New device could unlock brain tumor secrets through spinal fluid
NCT ID NCT04692337
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Aug 11, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This study tests the safety of placing a small device called an Ommaya reservoir under the scalp during brain tumor surgery. The device allows doctors to collect spinal fluid samples over time to study biomarkers. Researchers at Mayo Clinic will enroll 100 adults with brain tumors to see if this approach is feasible and safe for future research.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Ommaya reservoir (a small device implanted under the scalp to access spinal fluid)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this approach could enable easier, repeated sampling of spinal fluid to monitor brain tumors and guide personalized treatment.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early feasibility study focused on safety and sample collection, not on treating the tumor. The device may cause infection or other complications, and the research may not lead to immediate clinical benefits.
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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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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About 100 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jan 2021
- Expected to finish
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Feb 2027
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. * Clinical and radiographic evidence suggesting a diagnosis of a brain tumor. * Planned neurosurgical procedure resection of suspected or previously diagnosed brain tumor as part of routine clinical care. * Willing to undergo neurosurgical resection at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN). * Willingness of the patient or an authorized representative to provide informed consent * Patient is willing to have their Ommaya sampled on at least 2 future occasions. * Patients is willing to have CSF banked through the neuro-oncology biorepository (requires a separate signature) Exclusion Criteria: * Vulnerable populations including pregnant women, prisoners and individuals \<18 years old. * Patients who are not appropriate candidates for surgery due to current or past medical history or uncontrolled concurrent illness. * Prior history of any wound infection * Any patient who the surgeon feels is not an optimal candidate for Ommaya reservoir placement. Such reasons could (but need not necessarily) include factors related to surgical anatomy, clinical evidence of significant immunosuppression, and/or elevated risk of wound infection due to diabetes, smoking history, morbid obesity, or any other concerns. * Any patient for whom a clinical contraindication exists to a lumbar puncture (LP) will be excluded from the LP portion of this protocol, but would still be eligible for an Ommaya reservoir if they meet the inclusion criteria of the study. For example, a patient with a large posterior fossa mass lesion at risk of herniation, or a patient with coagulopathy, or other contraindication to lumbar puncture would not be eligible to participate via use of lumbar puncture for CSF access
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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 study's own enquiry address
This study publishes an address for enquiries. See it below .
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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
Show contact details
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Study contacts
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Contact
Email: •••••@•••••
Locations
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Mayo Clinic in Rochester
RECRUITINGRochester, Minnesota, 55905, United States
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