Scientists use special MRI to peek inside brain tumors
NCT ID NCT03067467
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This observational study uses a special MRI technique with hyperpolarized carbon-13 pyruvate to see how brain tumors use energy. Researchers will measure metabolic byproducts in 25 adults with brain tumors before any treatment. The goal is to learn more about tumor metabolism, not to test a new therapy.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Hyperpolarized 13C-pyruvate and gadolinium contrast
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could improve how doctors see brain tumor metabolism, potentially guiding better treatment decisions in the future.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small, early feasibility study with only 25 people. It is not designed to test a treatment, so it may not lead to any direct patient benefit.
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
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About 25 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2019
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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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
20 Brain Tumor Patients
- Ages
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18 to 70 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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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 Hide 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: * Definitive diagnosis of brain tumors by imaging which demonstrates all kinds of brain malignancy, including glioma, meningioma, and brain metastases prior to any chemotherapy or radiation treatment. * 18-70 years of age * Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent. * All races and ethnicities will be included; subjects must be able to read and speak the English language. Once the protocol is established, Spanish-speaking participants will be included. * Women of child-bearing potential must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation. Exclusion Criteria: * Subjects who are receiving any other investigational agents. * Previous or current treatment by radiation or chemotherapy. * Concurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection, uncontrolled chronic diseases such as hypertension, lung disease, liver disease, kidney disease, diabetes, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmias, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements. * Subjects who have a history of alcohol abuse or illicit drug use. * Subjects must not be pregnant or nursing due to the potential for congenital abnormalities and the potential of this regimen to harm nursing infants * Subjects who have contraindication to contrast enhanced MRI examination Contraindications to MRI examination include: * Medically unstable * Heart failure * Severe LVOT outflow obstruction * Unstable angina * Child bearing * Lactating * Any contraindication per MRI Screening Form including * Implants contraindicated at 3T, pacemakers * Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) * Claustrophobia * Since each subject may be receiving a gadolinium-based contrast agent intravenously: * eGFR ≤ 30 mL/min/1.73m2 * Sickle cell disease * Hemolytic anemia
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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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
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UT Southwestern Medical Center
RECRUITINGDallas, Texas, 75390, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can doctors watch brain metastases instead of zapping them?
- Starving brain tumors of blood before surgery
- Radioactive tiles target brain tumors in frail patients
- Tiny gadolinium particles aim to make brain radiation hit harder
- Breathing CO2 during brain scans could reveal hidden tumor disruption