Where to search
- ClinicalTrials.gov: the US registry, covering most trials worldwide. Search "glioblastoma", filter by status "Recruiting" and "Not yet recruiting", and by location.
- EU Clinical Trials Register / CTIS for Europe; ISRCTN for the UK; ChinaDrugTrials (CDE) for China, where our Phase II is registered as CTR20261465.
- Curated lists: the Musella Foundation's virtualtrials.org and the National Brain Tumor Society maintain patient-readable lists; independent sites also list trials by country.
- Your own center: ask which trials it runs and which it refers to.
Read the eligibility criteria first
Each trial lists inclusion and exclusion criteria. For newly diagnosed glioblastoma, the common requirements are: histological confirmation, enrollment within a set number of weeks after surgery and usually before chemoradiation, age 18 or over (sometimes an upper limit), Karnofsky performance score of 60 or 70 or above, adequate blood counts and organ function, a stable or low steroid dose, and no prior treatment beyond surgery. Recurrent-disease trials add: measurable tumor on MRI, a minimum interval since radiotherapy, and often no prior bevacizumab. If you fail one criterion, you are out; the trial team cannot bend them.
Understand the phase and the design
- Phase 1: safety and dose, small numbers, everyone gets the new treatment, benefit is not the aim.
- Phase 2: early signs of activity; may be single-arm or randomized.
- Phase 3: the new treatment versus the standard in hundreds of patients, usually randomized; this is what approval rests on.
- Randomized means a computer assigns you to the new treatment or the control; you cannot choose. Placebo-controlled means the control group gets a dummy. Open-label means everyone knows the assignment. Ask whether crossover to the new treatment is allowed if your disease progresses on the control.
- 1Eligible patientsEveryone who meets the criteria is enrolled.
- 2Assigned by chanceA computer, not the doctor or the patient, decides which arm each person enters.
- 3Two arms comparedOne arm gets standard care plus the new treatment; the other gets standard care, sometimes with a placebo. The difference between the arms is the result.
Schematic. Ask whether crossover to the new treatment is allowed if your disease progresses on the control arm.
| Phase | Patients | Question asked | Could I get the control treatment? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10–40 | Is it safe, and at what dose? | No: everyone gets the new treatment |
| 2 | 40–200 | Does it show activity? | Sometimes: some Phase 2 trials randomize |
| 3 | 200–1,000+ | Is it better than the standard? | Usually yes: randomized against standard care |
Logistics and cost
The investigational treatment and trial-specific tests are free. Standard care is billed as usual to you or your insurer. Travel, accommodation and time off work are yours; some trials reimburse part. Most trials require that you be treated at the trial center for the whole protocol, which can mean months near a hospital in another city or country. Foreign patients can enroll in many US and European trials if they can be present and have the required documents translated, but residency and insurance rules vary; ask the coordinator directly.
Eight questions for the trial team
- Which arm might I be assigned to, and what does the control arm receive?
- What is the enrollment window relative to my surgery date?
- How many visits, where, over how long?
- What has the treatment shown so far, in how many patients?
- What are the known side effects and who manages them?
- Can I leave the trial, and what happens to my care if I do?
- Will trial participation exclude me from other trials or programs later?
- What is reimbursed, and what is not?
Trials versus authorized programs
A trial is free, controlled and may give you the standard treatment only. An authorized program, such as ours in China's Beidaihe pilot zone, guarantees the added treatment but charges for it and has no control arm, so its results are harder to interpret. Neither is better in the abstract. If you qualify for a strong randomized trial near home and can commit to it, that is usually the first choice. If you do not qualify, cannot be present, or want the treatment rather than a chance of it, a program is the alternative, and it should be judged by the same questions. Our comparison page sets the routes side by side.
Questions families ask
Can I join a trial after starting radiotherapy?
For most newly diagnosed trials, no; the window closes at or before the first fraction. Some trials enroll after chemoradiation, and recurrent-disease trials enroll at progression. Check each trial's window.
Is it true that patients in trials do better even in the control arm?
Patients in trials tend to be fitter and more closely monitored, which is part of why trial results look better than real-world figures. It is not evidence that the control treatment is better than the same treatment elsewhere.
How do I check whether a program abroad is really a registered trial?
Look up the registration number on ClinicalTrials.gov or the relevant national registry and confirm the sponsor and the site. Our Phase II is NCT07715097 and CTR20261465; our patient program is a separate, authorized fee-based pathway, and we say so.
Related guides
- How to read glioblastoma treatment numbers: survival, progression and what a "median" means
- Twelve questions to ask before glioblastoma treatment abroad
- Recurrent glioblastoma: the options after standard treatment
Sources
- ClinicalTrials.gov: glioblastoma, recruiting clinicaltrials.gov
- National Brain Tumor Society: clinical trials braintumor.org
- Musella Foundation: virtualtrials.org virtualtrials.org
Considering treatment in China?
Send the patient's records for a remote review. A coordinator confirms receipt within one business day; the multidisciplinary team's report and a written estimate follow in about a week, before any decision or payment.