OncoSignal

Decision brief · what the records say, not our assessment

Testing the Application of Mepitel Film During Radiation Therapy to Reduce Radiation Related Redness and Peeling in Breast Cancer Patients Following Mastectomy

NCT04989504 · Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology · PHASE3 · active not recruiting · Breast cancer · Open Targets disease: breast carcinoma

Six questions a reader deciding whether to spend more time on this asks, each answered with flags: yes, no, or not published (hatched), each with its rule and source record. Flags are never added up into a score or a verdict, because published success rates disagree by a factor of two and more.

1. Is the biology right?

  • Targets: No investigational drug among the registered interventions (devices, radiation, procedures and background therapy are not looked up). · Open Targets Platform
  • Not loaded on this app yet: Normal-tissue expression in vital organs. Source: Human Protein Atlas (ticket 36).
  • Not loaded on this app yet: Pan-essential in cell lines. Source: DepMap (ticket 36).
  • Not loaded on this app yet: Approved drug on this target. Source: Drugs@FDA (ticket 30).

2. Can the result be trusted?

  • Randomised: yes · Randomised allocation
    Rule: Registry allocation field. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04989504, 2026-11-11
  • Small denominator: no · 216 enrolled; each patient moves a rate by 100 ÷ 216 = 0.5 points
    Rule: Enrolment under 30; the arithmetic is shown, not a benchmark. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04989504, 2026-11-11
  • Primary endpoint is overall survival: no · Serially Measured Patient-completed Modified Radiation Induced Skin Reaction Assessment Scale (mRISRAS) Scores
    Rule: A registered primary outcome measure names overall survival. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04989504, 2026-11-11
    Published context: Non-OS primary endpoint: odds ratio 2.79 for a positive phase 3 (Otsuka 2021, 400 phase 3 oncology trials, to 2020). Shown with the next figure: a surrogate is easier to hit, and often a weak guide to survival.
    Published context: 52% of surrogate-to-OS correlations are low (Prasad 2015, published to 2014). Shown with the figure above.
  • Results overdue: no · Results posted 2025-04-29
    Rule: Primary completion (actual) more than 12 months ago and no results posted to the registry. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04989504, 2026-11-11
  • Not loaded on this app yet: Treated and evaluable counts, assessor, confirmed response, follow-up and data cutoff. Source: Readout extraction (ticket 32).
  • Not loaded on this app yet: Primary endpoint changed between registry versions. Source: Registry versions in the store (ticket 32).

3. What must it beat?

  • Not loaded on this app yet: Control-arm result and approved therapies for the same segment, with label links. Source: Drugs@FDA, FDA labels and readouts (tickets 30, 32).

4. Too crowded, or too late?

  • Not loaded on this app yet: Programs on the target by phase and months behind the leader. Source: Programs and Drugs@FDA (ticket 33).

5. Can it be approved, and stay approved?

  • Single-country: yes · All 49 sites in United States
    Rule: All listed sites are in one country; the share of US sites is shown. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04989504, 2026-11-11
  • Caveat: Site counts are not patients per country, and trials registered only outside ClinicalTrials.gov are not covered. Where the sites are is a fact about the record, not a judgement of its quality.
  • Not loaded on this app yet: Precedent approvals for target, modality and endpoint; accelerated-approval status. Source: Drugs@FDA and FDA accelerated-approval tables (ticket 30).
  • Not loaded on this app yet: Orphan designation, EU paediatric plan, pediatric incentives. Source: No investigational drug was named, so EMA and FDA records were not looked up.

6. Can the sponsor finish?

  • Not loaded on this app yet: Filed cash, quarterly spend and the runway arithmetic. Source: SEC XBRL company facts (ticket 37).
  • Not loaded on this app yet: Sponsor's completed vs stopped oncology trials and results-reporting record. Source: Registry, by company (ticket 37).

What public data cannot tell you

Public records cannot show: sales forecasts; a probability of success for this asset; full deal terms and net prices; FDA designations and action dates before approval (shown only as company-reported); clinical holds unless the company disclosed them; manufacturing; patents on unapproved drugs; whether preclinical findings have been replicated.

Sources: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04989504 (2026-11-11); Open Targets Platform (2026-11-11); FDA Pediatric Molecular Target List (Listed as February 2026 on the FDA Pediatric Oncology page; the file served is 9.7.22_the_relevant_molecular_target_list.xlsx, whose Summary of Changes sheet is headed 'SEPTEMBER 2022 UPDATE' (footnote date 2022-09-01)) (2026-11-11). JSON: /api/brief/trial/NCT04989504. Not medical advice.