Clinical Research Directory

Trial of C134 in Patients With Recurrent GBM

The purpose of this project is to obtain safety information in small groups of individuals, scheduled to receive escalating doses of C134, a cancer killing virus (HSV-1) that has been genetically engineered to safely replicate and kill glioma tumor cells. Safety will be assessed at each dose level before proceeding to the next dose level. A special statistical technique called the Continual Reassessment Method (CRM) will be used to determine when higher doses of virus can be administered. Other objectives of the study include characterization of the activity of C134 after inoculation into the tumor and of the local and systemic immune responses to C134. Patients will also be followed with MRI scans for potential clinical response to C134. The clinical strategy takes advantage of the virus' ability to infect and kill tumor cells while making new virus within the tumors cells; a critical enhancement of this effect is accomplished by the induction of an anti-tumor immune response; both effects are produced by the IRS-1 gene that was placed into the virus by genetic engineering. An additional important component of the research are systematic assessments of the quality of life on treated patients.

Implantable Microdevice In Primary Brain Tumors

This pilot study will assess the safety and feasibility of using an implantable microdevice to measure local intratumor response to chemotherapy and other clinically relevant drugs in malignant brain tumors. * The device involved in this study is called a microdevice. * The drugs used in this study will only include drugs already used systemically for the treatment of gliomas.