Lumbar Punctures for the Detection of ctDNA in the Cerebrospinal Fluid of Patients With Stage III and IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

April 2, 2026 updated by: Joshua Palmer, Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center

Assessing the CSF-ctDNA of Patients With Stage III and IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Pilot Study

This phase I trial assesses the use of lumbar punctures to detect whether there is circulating tumor deoxyribonucleic acid (ctDNA) in the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord (cerebrospinal fluid) in patients with stage III and IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients with stage III and IV NSCLC are at risk of having their cancer spread from where it first started to the brain (metastatic). Because of this, more effective prognostic tools are necessary to determine which stage III and IV NSCLC patients are more likely to develop brain metastases. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) could be a reliable source of ctDNA to confirm and predict the presence of brain metastases in these patients. Assessing cell free DNA shed from tumor cells could be a sensitive and minimally invasive way to detect or characterize metastatic tumors in the central nervous system (CNS). Lumbar puncture is procedure in which a thin needle called a spinal needle is put into the lower part of the spinal column to collect CSF. Lumbar punctures for the collection of CSF may help doctors detect or measure changes in cell types, genes, and proteins of circulating tumor cells related to lung cancer that will help determine the presence of brain metastases which could become a standard of care screening tool utilized in the follow-up of patients diagnosed with stage II or IV NSCLC.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To determine if CSF-ctDNA positivity in patients with locally advanced lung cancer can predict the presence of brain metastases within a one year period.

II. To prospectively confirm that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) can be detected in patients diagnosed with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to the brain utilizing next generation sequencing (NGS) and single gene quantitative/biomarker analyses through the CNSide (trademark) platform.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To use the CNSide (trademark) platform to assess for the presence of circulating tumor cells in both CSF and peripheral blood.

II. To compare the NGS profile of the ct-DNA in the CSF with matched peripheral blood samples.

OUTLINE: Patients are assigned to 1 of 2 cohorts.

COHORT 1 (STAGE III/IV NSCLC WITHOUT BRAIN METASTASES): Patients undergo lumbar puncture (LP) for collection of CSF and blood sample collection after completion of chemoradiotherapy (stage III) or after diagnosis (stage IV) on study. Patients also undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) during screening and 12 month follow-up.

COHORT 2 (STAGE IV NSCLC WITH BRAIN METASTASES): Patients undergo LP for collection of CSF and blood sample collection on study. Patients also undergo MRI during screening.

Patients with CSF negative for ctDNA at the first LP draw, undergo an additional LP draw at 6 months. Patients with CSF positive for ctDNA at the first LP draw, may not undergo an additional LP at 6 months.

Patients without brain metastases are followed for 12 months. Patients with brain metastases are followed for 6 months.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

40

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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 Locations

  • United States
    • Ohio
      • Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43210
        • Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Joshua D. Palmer, MD

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • New histological diagnosis of stage III or IV NSCLC
  • For stage III/IV NSCLC patients without brain metastases, a documented mutation on lung cancer mutation panel (PULMOL) is required
  • Patient treated with radiation therapy and/or systemic therapy at Ohio State University
  • Estimated survival >= 1 year
  • No medical contraindication to lumbar puncture

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patient has Alzheimer's, dementia, or mental disability
  • Patient is not able to receive MRI
  • Patient has allergy to xylocaine or any numbing medication for lumbar puncture
  • Previous cancer history prior to diagnosis of NSCLC
  • Pregnant or lactating women, or women of childbearing potential and men who are sexually active and not willing/able to use medically acceptable forms of contraception; this exclusion is necessary because the medication and radiation required for standard of care treatment has unknown effects on the unborn fetus

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: Screening
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Cohort 1: Stage III/IV without brain metastases (LP)

Patients undergo LP for collection of CSF and blood sample collection after completion of chemoradiotherapy (stage III) or after diagnosis (stage IV) on study. Patients also undergo MRI during screening and 12 month follow-up.

Patients with CSF negative for ctDNA at the first LP draw, undergo an additional LP draw at 6 months. Patients with CSF positive for ctDNA at the first LP draw, may not undergo an additional LP at 6 months.
Procedure: Biospecimen Collection
Undergo blood sample collection
Other Names:
  • Biological Sample Collection
  • Biospecimen Collected
  • Specimen Collection
Procedure: Lumbar Puncture
Undergo LP
Other Names:
  • LP
  • Spinal Tap
Device: Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Undergo MRI
Other Names:
  • MRI
  • Magnetic Resonance
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scan
  • Medical Imaging, Magnetic Resonance / Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
  • MR
  • MR Imaging
  • MRI Scan
  • NMR Imaging
  • NMRI
  • Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Magnetic resonance imaging (procedure)
Experimental: Cohort 2: Stage IV NSCLC with brain metastases (LP)

Patients undergo LP for collection of CSF and blood sample collection on study. Patients also undergo MRI during screening.

Patients with CSF negative for ctDNA at the first LP draw, undergo an additional LP draw at 6 months. Patients with CSF positive for ctDNA at the first LP draw, may not undergo an additional LP at 6 months.
Procedure: Biospecimen Collection
Undergo blood sample collection
Other Names:
  • Biological Sample Collection
  • Biospecimen Collected
  • Specimen Collection
Procedure: Lumbar Puncture
Undergo LP
Other Names:
  • LP
  • Spinal Tap
Device: Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Undergo MRI
Other Names:
  • MRI
  • Magnetic Resonance
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scan
  • Medical Imaging, Magnetic Resonance / Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
  • MR
  • MR Imaging
  • MRI Scan
  • NMR Imaging
  • NMRI
  • Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Magnetic resonance imaging (procedure)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of subjects with Intracranial disease in locally advanced lung cancer patients
Time Frame: Up to 6 months
An MRI will be performed six months after lumbar puncture in Cohort One. MRI sequences with T1 post-contrast for disease and structure definition and T2/FLAIR sequences for identification of peri-tumoral edema or cystic volumes will be obtained.
Up to 6 months
Cerebral spinal fluid- circulating tumor deoxyribonucleic acid (ctDNA) detection rate for lung non-small cell carcinoma patients with metastatic disease to the brain
Time Frame: Up to 12 months
Will estimate the frequency of ctDNA detection with a 90% Clopper-Pearson confidence interval.
Up to 12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Joshua D Palmer, MD, Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center

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.

Helpful Links

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 (Estimated)

September 15, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

January 31, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

January 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 4, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 6, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

February 10, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 8, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 2, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • OSU-22032
  • NCI-2023-03242 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program))

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

Yes

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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