Plain-English translation of NCT06818331 on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗ · Source last updated · Translation generated · How we translate trials
Phase 2 — Testing in a bigger group (up to a few hundred people) to see if the treatment actually works and is still safe.
This trial is testing whether a special acupuncture technique called Specific Mode Electroacupuncture Stimulation (SMES) can help the chemotherapy drug cross the blood-brain barrier—a natural protective layer around the brain—so the medication can reach and fight cancer cells in recurrent brain tumors. is actually much more powerful against these tumors than the medications normally used, but it's too large to naturally penetrate this barrier. Researchers believe that combining this treatment with the acupuncture stimulation may open a pathway for the medication to reach the tumor.
High-grade brain tumors called gliomas frequently come back after surgery and have very poor survival rates. The standard chemotherapy drug used for these tumors is not as effective as could be, but that medication cannot reach brain tumors because of the protective blood-brain barrier. This trial exists to see if acupuncture stimulation can safely open that barrier and let the stronger medication work.
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If you join this trial, you will receive chemotherapy by intravenous infusion every 3 weeks. Immediately after each infusion begins, you will receive the acupuncture stimulation treatment, which involves thin needles placed at two specific points on your head and stimulated with mild electrical current for 40 minutes. The trial will monitor you with MRI scans and blood tests to see how well the treatment works and to check for any side effects.
AI-generated summary from trial data · Jun 13, 2026 · Not medical advice
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