
“I think it’s really important that people keep signing up to these type of trials to push research forward.”
Please note - this trial is no longer recruiting patients. We hope to add results when they are available.
This trial is looking at treatment for the Ewing’s sarcoma family of tumours. Cancer Research UK supports this study.
This study is for both adults and children. We use the term ‘you’ in this summary, but of course if you are a parent, we are referring to your child.
Treatment for the usually includes chemotherapy. You may have treatment that includes the drugs vincristine, ifosfamide, doxorubicin and etoposide. Doctors call this VIDE. Or you may have vincristine, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide and etoposide, which is called VDC/IE.
This is to shrink the cancer before having surgery. If the doctor can’t completely remove your sarcoma with surgery, you may also have radiotherapy.
As with any cancer there is a risk that your sarcoma may come back or start to grow again. To try and reduce this risk doctors give more chemotherapy after surgery.
In this trial the researchers want to compare VIDE with VDC/IE to find out which is best to use before surgery. They also want to compare different types of chemotherapy after surgery to find out which is the best.
You may be able to join this trial if all of the following apply.
You cannot join this trial if any of these apply.
This is an international phase 3 trial. The researchers need about 600 people to join the trial.
There are 2 parts in this trial. After the 1st part of the trial, if you don’t want to continue with the 2nd part you don’t have to.
Before starting treatment, you have a central line put in. This is a plastic tube that goes into a large vein near your heart. You have your drugs through it and blood samples can be taken from it.
The first part of this trial is randomised
After chemotherapy the trial team will assess how your sarcoma has responded. You then have surgery, radiotherapy or both.
They will then look at the risk of your sarcoma coming back or starting to grow again and put you into 1 of the following groups.
You have more chemotherapy and you are put into treatment groups at random again, according to what your risk is or if your sarcoma has spread to your lungs.
Those who had VIDE in the first part of the trial will have one of the following.
If you are in the standard risk group, you have either
If you are in the medium risk group, you have either
If you are in the high risk group, or your sarcoma has spread to the lungs, you have either
Those who had VDC/IE in the first part of the trial will have one of the following
If you agree to take part in this trial, the researchers will ask for a sample of your cancer, and blood from when you were diagnosed and during your treatment. If you don’t want to give the bone marrow and blood samples during treatment you don’t have to. You can still take part in the trial.
You see the doctor to have some tests before taking part in this trial. These tests include
You have a physical examination and blood tests after each treatment of chemotherapy. You have the scan and heart scan as needed. You have another bone marrow test done if your sacoma had alredy spread to the bone marrow when you joined the study.
At the end of treatment you have a MRI scan and another 6 months later if needed.
After treatment your doctor will tell you how often they need to see you.
The most common side effects of the drugs used in this trial are
Your doctor will talk to you about the possible side effects before you agree to take part in the trial.
We have specific information on the side effects of vincristine, etoposide, actinomycin D, ifosfamide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, and zoledronic acid.
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Professor Bernadette Brennan
Cancer Research UK
Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC)
NIHR Clinical Research Network: Cancer
University of Birmingham
This is Cancer Research UK number CRUK/11/050.
Freephone 0808 800 4040
“I think it’s really important that people keep signing up to these type of trials to push research forward.”