You Could Change
The Future For Patients Like You.
When you have a brain tumor or glioblastoma, there’s a lot to take in. You’re processing, working on important decisions for your health, and worried about your loved ones. You need to undergo diagnostic imaging like MRI or CT, and have a biopsy of your tumor completed to help determine how to best treat your unique situation.
At Insightec, we are working on a potential alternative to completing a biopsy.
But to get there, we need your help.
We are currently conducting a clinical trial that’s aimed at replacing the need for a biopsy altogether, using a non-invasive procedure that enables doctors to get the same information without the surgery.
Find a Trial SiteCurrent Diagnostic Limitations
Today, the most reliable way to definitively diagnose glioblastoma is surgical biopsy, an invasive surgery to retrieve a tissue sample that can provide doctors the information they need to determine a patient’s best treatment plan.
In other types of cancers and tumors, this same information can be obtained by a simple blood test, called a “liquid biopsy,” which has been approved by the FDA. Unfortunately, the blood test is not currently available for glioblastoma and other brain tumors as the brain has a barrier that prevents biomarkers and DNA from entering the bloodstream.
Our challenge is to temporarily open up the barrier and allow tumor information to enter the bloodstream, enabling doctors to avoid surgical biopsy to get the same level of diagnostic information.
A new, investigational, non-invasive procedure called focused ultrasound (FUS), which combines the technologies of MRI and therapeutic ultrasound, is being explored as a way to open the barrier in order to collect a liquid biopsy.
What’s Involved in a Focused
Ultrasound Procedure?
This one-time focused ultrasound procedure can be conducted in the MRI suite of your hospital/clinic and takes several hours to complete, after which you will receive blood draws. You will be able to go home shortly after this procedure. Your tumor surgery – biopsy or resection – will be completed within the days following the FUS procedure, per your doctor’s standard care. The blood results will then be compared to the tissue sample collected during surgery. There is no evidence that FUS can lead to the spread of the tumor in the body.
Why We
Need You
You have the power to impact the future of patients diagnosed with brain tumors and glioblastoma. You can play an important role in determining if care for others can be changed in the future.
We are looking for volunteers to participate in this research. The next step is to speak with the study doctor and team members to get answers to any questions you have and determine if this is the right path for you. Regardless, your care will not be compromised.
A stipend may be available to offset your time and costs associated with participation in this study.
Find a Trial Site:
West Virginia University
Morgantown, West Virginia, USPrincipal InvestigatorChristopher Cifarelli, MDResearch CoordinatorKiley Everson, RNTampa General Hospital
Tampa, Florida, USPrincipal InvestigatorYarema Bezchlibnyk, MDResearch CoordinatorKathryn HudsonUniversity of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USPrincipal InvestigatorNduka Amankulor, MDResearch CoordinatorMaikel MansourUF Health Shands Hospital
Gainesville, Florida, USPrincipal InvestigatorJustin Hilliard, MDResearch CoordinatorPhuong Deleyrolle, RNUniversity of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, California, USPrincipal InvestigatorJohn de Groot, MDResearch CoordinatorLoudette BautistaJohns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland, USPrincipal InvestigatorJordina Rincon-Torroella, MDResearch CoordinatorKelly SzajnaJHM Protocol Number IRB00327491University of California Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CaliforniaPrincipal InvestigatorRichard Everson, MDResearch CoordinatorKarolin MarkarianSunnybrook Research Institute
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4N 3M5Principal InvestigatorNir Lipsman MD, PhDResearch CoordinatorMaheleth LlinasMayo Clinic Hospital, Methodist Campus
Rochester, Minnesota, USPrincipal InvestigatorTerence Burns, MD, PhDResearch CoordinatorAdam LoudermilkUniversity of Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland, USPrincipal InvestigatorGraeme Woodworth, MD FACSResearch CoordinatorKaitlyn HenryMiami Cancer Institute at Baptist Health
Miami, Florida, USPrincipal InvestigatorManmeet Ahluwalia, MDResearch CoordinatorDaylen Santana
Juliana MontoyaUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, Texas, USPrincipal InvestigatorBhavya Shah, MDResearch CoordinatorAisha Qureshi
Karla Castro-OchoaMD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas, USPrincipal InvestigatorJeffrey Weinberg, MDResearch CoordinatorSharon JiNew York University Grossman School of Medicine
New York, New York, USPrincipal InvestigatorAlon Mogilner, MD, PhDResearch CoordinatorCathryn Lapierre
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