Active clinical trials for "Brain Neoplasms"

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a nuclear medicine procedure based on the measurement of positron emission from radiolabelled tracer molecules. These radiotracers allow biologic processes to be measured and whole body images to be obtained which demonstrates sites of radiotracer accumulation. The most common radiotracer in use today is 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) which is a radiolabelled sugar (glucose) molecule. Imaging with 18F-FDG PET is used to determine sites of abnormal glucose metabolism and can be used to characterize and localize many types of tumours. Cancer treatment and outcome depend largely on the accurate diagnosis and staging of disease. There is extensive data in the literature indicating the importance of FDG-PET imaging in accurately characterizing disease, as well as determining stage and sites of recurrent disease in many cancer types. For these indications, functional imaging with PET provides unique information which is not available from standard medical imaging modalities such as ultrasound, X-ray, computerized tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The objectives of this study are to document the safety and efficacy of 18F-FDG produced by the British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA) at its Tri-University Meson Facility (TRIUMF) production facility and to evaluate FDG-PET as a diagnostic and decision making tool in the management of oncology patients in British Columbia. With a population base of over 4 million people, standardized cancer treatment protocols, and evidence based guidelines for FDG-PET imaging, the BCCA is positioned to make an important contribution to defining the role of PET in the Canadian health care system.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the safety and imaging ability of 111In-DAC when used with planar and SPECT imaging for the detection of lung cancer and brain cancer consistent with metastatic lung cancer.

The aim of this study was to assess the anxiolytic and sedative effect of OZALIN® / OZASED® (ADV6209) 0,25mg/Kg in children undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) under inhalational anesthesia. Our hypothesis is that compared to children who do not receive any premedication, palatability of OZALIN® / OZASED® by allowing an easier acceptance of the drug, improves the quality of anesthesia induction and postoperative behavioral outcome improving sedation and reducing the need for inhalation anesthetic which has been recognized as the main cause of post-procedural behavioral changes, including emergence agitation.

Clinical follow-up survey of the Norwegian material of paediatric patients who received therapy for medulloblastoma and CNS-PNET from 1974 - 2013 with a focus on quality of life, education, work, family and children, delayed effects of tumour disease and treatment, endocrine evaluation, existence of auditory neuropathy, and neuropsychological testing.

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is increasingly applied in patients with brain metastases (BM) and is expected to have less adverse effects on cognitive functioning than Whole Brain Radiation Therapy (WBRT). Because cognitive functions are essential for daily functioning, and may affect therapy compliance and quality of life in general, a full understanding of cognitive functioning in patients with BM after SRS is essential. CAR-Study A is a prospective study to evaluate cognitive functioning in patients with 1-10 BM accepted for treatment with Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS).

This study investigates the intrafractional accuracy of a frameless thermoplastic mask used for head immobilization during stereotactic radiotherapy. Non-invasive masks cannot completely prohibit head movements. Previous studies attempted to estimate the magnitude of intrafractional inaccuracy by means of pre- and postfractional measurements only. However, this might not be sufficient to accurately map also intrafractional head movements. Intrafractional deviation of mask-fixed head positions is measured in five patients during a total of 94 fractions by means of close-meshed repeated ExacTrac measurements conducted during the entire treatment session. From the obtained data the investigators evaluate the need to adjust safety margins around the gross tumor volume (GTV) whenever the investigated thermoplastic mask is used instead of invasive ring fixation.

A critical aspect of brain tumor patient management is the radiographic assessment of tumor status, which is used for diagnosis, localization, surgical planning and surveillance. The primary goal is to develop and apply advanced, quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques that can supplement existing high-resolution anatomic imaging to aid clinical decision-making for patients diagnosed with brain tumors. The studies proposed herein involve the development of advanced imaging methods that are intrinsically sensitive to the biophysical characteristics associated with tumor pathogenesis, as they are more likely to improve tumor characterization and localization and may offer early and more specific indicators of treatment response. These advanced methods include diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST), and dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) perfusion MRI. A secondary objective of this study is to validate cerebral blood volume (CBV) metrics acquired using a DSC acquisition and post-processing methods by comparison with an intravascular reference standard contrast agent. Validated perfusion imaging techniques will improve the reliability and relevancy of derived CBV metrics across a range of clinical applications, including tumor localization, treatment guidance, therapy response assessment, surgical and biopsy guidance, and multi-site clinical trials of conventional and targeted brain tumor therapies.

Feasibility and tolerance study of virtual reality headset for brain mapping during brain awake surgery.

The PAINLESS study is a single-center, prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded-endpoint (PROBE) controlled clinical study to compare the efficacy and safety of pre-emptive scalp infiltration with ropivacaine plus ketorolac and ropivacaine alone for postoperative pain relief in adults undergoing elective supratentorial craniotomies.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential of [18F]-ML-10 to serve as an imaging tool for the early detection of response of brain metastases to radiation therapy. Such early detection may help early identification of responsive and non-responsive lesions. The experimental design of the present study aims to evaluate the potential of PET imaging with [18F]-ML-10 to address the currently unmet clinical need for very early (within one day)assessment of response to therapy. Currently, response assessment is available only after several weeks or months after completion of therapy, when tumor shrinkage can be detected by anatomical imaging (by MRI). Early detection of tumor response to treatment is now widely-recognized as a highly-desirable goal in oncology, and is respectively the target of intense research worldwide. In the future, the option to know early upon treatment administration, that the treated tumor is a non-responsive, may improve clinical management of patients with brain metastases of solid tumors.