Radioactive gel aimed straight at childhood brain tumors
NCT ID NCT07061626
First seen Sep 09, 2026 · Last updated Sep 11, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
Researchers are testing a radioactive gel called rhenium-186 obisbemeda in children and young adults, ages 6 to 21, whose ependymoma or high-grade glioma has come back or keeps growing after treatment. The gel is infused directly into the tumor through a thin tube, a method called convection-enhanced delivery. The first part of the trial looks for the highest dose children can tolerate, and the second part uses that dose to see how tumors respond and how long children live without their cancer getting worse.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- a radioactive rhenium-186 nanoliposome gel delivered directly into the tumor
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this approach could offer a way to deliver radiation directly into hard-to-treat pediatric brain tumors while sparing healthy tissue.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-phase trial in a small number of children, so researchers do not yet know the right dose or whether the treatment helps. Direct brain infusions carry risks such as bleeding, infection, or swelling.
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
The first testing in people. Mainly checks safety and dose, usually in a small group.
- Participants
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About 56 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Aug 2026
- Expected to finish
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Mar 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- 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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6 to 21 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. 6 years to 21 years\* of age. 2. Lesion number and size: 1. Phase 1a/b only: A single lesion (less than or equal to) ≤3.5 cm (longest axis) and volume of (less than or equal to) ≤22.4 mL as the largest tumor (subsequent to individual Cohort lesion size requirements). 2. Phase 2a only: A single lesion or any number of multiple lesions separated by (less than or equal to) ≤3 cm; each lesion (less than or equal to) ≤3.5 cm (longest axis) and volume of (less than or equal to) ≤22.4 mL as the largest tumor. 3. Diagnosis: a) Documented recurrent, refractory, or progressive ependymoma or HGG not eligible for resection or no longer receiving standard of care. i) Phase 2a only: May include patients with recurrent, refractory, or progressive ependymoma or HGG where SOC surgery could be safely delayed four (4) weeks post-infusate. b) Documented histologically confirmed high-grade glioma \[following 2021 WHO CNS5 glioma nomenclature, e.g., Anaplastic astrocytoma, Anaplastic pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (PXA), Anaplastic ganglioglioma, Anaplastic oligodendroglioma, Glioblastoma, Diffuse midline glioma, H3K27M mutant\]. 4. Karnofsky Performance Status ≥ 60. For subjects \<16 years of age, Lansky score ≥ 60. 5. Acceptable liver function: 1. Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times the upper limit of normal 2. AST (SGOT) and ALT (SGPT) ≤ 3.0 times the upper limit of normal (ULN) 6\) Acceptable renal function: <!-- --> 1. Serum creatinine ≤1.5xULN 7\. Acceptable hematologic status (without hematologic support): 1. ANC ≥1000 cells/uL 2. Platelet count ≥100,000/uL 3. Hemoglobin ≥9.0 g/dL 8\. All subjects of childbearing potential must have a negative serum pregnancy test, and subjects must agree to use effective means of contraception (for example, surgical sterilization or the use of barrier contraception with either a condom or diaphragm in conjunction with spermicidal gel or an IUD) with their partner from entry into the study through 6 months after the last dose. 9\. Life expectancy of at least 2 months. \*Will consider treatment of subjects up to 25 years of age on a per-patient basis if no other co-morbidities are present that require subspecialty consultation outside of neurosurgical and oncologic care. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Spinal disease. 2. Infratentorial location of tumor. 3. Involvement of the leptomeninges. 4. Serious intercurrent illness, as determined by the treating physician, which would compromise either patient safety or study outcomes such as: 1. Hypertension (two or more blood pressure readings performed at screening of systolic blood pressure (SBP) or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) above 95th percentile for age) despite optimal treatment. 2. Active medically significant infection unresponsive to antibiotics (e.g., non-healing wound, ulcer), uncontrolled systemic infection, or bone fracture. 3. Clinically significant cardiac arrhythmias. 4. Untreated hypothyroidism. 5. Congestive heart failure. 6. Myocarditis. 7. Inherited bleeding diathesis or coagulopathy with the risk of bleeding. 8. Known active malignancy other than ependymoma or high-grade glioma. 5. Any of the following prior anticancer therapy: 1. Prior treatment with Bevacizumab or other VEGF agents within 12 months prior to study registration. 2. Non-standard radiation therapy such as brachytherapy, systemic radioisotope therapy, or intra-operative radiotherapy (IORT) to the target site at any time prior to study registration. 3. Standard radiation therapy within 12 weeks prior to study registration. 4. Any systemic therapy within 28 days or 2 half-lives, whichever is longer, prior to study registration (this may include investigational agents, small-molecule kinase inhibitors, non-cytotoxic hormonal therapy, biologic agents, metronomic/protracted low-dose chemotherapy, etc.). 5. Nitrosoureas or mitomycin C within 42 days prior to study registration. 6. Psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with the study requirements. 7. A tumor located within 1.0cm of a ventricle AND it is determined by the surgeon, PI, and Sponsor to be a risk for drug extravasation to the subarachnoid space if given catheter placement and drug administration. 8. A tumor within 1.5cm of critical structures, including the optic chiasm, optic nerves, or brainstem. 9. Evidence of acute intracranial or intratumoral hemorrhage either by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computerized tomography (CT) scan (subjects with resolving hemorrhage changes, punctate hemorrhage, or hemosiderin are eligible). 10. Treatment with antiepileptic medications must have a two-week history of a stable dose of antiepileptic without seizures prior to study registration. 11. Patients with corticosteroid requirements to control cerebral edema must be maintained at a stable or decreasing dose for a minimum of two weeks without progression of clinical symptoms prior to study registration.
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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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Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
RECRUITINGChicago, Illinois, 60611, United States
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