tumour +/- lymph node suitable for radical RT (either conventional RT or SABR).
  9. 1-5 metastatic lesions in up to a maximum of 3 organs, assessable according to RECIST v1.1 and all of which are suitable for SABR/SRS (only one site of metastasis or primary tumour needs to be measurable according to RECIST v1.1).
  10. If brain metastasis present, the NHS commissioning guidelines need to be met for intracranial SRS (≤20 cc) (or equivalent for Wales, Scotland \& Northern Ireland in line with standard of care). ii. Lymph nodes included in the N1-3 categories of the IASLC 2009 staging criteria are treated in the conventional radiotherapy volume and are not counted as metastases. iii. Lymph nodes not included in the N1-3 categories of the IASLC 2009 staging criteria, e.g. pelvic lymph nodes, are counted as metastases. iv. For bone metastases pre-SABR stabilisation should be considered as clinically appropriate. This does not exclude the patient from the study.
  11. Acceptable lung function for radical lung radiotherapy as assessed according to local policy. Note: Potential thoracic sub-study patients will need to complete pulmonary function tests pre-randomisation
  12. No relevant co-morbidities, including UIP pulmonary fibrosis and connective tissue disorders.

Additional inclusion Information Patients with lung cancer and an additional malignant nodule are difficult to categorise, and the current stage classification rules are unclear. Such patients should be evaluated by the local multidisciplinary team to determine whether the additional lesion represents a second primary lung cancer or an additional tumour nodule corresponding to the dominant cancer. The SARON TMG will accept local MDM decisions on this and will centrally review all baseline imaging retrospectively

Registration Exclusion Criteria

  1. Patient has had palliative radiotherapy to any tumour site prior to registration or requires palliative radiotherapy prior to randomisation.
  2. Presence of an actionable molecular aberration.
  3. Patients currently receiving VEGF inhibitors.
  4. One or more metastases previously treated with alternative ablative treatment.Note: Surgical ablation (partial or total excision biopsy) is permitted for palliative or diagnostic purposes (e.g. for molecular analysis). Treatment for any residual disease/tumour bed will be at the discretion of treating clinician/MDT. Resected/ablated metastases will count towards the total number of metastases.
  5. Patient has received any previous treatment for this NSCLC malignancy.
  6. Patients who present with brain metastasis only and no sites of extra cranial metastatic disease i.e. the presence of more than 4 brain metastases is an exclusion criterion.
  7. Metastasis in sites where normal radiotherapy OAR constraints cannot be met.
  8. Brain metastasis within the brainstem.
  9. Patients who have more than five sites of metastases in up to 3 organs prior to trial registration.
  10. Primary tumour or metastases causing direct invasion or high clinical suspicion of direct invasion of the wall of a major blood vessel, oesophagus, trachea, proximal bronchial tree, stomach, intestines or mesenteric lymph nodes or cutaneous metastases or diffuse serosal metastases.
  11. Malignant pleural or pericardial effusion.
  12. Bilateral adrenal metastases.
  13. History of prior malignant tumour likely to interfere with the protocol treatment, (patients without evidence of disease for at least 1 year or a non-melanoma skin tumour or early cervical cancer are eligible).
  14. Women who are pregnant or breast feeding.
  15. Stage III disease with extensive nodal disease not treatable in radical radiotherapy field.
  16. Leptomeningeal disease

Eligibility Criteria for Randomisation

Following 6-8 weeks of induction SACT, patients must meet the following eligibility criteria for randomisation:

  • No confirmed disease progression on pre-randomisation CT scan (according to RECIST v1.1)
  • Patients with up to 5 metastases at the time of registration but less than 5 visible after induction SACT are still eligible for randomisation.
  • Patients with no visible metastases following 6-8 weeks of induction of SACT are eligible for randomisation. If randomised to the Investigational Arm, these patients will receive RT upon relapse of metastases (patients who experience progression with new metastases are not eligible for randomisation or for trial treatment).
  • Patients with complete response of the lung primary +/- lymph nodes following 6-8 weeks of induction SACT are eligible for randomisation. Patients randomised to the Investigational Arm, should receive conventional RT to the pre-SACT involved nodal stations and to any scar residuum at the primary site.
  • Patients who progress following 2 cycles of induction of SACT cannot be randomised. Only overall survival data will be collected for these patients.
  • ECOG Performance Status 0-2.
  • Continued suitability for trial treatment as deemed by the treating clinician.
  • Continues to meet all registration eligibility criteria, as detailed in section 6.4.1 (with the exception of ECOG status).

Trial locations and contacts

19 sites in 1 country.

19 sites in 1 country

United Kingdom19 sites
  • Belfast City Hospital

    Belfast

  • Queen Elizabeth Hospital

    Birmingham

  • Bristol Royal Infirmary

    Bristol

  • Addenbrooke's Hospital

    Cambridge

  • BEATSON

    Glasgow

  • Royal Surrey County Hospital

    Guildford

  • St James's University Hospital

    Leeds

  • Leicester Royal Infirmary

    Leicester

  • UCLH

    London, England

  • Guy's and St Thomas's Hospital

    London

  • St Bart's Hospital

    London

  • The Royal Marsden Hospital

    London

  • Christie Hospital

    Manchester

  • Clatterbridge Cancer Centre

    Metropolitan Borough of Wirral

  • The James Cook University Hospital

    Middlesbrough

  • Freeman Hospital

    Newcastle

  • City Hospital

    Nottingham

  • Weston Park Hospital

    Sheffield

  • Southampton General Hospital

    Southampton

Other trials in United Kingdom

About this study

Official title: Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy for Oligometastatic Non-small Cell Lung Cancer. A Randomised Phase II Trial

The trial will assess the addition of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) to standard anti-cancer therapy (SACT) in patients with oligometastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Patients will be randomised to receive either standard treatment alone (SACT) or standard treatment with conventional radiotherapy (RT) and SABR.

Read the detailed description

SARON is a phase II study examining the efficacy and safety of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) and conventional radiotherapy (RT) alongside standard chemotherapy in patients with oligometastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

Current treatment for this group of patients is systemic anti-cancer therapy. The choice of SACT is determined by the treating clinician and will be supplied from hospital commercial stock, and prepared and administered according to institutional guidelines. There is sufficient evidence regarding the safety of SABR, its effect on local control and a possible impact on overall survival. This trial will further examine overall survival, progression free survival and local control, as well as toxicity, feasibility, patient reported outcomes and health resource use.

There will be a feasibility analysis performed after 50 patients have been randomised. This will assess the practicality of achieving recruitment targets, logistics of delivering the experimental treatment and the potential for contamination (as patients may seek SABR outside of the trial if randomised to the non SABR arm). There will also be a parallel thoracic SABR safety and feasibility study after randomisation of 50 patients with thoracic metastases.

This is a multicentre randomised phase II study based on patients with oligometastatic NSCLC.

Trial arms:

Control Arm: systemic anti-cancer therapy alone (SACT) Experimental Arm: SACT plus radical RT to primary and SABR and/or SRS to metastases

Being tested
Radical Radiotherapy (Conventional RT and SABR), Non-investigational SACT
Keywords
NSCLC, Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy, Radiotherapy, Randomised, Controlled, Oligometastatic
Medical subject headings
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Radical Radiotherapy (Conventional RT and SABR)Radiation

    Radical radiotherapy (conventional or SABR) to primary and SABR to the metastases

  • Non-investigational SACTOther

    There is no intervention in the control group, patients will receive SACT. The choice of SACT is determined by the treating clinician and will be supplied from hospital commercial stock, and prepared and administered according to institutional guidelines.

Study groups in NCT02417662
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (SACT) aloneActive comparatorThe choice of SACT is determined by the treating clinician and will be supplied from hospital commercial stock, and prepared and administered according to institutional guidelines.
Receives: Other: Non-investigational SACT
SACT + Radical Radiotherapy (Conventional RT and SABR)ExperimentalSACT followed by radical RT (conventional or SABR) to the primary and SABR to the metastatic sites. The choice of SACT is determined by the treating clinician and will be supplied from hospital commercial stock, and prepared and administered according to institutional guidelines.
Receives: Radiation: Radical Radiotherapy (Conventional RT and SABR)

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Overall Survival

    The trial will investigate the impact of the addition of radical conventional and stereotactic radiotherapy to standard systemic therapy on overall survival

    Measured: From date of randomisation to the date of death, up to 36 months

Secondary outcomes (6)
  1. Progression Free Survival

    The trial will investigate the impact of the addition of radical conventional and stereotactic radiotherapy to standard systemic therapy on progression free survival

    Measured: Time from randomisation until progression or death, up to 36 months.

  2. Toxicity (radiotherapy related toxicity Adverse events)

    Safety analyses will be performed on all patients who received at least one dose of chemotherapy or fraction of SRT post-randomisation. Radiotherapy-related toxicity and early and late toxicity will be investigated. Adverse events will be compared between the two groups, as well as dose delays, reductions and compliance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

    Measured: From registration to up to 36 months after the first patient is randomised

  3. Local Tumour Control by assessment of tumours at baseline and at progression according to RECIST v1.1

    The trial will investigate the impact of the addition of radical conventional and stereotactic radiotherapy to standard systemic therapy on local tumour control

    Measured: From time of randomisation to time of progression or death, up to 36 months

  4. New distant metastasis-free survival

    Measured: Time from randomisation until presence of new distant metastasis or death, up to 36 months

  5. Overall Survival (from start of induction SACT)

    Measured: From date of start of induction SACT to date of death, up to 36 months

  6. Health Related Quality of Life using the EORTC-QLQ-C30 and EORTC-LC13 questionnaires

    The health related quality of life for each treatment arm will be assessed.

    Measured: From time of registration to time of death or up to 36 months

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted16 Apr 2015 (estimated)
  2. Study start19 Aug 2016
  3. Primary completionSep 2026 (estimated)
  4. Study completionAug 2028 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
140 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT02417662
Sponsor's protocol ID
UCL/13/0594
Acronym
SARON
Status last verified
Apr 2026
First submitted
20 Mar 2015
Last updated
6 May 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No

Publications

  • Conibear J, Chia B, Ngai Y, Bates AT, Counsell N, Patel R, Eaton D, Faivre-Finn C, Fenwick J, Forster M, Hanna GG, Harden S, Mayles P, Moinuddin S, Landau D. Study protocol for the SARON trial: a multicentre, randomised controlled phase III trial comparing the addition of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy and radical radiotherapy with standard chemotherapy alone for oligometastatic non-small cell lung cancer. BMJ Open. 2018 Apr 17;8(4):e020690. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020690.

    PubMed 29666135

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Radical Radiotherapy (Conventional RT and SABR) and Non-investigational SACT in people with Non-small Cell Lung Cancer, run by University College, London at 19 sites in United Kingdom.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: under way, not looking for participants, as of the sponsor's last update on 6 May 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 19 sites in United Kingdom. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Overall Survival (time frame: From date of randomisation to the date of death, up to 36 months). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT02417662, which also lists 1 linked publication.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 6 May 2026.

Free account

Log in to keep searching

You’ve used your 3 free searches. AzTrials is free: log in or create a free account to keep searching clinical trials and save the ones you want to follow.

Create a free accountLog in