Clinical Safety Study on 5-Aminolevulinic Acid (5-ALA) in Children and Adolescents With Brain Tumors

December 9, 2025 updated by: Universität Münster

In this prospective, open, single-armed, multicenter, phase II study for application of 5-ALA in children and adolescents with brain tumors 80 patients will be investigated.

Primary objective of the study is to determine the safety of 5-ALA for fluorescence-guided resections in children and adolescents with intra-axial brain tumors.

Secondary objectives are

  • to determine whether fluorescent tissue truly signifies tumor (positive predictive value) in various pediatric brain tumors
  • to determine the degree of tumor resection on early post-operative MRI
  • and to determine the pharmacokinetics of 5-ALA in this population.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

In 2007, 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) was approved in Europe by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) (brand name: Gliolan®) for "the visualization of malignant tissue during surgery for malignant glioma (WHO III and IV) in adults." Similarly, approval for 5-ALA was granted by the FDA in 2017 as an "optical imaging agent indicated in patients with gliomas (suspected World Health Organization Grades III or IV on preoperative imaging) as an adjunct for the visualization of malignant tissue during surgery" (brand name: Gliolan®). Goal of the study is to investigate if the use of 5-ALA is safe in children and get preliminary information on the type of paediatric brain tumors which are suitable for fluorescence-guided resection with 5-ALA.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
78

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Germany
      • Augsburg, Germany, 86146
        • Universitätsklinikum Augsburg, Klinik für Neurochirurgie
      • Essen, Germany, 45147
        • Universitätsklinikum Essen, Klinik für Neurochirurgie
      • Mainz, Germany, 55131
        • Universitätsmedizin Mainz, Klinik und Poliklinik für Neurochirurgie
      • München, Germany, 81377
        • Neurochirurgische Klinik der Universität München (LMU)
      • Münster, Germany, 48149
        • University Hospital Münster, Klinik für Neurochirurgie
      • Tübingen, Germany, 72076
        • Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, Klinik für Neurochirurgie
  • Netherlands
      • Utrecht, Netherlands, 3584
        • Prinses Máxima Centrum voor kinderoncologie BV

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

3 years to 17 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 3 - <18 years
  • First radiological diagnosis of intra-axial, contrast-enhancing tumor on MRI or recurrent supratentorial intra-axial brain tumor (malignant glioma, astrocytoma, malignant ependymoma, atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors (AT/RT), Oligodendroglioma, etc.)
  • Resection is part of therapeutic strategy with an emphasis on neurological safety
  • Informed consent by the parents or guardians and if possible assent of the patient after education of purpose and risks of study. Patients that are able to understand should provide assent to participate in the trial
  • Female adolescents: not pregnant (pregnancy test required for adolescents of child-bearing age) and not breast-feeding (for at least 24 hours after Gliolan intake). Female patients of childbearing potential and male patients who are sexually active must be practising a highly effective method of birth control up to 6 weeks after the tumor operation consistent with local regulations regarding the use of birth control methods for subjects participating in clinical trials.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Extra-axial tumors such as craniopharyngioma
  • Entities precluding surgical resection
  • Acute or chronic porphyria
  • Hypersensitivity to 5-ALA or porphyrins
  • Renal insufficiency: serum creatinine > 2x upper limit of normal (ULN)
  • Hepatic insufficiency: serum bilirubin > 2x ULN, serum γ-glutamyl transferase > 2,5 x ULN, alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST)> 2,5 ULN
  • Blood clotting: INR (international normalized ratio) out of acceptable limits
  • Other malignant disease
  • Patients with pre-existing cardiovascular diseases
  • Co-administration with other potentially phototoxic substances (e.g. tetracyclines, sulfonamides, fluoroquinolones, hypericin extracts)
  • Planned administration of potentially hepatotoxic substances within 24 hours after 5-ALA administration

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: 5-Aminolevulinic Acid (5-ALA)
Application of 5-ALA oral solution followed by fluorescence-guided brain tumor resection
Drug: 5-Aminolevulinic Acid Hydrochloride, Oral
Application of 5-ALA oral solution (20mg/kg bw) 4 hours (range 3.5-4.5 hours) prior to anesthesia followed by fluorescence-guided tumor resection Tumor resection is performed conventionally using a surgical microscope. A change from white light to blue light is possible at anytime to make the fluorescence visible
Other Names:
  • Gliolan

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Safety of 5-ALA for fluorescence-guided resections in children and adolescents determined as incidence of adverse events of CTCAE grade III-V.
Time Frame: up to 6 weeks after tumor resection
Incidence of adverse events of CTCAE grade III, IV or V (excluding chemotherapy-associated toxicities) during and after 5-ALA fluorescence-guided resections in children and adolescents
up to 6 weeks after tumor resection

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
True positive rate of fluorescence for indicating tumor
Time Frame: Day 0: during the surgery
Biopsies will be taken during tumor resection. The true positive rate of 5 ALA induced fluorescence for three different tumor regions, i.e. the number of fluorescing tumor samples containing tumor cells divided by the number of all tumor samples from 1) the tumor bulk, 2) the border area and 3) the suspected infiltration zone. A stratification will be performed depending on whether surgery is for newly diagnosed or recurrent tumor.
Day 0: during the surgery
Determination of the percentage of patients with gros total resection and subtotal resection
Time Frame: up to 72h after surgery
For every patient in whom a complete resection of enhancing tumor is expected a priori, it will be assessed whether there is residual contrast-enhancement or not on early post-operative MRI. The volume of contrast-enhancing tumor on early post-operative MRI (up to 72h after surgery) in cm3 will be determined. If the volume is < 0.175cm3, the patient will be classified as "gros total resection". If the volume is >0.175cm3, the patient will be classified as "subtotal resection". Percentage of patients for both groups will be determined.
up to 72h after surgery
Correlation of residual contrast-enhancing tumor with residual fluorescence after surgery
Time Frame: Day 0: during the surgery
For both groups (patients with gros total and subtotal resection) the percentage of patients with residual fluorescence at end of surgery, as determined during the surgery by the operating surgeon (yes/no), will be calculated.
Day 0: during the surgery
Determination of protoporphyrin IX (PPIX) in serum to analyse AUC (Area under the curve) of PPIX
Time Frame: 3-6 hours, 6-9 hours and 9-12 hours after surgery
The investigators aim to determine 5-ALA pharmacokinetics in children and adolescents from PPIX plasma levels in order to assess if the pharmacokinetics differ between adults and children. Pharmacokinetic data will be analyzed using population pharmacokinetic software approach using nonlinear-mixed effects modelling (NONMEM). In order to assess if the pharmacokinetics are similar, the area under the curve (AUC) for PPIX as a measure of 5-ALA exposure will be calculated. For this purpose protoporphyrin IX will be measured in serum 3 times within 12h after 5-ALA-administration.
3-6 hours, 6-9 hours and 9-12 hours after surgery
Determination of protoporphyrin IX (PPIX) in serum to determine interpolated maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) of PPIX.
Time Frame: 3-6 hours, 6-9 hours and 9-12 hours after surgery
Protoporphyrin IX will be measured in serum 3 times within 12h after 5-ALA-administration. Pharmacokinetic data will be analyzed using population pharmacokinetic software approach using nonlinear-mixed effects modelling (NONMEM). Using the model, interpolated maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) of PPIX will be determined for every patient.
3-6 hours, 6-9 hours and 9-12 hours after surgery

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Universität Münster

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
photonamic GmbH & Co. KG
medac GmbH

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Walter Stummer, Prof., University hospital Muenster

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 25, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
November 24, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
November 24, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 13, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 3, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 4, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
December 10, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 9, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • UKM2013_0034
  • 2014-005669-54 (EudraCT Number)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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