New hope for glioblastoma: drug infused directly into brain shows promise
NCT ID NCT02861898
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This trial tests a new way to treat glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. The drug cetuximab, which blocks a protein that helps tumors grow, is infused directly into the brain's arteries after temporarily opening the blood-brain barrier. Up to 33 newly diagnosed patients will receive this treatment alongside standard chemo and radiation. The goal is to see if this approach is safe and improves survival.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- cetuximab (a drug that blocks a protein called EGFR, often found on glioblastoma cells)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a new way to treat glioblastoma by delivering the drug directly to the brain, potentially improving survival beyond current standard care.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-phase trial with only 33 participants, so results may not apply to all patients. The treatment involves repeated infusions and blood-brain barrier disruption, which carries risks like brain swelling or toxicity.
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 1/2
Runs two stages together: safety and dose first, then whether the treatment works.
- Participants
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About 33 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Start date
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Jun 2016
- 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.
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: * Male or female patients of ≥18 years of age. * Patients with a documented histologic diagnosis of newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) * Patients with pathology confirmed histologic EGFR overexpression * Patients must have at least one confirmed and evaluable tumor site.∗ \*A confirmed tumor site is one in which is biopsy-proven. NOTE: Radiographic procedures (e.g., Gd-enhanced MRI or CT scans) documenting existing lesions must have been performed within two weeks of treatment on this research study. * Patients must have a Karnofsky performance status ≥70% (or the equivalent ECOG level of 0-2) and an expected survival of ≥ three months. * No chemotherapy for two weeks prior to treatment under this research protocol and no external beam radiation for eight weeks prior to treatment under this research protocol. * Patients must have adequate hematologic reserve with WBC≥3000/mm3, absolute neutrophils ≥1500/mm3 and platelets ≥100,000/ mm3. Patients who are on Coumadin must have a platelet count of ≥150,000/ mm3 * Pre-enrollment chemistry parameters must show: bilirubin\<1.5X the institutional upper limit of normal (IUNL); AST or ALT\<2.5X IUNL and creatinine\<1.5X IUNL. * Pre-enrollment coagulation parameters (PT and PTT) must be ≤1.5X the IUNL. * Patients must agree to use a medically effective method of contraception during and for a period of three months after the treatment period. A pregnancy test will be performed on each premenopausal female of childbearing potential immediately prior to entry into the research study. * Patients must be able to understand and give written informed consent. Informed consent must be obtained at the time of patient screening. Exclusion Criteria: * Women who are pregnant or lactating. * Women of childbearing potential and fertile men will be informed as to the potential risk of conception while participating in this research trial and will be advised that they must use effective contraception during and for a period of three months after the treatment period. * Patients with significant intercurrent medical or psychiatric conditions that would place them at increased risk or affect their ability to receive or comply with treatment or post-treatment clinical monitoring * Patients with radiological evidence of leptomeningeal disease. * Patients with history of allergic reaction to CTX * Patients who initiated or completed chemo/RT
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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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Lenox Hill Brain Tumor Center
RECRUITINGNew York, New York, 10075, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a trio of repurposed drugs shrink recurrent brain tumors?
- Can an existing drug boost bevacizumab against recurrent brain cancer?
- One extra radiation dose after standard brain cancer therapy: can it boost the immune system?
- Experimental therapy aims to turn brain tumors against themselves
- Can doctors watch brain metastases instead of zapping them?
- Radioactive tracer lights up Oxygen-Starved brain tumors