Surgical Tissue Flap to Bypass the Blood Brain Barrier in GBM

Tissue Autograft to Bypass the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) in Human Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM)

This study assesses the safety of using tissue autograft of a pedicled temporoparietal fascial (TPF) or pericranial flap into the resection cavity of newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients.

The objective of the study is to demonstrate that this surgical technique is safe in a small human cohort of patients with resected newly diagnosed GBM and may improve progression-free survival (PFS).

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Glioblastoma; Brain Cancer; Glioblastoma Multiforme; GBM
• Intervention / Treatment: Procedure: Tissue autograft of pedicled temporoparietal fascial (TPF) or pericranial flap to bypass the blood brain barrier (BBB)

Detailed Description

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary central nervous system malignancy in adults, and accounts for over half of all malignant brain tumors. The prognosis for newly diagnosed GBM is extremely poor even with Stupp protocol consisting of surgery followed by temozolomide and radiotherapy. Present therapies are inadequate, as evidenced by the low 5-year survival rate for brain cancer patients, with median survival at approximately 12 months and treatment for GBM remains a significant unmet clinical need in oncology.

All subjects included in the study will initially undergo standard surgical resection for newly diagnosed GBM. Following the resection, the surgical cavity will be lined with a long pedicled, autologous piece of tissue called a temporoparietal fascial flap or pericranium. The patient's dura, bone and scalp will be closed as is customary. The permeability of the blood vessels of the TPF or pericranial flap should allow for improved delivery of therapeutics and immune cells (macrophages and T cells) into the vicinity, extracellular space and microenvironment of the resected tumor cavity including the brain adjacent to the GBM. The TPF or pericranial flap would easily conform to many resected GBM cavities in our human patients with acceptable risk. The TPF and pericranial flap with its predictable and rich vascular anatomy have been shown to be an ideal flap for cases of previously irradiated and/or infected wound beds.

The investigators hypothesize that a TPF or pericranial flap that is harvested in our patients with resected GBM may be used as a readily available and accessible means of circumventing the blood brain barrier selectively and focally. The investigators aim to prove that this surgical technique is safe in a small human cohort of patients with resected newly diagnosed GBM and may improve progression-free survival (PFS).

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 12
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10075
      • Lenox Hill Brain Tumor Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Subject is a male or female 18 years of age or older.
• Subject is undergoing planned resection of known or suspected GBM.
• Subject has a Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) 70% or greater.
• Subject has a life expectancy of at least 6 months, in the opinion of the Investigator.
• Based on the pre-operative evaluation by neurosurgeon, the subject is a candidate for ≥ 80% resection of enhancing region.
• Subject must be able to undergo MRI evaluation.

• Subject meets the following laboratory criteria:

  • White blood count ≥ 3,000/µL
  • Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/µL
  • Platelets ≥ 100,000/µL
  • Hemoglobin > 10.0 g/dL (transfusion and/or ESA allowed)
  • Total bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2x institutional upper limit of normal (ULN)
  • Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) < 3 x ULN
  • Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine < 1.5 x ULN
• Females of reproductive potential must have a negative serum pregnancy test and be willing to use an acceptable method of birth control.
• Males of reproductive potential must be willing to use an acceptable method of birth control to ensure effective contraception with partner.
• Able to understand and willing to sign an institutional review board (IRB)-approved written informed consent document (legally authorized representative permitted).

Inclusion criteria considered during surgery:

• Subject has a histologically confirmed (frozen section) diagnosis of WHO Grade IV glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).
• TPFF and/or pericranial flap is technically feasible.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Subject, if female, is pregnant or is breast feeding.
• Subject has initiated chemotherapy or radiation treatment for diagnosis of or GBM.
• Subject intends to participate in another clinical trial.
• Subject intends to undergo treatment with the Gliadel® wafer at the time of this surgery.
• Subject has an active infection requiring treatment.
• Subject has radiographic evidence of multi-focal disease or leptomeningeal dissemination.
• Subject has a history of other malignancy, unless the patient has been disease-free for at least 5 years. Adequately treated basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell skin cancer is acceptable regardless of time, as well as localized prostate carcinoma or cervical carcinoma in situ after curative treatment.
• Subject has a known positive test for human immunodeficiency virus infection, or active hepatitis B or hepatitis C infection.
• Subject has a history or evidence of any other clinically significant disorder, condition or disease that would pose a risk to subject safety or interfere with the study evaluation, procedures or completion.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Surgical tissue autograft: TPF flap/pericranial flap; Use of a pedicled autologous piece of tissue called the temporoparietal fascial (TPF) flap or pericranial flap into the resection cavity of newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients	Procedure: Tissue autograft of pedicled temporoparietal fascial (TPF) or pericranial flap to bypass the blood brain barrier (BBB); Surgical tissue autograft of pedicled temporoparietal fascial (TPF) or pericranial flap into the resection cavity of newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients.; Other Names: surgical tissue flap; tissue autograft

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Safety parameter: proportion of patients experiencing rapidly progressive disease as indicated by MRI using RANO Criteria	Increase in tumor size relative to baseline will be measured using RANO and assessed by MRI throughout study at 24 hours, 7 days, 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 180 days. Rapidly progressive disease is defined as 25% growth relative to baseline.	Study Day 1-180
Safety parameter: proportion of patients experiencing increase in seizures, stroke, and infection	Increase in seizures (defined as 15% relative to baseline), occurrence of a stroke, or occurrence of a severe infection will be determined throughout study at 24 hours, 7 days, 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 180 days.	Study Day 1-180

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Progression Free Survival (PFS)	The proportion of patients who are alive at 6 months from flap implantation and are progression-free will be estimated using standard methods for proportions, along with the associated exact 95% confidence interval. All patients will be followed for a minimum of six months from the time of implantation. For this analysis, patients who are lost to follow-up prior to 6 months will be (conservatively) assumed as treatment failures at 6 months. The investigators will also estimate PFS using the Kaplan-Meier Product Limit Method. For this analysis, subjects who are alive and have not progressed as of the date of last follow-up will be considered censored.	6 months
Overall Survival (OS)	OS will be calculated as the time from treatment initiation (TPF implantation) to the time of death. Subjects who are alive as of the date of last follow-up will be considered censored for survival. OS will be analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier Product Limit Method.	2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Northwell Health
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: John Boockvar, MD, Northwell Health

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Doron O, Wong T, Ablyazova F, Singha S, Cavallaro J, Ben-Shalom N, D'Amico RS, Harshan M, McKeown A, Zlochower A, Langer DJ, Boockvar JA. Results from a first-in-human phase I safety trial to evaluate the use of a vascularized pericranial/temporoparietal fascial flap to line the resection cavity following resection of newly diagnosed glioblastoma. J Neurooncol. 2024 Jun;168(2):225-235. doi: 10.1007/s11060-024-04647-w. Epub 2024 Apr 26.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 27, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 15, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): March 26, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 2, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 9, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): August 14, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 1, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 28, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: blood brain barrier; tissue autograft
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Histologic Type; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial; Astrocytoma; Glioma; Neoplasms, Neuroepithelial; Neuroectodermal Tumors; Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal; Neoplasms, Nerve Tissue; Nervous System Neoplasms; Central Nervous System Neoplasms; Glioblastoma; Brain Neoplasms
• Other Study ID Numbers: 18-0498

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