Glioblastoma is an aggressive brain tumor that currently has no cure. Standard treatment combines surgery, radiation, and temozolomide chemotherapy, but the tumor almost always returns. Median survival remains around 15 months, making glioblastoma one of the most urgent areas in cancer research.
What's actually going on in research
Trials are testing immunotherapies including checkpoint inhibitors and CAR T-cell therapies, tumor-treating fields devices, targeted drugs for specific mutations like IDH1, and new approaches to crossing the blood-brain barrier. Researchers are also studying MGMT methylation status to predict treatment response and testing vaccines designed to train the immune system against glioblastoma cells.
CAR T-cell therapy
Modified immune cells are being engineered to attack glioblastoma, with some trials delivering them directly into the brain or cerebrospinal fluid. Early results show the approach can reach tumors that standard treatments miss.
Blood-brain barrier disruption
New techniques use focused ultrasound to temporarily open the barrier protecting the brain, allowing chemotherapy drugs to reach the tumor at higher concentrations. This could make existing drugs work better without changing the drugs themselves.
Personalized vaccines
Vaccines made from a person's own tumor tissue are being tested to help the immune system recognize and attack glioblastoma cells. These personalized approaches aim to prevent recurrence after initial treatment.
What to know before you search
Eligibility typically depends on whether this is newly diagnosed or recurrent disease, prior treatments received, tumor molecular markers like MGMT methylation, and performance status.
What types of trials are currently open
- Immunotherapy trials — Testing checkpoint inhibitors, CAR T-cells, or vaccines to help the immune system fight glioblastoma. Many involve direct injection into the brain or tumor cavity.
- Targeted therapy trials — Testing drugs aimed at specific mutations found in some glioblastomas, such as IDH1 or EGFR variants.
- Device trials — Testing tumor-treating fields devices that use electric fields to disrupt cancer cell division, or focused ultrasound systems to open the blood-brain barrier.
- Combination trials — Testing new drugs alongside standard radiation and temozolomide, or combining multiple new approaches to attack the tumor from different angles.
- Surgery trials — Testing new surgical techniques, imaging methods to find tumor boundaries, or implants that deliver treatment directly to the tumor site.
Recently added Glioblastoma trials
Receive an injection of an experimental imaging drug to track how it moves through your body
The goal of this Phase I clinical trial is to evaluate how the imaging drug 203Pb- RMX-VH-PIB distributes in the body and how much radiation different organs receive in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) or pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The main questions it aims to answer are: How does 203Pb-RMX-VH-PIB spread in the body (biodistribution)? What is the radiation dose delivered to organs (dosimetry)? Participants will: Receive a single IV injection of 203Pb-RMX-VH-PIB. Undergo multiple SPECT/CT imaging scans. Have blood, urine, vital signs, and ECG monitored for safety. Be followed for any side effects for up to 30 days.
Receive testing and tissue collection before and after surgery for a brain tumor
This prospective study aims to characterize blood brain barrier (BBB) disruption in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme undergoing surgical resection. The study integrates advanced MRI, circulating BBB biomarkers, neurocognitive assessment, and molecular analysis of tumor tissue to investigate relationships between BBB integrity, tumor biology, and neurological function. Participants will undergo serial assessments before surgery, after surgery, and following radiotherapy. Tumor tissue collected during standard-of-care resection will undergo immunohistochemical and transcriptional
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