ArticleNeuro-oncology2021
MR-guided focused ultrasound liquid biopsy enriches circulating biomarkers in patients with brain tumors.
Article in Neuro-oncology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 99 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Assessment of Safety and Feasibility of ExAblate Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption for the Treatment of High Grade Glioma in Patients Undergoing Standard Chemotherapy
A Phase IIa Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB) Opening Using Transcranial MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound in Patients With Alzheimer's Disease
Who cites it
99 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 148 citations in OpenAlex.
- Clinical utility of liquid biopsy in distinguishing true progression from radiation necrosis and pseudoprogression in malignant brain tumor.Journal of neuro-oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of low- and high-intensity focused ultrasound in glioblastoma: a systematic review of preclinical and clinical studies.British journal of cancer · 2026Pooled it
- Microbubble-enhanced transcranial focused ultrasound with temozolomide for patients with high-grade glioma (BT008NA): a multicentre, open-label, phase 1/2 trial.The Lancet. Oncology · 2025Trial
- Pharmacokinetic Analysis of Carboplatin and Fluorescein Brain Retention following Ultrasound-Based Blood-Brain Barrier Opening.Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research · 2025Trial
- Review
- Liquid Biopsy in Primary CNS Tumors: Bridging Biology, Technology, and Clinical Care.Molecular diagnosis & therapy · 2026Review
- Noninvasive enrichment of circulating tumor biomarkers in a mouse model of diffuse midline glioma using focused ultrasound.Neuro-oncology advances · 2026Review
- Focused ultrasound in pediatric neuro-oncology: Current applications and future directions.Neuro-oncology advances · 2026Review
- Applications of transcranial focused ultrasound for primary brain tumors.Neuro-oncology advances · 2026Review
- Development of skull-implanted ultrasound for blood-brain barrier opening and drug delivery in neuro-oncology.Neuro-oncology advances · 2026Review
- Extracellular Vesicles in the Biology and Liquid Biopsy Diagnostics of Pediatric High-Grade Glioma - Emerging Findings and Opportunities.Journal of extracellular biology · 2026Review
- Focused ultrasound for brain metastases.Neuro-oncology advances · 2026Review
- Advances in Brain Tumor Biomarkers: From Molecular Profiling to Liquid Biopsy and AI-Driven Detection.Cancers · 2026Review
- Transport pathways across the blood-brain barrier for waste clearance and drug delivery.Fluids and barriers of the CNS · 2026Review
- Ultrasound-Enhanced Drug Delivery in Pediatric Neuro-Oncology: A New Therapeutic Strategy.Pharmaceutics · 2026Review
- M-PACT leverages cell-free DNA methylomes to achieve robust classification of pediatric brain tumors.Nature cancer · 2026Article
- Review
- Data-Driven Feedback Identifies Focused Ultrasound Exposure Regimens for Improved Nanotheranostic Targeting of the Brain.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Review
- Outpatient Surgery in Neuro-Oncology-Advancing Patient Access and Care.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2026Review
39 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
17 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLiquid biopsy is promising for early detection, monitoring of response, and recurrence of cancer. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) limits the shedding of biomarker, such as cell-free DNA (cfDNA), into the blood from brain tumors, and their detection by conventional assays. Transcranial MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) can safely and transiently open the BBB, providing an opportunity for less-invasive access to brain pathology. We hypothesized that MRgFUS can enrich the signal of circulating brain-derived biomarkers to aid in liquid biopsy.
methodsNine patients were treated in a prospective single-arm, open-label trial to investigate serial MRgFUS and adjuvant temozolomide combination in patients with glioblastoma (NCT03616860). Blood samples were collected as an exploratory measure within the hours before and after sonication, with control samples from non-brain tumor patients undergoing BBB opening (BBBO) alone (NCT03739905).
resultsBrain regions averaging 7.8 ± 6.0 cm3 (range 0.8-23.1 cm3) were successfully treated within 111 ± 39 minutes without any serious adverse events. We found MRgFUS acutely enhanced plasma cfDNA (2.6 ± 1.2-fold, P < .01, Wilcoxon signed-rank test), neuron-derived extracellular vesicles (3.2 ± 1.9-fold, P < .01), and brain-specific protein S100b (1.4 ± 0.2-fold, P < .01). Further comparison of the cfDNA methylation profiles suggests a signature that is disease- and post-BBBO-specific, in keeping with our hypothesis. We also found cfDNA-mutant copies of isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) increased, although this was in only one patient known to harbor the tumor mutation.
conclusionsThis first-in-human proof-of-concept study shows MRgFUS enriches the signal of circulating brain-derived biomarkers, demonstrating the potential of the technology to support liquid biopsy for the brain.
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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.