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A pre-need primer

Get oriented to clinical trials — before you need them

Most people hear the word “trial” for the first time in a hard moment, when the bandwidth to learn a whole new vocabulary isn’t there. This page is the calmer version of that conversation: a short primer on how trials are organized, how to read who’s eligible, and a guided form that turns your case into the right clinicaltrials.gov search.

We don’t pull or rank trials ourselves — that’s a clinical decision and belongs with your team. We just lower the cost of asking the question.

What does “Phase 1, 2, 3” mean?

The phase tells you what the trial is trying to learn — and what kind of trade-off you’re making by joining.

Looking for early signals of benefit at the dose Phase 1 chose. Bigger group (50–300). Common landing spot for recurrent brain tumors.

Why it matters for you
By Phase 2, the dose is set and the team is watching for whether the drug actually shrinks tumors or extends time without growth. This is where a lot of brain-tumor patients land.

There’s also “Early Phase 1” (very small, very early) and trial listings that combine phases (e.g., Phase 1/2). The same logic applies — check what the trial says it’s testing.

How to read inclusion / exclusion criteria

Every trial listing has a long list of bullets. Reading them cold is rough — here’s the shape to look for.

  • Inclusion vs. exclusion isn't a hierarchy

    Inclusion lists who CAN join. Exclusion lists who CAN'T. You need to clear every inclusion bullet AND avoid every exclusion bullet. One unmet inclusion item or one matched exclusion item is enough to disqualify.

  • Look for the 'wash-out' windows

    Many trials require X weeks since your last surgery, radiation, or chemo. If you're freshly post-op, you might need to wait — that's not a 'no,' it's a 'not yet.'

  • Performance status is non-negotiable

    Trials usually require a Karnofsky (KPS) of 60, 70, or 80+. This is your team's rating of how independent you are day-to-day. If you're below the cutoff, that trial is closed to you for now.

  • Most criteria have flexibility — ask

    Lab values, prior-treatment counts, and timing windows are sometimes negotiable. The trial's research coordinator is the right person to ask, not the website.

  • Don't self-disqualify on molecular markers you don't know yet

    A trial that says 'IDH-mutant only' isn't a match if you don't know your IDH status. Get the path report before ruling yourself in or out.

Build your search

Fill in what you know — leave the rest as Unknown. We’ll translate it into the right clinicaltrials.gov filters on the right.

Tumor type

Pick the closest match. We default to glioblastoma since that's the most common reason people land here.

Where you are in the journey

Most trials are written for one or the other. Picking this narrows results a lot.

Molecular markers (from your path report)

If you don't know yet, leave as Unknown — that's fine. Don't guess.

IDH mutation status

From your pathology report. 'IDH-mutant' or 'IDH-wildtype' will be in there.

MGMT promoter methylation

Predicts how well temozolomide tends to work. Not always tested.

1p/19q codeletion

Mostly relevant for oligodendroglioma. Often listed alongside IDH.

What treatments have you already had?

Many trials have rules about prior lines of therapy. Ticking these helps surface trials written with your situation in mind.

Trial phase

See the primer above. Most patient-relevant trials are Phase 1 and 2.

Recruitment status

Recruiting = you can still join. The other two are useful for context but won't take new patients today.

Age range

Adult trials and pediatric trials are usually entirely separate worlds.

Where are you willing to travel?

Many people travel to a specialized center for a single visit a month. Be honest about what's actually possible.

Once you have a list of trials — what next?

A handful of trials in the result list isn’t a treatment plan — it’s a starting point for a conversation. Three things tend to help.

Save the NCT numbers

Every trial has an NCT ID (e.g., NCT05000000). Note 3–5 you'd want to ask about, with one sentence each on why it caught your eye.

Bring them to your team

Your neuro-oncologist can flag eligibility issues you'd never spot from the listing — and may know coordinators at the trial sites.

Email the research coordinator

Each listing has a contact. A short note (your diagnosis, prior treatments, location) gets you a faster yes/no than reading I/E criteria alone.

This is an educational tool and is not a medical diagnosis. AI analyses can be wrong. Please share results with your doctor.