Bleomycin Electrosclerotherapy (BEST) for Slow-flow Vascular Malformations

July 17, 2026 updated by: Caroline Clausen, Rigshospitalet, Denmark

Slow-flow vascular malformations consist of abnormally formed veins, capillaries, lymphatic vessels, or a combination of these. They can cause pain, swelling, functional limitations, and concerns about appearance and may substantially affect quality of life. Bleomycin electrosclerotherapy (BEST) is an emerging treatment in which the sclerosant bleomycin is injected into the malformation and brief electrical pulses are applied to increase its local effect.

As treatment of slow-flow vascular malformations primarily aims to alleviate symptoms and improve quality of life, patient-reported outcomes are central to assessing treatment benefit. However, the available evidence on patient-reported outcomes following BEST is sparse and heterogeneous, and prospective data are particularly limited.

This prospective observational study follows children and adults undergoing BEST as part of routine clinical care at Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet.

The OVAMA questionnaire will be used to assess symptoms and appearance in all participants before treatment and at the 6-month follow-up. Depending on age, additional patient-reported measures will assess health-related quality of life (PROMIS-29) and pain (VAS) during follow-up. For adults, the study will assess changes in lesion size by comparing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans performed before treatment and at 6 months. Adverse events will be recorded throughout follow-up.

The study aims to evaluate whether patient-reported outcomes improve during the 6 months after BEST and to provide further information about treatment safety.

Study Overview

Status

Enrolling by invitation

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

60

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Locations

  • Denmark
    • Capital Region of Denmark
      • Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark, 2100
        • Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet

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

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Potential participants are identified among children and adults with slow-flow vascular malformations assessed by the multidisciplinary vascular malformation team at Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Scheduled to undergo BEST as part of routine clinical care
  • Diagnosis of a slow-flow vascular malformation confirmed by contrast-enhanced MRI performed within 6 months before enrollment.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Invasive treatment of the vascular malformation within 6 months before enrollment, including surgery, sclerotherapy, or laser treatment.

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

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from baseline in OVAMA (Outcome Measures for Vascular Malformations) questionnaire scale scores
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 months after BEST
The OVAMA questionnaire is a condition-specific patient-reported outcome measure assessing symptoms and appearance related to vascular malformations.
Baseline and 6 months after BEST

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from baseline in PROMIS-29 (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System) domain scores
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 months after BEST
The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System 29-item Profile (PROMIS-29) is a generic patient-reported outcome measure assessing physical, mental, and social health. For participants aged 18 years or older.
Baseline and 6 months after BEST
Pain intensity measured using a visual analogue scale (VAS)
Time Frame: Baseline, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after BEST
Participants rate pain intensity using a VAS ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst imaginable pain). For participants aged 7 years or older.
Baseline, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after BEST
Change from baseline in vascular malformation size assessed by MRI
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 months after BEST
MRI will be used to compare the size of the treated vascular malformation before BEST and 6 months after treatment. For participants aged 18 years or older.
Baseline and 6 months after BEST
Number of participants with adverse events following BEST
Time Frame: From the day of the BEST procedure to the 6-month follow-up
Adverse events occurring on the day of BEST or during follow-up will be recorded, including their nature, severity, management, and outcome. Events will be classified according to the CIRSE and Clavien-Dindo classification systems.
From the day of the BEST procedure to the 6-month follow-up

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Rigshospitalet, Denmark

Collaborators

University of Copenhagen

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Caroline Clausen, MD, PhD, Rigshospitalet, Denmark

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 (Estimated)

August 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 17, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 17, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 22, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 22, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 17, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • p-2026-21479

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.

Clinical Trials on Vascular Malformations

Clinical Trials on Bleomycin electrosclerotherapy (BEST)

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Mozambique

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe