Recruiting

Tear Fluid

Sponsor:

City of Hope Medical Center

Code:

NCT07775534

Conditions

Glioblastoma

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Biospecimen Collection

Biospecimen Collection

Electronic Health Record Review

Questionnaire Administration

Study Details

Brief summary:

This clinical trial tests the impact of tear fluid in detecting tumor-associated extracellular vesicles (TEVs) in patients with glioblastoma. Brain tumors release small particles, called TEVs, that may provide information about the tumor, including how it responds to treatment. These particles can be found in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which is the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. Collecting CSF can be difficult and expensive, especially if samples are needed frequently to track these particles over time. Tear fluid is easier to collect than spinal fluid. If tears are found to contain similar tumor-related particles, changes in the tumor may be tracked by studying the particles found in tear fluid.

Conditions

Glioblastoma

Study ID

NCT07775534

Start date

Dec 9, 2026

Status verified date

Oct, 2026

Completion date

Feb 1, 2029

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Feb 1, 2029

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults (age ≥ 18)
  • Male and female
  • All racial and ethnic groups
  • Pathologically-proven diagnosis of GBM or healthy volunteers
  • For GBM patients, presence of a previously placed Rickham reservoir or shunt
  • Able to provide informed consent (or via legal representative)
  • Willing to undergo Schirmer strip procedure

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Active ocular infection or inflammation
  • Recent ocular surgery (within 3 months)
  • Chronic dry eyes
  • Known allergy or hypersensitivity to topical anesthetics
  • Cognitive impairment
  • Pregnancy
  • Any condition that, in the opinion of the investigator, would interfere with the participant's ability to comply with study procedures or place the participant at undue risk

Study Design

Enrollment

30 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Non randomized

Intervention Model

Sequential

Primary purpose

Diagnostic

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Phase 1 (collection of tears)

Patients and healthy controls undergo collection of tears on study.

experimental: Phase 2 (collection of tears, blood, CSF)

Patients and healthy controls undergo collection of tears and blood samples and patients undergo collection of standard of care CSF samples throughout the study.

Interventions

Biospecimen Collection

Undergo collection of tears

Biospecimen Collection

Undergo collection of blood and standard of care CSF samples

Electronic Health Record Review

Ancillary studies

Questionnaire Administration

Ancillary studies

Primary outcome measure

  • Proportion of samples containing at least 2 uL of tear (feasibility) [ Time Frame: Up to 2 years ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Locations

City of Hope Medical Center

Recruiting

Duarte, California, United States, 91010

Contacts

Lisa A. Feldman

626-218-8680lfeldman@coh.org

Principal Investigator:

Lisa A. Feldman

More Information

Sponsor

City of Hope Medical Center

Last update posted

Oct 8, 2026

Last verified

Oct, 2026

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-10-09. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by City of Hope Medical Center on 2026-10-08. Recruitment status is synced daily from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the sponsor's current status. Confirm during your call.