Glow-in-the-dark dye could help surgeons find hidden cancers
NCT ID NCT06948552
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Sep 18, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This study tests whether a medication called 5-ALA, already used in brain surgery, can make upper urinary tract tumors glow under blue light during surgery. About 10 adults with known or suspected tumors will take 5-ALA before their procedure. The goal is to see if this technique helps surgeons find and remove more cancer than standard white light alone.
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
-
Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
-
About 10 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
Sep 2026
- Expected to finish
-
Jan 2028
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.
- Ages
-
18 to 75 years
- 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 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: * Patients aged 18 or older undergoing diagnostic or therapeutic ureteroscopy for a known or suspected upper tract urothelial tumor * Able to provide informed consent * Able to comply with study requirements Exclusion Criteria: * Known porphyria or hypersensitivity to porphyrins * Pregnant or breastfeeding women * AST or ALT \> 2x upper limit of normal within 30 days prior to surgery * Participation in another investigational study within 30 days * Known allergy or contraindication to 5-ALA or its components
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Upper tract urothelial carcinoma are added.
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.
-
The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
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
-
Henry Ford Hospital
RECRUITINGDetroit, Michigan, 48202, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Blood test may reveal how rare cancer responds to treatment
- Could sterile water match chemotherapy in preventing bladder cancer return?
- A simple blood draw could spot bladder Cancer's return
- Can a tiny ultrasound probe see how deep a urinary tract tumor goes?
- Two-Drug combo aims to shrink upper tract bladder cancer before surgery
- Could a drug combo spare bladder cancer patients from surgery?