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Updated May 2026 · ClinicalTrials.gov

RECRUITINGPhase 1INTERVENTIONAL

Focused Ultrasound Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption for the Treatment of High-Grade Glioma in Patients Undergoing Standard Chemotherapy

Assessment of Safety and Feasibility of Focused Ultrasound Next Generational Dome Helmet Mediated Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption for the Treatment of High-Grade Glioma in Patients Undergoing Standard Chemotherapy

Focused Ultrasound Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption for the Treatment of High-Grade Glioma in Patients Undergoing Standard Chemotherapy (NCT07179328) is a Phase 1 interventional studying GBM and Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), sponsored by Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. RECRUITING as of the most recent ClinicalTrials.gov update. Talk to your doctor before contacting the trial site.

Important: This information is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor about whether a clinical trial is right for you.

About This Trial

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the safety and feasibility of focused ultrasound (FUS)-mediated blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption using the Next Generation Dome Helmet (NGDH) in adults with glioblastoma (GBM) undergoing the maintenance phase of the standard "Stupp protocol". Participants will: * Undergo repeated FUS BBB disruption treatments during the maintenance phase of temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy. * Receive intravenous ultrasound contrast (DEFINITY®) prior to each FUS session to facilitate targeted BBB disruption. * Undergo serial MRI scans and clinical assessments to evaluate safety and the extent of BBB opening. * Provide blood samples (and tumor tissue if available) for biomarker analysis related to BBB permeability, tumor presence, and treatment response. * Be followed for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) during routine neuro-oncology visits until end of life.

What Stage of Research Is This?

Phase 1 trials test a new treatment for the first time in humans, focusing on safety, dosing, and how the body processes the drug. For GBM, a Phase 1 study typically enrolls a small number of participants — often healthy volunteers or patients who have exhausted standard treatment options. Phase 1 results determine whether a treatment moves into larger Phase 2 efficacy studies.

This trial is currently recruiting participants. The sponsor has registered the study with ClinicalTrials.gov as actively enrolling, which means new applicants who meet the eligibility criteria can be considered for screening. Trial status can change between updates — confirm current recruiting status with the study contact before traveling for a screening visit.

With a target enrollment of 10 participants, this is a small study — typical of early-phase research, rare-disease trials, or pilot studies designed to generate preliminary signal before a larger study is launched.

Who May Be Eligible (Plain English)

Who May Qualify: 1. Age between 18 and 85 years, inclusive. 2. Able and willing to provide written willing to sign a consent form. 3. Diagnosis of Glioblastoma by histology or molecular markers based on WHO 2021 classification. 4. Previously undergone a maximal safe surgical resection and completed concurrent, standard-of-care RT and TMZ without any complications and deemed eligible for the maintenance phase of TMZ treatment. 5. Tumor or tumor resection cavity is clearly defined on screening MRI scans. 6. Karnofsky Performance Score rating 70-100. 7. American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status score of 1-3. 8. expected to live at least 3 months and able to attend all study visits. Who Should NOT Join This Trial: 1. Patients presenting with the following imaging characteristics: i. Following steroid treatment, brain edema and/or mass effect that causes midline shift or shift in wall of the third ventricle of more than 10 mm. ii. Evidence of recent (less than 2 weeks) intracranial hemorrhage. iii. Calcifications in the FUS sonication beam path in the event system tools cannot tailor the treatment around these calcification spots. 2. The sonication pathway to the tumor involves: i. More than 30% of the skull area traversed by the sonication pathway is covered by scars, scalp disorders (e.g., eczema), or atrophy of the scalp. ii. Clips or other metallic implanted objects in the skull or the brain, except shunts. 3. The subject presents with symptoms and signs of increased intracranial pressure (e.g., headache, nausea, vomiting, lethargy, and papilledema). 4. Patients requiring increasing doses of corticosteroids. 5. Patient receiving bevacizumab (Avastin) therapy. ...See full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov Always talk to your doctor about whether this trial is right for you.

These are translations of the protocol\'s inclusion and exclusion criteria, simplified for patients and caregivers. The original clinical text appears below. Eligibility is ultimately confirmed by the trial site\'s screening process — this summary is a starting point for a conversation with your doctor, not a final determination.

Original Eligibility Criteria

View original clinical language
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Age between 18 and 85 years, inclusive. 2. Able and willing to provide written informed consent. 3. Diagnosis of Glioblastoma by histology or molecular markers based on WHO 2021 classification. 4. Previously undergone a maximal safe surgical resection and completed concurrent, standard-of-care RT and TMZ without any complications and deemed eligible for the maintenance phase of TMZ treatment. 5. Tumor or tumor resection cavity is clearly defined on screening MRI scans. 6. Karnofsky Performance Score rating 70-100. 7. American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status score of 1-3. 8. Life expectancy of at least 3 months and able to attend all study visits. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Patients presenting with the following imaging characteristics: i. Following steroid treatment, brain edema and/or mass effect that causes midline shift or shift in wall of the third ventricle of more than 10 mm. ii. Evidence of recent (less than 2 weeks) intracranial hemorrhage. iii. Calcifications in the FUS sonication beam path in the event system tools cannot tailor the treatment around these calcification spots. 2. The sonication pathway to the tumor involves: i. More than 30% of the skull area traversed by the sonication pathway is covered by scars, scalp disorders (e.g., eczema), or atrophy of the scalp. ii. Clips or other metallic implanted objects in the skull or the brain, except shunts. 3. The subject presents with symptoms and signs of increased intracranial pressure (e.g., headache, nausea, vomiting, lethargy, and papilledema). 4. Patients requiring increasing doses of corticosteroids. 5. Patient receiving bevacizumab (Avastin) therapy. 6. Patients with ≥25% increase in volume of contrast enhancement at time of assessment for study enrollment, compared with their first postoperative MRI. This cut-off is used to differentiate between pseudoprogression (which can occur following both radiation and TMZ therapy) and true tumor progression. This will be further ascertained through a discussion between the study neurosurgeons and radiologists. 7. Patients undergoing other concurrent therapies such as chemotherapy wafers, immunotoxins delivered by convection-enhanced delivery, regionally administered gene and viral therapies, immunotherapies, and focal irradiation with brachytherapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, and laser interstitial thermotherapy. These regimens have been shown to cause contrast enhancement in the resection cavity boundary, which can be difficult to differentiate from true tumor recurrence. 8. Cardiac disease or unstable hemodynamics including: i. Documented myocardial infarction within six months of enrollment. ii. Unstable angina on medication. iii. Congestive heart failure. iv. Left ventricular ejection fraction \<50%. v. History of a hemodynamically unstable cardiac arrhythmia. vi. Cardiac pacemaker. 9. Severe hypertension (diastolic blood pressure (DBP) \> 100 on medication). 10. Anti-coagulant therapy, or medications known to increase risk of hemorrhage within washout period prior to treatment (i.e., antiplatelet or vitamin K inhibitor anticoagulants within 7 days, non-vitamin K inhibitor anticoagulants within 72 hours, or heparin-derived compounds within 48 hours of treatment). 11. History of a bleeding disorder, coagulopathy or with a history of spontaneous tumor hemorrhage. 12. Abnormal level of platelets (\< 100,000) or INR \> 1.3. 13. Documented cerebral infarction within the past 12 months. 14. TIA in the last 1 month. 15. Cerebral or systemic vasculopathy. 16. Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus that is not well-controlled or that in the Investigator's opinion precludes participation in the study. 17. Known sensitivity to gadolinium-DTPA. 18. Known sensitivity to DEFINITY® ultrasound contrast agent or perflutren. 19. Contraindications to MRI such as non-MRI-compatible implanted devices, unable to tolerate an MRI due to for instance pain or claustrophobia, untreated, uncontrolled sleep apnea. 20. Positive pregnancy test (for pre-menopausal women). 21. Known life-threatening systemic disease. 22. Severely impaired renal function with estimated glomerular filtration rate \<30 mL/min/1.73m2 and/or on dialysis. 23. Right to left or bi-directional cardiac shunt. 24. Previous full course of chemotherapy for GBM (at the discretion of investigator). 25. Previous radiotherapy. 26. Allergy to eggs or egg products. 27. Subjects with evidence of cranial or systemic infection. 28. Subjects with chronic pulmonary disorders. 29. Subjects with a history of drug allergies, asthma or hay fever, and multiple allergies, in particular subjects with a history of anaphylaxis. 30. Subjects with a family or personal history of QT prolongation or taking concomitant medications known to cause QTc prolongation, or QT prolongation observed on screening ECG (QTc \> 450 for men and \>470 for women). 31. Subjects with evidence of Hepatitis B virus infection/carrier state. 32. Liver injury as indicated by liver function tests that in the Investigator's opinion precludes participation in the study.

Treatments Being Tested

DEVICE

Focused Ultrasound Next Generation Dome Helmet

The Next Generation Dome Helmet (FUS NG) is a non-invasive, MRI-guided focused ultrasound system developed at Sunnybrook Research Institute. It is used to disrupt the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in patients with glioblastoma during the maintenance phase of temozolomide (TMZ) therapy. The device allows targeted BBB opening using a fixed transducer array and intravenous DEFINITY® contrast.

DRUG

Definity® Vial for (Perflutren Lipid Microsphere) Injectable Suspension

DEFINITY® Perflutren Injectable Microbubbles is an ultrasound contrast imaging agent that will be used for blood brain barrier opening during focused ultrasound. These microbubbles will be injected during the focused ultrasound procedure.

Locations (1)

Trial sites listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for this study. Site activation status can vary — confirm with the specific site before traveling for a screening visit.

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

How to Talk to Your Doctor About This Trial

Bring the printable summary of this trial — including the NCT ID (NCT07179328), the sponsor (Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre), and the key eligibility criteria — to your next appointment. Your doctor can review the inclusion and exclusion criteria against your medical history, lab values, and current treatments to assess whether you are likely to qualify. They can also help you weigh whether trial participation makes sense alongside your existing care plan.

Useful questions to walk through together: What does the trial protocol require beyond standard care? How long is the active treatment phase, and how long is follow-up? Are there study visits at sites I can reach? Who pays for the trial-specific procedures, and who pays for standard-of-care portions? See our 25 questions to ask about clinical trials guide for a more complete checklist.

Authoritative Sources

The official record for this trial lives on ClinicalTrials.gov — the federal registry maintained by the National Library of Medicine at NIH. For background on how this trial fits into the FDA approval pathway, see the FDA drug approval process. For oncology-specific guidance for patients considering trials, the National Cancer Institute publishes patient-oriented overviews. International trial registries are aggregated by the WHO ICTRP.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the NCT07179328 clinical trial studying?

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the safety and feasibility of focused ultrasound (FUS)-mediated blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption using the Next Generation Dome Helmet (NGDH) in adults with glioblastoma (GBM) undergoing the maintenance phase of the standard "Stupp protocol". Participants will: * Undergo repeated FUS BBB disruption treatments during the maintenance phase of temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy. * Receive intravenous ultrasound contrast (DEFINITY®) prior to each FUS session to facilitate targeted BBB disruption. * Undergo serial MRI scans and clinical assessments … The full protocol is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov and includes the primary outcome measures, eligibility criteria, and study endpoints.

Who can participate in NCT07179328?

Eligibility for this trial depends on the specific inclusion and exclusion criteria set by the sponsor. The plain-English summary above translates the most important criteria into accessible language; the official clinical text is preserved in the collapsible section underneath. Whether you fit any specific trial is a medical decision your doctor needs to confirm — bring the trial information to your treating physician for a full review against your medical history.

How do I contact the trial site for NCT07179328?

Contact information registered with ClinicalTrials.gov is shown in the sidebar of this page. Before reaching out, confirm with your treating physician that this trial is appropriate for your situation. The trial site will then walk you through the screening process to determine final eligibility.

Is participating in a clinical trial safe?

Clinical trials in the United States are regulated by the FDA and overseen by Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) that review the protocol for safety. Risk varies by trial — Phase 1 studies test new treatments in humans for the first time, while Phase 3 trials use treatments that have already passed earlier safety screening. The informed consent document for any specific trial details the known risks and what to expect. Discuss those risks with your physician before deciding whether to participate.

Where can I verify the data on this page?

Every detail on this page comes directly from the ClinicalTrials.gov API. Click "View on ClinicalTrials.gov" in the sidebar to see the official, unmodified record. The federal record is always authoritative; this page is a structured presentation with a plain-English eligibility translation. For background on how clinical trials are regulated, see the FDA drug approval process documentation.

How This Page Is Built

Every field on this page is pulled directly from the ClinicalTrials.gov API v2 — no estimates, no proxies. The plain-English eligibility translation is generated from the original protocol text and reviewed for fidelity to the underlying clinical criteria. The original clinical text remains visible in the collapsible section above so users and clinicians can verify the translation. Read the full methodology for the data pipeline and known limitations.

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov API v2 record for NCT07179328. Maintained by the National Library of Medicine at NIH. Public domain. Cite as: "TrialFinderData. NCT07179328. Data: ClinicalTrials.gov."

Medical disclaimer: This page is informational, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor about whether a clinical trial is right for you.

Last updated 2026-05-08 · Data from ClinicalTrials.gov.