Surgical flap opens door to brain tumors in small safety trial
NCT ID NCT03630289
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested a new surgical technique in 12 patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. Surgeons placed a tissue flap from the scalp into the brain tumor cavity to bypass the blood-brain barrier, which normally blocks many treatments. The main goal was to check safety, and researchers also looked at whether it might help patients live longer without the tumor growing.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- surgical tissue flap (temporoparietal fascial or pericranial flap)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this technique could allow better delivery of future treatments directly to the brain tumor, potentially improving survival for glioblastoma patients.
- What could go wrong
- This was a very small, early safety study with only 12 participants. The procedure carries risks like infection, stroke, or seizures, and it is not yet known if it truly helps patients live longer.
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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12 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jul 2018
- Finished
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Mar 2024
- 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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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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: * Subject is a male or female 18 years of age or older. * Subject is undergoing planned resection of known or suspected GBM. * Subject has a Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) 70% or greater. * Subject has a life expectancy of at least 6 months, in the opinion of the Investigator. * Based on the pre-operative evaluation by neurosurgeon, the subject is a candidate for ≥ 80% resection of enhancing region. * Subject must be able to undergo MRI evaluation. * Subject meets the following laboratory criteria: * White blood count ≥ 3,000/µL * Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/µL * Platelets ≥ 100,000/µL * Hemoglobin \> 10.0 g/dL (transfusion and/or ESA allowed) * Total bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2x institutional upper limit of normal (ULN) * Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) \< 3 x ULN * Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine \< 1.5 x ULN * Females of reproductive potential must have a negative serum pregnancy test and be willing to use an acceptable method of birth control. * Males of reproductive potential must be willing to use an acceptable method of birth control to ensure effective contraception with partner. * Able to understand and willing to sign an institutional review board (IRB)-approved written informed consent document (legally authorized representative permitted). Inclusion criteria considered during surgery: * Subject has a histologically confirmed (frozen section) diagnosis of WHO Grade IV glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). * TPFF and/or pericranial flap is technically feasible. Exclusion Criteria: * Subject, if female, is pregnant or is breast feeding. * Subject has initiated chemotherapy or radiation treatment for diagnosis of or GBM. * Subject intends to participate in another clinical trial. * Subject intends to undergo treatment with the Gliadel® wafer at the time of this surgery. * Subject has an active infection requiring treatment. * Subject has radiographic evidence of multi-focal disease or leptomeningeal dissemination. * Subject has a history of other malignancy, unless the patient has been disease-free for at least 5 years. Adequately treated basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell skin cancer is acceptable regardless of time, as well as localized prostate carcinoma or cervical carcinoma in situ after curative treatment. * Subject has a known positive test for human immunodeficiency virus infection, or active hepatitis B or hepatitis C infection. * Subject has a history or evidence of any other clinically significant disorder, condition or disease that would pose a risk to subject safety or interfere with the study evaluation, procedures or completion.
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Lenox Hill Brain Tumor Center
New York, New York, 10075, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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