ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT02211768Updated Oct 29, 2026

Transformation of Plexiform Neurofibromas to Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors in Neurofibromatosis Type 1

A Phase 1 interventional study of MRI, FDG-PET/CT scans and [18F]-FLT-PET/CT scans in Neurofibromatosis and MPNST, sponsored by National Cancer Institute (NCI). Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 10 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-29.

Sponsored by National Cancer Institute (NCI) · Phase 1, Interventional, and Diagnostic

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was Sep 2017, 9 years 2 months ago, and no results have been posted to the registry.
Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
10
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
10 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Background:\<TAB>

- Many people with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) get tumors of the nervous system. Finding malignant tumors early is important for removing them. Researchers want to find ways of doing this with scans and genetic testing.

Objectives:

- To learn more about neurofibromatosis type 1.

Eligibility:

- People age 10 and older with NF1 who have a benign tumor or have had a malignant one.

Design:

  • Participants will be screened in another study with medical history, physical exam, and urine and blood tests. They will have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.
  • MRI: Participants will lie on a table that slides into a metal cylinder. They will be in the scanner for 60 90 minutes, lying still for 15 minutes at a time. Participants will get earplugs for the loud sounds. They will get a contrast agent (dye) through a thin plastic tube (catheter) inserted in an arm vein.
  • As part of their regular care, participants will have:
  • FDG-PET/CT scan. They will get radioactive glucose (sugar) through a catheter in an arm vein.
  • [18F]-FLT-PET/CT scan. This is like the FDG scan but with a different radioactive chemical.
  • Biopsy. A piece of tumor tissue is removed with a needle. A piece of tissue from a previous biopsy may also be studied.
  • Participants may have genetic testing. Blood will be taken. It will be tested along with biopsy samples. Researchers will explain the risks and procedures. They may notify participants if testing shows health problems.
  • After this study, participants will continue their regular cancer care.
Read the detailed description

Background:

  • NF1 is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder characterized by distinct features including the development of benign plexiform neurofibromas (PN) and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST) tumors of the nervous system.
  • Development of MPNST typically results from malignant transformation in a preexisting PN. Associated symptoms may overlap and be difficult to distinguish from growth of a benign PN. Currently surgery is the only standard treatment for PN and MPNST.
  • The 5-year overall survival rate for NF1 patients with a MPNST is poor; therefore, early detection of malignant transformation of a PN is an important goal.
  • Fluoro-deoxy-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) in NF1 has utility in detecting malignant transformation. However, concerning lesions can have high FDG uptake and be benign on biopsy.
  • Fluoro-thymidine (FLT) PET measures cell cycling and proliferation. Malignant lesions have higher proliferation rates than benign tumors; therefore, FLT-PET may be sensitive and specific in the early detection of malignant transformation and assess response.
  • Genetic analysis is an important component in evaluating the transformation of PN to MPNST. Biallelic NF1 and tumor suppressor gene mutations (p53, INK4A, p27kip1), increased Ras activity and abnormal growth factor signaling have been described, but there is no known signature for MPNST.
  • Massively parallel ( next generation ) sequencing technology permits whole-genome, whole-exome and transcriptome sequencing of multiple tumors including MPNST.

Objectives:

  • Determine the feasibility of FLT PET in patients with NF1 and MPNST or lesions concerning for MPNST, or MPNST.
  • Evaluate the ability of FLT PET to distinguish benign PN from malignant lesions, and to determine if FLT PET is more accurate than FDG PET in correctly classifying a tumor as benign or malignant.
  • Evaluate the feasibility of whole-exome sequencing and other genetic/genomic methods, including detection of epigenetic and/or expression changes and RNA Seq of tumor (MPNST or lesion concerning for MPNST and adjacent benign PN) biopsies using interventional radiology sampling techniques in consenting individuals with NF1 participating in 10-C-0086.
  • Perform detailed clinical analysis of individuals with NF1 and MPNST or lesions concerning for MPNST.
  • Perform detailed pathologic analysis of biopsy specimens from tumor areas to determine if increased uptake of FDG or FLT predicts for malignant transformation.
  • Identify somatic genetic variants that distinguish PN from MPNST and from germline sequence by whole-exome sequencing potentially identifying targets for treatment.

Eligibility:

  • NF1 patients with lesions concerning for malignancy or with active MPNST.
  • Willingness to enroll on NCI protocol 08-C-0079: Natural History Study and Longitudinal Assessment of Children, Adolescents, and Adults with Neurofibromatosis Type 1.

Design:

  • Up to 15 patients will be enrolled on this pilot study.
  • Patients will undergo the following evaluations:
  • Detailed clinical evaluation of NF1 manifestations on NCI protocol #08-C-0079
  • Imaging studies including:

    • MRI, FDG-PET/CT scans (as standard care) in all subjects; and
    • [(18)F]-FLT-PET/CT (research study) in subjects 10 years of age or older
  • Genetic counseling (if participating in the germline blood sampling and biopsy analysis portion of the study)
  • Tissue analysis:

    ---Patients 18 years of age or older with MPNST will participate in tissue analysis, if consenting and appropriately preserved archival tissue is available, or if patient agrees to optional research biopsy (if consented and safe). Patients with lesions concerning for malignancy will undergo clinically indicated biopsies of concerning lesions and of adjacent benign PN (if consented and safe) for detailed pathologic analysis and whole-exome sequencing (co-enrollment on 10-C-0086 Comprehensive Omics Analysis of Pediatric Solid Tumors and Establishment of a Repository for Related Biological Studies). Biopsies to be directed by PET fusion imaging in interventional radiology.

  • Whole-exome sequencing of a germline blood sample (optional) if participating in the tissue analysis (co-enrollment on 10-C-0086 Comprehensive Omics Analysis of Pediatric Solid Tumors and Establishment of a Repository for Related Biological Studies).
  • To better characterize lesions concerning for MPNST and predict those at higher risk for malignant transformation, we will correlate clinical and imaging findings, including radiographic evaluation with FDG-PET/CT, and [(18)F]-FLT-PET/CT, pathologic evaluation of tumor biopsies (if available), and analysis of whole exome sequencing of germline blood samples (if consented) and of tumor samples (when available).
02

Conditions studied

  • Neurofibromatosis
  • MPNST

Keywords

  • Genetic Analysis
  • Biopsy
  • FDG-PET
  • FLT-PET
03

In context

Neurofibromatoses

57 studies on the registry are indexed under Neurofibromatoses; 14 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 10 is below the median of 39 across 36 interventional studies indexed under Neurofibromatoses.

Browse Neurofibromatoses studies →

Lead sponsor

National Cancer Institute (NCI) is the lead sponsor of 3,556 studies on the registry; 336 are open to participants now.

Of its 411 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 373 (91%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
10 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

1. Age:

  • No upper age limit for patient enrollment.

    • FLT PET: will only be performed in patients greater than or equal to 10 years old
    • Research in consenting patients with MPNST: will only be performed in patients greater than or equal to 18 years old

      2. Diagnosis:

  • Patients who are diagnosed with NF1 using the NIH Consensus Conference criteria or have a confirmed NF1 mutation with analysis performed in a CLIA certified laboratory. NF1 mutation testing to confirm eligibility will not be performed on this protocol, but as part the POB separate screening study.
  • For the clinical diagnosis of NF1 all study subjects must have at two or more diagnostic criteria for NF1 listed below (NIH Consensus Conference):

    1. Six or more caf(SqrRoot)(Copyright)-au-lait spots (greater than or equal to 0.5 cm in prepubertal subjects or greater than or equal to 1.5 cm in postpubertal subjects)
    2. Greater than or equal to 2 neurofibromas or 1 plexiform neurofibroma
    3. Freckling in the axilla or groin
    4. Optic glioma
    5. Two or more Lisch nodules
    6. A distinctive bony lesion (dysplasia of the sphenoid bone or dysplasia or thinning of long bone cortex)
    7. A first-degree relative with NF1

    3. NFI tumor manifestations

Subjects must have:

  1. Diagnosis of NF1 with a lesion concerning for MPNST

    -Criteria include pain, growth of a known plexiform neurofibroma, abnormality on functional imaging study (FDG-PET) or change in clinical exam.

    OR

  2. Diagnosis of NF1 with a confirmed MPNST.

4. Subjects must be eligible for and willing to participate and sign consent for NCI protocol 08-C-0079: Natural History Study and Longitudinal Assessment of Children, Adolescents, and Adults with Neurofibromatosis Type 1, for the clinical evaluation necessary for this study.

5. Prior and current therapy:

For NF1 related benign tumor manifestations there is no standard effective medical treatment, and surgery is the only standard treatment. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are additional treatment options for malignant NF1 related tumors. For the purpose of this study subjects who have not previously received medical or surgical treatment, patients who have previously received medical or surgical treatment, and subjects who are currently receiving medical treatment and or radiation for a NF1 related manifestation will be eligible.

Patients must be recovered from acute toxicities of prior therapy in order to be able to safely undergo biopsies proposed on the trial. Prior and current treatment for NF1 related manifestations will be recorded on protocol 08-C-0079.

Prior radiation therapy and chemotherapy in patients with MPNST must not have been administered within 4 weeks prior to enrollment.

6. Performance Status:

less than or equal to 3. Subjects who are wheelchair bound because of paralysis will be considered ambulatory when they are up in their wheelchair. Subjects have to be able to travel to the NIH for evaluations.

7. :

All patients or their legal guardians (if the patients is\<18 years old) must sign an IRB-approved document of informed consent to demonstrate their understanding of the nature and the risks of this study before any protocol-related studies are performed. When appropriate, pediatric subjects will be included in all discussions.

8. Hematologic criteria (applicable only in patients undergoing biopsy)

  • count has to be greater than or equal to 100,000/microL
  • Patients should have \<1.4 and PT less than or greater to 40 seconds (unless due to lupus anticoagulant). In patients not meeting these parameters, clearance by hematology will be required prior to undergoing biopsy.

Exclusion criteria

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

  1. Allergy or relative to MRI contrast agents.
  2. Patients who require sedation for imaging studies will be excluded from the FLT PET scan research test. They will undergo only the standard of care MRI and FDG PET scan.
  3. Contraindication to MRI scanning, such as surgery that involves metal clips or wires or metal prostheses which might be expected to cause tissue damage or produce image artifacts.
  4. Patients with severe chronic renal insufficiency ( \< 30 mL/min/1.73 m(2)), hepatorenal syndrome or post-liver transplantation.
  5. History of prior fluorothymidine allergy or intolerance.
  6. Participants with severe claustrophobia not relieved by oral anxiolytic medication or patients weighing >136 kg (weight limit for scanner table)
  7. Pregnant women are excluded from this study because of the effects of radioactive materials with the potential for teratogenic or abortifacient effects. Because there is an unknown but potential risk for adverse events in nursing infants secondary to treatment of the mother with radioactive materials, breastfeeding should be discontinued.
  8. Requirement for medications, which interfere with function, such as aspirin, which cannot be stopped within 1 week prior to the (applicable only to patients undergoing biopsy).
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(9)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Biopsy and archival tissue

A biopsy takes a small piece of tissue to examine. “Archival tissue” is a sample already taken, for example at diagnosis, and kept by the hospital.

Whether a stored sample will do depends on when it was taken, how much there is and what the study needs. Ask whether the study accepts your stored sample or needs a new biopsy.

Histologically or cytologically confirmed

The diagnosis was confirmed by looking at a sample under a microscope: tissue from a biopsy or surgery (histology), or cells from a fluid or needle sample (cytology).

Your pathology report is the document that shows this.

ECOG performance status

A scale of how much an illness limits everyday activity. For people being assessed to join a study, scores run from 0 (fully active) to 4; lower is more active.

0
Fully active, no restrictions.
1
Limited in strenuous activity, but walking and able to do light work, such as housework or office work.
2
Walking and able to look after yourself, but unable to work; up and about more than half of waking hours.
3
Able to look after yourself only in part; in bed or a chair more than half of waking hours.
4
Unable to look after yourself at all; in bed or a chair all day.

Studies most often ask for 0–1 or 0–2. Your doctor gives the score; the WHO scale uses the same steps. The full scale also has 5, which records death.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Investigational drug or device

A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.

It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.

Platelets

Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.

INR, PT and aPTT (clotting tests)

Blood tests of how long blood takes to clot. The INR is the prothrombin time (PT) put on a common scale; about 1 is usual for someone not taking a blood thinner.

Criteria often make an exception for people on a blood thinner such as warfarin, whose INR is raised on purpose.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)

GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².

Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Diagnostic
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
10 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    1/FDG and FLT PET scans

    Subjects will undergo FDG-PET and FLT-PET scans at least one day apart

    Procedure: MRI, FDG-PET/CT scans · Drug: [18F]-FLT-PET/CT scans

  • Other
    2/FDG-PET scan

    Subjects will undergo FDG-PET scan

    Procedure: MRI, FDG-PET/CT scans

Interventions

  • ProcedureMRI, FDG-PET/CT scans

    Standard of care to be obtained as part of the study

  • Drug[18F]-FLT-PET/CT scans

    FLT PET to be performed as a research imaging study as it is not considered standard imaging in NF1

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Evaluate the feasibility of whole-exome sequencing and other genetic/genomic methods

    Genomic profile of subject's tumors to catalogue mutations associated with the development of a PN and then a MPNST

    Time frame: 3 years

  2. Evaluate the ability of FLT PET to distinguish benign PN from malignant lesions, and to determine if FLT PET is more accurate than FDG PET in classifying a tumor as benign or malignant

    Proportion of patients identified with benign or malignant tumor using FLT PET versus FDG PET

    Time frame: 3 years

  3. Determine the feasibility of FLT PET in patients with NF1 and lesions concerning for MPNST, or MPNST

    Sensitivity of FLT PET in distinguishing benign from malignant lesions

    Time frame: 3 years

07

Study locations

1 site
  • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
    Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Benz MR, Czernin J, Dry SM, Tap WD, Allen-Auerbach MS, Elashoff D, Phelps ME, Weber WA, Eilber FC. Quantitative F18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography accurately characterizes peripheral nerve sheath tumors as malignant or benign. Cancer. 2010 Jan 15;116(2):451-8. doi: 10.1002/cncr.24755. PubMed 19924789 ↗
  • Meany H, Dombi E, Reynolds J, Whatley M, Kurwa A, Tsokos M, Salzer W, Gillespie A, Baldwin A, Derdak J, Widemann B. 18-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) evaluation of nodular lesions in patients with Neurofibromatosis type 1 and plexiform neurofibromas (PN) or malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST). Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2013 Jan;60(1):59-64. doi: 10.1002/pbc.24212. Epub 2012 May 29. PubMed 22645095 ↗
  • Salskov A, Tammisetti VS, Grierson J, Vesselle H. FLT: measuring tumor cell proliferation in vivo with positron emission tomography and 3'-deoxy-3'-[18F]fluorothymidine. Semin Nucl Med. 2007 Nov;37(6):429-39. doi: 10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2007.08.001. PubMed 17920350 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — All IPD recorded in the medical record will be shared with intramural investigators upon request.

Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan, Informed consent form

Time frame: Clinical data available during the study and indefinitely.

Access criteria: Clinical data will be made available via subscription to BTRIS and with the permission of the study PI.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Oct 29, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT02211768
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Aug 7, 2014
Start date
Dec 8, 2014
Primary completion
Sep 5, 2017
Completion
Dec 30, 2019
Last update
Oct 29, 2026

Study contacts

Brigitte C Widemann, M.D.
principal investigator · National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Jun 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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