Sound waves open brain barrier to attack tumors
NCT ID NCT03551249
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tested whether a device called ExAblate, which uses focused ultrasound, can safely open the blood-brain barrier in 20 people with high-grade glioma (a type of brain cancer). The goal was to allow standard chemotherapy to reach the tumor more effectively. Researchers checked for side effects and used MRI scans to see if the barrier could be opened repeatedly.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- focused ultrasound (ExAblate device)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this approach could help chemotherapy reach brain tumors more effectively, potentially improving treatment for glioblastoma.
- What could go wrong
- This was a small, early safety study with only 20 participants. It does not prove the treatment works, and there may be risks from disrupting the blood-brain barrier.
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.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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20 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Mar 2019
- Finished
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Dec 2023
- Lead sponsor
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A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 80 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: 1. Patient is eligible for adjuvant temozolomide (TMZ) treatment based on the current standard of care. 2. Men or women age between 18 and 80 years, inclusive. 3. Able and willing to give informed consent. 4. Grade IV glioma (GBM) 5. Combined radiation/TMZ treatment is completed based on the prescribed standard of care regimen. 6. Karnofsky rating 70-100. 7. Able to communicate during the ExAblate BBBD (Blood Brain Barrier Disruption) procedure. 8. Able to attend all study visits (i.e., life expectancy of at least 3 months). Exclusion Criteria: 1. Patients presenting with the following imaging characteristics: i. Evidence of acute intracranial hemorrhage. 2. The sonication pathway to the tumor involves: i. Extensive scalp sores. ii. Clips or other metallic implanted objects in the skull or the brain (brain implants) 3. The subject presents with symptoms and signs of increased intracranial pressure (e.g., headache, nausea, vomiting, lethargy, and papilledema). 4. Patients with cerebellar or brainstem tumors. 5. Patients with positive HIV status. 6. Significant depression not adequately controlled with medication and at potential risk of suicide. 7. Patient receiving bevacizumab (Avastin) therapy. 8. Patients receiving treatment with corticosteroid doses greater than dexamethasone 24 mg daily (or equivalent). 9. Patients undergoing other concurrent therapies such as chemotherapy wafers, immunotoxins delivered by convection-enhanced delivery, regionally administered gene and viral therapies, immunotherapies, focal irradiation with brachytherapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, laser interstitial thermotherapy, and tumor treatment fields therapy. 10. Cardiac disease or unstable hemodynamics including: i. Documented myocardial infarction within six months of enrollment. ii. Unstable angina on medication. iii. Congestive heart failure. iv. Left ventricular ejection fraction \<50%. v. History of a hemodynamically unstable cardiac arrhythmia. vi. Cardiac pacemaker. 11. Severe hypertension (diastolic BP \> 100 on medication). 12. Anti-coagulant therapy, or medications known to increase risk of hemorrhage within washout period prior to treatment. 13. History of a bleeding disorder, coagulopathy or with a history of spontaneous tumor hemorrhage. 14. Cerebral or systemic vasculopathy, including intracranial thrombosis, vascular malformation, cerebral aneurysm or vasculitis. 15. History of drug or alcohol use disorder. 16. Active seizure disorder or epilepsy (seizures despite medical treatment). 17. Known sensitivity to gadolinium-based contrast agents. 18. Known sensitivity to DEFINITY® ultrasound contrast agent or perflutren. 19. Contraindications to MRI such as non-MRI-compatible implanted devices. 20. Large subjects not fitting comfortably into the MRI scanner. 21. Difficulty lying supine and still for up to 4 hours in the MRI unit or claustrophobia. 22. Positive pregnancy test (women of childbearing potential). 23. Severely impaired renal function or on dialysis. 24. Cardiac shunt. 25. Subjects with evidence of cranial or systemic infection. 26. Subjects with significant liver dysfunction, e.g., history of cirrhosis or active hepatitis.
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States
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University of Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland, 21201, United States
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University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia, 22908, United States
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West Virginia University
Morgantown, West Virginia, 26506, United States
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