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Brain surgery gets a GPS: network maps may help remove tumors while preserving function

NCT ID NCT07717827

Disease control Sponsor: ARNAS Civico Di Cristina Benfratelli Hospital Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jul 21, 2026 · Last updated Jul 22, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study tests a new way to plan brain tumor surgery by creating detailed maps of each patient's brain networks using advanced MRI. Instead of relying only on standard anatomy, surgeons can see the white matter pathways and functional networks that could be affected. The goal is to remove as much tumor as possible while reducing the risk of neurological damage. The study includes 400 adults with gliomas or brain metastases in critical brain areas.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
connectome-guided network-based neuronavigation and advanced diffusion MRI tractography pipeline
What this could lead to
If successful, this approach could help surgeons remove more tumor while better protecting brain functions, potentially improving recovery and quality of life for patients with brain tumors in critical areas.
What could go wrong
This is a single-center study, and the technique may not work for all tumor types or locations. The added complexity could also increase surgery time or introduce new risks.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Participants

About 400 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Jan 2022

Expected to finish

Dec 2027

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Who is studied

Consecutive adult patients referred to the Unit of Neurosurgery of A.R.N.A.S. Civico Di Cristina Benfratelli (Palermo, Italy) for surgical treatment of supratentorial gliomas or brain metastases involving or adjacent to eloquent cortical or subcortical regions, enrolled prospectively from January 2022.

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Indication for supratentorial brain tumor surgery (glioma or metastasis) * Lesion located within or adjacent to eloquent cortical or subcortical regions (motor, language, visual, or higher-order associative networks, as defined by clinical and neuroimaging criteria) * Availability of standardized preoperative and early postoperative brain MRI (including high-direction diffusion tensor imaging, ≥64 directions) * Consistent postoperative clinical follow-up planned at the treating centre * Provision of informed consent for use of anonymized clinical and imaging data Exclusion Criteria: * Inability to undergo pre- or postoperative MRI * Significant comorbidities precluding surgery * Incomplete imaging or clinical data * Purely infratentorial lesions or non-tumoral pathologies

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

brain cancer glioma metastatic malignant neoplasm in the brain neoplasm nervous system cancer Neurologic Manifestations

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Brain (nervous system) cancers Brain connectivity Brain metastasases GLIOMA

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  1. The places running it

    1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. A doctor treating you

    A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Unit of Neurosurgery - A.R.N.A.S. Civico Di Cristina Benfratelli - 90127, Palermo - Italy

    RECRUITING

    Palermo, PA, 90127, Italy

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