Clinical Trials

This pilot research trial studies blood brain barrier differences in patients with brain tumors undergoing surgery. Studying samples of tissue and blood from patients with brain tumors in the laboratory may help doctors to understand how well drugs get into different parts of a brain tumor. This may help them to determine which types of drugs may be best for treating brain tumors.

The purpose of this study is to explore the translational abilities of desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) as intraoperative diagnostic tool to identify cancerous versus noncancerous tissue and estimate the percentage of tumor infiltration in tissue biopsies, by monitoring depletion of N-acetylaspartate (NAA) and aberrations of the phospholipid signature of neurological tissue; and to identify the presence of IDH mutations by monitoring the 2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG) and, therefore, differentiate between IDH-mutant and wild-type gliomas.

The purpose of this study is to confirm detection of the H3K27M mutation in patient biofluids (CSF, blood, urine, saliva) and uncover the molecular histone (alkaline protein) profile of H3K trimethylation and H3S phosphorylation in the circulating nucleosomes isolated from the biofluids of patients with H3K27M tumors.

The purpose of this study is to assess the safety and effectiveness of combined Toca 511 and Toca FC, versus a standard of care single agent chemotherapy, for patients who are having surgery to remove a first or second recurrence of glioblastoma or anaplastic astrocytoma.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of using Exablate Model 4000 Type-2.0/2.1 in adults with Glioblastoma brain tumors to increase temporarily the permeability of the blood brain barrier, allowing increased passage of circulating free DNA (cfDNA) for sampling and analysis.

Intraoperative Microdialysis During Neurosurgery for Central Nervous System Malignancies

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and feasibility of surgical resection for pre-recurrent brain tumors. Eligible patients with surgically accessible latent tumors desiring surgical resection will be enrolled to prospectively track short- and long-term outcomes. Safety will be evaluated by quantifying rates of surgical morbidity as compared to patients undergoing RT after surgery, or no surgery for similar latent disease. Variables evaluated will include postoperative complications including death within 30 days, wound infection, length of hospital stay, and readmission rates.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the benefit of using intravenous fluorescein sodium (FS) and YELLOW 560 nm microscope filter (YE560) during surgery for vestibular schwannomas (VS), Meningioma, Head and Neck Paraganglioma, or Head and Neck Schwannoma and to determine the optimum FS dose and timing to be used with the YE560 device.

The purpose of this study is to collect adult human blood, cerebrospinal fluid, brain, and spine tissues/fluids at time of surgery in order to conduct future studies of the cellular mechanisms of tissue invasion utilized by brain and spine tumors of the central nervous system (CNS).

The goal of this study is to correlate protein content in vestibular schwannomas and cerebrospinal fluid to patient outcomes, imaging findings, and other relevant clinical endpoints in patients who presented with both this tumor type and hydrocephalus.

The goal of this study is to investigate the feasibility of successfully obtaining intra-operative OCT imaging and data during standard brain surgery.

The purpose of this study is to compare local and general anesthesia (Awake vs. Asleep Craniotomy) in the removal of brain tumors that are in areas of the brain that do not directly control bodily functions (non-eloquent gliomas).

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate improved planning for meningioma and similar brain tumor surgery.

The objectives of this study are to determine the impact of omega-3 supplementation on promoting facial nerve function recovery, and to determine the impact of omega-3 supplementation on Vestibular schwannoma (VS) tumor control.

The purpose of this study is to determine the safety and feasibility of intra-operative Ommaya Reservoir placement during a clinically indicated tumor surgery in order to facilitate a longitudinal access to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for analysis of exploratory and future tumor biomarkers for individualized monitoring.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of fluorine F 18 fluorodopa-labeled PET scanning for the planning of surgery and radiation therapy to treat patients who have newly diagnosed high- or low-grade glioma brain tumors. New imaging procedures, such as fluorine F 18 fluorodopa-labeled PET scans, may help in guiding surgery and radiation therapy and allow doctors to plan better treatment.

The purpose of this study is to examine the pharmacological effects of the compound BI 907828 on patient tumors at an early stage of drug development.

The purpose of this study is to combine MRI images with histologic and genetic analysis of cancer (from blood and tissue samples) to improve the overall accuracy of diagnosis and effectiveness of cancer treatment.

The aim of the study is to create a registry to prospectively collect pre-operative, during surgery and post-operative data, questionaries will assess (at baseline before the surgery, 3-4 weeks, and at 3-6 months) cognitive function, assessed with a Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE), PROMIS Fatigue 7a form, quality of life (QoL), assessed using the SF-12 questionnaire, quality of sleep assessed using PROMIS Sleep disturbance 7a form (1 week after surgery).

The primary purposes of this study are to identify experimental therapies that improve OS for GBM patients in the Screening stage (Stage 1), determining if predefined patient subtypes or associated biomarkers uniquely benefit from the treatment and to confirm identified effective experimental therapies and associated biomarker signatures in an expansion stage (Stage 2) designed to support a new drug application.

This study aims to evaluate the safety of preoperative radiosurgery in the treatment of patients with biopsy-proven high grade glioma prior to conventional therapy. Safety is defined as any acute grade 3 (CTCAE v5.0) or greater unplanned adverse event from the time of enrollment until 4 weeks following postoperative radiotherapy.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether there is an increase in the time of a first occurrence of either: local recurrence, leptomeningeal disease, or symptomatic radiation brain necrosis in patients with brain metastases who receive SRS prior to surgery as compared to patients who receive surgery prior to SRS.

The purpose of this study is to compare how well single fraction stereotactic radiosurgery works versus fractionated stereotactic radiosurgery in treating patients with cancer that has spread to the brain from other parts of the body and has been removed by surgery. Single fraction stereotactic radiosurgery is a specialized radiation therapy that delivers a single, high dose of radiation directly to the tumor and may cause less damage to normal tissue. Fractionated stereotactic radiosurgery delivers multiple, smaller doses of radiation therapy over time.

The purpose of this study is to use a patient monitoring application that monitors physiological data, psychosocial data, and responses to survey questions collected during a one month pre and three and six month postoperative observation period.

This randomized phase II trial studies how well dose-escalated photon intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) or proton beam radiation therapy works compared with standard-dose radiation therapy when given with temozolomide in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays and other types of radiation to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. Specialized radiation therapy that delivers a high dose of radiation directly to the tumor may kill more tumor cells and cause less damage to normal tissue. Drugs, such as temozolomide, may make tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. It is not yet known whether dose-escalated photon IMRT ...

This randomized phase II trial studies how well giving vaccine therapy with or without bevacizumab works in treating patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme that can be removed by surgery. Vaccines consisting of heat shock protein-peptide complexes made from a person's own tumor tissue may help the body build an effective immune response to kill tumor cells that may remain after surgery. Monoclonal antibodies, such as bevacizumab, can block tumor growth in different ways. Some block the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Others find tumor cells and help kill them. It is not yet known whether giving vaccine ...

The purpose of this study is to see whether advice by clinicians to cigarette smokers who are parents of children undergoing elective surgery can reduce the exposure of these children to secondhand smoke in the time around surgery.