Remote Cognitive Assessment and Wearable Device While Assessing the Impact of Metformin in Patients With History of Cranial Radiation Therapy

Neuro-Oncology Anywhere: Deploying Mayo Clinic's Remote Cognitive Assessment Battery and Wearable Device Monitoring Platform While Assessing the Impact of Metformin on Cognition and Quality of Life in Patients With History of Cranial Radiation

This phase III trial evaluates whether patient care can be done remotely for patients having cranial (skull) radiation or who have previously had cranial radiation. In addition, this trial compares study outcomes between patients who get metformin and those who do not. Cranial radiation, an essential component of brain tumor treatment, can result in significant negative effects on cognitive (the ability to clearly think, learn, and remember) function. Wearable devices have been used in the field of neurology for seizure detection and assessment of patients with movement disorders. Wearable device technology has also been implemented for remote monitoring of cancer patients and for cancer clinical trials. Metformin is the active ingredient in a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus (a condition in which the body cannot control the level of sugar in the blood). It is also being studied in the treatment of cancer. Use of metformin may reduce risk of cognitive decline following radiation therapy within the skull (intracranial). These effects may be further strengthen by addition of device-based physical activity promotion. Mayo Test Drive is a web-based platform for remote self-administered cognitive assessment. Using Mayo Test Drive may help determine whether patient care can be done remotely, while simultaneously evaluating benefits of health promotion through use of a wearable watch device and metformin in preventing radiation-related cognitive decline.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Malignant Brain Neoplasm
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Questionnaire Administration; Other: Best Practice; Drug: Metformin; Other: Medical Device Usage and Evaluation; Other: Neurocognitive Assessment

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

I. Determine the feasibility of completing serial remote cognitive, activity/sleep, and self-report assessments in clinical trial participants who have previously received cranial radiation.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Assess the acceptance or satisfaction of patients with the remote monitoring in this trial and how these may differ between those who receive metformin versus (vs.) not.

II. Evaluate compliance and feasibility in terms of the adherence to study drug in those randomized to receive metformin.

III. Assess and compare neurocognitive function scores and the impact of receiving metformin + health promotion with wearable device vs. wearable device only.

IV. Assess the safety and tolerability of metformin in patients who have previously received cranial radiation.

EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES:

I. Investigate the relationship of metformin and other health outcomes such as activity and sleep data and how these compare to the results for patients who are randomized to the control group, who do not receive metformin.

II. Explore potential differences in these compliance and satisfaction measures and how they may correspond to health disparities and social determinants of health.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 groups.

GROUP A: Patients receive metformin orally (PO) twice day (BID) for 12 months. Treatment repeats every 28 days for up to 12 months in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients also wear a wearable device to monitor health and undergo neurocognitive test throughout the study.

GROUP B: Patients receive standard of care (SOC) treatment for 12 months. Patients also wear a wearable device to monitor health and undergo neurocognitive test throughout the study.

Upon completion of study treatment, patients are followed up at 30 days then every 3 months for up to 2 years.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 100
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Clinical Trials Referral Office; Phone Number: 855-776-0015; Email: mayocliniccancerstudies@mayo.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Minnesota
    • Rochester, Minnesota, United States, 55905
      • Recruiting
      • Mayo Clinic in Rochester
      • Contact: Clinical Trials Referral Office; Phone Number: 855-776-0015; Email: mayocliniccancerstudies@mayo.edu
      • Principal Investigator: Ugur T. Sener, MD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age ≥ 18 years
• Diagnosis of brain tumor requiring cranial radiation treatment NOTE: Patient may be enrolled during or up to 5 years after completion of cranial radiation administered for treatment of primary or metastatic intracranial tumor
• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0, 1, or 2, AND Karnofsky performance status (KPS) of ≥ 70
• Expected survival ≥ 6 months in the opinion of treatment team
• Willing and able to adhere with the protocol for the duration of the study including undergoing treatment, and attending scheduled visits, and examinations

• The following laboratory values obtained ≤ 30 days prior to registration:

  • Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ≤ 3 x ULN [≤ 5 x upper limit normal (ULN) for patients with baseline liver disease]
• Negative pregnancy test ≤ 8 days prior to registration for persons of childbearing potential only
• Ability to complete cognitive assessments and questionnaires by themselves or with assistance

Exclusion Criteria:

• Uncontrolled and/or intercurrent illness or other condition which limits safety of or compliance with study proceedings
• Pregnant or nursing, imprisoned, or lacking capacity for understanding
• Unable to swallow tablets or at risk for impaired absorption of oral medication
• Currently taking the study agent (i.e., metformin), and cannot safely discontinue if randomized to the control group (Group B)
• Known hypersensitivity or allergy to metformin
• Current use of resveratrol, CoQ10 (coenzyme Q10), coconut oil/other medium chain triglyceride-containing (e.g., Axona) supplements, or curcumin and unwilling to discontinue prior to registration and remain off these agents for study duration
• Unable to read and speak English. Note: English doses not to need to be primary language

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Group A (metformin); Patients receive metformin PO BID for 12 months. Treatment repeats every 28 days for up to 12 months in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients also wear a wearable device to monitor health and undergo neurocognitive test throughout the study.	Other: Questionnaire Administration; Ancillary studies; Drug: Metformin; Given PO; Other Names: N,N-dimethylbiguanide; Other: Medical Device Usage and Evaluation; Wear wearable device; Other: Neurocognitive Assessment; Undergo neurocognitive test
Active Comparator: Group B (usual care); Patients receive SOC treatment for 12 months. Patients also wear a wearable device to monitor health and undergo neurocognitive test throughout the study.	Other: Questionnaire Administration; Ancillary studies; Other: Best Practice; Receive SOC; Other Names: standard of care; standard therapy; Other: Medical Device Usage and Evaluation; Wear wearable device; Other: Neurocognitive Assessment; Undergo neurocognitive test

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Compliance of patients who complete the testing schedule for the cognitive assessments (Feasibility)	Feasibility will be assessed based on compliance of patients to the testing schedule for the cognitive assessments using the Mayo Test Drive tool.	Baseline, 3 months, and 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Overall completion rates and compliance (Feasibility)	Will evaluate compliance of completing the patient-reported symptom assessments and the activity and sleep assessments and will assess for any patterns within and between the treatment arms.	Up to 12 months
Overall satisfaction	Satisfaction/acceptance rates will be evaluated using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ) C-30, which consists of 30 questions, each answered on a 4-point (e.g., not at all, a little, quite a bit, very much) or a scale of 1-7 where 1=very poor and 7=excellent.	Up to 12 months
Adherence (Feasibility)	Adherence to study drug will be evaluated in those randomized to the metformin treatment group. Will consider sufficient adherence to be defined as taking at least 80% of the prescribed doses.	Up to 12 months
Neurocognitive scores	Neurocognitive scores will be assessed using the Mayo Test Drive, a web-based platform for remote self-administered cognitive assessment that uses the Stricker Learning Span (SLS), which is a computer adaptive word-list memory test that matches test difficulty to user performance, and the Symbols test, which is a measure of processing speed and executive functioning that requires timed visual matching. The primary outcome measure will be the Mayo Test Drive raw composite (range 0 - 158). Higher scores indicate better cognitive test performance. Several secondary outcome measures will also be analyzed including but not limited to SLS sum of trials (0-108), an accuracy-weighted Symbols score (0-50), and Symbols average response time for correct items (0+). Participants will have opportunity to provide comments about the testing experience.	Up to 12 months
Incidence of adverse events (AEs)	Safety and tolerability will be assessed on those randomized to receive metformin, as defined using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 5. Any AEs will be summarized with the maximum grade of each AE reported for each patient.	Up to 2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Mayo Clinic
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Ugur T. Sener, MD, Mayo Clinic in Rochester

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• Mayo Clinic Clinical Trials

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 31, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 16, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 16, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): April 22, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): September 2, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 29, 2025
• Last Verified: August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Nervous System Neoplasms; Central Nervous System Neoplasms; Brain Neoplasms; Health Services Administration; Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation; Organic Chemicals; Quality of Health Care; Quality Indicators, Health Care; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities; Psychological Tests; Biguanides; Guanidines; Amidines; Guidelines as Topic; Quality Assurance, Health Care; Neuropsychological Tests; Metformin; Standard of Care; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Mental Status and Dementia Tests
• Other Study ID Numbers: MC230713 (Mayo Clinic in Rochester); NCI-2024-02980 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program)); 23-005512 (Other Identifier: Mayo Clinic Institutional Review Board)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No