Brain tumor surgery may get a boost: chemo wafer could replace radiation
NCT ID NCT04222062
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study compares two ways to prevent brain tumors from growing back after surgery. One group gets a chemotherapy wafer (GLIADEL) placed directly where the tumor was removed, while the other group receives radiation treatment within six weeks. The trial aims to see if the wafer works as well as radiation. About 100 adults with up to four brain metastases are being recruited.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Carmustine wafer (GLIADEL)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a one-time treatment option during surgery to reduce the chance of brain tumors returning, potentially avoiding the need for radiation.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early phase 2 trial with only 100 participants, so results are not yet proven. The wafer may not prevent recurrence as well as radiation, and there are risks from surgery and the chemotherapy itself.
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
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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About 100 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Nov 2020
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2029
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.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- 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.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion criteria: * Age 18 years or older (in states with 18 as age of majority); Age 19 years or older in Nebraska (age of majority) * Recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) class I, II or III with a Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) of \>/ 60 * Known or suspected primary solid cancer with metastatic brain tumor(s) - up to four in number and up to 4 cm in size with surgical resection planned for at least one site with Gliadel placement planned for only one site * Laboratory values adequate for patient to undergo surgery safely as determined by the attending neurosurgeon (transfusion permitted to reach goals) * Women of childbearing potential must have a negative pregnancy test within 7 days of initiating study. (No childbearing potential is defined as age 55 years or older and no menses for two years or any age with surgical removal of the uterus and/or both ovaries) * Normal coagulation studies (international normalized ratio, INR, ≤ 1.3) * Estimated survival time of ≥ 3 months (determined by the participant's primary oncologist) * Participant is willing and able to consent and abide by the protocol Exclusion criteria: * Prior treatment to the area of planned resection (surgery, radiation) * Prior whole brain radiation therapy * Diagnosis of lymphoma, germ cell cancer, small cell lung cancer, anaplastic thyroid cancer * Leptomeningeal disease * Neurodegenerative disorder (e.g. dementia) * Tumor size \> 4 cm * Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) \< 60 * Inability or unwillingness to co-operate with the requirements of the protocol * Any other clinically significant medical disease or condition, laboratory abnormality or psychiatric illness that, in the Investigator's opinion, may interfere with protocol adherence or confound efficacy or safety assessment or a subject's ability to give informed consent * Simultaneous participation in other therapeutic clinical trials * Severe pulmonary, cardiac or other systemic disease, specifically: * New York Heart Association \> Grade 2 congestive heart failure within 6 months prior to study entry, unless asymptomatic and well controlled with medication * Uncontrolled or significant cardiovascular disease, clinically significant ventricular arrhythmia (such as ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, or Torsades des pointes), clinically significant pulmonary disease (such as ≥ Grade 2 dyspnea, according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events 5.0) * Participants having any other disease, either metabolic or psychological, which as per Investigator assessment may affect the participant's compliance or place the participant at higher risk of potential treatment complications * Participant has a bleeding diathesis, or must take anticoagulants, or antiplatelet agents including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) at the time of scheduled resection that cannot be stopped for surgery * Inability to obtain MRI studies
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
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 study's own enquiry address
This study publishes an address for enquiries. See it below .
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The places running it
2 sites. 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
Show contact details
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Study contacts
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Contact
Email: •••••@•••••
Locations
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Henry Ford
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGDetroit, Michigan, 48202, United States
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University of Nebraska Medical Center
RECRUITINGOmaha, Nebraska, 68198, United States
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