Surgery, Radiation Therapy, and Chemotherapy With or Without Photodynamic Therapy in Treating Patients With Newly Diagnosed or Recurrent Malignant Supratentorial Gliomas
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ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00003788 |
Recruitment Status : Unknown
Verified September 2003 by National Cancer Institute (NCI).
Recruitment status was: Active, not recruiting
First Posted : January 27, 2003
Last Update Posted : November 6, 2013
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RATIONALE: Photodynamic therapy uses light and drugs that make cancer cells more sensitive to light to kill tumor cells. It is not yet known if the addition of photodynamic therapy to combined therapy with surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy is more effective than combined therapy alone for supratentorial gliomas.
PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to study the effectiveness of surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy with or without photodynamic therapy in treating patients who have newly diagnosed or recurrent malignant supratentorial gliomas.
Condition or disease | Intervention/treatment | Phase |
---|---|---|
Brain and Central Nervous System Tumors | Drug: carmustine Drug: lomustine Drug: porfimer sodium Drug: procarbazine hydrochloride Procedure: neoadjuvant therapy Procedure: surgical procedure Radiation: radiation therapy | Phase 3 |
OBJECTIVES:
- Determine whether the addition of photodynamic therapy to standard brain tumor care (surgical resection, postoperative radiotherapy, and chemotherapy) will result in a significant prolongation of time to recurrence and survival in newly diagnosed malignant supratentorial gliomas.
- Compare the effect of high or low light dose photodynamic therapy on survival of patients with recurrent malignant supratentorial gliomas.
OUTLINE: This is a randomized, multicenter, two part study. Patients are stratified according to clinical center.
Newly diagnosed patients (Study 1)
-
Patients are randomized to receive either high light dose photodynamic therapy (arm I) or no photodynamic therapy (arm II):
- Arm I: Patients receive porfimer sodium (Photofrin) IV one day prior to surgery. Craniotomy and tumor resection are performed. Upon completion of resection, patients undergo intracavitary photoillumination with a high light dose.
- Arm II: Craniotomy and tumor resection are performed. Postoperatively, all patients receive external beam radiotherapy 5 days per week for 5-6 weeks. After completing radiotherapy, patients receive nitrosourea (carmustine or lomustine) chemotherapy.
Recurrent tumor patients (Study 2)
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Patients receive Photofrin IV one day prior to surgery. Craniotomy and tumor resection are performed.
- Arm I: Patients receive high dose light therapy during surgery.
- Arm II: Patients receive low dose light therapy during surgery. Patients receive chemotherapy with procarbazine for 28 days beginning 2-4 weeks after surgery. Courses repeat every 56 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
Patients are followed on both studies at 4 weeks postsurgery, then every 3 months until death or for 1 year after study closure.
PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A minimum of 150 patients with newly diagnosed tumor will be accrued for this study within 4 years (Study 1). A maximum of 120 patients with recurrent disease will be accrued within 4.5 years (Study 2)
Study Type : | Interventional (Clinical Trial) |
Estimated Enrollment : | 270 participants |
Allocation: | Randomized |
Primary Purpose: | Treatment |
Official Title: | Prospective Clinical Trials in the Use of Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) for the Treatment of Malignant Supratentorial Brain Tumors |
Study Start Date : | April 1998 |


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Ages Eligible for Study: | 18 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult) |
Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
-
Histologically confirmed newly diagnosed or recurrent supratentorial glioblastoma or malignant astrocytoma
- Grade 3 or 4 astrocytoma as defined by the Daumas-Duport classification
- Suitable for radical resection on the basis of imaging studies
- Patients with recurrent disease must have failed surgery and radiotherapy
PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
Age:
- 18 and over
Performance status:
- Karnofsky 60-100% for newly diagnosed tumor
- Karnofsky 70-100% for recurrent tumor
Life expectancy:
- At least 3 months
Hematopoietic:
-
Recurrent tumor:
- WBC at least 2,000/mm^3
- Platelet count at least 80,000/mm^3
Hepatic:
-
Recurrent tumor:
- PT/PTT no greater than 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
- Bilirubin and LFTs less than 2 times ULN
- Alkaline phosphatase no greater than 3 times ULN
- GGT no greater than 3 times ULN
Renal:
- Creatinine no greater than 2 mg/dL
Other:
- Not pregnant or nursing
PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
Biologic therapy:
- Not specified
Chemotherapy:
- Not specified
Endocrine therapy:
- Not specified
Radiotherapy:
- See Disease Characteristics
- No prior cranial radiotherapy for newly diagnosed tumor
Surgery:
- See Disease Characteristics

To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00003788
United States, Colorado | |
Rocky Mountain Neurological Associates | |
Englewood, Colorado, United States, 80110 | |
United States, New York | |
Roswell Park Cancer Institute | |
Buffalo, New York, United States, 14263-0001 | |
United States, Pennsylvania | |
Western Pennsylvania Hospital | |
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15224 | |
Canada, Ontario | |
St. Michael's Hospital-Annex | |
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5B 1A6 |
Study Chair: | Fred W. Hetzel, PhD, JD | Colorado Health Foundation |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT00003788 |
Other Study ID Numbers: |
CDR0000066927 HEALTHONE-43892 HEALTHONE-1A HEALTHONE-CA43892 RPCI-DS-9802 NCI-V99-1525 |
First Posted: | January 27, 2003 Key Record Dates |
Last Update Posted: | November 6, 2013 |
Last Verified: | September 2003 |
recurrent adult brain tumor adult glioblastoma adult anaplastic astrocytoma adult giant cell glioblastoma adult gliosarcoma |
Nervous System Neoplasms Central Nervous System Neoplasms Neoplasms by Site Neoplasms Nervous System Diseases Carmustine Lomustine Procarbazine |
Dihematoporphyrin Ether Trioxsalen Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating Alkylating Agents Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action Antineoplastic Agents Dermatologic Agents Photosensitizing Agents |