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CompletedNCT05383872Updated Jul 28, 2025

Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption (BBBD) for Liquid Biopsy in Subjects With GlioBlastoma Brain Tumors

An interventional study of Focused Ultrasound (Exablate Model 4000) in Glioblastoma, Glioma and Liquid Biopsy, sponsored by InSightec. Completed at 17 sites in 2 countries. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 80 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-07-28.

Sponsored by InSightec · Not applicable, Interventional, and Diagnostic

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was Feb 2025, 1 year 7 months ago, and no results have been posted to the registry.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
71
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years to 80 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of targeted blood brain barrier disruption with Exablate Model 4000 Type 2.0/2.1 for liquid biopsy in subjects with suspected Glioblastoma brain tumors

Read the detailed description

This is a prospective, multi-center, pivotal clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of targeted blood brain barrier disruption using Exablate Model 4000 Type 2 for liquid biopsy in subjects with suspected Glioblastoma brain tumors. The study will be conducted at up to 25 centers in the US.

02

Conditions studied

  • Glioblastoma
  • Glioma
  • Liquid Biopsy
03

In context

Glioblastoma

1,920 studies on the registry are indexed under Glioblastoma; 450 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 71 is above the median of 36 across 1,618 interventional studies indexed under Glioblastoma.

Browse Glioblastoma studies →

Lead sponsor

InSightec is the lead sponsor of 84 studies on the registry; 10 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 80 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  1. Male or Female subjects18-80 years of age who are able and willing to give informed consent, or whose legally authorized representative is willing to consent on their behalf
  2. Subjects with stereotactically-targetable suspected new or recurrent glioblastoma tumor on pre-operative brain imaging scans
  3. Subjects that are scheduled, or will be scheduled within 4 weeks, for surgical resection or biopsy per standard clinical tumor care
  4. Karnofsky Performance Score >70
  5. Able to communicate sensations during the Exablate BBBD procedure

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Subjects with inoperable tumors (e.g., tumor originating from the deep midline, thalamus, midbrain, cerebellum or brainstem)
  2. Multifocal tumors
  3. Tumor morphology or other imaging findings that precludes the ability to sonicate the tumor volume (including significant tumor volume outside the treatment envelope or tumor volume that exceeds the maximum sonication volume allowed, i.e. currently 110 ccs at the treatment volume level). Concern for adequate tumor coverage by sonication based on tumor morphology should be discussed with the Sponsor.
  4. MRI or clinical findings of:

    1. Active or chronic infection(s) or inflammatory processes
    2. Acute or chronic hemorrhages, specifically any lobar microbleeds, and no siderosis, amyloid angiopathy, or macro-hemorrhages
    3. Intracranial thrombosis, vascular malformation, cerebral aneurysm or vasculitis
  5. MR non-compatible metallic implants in the skull or the brain or the presence of unknown MR unsafe devices
  6. Significant cardiac disease or unstable hemodynamic status

    1. Documented myocardial infarction within six months of enrollment
    2. Unstable angina on medication
    3. Unstable or worsening congestive heart failure
    4. Documented left ventricular ejection fraction below the lower limit of normal
    5. History of a hemodynamically unstable cardiac arrhythmia
    6. Cardiac pacemaker
  7. Uncontrolled hypertension (systolic > 180 and diastolic BP > 120 on medication)
  8. Undergoing anti-coagulant or anti-platelet therapy, or using medications known to increase risk of hemorrhage within washout period prior to treatment (i.e., antiplatelet or vitamin K inhibitor anticoagulants within 7 days, non-vitamin K inhibitor anticoagulants within 72 hours, or heparin-derived compounds within 48 hours of treatment).
  9. History of bleeding disorder, coagulopathy or a history of spontaneous hemorrhage or evidence of increased risk of bleeding
  10. Abnormal coagulation profile (Platelets \< 80,000, PT >14, PTT >36, or INR > 1.3)
  11. Known cerebral or systemic vasculopathy
  12. Significant depression and at potential risk of suicide
  13. Known sensitivity/allergy to gadolinium or DEFINITY/DEFINITY RT,
  14. Active seizures despite medication treatment (defined as >1 seizure per week) which could be worsened by disruption of the blood brain barrier
  15. Active drug or alcohol disorder which have a higher risk for seizures, infection and/or poor executive functioning
  16. Known positive HIV status, which can lead to increased entry of HIV into the brain parenchyma leading to HIV encephalitis
  17. Potential blood-borne infections which can lead to increased entry to brain parenchyma leading to meningitis or brain abscess
  18. Any contraindications to MRI scanning, including:

    1. Large subjects not fitting comfortably into the scanner
    2. Difficulty lying supine and still for up to 3 hours in the MRI unit or claustrophobia
  19. Impaired renal function with estimated glomerular filtration rate \<30 mL/min/1.73m2
  20. Severe Respiratory Illness: chronic pulmonary disorders (e.g., severe emphysema, pulmonary vasculitis, or other causes of reduced pulmonary vascular cross-sectional area), subjects with a history of severe drug allergies, severe asthma or hay fever, or multiple allergies where the benefit/risk of administering DEFINITY/DEFINITY RT is considered unfavorable by the study physicians in relation to the product labeling for DEFINITY/DEFINITY RT
  21. Currently in a clinical trial involving an investigational product or non-approved use of a drug or device
  22. Pregnancy or Lactation
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Diagnostic
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
71 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Exablate BBBD

    Using Exablate Model 4000 Type 2 for liquid biopsy in subjects with Glioblastoma

    Device: Focused Ultrasound (Exablate Model 4000)

Interventions

  • DeviceFocused Ultrasound (Exablate Model 4000)

    BBB opening via Exablate Type 2 system with microbubble resonators and drawing blood before and after opening

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Adverse Events

    All adverse events and/or Serious Adverse Events will be documented and reported according to CTCAE

    Time frame: Through study completion, up to 1 year

  2. Correlation with Tumor Tissue

    To demonstrate there is a correlation between patterns obtained in the panel of biomarkers evaluated in the resected tumor tissue and/or biopsy and blood sample collected post-BBBD

    Time frame: Up to 3 hours Post-BBBD

Secondary outcomes

  1. Circulating Free DNA

    To demonstrate that there is at least a 2-fold increase in circulating free DNA following blood brain barrier disruption (BBBD)

    Time frame: Up to 3 hours Post-BBBD

07

Study locations

17 sites
  • University of California, Los Angeles
    Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
  • Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
    Newport Beach, California 92618, United States
  • University of California San Francisco
    San Francisco, California 94107, United States
  • UF Health Shands Hospital
    Gainesville, Florida 32608, United States
  • Miami Cancer Institute at Baptist Health
    Miami, Florida 33176, United States
  • Tampa General Hospital
    Tampa, Florida 33606, United States
  • Moffitt Cancer Center
    Tampa, Florida 33612, United States
  • University of Maryland, Baltimore & The University of Maryland Medical System
    Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
  • Johns Hopkins University
    Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
  • Mayo Clinic
    Rochester, Minnesota 55905, United States
  • NYU Grossman School of Medicine
    New York, New York 10016, United States
  • University of North Carolina
    Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27516, United States
  • Duke University
    Durham, North Carolina 27710, United States
  • University of Texas, Southwestern
    Dallas, Texas 75390, United States
  • University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
    Houston, Texas 77030, United States
  • West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Center
    Morgantown, West Virginia 26506, United States
  • Sunnybrook Research Institute
    Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5, Canada
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jul 28, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05383872
Lead sponsor
InSightec
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
May 20, 2022
Start date
Aug 8, 2022
Primary completion
Feb 21, 2025
Completion
Mar 5, 2025
Last update
Jul 28, 2025

Oversight

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

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This study is completed, as verified in Jul 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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