Trial reportBMC cancer2009
Early termination of ISRCTN45828668, a phase 1/2 prospective, randomized study of sulfasalazine for the treatment of progressing malignant gliomas in adults.
Trial report in BMC cancer, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04205357 (Phase I Trial Combining Sulfasalazine and Gamma Knife Radiosurgery for Recurrent Glioblastoma), which is not on this map. Cited by 112 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Phase I Trial Combining Sulfasalazine and Gamma Knife Radiosurgery for Recurrent Glioblastoma
Who cites it
112 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 179 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ferroptosis in glioma treatment: Current situation, prospects and drug applications.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Pooled it
- Phase 1 dose-escalation trial combining sulfasalazine and stereotactic radiosurgery in patients with recurrent glioblastoma.Redox biology · 2026Article
- Targeting Ferroptosis in Glioblastoma: Molecular Mechanisms, Tumor Microenvironment, and Therapeutic Opportunities.Cancers · 2026Review
- Metal-dependent regulated cell death: Molecular architecture and translational frontiers.iMeta · 2026Review
- Phase I trial combining sulfasalazine and gamma knife radiosurgery for recurrent glioblastoma.MethodsX · 2026Article
- Targeting Ferroptosis to Overcome Radioresistance and Enhance Immunotherapy in Colorectal Cancer.Cells · 2026Review
- Reprogramming temozolomide response in glioblastoma through regulated and immunogenic cell death modalities.Cell death discovery · 2026Review
- Overcoming Chemoresistance in Glioblastoma: Mechanisms, Therapeutic Strategies, and Functional Precision Medicine.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- The distinct roles of ROS in tumor immunity: from mechanisms to immunotherapeutic applications.Journal of hematology & oncology · 2026Review
- Glutamate Drives Glioblastoma Invasion in Three-Dimensional Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels.Tissue engineering. Part A · 2026Article
- MRPS16 Regulates NFATC2 Through the Wnt/β-Catenin Pathway to Promote Glioma Proliferation.Journal of cellular and molecular medicine · 2026Article
- Ferroptosis-immune crosstalk in CNS diseases: mechanisms and translational insights.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Lung cancer chemo-interception by sulfasalazine and disulfiram codelivered using a nano self-emulsifying drug delivery system in mice.Carcinogenesis · 2025Article
- Harnessing Adipose Ferroptosis: A Promising Novel Pathway for Obesity Treatment.Current obesity reports · 2025Review
- The Pivotal Role of NF-κB in Glioblastoma: Mechanisms of Activation and Therapeutic Implications.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Prospects for ferroptosis therapies in cancer.Nature cancer · 2025Review
- Metabolic Adaptations in Cancer Progression: Optimization Strategies and Therapeutic Targets.Cancers · 2025Review
- Tryptophan Metabolic Enzyme IL4I1 Inhibits Ferroptosis by Decreasing Ubiquitination of Nrf2 via I3P in Glioblastoma.Cell proliferation · 2025Article
- Breaking Down Glioma-Microenvironment Crosstalk.The Neuroscientist : a review journal bringing neurobiology, neurology and psychiatry · 2025Review
- Disrupted glutamate homeostasis as a target for glioma therapy.Pharmacological reports : PR · 2024Review
52 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSulfasalazine, a NF-kappaB and x(c)-cystine/glutamate antiport inhibitor, has demonstrated a strong antitumoral potential in preclinical models of malignant gliomas. As it presents an excellent safety profile, we initiated a phase 1/2 clinical study of this anti-inflammatory drug for the treatment of recurrent WHO grade 3 and 4 astrocytic gliomas in adults.
methods10 patients with advanced recurrent anaplastic astrocytoma (n = 2) or glioblastoma (n = 8) aged 32-62 years were recruited prior to the planned interim analysis of the study. Subjects were randomly assigned to daily doses of 1.5, 3, 4.5, or 6 grams of oral sulfasalazine, and treated until clinical or radiological evidence of disease progression or the development of serious or unbearable side effects. Primary endpoints were the evaluation of toxicities according to the CTCAE v.3.0, and the observation of radiological tumor responses based on MacDonald criteria.
resultsNo clinical response was observed. One tumor remained stable for 2 months with sulfasalazine treatment, at the lowest daily dose of the drug. The median progression-free survival was 32 days. Side effects were common, as all patients developed grade 1-3 adverse events (mean: 7.2/patient), four patients developed grade 4 toxicity. Two patients died while on treatment or shortly after its discontinuation.
conclusionAlthough the proper influence of sulfasalazine treatment on patient outcome was difficult to ascertain in these debilitated patients with a large tumor burden (median KPS = 50), ISRCTN45828668 was terminated after its interim analysis. This study urges to exert cautiousness in future trials of Sulfasalazine for the treatment of malignant gliomas.
trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN45828668.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.